I had a longer break from drawing, coming back here with my lioness OC, whose design was inspired by Elena Castillo-Flores!
OC bio under the break
Nopal comes from a rich family with noble roots. She used to live in a small village with her parents, grandparents and little sister, as well as her older cousin as their neighbor. She used to be a loud and happy child, getting in all kinds of mischief.
When Nopal was 14, her parents died in a car accident while the three of them were driving back from a business trip. Nopal came out of the accident physically fine, except for two small cuts on her face, and with deep trauma that she never got therapy for. For the next few years she became angry and sullen, which she was often chastised for by her grandparents, as they needed her help with the house and her sister. This taught Nopal to hide her negative feelings and bury them deep inside - a habit she still has trouble losing years later.
For her whole life, the expectation was for Nopal to marry the son of the owner of another big company, so they could grow their companies together and have children to inherit them. Nopal was fine with it, until she discovered that she was gay. She thought about all the ways she could tell her family, so she wouldn't have to marry a man, but never knew how. It all came to a head when during a family dinner Nopal's older cousin, who overheard her practice her coming out speech, outed her in front of their family. It ended up in a big fight, and Nopal packed as many things as she could carry and ran away during the night.
Nowadays, Nopal lives in a large city on the coast. She mainly couch surfs between her friend's homes, although her best friend's mother insists she move in with them. Nopal takes any job she can, but doesn't have a full-time job. She also takes the time each week to sneak back to her old village and visit her sister, or at least call, if she can't make it. Around town she is considered to be a little weird, or eccentric, but mostly harmless. Kids tend to think she's cool. Nopal herself is just trying to find her place in the world, and maybe ask a cute girl out while she's at it.
