You've been visited by the random OC question fairy! :D ~☆
Happy International Women's Day! What is your OC's relationship with being a woman? How has being female affected their upbringing and/or their past? How does being female affect their actions, thoughts, and relationships with others, if at all?
thank you fairy!
oooooh I could make a really long answer talking about all the girls in the e-squad, but I'll start with Tomiv.
For the big picture of her relationship to womanhood (or, femininity, maybe, she's not an adult yet): she considers it important to her identity, and considers it important to bee seen as a girl/woman, although she doesn't really line up with her society's standards for it. She doesn't want either her more or less feminine skills or traits to be praised above the other, or to be disregarded. It's all part of what makes her who she is.
The thing about Tomiv being female is, she isn't supposed to have the Something, the magic of her people. As far as their history is concerned, that's a male only thing. But she has it. So for as long as she can remember (literally her first memory is her Something awakening) she has known she is destined for a role unheard of for women in her society. She is determined to make people accept her on her own merits. To be forced to admit that she can do this. And especially as she grows older, she wants people to accept other kinds of strength - like her childhood best friend, who isn't a warrior but would still make a great leader. Tomiv knows that, as the first girl in her position, she has a responsibility - to use her position to make a lasting change for her people. She wants future generations if girls to have the respect she has to fight for.
Tomiv - old faded leather, sunrises, soft whispers, careful footsteps, smooth polished wood, sandstone, distant hoofbeats, autumn air, silences full of meaning, delicate stitches, delicate strikes
Ilem-jie - blazing fire, scarves in vibrant colors, sharp knives, clear midday skies, quick punches, glitter, scorching summers, sand dunes, shouting at the world, angry kittens
Reas - the wind in your face, heart pounding, hair blowing back, early morning mist, billowy blue cloth, clear gemstones, silver moonlight, rushing rivers of words
Heysu-tev - dark black earth, moss-covered stones, sunlight through green leaves, loose comfortable sweaters, combat boots, a warm cup in your hand, determined stride, power metal
still 100 words, but not exactly a drabble this time? couldn’t stop thinking about doing aesthetics for my girls with this prompt... so I just went ahead and did it. for @oc-growth-and-development ‘s OCtober prompts
how about you give the most detailed physical description you can and i’ll draw them
ok first of all this about knocked me flat bc i always want to draw them but.. i cannot draw (yes. i know drawing is something really anyone *can* do if they take time to practice. but i already need to spend more time writing so.)
and unsurprisingly this got long soooo im putting it under a readmore
so im just going to talk about my Favorite 3 bc i don’t wanna overwhelm you? Rinnyx & Seyetto are in the same world and Tomiv is in a different one.
For both Rinnyx and Seyetto, like, stylistically, could be anything from 14th century Byzantium to Napoleanic-era Europe bc i cant make up my dang mind. I thiiiiink i’m gonna make their world post-gunpowder at least cause i do like the idea of anti-dragon cannons, but that honestly doesn’t narrow it down as much as i’d like. Anyway.
I already made an extensive physical description of Seyetto here so I’ll just link that for convenience.
Rinnyx is like, an average-sized guy. 5′10″ or thereabouts. He’s like, early twenties at the start of the story. He’s a nerd, so not particularly athletic or anything, but he did grow up with four older brothers which necessitates a certain level of self-defense, so he’s not a total wimp either. His hair is a medium shade of brown, and generally about shoulder-length, but he keeps it in a low ponytail. He makes sure it’s neat when he’s working, otherwise there’s usually some strands escaping. His eyes are also like, a medium brown. And okay, his eyes - so I’ve done a lot of online roleplay with a lot of my OCs and this means looking for face claims to represent them, and he’s the one I’ve had the hardest time finding someone who actually looks like him. (i’ve never had one I’m truly happy with.) and the hardest thing is always the eyes. it’s just something about them. I don’t even always know what. sometimes they just aren’t.... open enough, not bright enough. I know this isn’t clear at all. I just have to talk about his eyes.
Rinnyx is, at least when we meet him, a guy who’s always smiling. This doesn’t last, because i give him a lot of stress, but he’s very good at hiding it. His general demeanor is always friendly and open. His clothes are much like his hair - neat when he’s on the job, usually someone disheveled otherwise. His work uniform is gray (and probably includes a vest component, idk that’s always felt right for him) and he’s wearing it a lot. But he likes bright colors.
Tomiv i actually made sort of a reference-sheet doc which I’ve linked but I’ll also give some description here.
We’d probably say she looks central Asian - she’s not, because she lives in an imaginary country where Central Asia doesn’t exist, but she looks more like that than anything else we’d recognize. She is tiny, under 5′. She’s athletic (more agile than strong.) Her hair is very dark brown/black, she usually keep it up. Maybe with sort of a face frame left down. She doesn’t usually reveal much on her face, keeps it at sorta a neutral expression. She is fourteen. She likes to embroider and usually has some on her clothes. She likes earth tones.
