🖤: what are your MC names?

💔: give a brief character bio of your 3-5 MCs

Please and thank you!

Thanks for the ask!!! I'm going to answer these as combos since I will name them and then write their info out! These are the characters from my actual WIP, Scrapbook of the Unexplained, a sort of cozy/horror/magical realism story taking place in Michigan in 1978.

Lina Shaw - A freelance news reporter who lives out of her VW bus with her three-legged border collie, Oreo and showed up in town to investigate the mysterious disappearance of several local teens. Her family fled the Balkans after WWII when her reporter father vanished after confronting government corruption. She knows her job can be dangerous, and tries to protect herself the best she can from the results of her stories by being out of town before the news breaks.

Matti Brinkerhoff - A farmhand who moved to the area to help his cousin, only to find out that his cousin is one of the missing people. Now he's trying to manage a farm that isn't his, while keeping his biggest secret safe from the tenacious investigative reporter asking questions. If she finds out he (and half the town) are feldgeister, creatures that most people believe are firmly in the realm of old German folklore, they'll have bigger problems than just missing persons.

Jim McBride - A post office clerk/mail carrier who came to town hoping for a fresh start. His highly publicized childhood kidnapping, and subsequent safe return, have made his family highly protective. But he's sure there's more to the story than the one people seem to have accepted, because there's something he can't quite explain about the ways he seems to have changed after his return...or why he can't remember anything about his life before it.

Will Bauer - A local teenager who is trying to keep his crumbling family functioning. He's grieving a mother he never knew, but also becoming increasingly worried there's something deeply wrong with him. Something that's causing him to sleepwalk and wake up with no memory of what happened the night before...and more concerningly, occasionally covered in blood.

Lina: Macedonian (part of Yugoslavia in 1978)

Скитничка (Skitnichka)

A wanderer, who does not have a permanent home and travels by choice

Jim: American (English and Scots-Irish, I like this word because it fits him so perfectly and I'm pretty sure English is the only language he's fluent in)

Serendipity

Finding something good while unaware of looking for it

Matti: German

Hinterland

A rural area past a city, with only a few people living in it

Will: German (For anyone eventually reading this, yes this is a spoiler, no I don't care because the word is LITERALLY perfect)

Fuchsteufelswild

Fierce, uncontrollably ferocious, literally wild as a fox devil

Milo: Irish (Milo is also half-German but since his story role is closer to the Irish storyteller, I chose Irish, plus I had a lot of Germans already)

Seanchaí

Traditional Irish storyteller whose tales are intended to pass down folklore and history

And a bonus because this word just fit Elias Bauer too well NOT to add to the group!

Verschlimmbesserung

2. which ocs are most likely to be caught eating cheese at 3 am?

3. which ocs can, and do, go days without sleeping?

7. which ocs would feel super out of place at a formal event? which ocs are completely fine with it?

11. which ocs have to be reminded to take breaks?

22. which ocs are most flexible? which ocs are least?

28. which ocs like coffee more than tea?

33. which ocs can speak multiple languages? how many can they speak?

34. which ocs are clumsiest? which ocs are graceful?

45. which ocs have the best intuition?

50. which ocs speak fluent sarcasm?

Thank you for these!

From this list

which ocs are the most touch-starved?

Will and Jim. Neither of their families are big on touchy-feely affection, but they both are, so they're always awkward about it. Matti is a little more touch-starved during the course of the story because he misses his family's generous affection, but overall, it's Will and Jim.

which ocs are most likely to be caught eating cheese at 3 am?

Will or Matti. Their sleep schedules are totally off kilter and especially after a shift, they're likely to be very hungry. It's more likely they'd be going after any meat in the fridge than cheese, but if that's all they can find, they'll take the protein and fats.

which ocs can, and do, go days without sleeping?

Lina would do it for a story, if she is on a stakeout or has some deadline to meet. She has been known to be fueled entirely by coffee and spite for some of her bigger expose articles.

Will used to try and stay awake in self defense after some of the scarier incidents of sleepwalking. He was so afraid of what he might have done or what might have gone wrong that he tried to stay awake just to avoid having it happen again, but eventually he stopped trying because that only made things even worse when he finally did fall asleep.

which ocs would feel super out of place at a formal event? which ocs are completely fine with it?

