#oc: emery marlowe

[thedeadthree]

pov: you are leon and your best friend just found out about you and his sister

[sparingiscaring]

Since I see a few of us talking about last names~

Leigh Corbyn has the least thought put into his - it's an inside joke for me and me alone, but it's not a completely unique surname for England at the time. "Little crow" indeed.

Elizabeth Marlow similarly is an incidental name - at the time of the creation of Eliza's account, I was reading "Heart of Darkness" for school, and the book captured my interest for far longer than it deserved. The story-within-a-story Narrator was Captain Charles Marlow - and so it became Marlow. "Bog after a lake has been drained" it's absolutely horrible and unfitting and that brings me joy.

Whism is a funny misspelling I once did of the word Whimsy. Whism. It's fun to say :)

Damodar Wali is where I started. Researching. And trying. Wali is a Kashmiri name typically from the Brahmin caste, although it does have roots in Arabic as well. Her half-brother, Rama, always used their father's surname, while Damodar actually used her mother's name of Watkins before entering the Neath. Y'know, taking up the mantle and name of the dead as you quest for revenge, the usual. "Protector, lord, saint, friend" and it fits, with how the roles changed in Rama and Damodar's relationship, later in life (and death).

Wadiya Babar is, again, a research rabbit hole, due her family history and professions. Merchants move around, dudes. Babar is primarily Pakistani, with a strong Persian influence, and is also a popular given name for boys - that was very intentional, since as the first-born, Wadiya was... not exactly thrilling to their family, being AFAB and all, and I appreciate some dramatic irony. "Tiger" is the meaning, and I. Love. This. For. Them! And they love it to, only reason it ever gets used is for that meaning.

Emery Hyde is a little nerd who likes to read horror, who was 2 months old and reading "Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde" when he realized he probably needed his own surname, since he didn't wanna share one with his own Other Self. He thought he was so damn clever. Unrelated to the Americanized "Haid -> Hyde" Jewish surname, this gentile is just a dork. "A unit of measuring land" and gosh do I love these topographic names they're all so funny.

[timegears-moved]

augh insecure about my ocs

[sparingiscaring]

Congrats on regaining cognition after a long headache episode! Those are baaadddd for focus 😔

What do your OCs do to wind down before sleeping

Yeah, I tried quitting caffeine cold-turkey... no. Just... no. Never again. I'll have a Less than Laudable Caffeine Habit for forever, to avoid that constant ache again.

Answer under the cut, to save space!

Eliza has the most stringent nighttime routine, and actually sleeps the best as a result. It always draws a bath (NORMALLY, not like. A certain other master who's name starts with a C) a two hours before it plans to sleep, and after that's done, it winds down in bed, always on the right side, and it journals. Never what it actually did that day, mind you - it knows better than to write down its crimes - but it's an easy last task, to write down some charming lies about it's day. It's always the last to bed.

Leigh, usually, reclines with a few pages of novel, but he's been having so many more nightmares as of late, due to the events of the Horticultural Show, and the memories it's drudged up. As of late, the only way he's been able to sleep is with the help of laudanum, usually taken with his last cup of tea for the night. He appreciates that it keeps the nightmares away, at least for that night.

Damodar should have the easiest time falling asleep, just as a side-effect of her work as a Silverer, but her anxieties get the better of her, and she turns to that work to wind down. Nothing major - mostly accounting, and the working out of what to bill her clients. Busywork is comforting for her. If things get REALLY bad, she'll pop over to her lab at the university, and sit at her desk as she settles grants and requests for certain funds - it's not uncommon to see her asleep a desk, pen still in hand, when the first research assistants enter that morning.

Wadiya has the most trouble sleeping, consistently. It's the darkness, always, that gets her - it makes every hair stand on end, no matter how long they live in this darkness. Not helpful that her most consistent lodgings are in the cellars of Old Newgate. Lighting a candle and watching it burn down is the best they can manage for winding down - it's a race against the clock, to fall asleep while it's still dark, if they want to do more than have a micronap.

