#like me ana is an infp but like my dad she's a gryffindor

[carewyncromwell]

Hey, you mentioned that Anastasia likes fantasy stories and manga, but does she also like sci-fi as well? Maybe something like John Carter or Dune?

Not as much, no! Ana finds that science fiction, in general, tends to be very "forward"-looking, while fantasy is much more inspired by myths and history -- and for someone like Ana who is also enamored of history, that's really more her thing. There are definitely some sci-fi properties that blur the line between fantasy and science fiction -- such as John Carter and Dune, as well as Star Wars -- but honestly, they're still not as much Ana's thing, not only because there are less women as the leading role in those works (Jyn Erso and Rey are really the only times for Star Wars, and Rey's storyline was...yeah, not the best executed), but because Ana likes worlds that are a bit more romanticized and comfortable. (Some of her favorite books are The Last Unicorn; The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe; and the works of Lewis Carroll, to give you an idea.) Then of course in the case of John Carter of Mars, the man was an ex-Confederate...sorry, budding political activist Ana really wouldn't warm up to that. 😅

Another thing dictating Ana's tastes is that a lot of science-fiction properties have a colder, cleaner aesthetic and oftentimes a far less optimistic view of the world than many fantasy properties do. In the realm of sci-fi, you're much more likely to find stories of man's hubris -- of Man creating monsters and fighting against evil dystopias. And Ana is honestly a true romantic at heart -- however reserved and difficult to trust she is, she actually believes that people are inherently good, and she likes feeling happy, powerful, and optimistic, in the fictional worlds she escapes to. She wants the promise of a happy ending, even if not everything goes perfectly and not everyone makes it. So she enjoys the warmth, color, and comfort of something like a Middle Earth way more than something like out of the Starship Enterprise. Yes, she does like Gothic and steampunk visuals (you can thank her stepbrothers Jasper and Preston for turning her onto those subcultures!!), but she likes a certain lived-in, but not dirty or cynical softness to her fictional worlds. Plus from a nerdy history perspective, Ana finds the diverse interpretations of familiar mythical and magical creatures in the fantasy genre -- such as fae, giants, yokai, and dragons -- incredibly interesting to compare. ❤️

[carewyncromwell]

🌌 Milky Way for all of your OCs

Whoo! This'll take a minute -- let's do this!

🌌 MILKY WAY - what was the inspiration behind your oc? what was the first thing you decided about them?

Carewyn, as better explained here, is a fusion of my mum and myself as kids!

Jacob, as better explained here, was inspired by the stories my mum used to tell me about her late brother!

Erik was inspired largely by a friend of mine from high school who had this very cherubic face and also the largest, sassiest potty mouth of all of my friends. His name was also inspired by two of my favorite Broadway characters -- Erik from The Phantom of the Opera and Enjolras from Les Miserables (affectionately called “Apollo” in the book).

Ana came about because I thought an INFP Gryffindor could be a really fun contrast, but personality-wise, she really took influence from both myself and my dad as kids, since my dad’s a Gryffindor and I’m an INFP.

Farid, as better explained here, was inspired by both Newt and Jacob from Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them and Yugi Mutou from Yu-Gi-Oh.

Jackson, as better explained here, was inspired by historical stage magician Harry Houdini!

Bat, as better explained here, was inspired by Garrett Denali from Twilight and Sirius Black, as well as other “Lancer” type figures like Ron Weasley and Jounouchi Katsuya from Yu-Gi-Oh.

Ru was an evolution of an idea I’d developed much earlier on of a serial killer kelpie that transforms into various forms to eat people, but over time, they developed a love of photography and film that’s largely like my own for film and television, and in doing so developed a much more sympathetic motivation and personality. Their particular feeling of isolation and wanting to be part of this world they could only watch from afar is a feeling I’ve felt off-and-on for years and evoked both Quasimodo from The Hunchback of Notre Dame and Ariel from The Little Mermaid, to me.

