#ringogo

So, I've talk a bit about Sirica's origin as a character, but I think I've never actually talked "in-depth" about the process of making them.

Sirica originated from another character i had named "Atun" (or "Tuna" in english). Atun was the first acnh character I made when I first played the game (bc I'm the type of person to make up characters/ocs when faced with the option to. I've never like...get into self-insertion so, maybe it's that?). Atun was a very upbeat girl, but she didn't have much backstory...

(Some atun sketches i have shown before I think. These are from like 2020 or early 2021).

I don't remember exactly when, but deleted my island and Atun was no more...in that time I didn't play new horizons much because we were back at school and my mind was occupied by other things. But I was still a fan of the characters and the little stories I've made up in my head lol.

Now we jump to 2024, I was freshly out of school and I entered a "tech course" of fashion design and pattern making. For our final assignment that semester, we had to make a fashion collection with at least one fully made design. We were free to choose our inspiration behind it and...honestly I have no idea how I ended up choosing this, but my collection was inspired by the myth of Andromeda.

I was a huge mythology and astronomy nerd back when I was like 10 or 13, so in a way i was reconnecting with my old roots lol. Andromeda, for those who don't know, was a Ethiopian princess that, because of beauty, her mother Cassiopeia said that she was even prettier than the Nereids (sea nymphs basically). As a punishment for this transgression, Poseidon, king of the sea, send a beast to destroy Ethiopia: Cetus. The only way to prevent this catastrophe was to chain Andromeda to a rock, dressed in golden jewelry, and offer her as a sacrificed to Cetus.

Now, from this tale I made my collection...and a character! I never got to name them properly, but I think from design alone you can see who they ended up being:

yep.

They were made from one of fhe designs i did that i ended up liking so much that, i basically created a character around it. I never named them properly, so let's call them...Cetus!

Their story was a bit messy, but it was something like this: They were the princess of another civilization that, because of their beauty, ended up being punished. But in this version, their punishment wasn't to be eaten by the sea creature (cetus) but rather...to become them! Because of magic and something, they were able to "seal" this transformation within then, but now they have to be careful not to set it free (actually, from this story, I got some inspiration for the chimera Wilbur one lol).

Like many things in 2024, I ended up forgetting or simply leaving behind Cetus, because i was very sad after my stepfather's passing. But, funnily enough, it was in this time that I got back into acnh.

I started rewriting the stories i had, with more care and new lore. I knew I wanted to center most of the "plot" around Wilbur because he was my favorite, but I also felt like I needed a companion for him. Someone who is completely different and also is able to show of the life in the island outside the airport.

That's when Sirica was actually born.

Mixing Atun, my first acnh oc, with the design (and some other elements) of Cetus, I created Sirica!

The first drafts of their story were completely different. In one, they were a mermaid(?) Kinda. In another, they dressed up like a magician and actually hated Wilbur but later bonded with him over shared interest. There was one in which they were the child of another resident in the island?? Although i never got far with that one (I think that was the same story in which they had a little crush on Orville??? Idk man i was doing some buuuullshit).

I have some sketches for all of this but. unfortunately (or fortunately lol) I'm not in my house rn so, you'll have to imagine how those looked like.

I honestly don't remember how Sirica became, well, Sirica. I guess it was a matter of trial and error until I finally had the bases for something I liked, which ended up being this fairy-tale-esque, kinda folklore inspired story of them being a child of the moon. Even in this story, you can see some influences of the original Cetus in the more "mythical" side of things while retaining that carefree and wholesome nature of Atun.

So, i guess Sirica truly was the friend I made along the way haha. Despite everything, I love them dearly. They're kinda like my own Disney princess!! (I was a huge Disney fan when I was younger...jeepers).

Now, some fun facts!

Sirica's name comes from a character of the second season of "Hoshi no Kirby" (or "Kirby of the stars "). Although their name is sometimes romanized as "Silica," i stuck with the "Sirica" romanization because it was the one used in the subtitle version I watched. I took some things from their design too, for example orange as their signature color.

(Sirica/Silica in Hoshi no Kirby!)

Still, when i later found out their name basically means "Siren" (in latin), or "To flow" (in slavic), i knew it was perfect lol.

Sirica actually shares the same moles as my hc version of Reisen Udonge Inaba, which are actually taken from my irl moles lol. Expect Sirica has one a bit up their eyebrow and Reisen has alike, a lot more through her body (just that I forget to draw them).