Emery would say he has no ritual - he writes his dreadfuls in the waning hours until he tires, and then promptly falls into bed, but the writing process, however frantic he finds it, always gets those lasts bursts of energy of his system. If he were to stop, any semblance of a schedule would fall to ruin, as he'd start oscellating between extremely long days, then short ones. 36 hours one day, 12 the next, then another 32... it's for the best that he continue his morbid writings as his last activity before bed.

[sparingiscaring]

🥃 for any of them :3

🥃: If your OC was in this universe, what would be their favorite show/book/band/social media platform?

You Fool. You get them All

Wadiya would be really into their music- alternative rock is (tentatively) what I would assign them! That and metal. It doesn't have to sound good, it just needs to be LOUD and SHAKE THEIR FURNITURE and befit GROWLING ALONG-

Leigh would be very over-dramatic about tv shows that are supposed to be comedic, or light-hearted. Any long-running sitcom sucks him in, and drives him insane- how could she do that to her husband, and to ME, the VIEWER, after I TRUSTED HER?! I can't think of which one exactly would take him in, but something about them calls to him, like a shark to blood.

Damodar would be soooo into online horror writing. That's the exact phrasing she uses- if you say "so like creepypasta" then she'll push her glasses up and suddenly you're in for a 2 hour presentation on the nuances of r/nosleep and how it's not creepypasta and the history of chain emails and how Smiledog.jpg is personally offensive to her. Just... accept what she says. Accept that she is the expert here. Also, she 100% has a Cookie Clicker tab open at all times.

Eliza loves Youtube. It is that YouTuber who gets busted for promoting gambling websites to kids. It has a VERY popular YouTube channel that's not for kids but appeals only to kids, with a chipper voice, and the cutesy bat mascot. There are 104 video essays explaining its crimes and controversies, and when pressure is too bad, it comes back with a new channel as a VTuber. It is reveling in the misfortune and fame.

Similar to Damodar, Emery gets really into the horror space- he's that guy who got really into Black Mirror for a long time. Recently, though he's branching out into indie horror stuff- ARG's, especially, which eventually expands out into the non-horror ARG side off things. He sobs when he learns about Cicada 3301, and how he was a decade late to it. A reddit boy.

[sparingiscaring]

What Songs Best Represent The OC?

Since the OC Playlists still need a little work, here's the Core Songs from each OC's list! These are either the Distilled Vibes of the OC in particular, or in some way Encapsulate their story!

Wadiya Babar - The Unsettled Stalker - BAL PC

Kiss Me You Animal - Burn the Ballroom

You say you wanna tear right through me I welcome you to try (Kiss me, kiss me) I wanna see your teeth girl lemme see you grind, yeah Woah Kiss me you animal

Damodar Wali - The Restless Professor - Nemesis PC

Noel's Lament - Ride the Cyclone

For I sing songs until the break of dawn I embrace a new man every night My life's one never-ending carnival A world of boozy-floozy flashing light I want to be that fucked up girl

Eliza Marlowe - Mr Cards - HD PC

Candle Queen - GHOST

Toddler's cries that grow louder and louder Relishing in untestable power Glowing red in a black and white scene The one and only candle queen Stoking the flames that burn higher and higher Royalty with a crown of fire Setting ablaze an extravagant scene The one and only candle queen

Emery Hyde - The Singular Spy - HD PC... 2!!!

Against the Kitchen Floor - Will Wood

The vertex of my redemption arc, the searching on that virgin heart I'm catatonic in your arms, cried, "How did I cause so much harm?" I'm down pounding my head against the kitchen floor Apologizing for my life and ever entering yours

(Or, for a more accurate look at Emery-Coded lyrics, look at the entire fucking song-)

Leigh Corbyn - The Fair Deacon - Light Fingers PC

The Main Character - Will Wood

So, God forbid I'm seen just as an average human being I mean, imagine if protagonists just died in the first scene I'm the gap between a tragedy and comedy Don't come at me I'm the main character, and you have to like me

Whism Doe - ??? - Seeker, For Now

The Ballad of Jane Doe - Ride The Cyclone

A melody floats through the air When silence falls, does no one care? Does anyone care? Another sad, forgotten tune Another song that no one knows So that's how it goes!

