Lapin's OC Questionnaire
Yet another questionnaire! This one about OCs again, so naturally I'm all over that! It's a bit long, strap in. Original here.
- What name do you go by online?
- Call me Callie.
- How long have you been creating OCs?
- Since 2016... so 10 years now. It's a decent amount of time, but I still got into it pretty late relative to other creatives in my age range.
- Where do you keep all the info on your OCs? In a notebook? On a website? Do you share your OC profiles or stories with anyone?
- On my website and in my files, on Scrivener.
- Do you consider yourself primarily a writer, artist, role-player, or something else?
- Artist and writer with more weighting towards writer.
- What first inspired you to start making characters?
- God, what WAS it? The very first spark was in writing a Kino no Tabi fanfic where I wanted Kino to be contrasted with a foil character, which was Zachary. After that the idea of Zach just wouldn't leave my head and I started thinking up scenarios with more characters like Cam, Verti, and Miquir, which all eventually got their own setting. But another inspiration was Re: Zero, because of how casual it was while still being a decent story with a strong fanbase. I thought, 'if he can do this I can too' and that spurred on the creation of GoH.
- What piece of media or fictional world has influenced your OCs the most?
- There's influences from all over the place; basically everything I touched before making GoH is an influence on it. But the big ones are Kino no Tabi, Homestuck, Re: Zero, Animorphs, The Book of the New Sun...
- Which creator, professional or not, inspires you most?
- One of the most consistent people I come back to is tgweaver, I think he's an amazing writer. There's also all the authors of the stories listed in the previous question, lyricists of bands like Los Campesinos! and mewithoutYou, R A Lafferty, and for sheer girth in scope and depth of worldbuilding and ideas I'm quire inspired by/in awe of Kolo.
- How many OCs do you estimate you have?
- 18 main for GoH.
- What genre do you enjoy creating in most? What genre do you rarely create in?
- I call GoH a science fantasy, because it has the elements of sci fi and fantasy obviously, and comes out of that environment, but my favourite part is a tie between when specific fictional elements (like archon powers, specific cultural elements of a country, kenoma or pleroma effects) are being engaged for really specific, really strange plot developments, or when characters are very unabashedly 'being themselves' in a way that highlights their personality. Things like Aquila's speech revealing his motivations to Raum, most character beats in character narratives, Cam throughout Cam Shitposts, so on...
- What is your favorite character archetype?
- Emo god, tortured immortal, secret royalty, unwilling object of cult worship.
- What character trope are you tired of seeing?
- Overpowered isekai self insert.
- What trope do you avoid?
- I dunno... I don't really think in terms of tropes, so there aren't any that spring to mind as something to make or avoid... and a lot of tropes that I don't really like, I actually do and reinterpret in ways that are meant to be offputting or interesting.
- What trope or archetype do you not have and want to create?
- Again, I don't really think in tropes, and I kind of covered all the big ones I wanted already...
- What shipping trope can you never resist? What shipping trope is not your cup of tea?
- I'm not that into shipping. I guess I like enemies to lovers, but I also like, like, emotionally closed off (probably traumatized) and insecure-behind-a-facade person A with comparatively confident, funny person B who makes them feel able to be themselves around. This is like, just a normal relationship between two relatively common types of people. But I don't like, like, mysterious murderer edgelord who is distant to everyone but softens up for one person.
- What emotion do you enjoy exploring most?
- Suffering, tenacity, dutifulness, indecision.
- What emotion is hardest for you to write?
- Romantic pining.
- What is your opinion on dark themes and characters?
- Most of my stuff is very dark. At the end of the day people are free to do what they want; there are obvious handlings of certain topics that would make me not want to engage with certain works, but I don't like shying away from dark material just for the sake of it, because I think there's a conversation to have about these topics for people who have lived them or who are affected by them. I try to have some realism in how some of these things really would affect someone when I write my characters, obviously there is some level of abstraction and exaggeration at play, but the result is that for some of the ugliness of my main characters, they're all ultimately well-meaning people. I also think darkness can be cathartic to people in very negative mental spaces.
