#serenaocask

Serena

Does your OC have a faceclaim? If so, who?

Not really. (tbh none of my characters have an actual face claim apart from Lyall partially)

I did sort of implement certain attributes of fictional characters or people I know/ have seen somewhere in both her style and facial features tho...just not enough to really call it a face claim.

Ramona Flowers from Scott Pilgrim vs the World for example is a character I very loosely based her on.

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Simon

What is the worst thing you have put your OC through story-wise?

(small tw for transphobia just in case)

Most of the answers here would be too much of a spoiler so I'm just gonna go with one thing, which is the fact that his relationship with his mother suffered quite a lot under his transition.

It's not like she disowned him or broke contact or anything like that, but she still has a lot of trouble becoming adjusted to it, which naturally causes a lot of tensions between them at times.

Part of me would love to just say "fuck it" and have his mother be 100% accepting and supportive but sadly that is not always the reality.

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Mabon

What's an AU that would be interesting to explore with your OC?

One AU I would really love to explore more is the storyline of Mabon and @drawing-way-outside-the-lines' Caspian.

I like to think this AU is kinda...sorta what could come to be if Volatile was an interactive story (à la Life is Strange) and Mel/the Player made all the worst possible choices one could make.

I personally really like to dabble in this AU because:

a) I can just fuck around without much thought for plot and coherence

b) I love Caspian and his dynamic with Mabon.

and c) it allows me to explore a more unhinged side of Mabon.

Mabon

🍇  :    how would my muse describe their childhood?  how much has it impacted the person they are now,  or will become as an adult?  around what age did they or will they start to mature,  and why?  do they wish to go back to their days as a child,  or have they embraced adulthood?  

How Mabon would describe his childhood? Simple. "None of your business."

Mabon would never disclose anything he remembers about his childhood to someone he doesn't trust 200%. And even then he really wouldn't see any good reason to talk about it with anyone.

He's an Alter of a Dissociative Identity Disorder System. Dissociative Identity Disorder is caused by prolonged early childhood trauma. Based on that alone one could say that his childhood is the reason for him existing the way he does and that it had a huge impact on him.

Although he doesn't have an emotional attachment to his childhood and perceives it more as Mel's childhood than his own for the most part, he holds a lot of negative and traumatic memories of that time, and his outlook on the world, other people, Mel, and himself was shaped by it.

Whether or when he matured through that is hard to say . For the most part I think he was forced to mature way too early in life. In other aspects (especially the more emotional and interpersonal ones) his upbringing stunted his natural process of maturing quite a bit.

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🍌  :    is my muse inclined to help others,  or will they only do it when it benefits them,  if at all?  what makes them this way?  has it ever gotten them into trouble,  or inconvenienced them?

That one was more difficult to answer than I initially thought.

Generally...he wouldn't be inclined to help, not really.

Mabon's number one priority is himself and his or the body's well being. He's got a bit of a tunnel vision when it comes to anything beyond that.

Based on the context and situation if he benefits from it however he is more than willing to help someone, although for pragmatic reasons.

There are other alters in the system who are more prone to be triggered and front when Mel finds himself in situations where people rely on him or need support, which (so far) has kept Mabon from many scenarios where he could've been put in front of the moral dilemma "Do I turn a blind eye to someone who obviously needs help?"

🐟 What was your OC like as a baby? What were they like as a child? A teenager? An adult? How do you think they’ll develop ten years into their future? Twenty years? Will they live to old age?

TW: dysphoria

(Don’t really know how else to label it)

Simon was very independent and energetic as a baby much to his mother's dismay. He didn't really need much attention but his mom had to baby proof pretty much everything or he would wind up in places he shouldn't be.

As a kid he calmed down a tad bit. But he was still a very curious child. And he wasn't shy to speak up even if conversations with the adults.

His sister in particular (who had a hand in raising him) encouraged his behavior, most of his distant family did in fact, while his mother was on the fence about it. She loved his openness but knew from experience that the world was not a kind place and thought that speaking from the heart not knowing when to keep quiet might get him in trouble sooner or later.

When Simon reached his teens and puberty started he became much more withdrawn. He didn't like the changes his body was going through and the expectations people started having towards him and his presumed gender.