Ed’s brain spark largely came down to me thinking it’d be fun to have a 90′s style boy band (i.e. Backstreet Boys, N*SYNC, 98 Degrees) in the Potterverse around the time when Harry and crew were at school. Backstory-wise, I took inspiration from Severus Snape, Andromeda Black-Tonks, and both Sirius and Regulus Black, and obviously Ed’s a Slytherin like Snape, Andromeda, and Regulus...but personality-wise Ed actually ended up taking some inspiration from Anna from Frozen! In fact, one of the character themes I chose for him as a child is a deleted song from Frozen that was originally going to be sung by Anna called More Than Just a Spare.

Desiree came about largely because of the creation of Jules Aquila @kathrynalicemc. His spontaneous, fantasy-loving personality was just so likable (largely because of how in-tune I was with it myself!), so when I was working on a character that I thought could be a fun contrast for someone like Jules, I settled on using my late stepmum as inspiration. I’m a very right-brained, sensitive, imaginative person like Jules, while my stepmum as a girl was a very left-brained, soft-spoken, modest, scientific, nerdy overachiever the way Desiree is. Like Desi as well, my stepmum had to find freedom and happiness by breaking away from her family and home and starting a new life apart from them. Desiree also ended up gaining flickers of my mum (who has always been very sensible and organized and shares a personality type -- ISTJ -- with Desi), as well as Elsa from Frozen, Luisa from Encanto, and Tiana from The Princess and the Frog. Both Kath and I have also found amusement at how much Juliree resembles Aladdin/Jasmine from Aladdin, ship-wise, as well.

Eli was largely inspired by comic film actors Buster Keaton and Charlie Chaplin, as well as Robin Williams and Fiyero from the musical Wicked. Like Robin did, Eli struggles with severe depression, but works hard to keep a smile on so as to make others happy, and like Fiyero, he was the sort to “tune in and drop out” at school from an academic perspective, but he’s actually a lot deeper emotionally than he seems from the outside. 

Bairn’s initial spark just came from me finding Brock O’Hurn and wanting to design a character that resembled him, honestly! 😂 I gotta thank @magical-retales for brainstorming a Renaissance-set storyline featuring Merlin, though...it was so much fun to take inspiration from different King Arthur storylines for Bairn’s character, like the Once and Future King series and Disney’s The Sword in the Stone. Bairn also took some cues from both Harry Potter and Charlie Weasley, being a Gryffindor orphan raised by uncaring Muggles with a longing for family and a love of nature and magical creatures!

Emoji Ask Game!

[carewyncromwell]

Interview my OCs: This question is for Carewyn, Jacob, Erik, Ana, Jackson, Bat, and Ru: What things do you think you share in common with YOUR MUN, Tory, here? 😏

Carewyn: "...Well, to start with the most obvious, we have more than a passing visual similarity."

Carewyn: "We have other physical similarities too. My 'mundane,' as she calls herself, is exactly my height, 5'3"; we both tend to gain weight in our stomach and thigh areas; and we're not particularly strong. We also have several interests in common, most notably music -- her family has a great passion for it too, from what I understand. We're also both very interested in fashion. Personality-wise, we're very proud, perfectionistic, asexual/panromantic Slytherins with, as Orion would put it, 'more fire than a Fire Crab'...though from what I've seen, my mundane actually resembles Orion in a lot of ways too. I wouldn't be surprised if she were able to talk to him even more easily than I can..."

[She gives a very soft, amused "hn!" through her nose.]

Carewyn: "We were both raised by single mothers, and our fathers both sort of dropped out emotionally while they were still living with us. Then of course there's the...'Mama Bear' thing. (covers her mouth with a hand to hold in a giggle) My mundane says it's a trait that both she and her own mother share that ended up being expressed in me."

