: Re: How to make a mimicking character believable In my novel, there is a antagonistic character named Numbers who reacts in a similar manner to those he is talking to, even freakishly so. Because

@Sarah872

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Lampshade it
Have your other characters comment on how strange and unreal Numbers is, and how they never know what to expect from him because his personality shifts so radically all the time. Your characters probably don't know what to expect from him from moment to moment; perhaps one character always sees another in Numbers' behaviour. In short, let your audience know that yes, this is deliberate.
Keep some things consistent
If Numbers is an antagonist, presumably he has some kind of goal he's trying to achieve with his interactions with the protagonists. Keep this goal in mind whenever you're writing him, and have him always progressing towards it. If he's trying to seduce one of your other characters, have him always put the moves on them, just different come-ons based on who he's mimicking. If he's stealing materials to make his doomsday weapon, have his methods for getting each item match the way whoever he is mimicking would do it.
Give him a noticeable accent or dialect, one that's stronger or weaker depending on who he's mimicking, but always there (perhaps 'e always drops 'is aitches). Give him a verbal of physical tic that always comes through.
In short, give him a core, and just change things around that core to match others.

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