Matti would feel incredibly out of place at anything fancy; he gets easily overwhelmed by too much noise and crowds, and since he grew up on a small farm, he doesn't feel confident interacting with people in these settings. Lina is able to blend in, even if they're not really her thing. Jim's family was fairly socially prominent, so while he's not really a fan of formal events, he's probably the one who is most likely to remember all the etiquette. Will would have to be forcibly restrained from hiding under a table to avoid dealing with the whole situation.

which ocs have to be reminded to take breaks?

Basically all of them, for different reasons.

Lina can get so wrapped up in a story she forgets everything else, and coupling that with deadlines and the serious impact of the stories she writes, it can be hard to convince her to take some time off. She kept Oreo partly because she got attached but also partly because he reminds her to take time off and deal with real life, and take him for walks which forces her to reset.

Will is just trying to keep his family from being mad at him, and get through school and get a scholarship so he can finally be out from under their thumb, so he tends to tie up all his time with either being helpful around the house or going above and beyond on his homework.

Matti ends up having times where taking a break really doesn't come up as an option. Farming tends to be very literally 'make hay while the sun shines' and if they're rushing to get a crop in before bad weather, a break isn't really in the cards unless there's enough people to tag team. If things aren't so demanding, Matti's better about resting when he needs to, but there are times he doesn't think it's an option.

Jim is slowly learning to take breaks when he needs them for his leg. He tends to overcommit to things, and then feels obligated to do them all even when he really doesn't want to. And his family never really listened to him about his physical issues, since no doctor could ever find out what they were. They eventually assumed he was faking them to get out of doing things he didn't want to, and forced him to go along to events and parties to maintain the family image and keep people from talking about him. He's slowly learning that that's not healthy, and how to set his own boundaries for what he can and cannot manage.

which ocs are most flexible? which ocs are least?

Lina and Matti are the most flexible, at least in personalities. Lina has to be, to live on the road the way she does, and Matti is just naturally the sort of person to take things as they come and deal with them.

Physically, it's Lina and Will. Matti is usually sore and stiff from farm work, and Jim's leg issues mean he's not likely to be doing anything even remotely demanding that might make him regret it the next day. Lina has been known to squeeze herself into distressingly small/cramped spaces to get what she needs for a story, and Will has more than once fallen off his bike only to jump back up and keep going like nothing even happened.

which ocs like coffee more than tea?

As the only actual human of the group, Lina is the only one who can drink coffee (or any caffeinated beverage) without severe repercussions. Everyone else either gets super weird or is basically allergic to it.

which ocs can speak multiple languages? how many can they speak?

Matti and Will both speak fluent German, it's their first language that they learned at home from their families. Lina speaks a bit of French, Italian, and can read some Russian, and she can also seamlessly imitate a lot of regional and city accents to fit in in places she goes to work on an article.

which ocs are clumsiest? which ocs are graceful?

Matti is clumsy around people. He's used to his family not really caring if there are random collisions or close contact, so he's not good at personal space. He's good around farm equipment to avoid being burned by the iron, though.

Jim is clumsy partly because of his leg acting up sometimes. He's also pretty blind without his glasses so if he doesn't leave them somewhere he can grab them first thing in the morning, he'll have to bumble through the house looking for them.

Will has random spates of just straight up lack of coordination, which is how he burned his arm as a kid. He's usually pretty okay, but some days he just spazzes out completely for no reason he can explain.

Lina is definitely the most coordinated of the group. She's good at avoiding being seen if she wants to be, and can sneak into places without getting caught.

which ocs have the best intuition?

Matti has a great instinctive sense of danger, but Lina is definitely the one with the best sense about when people are hiding something or what their true intentions are.

which ocs speak fluent sarcasm?

Aries - Share a line that you’re proud of!

Cassiopeia - What’s your favorite scene so far?

Draco - Who’s your favorite character to write?

Gemini - What inspired you to write this project?

Libra - Which relationship dynamic do you enjoy writing the most?

Pyxis - Are there any major themes or messages you’re writing to show?

Ursa Major - What scene are you looking forward to writing?

Caelum - Do you write outlines? Why or why not?

