"don't touch me" character

I like the way the idea snuck up on you, maybe it snuck up on your character as well. In my opinion character flaws or weaknesses are always more interesting if we get to witness the struggle and coming to terms with this flaw. Well established flaws that are present at the beginning are good depending on what they are, but it's always fun to be along for the ride with the more outlandish ones.

I think this idea could certainly work. If her emotionless state is a result of training and discipline, her heightened awareness/psychic senses could be a direct result of said discipline; by perfectly balancing and neutralising her emotions, she becomes a blank slate, able to sense without being sensed.

I think your main danger is her becoming a swooning girly as soon as someone sufficiently manly brings his testosterone within range of her empathic radar. Of course, this might well be what she is trying to avoid. By becoming an emotional void, she denies instead of mastering her own emotions, leaving her at their mercy when the balance goes. Some of her character growth could then come from her finding real emotional strength to replace her previous state of cold detachment (in other words, she becomes a quivering, helpless female, then has to grow back into a genuinely strong woman.)

Emotionless assassin at first sounded incredibly cliche'd to me but but but! Somehow I'm drawn to the empathic thing, here's my idea for your character, take it, leave it, adjust it, what have you it's yours :)

She's emotionless because she's had to give up the emotions for her job, but what made her take the job? Why is she willing to make such a sacrafice, to me this smacks of great mental abuse earlier in her life.

So she's empathic, but only gets the bad emotions? No, I say, let her see ALL the emotions. Happy emotions can make her very confused, and no one likes being confused, it can be as frightening as being washed over with anger, sorrow, etc.

If she's empathic and has decided to give up emotion I think it would follow logically that she would develop some form of defence, as assasins often tend to get very 'in your face' with their assignments. What if she didn't actually give up emotions, but has cloaked her own in say... anger? She starts getting feelings from someone and it makes her mad, makes her REALLY mad, so she works as hard as she can to break contact, etc. Of course, she doesn't realise that this anger is truly her own, blaming it on the unexpected contact.

You've got a template for a very complex and delusional character here, I love it! I hope I could help :)

if she is an emotionless assassin and she gets touched by the badguys who thrive on pain and sorrow....I do not think she would turn into a a quivering helpless female. If anything I would think she would do the vulcan thing ( I am assuming you know what that means lol ) if emotions are starting to get to her. So make her curt to the point of rude rather than quiver.
There could also be the temptation to simply assassinate annoyances.
Also, why is she emotionless? Does she have to work at it? Is staying emotionless part of her struggle?

I like the idea of a empathic ability in an assassin. If it were me I would try to tie it in with her past. Was she ever exposed to emotions? Is she some sort of governmental experiment that was raised in isolation and never had the emotional experiences that most people had? What is her reaction to the touch of others? We never truly feel one single emotion at a time, can she distinguish between them and what is her reaction (rage, anger, sadness, etc)? Does she have a dark secret or a past experience that has taught her to never touch anyone else?

Hope it helps.

Why is she willing to make such a sacrafice, to me this smacks of great mental abuse earlier in her life.

I was trying to stay away from any type of abuse. It seems - at least to me - that it's been overdone; a great excuse as to why a person is the way they are. I'm trying to make (yeah, right make! ha!) my MC be this way as of her own choice. I have to admit I'm not sure why she would give up her emotions to be an assassin for her people .. still looking into that.

Happy emotions can make her very confused, and no one likes being confused, it can be as frightening as being washed over with anger, sorrow, etc.

good point! In fact where she's kind of used to dealing with the bad emotions from the bad guys she kills, I'll bet when she encounters someone with the good emotions it will throw her into a spin. That could be fun! :)

If anything I would think she would do the vulcan thing ( I am assuming you know what that means lol ) if emotions are starting to get to her. So make her curt to the point of rude rather than quiver.

I know exactly what you mean! lol - and that's not a bad idea. But then that brings me to another point .... how do I keep her from being this big bad - rude - assassin that never gets shaken up. Or maybe she does ... her breakdowns happen in private hmmm .....

There could also be the temptation to simply assassinate annoyances

HA! I love this! If my MC agrees, I'm so going to use this!

Boy, if I had all the answers to these questions I'll bet I've have a kick butt novel to write. As it stands, I haven't worked it all out yet, but here goes ....

Was she ever exposed to emotions? ... yes, up until she accepted the job as assassin, she had all her emotions. I'm figuring she's had the job half a century or so. (yes, my characters are immortal, or nearly, they can be killed, but live a long time. she isn't humna, but loks like any person you might see walking down the street.)

Is she some sort of governmental experiment that was raised in isolation and never had the emotional experiences that most people had? ... this one's easy - nope

What is her reaction to the touch of others? ... not sure yet. I'm guessing it wouldn't be good though

We never truly feel one single emotion at a time, can she distinguish between them and what is her reaction (rage, anger, sadness, etc)? ... again, no idea.

