@NotSoBeautifulDiseaster
Sophie:
- Intriguing detail with the symbols, that's a creative addition!
- Go more in detail with her body type: "petite" could simply mean "small and compact", but is she thin? underweight even? does she have chub that's simply evenly distributed, making for a solid form? Not to mention you didn't put down a Weight for her.
- I do like how you structured her Nature section, but putting her minuses in Flaws would be more simple, and could hash it out more fully: not to mention all of these qualities could be elaborated, and/or explained more in-depth. What exactly is she insecure about? Is she optimistic in a natural way or in a way that's trained? Especially with you mentioning her past with bullying. Along those lines, your description and her backstory suggest a need to fit in, to be accepted, even at the cost of personal values, and at the cost of loved ones: this could be noted and elaborated as well in the flaws section. In general Sophie is well-off in the Flaws department, which makes for an interesting and multi-layered person that could do very well if written correctly. Other questions: she's kind and friendly, but with who? When does her kindness and friendliness run out? Where was this kindness and friendliness when she got swept up by peer pressure and her own selfishness about being accepted, and resorted to bullying? How far does her stubbornness go? Will she argue to the death (figuratively)? Will she never admit that she was wrong? Is there an element of pride to her stubbornness? If so, you could add sympathy to her character by elaborating how, for someone who fights for her side of the story with a passion, it says something about her conviction and her reform that she was able to bounce back from her mistakes, and admit that she was wrong, and at fault for them. Up to you, and I could be pulling at blank straws here haha.
- What do you mean when you say she's "unlucky" in Quirks? If you are trying to blame her past bad behavior on her Luck, that's a dangerous trap to fall into and I would readily say that a character who accepts that she was wrong by her own fault is much more interesting than someone who's a "victim of her destiny/environment". If you mean something else, I don't really understand what it is haha, and what qualifies it as a "quirk". And her "lying about shallow things" could easily be added to Flaws: along those lines, how far is "too far" for Sophie when it comes to lying? White lies are "harmless", sure, but when they add up it creates a whirlpool of untruth that can negatively affect the liar as well as those around them. Also, is she very good at lying to herself?
- Interesting that she dislikes "fake people", yet she herself "lies about shallow things" –> another flaw you could elaborate on, hypocrisy, double standards that she herself may be unaware of having. Also with her disliking "cruelty" (which you put twice btw, not sure if that was on purpose), another contradiction with her past actions.
- Why does she dislike passive people? Is it because they remind her of herself, how she was swept up into bad behavior due to a need to belong? Does she blindly take out her resentment for her former self on those that remind her of it? Another flaw to explore, not to mention something that could help in explaining the inner working of her mind that led her to bullying in he first place, even before she changed. In general she seems to dislike a lot of qualities that she herself probably exhibited in her bullying days: maybe elaborate on her deep-rooted dislike of herself? Hating herself presently, due to her past actions, makes a lot of sense, and would even garner her sympathy points in the eyes of the reader. Along those lines, where are her feelings of remorse, of guilt, that should be stated I think, other than "she's trying to be a better person"? A sociopath "tries to be a better person", but not because of feelings of guilt, rather for the sake of better manipulating people and gaining trust. Might be stating the obvious, but I still think it's worth mentioning.
- Why wasn't she appreciative of her brother, during a time that I assume was before her bullying phase? Is her mean streak something that comes more naturally than any of us would care to admit?
- Why was she jealous of her brother?
- (You'll have to excuse me for saying, you use a lot of run-ons and some verbs aren't in the right place so I had a bit of trouble understanding this middle paragraph of her backstory). May I suggest going more in-depth about the psychology and indecision of Sophie's mind when it came to choosing between her "friends" and her brother? Not necessary, just a nitpick probably haha.
- You say in Overview that her main theme is Bravery. If she were naturally brave, she would have stood up to her "friends" despite her fear of being excluded, so that begs the question, is her journey about learning to be brave?
I will close off with this: it's common to find characters that are beloved by the audience because, although they have a shady past, they are presently just so lovable and so reformed, so irresistible, that they are easily forgiven for any past mistakes and cruelty. I appreciate that you aren't trying to do that with Sophie: she has the potential for a lot of flaws that showcase her growth, her being smack-dab in the middle of growth, while still facing the consequences for her actions, and to me that's key. If she were to get off scott-free for her mistakes, then she would come off as a "passive ungrateful brat", as you introduce her ;) But I honestly didn't get too much of that vibe from her, especially knowing what happened to her and that she's clearly trying to change. Though, I would suggest putting in that bit about her trying to make amends with her brother to this day, which I don't believe you actually mention in her profile? Anyway. Her entire story, from the very beginning, is a Redemption arc, and I'm very intrigued by that. If you manage to write it correctly, Sophie could experience some very compelling character growth that drags the reader over to her side. Good luck, and I hope this was helpful!
What exactly is she insecure about? She's insecure about her presence and self worth
Is she optimistic in a natural way or in a way that's trained? Her optimistic is somewhat natural but wasn't lowered after her father died
she's kind and friendly, but with who? With her friends and just people she has no problems with
When does her kindness and friendliness run out? When betrayed or when said person hurts innocent people
Where was this kindness and friendliness when she got swept up by peer pressure and her own selfishness about being accepted, and resorted to bullying? She was kind in the past but her desire to be popular and loved went to her
Will she never admit that she was wrong?
Is there an element of pride to her stubbornness? Yes with a tinge of insecurity
What do you mean when you say she's "unlucky" in Quirks? tbh I just wanted to add a quirk to her
how far is "too far" for Sophie when it comes to lying?
In the past she once lied about her mom being a famous journalism which got her into the mess in first place
Also, is she very good at lying to herself?
Not really, She tries but her conscience ends coming back to her
Why does she dislike passive people?
Is it because they remind her of herself, how she was swept up into bad behavior due to a need to belong?
It's because they remind her of her past
Does she blindly take out her resentment for her former self on those that remind her of it? Sometimes
Why wasn't she appreciative of her brother, during a time that I assume was before her bullying phase? She found his overly sweet behavior towards her patronizing and condescending
Why was she jealous of her brother? Because he was always carefree, friendly and used to have plenty of friends with trying, while trying so hard to be noticed without success
You say in Overview that her main theme is Bravery. If she were naturally brave, she would have stood up to her "friends" despite her fear of being excluded, so that begs the question, is her journey about learning to be brave?
She would stand up for her friends despite being scared of being excluded, also her journal is being brave
Also I guess this is a bit abrupt but can you review her brother, we had a discussion about him once