#moisés bondia oc

[waitingonavision]

OC ask game: 2, 11, 14, 15 💕

2. Does your OC collect anything? What do they collect?

Mo strikes me as the type of person who collects stationery. He also likes to gather things for his calligraphy. Overall, he's pretty frugal and resourceful, valuing what few tchotchkes he has around his house and his Judaica.

11. What are your OC’s hobbies?

He sketches landscapes for fun! They're not especially remarkable or anything; he just likes to doodle flowers and trees and things.

He reads quite a bit and studies, too. And enjoys taking walks.

14. What foods does your OC like to eat? What are their least favorite foods?

Mo loves huevos haminados and hamin in general. The former refers to the eggs, while the latter is the Shabbat stew (they can be cooked together or separately). He thinks it's the perfect meal and introduces the Madrigals to it.

He also enjoys bourekas, probably the kind filled with cheese and spinach. When he and Milo, @seanettlles's baker OC, hang out, Mo likes to teach Milo how to make Jewish baked goods like bourekas and hamantaschen.

There's no food he really dislikes... it's more like he has a sense of sadness and complicated feelings surrounding keeping kosher in the Encanto (keeping kosher is important to him, so he doesn't want to not do it). Food brings people together, and it's hard to be the only Jew and the only Jew who can't eat popular Colombian dishes that combine meat and cheese/milk products, for example. But he makes it work 😭

15. If your OC could have any pet, what would they choose? Why?

Ooooooh... I could see him with a soft and fluffy hen. 🥺 Mo would be really gentle with a chicken friend. (Also, free eggs lol.)

OC Asks!

Thank you for asking, Ash 💕😁

[waitingonavision]

16, 23, 38 for Moisés 😁

16. What does your OC smell like?

Hmm... Parchment, books, and calligraphy tools (whatever they smell like haha)... Oh, probably a touch of some kind of fragrant or sweet spice too 😌

23. What is a random fact about your OC?

He can play the spoons 😆 I don't know if this is/would have been a thing in Colombia, but I can imagine Mo being able to play.

38. What would your character do with a million dollars?

Honestly, he'd probably donate a bunch of it to various Jewish organizations and charities, as well as give some to friends. He doesn't have much use for money himself. Maybe he'd try traveling somewhere if the Encanto was open, like in a post-canon scenario.

OC Asks!

Thank you for the ask! 🥰

[waitingonavision]

Question about Moisés “Mo” Bondia:

Does he constantly get asked whether he was named Moisès because of Shavuot? And does he say yes, or have to explain every time over again that his parents had chosen the name regardless, and it was purely a coincidence?

Ooh, good question! Thank you, anon 💕

Meta-wise, his name and birthday both being associated with Shavuot is more of a coincidence. I chose the name Moisés way before I decided on his birthday... and the latter was based purely on wanting to make him a Taurus (which happens to fall between Passover and Shavuot anyway!—I guess that's bashert).

But within the canon I've created, his parents probably did name Moisés after the holiday 😆

As for whether he gets asked about his name's origins a lot... I'm leaning towards no, but I also think it depends. (In my head, I got all Jewish Nerd™ and into the weeds thinking about this lol, but I'll try to be succinct here.)

...I think it depends on a few things, like how much knowledge or experience the largely (lay) Catholic townspeople in the Encanto have about Judaism/Jewish holidays. If the Bondias were the only Jews they knew, it's possible that they would have learned a bit about Judaism through Ester and Jonás... and maybe even learned directly from them that Mo was named after the holiday. And if that became common knowledge along the way, then there might not be a need to keep asking.

Another thing I can see happening is the townspeople assuming much more generally that Moisés was named after, well, Moisés (Moses). ...They might also ask if there's a Passover connection before ever mentioning Shavuot, the lesser-known of the two holidays.

[waitingonavision]

Hi! For your OC ask game: 1, 5, 25, and 26. 🙂

Thank you for the ask!! 💕💕

1. What is your OC’s favorite color?

I think he likes peacock blue the best!

5. What is your OC’s first memory?

Hmmm... There's there's probably this one memory he has of eating papaya with his parents, maybe even on Tu B'Shvat. I wouldn't necessarily call it his first memory, but it's the one that comes to mind for him.

25. What inspired you to create them / how did you create them? Were they originally a fancharacter? What was their personality / design like when you first made them?