Canis Major - Do you like writing character-driven stories or plot-driven stories?

Canis Minor - Share an excerpt of old writing and new writing to see how far you’ve come!

Musca - Do you like sharing your writing?

Phoenix - How do you develop your ideas?

Sagittarius - Do you like to collaborate?

Virgo - Describe your favorite tropes.

Andromeda - Describe your main characters

Jim: Literally looks like he would be the blandest person in the story, brown hair, brown eyes, glasses, always looks annoyed. Is also precious and adorable and incredibly thoughtful. He often carries a cane because of chronic leg pain he has no explanation for.

Matti: Quite tall (6'4"), Dark curly hair, green-grey eyes. Matti has an aura about him that seems both dangerous and exciting, but he's also a very kind and gentle person and people around him can sense that too. In summer he's very tanned and freckled from working outdoors on the farm, and his hands are rough and always a little grimy under the nails.

Lina: Long dark hair, usually in a ponytail, brown eyes, light brown skin. Lina has an abstract floral tattoo on her left shoulder and upper arm, and usually wears comfortable, colorful clothes, especially yellows and oranges. She's very observant and surprises people with her capacity to defend herself. There's usually black stains on her hands but whether they're from engine oil from working on her van or typewriter ink from one of her articles is a toss-up. 

Will: Tall and slender, messy bright red hair that turns coppery in the summer, hazel eyes, and lots of freckles. Will is shy and often tries to make himself smaller to blend in, which results in a permanent slump to his shoulders. He has a deep dark-brown burn scar halfway up his right arm from an accident with an oven door when he was really too young to be using it anyway.

Aries - Share a line that you’re proud of!

"There’s something dark in all of us."

Cassiopeia - What’s your favorite scene so far?

This scene I posted a while ago with Matti giving Jim a ride after the mail Jeep breaks down in the rain!

Draco - Who’s your favorite character to write?

This changes on a daily basis lol. I feel the vibes for different characters at different times. Right now, it's Jim, having a crisis over who (and what) he actually is.

Gemini - What inspired you to write this project?

I actually intended this, initially, as a fic. I was working on an AU setting for some characters, and as it got more and more detailed and I put more and more research into it, I decided that it deserved to be an original story!

Libra - Which relationship dynamic do you enjoy writing the most?

The trio of Jim, Lina, and Matti. The way they keep running into each other and how their lives get tangled together is just so much fun to explore.

Pyxis - Are there any major themes or messages you’re writing to show?

Mostly, the dangers of defining humanity in ways that are self-serving. How anyone can justify themselves by dehumanizing the people they want an excuse to hate, abuse, or exploit. But it's also about how seeing the humanity in others is what makes us human, ourselves.

Ursa Major - What scene are you looking forward to writing?

A LOGICAL WAY TO GET THEM OUT OF THE MESS I GOT THEM INTO. I wrote these folks into a complicated corner and honestly might have to just trash half these scenes/ideas in edits. But at least I'm trying to put all logical options on the table and avoid plot holes.

Caelum - Do you write outlines? Why or why not?

No, because every time I try my characters decide to be perversely gleeful about disregarding them!

Canis Major - Do you like writing character-driven stories or plot-driven stories?

Character Driven, for sure. I start with my characters and then figure out a plot that suits them. It's why I write so many AU fanfics. As long as I have good characters, I can work out a plot around that.

Canis Minor - Share an excerpt of old writing and new writing to see how far you’ve come!

Two different descriptions of half-animal, half-human characters in rough shape, welcome to 'it's a Thistle book"...I wouldn't say either is better per se, because both depend on the vocabulary and thought process of the observer since I write third person limited POVs mostly, but it's interesting to see what I focused on. And as we can see I'm still far too fond of italics-indicated inner dialogue!

From The Art of Being Human (old unpublished project, 2017)

I’ve never seen a Mixed in this bad shape. At least not outside the Blue. Besides how awful his back looked, he had cuts and bruises all over his face and he was frighteningly thin. His skin looked almost blue; his clothes were filthy and ripped and he was soaking wet from the rain. He looks so human, but he’s still definitely a Mixed. What kind is he? There was some bloodstained cream-colored fur on his shoulders and back, and he had thick lips like a horse or cow Mix. He was so tall and thin, probably some kind of horse. Oh, those spots aren’t blood. He had large tan patches in the fur on his shoulders and his face was covered with freckles. I think… I think he’s a giraffe. I’ve never seen one this close before. He wasn’t quite as tall as the escorts she’d seen from a distance in the Blue, but that could be because he was young or because he wasn’t a first gen. He didn’t look like he had the short stubby horns those had either, but she couldn’t tell for sure under so much tangled hair. 