- What design aesthetic best describes your tastes? What design aesthetic do you dislike?
- Like... cartoony-realistic? Has obvious exaggerated elements, but ultimately isn't too far from something you could see in real life? I don't like... hyper-realistic or super conventional D&D fantasy...
- What charm point/moe point do you often include in your OC designs?
- It depends on the character. Cam's charm point is his downturned ears and w-shaped mouth. Arsene's charm point is his eye spots and bandana. Mephi's charm point is his overbite and downturned eyes. Renard's charm point is his eyebrows, pauldron, bard pants, and chin. So on...
- Explain your OC process: do you design characters visually before writing them? Do your characters tend to change significantly over time?
- I have a character theme/concept/purpose in narrative detailed before I design them. I haven't really redesigned any of them significantly, though I do have thoughts of giving Zach another outfit that's more suited to Kitiven's climate.
- How often do you redesign OCs?
- Very very rarely.
- Do you keep character references organized? What tools, apps, or websites do you utilize to help keep you organized?
- I don't even have the references in my files; I go to artfight to copy the references from there.
- Do you listen to music while creating?
- Yes while drawing, no when writing. I need to focus to write.
- Link a song or album you associate with your OC/story.
- Lotus Child - A Night Blade is a song about Zach leaving Nine Columbines for his pilgrimage. The songwriter actually said that. I'm not lying.
- What is one thing all your characters seem to have in common?
- They all go through a LOT of bullshit.
- What is something you hope people feel when they see your work?
- Inspired, like they could make their own characters and stories. Sad at the sad moments, fulfilled at the happy payoffs. Inquisitive, curious about what makes the characters tick, empathetic for their situations despite their dysfunctions or bad decisions.
- What kind of people do you think are drawn to your characters and stories?
- Smart people, like you!
- What keeps you creating OCs?
- I don't really 'create' OCs much as much as I have my cast and stories about them, and new characters arise from those stories. Once I finish these stories I'll come up with new ones, which will have new OCs. So basically, storytelling is what makes me make OCs.
- What was your very first OC like?
- My VERY first OC was like... this little kangaroo guy in a magenta sweater named Greeter who was like a steward for anime people who embodied the elements. He was like, cute, but I didn't stick with him for anything.
- Do you still have your oldest OC?
- No, he got shelved pretty quickly.
- Which OC was created most recently? What inspired them?
- The most recent OC is Orkos, who is the 'good end' version of Arsene/Miquir. My friend and I were talking about the ending of GoH and how it was kind of dissatisfying, then we came up with a solution to 'GoH's big in-narrative problems' which was a lot happier, which was Orkos.
- Which OC are you most proud of?
- I'm pretty proud of Raum and Renard for their narratives. I like Aquila a lot. Cam is a lot of fun. Zachary is a really fucking bold character concept that I think I pulled off pretty well.
- Which OC was easiest to create?
- They were all really easy to 'create', because I had roles and purposes to them from the get-go.
- Which OC was hardest to create?
- Though, probably Renard was the hardest, because he spent years in this limbo of being kind of uninteresting until I got his story fleshed out and I suddenly started liking him.
- From you or from others, which OC receives the most attention?
- Lisbet always gets a ton of attacks on Artfight, and I kind of pile a lot of attention on Mephi.
- From you or from others, which OC do you wish received more attention?
- Raum always slants with a little less engagement than others, which is a bit sad cuz I think he's really neat.
- Which OC is your favorite to draw? Which is the hardest to draw?
- Cam, Arsene, Lisbet, Zachary... Renard and Poppy are the hardest to draw.
- Which OC is your favorite to write? Which is the hardest to write?
- Zachary, Mephi, Cam are my favourites to write. Trivia is the hardest, and is a little neglected because of it.
- Which OC would you trust with your deepest secret?
- Mephi would actually be really trustworthy with something like this. Camille would too. Zach is a wildcard in that he would respect the gravity of it, but he'd also probably like, try to make you go to confessional.
- Which OC absolutely cannot be trusted?
- Poppy Fucking Seacrest.
- What OC is most similar to you, in appearance, personality, or both?