In all honesty, my primary desire was to have someone who could help Bruno along his Jewish journey. It took a long time for me to develop a real backstory and personality for Mo, but he's taken on a life of his own!

Mo's original design was based on Oscar Isaac from Inside Llewyn Davis: the curly hair with the puff in the front, the beard, the soft belly. And then I decided to make him stockier and give him a rounder belly, and it all clicked, haha. His personality is based on a few Jewish friends I know and admire IRL, plus some traits I just think are Good.

26. Who is the most important person in their life? Why? Who is the least important to them (that still has an impact and why?

Mo is lonely 🥲 He would like to make more friends lol.

The Madrigals become good friends of his, though. And I've been playing with the idea of him and Bruno being in a queerplatonic relationship, though their "default" relationship is just friends.

Weirdly enough, he's fairly tight with Padre Flores, the Encanto's priest. They spar over plenty of topics, probably have a Bible study thing going on, and can get pretty fed up with each other, but they're still buddies. I bet they get together for coffee and such. #oddcouple (I'll add a doodle of them later.)

OC Asks!

[waitingonavision]

37 and 39 for Mo, if no one has asked for those 😤❤

Thank you for the ask 💕💕

37. What’s something that your character does, that other people don’t normally do?

Hmmm. This is tough, and I probably don't have a clear answer yet, because it's all relative, isn't it? :'D He was the only Jew in the Encanto for a while, so there are tons of "odd" things he does compared to what others do...

Ooh, it would be interesting if he had some sort of linguistic quirk, kinda like how Bruno is the only member of the family, and Encanto, with a NY accent. Hmm.. I'll have to keep thinking about this!

39. What is in your characters refrigerator right now? On their bedroom floor? Nightstand? Garbage can?

If the Encanto had refrigerators, Mo would have a lot of, uh, vegetables in his? 😂💀 He'd probably be the type of Jew with a second freezer, which he'd keep meat in. Any dairy products would go in the main fridge/freezer. I'm sure he'd have some frozen meals too: quick things to heat up when he doesn't feel like cooking. Maybe he's a fan of smoothies and keeps the perishable ingredients in his fridge.

There's probably not a whole lot of stuff on his bedroom floor; he's tidy like that. His nightstand has a book or two on it, and a kosher lamp to use on Shabbat. There are pretty typical things in his garbage can. (I'm not being very creative 😂)

OC Asks!

[waitingonavision]

35, 48

OC ask.

Whee~ thank you for the ask! I'll be working my way through the questions I've received kind of methodically—gives me the chance to really think about the answers. CW: for mentions of death (of parents)

. . .

35. How is your character’s imagination? Daydreaming a lot? Worried most of the time? Living in memories?

I wouldn't say that Moisés is prone to daydreaming... but I think he tends to let his thoughts drift quite a bit on Shabbat and Yamim Tovim (holidays) , when it's quiet and he's not doing any work.

He's fairly imaginative, though not on the level of, say, Bruno or Mirabel. He's the town's calligrapher (he works in both Spanish and Hebrew), so his creative streak definitely comes out when he's designing things... I think he has a "structured" or deliberate? kind of creative mind, if that makes sense... like, less free-wheeling. He doesn't let his worry or anxiety show too much. But he has Jewish Guilt and inherited trauma... plus, he was around four years old when the Encanto was created, so he has that traumatic memory of fleeing the town with his parents and the other refugees. It manifests sometimes in the form of PTSD.

48. What were their parents like? How has that affected how they are as an adult?

Mo's mamá's name is Ester and his pá is Jonás. They lived in the same town as Alma and Pedro. I imagine there were a few other Jews in that town, but by the time the horsemen come, and definitely while they're living in the Encanto (until the Madrigals discover their own Jewish ancestry), the Bondias are the only Jews left.

In contrast to Alma and Pedro, Ester and Jonás became parents at an older age. Maybe it took them some time to conceive Moisés, who's their only child. Ester's grandfather was a rabbi, and I think it's possible that Jonás, who was also a scribe, had both Sephardi (Spanish Jewish) and Ashkenazi (Eastern European Jewish) family members. I haven't thought to much about their backstories yet, so don't hold me to any of this lol ;;; For simplicity's sake, I'll probably also model their personalities on Esther and Jonah from the Tanakh/associated midrash. Mo gets his studiousness and some of his positive traits from Ester, and a bit of his goofiness and vices from Jonás.

