I've already gone over the basics of OCtober in the previous chapter, so I won't go over it here. I plan to do days 6–12. For those who don't remember, this is the list:

6) Past / 12) Future

Put together because what I ended up doing was for both of them. More Newark drawing! Because why not draw a time traveler for the past/future days?

On theme with the day, I decided to draw different Newarks throughout time. The first two are attempting to draw him as an actual 13 year old vs his season one design. With Five he just goes back to wearing his Umbrella Academy uniform, but Newark is...uh...not big on saving the world in knee socks (and he's definitely not going to mimic his own childhood outfits, since it was it really was just that. It's called being given oversized clothes so they don't have to buy him more clothes later.) 

I tried to make his hair not look weird from the front, but TBH I think I just have to accept it's always going to be a little goofy. It's fitting. I think we should have our characters have bad fashion taste sometimes (though, again, the hair cut wasn't exactly his choice.) 

The second two are attempts to work out an appearance for Newark as an adult. This wasn't as easy as with his younger version, because unlike that one I didn't have a faceclaim in mind. I'm not entirely happy with it, mainly because the front picture makes him look like Jim from The Office. I like the back, though. 

Also, incase someone's noticed, yes, there were some changes. Originally I imagined him with dirty blonde hair, but while writing the latest chapter and mentioned his hair was lighter than Luther's, so I ended up making it more of a platinum blonde (and this is what I mean when I say my characters just decide shit for me sometimes.) The eye thing was just something I felt was fun, given how connected his powers are to his vision. 

They're blue because their powers had blue auras. I imagine if I ever wrote season 4 they'd be normal when their powers are gone, and they'd probably be gold like the updated marigold–powers. Of course I'm not planning to write season 4, and this is my only regret about that. 

7) Likes / 8) Dislikes 

Once again, combined. This time because what I did with them was pretty similar. 

Initially I took the perspective of "write about your OCs' likes and dislikes", which was hard because I don't...really keep track of that? I mean I do remember that kind of stuff, but only as they naturally appear while I'm writing. I don't write them down, so I'd have to go digging through all my stuff, and that really doesn't feel inspiring. 

But then I realized I could just. Talk about what I like and dislike in OCs (or more broadly in fan fictions, but focused on OCs.) Which I do think is fun. 

Though I will make it very clear that I am not writing this to make judgement on people's OCs, or their preference in OCs. I'm sure there have been characters that did everything I dislike well, and ones who have done everything I like badly. 

Also, keep in mind that this is from the perspective who both writes and reads OC based fan fiction. So that will inform my perspective on some things. 

Anyway, enough disclaimers! You didn't come here for my clarifications, you came here for my opinions. 

Likes ⸻

⸻ Being lame : I joke about how I only write losers, because then I don't have to try to make them cool (because I'm not, lmao.) But honestly I just have a soft spot for characters who are just a little cringy. I get why people like badasses who always say and do the right thing, but IDK, I just find the flaws charming and realistic. 

⸻ Letting them being "in the wrong" : Often I think authors can let their outsider knowledge influence how they write their OCs. I think this is pretty usual, and hard to avoid entirely, but sometimes it gets so bad that the OC is acting in ways that don't make sense because the author wants them to be "in the right."

I try to avoid this in my own writing, and I have a lot of respect for authors that purposely have their OCs be wrong and make mistakes. 

⸻ Superpowers/magic : I will always use supernatural abilities if I can. Hell, even with ASOIAF fics – which I do tend to enjoy writing more "normal" characters for – I do still like to play around with the more magical aspects. 

I think it's partly because I grew up as a fantasy kid, but also I've increasingly found it interesting to see what these aspects means for the characters. After all, these kinds of things change a lot of how people see the world, especially if they personally can use these abilities. 

⸻ Creative trope interpretations : This is something I especially like writing, but I'm always curious about when I see others do it as well. I've never really been against "cliche tropes." There's only problems when people do the exact same version over and over again, without ever adding some new twist. 

Like, genuinely, you would be surprised how small the changes can be to make things interesting. 

One of my favorite challenges for myself is to take an OC idea that is common in a fandom and try to make it my own. Really explore it, breaking down what people like about it, what's common and what's not, and what new can be explored. 

⸻ Multiple OCs : Especially when they're used to explore various parts of the story. I know doesn't fit what everyone wants, some people just have one special little guy OC they want to write, but I always have multiple OCs and it's always fun with others do as well. 

