From the perspective of an outsider, it seems odd to be so neglectful of the tupper concept when you're so cursed by intermittent bouts of depression. Tuppers are the exact thing you should be doing. I feel like telling you to have a second look at
my guide, just for the sake of going by the parroting route rather than the narrative one. Even though parroting in the beginning feels like it's just another personality branched off from yours that has access to the same amount of information as you do, - which it very well does, both in the beginning and the future - then that doesn't stop the potential of making an interesting conversational partner through exploration of character. My guide doesn't delve too deeply into the area of exploring tupper behaviour and opinions, but I've always taken that as being a thing people can handle by themselves over time, with a little helping of common sense and introspection. Perhaps I was wrong in that presumption.
Weird as it sounds, perhaps making yet another tulip wouldn't be such a bad idea - even if I may be calling it a "character" at this stage. Like, you should really sit down and think what someone else would do, what their likes, dislikes, interests, aspirations, quirks, and stuff like that are. A multifaceted personality that allows you to think at great lengths about how the character would react to something, mentally and externally, given factors like their moral values and history. Of course, backstory is not necessary, but is something that can still add depth, since we're shaped by our experiences. Having a character employ a personality just like that without any reason as to why they behave like they do, other than
"Well, that's simply how I am and how I've been for... the past two minutes I've existed." can be a bit of a realism killer. Then again, if realism isn't
that important, then that makes backstory redundant. Because tuppers are so
unrealistic. Might also wanna have a look at
this thing, too.
In short: put yourself in someone else's shoes, thinking
like them, or maybe describing what they're thinking from a third-person perspective, like
"Why are you here? You live with me. It's sunny today. You're currently reading a book. You feel like taking a swim, but it's pretty hot outside. Maybe you'll do it later in the evening, but you're not really sure yet. So you're just kinda doing whatever you fancy for the time being. The book you're reading is about a man exploring the sub-Saharan jungle during the 1880s. The scene descriptions in the book are vivid, which you have a liking for. The protoganist is in his 30s and is hoping to further research in exotic animals. He has apparently had a few quarrels with a local governor, but you're not far enough into the book to know how much that'll influence the story. You like genres that revolve around exploration, and love interests, too. Maybe you'll go to the library one of these days, perhaps down that other aisle you only visit in passing. Oh right, you're reading a story. Here you are, thinking about stuff. If I asked if you wanted to meditate with me, you'd not really feel like it and politely decline, saying 'We can do it later once I'm done with this chapter. I have plans later this evening, anyway.' However, I respect your wants and I feel like just watching you indulge in your interests today, so I won't ask that. It's nice that we know each other so well. You obviously have things you've not openly said as well out of consideration, such as asking me to stop staring at you so much, but you know it's so that I may understand and visualise you in greater detail, which is for the better for both of us."I dunno, just trying to make some sort of example here. Perhaps you could consider it a combination of narration and parroting, switching between describing the tulip and interacting with them through conversation. Maybe even write the stuff down like I just did; I know that's helped some people. Butt, of course, if you're not feeling up to exploring a character's innermost feelings, thoughts, likes, dislikes, various social masks, and how all this combined influences their decisions, then you can quietly dismiss what I just wrote and carry on being depressed without a conversational partner.