I FINALLY finished my prompts for Zeg from this ask from @eddis-not-eeddis. Took me long enough but I like the structure of it. There’s a scene from each prompt, but they all fit together. Hope you love these dumb kids... well, not as much as I do, because I REALLY love these dumb kids. But I hope you all like them.
“Have I ever lied to you?”
“I don’t know.” Tomiv crossed her arms, her brow wrinkling in frustration, seemingly not at all affected by his disarming smile. That smile had gotten Zeg out of trouble plenty of times, but it never seemed to come through when he really needed it. No, he was still a delinquent wherever he went. “I’ve had to take you at your word with everything you’ve ever told me. I can’t just trot over to Them and verify it.”
It was always ‘Them’ with her, the capital letter clear in her voice - not a capital of distinction, or respect, but marking them as other. He supposed he couldn’t blame her. She’d suffered plenty at the hands of the United Clans. He had no love for them as a whole himself, but there were times - and this was one of them - where he was distinctly aware that he was included within that capital-t Them.
“Come on, don’t be like that, Tomiv.” Her brow furrowed a margin deeper. If it were Ilem-jie, he mused, she’d have said something like ‘Don’t be like what?’ or ‘I’ll be however I want!’ or ‘Why not, Zeg? Why shouldn’t I be like this, hm?’ Tomiv didn’t need to say any of those things, though, for him to know that she was thinking them. It was a little annoying, because she still got the words in, after a fashion, but he couldn’t respond without sounding like a fool. “Is everything I’ve ever told you unverifiable? No. I taught you about curses, didn’t I? And the evidence of the truth of that was immediately evident. And I’ve said plenty of things since I came here that wasn’t information about the Clans or my past that you just had to take completely on faith. So let me ask you - to your knowledge, have I ever lied to you?”
She just frowned, putting - in Zeg’s opinion - way too much thought into the subject for what ought to be a simple answer.
“I haven’t, okay?” he said irritably. “So just trust me on this for once.”
“For once?” Her eyebrows ticked up slightly. “You know I’ve trusted you a lot more than once, Amyu Zeg.”
That was a fair point. If anyone had ever trusted him, it was her.
“And I’m not about to let you down now.”
He really hoped she wouldn't hate him for this.
“I can’t believe you talked me into this.”
Ilem-jie put her hands on her hips. “Oh, come on, Zeg. You act like you’re this straight-laced goody two shoes, but deep inside -” she punctuated here with a jab of her finger towards him - “we both know you’re not. You are just itching to get into some mischief. So don’t complain that I’m giving you an opportunity.”
She was more right than she knew. If the people at Edefana could have seen him back with the Clans, they’d have found his behavior unrecognizable. But there, he’d had nothing to lose. That wasn’t true anymore.
But there was no need to talk about any of that now. He just rolled his eyes. “Whatever. Why are you doing me this great favor, then? I thought you couldn’t stand me.”
“Eh, you’re alright when you aren’t busy trying to be the biggest jerk in the world.”
“You are sending some very conflicting messages, you know that?”
Ilem-jie just laughed. He wasn’t sure at all what that meant. “Anyway, whether I like you or not, it has to be you.”
“Did it?”
“Yeah, obviously, idiot. No one else here is gonna have your freaky curse powers.” She waggled her fingers as she spoke.
“Sure, but this really seems more like the kind of thing you’d team up with Tomiv on, against me.”
“One, that’s why it has to be you - she won’t expect it. You would, which takes the fun out of everything. Two, I love Tomiv, but she can be a little… intense. She needs to lighten up by having something pulled on her. If she were pulling it herself, she either wouldn’t take it seriously enough and lose all the fun, or be way too into it. So it has to be you.”
“You don’t have any plans for this that don’t involve cursing her?”
“Shut up.”
“I mean, it’s just that they become a lot less reliable if it’s something they don’t want to do - “
“You aren’t chickening out on me, are you?”
He raised his hands. “No, no, I’m in!”
“Good.” She grinned, rubbing her hands together. “This is gonna be so good.”
He had to wonder if the chance for this to all come back to bite him was part of what would make it so good. And yet even as he'd complained, he'd known he wasn't going to back out. Was Ilem-jie’s crazy starting to rub off on him?
“Here, let me.”
Zeg held a hand out to Tomiv for the broom, but she looked up to him only long enough to shake her head once and got back to sweeping. “It was my own fault for not being able to throw off the curse.” There was a brief pause before she added, “And for trusting you.” Zeg froze for a moment, but there was a smile in her eyes when she lifted them back up. She was just teasing him. Like friends did.