Mo was always pretty close with his parents and is really affected when they pass away while he's still in his 20s. And he feels distraught because he's not able to recite Kaddish for them (the mourner's prayer requires a quorum of ten Jews)... which leads him to scour rabbinic literature for solutions or a work-around. Their deaths also cause him to feel even more isolated as the sole Jew in the Encanto (until the Madrigals' discovery, of course).

Baby Mo doodle!

OC Asks!

[waitingonavision]

Moisés “Mo” Bondia! Official OC Info Post

Age: 55 (his age during the film)

Gender: AMAB/male (cis); he/him pronouns

Height: 5’6” (170 cm)

Physical description: Has glasses with oval frames, medium brown skin tone, and dark curly hair (3A?) with a puff on the front right side and grey streaks on the both sides; bearded. Wide-set eyes, broad nose; he’s lightly freckled on his cheeks and has dimples.

Dresses no differently than the townspeople but does wear a Sephardic style kippah (aka a yarmulke; photo is for reference) on his head. He’s on the chubby side, with round cheeks and a little double chin.

His clothing palette consists of goldish-browns and blues.

More art and info under the cut!

I’m still trying to tweak his clothing style...

Personality: Mostly soft-spoken but has a bit of a mischievous/joking streak; very dorky sense of humor. Patient for the most part; has a calm, deliberate way of speaking. On the guarded side–vigilant around new people, though he tries to be as open and friendly as possible. Has a poor sense of direction.

Enjoys wine (the doofy jokes really come out when drunk) and singing (but is bad at it). He is a big Jewish nerd™. His family escaped with their chumash (the Torah/Five Books of Moses), a prayer book or two, and a few other things.

His name, Bondia, means “good day” (from the Hebrew surname, Yom Tov). It’s shaped his outlook on life, despite, or because of, the trauma of his childhood–he was five when he and his parents fled the bandits (at the beginning of Encanto).

Background [cw for parental death and depression]: Moisés and his parents, Ester (mother) and Jonás (father), have been in the Encanto since its creation. His parents both passed away by the time he’s in his mid-late 20s. Because he’s really the only Jew in the Encanto, he feels like the odd one out (in that sense, he has a kinship with Bruno and, to an extent, Mirabel). The townspeople get along with him, despite his differences.

Ester’s and Jonás’ deaths occurred one after the other and hit Mo very hard, and he went through a period of depression and, just, not taking care of himself very well. He wasn’t always chubby (fairly average build in his teens and early twenties), and actually lost an unhealthy amount of weight after his parents’ deaths but eventually recovered–he’s able to sympathize with Bruno in this way. He is body confident and prefers himself chubby.

Relationship with the Madrigals and others: After the Madrigals discover Judaica among their heirlooms/possessions, Mo falls into the role of a rabbi and helps the family explore their Jewish ancestry and reclaim that part of their identity. He worries about his motivation (e.g., having more Jews around will make him less lonely, is that why he’s doing what he’s doing?) and wonders if the Madrigals, especially Bruno, are actually interested (he is/they are).

Bruno becomes Mo’s study partner. Mo helps Bruno through the conversion process, doing his best to offer support when Bruno struggles with guilt over leaving Catholicism. They are not romantically involved, though I’ve toyed with the idea of a queerplatonic relationship. (Mo is likely panromantic and maybe ace.)

He and the Padre have an odd friendship. They spar over theology and general religion a lot, getting into intense debates, yet they can be seen chatting companionably at the bar(?)/other places.

Other info: Works as the Encanto’s calligrapher. He knows Spanish and Hebrew, and maybe some Ladino (Judeo-Spanish). There are a lot of challenges to being Jewish in the Encanto, but he and eventually the Madrigals make it work.

He likes flowers and sketching landscapes.

Pokémon AU info: He has a bunch of Litwick that hang out around him (8, + 1 shiny) and provide light on Shabbat. Also trains a Bramblin that eventually evolves into a Brambleghast, a Golurk, and a Smeargle. He picks up a stray Mareep.

The Litwick are a reference to a menorah. Bramblin reminds me of the burning bush, so I gave it to Mo. Golurk seems to be based on the Golem of Prague from Jewish legend. Smeargle reflects his work as a calligrapher. And Mareep because Moses is a shepherd in the Torah.