Dislikes ⸻

⸻ (Unintentional) Flaws : I specify unintentional because, when people actively put flaws in it's great. I think all good characters have prominent flaws that can be made part of their story. What's annoying to me is when it's various obvious that the character's flaws were not meant to exist. 

Because, here's the thing. It's literally impossible to make a truly flawless characters. Some people try, but their own biases, blindspots, and flaws always end up bleeding in. 

Which is what this point refers to. It's so annoying when the OC has flaws and does do things wrong, but it's obvious that the author doesn't see it that way. It's annoying at best and, if the author hates a canon character and feels like bashing them, can end up really condescending. I love flaws! I don't even care if the character is intentionally annoying, as long as it's acknowledged in the story! But when I'm told the OC is perfect instead? It's frustrating. 

⸻ Repeated face claims : This wasn't something I pretty much never saw until I started reading House of the Dragon fics. Suddenly it was so common for people to make Rhaenyra's daughter OCs with Milly Alcock as the faceclaim, or sometimes Alicent's daughter with Emily Carey as the faceclaim. Or they reuse the actors for Daenerys, or Sansa, or Margaery. 

I'm sure people think they're clever (pretty much all of the Milly Alcock!OCs have some "she looks just like her mother did!" 😉), and there's plenty of reasons to do it (IE: medieval fantasy faceclaims are hard, family faceclaims are hard) but...IDK I just don't vibe with it. The only way I could see myself doing this is if I wanted them to be the canon character's twin, and even then I probably just wouldn't do a faceclaim?

⸻ Canon character replacement : The name might not be clear, but I think we've all see it: when the OC basically takes over a canon character's plot. They have all the same scenes, all the same relationships, sometimes most of the same lines. 

Sometimes they actually remove the canon character – which is a whole other issue I can't even comprehend – but most of the time the canon character is just sitting there in the background, occasionally making small comments and supporting the OC. 

⸻ Dragon shenanigans : This is, like, super fucking specific to House of the Dragon fics, but I am really picky about how dragons are treated. I see so many fics weren't it's like "ooo, my OC has more than one dragon!" (3 or 5 specifically which, like, 3 is definitely a Daenerys reference, but IDK what's up with 5) or "ooo, my OC claimed the Cannibal!" or "ooo, my OC and Rhaenyra share a dragon!"

Which I know is just people having fun, but it's just. No. The claiming of canon dragons is probably the most pedantic issue, because I know a lot of it just comes from people either not knowing what happens to them in the books or not caring. But with the multiple or sharing dragons, that's my lore nerd going off. 

It's made very clear in Fire & Blood that it's one dragon with one rider. Dragons only take another rider when their previous one dies, and no dragon rider ever managed more than one dragon (hell, not even in a "one dragon died and they claimed another" thing.) The closest I guess is Daenerys, but TBH 1) that involved some super direct blood magic that the OC never does and 2) I don't even think she's really bonded with all three dragons? It's more like she raised them, so they like her, and she kinda formed a bond with Drogon?

Also, I specify the Cannibal out of all the canon dragons, because I feel like it's a metaphor for how the HOTD fandom treats the Targaryens as a whole. In the book the Cannibal is a metaphor for how the Targaryens are – pardon the pun – cannibalizing their family during the Dance. But in fan fiction...he just exists to make the OC look epic by claiming him, or for a joke about how the Cannibal is really just a Wittle Baby 🥺

Like, let's be real, if the Cannibal was claimed by a child in the ASOIAF universe, it would not result in the massive dragon turning into a puppy. It would be a Rickon Stark situation, where the kid ends up going feral instead (actually, that could be interesting...Remember what I said about tropes being used in new ways?) 

⸻ Baby OCs : I should make it clear I don't mean "canon character's kid" OCs. Those are as fun as any canon related fic. Or even stories where the OC starts off as a child that grows up (IE: HOTD fics where the OC starts as a child, then grows up during the time jump.) I mean the books where the OC is an infant to toddler, and the book is basically the canon story but occasionally there's a baby there. 

I can see why some people like it (Aw, your favorite character with a baby! Cute!) but it just doesn't make sense to me with what I want out of an OC. Like, why make a fun little guy if they're going to be too young to really be involved or explored? 

9) Relationships

Hurray, talking about character's relationships! One of my favorite parts of making OCs (and, TBH, probably why I have so many of them. I like giving them relationships with each other, and different relationships with canon characters.) 