Suddenly being perceived as not just a child but a woman and having to act accordingly.

He became increasingly more bitter over the years and felt completely estranged towards most people, apart from his sister.

It also didn't help that he went to a predominantly white school and the negative experiences that came with it which added to him feeling like an outsider.

He didn't have many friends and was usually by himself. (Which honestly was almost unbearable to him because he was still a very social person at heart.)

It took him a while to get to the bottom of his issues. It really just hit him that he was trans when one of his relatives came forward about being trans and their wish to undergo a sex change.

While nobody in his family was really against it, it was still talked and gossiped about to an unnecessary degree until Simon eventually snapped and got into an argument with his mother about it.

He moved away from home when he was 19, he left on good terms with his family but only ever told his sister about his plans to transition

Finally having more freedom to express himself and to start working towards getting hormones, he slowly reverted back to his old self.

Past experiences have made him a bit calmer, wiser and yet more...lets say spiteful very deep down. He's a very positive (almost too positive at times) and peaceful person but he has a strong contempt for how cruel and close minded the world can be. Its a feeling he tries to push away to the best of his abilities, but it's there.

I think in the future Simon will have to find a balance between these two conflicting mindsets. How exactly and how he will evolve from there is something I leave open for now. (aka I have no effing clue yet)

Roy

💥 Are there any emotions your OC doesn’t know how to deal with, doesn’t understand or hates having to feel? Any reason behind this?

Now before I answer I should probably point out that at the core Roy is a very levelheaded person. Between him and Serena he was always the calmer one or at the very least had a tighter grip on his emotions. That being said he might have a bit too tight of a grip on them at this point. 

Anger has always been an emotion that left him uncomfortable. While he had anger issues in the past, a lot of it was actually heavily influenced by Serena. Serena was an incredibly angry person throughout most of their childhood ( fore good reasons I might add)  and Roy often found himself in a position where he felt like he had to mirror her anger without even wanting to. Doing or saying things he deeply regrets in the process.

When Roy and Serena got older Serena started working on her anger issues through therapy while Roy was left with a hollow echo of "Anger”  that he couldn’t quite shake off. And while it would never be as frequent as it was with Serena when Roy actually reached a point where he got angry he felt like he didn’t have much control over it, so he tried his best to bottle it up completely.

Another emotion he has trouble with is sadness. Not really trouble but he has a very polarising relationship to it. He feels a certain comfort in sadness, also because sadness to him is usually tied to some kind of nostalgia, remembering his mother (on her good days) or thinking back to his time in the residential home when he was still closer with Serena and Mel. It’s bitter sweet to him. And it confuses him. So he tries to bottle that up as well.

Roland

🏀 Does your OC have any skills that people wouldn’t expect them to have? Do they have a hobby or pass time that others would consider strange or weird? How did they learn this particular skill or pick up this hobby?

I was actually really happy when this question popped up xD

First of all Roland is an incredibly good shot. That might be not something super unexpected but given he fact that Roland isn't actually too fond of guns it might raise an eyebrow when he lets it slip in conversations.

He used to go on hunting trips with his father when he was younger (that was his dad's idea of father son bonding time) and to him there was nothing more satisfying than hitting his target with utmost accuracy and the adrenaline rush that came with it.

His talent also translated well to handguns later on.

The novelty of hunting and shooting altogether has worn off for him after his time in the army though, it very much changed his perspective on it.

He wouldn't touch a gun now unless for self defense reasons.

Apart from that Roland is very skilled with language. He grew up speaking both English and Russian.

And he speaks Danish, German, Italian and French well enough to have basic conversations. (yes the dude knows French)

He also knows a few words/ phrases in Arabic and Japanese.

He doesn't even know why but learning languages always came to him easily.

It helps that he has frequent foreign visitors in his pub and since he's not the best at small talk he usually steers conversations with his customers towards culture and/or language which tends to be a good ice breaker...and he can probably learn some new vocabulary in the process xD

He also has the rare talent of burning even the simplest dish to a crisp. Dude could probably burn Spagetti water.