Does she have a dark secret or a past experience that has taught her to never touch anyone else? ... don't think so, but one never knows. I think just being able to read emotions has taught her not to touch others. Like an invasion of privacy so she just doesn't and it turned into something more. though I don't know what that more is at the moement.

I'm a very very sensitive person - sensitive to too much light, too much sound, too much conversation or noise around me, to texture and feel, emotion, and so on. I don't like to be touched - at all - by anyone other than people I know very well and am comfortable around. Well, I'm a lot better now than I used to be, but go with me on this... :) When people would touch me, I would get angry. Very very angry. I flinch and I take a step or five back, I shake them off, I remove myself from the situation. We're talking about my reactions being to the point of anxiety attacks, but I never cried or got teary or upset in that way - it was always angry and abrupt and Get. Out. Of. This. Situation. Now.

I know, it's not their fault. It's not my fault, either. It's unfortunate, but it's the way I am, and yes, I have tried to change it. For the most part, I just avoid situations where there would be too much touching. Like shopping on Saturdays or other days - I just don't do it. I ended up doing my grocery shopping on early Monday or Tuesday mornings because the stores are almost empty. Only went to the mall at similar times - again, empty. Much easier to walk around with no contact with other people. Didn't go to parties, which I didn't like anyway because they're too loud and overwhelming. Socialize in small groups. Have my own car so I don't have to take public transportation. And so it goes - figuring out what coping mechanisms & strategies will work. Also, the less I'm around people, the more I can handle them. Being around people more is stressful for me, and it overloads me. I'm the quintessential extreme introvert with, uh, style. Or something.

I know it's not for the same reason as your MC, but hopefully this will help give you some ideas. :)

this is great - thank you so much. i've been leaning toward the anger issue as it seemed to make more sense after I went over things. Hearing from someon who has gone through this - so to speak - helps the realism of it. thanks agian!

Fictional character are usually driven by desires and responsibilities, no matter how small. It look like your MC has some wants, like the fact she doesn't want to be touched or become emotionally engaged with people. To make your character more fleshed out, I suggest finding out if she has other desires.

For an "emotionless" character, is she content with her current lifestyle? Does she enjoy the thrill? Is she really cut off from her emotions, or has she simply convinced herself that she is? Also, maybe consider what your character is like when she isn't on the job. Does she take her clothes to the dry-cleaners, ride the busline, or do something that doesn't fit at all, like collect stamps? Going into another part of the character's life could make her much more dynamic and interesting.

Like quidscribis, I also don't like being touched (for basically the same reasons). My reactions: I flinch away, step away, try to get away from that person. It's even worse because I didn't used to be this way, and my immediate family still has trouble accepting that the physically affectionate child I used to be changed over my teenaged years into someone who who doesn't like touch. So, my family hugs me, touches me, and stuff and gets annoyed at me whenever I pull away becaue "I didn't used to be that way." Whenever anyone tries to touch me, I go out of my way to avoid them, sometimes ending up backed into a corner because they think it's funny to keep coming after me. I've nearly gotten hysterical because of it. I usually end up hiding in my room sometimes to avoid it. One added problem: for some reason, whenever anyone touches my head, I get headaches. That may have started the whole don't-touch-me thing.

Frankly, in regards to your character, I don't think she'd turn into a nervous wreck. Since she's used to getting the bad emotions, she'd be relatively used to it. It may be more of a problem because your bad guys like it so much, but I think she'd be able to handle it. Like someone else said, it may be the happier emotions that would make her react worse.

Like some others have posted, I don't like to be touched. Holding/shaking hands causes me intense physical discomfort. In situations where I'm packed in a crowd, I start hyperventillating. So, dislike of being touched isn't an out-there idea.

Also...I have a character kind of like this. She has emotions, but they are buried very, very deep because she sort of absorbs other people's emotions/experiences/etc., and experiences them as if they were her own.

She's also one of the most confusing, difficult, and sometimes irritating characters to write.

But it's totally worth it.

I like the conflict your assassin could have with this kind of ability/issue--go for it!

Like others that have responded, I don't like to be touched either, other than by those close to me. I like a lot of space around me and appear cold to other people. I don't mean to, but I can't stand the feeling of being close to people I don't know. It has nothing to do with abuse, as I had a wonderful childhood, though neither of my parents were touching people, either.

Maybe your character went through a bad childhood. There could be abuse, not necessarily at home, that drove her away from others. Possibly someone close to the family that was trusted and betrayed and so she now is afraid to trust, so she avoids closeness of any kind. She has blocked emotions from her mind and so is incapable of caring without professional help. The catch here is that she doesn't want to care, so she never seeks help.