From Scrapbook of the Unexplained (2022)

He’s no longer in the cell in the laboratory. Instead, he’s in what looks like some sort of kennel, with human-sized cages lining both walls. Matti can’t see what’s in the ones next to him, if anything, but across the hallway there’s a lanky kid with a mop of dull, matted fox-colored hair and faded freckles splattered across his thin face and shoulders.  It takes him a minute to place the memory of who he’s seeing. The kid seems familiar, but it’s hard to say, when he’s grimy and neglected and covered in nasty-looking deep red gashes that look intentional. Definitely another test subject. Then the kid looks up, and Matti remembers where he’s seen those wide, scared brown eyes before. Will Bauer. How did he end up in here? 

Musca - Do you like sharing your writing?

Yes! I love sharing my characters with other people who love them (whether that love is shown by wanting to protect them from me, or by encouraging me to torment them more - and of course give them a happy ending eventually)

Phoenix - How do you develop your ideas?

Research. Lots of research. I start with some general idea and then go crazy digging into the lore around it, because I usually like to start with folktales and superstitions. In this case, I'd known about the feldgeister for about a year now, and only just found a story I could use that specific cryptid lore in!

Sagittarius - Do you like to collaborate?

Yes! I've collaborated on fics with a few different people. And I like it when people share ideas that they think might work in my original projects!

Virgo - Describe your favorite tropes.

Oh my, where to begin... found family, not-quite-human characters, unexpectedly soft male characters, past trauma, long term captivity, humans being inhuman, 'monstrous' characters who are actually the kindest, teasing huge plot twists, complicated family dynamics...the list goes on!

What do your blorbos have in their head instead of brains?

Jim: Every street address in the town where he delivers mail. He literally will never forget who lives where.

Matti: A never-ending repertoire of popular songs from the last 5 years. Usually ends up singing while doing farm work.

Lina: A rolodex of contacts for her stories, which cities they live in, and how best to coax them into giving her information.

Will: The recipes for pretty much every German baked good. His family works at a flour mill and they end up with a lot of the less-than-sale-grade flour, so he's always baking.

Week 2 down, time for another sneak peek!

A vehicle starts to pass him, and Jim tenses for the inevitable splash of water from the tires; his pants are already soaked to the knees, and his shoes are squishing water at every step. Instead of sloshing past, though, the vehicle slows with a squeal of wet brakes.

"Need a lift?" 

Jim automatically starts to turn it down before recognizing the voice. He looks up to see Matti Brinkerhoff in the battered tan and yellow Scout with Jacobsen Farms written on the side with what looks like the decal stickers meant for mailboxes.

He’s been told over and over until it runs like some sort of ticker tape in his head never to accept a ride from a stranger. He’s always thought his parents’ obsession with safety was a bit closing the gate after the horse was out, but it made them feel better, most likely, to think that they’d never have to worry about him getting kidnapped again. 

But Matti isn’t a stranger. If anything, he’s the one who should be avoiding Jim after their last awkward encounter. Jim pushes down the voice in his head that sounds a lot like his mother, and nods. “If you don’t mind me making a mess of your truck.” He gestures vaguely to his soaked clothing. 

“It’s not mine,” Matti says. “Besides, it’s already a mess.”

2. What do strangers notice about them first?

6. What do they smell like?

8. How much jewelry do they wear, and do they have a favorite or distinguishing piece?

12. How do they show affection to someone they love?

15. Are their greatest flaw and their greatest strength related and in what way? (ie very caring and helpful but a doormat, or very observant and shrewd but often paranoid)

(You know why I chose number 2 specifically and for who *cough* the polaroid *cough*)

Thank you so much for the ask!

From this ask game.