Appearances:

my fic, “A Time for Building”

this art post/compilation of Encanto OCs by @cheetee​

other random bits of info via asks

[waitingonavision]

Here’s an updated character design sheet(ish) for my Encanto OC, Moisés Bondia!!

Someday I’ll learn how to color, I swear! *eyes colored pencils* Anyway, his clothing color palette consists of goldish-browns and blues. And his kippah is kind of inspired by this one. I’m still working out the patterns and things.

[waitingonavision]

Do you know any Encanto OC’es that are not shipped with or in a relationship with Bruno?

I should be able to rattle off a few, but ;;;

@redcookies-bestcookies‘s Diego Orozco is one, I believe (correct me if I’m wrong!). Actually, my OC, Moisés Bondia, is not romantically involved with Bruno either, as I've come to realize...

Save me, friends~! Feel free to reply/reblog this ask with some names!

[waitingonavision]

OC Background Info

I wrote about Moisés here, but wanted to make a new info post because I’ve changed and rethought some things since writing Mo’s cameo into my Encanto Big Bang fic. Mo’s preliminary design is here.

Name: Moisés Bondia is a Latin Jew who is descended from Sephardim (Jews historically from Spain and Portugal). His parents’ names are TBD but tentatively Ester and Jonás.

Old Background: Moisés arrives in the Encanto in 1952, during the time that La Violencia is taking place in Colombia, outside the Encanto. He escapes, but his family is killed, including his parents.

New Background: He and his parents have been in the Encanto since its creation. His parents both passed away by the time he’s in his mid-late 20s. Because he’s really the only Jew in the Encanto, he feels like the odd one out (in that sense, he has a kinship with Bruno and, to an extent, Mirabel). The townspeople get along with him, despite his differences.

After the Madrigals discover Judaica among their heirlooms/possessions, Mo falls into the role of a rabbi and helps the family explore their Jewish ancestry and reclaim that part of their identity. He worries about his motivation (having more Jews around will make him less lonely, is that why he’s doing what he’s doing?) and wonders if the Madrigals, especially Bruno, are actually interested (he is/they are).

Stuff that’s the same: Moisés is still a big Jewish nerd™. His family escaped with their chumash (the Torah/Five Books of Moses), a prayer book or two, and a few other things.

[waitingonavision]

In your Jewish AU, is it just the Madrigals that are Jewish or is the whole town? Part of the town? Absolutely LOVE this AU by the way and I am also very here for any "looking at Bruno/prophets through a Jewish lens" that you want to share!

😍 Eee~

In my headcanon/AU, it's mainly the Madrigals who are Jewish. But with the history of conversos and crypto-Jews, I can imagine other canon/established characters finding out they have Jewish relatives and ancestors...

Essentially, the Madrigals discover what turns out to be Judaica, belonging to Alma's side of the family, while they're searching among Casita's rubble. They do have a neighbor, my OC named Moisés Bondia, who is the only known and practicing Jew in the Encanto. He's a few years older than the triplets, and had fled the horsemen with his parents, Alma and Pedro, and the others.

While not a rabbi, Mo takes on the role and helps the Madrigals (especially Bruno, his friend—not romantic partner) explore their Jewishness. ...This reminds me that I desperately want to write a fic about Bruno immersing in the mikveh (ritual bath) and formalizing his conversion.

Sometimes I dip into my alternate AU (alternate alternate universe 😂) where the Madrigals have always been Jewish.

More information about Mo and his relationship with the Madrigals can be found in this post!

Bruno as (Jewish) prophet post will happen * 3 * Thank you for the ask! 💚

[waitingonavision]

Ok, but how is Oscar Isaac not Jewish?

Apropos of not much except for me thinking about my OC, Moisés Bondia, and how his physical appearance is modeled off of Oscar Isaac in Inside Llewyn Davis and how Moon Knight gave us, among many things, the gift that is Oscar Isaac in a kippah.

[waitingonavision]

Welp, I’ve made an OC.

“Welcome to OC hell,” as I’ve been warned told.

Introducing Moisés Bondia!

Nothing is set in stone yet, and I’m still not 100% sure where this is all heading, but I figured I’d throw out some ideas from my chats with @seanettlles:

Name: Moisés is a Latin Jew who is descended from Sephardim (Jews historically from Spain and Portugal). His first name is the Spanish version of Moses. His last name, Bondia, is Sephardic, from the Hebrew name Yom Tov. Both mean “good day”; yom tov is also the term we use for holidays, especially ones like the first two days of Passover where you’re not supposed to do work.

