"Slightly Off" Traits For Possibly Not Quite Human Characters

Uh, I was responding to fulltime D. I should have put an arrow there.

Climbing on walls is perfectly human. Strange , but human.

For duty, duty, must be done, the rule applies to everyone;

Climbing into high spots to read.

edited 28th Mar '14 2:22:16 PM by ElectricalLass

For duty, duty, must be done, the rule applies to everyone;

Preternatural understanding of nature: IE, they're a walking encyclopedia or herbal medications and drugs and can whip them up with a bamboo stick and an earthen pot. They can also detect predators coming and seem to have animalistic senses, relying more on smell than eyesight.

Complaining that mice are chirping too much. ( Mice chirps are very high in Hertz)

For duty, duty, must be done, the rule applies to everyone;

Somehow, no matter what, always carrying a gin and tonic.

Being able to sense old computers and ray tubes.

(Like mice , they make a lot of noise. ) ( I can do this. )

For duty, duty, must be done, the rule applies to everyone;

I like this thread:

• Telling the frequency and amplitude of power lines, and/or sensing electromagnetic fields like a shark
• Otherwise normal human whose only dreams are prescient future visions of things to come
• A person who has not learned or does not care about certain social values, like the value of money, being able only to conceive of it as ones and zeroes and little pieces of paper and decorative metal objects. Money has no value to this person except that the coins make great necklaces.
• Moving in a weird, fluid way like in zero gravity, despite being on a planet with gravity, almost like he/she was animated by computer in the mid-nineties.
• Having a mysterious gem implanted in their palm
• Using military or another oddly specific bunch language and terms, possibly derived instead from the characteristics of insect hives, to describe normal every day things
• Getting cultural references wrong and using slang from the 50's-70's ("neat-o, big daddy," "total babe," "Groovy," "Good vibes," "Happenin' chick," etc.)

• Or moving like him/her has no rigid bones, like they've got fluid sacks and muscles and cartilage only.

• ALSO, having the character react to extraordinary situations like they're normal, and then become obsessed with normal every day STUFF (or even antiquated tech like old records) like it's more impressive than FTL travel.

edited 28th Mar '14 6:32:51 AM by fulltimeD

@Electrical Lass: No kidding, I do that all the time too. It's actually difficult not to walk up stairs on all fours in public.

"Suddenly, as he was listening, the ceiling fell in on his head."

Using their mouth as an extra hand to hold and carry things such as small pieces of paper.

   I actually do this too.   

edited 28th Mar '14 2:19:16 PM by ElectricalLass

For duty, duty, must be done, the rule applies to everyone;

They don't have a belly button.

Nobody wants to be a pawn in the game of life. What they don't realize is the game of life is Minesweeper.

Their voice is always the same volume, no matter how far away you happen to be.

Feminist in the streets, sex slave in the sheets

Repeating myself for the rest :

Occasionally , they blink with what may be a transparent eye membrane , the one that in most people is just that red thing in the corner of your eyes.

For duty, duty, must be done, the rule applies to everyone;

Eyes are usually the easiest way to go with "slightly off" traits. Such as having them rarely (or never) blink, have a permanent frozen stare like a blind person would have (but not being actually blind) and such.

"All you Fascists bound to lose."

Semi-consciously controlling their pupil size.

For duty, duty, must be done, the rule applies to everyone;

....... please add more , everyone.

For duty, duty, must be done, the rule applies to everyone;

Not ever saying "um" or "uh" or any other go-to words when people are trying to articulate their thoughts.

There are 10 types of people in this world: those who understand binary, and those who don't.

Communicating only through text message, even in person.

Blind Final Fantasy 6 Let's Play

When they sing a cappela , they sometimes seem to have musical acompinament .

For duty, duty, must be done, the rule applies to everyone;

Randomly teleporting short distances while they talk.

Award-winning screenwriter. Directed some movies. Trying to earn a Creator page. I do feedback here.

If you want to look at a specific example of a "slightly off" character, you can examine Xellos from The Slayers in detail. This guy introduces himself as a human priest, but when the Slayers get to know him more, they notice that:

• he always has eyes almost shut;
• he lacks any instinctive reactions, never gets angry or scared, or flinches;
• he has odd movement, often appears from nowhere or vanishes into nowhere;
• he has limited emotional response, never seen in any mood other than (possibly fake) playful;
• enjoys trolling people a bit too much, as if he needs it;
• all Mazoku (demons) the Slayers meet appear to know him;

... before Xellos displays any other strange behavious, it's revealed... ta-dam!... that he's a high-ranking Mazoku disguised as a human!

I like really subtly odd things, particularly when they have to do with the eyes. Odd or asymmetrical pupil dilation, incomplete or a dearth of blinking, watery eyes with an irritated or indifferent expression, eyes that don't smile or frown with the mouth—things like that.

I'll hide your name inside a word and paint your eyes with false perception.

Subtle things are good.

For duty, duty, must be done, the rule applies to everyone;

At least two overlapping voices with different pitches that are a half second or less apart... possibly one very low pitched and one very high pitched.