Aster: An Abandoned and Replaced Character
One of the stories I'm working on involves two female main characters. One's a Lebanese engineer, who rescued and later adopted a raven named Gladiolus. The other, an Irish-Brazilian Herpetologist who works at a reptile sanctuary. The latter, I ended up deciding to scrap and rework her story into another character of mine that I had created back in high school. This scrapped character is named Aster.
So for my first character post, I thought I would share the original plan for my fiction story character. I've also included a little headshot of the character for those of you interested since I had it.
Aster's Creation
This character initially started off as one of a couple names I used for the player character in several Pokémon games. However, at that point, I had named her Asteraceae after the scientific name for the family of flowers that sunflowers and dahlias fall under. Flowers was one of my nickname themes, and while I didn't use the name every time I went with a flower nicknaming theme, it was one that stuck with me.
Over time, the character ended up becoming her own character away from Pokémon, though I did not initially have a plan for her.
What ended up helping was some of the other character for this story. I wanted to have both of these characters interact in some way, and from there, I plotted what that story would be. The engineer, Andromeda, would take a job helping to renovate a reptile sanctuary in Arizona, something she's hesitant about due to having ophidiophobia after a traumatic incident from her past. But she ends up taking it. There, she would meet Aster, a herpetologist who specializes in snakes, who would oversee her work. And the two would form a friendship/relationship along the way.
Aster's Backstory and Character
While I had a general idea for her character, I still had to build who she is. At the time, I had kept Asteraceae as her name, but ended up going with Aster since it would have been her nickname. It sounded better, plus, Asters are another flower in the Asteraceae family. So it wasn't like she completely abandoned this name.
As for her past, I ended up pulling some elements from a Naruto OC I created back in high school. Her name was Shikara. She was adopted by Orochimaru after her parents kicked her out/abandoned her. She was also going to be part of a trio that were all adopted by the Sanin and were essentially a younger gender swapped version of them. One I started planning, the other, meanwhile, never came to fruition.
All I really took from Shakira was that she was adopted, though in Aster's case, she was taken in by a family friend when her parents couldn't take care of her anymore. Orochimaru and snakes would be reworked into Aster having an interest in snakes from a young age and having a ball python named Orochi (which is also the name of the eight headed snake from Japanese folklore).
As for the more "newer/original" traits and story, as I mentioned previously, I did decide to make her be Irish/Brazillian. Her father was Irish, while her mother was Brazillian. I haven't quite worked out the kinks behind how they met, which can be worked out depending on whatever alternative plan I make for Aster. I do know that they and Aster live in Florida. The reason being that Florida felt like the perfect state for Aster to develop an interest in reptiles, snakes especially.
Why Did I Decide to Go a Different Route and Replace Her?
Essentially, I did a test run of the character on a life/social simulation game. I throw in a few characters I created using as many necessary traits as I could.
Seeing how things would play out, I did enjoy seeing how these characters would interact. However, I found myself losing interest in Aster. Articulating it was a bit difficult since I did like the character, but if I had to narrow it down to something or some things that I felt contributed to this, it would be:
Seeing how the character could run and not liking the results once I got to a point.
Finding myself more interested in Maria and wanting to use her. Especially since I never really gave her a story.
Not quite feeling the character (i.e. feeling like I should take her back to the drawing board).
Not knowing what to do with the character after a certain point.
The game did have a limited, albeit useful, set of customizations when it came to traits. So it may not have been able to implement everything I wanted/planned. However, I do feel like it gave me something to work with, and that something making me realize that I'm not sure if this is the character I want or need for the story I'm working on.
That said, I don't think I'll be completely pitching the character. Even if she doesn't work for the story I'm working on I could find use for her in another. Maybe I could have her be a friend or colleague of Maria, similar to a character I introduced in my Andromeda prequel material. Or maybe I'll have a new story/plot that will suit her.
Concept Art
This was a general idea for what I had in mind for her. The hair style was inspired by one of my favorite styles in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet (the Undercut Bob) that was introduced in the Teal mask DLC. The hair and eye color is a combination that I just really enjoyed. The reddish-brown hue was more of a stylistic choice to give the black a pop of color, i.e. to make it look "less flat". I also decided to go with a more hazel green than an emerald/forest green.
I ended up going a more warmer complexion here, instead of a more pale ivory/porcelain tone that the character in Scarlet/Violet option I used had. This was also why I considered having her be Irish/Brazillian. Albeit, lighter than what may be the more common complexions/skin tones in the region (which could be explained by her Irish genes).
Her style is inspired by two different things. The first was an outfit I liked from Pokemon Sword and Shield. That being the black motorcycle jacket and the red simple shirt dress. The second, which the previous reason also fits into, is a "punk" aesthetic, which is one of my favorites.
While I haven't done a full body piece. I do picture this look. She would still wear the biker/motorcycle jacket. I would keep the red shirt dress style as well, but have it be short sleeve. The choker, meanwhile, is more of an aesthetic choice. While it looks kind of like a flame, I initially planned for it to be something like a dahlia since I planned for that to be her favorite flower.
As for the glasses, it is my go to when it comes to adding details. Sometimes a character's face will need something when I'm sketching out a concept. And for whatever reason, glasses ended up being that feature.
Closing Thoughts
While she may not work out for the story I'm working on, I would love to do something with the character some day. Taking her drawing board may help. And who knows, if I don't have a new story in mind for her, maybe she'll make her way back into this story or maybe I'll find a way to implement her in a different story that I have an idea for.
I hope you liked this little breakdown and introspective. Thank you for reading.