As for Hobbys...the fact that he is an avid reader is something that tends to surprise people. He ddidn't have a tv growing up so reading was his main way for him to pass time. Especially when he was grounded which happened quite often.

His genre preference is all over the place, he's got some books about militairy history mixed with thrillers, a silly romance novel that he started when he was bored out of his mind but actually found it had some depth to it and to top i all off there's a french copy of the little prince in his bookshelf.

Luke (poor guy has no last name AND no picture)

💚 Are you writing anything with this OC or planning on writing anything for them? Do you rp with them or are they just for fun to mess around with?

While Luke will probably make reaperances in Volatile he will most likely remain a side character I'm afraid.

I might go a bit deeper into his relationship with Serena, but apart from that I have nothing planned for him sadly. I already have too many characters with side stories that I need to squeeze in somewhere xDDD

Oswald

💜 Do you enjoy working on your OC or are they a bit of a chore? We all have that one character who is hard to develop!

Both.

I think the main thing that makes it hard for me to develop Oswald properly is that I'm not really satisfied with his looks in my game. So I'm put off of taking too many pics/edits with him and using that to spin ideas around in my head.

Strangely enough though out of all my not so essential characters the side story I do have planned for him is actually one of my favourites and probably way more complex than it should be for a side story...

Then again it's not fully fleshed out yet, cuz...reason stated above. I might have to tweak him before he can make an appearance in my story...will have to see.

Serena

What does she think of the Cowboy Bebop Netflix adaptation?

Her initial reaction when she heard about it was this:

She hasn’t watched it yet. Nor has she checked much out about it.She hasn’t been watching much Netflix in general lately, her current go to streaming platform is Crunchyroll.

She isn’t even sure whether she IS actually gonna watch it. To her real life anime adaptions are a cardinal sin. And Netflix especially she doesn’t trust with it. (She’s still not over the Death Note movie.)

While some people including Simon have told her that it ain’t that bad actually  (granted Simon didn’t grow up with the original) and that especially John Cho is doing a really good job as Spike, until further notice she will pretend it doesn’t exist and just keep watching the original.

Mabon

💗 Ramble a bit about this character!

For the Wildcard Question... *drags Mabon out of the trash* let's talk about this fucker.

Gonna put a TW for Abuse mention here

I wasn't actually gonna talk too much about Mabon till he makes an official appearance in the story but since he's made a few appearances on my blog lately and since my story is moving so fucking slow that it might take a bit until he actually shows up I thought I could spill a few things about him. I hope it’s all understandable, if not feel free to ask!

For those who are confused about the whole Mel Mabon thing...Mabon is one of the Alternate States of Consciousness (Alters) of Mel's DID System. 

[DID is a condition that can appear after severe repeated trauma in early childhood.Basically the personailty of the person affected was never able to fully integrate into one (or is disrupted) during childhood development due to trauma which causes multiple distinct personality states to to exist in one body]

He'll be the first Alter to make himself known to Mel and generally he's the Alter who has the closest connection to him and who fronts (takes over the body)  the most frequently apart from Mel.

I have a love hate relationship with Mabon. I feel like most people would because he makes it incredibly hard for people to like him.

Which is something he absolutely does on purpose. He doesn't want to be liked, he wants to intimidate people to feel in control and so they back the fuck off and leave him alone. That is one of his main methods of protecting Mel or the body from harm. Kinda like how animals make themselves big or have some other crazy ass way to ward of foes. Only that Mabon unfortunately sees everyone as a potential foe. Even Mel himself at times.

You see to Mabon keeping the body from harm is a top priority, while Mel is pretty neglectful of his physical (and mental) well being, not to mention that he actively harms the body (through self harm, alcohol abuse for example) which poses a strong conflict for Mabon. How do you protect yourself from a potential threat that comes from within after all?

If Mabon feels like he can't protect himself from outside threats by just acting like a prick he resorts to violence. But unlike what people might think he is actually never the one to throw the first punch.

That said he's really not a villain or a typical bad guy in the story.

The thing about Mabon (and that hopefully will explain a few of his characteristics as the story progresses) is that he sees himself as inherently bad and a demonic entity of sorts. He's not a "non- human" alter through and through, but the mindset that he is  “evil” and not human is basically ingrained in his mind from past trauma and how Mel was treated by his abuser, who would switch between perceiving Mel as a normal child and a monstrosity. This inconsistency being why Mabon struggles to fully perceive himself as both human or non human.

