@into-the-daniverse behold our your beloved brand new OC Bluebird! Drawing him was such a delight but drawing your OCs always is so I can't say I'm surprised
More importantly tho- I wonder who he's dancing for? 👀👀👀 They're certainly putting on quite the show~
Gae'chlell - former dryad -- kind, anxious, powerful plant magic
Cardigan - alchemist in the shop back room, grumpy, practical
Cass - privileged young noble, necromancer, Valerius's son
Sadrei - former rancher, now a half-bird hybrid, smol and nosy
Gae'chlell "guy-ETCH-lehl" (tag: #oc: gae'chlell, he/him) is an empath, which means he picks up surrounding emotions (even from the past) strongly enough he can't always separate them from his own. Loves to garden. He's actually a nature spirit from an Enchanted Forest in the east, but he doesn't remember that now.
Personality: kind, compassionate, thinks the best of people and thus easily taken advantage of. He hides it well but there is a roiling storm of anxiety and imposter syndrome going on under the hood. Gives affection easily but struggles to accept it in return. Malewife as heck
Body appearance: 6'3 and strong. Not ripped-ripped but definitely fit. Wavy short brown hair, "textured quiff" haircut (look it up). Slight baby face. Angular facial tattoos on cheeks and forehead. Colorless light grey eyes like Lucio's
Style: fitted tunic shirt and pants. Goes for comfort above everything else, and prefers simple/neutral colors as an Apprentice. Later as consort, he is more than happy to let Nadia dress him more extravagantly as long the outfit is comfortable and easy to move in. The result often involves a lot of flowing/silky fabrics
Route: Nadia! He dedicates himself help someone clearly in need of support, and in return her direct affection and constant compliments help him to get better with his own self-esteem. Plus, her natural tendency to take charge works very well with his natural tendency to follow
ship tag #ship: we first met in a dream
Cardigan (tag: #oc: cardigan, she/they) is a non-MC character who works at the shop. They're primarily an alchemist but also handle restocks and supply runs and such
Personality: antisocial and grumpy. Does her job, leave her alone while they are working. They like their routines and don't go out much. Takes a "you do you" approach to most things -- they may not understand you AT ALL but you also aren't her problem. Ignores people she doesn't need to interact with
Body appearance: tan skin, kinda blotchy with several burn scars including one on the side of her face. Fat, in the 5' 4 range height-wise. Short choppy lime green hair in boyish style.
Style: clothing is for utility. apron and safety gear in the lab, +reading glasses because they are farsighted. Poncho outside, no matter the weather. Owns a total of maybe 3 outfits total, they legit don't care. Has several piercings including one on their bridge and left earlobe
Route: Usually they're just a side character to make the shop a little less lonely for the MC. If they did a route, though, it would be Julian's. Unhinged chaotic extrovert meets grumpy rigid introvert, somehow it works out?? Condolences to everyone in the blast radius
ship tag: #ship: alchemdoctor
Cass (tag is #oc: cass, pronouns he/she because I can't freaking make up my mind) is Valerius's kid who can see ghosts. Spent his formative years as a Vesuvian socialite well-known for his very frilly victorian dresses. Went in a number of circles, very proficient at "walking the walk" as it were... until the Red Plague hit, and everything went belly-up.
Personality: He has three hobbies and they are Aesthetic (tm), messing with people, and necromancy. Before becoming the Apprentice, he was a privilege little arrogant jerk and he knew it. Capable of absolutely radiates teenage snark ("ok boomer"), you can't do anything to stop him and he knows it
Body appearance: short, average build. olive skin, brown-green eyes, dark brown curly short hair. 5'2. weak, average agility, very dexterous hands. Other than that his skill lies in his charm and wit, and his ability to worm out of pretty much anything
Style pt 1: Cass's typical getup is "privileged Vesuvian noble." his better outfits were the talk of the court. The general vibe: very pastel, floofy, victorian dresses. there are always hats and they're always on point. he has inspired a new fad among the ladies in court at least three times with his masquerade outfits.
style pt 2 The other is for doing magic and it's very, very witchy. lower eyelash mascera. Black and purple and shredded cloth. big witch hat with black lace veil and beads, even more ostentatious than the usual hats. Unrecognizable as himself, which is half the point. The other half is Aesthetic of course, because what's the point of being rich if you can't buy yourself a entire new wardrobe just for skulking about in graveyards?