Also, I didn’t know this when I chose Bondia, but Buendía is the name of the family in Gabriel García Márquez’s One Hundred Years of Solitude, which was a source of inspiration for Encanto!

Background: Moisés (probably) arrives in the Encanto in 1952, during the time that La Violencia is taking place in Colombia, outside the Encanto. I have to do more research into whether this is factual, but I think Jews were among the targets/victims of the war (owing to an antisemitic conspiracy theory). Moisés escapes, but his family is killed, including his parents.

Part of his story with Bruno involves eventually learning that the Madrigals have Jewish ancestry... and Bruno reclaiming that part of his heritage. Moisés is a fish out water, fleeing from violence, and being a Sephardi Jew, carries a lot of generational trauma. Being from the outside, he also knows about the Holocaust... which Bruno may have even seen in an involuntary vision, when he was younger.

Moisés is a big Jewish nerd. And I thought about making him the son of a rabbi... but I'm going to lean away from that because it's so overdone (his name is already Moisés, which is also cliché). So, he just really loves being Jewish and has studied a lot of Torah and other Jewish texts like Maimonides. He escaped with his chumash (the Torah/Five Books of Moses), his prayer book, and a few other things. The Encanto is a predominantly Catholic town, it seems... and I'm trying to decide if I want other residents to be descendants of conversos (Sephardi Jews who were forced to convert to Christianity).

He’s distraught over the probability that he can't say the prayer that Jews traditionally recite every week (for up to a year) for their loved ones who have recently died.... because you need a quorum of ten Jews in order to say the prayer. I'm still trying to figure out how to solve this. It’s gonna be hard to be a practicing Jew in the Encanto...

I feel like I’m a little in over my head, but in a good way.  And is this a thinly-veiled excuse for me to inhabit my Big Jewish Nerd identity while indulging my headcanon that the Madrigals have Jewish ancestry? Yes. Also, I’m an Asian Jew and neither Sephardi nor Ashkenazi (aka Jews from Europe), though I am more familiar with Ashkenazi traditions, so it will be nice to put my current grad studies to use and learn even more about non-Central/Eastern European Jewish history (and present). There’s a lot to consider.

[waitingonavision]

This is my OC, Moisés Bondia~ Read more about him here.

I’m still trying to nail down his design.

[waitingonavision]

Which Encanto OC's do you like?

Emilio Castaño, who is @seanettlles' amazing, wonderful OC. I call him the only OC I've ever been invested in lol (because it's true). He's soft in all the ways and needs to love himself more and he absolutely loves Bruno 😭 The feeling is mutual; he and Bruno are the Best and Cutest couple (cute old men!™). I am also biased because I've written a few pieces about them, only one of which is on Tumblr.

Álex Mújica from the fic "Futuro". The story is heavy; seriously, heed the warnings, it's a doozy (I wouldn’t normally read a fic this heavy, but man, it sucked me in). Anyway. Álex, what a beautiful soul. He and Bruno make another wonderful couple. *clutches heart*

And that's it... OCs are difficult for me to get into. I guess I should mention my own OC, Moisés Bondia, though I haven't done much with him yet.

Thank you for the ask, anon!!!

[waitingonavision]

5, 11, 12! 💜💜💜💜💜

5. Anything you haven't drawn yet but want to?

I've yet to draw Félix! 😭 I also want to draw my OC, Moisés Bondia, as well as Julieta baking challah.

11. Favorite comment you've ever recieved on your work?

...which was left on this drawing of Bruno putting on his new shirt. 💀 but also I crack up every time I remember it 🤣

But in all seriousness, all the sweet comments I’ve received here or on Instagram 🥺😭💕 Y’all make my day.

12. Show your favourite drawing from this year

This is gonna sound so self-indulgent, but... my “Pancita” drawings (found here). Because back in March(!) when I was writing the fic I never thought I was going to be able to draw anything/get back into drawing enough to attempt these...

Even if they don’t match the image in my mind, I still like them. And am glad that anon was on the same wavelength, choosing this scene T^T

Thank you, Hero! 💚💚💚

FROM ARTIST ASKS - FEEL FREE TO SEND ME SOME NUMBERS!