Strangely enough he feels more comfortable seeing himself as non human. Mainly because fear factor. And because in a strange way he finds himself in his comfort zone when he does.

Roland

Regardless of whether or not they wield any, what kind of weapon do you associate them with?

It's a draw between a gun (handgun or rifle) and a knife for him. Both have relevance in Roland's life.

The gun being more of a reminder of destructive elements in Roland's life, hunting trips with his dad as a child, his time in the army, and his time he spent in the US afterwards...which were all not very great experiences to him.

And the knife being something Roland connects with more pleasant and creational experiences, carving wood for example.

Mel

Which of the seven deadly sins are they associated with? Is it a negative trait of theirs or something they actively struggle with?

Sloth

Pretty self explanatory. Mel most of the time lacks the energy and drive to do...pretty much anything, apart from maybe the bare necessities, but even that is a gamble in his case. He tends to let things slide until either somebody else takes care of them for him or they become a huge problem.

Which of the seven heavenly virtues are they associated with? Do they embody that virtue or are they trying to learn it?

Humility

In Mel's case humility is not really a virtue, since it's rather extreme to a point of self loathing sometimes, but still.

He's the last person to view himself as superior to others in any way.

Mabon

Which of the seven deadly sins are they associated with? Is it a negative trait of theirs or something they actively struggle with?

Wrath (what a surprise)

Anger is a strong emotion for Mabon that is almost always present in some way. To Mabon his anger is both, a result of trauma as well as, in a strange way, a subconscious way to emotionally detach or distance himself from it.

Its also a very strong driving force to him.

Which of the seven heavenly virtues are they associated with? Do they embody that virtue or are they trying to learn it?

Diligence

10. What lie do they most frequently remember telling? Does it haunt them?

Mel doesn't really lie if he can avoid it, apart from the occasional white lie. He's more prone to just withhold things.

Most frequently that was the case shortly before he ran away from the residental home he lived in with Serena and Roy, he didn't tell anyone about how he was struggling mentally at the time, mainly because he was confused about it and feared judgement, until he couldn't conceal the severity of his mental state anymore which caused pretty strong tensions between him and Roy (sorry for keeping it so vague, but that'll have to do for now)

That does haunt him quite a bit, in fact he knows had he been more open and seeked proper help during that time a lot of things in his life would have turned for the better.

31. Who are they the most glad to have met?

Serena, definitely. A few years ago he would have said her and Roy but at this point he deeply regrets meeting him, also for Roy's sake.

Mabon

11. How do they cope with confusion (seek clarification, pretend they understand, etc)?

If the confusion directly affects him, he will seek clarification first and foremost. However he would do so while basically belittling who or whatever confused him.

This incorrect quote is a pretty good example :

33. Could they be considered lazy?

Oooff, I don't think so. He's more...how do I put this...incredibly uncooperative when it comes to doing tasks he himself deems unnecessary or doesn't want to do.

He's the kinda guy that would clean the entire fucking flat if he's bored enough, and he doesn't mind getting his hands dirty to achieve his goals...in contrast however if somebody *coughs*Serena*coughs* would ask him to get up and get the remote from a meter away he probably couldn't be arsed....you get the picture...

Simon

18. What embarrasses them?

Simon is not the type to embarass easily, quite the contrary. Even Uli can't get him to embarass and god knows he tried. I like to think so at least xD

I think the one thing that can embarass him or make him uncomfortable is starting drama or conflict over him, which has happened in the past.

23. How does envy manifest itself in them (they take what they want, they become resentful, etc)?

Nothing like that. He used to be quite envious and bitter when he was younger, which mainly stemmed from a deep dissatisfaction with himself. Every now and then it still shines through. But he's found a good way to deal with it is just trying his best to be happy for the person, and expressing that. It somehow makes the feeling of envy almost nonexistent for him.

Roy

6. Do they consider laws flexible, or immovable?

Roy thinks laws are made for a good reason, and he doesn't really doubt the justice system. I dare to say if you chose a career path with the police that's probably a given, at least to some.