Before "Serina", Sirica's real name was going to be "Lorelei", as a reference to the siren. Also because i really like the song "When Mermaids Cry" which approaches the story of Lorelei as a tragic love story. At the end I didn't stick with this idea because I wanted something moon-related.

Serina was actually meant to be written as "Serena", which is the spanish (and also english i think??) name of Usagi Tsukino, better know as Sailor Moon! For a veeery brief period i thought of naming them "Calliope" because of the muse and also the asteroid, but like I said, it was a very fleeting thought.

From the brief description of Mimi's backstory it may be easy to assume, but the mountain in which both Sirica used to live (and the one Mimi lives in now) are close to the small village in which "City Folk" takes place. Funnily enough, that's also the same village (or rather town) in which Phyllis, Pelly, and Pete work at in the main AU. So, it's all connected...

Now, some more "in-universe" fun facts!

Sirica has myopia. Although not as bad, they frequently get headaches because of it. Later on in life (like, when their turn 16 or smth), they finally get glasses.

Since they lived isolated from the world most of their life, Sirica only source of learning was their mother, who taught them about any topic they were curious on. One of those topics ended up being math...so they're very good at it.

Following the line of the last one, because of that same isolation Sirica didn't learn about much music until meeting Wilbur, who in my au is a certified music nerd. They listen to a bit of everything, but, despite Wilbur's best efforts, Sirica ended up liking a lot of Maroon 5 songs (he HATES maroon 5).

Their favorite K.K Slider songs are: New Horizons (live version); K.K House (aircheck); and Two Days Ago (aircheck version. This is one is actually because it's one of Wil's favorite songs).

Sirica knows how to play various instruments, such as the accordion and the trumpet. They somehow learned.

Despite their immense curiosity, Sirica can get scared easily (see how they react in that one comic in which Wilbur fells into the river). They tried watching a scary movie with Wilbur and Orville once. They ended up covering their face most of the time.

Sirica actually has a sort of "birthmark" in the right side of their abdomen. It has the shaped of a crescent moon. Yes, their mother may have something to do with it.

Like I showed yesterday with the fully-human Sirica drawing, they were born with dark brown hair. The change to white was due to Moon's lunarian influence. But unlike their fully-human form, they were born with those big ol bug eyes.

Sirica's perfect order at The Roost is coffee with milk. and some times whipped cream. Wilbur has started scolding them lightly because of how much sweets they eat (their diet isn't that healthy).

Actually, following up the Wilbur thing. Sirica DOES sees him as a parental figure, it's just. they don't have a single idea what that is. Like, they know what parents are, they just haven't grasped the idea of someone who isn't blood related being able to be a "parental figure" to you in their head.

Sirica has a small, childish crush on Celeste. And maybe even Olaf, but that's because he looks and acts a lot like the princes in their favorite comic stories (mangas).

Sirica's favorite animals are frogs, sheeps and cows. Their least favorite is Evilbur.

I don't talk much about it, but Sirica does feel some sort of anger every time Wilbur compares them to Orville. In that point in the timeline Sirica isn't sure why, but (and you may have guest it) it has to do with them being transfem.

Sometimes Sirica arrives at Wilbur home, uninvited, to eat because they don't know how to cook. Sometimes they even end up sleeping in the couch. Later on tho, Judy moves in with Sirica so their visits aren't as common.

Sirica hates planes. They hate the seaplane.

Despite nearly drowning, Sirica is a good swimmer.

If Sirica had a theme song, it would probably be the Trojan Green Asteroid's arrangement of "Desire Drive". Unlike others, who are moved by wishes and goals, because of their young age and past, Sirica is mostly motivated by desires. Or rather, "impulses". I really like how this song starts upbeat just to get to the chorus and turn a bit dark. Once that first chorus hits, the rest of the some only keeps on with this desperate aura of trying to reach a satisfaction that may cause you a lot, and maybe wasn't even meant to be reach in the first place. I think in a way it fits Sirica's more tragic side.

But if we are talking about lyrical (and happier) songs, I think "Sunny" by Boney M fits their general lighthearted vibe. I also think some Sakura Card Captor songs fit them because of the more "shojo" vibe, like the first opening "Catch You, Catch me" by Megumi Hinata; or the second opening "Tobira wo Akate"/"Open the door" by ANZA: even the first ending song "Groovy!" by Kohmi Hirose.