I've talked about them a lot, so on here I'm going to try to focus on ones I haven't really gotten to explore yet. Or maybe I'll talk about Daenys' mommy issues again. Who knows, I'm writing this part first. 

⸻ Newark & Five : *points* SECOND NEWARK MENTION!! But in all seriousness, I've finally introduced Five in Newark's story, which means I'm finally exploring their interactions. And it's become increasingly funny. Currently it's Five going through it trying to figure out what Newark wants from him and what his ✨secret plan✨ is, and Newark is just sitting there like 👉😎👉 It's very

It's not that Newark can't be clever, it's just that he really is just trying to be friends in this case. 

But the main reason I like writing them is that they have a very "I can't believe I'm the only normal person in this room" vibe to them. They both things the other is a weird little freak and they're so much more reasonable, but in truth neither of them know what the fuck is going on. In Newark's defense he did have more interactions with normal society than Five "I grew up in an wasteland" Hargreeves, but that was in the context of being an assassin since he was a pre–teen, so he's not much better (As for Five, he doesn't actually have a reason. He's just Like That and always assumes he's the smartest, most correct person in the room.) 

⸻ Maekar Targaryen & Criston Cole (Kith & Kin) : I'm not a big Criston fan – I mean, he's an interesting character, but I am not as invested in him as others – but I do stand by him basically being the Targtowers' dad (Viserys who? He barely cared about his favorite child, and he certainly didn't care about them.) Maekar is no different. Criston was definitely one of the few adults Maekar trusted as a kid (by virtue of being one of the few adults who understood the concept of "be gentle with the very fragile child") and especially one of the few people he trusts as an adult. 

I haven't started writing season 2 yet, but I have been planning it, and it'd definitely rough for Maekar. Aside from being Team Green's entire brain cell (even with them getting a boost from canon), there's also a lot of trust issues going around. Otto undercutting Aegon's rule, Aemond burning Aegon, Alicent swaying in her support of them. Yet, even when Criston makes mistakes, Maekar really only call him out and reprimands him, but that's it. 

And a lot of that comes down to how much Maekar trusts him. He knows Criston cares for them, and that he'd do anything to help them, so there's no need to do more than that. Which says a lot because even his own family (previously mentioned Otto, Aemond, and Alicent) get their power actively under cut over the slightest sight of being untrustworthy or incompetent (This is especially prominent with Alicent. Unlike in canon, I do have her being actually loyal to the Greens, but because of her connection to Rhaenyra and "suspicious" behavior right before the war started, she is assumed to be untrustworthy.) 

⸻ Ciana Hargreeves & Susan Botterill (Eventide) : It's a background relationship, since it developed before the story starts, but I still think it's super sweet. Susan might not be Ciana's mother – Grace definitely takes that role – but she definitely takes a motherly role. When Ezekiel and Jess befriend Ciana soon after she leave the Umbrella Academy, Susan realizes she's struggling and aimless. So she does her best to help Ciana into the real world, treating her the way one would treat a foster or adoptive child from an abusive home. 

TBH, Grace and Susan never meet (or, well, they probably meet but it's off screen and never mentioned) but I think they would get along. Perfect Eventide world is them and Pogo raising the kids away from Reginald (Susan would probably do it, too, if Grace and Pogo showed up on her door. Even if she doesn't want to deal with Reginald, she wouldn't feel right dismissing them.) 

⸻ Dan Wheeler & Benny Floris (Creature Feature) : Their friendship is so special to me, actually. <3 That is is. That is all. 

⸻ Benny Floris, Mike Wheeler, & Will Byers (Creature Feature) : While writing season 1, Benny's creator and I suggested having Benny, Mike, and Will be in a poly relationship. While I haven't been working on Creature Feature in a while, what with my Stranger Things inspiration being super low, but I've been brainstorming this relationship for a while. 

I've low–key shipped Byler for a while (low–key because the Byler fandom is toxic as fuck, god bless) so I already had an idea of how I imagined their relationship. 

Mike likes to be a "protector" of sort in almost all of his relationships. We see this in the canon Mileven, and in his relationship with the rest of the party. He's the heart of the party (despite people claiming otherwise) because he's always trying to take care of them. I think this is what drew Will to him, even in canon. Will struggles expressing himself, the sort of person to stew in his frustrations until he lashes out, both scared to share his feelings but upset no one notices. Mike, however, always intuits what he needs (I think this is why Will was especially upset in season 3. Before this Mike would always put him first and, while only rational in the mind of a traumatized child, he felt abandoned by one of the few people that cared for him.) 

