My Soulsona/Darkner OC - Pixel
(Thanks to @ gotchibam for the amazing art of her!)
Backstory:
My OC began life as one of the little, tiny bugs that flutter out when Kris opens a treasure chest in the Queen's basement. These little bugs actually have yellow-and-pink eyes if you zoom in really close on their sprites. I like to think these tiny bugs represent 'bugs' in computer code, which is their Light World counterpart.
These insect's eyes indicate some sort of connection to Spamton or IMAGE_FRIEND. So specifically, I think these are 'bugs' in the Cat Petterz game, when someone installed a copy onto one of the library computers. I imagine these little darkner bugs to look a lot like drain flies, which is an IRL species of very fluffy fly which honestly looks more like a moth than a fly. They're called drain flies because they tend to breed inside the dirty drains of houses. They also happen to be terribly cute.
One of these flies landed on Kris when they were exploring the basement and hitched a ride, eventually making it back to Castle Town. There is nothing particularly unusual about these bugs. They are not sapient, they are just simple bugs. But one day, the player's Soul finds itself in the Dark World without Kris. Possibly, the Soul escaped the bird cage and went wandering until it reached Castle Town. It's also possible this takes place after the main events of Deltarune have completed.
Whatever the reason, the Soul finds itself wandering. And it bumps into this tiny bug. And the bug absorbs the Soul, becoming my OC. In Undertale when a monster absorbs a human Soul they become a being of great power. However, being just a humble, tiny bug, becoming a being much larger and sapient is already a very big jump in power, and is very powerful in comparison to a little bug! So she is very much like any typical Darkner, in most respects.
She is very disoriented and confused when she first fuses with the Soul. She has selective amnesia about many things the Soul used to know when it was using Kris, although she does retain some memories. She also retains fuzzy memories of her life as a bug.
Ralsei finds her, lost and confused, in his Castle Town and helps her adjust to Darkner life.
Basically, she is my 'Soulsona.' I was interested in thinking of a pernament host the Soul could use after it was done with Kris. We still don't know the full lore of the game obviously and don't know if Kris can live without the player's Soul, but I like to hope someday they will be free of the player's control and able to live on their own.
Design Inspirations:
I chose bugs as inspiration because IRL I have always loved insects and other critters. I also find glitches to be fascinating so I love 'bugs' in the other sense, too. Beyond those concepts, I wanted her to have some catlike qualities as well. This is to give her some similarities to the Element that Spamton and FRIEND also have. This is also because I am def. a cat person and was obsessed with Cat Petterz' real-world inspiration (Catz/Petz) as a young teen, just like Noelle. So my OC is kind of a cross between a bug and a cat. Her paws in particular are based on IRL tarantula feet, which have little 'paw pads' made of fluff that look darn similar to cat paws, as well as hooked little claws.
There are some hearts incorporated into her design, too, to represent the Soul (the ruff of fur around her neck, the paw-pads, and the shape of her wings).
Personality:
Pixel is mischievous and playful, and she's generally very cheerful. She's also very friendly and affectionate, and tends to be quite bold-- although there are times when she is more cautious and wary, and her boldness has more to do with her naivete than it does bravery.
Being a bug from a basement, she has garbage taste in food, sometimes rooting through dumpsters, which Ralsei actively discourages her from doing. She loves to sing, but her voice is shrill. Her fur is very soft but she tends to get into messes so it's not always apparent how soft and luxurious her fur is.
While she's a happy-go-lucky kind of Darkner, her memories from her time as a little bug and as a SOUL are sometimes quite dark. They're also confusing and difficult for her to decipher at times. She's still trying to come to terms with them and to terms with her sense of self.
Abilities:
Pixel can climb walls and fly, and can be very stealthy . . . sort of. She is not a stealthy flyer, since her wings buzz pretty loudly. Her eyes also glow in the dark, which makes stealth harder. Despite all her stealth instincts as a cat, she doesn't always pull off stealth as well as she'd like to. But there are times where she can be surprisingly nimble and quick.
Her bullet patterns are based on drains (lots of pipes that make a sort of maze shape, which are dripping water), bugs (swarms of little bugs, which come together to make larger bugs), and heart shapes (they appear as paw-prints tracking across the screen). There's also a screen that gives a choice of three treasure chests, some containing bullets and others containing heals. That said, she doesn't know how to make bullet patterns right away. Magic does not come easily to her, so it takes her time to learn.
Relationships:
Pixel is very fond of Ralsei, in part because he helped her so much when she first appeared, but also because she simply likes him. Ralsei considers her a good friend as well, although he does end up exapserated with her at times, since she tends to get into trouble and make messes. He considers it one of his responsibilities to help her adjust to Darkner life so sometimes he scolds her for her mischief.
The Tasque Manager finds Pixel to be extremely annoying and goes out of her way to try and whip her into shape, especially when she's socializing with the other Tasques, who she does not want Pixel corrupting.
Pixel has not met Spamton, but she has faint memories of him from her life as a bug. She also has faint memories of Queen, Swatch and the Swatchlings-- she hates Swatch/the Swatchlings-- but the clearest memories involve Spamton. While Pixel came from the filth, and living in alleyways come natural to her/feels cozy like home, Spamton's familiarity with the slime and with glitchiness was not by his preference. If she met Spamton she would probably be drawn to him due to his familiarity, and Spamton would be repelled.
There is a memory of another being, too, that Pixel remembers sometimes. Someone paradoxically familiar yet mysterious, who lurks in the shadows . . . coaxing her to wander into the darkness.
