My First Original Chracters

There aren’t very many characters in my Book of the Shadows fiction that aren’t at least attempts at being loosely based on characters from another anime or manga. Every major character in the First Moon Saga is, even Kali/Drusilla (although that sort came about in a backwards way). Honoka Warashi is the first major character who is designed entirely by me.

Honoka Warashi, and her sister Momoka, are the first characters I built from scratch and built a subsequent story around. Their story takes form during the First Sun Saga, the alternate reality World of C. Whereas you can take Anzushiro and I can tell you she looks like the Dark Magician Girl, has white hair because of the influence of Kurohime of the manga by the same name. Or I can tell you that the reason that the reason Kali is a little crazy at times is because part of her character is influenced by Arachne of Soul Eater, but that she retains some sanity because she has influence from Unohana of Bleach.

The Warashi sisters are slightly different. They don’t have that support, and therefore don’t have that attempt to settle their character background or their personas to that central base. Their semblance to any other character in the realm on anime or manga is born mainly of the story they are in.

More significantly, however, is the fact that they are also characters whom I have myself drawn and styled. As I have also noted in the past, I am a visual person, so if I can’t see a character I can sometimes have trouble imagining how to write for them. So more important for me was not just being able to create their story, but to be able to draw them.

Their story goes like this;

Honoka and Momoka were three years old when they were found in the crater of what was reported to have been an accidental munitions drop by a bomber on maneuvers. The two seemed to be unharmed and were found with only a blanket and a copy of their family registry, though it was incomplete, having only their names, their date of birth with only the month and year, and their blood-type. No parents were listed. The children were taken in by Child Services. After an extensive search there was no evidence found of the two having been born at any hospital, or a family name to match theirs.

The two girls have the same month and year filled in for their D.O.B. However, though their genetic profile mainly confirms them to be sisters, there isn’t the congruence that is expected of twins, which is suggested from their having identical birth months and years. When the girls are six, they are adopted by the headmaster of the prestigious and exclusive Taiyou Academy.

Honoka is perceived as the more serious and mature of the two sisters. She has a very tough outer persona, usually portraying herself as stubborn and strong willed, but is actually quite passive and has many insecurities she tries to keep under wraps. Her long violet hair is long enough to reach her ankles, and she has brown eyes.

Honoka hates ghost stories, usually covering her fear of the topic with blanket denial. She is physically and mentally strong, such that she is routinely at or near the top of her class in grades, and is often recruited as a ringer for the various sports clubs. She hasn’t joined any clubs full time since she has been running a bakery with her sister.

Momoka is often regarded as the younger of the sisters, seen as a bit more of a childish and klutzy sort. She is very smart, but tends to not think things through properly or taking people too literally. As a result she has a tendency to go overboard, which leads to the “Momoka Exception”; others may be told to do their best on a school report, while she is given precise guidelines on length, etc, to keep her from writing an entire book. She was going to be a member of the science club, and is technically its president, but is a ghost member because of her work with the bakery, and because many of the experiments she tends to want to do are deemed too extreme for a school setting.

Unlike Honoka, Momoka has few insecurities. Whereas her sister wears the mask of a tough exterior, Momoka has no mask, and will speak her mind readily and without reservation, or much thought. She is very tough mentally. She has difficulty grasping the concept of what it means to be condescending or insulting since she sees it as her only telling the truth as she sees it.

Honoka and Momoka gain the nickname “Ane-Warashi”, a joke mixing Ane (sister) and Ame-Warashi (water sprite) poking fun at their last name. Eventually they are greeted by a retainer of the kingdom of Ina-Kits of the World of C. Honoka is bestowed the Feathered Robe, the treasure of Ina-Kits, the symbol of the ruler of Ina-Kits.

So, for now, that is the story behind my first fully original characters, Honoka and Momoka Warashi. I will have a picture of Honoka tomorrow, so look forward to that.