- This is calling myself out so I'm pleading the fifth.
- Which OC was born from anger?
- Zachary, Aster, Phoenix.
- Which OC was born from sadness?
- Raum, Verticillaster, Arsene.
- Which OC exists because there was something you wanted to see in fiction but could not find?
- Most of them really, but I've only really seen one other Zachary-type (and it was a fanfiction (and not as crazy)). Camellia is an intersection that's pretty rare too.
- Choose an OC. What fate are they doomed to repeat?
- I don't want to say she's doomed, but Aster needs to work on herself a bit if she's going to get out of the pattern of latching onto people-enabling their unhealthiest traits-getting rejected.
- If all your OCs met in one room, what would happen?
- The fact that Camellia is here kind of dominates all the discourse. But in essence this kind of happens and the result of it is Orkos.
- What is your favorite OC's full name? Do they have nicknames?
- Picking a favourite is really hard, but let's go with Zach. His full name is Zachary of Nine Columbines, Nine Columbines being the name of the sanitarium where he grew up. He also has a full name in his native language which is comically long and tells the stories of the feats of his forefathers (which are many), but I never got around to actually writing it, so I'm not sure what it is exactly. Just that it's comically long and starts with 'Asp Zachary/Rasalhague Zachary'.
- Describe their appearance. What is their voice like?
- Zachary is a rather handsome young man with dirty blond hair and light blue eyes. His eyes testify of sleepless nights, with red corners and heavy bags, but nonetheless have an expressive, curious spark. He wears traveling clothes that cover him completely from the neck down, with a red felt camellia pinned over his heart.
His speech is stilted, which jars uncomfortably against the melodic quality of his voice. His normal tone is somewhat hushed, as though he is always speaking a prayer. - What is their occupation?
- Vagrant. But let's be nice and call him a pilgrim.
- What is their most distinctive feature?
- Though he has decent looks, and sticks out as a foreigner, he's also pretty easy to forget on first glance. The most distinct thing about him is his odd way of speaking, and the grotesque litany of scars across his body under his clothes.
- What first impression do people get from them?
- This kid can't look after himself.
- What is their greatest flaw?
- Aside from disabilities hampering him, the damage to his self esteem from his devotion to his religion is pretty bad, but so is the understated god complex/arrogance he has if he's not using that religion to trammel himself. Hypocrisy, arrogance, domination and zealotry.
- What is something they secretly wish people understood about them?
- Zachary is VERY CONTENT that people DON'T understand things about him. It's all nasty shit, he thinks! If he had to pick, though, he'd like people to understand the depth of his connection to Camille.
- How would their best friend describe them?
- A zealot, creative, intelligent, domineering, determined, resilient, powerful, morally driven.
- What event shaped them most?
- Tie between being tortured and meeting Camille, he kind of has two sides of himself being pulled by these two influences that mean he's constantly fighting against his own thoughts/feelings.
- What secret are they keeping?
- He keeps the Archon thing secret of course, but he also doesn't want anyone to know how bad some of his intrusive thoughts get. Or that he's actually really scared of Camellia.
- Who is most important to them?
- Camille is kind of everything to Zachary, and part of maturing will mean seeing him in a more even light.
- What qualities attract them to someone? What qualities immediately repel them?
- He really likes intelligence paired with worldly experience. He cannot stand people who try to assert power over him, it triggers him to either get himself out of the situation or fight them for dominance.
- What would break their heart?
- Camellia showing up and saying, "Why yes I did actually hand-pick you to be the embodiment of everything evil, so get to it, my devotee" and Camille shrugging at that and saying "I can't help you."
- What is a skill they're unexpectedly good at?
- He's actually really good at memorizing words and vocabulary, he just can't fucking say them fluently.
- What is something they're terrible at?
- Handling money. He overspends and impulse purchases a ton of shit.
- What song reminds you most of this OC?
- Here's his playlist.
- Which animal represents them best?
- Some kind of lizard... like some kind of spiny lizard, like an armadillo lizard.
- If they had a signature scent, what would it be?
- Clean metal.
- If they were turned into a doll or figurine, what accessories would be included?
