This is a meme that I've been wanting to do for a long time because I feel that my followers deserve to know my characters better! Here is how it works:

-Pick a fair few of OCs of yours that you got inspirations from on a song, story, game, movie, character, etc. (because nearly ALL OCs in the world have at least some form of beginning inspirations, try and pick the ones you find best, most creative, or are just a personal favorite.)

-Make a short list of the inspirations for your character (List the vague area of it first (movie title, character name, etc.) and then delve into the exact inspiration)

-There is NO LIMIT to the amount of OCs you pick, the amount of inspirations you list, just go until you don't feel like going any further!

-If you want friends to do this as well so you can see how they REALLY came up with their favorite original characters, tag them at the bottom of the journal using either the @ Username or : icon username : (without spaces)

-Have fun!

1.  Xu Jingyuan & Song Yuehan

These two are my oldest characters and they originated from my very first attempt at story writing back in 2015. It was a completely different story about agents that set in a bird-dominant world. The concept was a combined result of my obsession with war-themed TV series and birds at that time. Later, I revamped the story to be Chinese military-themed because I admire soldiers and find shady plots to be frustrating. Compared to agents, soldiers protect their country more honestly and directly.

Jingyuan was created just a few months after Yuehan in 2015. It started with me researching nice-looking bird species for character addition and I came across Taiwan blue magpies and red-billed blue magpies. At first, I couldn’t decide which species to use because they’re both beautiful birds. Fortunately, I happened to be on a China vacation at that time and saw red-billed blue magpies in the wild. I was in awe and this encounter solidified my decision. His old name was Lay; he started out lame but has undergone many changes over the years. This is a story that I intend to publish so I don’t want to spoil too much of the plot...but I highly respect him as both a commander, a brother, and a reformer who defied feudal society. Read the story someday to know~

Yuehan was my very first OC (2014) but she didn’t quite receive comparable love to Jingyuan until recently. She used to be a wedge-tailed shrike named Whistle and I chose this simply because they are the largest shrike native to China XD. I didn’t like her old bratty personality and never bothered working on her after the Minguo revamp. In 2019, I had a dream about a KMT clouded leopard officer and this new design reignited my interest in her. In the latest version, she is a patriotic officer, as well as a mature, big sis to Jingyuan. 

Even after all these years, the two remained as comrades who fought alongside each other. They’re an inspiration to me and this admiration is permanent. They’re both created during my rare trips to China, so in a way, they’re an embodiment of my sentiment towards my hometown. 

2. Han Wenyan

This character along with Xie Yu the pheasant demon belongs to an ancient Chinese story that I haven’t shared with anyone other than my closest friends. This goes back to the summer of 2017 when I recalled a Jiangshi movie I’ve watched multiple times during bus travel between cities and cities as a kid. The same summer, I also purchased a pheasant that was about to be slaughtered in a restaurant. The two experiences along with my already existing fascination for yaoguai/demon-slaying inspired me to create this story. A special thanks to Chloride for helping me design him!

3. Fletch (aka Squared)

Fletch’s creation process is random compare to my other OCs. I was looking for a new sona species after ditching Whistle and came across this Chinese sparrowhawk picture. Both Koiwyvern and Chloride recommended this species because they thought it looked like me. I created Fletch and receive this amazing gift from Koiwyvern soon after! She became my “mascot” since then and I love her wholeheartedly. Recently, I’ve been working to create an entire story involving her and other characters! Read the characters below for the exact inspiration process!

4. The Vermilion Bird

His real name is actually Shān (杉), which means “cedar” in Chinese. I’ve always imagined Fletch to grow up in an adoptive family with a brother and this is how he came to be… I chose a spotted dove for his species because I adore these birds and used to hear their call every morning back when I was in China. I have him as a set-aside character for quite a while until I started playing Genshin Impact in May. I was introduced to this game by Chloride, and this game inspired me to create a high-fantasy god story of my own. I made him the god of the mountain civilization and insert the family dynamic between him and Squared into the lore’s history. More on this later!

5. Nora

Fregatidar sent me big cat vids regularly and one day we discussed the possibility of getting our own feline characters. I wasn’t planning to get a cat character after the Yuehan redesign, but I couldn’t resist after seeing Meg.’s gallery. I really enjoyed her Ariya and this inspired me to create a lynx character of my own. Her design was based on a Eurasian lynx and a Chinese mountain cat. She started out as an RP character between me and Fregatidar, but later decided to incorporate her into my new fantasy story. She currently serves as a mortal subordinate for the Vermillion Bird during the cold weapon era. 

There are other characters with a juicy creation process but I didn’t include them either because their explanation will contain spoilers or I am in the process of redesigning them. For the latter, I plan to introduce them in another batch! I am not gonna tag anyone for this meme but I’d be super happy if any of you guys are willing to do this! As an OC simp, it’d be a great pleasure seeing how my friends came up with their most beloved characters!

All arts are credited to their respective creator in individual characters’ galleries!