Jacob: "(snorts with laughter) Between me and Little Miss Mundane? Honestly, not much. From what I gather, I was largely based on her late uncle, while Pip was based on herself and her mother as kids. Though hair-wise, I reckon I've got one thing over Pip -- Mun has very curly frizz like mine, rather than the nice, leisurely waves Pip has. Mun also is a helluva lot less organized than my Pip, so I reckon that's something we've got in common too."

Erik: "(raises eyebrows and smirks) Fuck-all, really. Though I guess one could point out house placement. Don't really know how a Slytherin came to work for a giant rat, but I suppose that's not my business. (wicked smirk) Mini-Mundane and I are both cat people, though -- from what I gather, her family had a grumpy tabby cat that coddled her as a baby the way my family's grumpy tabby cat Tabitha looked after me. The way we think and feel about Star Wars is pretty similar too."

Ana: "(more thoughtfully than the others) ...Mm, well...we do both love to write. My relationship with my dad is sort of like Tory's -- he and her mum divorced around the same time my parents did...and her relationship with her stepmum and stepbrother is a lot like mine with Bradley, Jasper, and Preston. ...Oh yeah, we like a lot of the same music and stuff too! Her favorite band is Nightwish and she likes shoujo anime and manga, just like me. We like a lot of the same books and movies, since we both love fantasy. We both love history and plays and the Gothic Victorian and steampunk aesthetics and stuff. I remember Tory's said in the past that, out of all of her MC's, her personality is probably the most like mine too, since we're both INFPs...but that I was also partly inspired by the stories she used to hear about her dad back in the day. He's a Gryffindor like me, and I guess even if he's hardened himself up a lot now, he was really sensitive and soft-spoken when he was younger. (rubs the back of her neck uncomfortably, but still sounding thoughtful) And well, I kind of get that...it's probably not a great idea to write a character that's only based on you, if you want them to develop a voice separate from yours..."

[Something oddly dark flashes through Jackson's eyes before his face bursts into a wicked, but charismatic grin.]

Jackson: " What I have in common with the Puppet Master of my fate -- that is an intriguing query, isn't it? I certainly hope charity toward those we have power over is something we share."

[He shoots an oddly pointed look in the mun's direction, smiling dynamically all the while.]

Jackson: "...But yes. From what I understand, both my dear mundane and I share a flair for the dramatic -- she participated in many a performance in her school days, and even her job now often requires politician-worthy performances. She and I also both share a deep appreciation for romance and poetry, despite the animated personas we put out. (his expression becomes far less amused and his smile becomes wryer) She may be a 'Miss-Tory,' so to speak, but like me, for everything she might hide away under a cheerful mask, her emotions run deep."

Bat: "(raises eyebrows coolly) Well, I'd say the young Miss Tory could be a capable teacher, if she applied herself. Though like me, she prefers to work outside the bureaucracy of the educational system. I suppose of all of her 'MC's,' as she calls us, I match her love of history more than the rest -- and her love of Christmas."

[The vampire gives a rather handsome laugh.]

Bat: "We were also both raised largely by single mothers who were raised Methodist. Apparently Methodists are recognized by outside sects for their logical approach to religion and their love of music, so that could explain why both she and I were raised in homes that advocated free thought and musical education. Though Miss Tory is far more enamored with the stage than I ever have been. (wry smile)"

Ru: "(snorts like a horse) You mean that obnoxious curly-haired human who looms over my shoulder all the time, asking me stupid questions? I already have one ginger-haired girl acting as my keeper, and believe me, that is MORE than enough."

[Why yes, they're referring to Estrid Soelberg. @thatravenpuffwitch The kelpie-in-human-form rolls their eyes and crosses their arms, their lips curling up in a wry smirk.]

Ru: "...She knows her stuff when it comes to moving pictures. I'll give her that."

((OOC: Ru and I are both film and animation nerds: I daresay if Ru was in the modern era, they and I could spend HOURS dissecting different movies. 😂 Bat and Ru are also both on the asexual spectrum, just like Carewyn and me!))

Interview my OC's!