Route: Lucio's route. It's a mess <3
Ship tag #ship: countromancer
Sadrei (tag is #oc: sadrei, pronouns she/her) is a little bird girl, like she looks like a D&D kenku if it was more sparrow vibes. Didn't used to be that way--got in over her head near a magical forest, and BOOM! She's now a 4 and a half ft tall bird-person.
Personality: quiet but assertive. gets things done. Nosy and curious, loves meeting new people. Organized
Body appearance: SUPER lightweight. Tiny and narrow, small bones. Gets cold easily, not good in a fight at ALL. Dark brown feathers all over except for clawed hands and feet. No wings. Just over 4'
Style: Doesn't wear a whole lot of clothes compared to humans, but she does like to wear cloaks or capes, and often a bag or two. Opts for earthy, natural colors like green or brown
Route: Muriel. She just wouldn't stop asking questions and trying to befriend him so he finally gave in and gave her the myrhh so he wouldn't have to keep introducing himself. Loooooves cuddling. Had to learn to take it slow and make sure he wasn't overwhelmed. Turns out she can be surprisingly fierce when it comes to protecting things she cares about
ship tag #ship: birbit
Gonna do Portia's route at some point, too. I think they would have good chemistry :)
Marcus Aquila Summanus : Assistant to the Quaestor
Name: Marcus Aquila Summanus
Age: 25
Height: 5’11”
Hair: Black
Eyes: Brown
Gender: Agender (AMAB)
Pronouns: ey/em/eir - pronounced “ay/em/heir”
Orientation: Tired (Demi-romantic Ace)
Favorite Food: Apricot Crostata
Favorite Drink: Fortified Red Wine
Favorite Flower: Narcissus
Brief Background:
Marcus is the fourth child of the current head of the Summanus noble family of Vesuvia. When ey turned 18 eir father used his connections to get em a position assisting Quaestor Valdemar with their work dealing with the treasury.
When The Red Plague became entrenched in the city, Marcus continued the work distributing funds to various different branches of the government, paying the guards, paying the palace staff, making sure taxes are collected, and other such responsibilities. Quaestor Valdemar, being generally uninterested in such things, happily went about their real interest of studying The Plague and leaving the treasury in eir hands.
Languages: The Lingua Franca used by traders that travel the waters of the Strait of Seals to The Emerald Sea. A variety of other languages along those coastlines, and the language the Scourgelands’ roving clans.
Occupation: Mercenary/Bounty Hunter
Skillset: Hjordis is trained in sword-fighting, hand-to-hand combat, archery, general wilderness survival, hunting, and tracking.
Short Background: Hjordis left her clan to make her own way in life at age 16. She traveled North and East from The Scourgelands to Hjalle. From there she made her way by using her hunting skills and eventually joined a ships crew to travel further. She decided she liked the life of a travelling sell-sword and that’s what she’s been doing ever since.
Just been thinking about Heron and how after his parents die he travels to Prakra to find his brother who he hasn’t spoken to in over a decade. He’s just this 26-year-old young man who is wracked with survivor’s guilt because he survives the plague when he parents did not, then guilt for not having reached out to his brother in so long, and even more guilt for leaving Vesuvia when it’s in what could possibly be it’s darkest period in recent memory.
Me: *claps Heron on the back* “This baby can fit so much guilt inside that you’d think he was raised Catholic.”
I imagine he made so many poor decisions during his time in Prakra. I mean he totally used the wealth of freely available knowledge to his advantage, but burying yourself in books for a distraction only goes so far for him. Probably lots of carousing in questionable places happened.
I imagine this is also when he meets Samuel ( @bottomvalerius ). Enjoy this boi who’s so full of guilt and pain, Sam.
Name: Heron Phan is his common introduction, but his full name is Phan Đạt Linh Heron
Age: 32
Eyes: Bronze
Hair: Black and Curly
Height: 5′6″
Scars: Heron’s right arm, both sides of his chest, left hip, and right leg have scars from defensive wound received in the wild, and on the road, while gathering magical components and ingredients.