I do think Benny takes some aspects of both of these. Mike pretends to find him annoying, but when it comes down to it he's very protective of him. With Will he develops his crush a little later; I imagine it being around season 2. Everyone is treating him like a fragile doll or a freak, but Benny's treating him normal. And sure, Benny is secretly freaking out and just coping by keeping the mood light, but Will still appreciates it. 

Which plays into Benny's place in the relationship as a whole. Both Mike and Will are very...IDK how to put it, but melancholy people? They tend to get into their feelings a lot. And while Benny definitely has his own struggles, he tends to be very easy going, and they both appreciate his ability to keep the mood light. Especially once they really learn what he's going through (I imagine they know Benny's dad sucks, and he occasional retreats from them because of it, but they don't know the entire extent of it.) 

⸻ Silas Strong & Jace Velaryon : No story because I haven't written anything for Silas...and also only mentioned him once. All you need to know for this to make sense is that Silas is Harwin Strong's true born son, and he's the same age as Jace (I mean they were literally born on the same day, Harwin was with Rhaenyra as Jace was born instead of his wife. She's, reasonably in my opinion, peeved about this.) 

Originally they were friends. I mean, two kids the same age growing up with parents that get along (Harwin and Rhaenyra, and Silas's mom was more mad at Harwin than Rhaenyra – in her opinion Rhaenyra was a child and it was Harwin's duty to tell her no), it seemed obvious to them. 

But after a while, it became obvious that the two looked super similar. Like basically twins. And with the whole "Jace and Luke were bastards" thing going around, Silas's mother realized that he only made that fact more obvious. Which meant that Silas might be in danger (after all, you do not want to be the evidence that the heir to the throne's heirs are bastards. Especially after Rhaenyra prove she would torture her brother for mentioning the rumors.) So she quickly separated the two and sent Silas to the Greens, hoping they might protect him. 

Which led to a good amount of tension between the two. Between Silas and all the Velaryon/Strong boys, but Jace especially because of his bastard angst and their previous friendship. To Silas, Jace is his father's favorite child (though he's more upset on his mother's behalf, he is at least a little bit hurt.) His father literally died because he couldn't stop focusing on Jace and his brothers. To Jace, Silas is his father's true born son. Jace couldn't even mourn Harwin, Silas got to have a whole open relationship with him. 

Also, not related to them specifically, but this does lead to Silas being a catty little bitch when Daemon shows up at Harrenhal. He's become lord by that time, and is quick to respond to Daemon's request for help with "Oh, I don't know, I need to think about my family and what's good for my family. Maybe we shouldn't get into a war for people we're not related to." 

Because Silas knows Rhaenyra's children are his half–brothers, and that Daemon could easily argue that he has a duty to them because of that...if not for the fact that they've been lying about it and anyone who mentions the bastard–ness gets their tongue cut out. So Daemon ends up in a catch 22. If he admits Rhaenyra's children are bastards, then Silas no longer has an excuse not to get involved – it's for his brothers, half or not! – but will get in trouble with Rhaenyra. If he doesn't admit that there no trouble with Rhaenyra, but he risks the Strongs staying out of the war because it's a "family matter" and "not their issue," which could lead to other houses doing the same. 

Now that I think about it – between Silas, Aerra, and Daenys – Jace really is catching strays from all of his OC siblings' parental issues. My poor boy, he isn't even doing anything 😭 

⸻ PB Chistopherson & Artemis (Attie Jackson Series) : I'm getting to The Titan's Curse, so this relationship has definitely been on my mind.

PB grew up an orphan; she didn't know her mom and definitely didn't know her dad. Cursed to never sleep, she would instead spend the night watching the stars and the moon, and telling them about her life. As a very little kid, PB thought the moon would give her a family. 

Though she wouldn't realize it until later, this actually would happen. When PB ran away, Artemis would do her best to help and eventually lead her to Annabeth, Thalia, and Luke (Not a whole lot, hence why PB didn't notice, but what she could do without it counting as interfering.) Upon arriving at Camp Half–Blood, PB would include Artemis in things like meal sacrifices because, even if the goddess didn't know it (she did), she had been a massive support in her childhood. 