“Hey!” Ilem-jie shouted, coming through the door behind them with a bucket of water. “You’re making me help clean up!”
“It’s also your fault for dragging him into it.”
“Oh yeah? How do you know he wasn’t the mastermind?” Ilem-jie said, tossing her hair behind her shoulder. Tomiv only looked at her, and she shrugged as well as she could manage while carrying the bucket. “Fair enough.”
“Well, if you’re sure, then.”
Tomiv gave a short nod. “We’ll be fine, shouldn’t take to long.” Something in her tone sounded like a dismissal, and he really didn’t mind leaving them to it, so Zeg walked out. It wasn’t til he’d rounded the corner outside the stable that the idea came to him.
The Something wasn’t quite as strong here as it was within the building of Edefana itself, which always seemed to amplify everything. But there was still enough of a boost that he didn’t think it would be too hard. He leaned against the wall of the stable, closed his eyes, and listened.
At first there was a cacaphony in his mind as all sounds in the area burst in - the buzz of flies, the rustle of grass, a horse chewing its food. With a shock, he realized he could even pick up some footfalls from inside Edefana. But he tuned them all out and found the buzz in his mind that belonged to Tomiv. She was easy to concentrate on - his Something reaching towards hers, and his bounty bounding off it. The real challenge was not opening the channel and bringing her into his mind. As he focused on her, the unwanted sounds fell away and he heard her voice in his mind just as though she’d been speaking to him.
“ - all part of your master plan?”
He knew it. This was all going to turn back on him in the end somehow. Ilem-jie wasn’t done with him, she was just giving him a false sense of security from the camaraderie of the prank before she struck.
“Not everything I do is part of the master plan. I’ve got a lot going on. It doesn’t consume my life.”
So the master plan didn’t have to do with him?
“But most things that you do with Amyu -”
So the master plan was about him!
“I only brought Zeg in because no one else could get to you like that. That’s all. You don’t need to read anything more into it.”
He wished he could see there nonverbal cues. He felt sure something had accompanied that line from Ilem-jie - a defiant hair flip? A hand on her hip? A particularly vigorous scrub? And it was so hard to read Tomiv from words alone. Maybe he could try to get a look…
He concentrated on the spot he knew they were, and the image came through, but the sound flashed out as it did. Ilem-jie was gesturing wildly with a rag in her hand, and Tomiv hadn’t paused in her work, but there was the barest hint of a smirk on her face. Her lips started moving. He could do this. He’d been learning.He was Amyu!
Snippets of sound came into his mind, unclear and choppy, but enough to pick out some words.
“ - like him - ”
“ - do not - ”
“ - sure - ”
“ - isn’t - he’s a - just - so there!”
Ilem-jie turned away from Tomiv and began some vigours scrubbing, but Tomiv frowned - and then looked straight at him. Hurriedly, he opened his eyes and ran.
Not fast enough. Ilem came hurtling out the stable door shortly after he passed it. “Dirty spy!”
“You can prove nothing!” he shouted over his shoulder.
She lobbed her wet rag at him, but it fell far short. “You rascal! I’ve taught you too much!”
She was laughing.
Zeg didn’t stop running, but the fear had subsided, and Ilem-jie didn’t seem intent on catching him. Maybe… maybe she didn’t actually hate him.
Maybe they were… friends.
If they were, he didn’t regret any of this.
Notes
1. If it seems like Ilem is being a little hard on Zeg... he’s said some pretty racist things to her in the past. I always want to remind people that Zeg is a jerk, because I think he’s the sort of character that some people would tend to forget that fact about him. Though he isn’t *just* a jerk. Of course you can form your own opinions, I just want to give enough f the relevant information
2. On Zeg’s name: I have a post detailing my naming system for these people here but tl;dr: people in this society are given a new name later in life that replaces their birth name and can gain more throughout their life as secondary names. Zeg is Zeg’s new, primary name, and it means half (because he is half of one race/culture and half of another.) Amyu is a name Tomiv gives him later which means double (because he has magical gifts from both sides of his heritage. also now you get the pun in the title.) She uses Amyu as his primary name because he prefers it. Ilem-jie uses Zeg because she’s used to it, and is still coming around on him. I usually call him Zeg Amyu because I respect that he prefers that name but I don’t want to get in the habit of putting it first when he won’t have it at all for much if the story. You can call him Zeg or Amyu or Zeg Amyu or Amyu Zeg or whatever
3. I will not reveal what the master plan is, but I will comment on speculation if you have any
Idk if you're still restless to talk about your OCs, but how would they react to lockdown?
I'm supposed to be outlining on [working title 12] so I'll talk about these OCs.
Tomiv is just really not bothered. She doesn't mind being alone. She can talk to a couple people with her mind. She can have some time to work on her projects. It's fine. Spends a lot of time sewing masks.
