#oc.october

hi! we’re OC October! 

what is OC October, you may ask? 

OC October is a new event for creators scheduled to last the duration of October 2020 that encourages original content creation and specifically original character creation! 

OC October includes many media formats, such as digital & traditional art, prose and poetry writing, moodboards, and playlists! There’s hopefully something for everyone. :) 

To get started, learn more about our project guidelines here, and how to participate here. Information about weekly themes, daily prompts, and other OC October events to come in the next few days! 

OC October - Day 1: Basics

Since I already had character sheets done for my girls (The Warriors Three, you can check back in my feed for more of them or in the hashtag #thewarriorsthree) I decided to make moodboards for the first day of OC October (@oc-october)!

it’s strange. awfully strange to wake up on a fold out couch, and hear the sound of soft voices drifting in from another room, muffled and low. for a moment, she thinks she’s back in one of her homes- foster homes- not a specific one, but the aching in her back and the hushed voices bring back a sort of bitter nostalgia. instead of dwelling on it, she sits herself up, looking about the room and trying to get her bearings.

blue walls, scruffy green carpets, colors everywhere, clashing against each other. like a child had designed it, and remembering Jude’s small sister, and noting the many finger paintings taped to the walls, it isn’t unlikely that she had. the place looks like a home, lived in, a strange concept. all the blankets are a little worn, the chairs and couch have indents and stains on them. and... there’s laughter from the other room, a shushing followed by a giggle. she smiles to herself, not wanting to make her presence known just yet. what would it be like to have to something like this? to have someone to depend on you all the time, to love and cherish in hold?

she fantasizes a little too much for her own good.

finally, she stands, the carpet rough against her bare feet. she pads towards the next room, finding herself intruding on the sort of domestic scene she used to long for when she was ten years old and didn’t know any better. Jude stands in front of a stove, Talia sits on top of the counter, her legs dangling over the edge, swinging back and forth. Jude keeps reaching to try and wipe something off of her cheek but she pulls back, laughing. he’s laughing too. and she just stands there, in awe of the comfort and the love in the air.

she has to force herself to break through the scene with her voice. “uh. hi, could you point me towards the bathroom?”

Jude looks over his shoulder, and smiles. “’morning! just down the hall, first door on the right. there are towels and soaps and things already in there, if you need it.”

she nods, backing away quickly. the air hadn’t felt awkward, he hadn’t even hesitated to point her around his home and his smile hadn’t faltered once, but she felt as if it should’ve. she only stops once to grab clothes out of her suitcase, not really paying attention to what she grabs or to what sort of weather she should be dressing for. the bathroom is small, quaint, with baby pink tiles on the floors and similarly colored walls. the shower curtain is covered in cartoonish pictures of forest animals, the types you’d see in a child’s hardcover picture book; snails, rabbits, turtles. she just stands there for a moment, staring at the wall opposite the door to ground herself. what the hell is she doing? what is she doing here?

logic says she needed a place to stay, that she can’t sleep on the streets for so many reasons despite having done it before. logic says it was a good opportunity, that he’s a good guy and there’s nothing wrong with taking up a little space every once in awhile. and that’s the problem, he’s a good guy, a really good guy. this is reckless and she knows it, but logic says it’s alright. it’s just for awhile. it’s the most convenient option, why would she stay in a crappy motel a town over and take a bus back to this same apartment every day when she could just sleep... on his couch.

“jesus.” is what falls off of her lips in response to this very long, very overwhelming train of thought. she turns on the shower as hot as it can get and throws a towel over the mirror before she can catch a glimpse of herself, she doesn’t think she’d be able to handle that right now. it’s not as if she doesn’t see herself anymore, in the windows of shops and buses, or in the reflection of her phone screen back at her. but there’s something so intimate about bathroom mirrors, how she could look into her own eyes forever and she’d never reach the end. they always told her that her eyes were haunting. deep and dark and never ending in a way that isn’t beautiful, it’s terrible.

steam builds up in the room before too long and she tries to quell the thoughts in her mind with scalding hot water and a lavender scented shampoo. it was offered, she might as well take advantage of a chance to wash her hair. her shower is quick and cleansing, washing away much of the tension and worry that sits on her chest. she dresses before any more of those thoughts can cross her mind, trying not to think about anything too hard.

when she enters the kitchen again, running her fingers through her damp hair, occupying her thoughts with trivial things. there is a painting of a sparrow on the wall, she passed two doors on her way back through the hallway. the doors are painted a beige cream color. it’s so easy to get lost in the details of this place.

