Who is your OC today?
Oliver Arena
What animal are they?
A coyote
What do they look like? Special markings, colorations, etc.
He's an average coyote, though due to breaking his tail at a young age and not getting it set properly, it's slightly bent. He got himself cursed (demons play a fair part in my world), and because of that he always wears special gloves that blend in with his fur.
What inspired you to create them?
Ummm…. I honestly don't remember. I think I just had the idea for a cursed character at my old job one day, and built the rest of him around that
What are they like?
Very task oriented, will focus on completing his job and not much else. While he won't hurt innocents, he has no problem exploiting them or destroying their property if it means getting rid of a demon, something he has to do to pay for his gloves
What's their family life like?
He has an older sister whom he's very close to and his parents as well. He still gets together with them every year for the holidays.
Do they have a love interest?
He has a crush on the maned wolf Maya who made him his gloves, not that he'd admit it to anyone. She returns his feelings though.
Does Oliver know Maya returns those feelings for him?
No, he doesn't realize that mostly because he doesn't realize how maned wolves court others.
How different do you see courtship between species?
Well it really depends on how far apart they are, if a red wolf was to court a grey wolf, the only real difference is one thing might mean "I love you a lot" instead of just "I love you". but if it was a bunny to a tiger, it'd be almost like a different language
What about other cultural things that might be similar but different? What things have you thought of over time?
Well my friend and I came up with a couple of things that differ between species, from things like what they like to eat, to how they treat personal boundaries. For example, cheetahs prefer small, frequent meals throughout the day. Wolves however, are big on large meals with the whole family, especially dinners and lunches.
Do you have any stories written about them or that they're included in?
Again, not yet, but I have one in the works. He's a very fun character to play around with, since he has to deal with evil from another source than most mammals
What's your favorite thing about writing or doing something with this character?
Oh, definitely the pure potential he has. Since his powers were from a curse instead of some McGuff or being born with them or however else heroes and villains get powers, he automatically opens up a whole new door of characterization and angst. Is he a hero because he wants to be? Or just because he feels like he has to pay back his debt? Does he even count as a hero, since he doesn't fight mortal villains? What happens if his curse gets lifted and would he even want it to? On top of that, he brings with him a whole new batch of enemies for me to use, demons, ghouls, things that go bump in the night. Monsters and myths. Cryptids. Things that should not be real but unfortunately are. Even his normal life is fun to think about, since his relationship with Maya is very fun, sweet, and wholesome to write.
For the purpose of the OC interview the setting is the creator's OC is about to be interviewed by my co-owned OC Vicky Chola. A north american grey fox vixen in her mid 20s. They're both in a studio booth with headphones on and microphones to speak into. The interview we did earlier about the creator and their OC is considered a pre conversation between these two before going on the air. Vicky will ask questions based on the answers provided by the creator. Enjoy!
"Welcome everyone to another edition of the Characters of Zootopia show! I'm your host Vicky Chola and joining me today is Oliver Arena. Thank you for joining me Oliver."
"Thanks for having me Vicky"
"So Oliver, tell us where you're from."
"I was born in Mexico, in a very small town. Just me, my parents, and my older sister Christina. But since the town was out of the way, we unfortunately attracted the attention of the cartel, who used our town to stash their poison. So, when I was 7, we immigrated to the city of Zootopia"
"How difficult was it for you at that age to leave everything you knew behind?"
"It was hard, I'll admit that, but it was either that or risk the cartels" sound of a tail moving "see how my tail is bent? They broke it when I was 6"
"Ouch, have you ever thought about seeing if you can get that fixed?"
"No point really, it's not like my tail doesn't work anymore"
"I see your point. So what was it like trying to transition to your new home?"
"Well considering I was both a pred, a coyote no less!, and an immigrant... it wasn't easy"
"It's interesting to hear you say that. When mammals think of a canine pred they either jump to a wolf or a red fox. So what about being a coyote was different?"
"Most mammals don't really like coyotes, they see us in the same vein as foxes and hyenas."
"Would you like to dis-spell some of the myths associated with coyotes?"
laughs "I mean, I'm not sure if I can, but I'll try"
"Alright, let's start with what you think is the most common misconception about coyotes?"
"Well as hard as this might be to believe, not all coyotes are thieves. Most aren't in fact"
"Where do you think that concept comes from?"
"Probably because coyotes have different definitions of territory then most predators"
"Can you elaborate on that?"