... and there we are! Please send me asks about this, if you have thoughts or ideas.

[sparingiscaring]

This is so goddamn funny to me.

[sparingiscaring]

I just have to know 🍍 for all your OCs

🍍: Where does your OC feel most comfortable?

Oooh, a good one!

Emery feels most comfortable in his townhouse, with his wife Amelia- it's his own space, and a place where he's safe from his past mistakes. Just nice, and private, and a place where he can ignore everything he used to be. And, should someone find him, they'll have to answer to his Strong Wife before they ever get a look at him.

Damodar feels most comfortable in the Parabola- she knows of it's dangers, but she also knows how to use the environment to protect herself. Reality has so many dangers she can't fend off, and too much truth that she'd rather avoid. But in the Parabola, she can be someone else, somewhere else. It also helps that she has an ally in the Parabola, with it's gifts of not-quite gratitude.

Leigh feels most comfortable in his Suite at the Royal Beth- specifically, up on top, with his telescope. It's melancholic- he has so much to fear, up on the roof, and it was such a big part of his past. But whenever he catches sight of the newest false-star, all fears are forgotten. All he thinks then, is just how much he believes that it's looking down on him, too.

Wadiya feels most comfortable in the light- usually in the form of a fire, surrounded by Urchins after a hunt. But any light brings them a degree of certainty and stability that they cannot feel in the dark, and for as long as the embers burn, the Unsettled Stalker feels far, far closer to settled.

Eliza feels most comfortable in its robe- after all, it can be its true self, there. No pretending, no placating. Just self. This is always to the detriment of others.

[sparingiscaring]

🎂and ☀️ for your OCs :)

Ooh!

🎂: when is their birthday?

☀️: what do they miss most about the surface?

🎂 Wadiya's birthday is April 23rd! Original W. and New Wadiya are. Entirely separate characters and I refuse to force Wadiya into sharing that day with em, so they get the Date Of Name Change as birthday!

☀️Wadiya misses a lot about the surface, but really, it's the light. No matter how much deep-lore they learn about the nature of sunlight, it's something they deeply miss. Just to go above, and enjoy the sunrise one more time.

🎂 Leigh's birthday is July 19th!

☀️ Leigh misses the food, most of all. So many more options, when you can rely on there being a greater variety of crops, and of course, none of his familiar foods survived the culinary shift. Mushrooms are an ick to him, and for that to be a new stable food source? He's paying so much for Normal Foods. Please help.

🎂 Emery counts his birthday as January 11th, though his creation was a few weeks prior. It's the same day he changed his surname, too!

☀️ Emery has memories of the surface, but has never physically been, (and never will, as he is an affront to nature!) but he does wonder how the sunlight would feel. It's an "if I'm dying anyways" type dream, to him.

🎂 Eliza's birthday is November 30th!

☀️ Eliza misses... I honestly can't say. It doesn't care about it's family, culture, it's moved beyond it's old place in society... It misses something small, innocuous. The wind. The feeling of just getting to enjoy a nice, breezy day, without having to duck and cover to make sure no wax globs get stuck in its hair.

🎂 Whism's birthday is January 26th!

☀️ Whism was actually born in the Neath, but if they could experience the surface, they would want to see all the different plant. What needs sunlight to grow, and how does it differ from the Neath? How is life different? Can They Eat The Plant?

🎂 Damodar's birthday is January 18th!

☀️ Honestly, Damodar misses her old home. It's less the building, and more the feeling- living in the quarters above the law practice, only a door away from her brother, if she ever needed him. She was taken from the house directly down to New Newgate, after his murder, but a part of her wonders, if she could have stomached to spend a night there without him.

[sparingiscaring]

🍇for your OCs?

🍇: What sort of friend are they? Where are they in the group dynamic?