“hey.” she announces her presence softly, and catches the eye of Talia, who waves at Amara, which makes Amara smile in the way only five year old girls can make you smile. “i was just going to walk down to that coffee shop, to get something to eat. just wanted to let you know.”

“oh, we made you some breakfast. right, Tali?” Talia nods.

“oh.” that she hadn’t been expecting, especially when Jude pushes an already made plate of eggs on toast, and an orange, pre-sliced.

“if you don’t want it, that’s totally alright.” Jude says casually, and he sounds genuine, as he lifts Talia off the counter and sets her on the ground.

“no, no, I just haven’t- nobody really makes me food.” she replies.

“oh.” he frowns. “well, they should.”

she doesn’t really hear him point her towards the table just outside the living room where she had been sleeping, but she manages to find her way there and sit down anyways.

after a minute of quiet, Jude comes towards her, tapping the table once in front of her to get her attention. “i’ll be right back, one of my friends is watching Talia for the day. i’m seeing her off downstairs.

“okay.”

and he’s gone.

@oc-october Day 12: Romances

i’ve written some little blurbs for each of my original characters! i didn’t have a lot of time today, but here are some headcanons for each of their childhoods!

riona:

riona is a changeling; she’s a fae child switched at or close to birth with a mortal child. she knows none of this in the start of her story and in her mind, has a relatively normal childhood. average standards.

her ‘family’ is irish, but they moved to america early in her childhood and she has grown up with an american education. 

she is an only child, but never lonely. she meets her best friend orla in primary school, and they bond over their irish names and ancestry (orla is actually another fae, one who is meant to keep an eye on riona - the question is whether orla belongs to the seelie or unseelie court) 

riona is less clumsy than most children her age, but she’s resilient and strong - where most children would sob at a scrapped knee or a knock to the head, riona doesn’t quite process pain in the same way. 

she isn’t the most popular in school, nor is she the most disliked; she tends to straddle the middle of the pack, and tries to be kind to those above and below. social status has never meant anything to her. 

however, when she first started school she had to deal with the usual mean group of kiddos on the playground and bus who made fun of her bright hair and freckles.

she’s active, but has a tendency to flicker between groups during primary and middle school - drama club, girl scouts, debate team, ballet lessons, etc, she’s tried them all at some point or other and never sticks with one group for more than a year. 

she’s an avid learner, and generally gets top marks in school - but her favorite subjects are reading and art.

oriana:

most of oriana’s youngest years were spent in hospital; in fact, for the first three years of her life she’s practically raised in the hospital before she’s sent home with a personal and private team of medics.

she’s had multiple surgeries on her heart, and didn’t receive her fully artificial tech heart until age five. as she grows, she’s had to have minor surgeries to adjust it’s function, use, and size.

her father, despite owning the largest tech company in the universe (so it seems) spends most of his days of her childhood with her when he isn’t working endlessly on the first prototypes of oriana’s heart. her mother is not entirely absent, but uses the excuse of picking up her father’s slack at the tech company as why she isn’t around more often. 

oriana grew up very, very sheltered compared to most her age. despite her attempts to experience more, her parents kept their leash tight to keep her from getting hurt. she did not go to public school - she had tutors. her friends her age were all ones met online, or the children of some of the executives in her father’s company.

like her father, she showed an aptitude with math and science early on and knew from the start she wanted to be just like her father. help people with technology. 

the only reason she’s ‘famous’ in any aspect is her status as heiress; her artificial heart is kept very, very secret in the circle of doctors and not a soul beyond. she tries to put on airs as a kind girl compared to some of her spoiled ‘friends’ when it comes to media and the public. 

oriana grows to resent her mother more and more as she grows, especially after her father dies. her mother takes full control of the tech company her father built, and oriana is left to grieve and process on her own. 

AAA THANK YOU, LAUREN!! i randomly picked five ocs for the five questions:

how easy is it for [ruby] to laugh?

-> not easy at all. vaughn is the only one that can get a genuine smile out of her at the drop of a hat. her default expression is Straight Face Mean Eyes and it’s pretty difficult to make her laugh, especially when she has her mind made up that she doesn’t want to.

how easy is it to earn [analyn’s] trust?

-> pretty easy! she’s rather trusting, but if you piss her off or break that trust, she’ll let you know very, very quickly.

is what [stella] says usually thought of on the spot, or does [she] rehearse it in [her] mind first?

-> it’s half-and-half. she will rehearse her words in her head if she knows that they’re serious and important, but when she gets excited, her brain-filter turns off.

who is [alexís] most glad to have met?

-> all of his friends! they’re the dearest thing in the world to him, save for maybe theatre.

if [cassius] was asked to explain the difference between romantic love and platonic love/familial love, how would [he] do so?