- A toy knife. Or like, his second-hand hovercraft. That'd be pretty cool.
- Oh no! Your OC magically turned into a dish. What kind of food did they turn into?
- Zachary is a nightmare dish that's half-pizza, half-cake, with eggshells still in it, expired milk, oysters for some reason, and prickly ash, with absinthe on the side.
- What would their social media account look like?
- No profile picture, no html or css decoration, stripped back minimalist layout, black and white colours, default fields empty, posts are quotes from scripture and venting, only reblogs Camille. Has an illegal unicode character as his username somehow, probably this one: †
- Which fictional character from an existing IP would they absolutely hate?
- He'd think Subaru was SUCH a pussy and be really mad about him knowing what death feels like so much.
- Why do you love this OC?
- He's my boy... my boy... I just love how fucked up and unique his head is and how he lets me do really weird, out-there things, but I also like that kind of enduring feeling of hope and 'maybe it'll get better' that's intrinsic in Zachary, like on days when I don't feel too good I can think about Zachary having a shit day but still having to get up and do something tomorrow. He's also a specific type of 'naive but learning about the world' that makes me interested in seeing him mature and grow.
- Pick a few of your favorite OCs. What do they all have in common? What do you think that reveals about you?
- Pretty much all of my OCs are somehow traumatized and/or neurodivergent, and this reveals that I really really like thinking about people with psychological conditions. Because I also have psychological conditions. Most research is me-search!
- Which OC is most misunderstood by your friends & followers? Why do you think others interpret them differently than you intended?
- I think the one that's been misread the most historically is Mephi. I know some people kind of approached him as a depressed woobie kind of figure, like he just needs some support and friends and he might stabilize, but he's way more fucked up than that. I think the disconnect is just that his type of psychology isn't very common or a common character archetype, so it's not what you jump to when you see a character with obvious depression like him. Or, like, you'd expect the arc for such a severely depressed character to end with them recovering, and their beats to be overtly condusive to that, because otherwise there's a real chance it ends in them committing suicide, but the thing with Mephi is like... he DID. he DID THAT. So where do you go after that?
- If someone analyzed your OC collection without knowing anything about you, what conclusions would they reach about your personality, values, fears, and interests? Would they be accurate?
- An interest in psychology would probably come through, but otherwise I'd want to actually hear someone's opinion on this to know. A bystander might think I'm more sadistic than I am, maybe.
- Which OC embodies a version of yourself that you left behind? Which OC embodies the ideal version of you?
- Phoenix, Lisbet.
- What recurring wound appears throughout your cast? Abandonment, loneliness, duty, failure, etc.? Why do you think that wound appears so often?
- Isolation in one way or another. It's kind of a side effect of them having very unique circumstances and reinforces their other psychological wounds, which I find really interesting.
- Pick an OC story or universe of yours. What question is this story trying to answer?
- Sort of, how do you live after lifechanging trauma? How do you feel like a normal person again? Though very abstracted and exaggerated.
- Which aspect of yourself appears in your villains but rarely in your protagonists?
- I give my protagonists my shitty traits too, so I'm almost totally disconnected from my villains, which I demarcate as characters like Desiree.
- Which OC would understand your darkest thought without judging you? Which OC contains the impulses you refuse to act upon?
- Camille or Lisbet (or Aster) wouldn't judge. I'm not like... super impulsive?? But probably Phoenix, before I got older and mellowed out I could be a bit nasty like him.
- What would your oldest OC say about the person you've become?
- Greeter doesn't really have a personality... he'd be like, 'zounds! You sure made a lot more things, I'm so proud of you!'
- Years from now when you are old and grey, long after you've forgotten details, abandoned projects, and your desk is littered with unfinished drafts...one OC remains beside you.
Who is it? Why were they the one that stayed? - The whole GoH cast is pretty long haul I think, but I can't really imagine losing the 'main guys'; Cam, Arsene, Camille, Lisbet, Zach. Lisbet is kind of this bright light to think about, and Zach is kinda like, I'll always sorta be thinking 'holy shit I made Zach. I actually did that.'