Yes!!! One of my favorite ideas to play with- what if these idiots just had. Friends?

Putting it under the cut, for Length's Sake!

Emery has grown into a halfway decent friend. He's very casual, and easy to get along with... as long as you don't try to get too close. That jump from "stranger i care nothing about but will schmooze with" to "best buddy" is a big leap, and there's really no in-between steps for him. There used to be, but then they all got killed by Jack-of-Smiles. It'll take a lot of coaxing him (like a wounded animal) to ever get him into a group of people that might be friends. But, in a group of strangers? He can fit right in, schmoozing and talking the talk, as long as no one tries to get too personal.

Eliza is a terrible friend. In the past, any friends were simply pawns on the chess board of whatever it was planning. Now, with the mental changes starting from it's transformation, it doesn't even pretend to have friends? It's just. People To Have Tantrums At. Any group it joined had one of two fates- kicking it out, and suffering subsequent attacks, or eventually becoming a puppet-group for tyrannical Eliza.

Damodar is a much better friend. She's very reclusive, but when it comes to her research on the Parabola, or the subject of her bats, she can actually become quite chatty! In the lab, she's an easy leader, and has an easy time acting as a mediator between any quarreling assistants. Outside the lab, she falls into a supportive role, only speaking when directly asked to, or when something blatantly incorrect is asserted.

Leigh is technically a good friend? He's nice enough, very charitable, and always wanting to spend time with people, but at any disagreement in taste or opinion is taken quite personally- it must be a sign they hate him. He recognizes this is irrational eventually, but presents outwardly as such a friendly man, to someone who despises you for a month and sneers in your direction, back to Your Good Pal, without ever apologizing. It's exhausting to be his friend. He does far better in a group, though- having to juggle multiple relationships means he can't get so caught up in just one, and he settles into another mediator position, strangely enough!

Wadiya does not like people, just generally, so friendships are complicated. They aren't friends with the Urchins they spend so much time in the company of, or with the Monster Hunters they sometimes hunt alongside, or with the members of Sophia's, but aside from them, who else is there to be friends with? Weird Dog? Do we want to call Weird Dog a friendship? In a group setting, Wadiya is actually a major asset- they stay in the back, looking bored by the very notion of being here, until some kind of disaster strikes. Then, they're the one standing up and fixing the situation, with the actual important information they had picked up on amongst all the fluff.

Thank ya for the ask!

[sparingiscaring]

🍝: are they a good cook?

for anyone you want :)

Best Cook: Wadiya! They're a miracle worker even with horrible ingredients.

Good Cooks: Damodar, Leigh

Okay Cooks: Emery, Whism

Bad Cook: Eliza. It Cannot Cook

[sparingiscaring]

Attempted to do a little sketchy heigh chart of my guys! Super happy with how these guys came out, esp for the canvas size and for them not taking long hehe.

In order: Wadiya, Leigh, Emery (a new?!), Eliza, Whism, and Damodar!

[sparingiscaring]

For that ask game, 3. What's yalls weapon of choice for the blorbos

Ohoho!! Wadiya - Definitely the Bone Harpoon from being a Monster-Hunter for anything ranged, to bring whatever they're after down to her level, and a knife once it's close. Jaguar Blade 2, anyone?

Damodar - Ratwork Derringer. She's not fond of any weapons, but this one distances her from the act, and it's quick. She can argue even painless.

Eliza - Anything bladed. It has a Vial of Cantigaster Venom, and is a Licentiate- poison on anything sharp will do the job. That includes the talons it's sprouting, should anyone be unlucky enough to get nicked.

Leigh - His cane (Not the Bejewel one that's reserved for board meetings and parties), or his Mesmeric Parasol, I would say? He never expects a confrontation, to be honest, so it's very good luck that he usually carries one or the other, and can break them over somebody's shoulder in a fight.

Emery - Knives, preferably Skyglass. He loses them constantly, and acts like a child dropping their candy when he does. He will claim it's a Jack-knife, without any of the understanding behind it.