In turn, Artemis does genuinely have a soft spot for PB. I mean, she cares for all young girls and her hunters, but you'd have to be heartless to watch a little kid pouring their heart out to you every night and not care more for them. 

⸻ Daenys Waters & Alicent Hightower (Kith & Kin) : So, not exactly Daenys's mommy issues, but Daenys's mommy issues adjacent. 

Initially, Daenys and Alicent's relationship is not close. Like with the Strong boys, Alicent knew Daenys was a bastard (some thought she might be true born,but Alicent had the benefit of Criston literally admitting his relationship with Rhaenyra to her) and saw her as a threat to her children because of that. She separated herself from the girl because of that, and Daenys was fine with doing the same (after all, she didn't like Alicent, either.) Things changed after Laenor's death. 

It seemed like their relationship would only get worse. After all, Alicent threatened Daenys and Luke at Driftmark. But then Rhaenyra reveals Daenys is a bastard, and Daenys becomes convinced that her mother had Laenor killed, and suddenly Alicent was the only one she could trust. The only one who would believe her and actually want justice for Laenor (Who, despite everything, Daenys really did see as a father.) 

For Alicent, there was more than a little projecting. Daenys went from "little bastard child that is helping threaten my child" to "child being forced to do something wrong." The way Alicent saw it, this was her chance to be the person that she didn't have when her father and Viserys stole her childhood. 

⸻ Gael Targaryen & the Targtowers (Kith & Kin) :  Something I think House of the Dragon missed out on was really exploring the specifics of Rhaenyra and her half–siblings and, while I don't think they really care about that (it makes it easier for them to act like the Targtowers are random kids the Hightowers grabbed off the street and put on the ground, instead of Rhaenyra's legitimate siblings with their own claims) I definitely think I could have done better in Kith & Kin as well. 

Admittedly, I do have the excuse that Gael was literally, physically away from King's Landing for much of the second time skip. She was around when Aegon and Maekar were toddlers, and when Helaena was a baby but, by the time Aemond and Daeron were born, Gael was really only visiting for a little time at births to make sure everyone was okay. 

10) Personality

I am...going to be honest, I'm skipping this one. I'm already publishing this on the 13th, and I still have no idea what to do for this section (at least not that I can do without cutting into my time for next week.) If I think of something, I'll try to fit it in at the end. 

Hopefully no one's mad at that, but also the prompt list does say I can skip the yellow numbers. 

11) Symbols/Themes

Symbolism!! Themes!! I love 'em, though I admit I wasn't super sure how to this section up. I considered writing the themes for each of my fics, but it kinda got embarrassing how much stuff got repeated after a while. Whoops, I'm predictable. 

So instead I decided to talk about OC symbolism (or at least things that remind me often.) It's a bit patchy, because I've only thought in depth on this on a couple characters, but it should still be fun. 

Attie Jackson : 

⸻ Water (emotions and intuition; destruction, purification, and renewal) 

⸻ Rainbows (hope, acceptance) 

⸻ Mood Rings (emotions) 

PB Christopherson :  

⸻ Mist (lack of clarity, insight, or knowledge; obscurity) 

⸻ The Moon (mystery, intuition, the subconscious; cyclical change) 

Oleander Hasapis :  

⸻ Bats (death and rebirth; transformation) 

⸻ Peach (innocence, warmth) 

Aves Holmes :  

⸻ Birds (freedom, transition, new opportunities) 

⸻ Geese (loyalty, protection) 

⸻ Bees (friendship, community) 

⸻ Violets (Faithfulness, remembrance) 

Daenys Waters : 

⸻ Blue (sadness; calmness, peace, and responsibility) 

⸻ Black (loss, grief, solemnity) 

⸻ Water (life and renewal) 

Jess Botterill : 

⸻ Green (growth and renewal; stability and endurance) 

⸻ Black (certainty, authority, power) 

Ciana Hargreeves :

⸻ Blue (stability; inspiration and wisdom)

⸻ Yellow–Orange (optimism, warmth) 

⸻ Lightening (power; manifesting intent; sudden illumination and destruction of ignorance)

Gael Targaryen : 

⸻ Dragons (strength and power; protection) 

⸻ Fire (passion and anger; wisdom and knowledge) 

Esfer Kirigan :

⸻ Stars (guidance, enlightenment) 

⸻ Shadows (the unconscious mind; parts of the self that have been denied) 

⸻ Black and White (life and death; dynamic tension; moral dichotomies)