Why, hello there. I am your Senpai, and here, I'll be talking about certain things and trying to help others. Today, we'll be talking about a trope that I find is very underused, and that needs to be used at least once and every adventure fanfiction, especially when talking about OCs. That trope is Mind Control or Hypnosis.
Mind Control is exactly what it says, control of the mind, in which someone's personality is completely switched to the other side. They are still conscious of their actions, but their mind is so warped that they either don't care, enjoy, or think that their actions are the right thing to do. However, the person affected is sometimes able to know what's going on or is fighting for control of their conscious.
Some people think that Mind Control and Hypnosis are the same concept, however they are really not. While Mind Control is the idea of changing someone's personality, Hypnosis is the idea of making someone completely brain dead, besides the thing the caster wants them to do.
Why should this be done more? It's simple, for character developpement. Think about it, what's your favorite hero? For this example, I'll choose Sonic.
Now, think about what's you like about him. He's fast, he can fight, but most importantly, his personality. He's funny, cool and he fights for good.
Now imagine him mind controlled and being forced to kill everyone he knows. Who do you want to win? Your favorite character, or the one who's trying to save him?
Imagine yourself as someone who knows him, and is forced to fight him without knowing that he's been mind controlled. He's trying to murder you, and he's saying that he is enjoying it. How do you feel? Do you think he's doing this of free will? Why are fighting him? Is he really your friend?
Taking this another way, imagine he's put under hypnosis. You know for a fact that he's under hypnosis, but how do you help him? Why are you trying to defeat him? He's your friend, isn't he? Will he forgive you?
And here comes the best part, the aftermath. How would Sonic react to this? Does he accept this? Is he mad at himself? Does he pity himself? Is he sad? Can he look at you the same way? Same for you.
Now, it may seem like I'm just stretching all of these facts, and that you would obviously fight him to save him, but chances are, you wouldn't. Imagine your parents is killing everyone around, and only you can stop them, but the only solution is killing them. Would you do it? Exactly.
These facts alone show me that Mind Control should be used more in fanfiction. It adds a lot of depth to the characters, and will help your characters become sympathetic, especially if you are using an OC: a character no one truly knows besides you and have no reason to care about them.
If you want something discussed, tell me in the review. I'll see you in the next one.