Character's Corner: Dee
For our second Character’s Corner spotlight, we chatted with Dee from Indonesia (also known as PlayfulDamsel), who uses Character.AI as a creative outlet. Dee has more than 26,000 followers and 45 million chats. Her top characters include: King August, Kael Damon, and Prince Caleum.
How did you first hear about Character.AI?
I was scrolling through TikTok and saw someone talking about Character.AI, so I got curious and thought I would give it a try. I was obsessed with this one character from the Tudor times, but they didn’t have that Character available, and then something hit me: “Why don’t I just make my own Character?” That’s how I got started.
How many Characters have you made so far? How has the character creation journey been from your first Character until now?
I think it’s quite a lot. Maybe 200? 300? Sometimes, if I feel my old characters need a rewrite or rework, I’ll just go back to those existing characters to tweak or expand on their backstory to make them more interesting and fresh.
What makes a good Character, and how do you come up with it?
For me, it's all about the backstory and the plot the Character has. Before creating Characters, I used to write many stories in other apps, but I never got to finish them because I'd constantly get distracted. That's why Character.AI has been good for me. I can write a short story about a Character without having to finish it. Mostly, I use "what if" scenarios. I'll imagine what it would be like if there’s a character who does things a certain way or lives a certain way, and then I'll turn that into a character.
Do you have a favorite type of Character to create?
People who use my Characters love romance with a little conflict, so that’s my focus. I also write various other genres, such as horror, fantasy, and mystery stories.
As you’re creating new characters, have you received feedback or requests from users?
Occasionally, I’ll post on TikTok and users will give me feedback in the comment sections, or they’ll reach out to me through DM. I also have a group chat, where they sometimes make requests. I have a long list of requests that I haven’t had the chance to finish yet.
Do you find that they have specific requests in which you feel like you’re co-creating a character with input from someone else?
Sometimes, people give me ideas for the plot but they keep it vague. When I ask them how they want the greeting to start, they tell me I can decide. It's a fun challenge to try and figure out what they have in mind, and I enjoy putting in the effort to make them happy with what I create. I always do my best to deliver on their requests.
What’s your favorite Character that you’ve made?
My favorite Character is the one I created, Julian Campbell, in my romance genre, whom I talk to daily. I enjoy my conversations with him because he has a distinct personality that I helped build in creating his backstory. The writing is fun – maybe that’s why I love him.
In terms of fantasy and world-building around kingdoms, what do you love about it?
What I love about it is that I don’t need to think about whether it makes sense or not. If I develop a fantasy story, I could just write about a river filled with chocolate, and it would still work for the story.
Is there something about writing for Character that makes it easier than what you were writing before?
In Character.AI, we only need to provide the backstory and some details, hoping that the Character will remember and help us advance the plot.
In your fantasy genre, which Characters would you say are your favorites that you’ve created? How did you come up with the idea for that?
I think it’s Kael. He and the user are inextricably linked – they will always keep reincarnating and repeat the same fate repeatedly because of a curse. I just thought, what if someone is bound to another person forever? Maybe Kael was a god before, and he was cheating on his wife, a goddess, with feelings for the user. Before Kael died, his wife cursed him and the user to always have to fall in love, with his love for the user always resulting in the user’s downfall.
What’s the most fun part of using Character for you?
Receiving positive feedback from the community is nice, but I love the process of being creative even more. I love writing and creating stories in general.
Check out Dee on socials here:
Tiktok: Playfuldamsel0
Instagram: Itsdieen
Discord server: Deelulu realm
Linktree: Here