However I think one reason for that is that he's had the privilege so far of being spared from experiencing what it's like if the justice system fails you.

12. How do they deal with an itch found in a place they can’t quite reach?

He'd probably try to ignore it at first and if push comes to shove (and if no ones looking) use a pen or ruler or something similar to help him out

Dolores

36. Do they actively seek romance, or do they wait for it to fall into their lap?

Dolores is very passive when it comes to romantic interactions of any kind . Part of her is still caught up in this delusion that her Prince Charming will show up to woo her one day. The other part thinks she isn't good enough for anyone anyway so she wouldn't even dare to make advances with anyone. So yeah, she's kinda waiting for it to fall into her lap, but even if that were to happen chances are she wouldn't realize.

Roland

(poor guy still doesn't have an a proper Avatar but I've been spamming his face for the last six months so I guess that evens it out)

B What inspired you to create them?

Honestly...I'm not entirely sure. Roland is one of these characters that sorta created himself and I just kinda rolled with it...get it? Rolled...?

I'll show myself out.

The initial reason for his creation was that I felt like Mel was lacking a "parental figure" of sorts. And to be quite honest I felt like I was lacking a parental figure in the story as well to express certain things I wanted to express.

20. If they were asked to explain the difference between romantic and platonic or familial love, how would they do so?

He'd probably need a lot of of time to think of a good answer. In fact I doubt that he would really come up with something apart from "You're asking the wrong person mate" and a shrug.

The way he sees it...I doubt he would say it like that though.. is that familial love is unconditional or at least should be whereas platonic love is not...and romantic love is just platonic love + attraction and sex.

Serena

G What trait of theirs bothers you the most?

She can be very dominating at times. To a degree where its almost overwhelming to other people, without her really being aware of it. Especially with Mel, although it's not always noticeable since he's not very vocal about his needs but Serena has the tendency to just decide for him or put him in situations that she thinks are good for him (she tried to hook him up with multiple people from their school without him really giving his okay for example) while he himself is either lowkey uncomfortable with it or just goes along with it because it's the path of least resistance.

I dare to say Serena has improved a lot in that regard since she was a teenager and especially right now, after meeting Mel again for the first time in ages, she wouldn't pull those stunts but it's still an unhealthy tendency on her end, even if she means well.

13. What color do they think they look best in? Do they actually look best in that color?

Serena doesn't really have a colour that suits her the most in her book, however she thinks she looks horrible in yellow...and red (although she really likes red)

I personally think she looks good in any colour, I particularly like her in white though.

38. What memory do they revisit the most often?

1. Do they put the milk or the cereal first in the bowl?

Cereal first, anything else would be mayhem to her.

2. What do they wear to bed?

Depends on the weather. She tends to sleep naked or at least topless in summer, and usually opts for a random tshirt and sweatpants when it's cold.

3. Do they sing in the shower? What’s their go-to song (or karaoke song)?

Yes, much to her brother's dismay, cuz quite frankly she sounds like a dying cat. She just sings along to whatever comes up in her playlist. But her current favourite shower song is probably Miracle by Caravan Palace.

4. Right-handed or left-handed?

Right handed.

5. What is their preferred caffeine source and how do they take it?

There isn't anything with caffeine she dislikes.

She mainly goes for coffee of any kind (usually standard milk coffee, or Starbucks if she's feeling fancy) and Rockstar Energy Drinks.

6. What are their sleep habits like?

She's a pretty heavy sleeper. She sometimes has trouble going to bed on time though and tends to stay up till late in the night, but that's mainly because the night is like her only source of free time on a work day.

7. What song is likely to be in their Most Played list?

Elbow - Grounds For Divorce

It's her all time favourite song.

8. How do they relax after a stressful day?

Get takeout and do a movie marathon (preferably with Mel and/or Simon)

9. What do they do first thing in the morning?

She has coffee in the living room and listens to music, if she is not in a hurry. Otherwise she just brushes her teeth, showers and does her hair, sometimes everything more or less at once because she has no time management.

10. What’s the last thing they do before they go to bed?

Probably put on a playthrough on YouTube to watch/listen to until she dozes off.

