(Skip this chapter if you don't really care about my process of creating my first OC)
After an excessive amount of procrastinating, I have finally decided to make an OC! My major road-block was deciding on something to set it apart from the rest of the internet's OCs. I also told myself that an intriguing backstory would be necessary. In this thinking process, I realized an additional detail that would be important to me: some form of supernatural capability.
So, I needed,
1. Some "unique trait"
2. An intriguing backstory
and 3. A supernatural ability.
Once I had this guideline set, the ideas began forming. Over the course of three days, my mind was filled with diverse and in-depth ideas about this character that was yet to even exist.
An idea that quickly appeared was simply, animals. "Animals are neat," I thought to myself. "I bet I could choose a animal and make something quite neat with it!"
I carefully scanned through my brains archive of animals. Cats, foxes, and other feline creatures came first, but I felt that I needed something different. Something unique. Something that would set this character apart. "What animal has a cool trait?" I thought to myself. Before the thought even finished forming, I knew the answer.
I selected the amphibious creature known as the axolotl (which you, reader, should be an expert on). With it's impressive physical appearance, and it's regenerative capabilities, it fit what I was looking for quite nicely.
Now, having selected a creature, I began choosing additional details. I could have simply given this amphibian a hat, and called it good, but that didn't meet the last requirement I had set, "An intriguing backstory."
"What could make an interesting backstory?" I thought, "Sciencey stuff is pretty neat." So, I chose to do something scientific.
"I bet a human-axolotl fusion thing would be pretty neat," I eventually thought. With the coming of this idea, my mind exploded with great ideas!
My OC would be the result of an experiment with axolotl DNA being meshed with human DNA.
His physical appearance would be humanoid in shape, but with so differences. He would have elongated arms and legs, quite pale skin, and a mildly misshapen head. But my greatest idea was the hair. His hair would be not strands of keratin, but would be composed of the gills on the head of the axolotl. The hair would be "fleshier" than human hair, but still retain its fibrous quality. Since they were originally gills, I knew they would have to function as such.
The hair would be hollow, allowing air to flow easily. "But Zander!" You say, "Hair isn't connected to the lungs!" And that is correct. But my character is not bound by human anatomy. The air would flow through the hair, oxygenate the brain, then flow through a hollow spinal cord, ending at the lungs.
I was quite proud of this idea: it rationalized the strange decision of gill-hairs. But then a new thought crossed into my mind, "What are the side effects of this decision?" Well, after some thought, I knew what would be effected. The spinal cord would be lighter, therefore less dense, therefore weaker. The accelerated process of giving oxygen to the brain would improve reaction time and reflexes. And the alteration of the spinal cord would alter the nervous system.
"Just how might the nervous system change?" I asked myself. I am not a spine-ologist, so I decided that it would enhance it. He would be much more sensitive to slight changes in heat, and he would have much more control over his fine motor skills. I quickly realized something while deciding to alter the nervous system. The nervous system is essentially an electrical appliance. And due to this enhanced "electrical appliance" it seemed only logical for him to have some level of electrical manipulation.
I knew that his electrical control would have to be rather limited, not only to be logical, but because a character who isn't great at everything is more interesting. His powers would be quite limited. Being able to manipulate electrical devices at a relatively short distance and small projectiles seemed valid. Following the rules of not creating electricity, I knew I had to find a way to either, a) generate electricity, or b) collect electricity.
Generating electricity seemed like the more interesting option, so I chose it. "But how to generate electricity?" I asked myself. The idea of using socks on a carpet crossed my mind, but it was quickly ruled out, along with taking off a wool sweater and harvesting the sparks. The gills seemed like an exploitable option, so they were chosen. My final decision was to utilize the body's natural energy, which, after several minutes of research, I discovered comes primarily from a chemical reaction within the body which is fuelled by oxygen. "Easy enough," I thought, "gills mean lots of oxygen." By using a large portion of the body's natural energy for alternative purposes, I decided that it would make sense for the character to use much more oxygen than the average human.
I knew that I needed some form of weakness for this character. Something very exploitable. Because, after all, he is an experiment, not a finished product. Keeping in mind the enhanced nervous system, it made sense to make him much less tolerant to physical pain. With his major weaknesses being much less pain tolerance, a much higher requirement for oxygen and a noticeably weaker spinal cord.
Having an interesting design, interesting abilities and weaknesses and an interesting backstory, I knew that this character would be great.