1. How does your OC feel about their full name?

Matti likes his full name. It's a family one, handed down from his great-grandfather, and he's proud to carry it. He feels like he hasn't yet lived up to earning the respect that goes with it, so he tends to go by his nickname, Matti.

Jim hates his full name. He couldn't tell anyone why, if they actually asked him, but when people call him James it makes him irrationally frustrated and a little nervous.

Lina likes her name. She feels like it suits her. She likes giving out her nickname better though, because people tend to find it easier to remember.

Will vastly prefers his nickname. At this point, he wants to distance himself as much as possible from his family, and he doesn't like how deeply German his full name sounds, so he avoids it when he can. He'd be more than happy to lose the last name permanently.

2. What do strangers notice about them first?

Matti - His presence. There's something that instantly catches people's attention when he enters a room, in a way that is a combination of curiosity and a sense that he's not quite like the rest of the crowd, an instinctive knowledge that he's something wilder.

Jim - His cane. People have a tendency to remark on it and ask how he was injured. He hates having to explain over and over again that it's literally nothing he has ever been able to put a name to.

Lina - Her sense of style - Lina has a knack for pairing the typical 70s bold colors in a way that is incredibly flattering, and people tend to take notice of how she is dressed. Which makes them a little less likely to notice how many and how pointed her curious questions are.

Will - His red hair. Will's hair is a vivid shade of coppery red that tends to draw a lot of curiosity and comment, so much so that at one point he tried to dye it. That was a colossal failure and the dye made his scalp itch and burn so much he never wanted to try it again.

6. What do they smell like?

Matti - Fresh-mowed fields in the sun, dark earth, and sweet cornsilk.

Jim - Bubble gum, old wood, and something like the air after lightning.

Lina - Strong coffee, lavender, and tarnished silver.

Will - Fresh baked bread, wood smoke, rainy days

8. How much jewelry do they wear, and do they have a favorite or distinguishing piece?

Answered here for Matti!

Lina usually wears at least one necklace and a couple bracelets. She likes to fiddle with them when she's working on putting a story together, the movement helps her think. She always has at least one cuff bracelet on her wrist, although it tends to change with the progress of a story. Beaded cuffs are for the start of things, but she switches to a tougher metal one that won't break when she starts literally and metaphorically putting on the pressure.

Jim has a silver medallion he was given by his godmother as a child. He wasn't wearing it the day he vanished into the woods, and he sort of considers it a good luck charm against the same thing happening again. It's a thick flat circle of silver stamped with a Celtic knot design.

Will keeps a locket that belonged to his mother, with a photo of her as a child and one of her holding his brother. His father doesn't know he has it, Will found it behind a chest of drawers one day while he was helping his family shift furniture, so he doesn't wear it, because his father has basically enshrined his mother and would definitely take it away from him to place with everything else he's holding onto in memory.

12. How do they show affection to someone they love?

Matti - Matti is definitely someone who does things for his people. Whether it's a grander gesture or just something simple like bringing fresh wildflowers for their table, he's usually giving his people something, and he's also more than willing to help out whenever they need a hand.

Lina - Lina spends time with people intentionally. She's so busy, and always on the move, that time is a prized thing to her, and the people who rate her spending that time with them are the ones she values most.

Jim - Jim listens to people. Whether they're excited about a success or need to decompress after a bad day, Jim is someone they can count on to talk to, and he never makes them feel like he's disinterested.

Will - Will bakes. His family gets a lot of flour from the mill that doesn't quite pass quality inspections, and Will is used to having a lot of it on his hands. He learned early on that sweet baked goods can cover a multitude of social awkwardness, and he kind of relies on that when making new friends.

15. Are their greatest flaw and their greatest strength related and in what way? (ie very caring and helpful but a doormat, or very observant and shrewd but often paranoid)

Matti - His greatest flaw is his inability to trust new people with the truth, and his strength is his loyalty to those he DOES trust, so I'd say not to my knowledge.

Lina - She's learned to be intensely skeptical of situations and think outside the box for her stories, and while it makes her a very good reporter, and a good friend to have when you need a plan for something, it's also hard for her to really trust people or not look for an agenda in them.

Jim - Jim is reliable to a fault. He is always dependable when people want something from him, but he'll burn himself out doing it. He feels obligated to do whatever is asked of him, all the time.