PET CENTRAL - Many people always try and "claim" certain pet personalities.
They say they were the "original" they were the first one to ever come up with
that kind of personality for that pet and nobody else's pet can have it.
I think that is completely ridiculous.
That is like me saying that Myyth is the only Neopet who's allowed to want
to take over Neopia. Is that fair? Is is true? Is it selfish? Yes, yes it is.
First of all, Myyth being a diabolical villain is terribly cliché in
itself, but that's the centre of Myyth's whole self. His character mocks all
of those other cliché villains out there, and in that way he's different.
He also has a unique history that I've made up for him. That's what makes him
special.
Now this article isn't a rant, even though it seems to have started out that
way. It's a bit of a guide on how to express your pet in an original way, and
putting little twists on overly used personality traits. Hopefully, using this
article, you'll be able to make your pet unique. Not only that, but you'll be
able to express your pets unique traits in various forms! Now let's get crackin'!
(I just love saying that!)
So you want to get a pet? That's the first step obviously. You actually need
a pet before giving it a personality! If you've already gotten a pet you can
skip this step. First of all, are you creating or adopting? If you're adopting,
you can also leave this step out since you can't exactly choose your adoptees
name.
Before choosing a name you want to have a very basic personality laid out.
Do you want your pet to be perky? Do you want your pet to be cocky? When I created
Darkwise I knew right away that I wanted him to be very cynical and bitter towards
the world so, I figured, somebody who didn't like the world would be a bit "dark"
and have knowledge of this darkness. Hence the name. Pick a name that is going
to suit your pets personality even if you don't know exactly what it
is yet. You don't want to have an optimistic pet named "Crushedandsad" (Yes,
bad example, I know). Just pick something fitting.
So you've got a pet, whether abandoned or adopted, it doesn't really matter.
The next step is to create a history for your pet.
"But no!" you say "I just created my pet! How can he/she/it have a history!?"
Easily! Let's take good old Myyth for example. Sure, I created him, but he is
a fire mage put into the body of an Eyrie so he has a very long history proceeding
before he came to live with me. Rhapsody too, even though I created her, she
is the Chaos Faerie sent in the guise of a Faerie Kau to keep an eye on Myyth.
All of my pets have very detailed pasts. The stronger your past, the stronger
your character. All sorts of things could have happened before your pet had
come to live with you, it's up to you to think up something creative and fun.
Keep in mind that having a history makes a character considerably more developed
then ones without. Depending on past experiences your pet is going to react
to different situations in different ways. If in the past your beloved Kacheek
got attacked by rabid Doglefoxes she's probably not going to react very nicely
when you give her one for a petpet. It's those things that makes a character
more exciting and detailed.
So your pet has a very basic personality, and a nice detailed history. What's
next? Well, I like to make a chart of likes and dislikes, but not only that
but why your pet likes or dislikes it. Does your pet just adore asparagus
pie because he's obsessed with Adam? Or is it because he loves the colour green
and everything he does has to be green? Does your pet hate Neoflakes because
he ate them everyday all day? Or because he's allergic to them? Things like
that are what makes a character less flat. Sure, you can come up with likes
and dislikes any day of the week, but having that why there makes them all better.
Pet? Check. History? Check. Likes and such? Check. There's still a lot more
you can do with your pet. First of all imagine them in different situations.
Like this one for an example. Say a little Lupe Scout Girl comes to your NeoHome
door selling cookies. What would your pet do? Well, Darkwise would snort in
her face and slam the door. Rhapsody would smile sweetly, ask how much they
are, and promptly buy one just to make the little girl happy. Myyth would have
muttered darkly, snuck some mind control candy to the girl as a "gift", then
stolen the cookie. Put your pet in this situation. What would your pet have
done? Yes, put them to the Lupe Scout Girl Cookie Salesperson test! Erhm, sorry.
Moving on.
Next thing on the list is to just go all out. Completely nitpick every single
bit of your pets personalities. Make sure every single nook and cranny of them
is covered! This is your baby! you want them to be as detailed and believable
as possible! Know every part of their personality and why the act the way they
do. How does your pet feel about the world around them? How does your pet perceive
others? How do others perceive your pet? Take all of these questions into account
when creating your pets personality.
So you've put a lot of effort and work into making your pets as original and
as unique as possible. Now, don't feel bad when you see somebody with a pet
that has a similar personality. Why? Simply because there is no way there's
not going to be at least one other pet out there like yours. Likewise though,
there's always going to be one aspect of your pet that's going to be completely
unique.
Now get your pet out there! Design their Site with their history. Role play
them and find them friends. (Compatible ones of course! Don't want to go changing
your pets personality, do you?) Write stories, poems, and draw pictures of your
pet. Most importantly, be proud. You have a pet you can truly be happy and care
for. I've found myself much more attached to my pets just because they have
developed personalities.
I hope you enjoyed my article! If you have any feedback please feel free to
Neomail
me! | 