11. Do they have any addictions (or former addictions)?

She's been a smoker since she was 13 and she has a teesy tiny energy drink addiction.

13. What are their bad habits?

Being late, being messy af, putting the needs of the people close to her above her own.

14. What’s something they have to do everyday (besides eating/taking medications/basic self-care)?

Nothing comes to mind.

15. Are there any phrases or gestures they overuse?

"Ya know? " she uses that phrase way too often.

She also had a phase where she would put "hella" in front of every word.

16. What do they keep in their pockets/bag/glove compartment?

A random assortment of half smoked cigarettes, keys, cellphone, hand lotion, a stress ball, a can of Rockstar, 2 lighters, her wallet...thats about it.

Philosophy for Simon:

1. Do they believe in soulmates or fate?

He doesn't believe in soulmates. Although he very much likes the idea.

As for Fate...Sort of. He likes to believe things happen for a reason, but that also comes from him having learnt to accept past things as they are. He likes to think everyone is capable of shaping their own destiny, however he doesn't deny the fact there are certain things that are simply out of our control.

2. Do they believe they have a destiny? What is it?

Kinda answered above already I guess

3. What are five things that always make them happy?

Sex

Nature

Ecstasy (preferably in combination with sex)

Singing

Spending time with friends

4. What is the quickest way to their heart?

Honestly...just be yourself, be authentic, be weird. He has a soft spot for people who don't fit the norm.

5. What’s one thing they would change about themselves?

Nothing much...he wouldn't mind some alterations in the downstairs department. But as of now he's unsure about bottom surgery. He's heard too many bad things about it.

6. If they had three wishes (standard genie rules apply) what would they wish for?

Uff now that is a tough one. Honestly, I think Simon would be quite overwhelmed with the possibilities there.

In the end he'd probably only wish for one thing. Because...too much responsibility.

He'd wish for his wish to not come true. Just to see what would happen.

7. What are their views on death?

The thought of death tends to unsettle him more than he likes to admit. It's not that he's scared of death but it's a subject he's pondered about endlessly and that kind of makes him border on an existential crisis and makes him question the sense in life. 'People die, he will die, there's nothing he can do about it so better not dwell on it' is the conclusion he came to.

8. What do they value above all else?

Curiosity, people who question and want to explore the world around them, openness, empathy, love...to name a few things.

I don't think he could settle for just one thing if he tried.

9. Are they superstitious?

He's a fairly logical person all in all, so no. Although his beliefs might make people think otherwise sometimes.

If anything he likes to defy superstitions for the sole purpose of disliking how much power they have over some people. (if he were to get a cat for example he would go with a black one out of spite. )

10. Do they have a creed or code that they live by?

Yes and no. I'd say the only thing he strictly lives by is is to avoid violence whenever he can. And to step away from anger and conflict for his own well being.

There are a few things that helped shape his general outlook on life and life philosophy...but not nearly enough to be considered a code or guide line.

Other for Roland:

[I don't have a proper picture for Roland yet, sorry Dx]

1. Can they ride a bike? A skateboard? A horse?

He can ride a bike. (What a surprise)

2. How would their best friend describe them?

He's a pretty private person and keeps most people at arms length. He doesn't really have any friends left at this point.

Most people would describe him as intimidating as fuck at first glance, looks like he eats small children for breakfast, incredibly hard to figure out (due to a constant poker face) all in all a good guy though, actually kind of awkward, but can probably still fuck you up if you give him a reason to.

3. What’s something they do to indulge or treat themselves?

Cigarettes and Whiskey (although both is more of a necessity than an indulgence at this point).

4. Would they rather be a pirate, a cowboy, a ninja, or an astronaut?

Probably a cowboy, he kinda fits that aesthetic already. But he'd be more of a lone rider type. And he'd have a Donkey instead of a horse. Mel is the donkey.

5. What would they name their children (or pets if they wouldn’t want children)?

The last thing he ever wanted was kids (lol)

And he doesn't give a flying fuck about names. Chances are he's already forgotten your name after your first conversation and will just never adress you with it anymore, simple as that.

(Got him into a lot of trouble with women in his life)