"Well if a house isn't locked, most coyotes will accept that as an invitation to come in, and stay until the owner actually asks us to leave"
"And you don't see an issue with that in modern times?"
He tilts his head "What do you mean? It's not like doors automatically lock themselves"
"I meant invading someone's home uninvited."
"It's only invading if you don't have permission."
"Well don't you need permission prior to entering a stranger's home?"
He shrugs "like I said, coyotes see unlocked doors to be the permission"
"Yeah, that's not really how it works."
"It is for us. I mean, would you tell a wolf that howling isn't allowed? Or a fox that you don't have to be monogamous with?"
"For one, neither of those examples compare because while annoying at times, wolves howling don't really intrude on someone else. What you're talking about is violating someone else's territory, their privacy, trespassing by law. So are you telling me that you're truly okay with that?"
"Look, to a coyote, it's not trespassing. If a homeless coyote was to walk into my house, he'd be ok to stay there as long as he doesn't damage anything or steal anything. And if I want him gone, I'll ask him to leave and he'll leave"
"It doesn't matter what it is to you or any other coyote. My home is not a coyote home. You just asked if I would ask a wolf to stop howling well you're asking everyone else to give up their privacy, territory and sense of security.""Now how is that fair?"
"Hey, I never said I'd do it to a mammal that wasn't a coyote" he shrugs again
"But you did imply that it does happen and that it's acceptable though."
"It's acceptable in a coyote community" he shrugs again "sure, there's some that might not realize you don't do that to other mammals, but that's not really acceptable to us either. Like I said, if we're asked to leave, we leave, and if a door is locked, we don't force it. The general rule of thumb is if you do it in a coyote house, you're just being a coyote. If you do it to a different mammal's house, you're a criminal"
"Alright then, tell our audience what you think of the city after living here for almost your entire life."
"I love living here, there obviously were some parts that I could have gone without, that goes without saying. But after all these years, there's no way I could say there wasn't something... magical about the city" he smirks, clearly thinking of some kind of in joke
"What do you think about the different parts of the city? Any favorites or least favorites?"
"I used to love Sahara Square above every other district, it's where my family moved to, you see. But recently I um... I think I'm going to have to change my answer to Rain Forest District" his ears redden a bit
"And why's that?"
His ears darken "ummm... do I, um, have to answer that one?"
"Only if you don't want to."
"It's just I know if I do, my sister will find out... and she'll use it to tease me about I'm dating May-" he catches himself and hides his face in embarrassment
"Whoops! Looks like the cat's out of the bag. No offense to cats."
"C-can't you edit it out in post production?"
"Uh, sorry, we're live." points to big bright LIVE sign above their heads
"I'm going to have to go into hiding" he whimpers
"Well, it's already out there. Might as well spill the beans."
"Says you, I rather use plausible deniability"
"Fine, you're no fun. So where do you live now?"
"Hey, you want me to be fun, you deal with Christina's teasing"
"I had to deal with my mom's teasing in the last episode. Now, answer the question."
"I still live in Sahara Square"
"What do you do for a living?"
"I'm a welder, I mostly work for Oiling Hole Mechanics"
"That sounds interesting. What kind of welding does that entail?"
"Mostly I just join metal beams together for construction purposes"
"Do you do that on the ground or do you weld beams suspended in the air together?"
"Sometimes both, it really depends on what I'm assigned to for the job"
"What's it like when welding up off the ground? What's going through your mind?"
"Usually something along the lines of 'I hope the suspension cables hold'" laughs "but other then that, I usually take the opportunity to cherish the fact that I get to help build Zootopia's skyline and get paid to do it too"
"So is this steady work or do you have to travel for it?"
"Bit of both, I don't have to leave Zootopia, but I do have to travel to different districts sometimes"
"What do you think of the transit system in Zootopia?"
laughs "I've definitely been on worse methods of traveling than those, though there's been times where I wish there was less" pause "less pushing? If that makes sense"
"So there's been a lot of what some mammals are calling superheroes appearing. What do you think of that?"
"I honestly don't know what to think, when I was a kit, superheroes were stories in comic books and my sister who made sure I got home from school safe. Now there's supposedly mammals that have supernatural abilities? I'm have expecting for it to be a big joke, what's next, magic and demons?" laughs
"Let's hope not. Well, that's all the time we have for today. Thank you so much for joining me today."
"Thank you for having me, it's been an honor"
"Thank you viewers for joining us and we'll see you next time."