Gender: Nonbinary XY
Pronouns: he/him or they/them
Orientation: Pansexual
Place of Birth: Vesuvia
Languages: Common, Prakran, His father’s native language (I’ll figure something out at some point), and a handful of other languages he has enough knowledge of to use them for trade and simple conversations.
Occupation: Heron runs a shop in Vesuvia’s Heart District where he sells magical ingredients, components, premade potions and charms, as well as magically created knick-knacks. He also collects the vast majority of his stock himself, usually hiring a mercenary or two to accompany him into the wilds.
Familiar: Cicero the Mink (mahogany coat)
~LOVE INTEREST/S~
[WIP]
~FRIENDS~
Heron is an old friend of Jinana [@the-iron-orchid]. They knew her before The Red Plague, but was not in Vesuvia during the time when she died, and thus doesn't know that she died. They believe she had some kind of accident.
He is also acquainted with Asra and Julian. Asra due to his association with Jinana, and Julian as the doctor who tried to treat Heron’s parents during The Red Plague.
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Hjordis Ragnasdottir: Mercenary
Name: Hjordis Ragnasdottir
Age: 28
Gender: Cis Female
Eyes: Pale Blue
Hair: Light Blonde
Height: 6′0″
Pronouns: She/Her
Orientation: Biromantic Ace
Place of Birth: The Scourgelands
Languages: The Lingua Franca used by traders that travel the waters of the Strait of Seals to The Emerald Sea. A variety of other languages along those coastlines, and the language the Scourgelands’ roving clans.
Occupation: Mercenary/Bounty Hunter
Skillset: Hjordis is trained in sword-fighting, hand-to-hand combat, archery, general wilderness survival, hunting, and tracking.
Short Background: Hjordis left her clan to make her own way in life at age 16. She traveled North and East from The Scourgelands to Hjalle. From there she made her way by using her hunting skills and eventually joined a ships crew to travel further. She decided she liked the life of a travelling sell-sword and that’s what she’s been doing ever since.
5. Where are they during the main Masquerade? Were they invited royals or just townsfolk who decided to stop in when Nadia opened it to everyone?
Heron was at The Masquerade, looking for Jinana within their continuity. He enters the palace with the general population, but doesn’t end up finding his friend until after they’ve returned from the magical realm after binding The Devil. During The Masquerade he steals a glass of wine from Valerius and has an encounter with Wiggler and Vlastomil, which ends poorly for the worms.
7. If you have an apprentice character, do they know each other? If you don’t have an apprentice character, would your OC be someone who knows/knew the general MC character or not (whether or not they would feature in the routes)?
I don’t have an established Apprentice character. Heron was originally going to be one, but I decided that he would be better suited as a character separate from the main storyline. Instead he came to be part of Jinana’s (@the-iron-orchid) continuity.
This is a total summarization of the events of their past together, but it works:
He grew up with Jinana from the time they were about 12-years old. They apprenticed under a man named Efisio Borgia, who was a court magician under Count Spada, due to the volatility of their innate magical talents. They started seeing each other less often after leaving Master Borgia’s tutelage, but remained friends. He was not in Vesuvia during the majority of the years The Red Plague was ravaging the city, and so wasn’t there when s/he died. He did return to Vesuvia about a year after hir resurrection, at which time he began to take an active role in Jinana’s recovery.
14. If they’ve interacted with Julian what is their opinion of them? If they haven’t interacted, what would their first impressions be?
Heron has interacted with Julian. He thinks Julian is a compassionate soul, a fine doctor, a fun drinking buddy, and an excellent partner for Jinana. He also thinks he’s handsome and fun to fluster.
17. What’s something (personality aspects, body type, hobbies, etc.) that they find attractive in others?
It’s probably easier to list things that are actively unattractive to Heron. A lack of compassion, an unwillingness to learn and grow, a general lack of personal interests/hobbies, overt unchecked jealousy. (some of these things are what almost completely put a kibosh on his relationship with Valerius)
In general he values directness, honesty, compassion, kindness, and passion. How these things manifest in a partner is an interest for him.
All in all though, if you’re cute and a lot Heron will try to get to know you and see where it goes from there.
20. Share one piece of lore that you want everyone to know!
Heron brews, ferments, and/or distills his own alcohol. Whether it’s for making his own tinctures or potions, with distilled alcohol, or for casual drinking like fermented rice wines, often he combines the two into fortified wines.
