#i screenshoted everything i said jic and i’ll just retype in the replies whatever it cuts off

[lyriumsings]

for octavia: hero, fans, and development!

Hi!! Thank you for the ask! I’m gonna try to be less wordy because tumblr keeps eating my paragraphs lol

Hero: What is their favourite thing about G? Why is your MC such a big fan?

Probably their lyricism. Octavia is a very wordy person lol. They would most admire someone who has a lot of poetic, witty songs that can be interpreted multiple ways. Also G’s versatility. I personally like songs that feel like multiple songs in one and I think they would too. Or artists who are just capable of a wide range of sounds and styles which G canonically is.

Overall, it’s just that G is original and unpredictable. After meeting G in person, ngl I think they’re about what Octavia expected. Nobody’s perfect and G is a rock star so it seems pretty accurate that they would be Like That.

Fans: How is their relationship with their fans? Do they go out of their way to interact? 

Octavia loves their fans and interacting with them. Anyone who likes their music Octavia feels on some level understands them and may or may not feel the same as them. Their songs are usually deeply personal so Octavia really is putting a lot of themself out there when they perform.

Their music is not very “family friendly” but as a former hardcore music fan in my teens that hardly matters. Teens make up a lot of demographics anyway especially like sad ones lmao. So the fan aspect and the “influencing the young” part of fame are aspects she takes very seriously.

And as cliche as it sounds it’s still true that without fans Octavia wouldn’t have any sort of career. I imagine at the height of their career in the future they’ll go out of their way to do things for them. Buy food for people waiting in queue for their concerts, pay off college debt, etc.

Development: How did you come up with your character? Is their design still evolving? How do you think they might develop through the story?

I LOVE this question!! OK SO!! I kind of try to build my MCs into the narrative? Basically, I try to make a character that would be the most interesting (have the most issues lmaooo) to me. It’s hard to some up all the factors i take into consideration when making them because in my head it’s so complicated.

Step one is always pick a name lol. It’s honestly probably the hardest part for me. Finding a name that feels right and fits the setting is really important to me and after that comes everything else. Their actually personality is dependent on the personality of the characters they’re surrounded by based on that I decide how outgoing or introverted or well adjusted lol they are. Because that controls the dynamic between the characters.

And then based on their personality I start building the background so they have reasons to be that way. Whether they had supportive parents or any at all. If they were poor or rich etc etc. It helps me shape core character values.

Visually though, I always start with the face! Drawing the face is always my favorite part!! And I try to give them features that either compliment or contradict their personality. For Octavia specifically I wanted them to look kind of soft?? Which is something they actually don’t like—rounded cheeks puppy dog eyes etc.—and this is something she actively tries to offset with make up on stage. Octavia actually thinks they’re kind of plain so that’s why they wear make up at all on stage they don’t think they’re ugly they just don’t think they’re what a rock star is “supposed to look like”.

Next I go for palette which is also one of my favorite parts!! I always knew they were gonna be bipoc because *I am* and I would’ve killed for a lead of a alt/rock/punk whatever band that looked like them when I was a kid. Bipoc are incredibly underrepresented in that particular music scene so lol yeah. And I actually went back and forth on their hair color a lot but red just idk popped the best.

Are they still evolving visually? yes but mostly in the fashion department lol. I still have a lot of experimentation to cover; and narratively I think her development will go into a more hopeful place lol. But not until after a lot of angst. I’m a sucker for a happy ending so i’m gonna do my best to give them one bUT character building comes with suffering first so fksjdj but I mostly develop the character into what I think is the most interesting path? So, ngl it really just depends on what is thrown at them. If it makes sense for them to spiral out/things to go wrong and there’s a sequel with a change to fix it I might let them spiral out lol but overall I like happy ends after a good amount of trial so most likely Octavia will develop into a better version of themself lol

Thank you for the ask! “I’m gonna talk less” I said lol so that was a lie apparently.