Ilem can't stand it. Goes for a run most days to get out her energy. Most likely to make questionable social distancing decisions. Feels cool wearing a mask. Tries cutting her own hair. She is banned from social media by anyone else living with her for getting into too many fights on Facebook. Also banned from getting groceries.
Reas says "this is a great time to catch up on my projects!" starts a dozen new projects and doesn't finish any of them. Takes a lot of long walks/jogs - she also hates being stuck inside. She has binged so many shows.
Heysu stays of social media completely because she's tired of the drama, and makes effort to keep up with her friends outside of it. Might punch through a wall if she sees/hears another coronavirus themed commercial. Plants a garden.
Juq shares informative articles and donates to relief funds. He tries to get people to sing on the balconies with him. Keeps making really dumb tik toks out of boredom.
If Zeg Amyu is with his family, he locks himself in his room as much as possible because he's going crazy stuck in such close quarters with them. If he's not... he still probably hides in his room a lot. Doesn't get in fights on social media but complains about what other people say to his friends.
thanks for asking! always love talking about the kids ✌️
oh yeah, i reblogged an ask meme last night. Thank you!!
(11) What does your OC think about magic? Is your OC generally for or against magic?
Seyetto’s attitude towards magic is that of most Pelasians: It’s dangerous and needs to be carefully controlled. Of course, he also sees it has its uses, such as binding Dragon to his will. So he’s generally for it, if under proper restriction - which of course he is in charge of. Rinnyx’s attitude was once similar, but has shifted for two reasons: he is himself now a Speaker (magic user), and he studied magic outside of Pelasia, where it doesn’t have quite the same stereotype (due to the fact that it was Pelasian Speakers who once utilized the mind-affecting magic they specialized in to take over much of the world. So most people are doubtful of Pelasian magic, but not of all magic.) So while Rinnyx was once kind of freaked out by magic, learning it in an environment that did not focus on the mind control made him much more open to it, and it turns out he both loves it and is very, very good at it. And then he ended up using a lot of the mind manipulation anyway, but.
I’m mostly talking about Rinnyx & Seyetto because I’m focusing on Red and Gray at present but I’m going to take a moment to talk about magic on one of my other works. In that, Tomiv and Zeg Amyu are very representative of the societies they were raised in, in their views of their magic. Tomiv sees it as a responsibility, a tool to help her people. Zeg Amyu sees it as a personal privilege, a special talent that makes him superior to (or at least gives him an advantage over) others.
(30) What supernatural creature would your OC most prefer to be?
Seyetto would be a dragon, which is cheating, because dragons are very natural in his world. But if he can’t breath fire, what’s the point?
Rinnyx wouldn’t want to be anything that keeps him from interacting with society too much. Maybe some sort of fae?
There are quite a few in my 12 story, on account of it’s about several teens going to school. I’ll mention a few more notable mentor relationships.
-Hsiev and Tiilis. Hsiev is the head of the battleschool and a serious badass despite not having the magic some characters do. He’s Tiilis’s hero, and inspired him so much he decided to stay on and get a job at the school after he graduated despite the fact that it was cursed.
-Tomiv and Janim. I haven’t written a ton of them yet but this is what’s intended for them. Janim is a member of the Twelve, and they have the same magic, though he is the first of the Twelve to learn this besides her father. He is the youngest current member. She gets some pushback from some other members, but they hit it off.
-And from Red & Gray, Rinnyx has a couple - Dor Arill and Vetta Rho. Dor Arill was his tutor, saw the potential in him, and encouraged him to try to reach it. Rinnyx is not at all ambitious so it was a tough sell, but he found a path to put him on - and sent him to Vetta, who taught him magic.
19. What’s the strangest way two (or more) OCs have met?
I think the prize goes to Tomiv and Zeg Amyu, who met when Tomiv reached out with her mind across thousands of miles and unexpectedly found a mind she could connect to in the middle of enemy territory. Or, from Zeg’s perspective, a voice just started talking to him in his head one day and asked him to come for a visit.
Tomiv doesn’t remember the time when she was asleep - her earliest memory is her awakening, and since then the Something has been in all her memories, that prickling extra sense in her mind, that strength deep in her bones, that link to something beyond herself. But Zeg’s double awakening was brought on when he was ten. He has something she doesn’t - a before.
He taps his foot, searching for the words. “I noticed more after - it felt like a new limb I’d always had but never noticed. Before, it was just like - well, being asleep.”
drabble for @oc-growth-and-development‘s OCtober prompts. Still way behind but I’m back on it! with something metaphorical again, with something that probably makes no sense if you don’t know anything about the magic system in this world, which you probably don’t. But i’ll gladly blab about it to anyone interested...
