One of the main characters of "World of Our Own", Cosmo is a young runaway from down south who moved to New York under a new name in the hopes of starting over. It was a risky decision, but he doesn't regret making it- even if all they came into the city with was a guitar and their life’s savings. Cosmo can basically be described as a theater kid with a guitar. Just a friendly, goofy, free spirit who wants to sing and make their mark on the music world. Seems incredibly confident on the surface but tends to lock themselves into an anxious battle with their own fears, strict upbringing, and insecurities pretty frequently. Shares an apartment with Reuben- who Cosmo would like to be romantically involved with, but is constantly afraid of the possibility of ruining their friendship. Can usually be found roaming the streets with a guitar in their hands and a song in their heart.

Not much is known about Cosmo's life before the move to New York. Any attempts to ask usually go unanswered and he's always quick to change the subject. It's...weird and it contradicts with the carefree persona they act out and try so hard to maintain. The more he dodges the question the more concerned his friends get, what could Cosmo even be hiding?

Fun Facts:

• Feels very uncomfortable with their body and wears several layers of clothing to hide it. DOES NOT like being touched by strangers.
• A little behind the times when it comes to music and pop culture.
• Doesn't know how to read sheet music. They learned how to play guitar by ear.
• Cosmo is self-taught in all areas of music and never had any real vocal training, because of that they have a habit of screaming the lyrics and cracking their voice in the process.

See how they met

The second lead of "World of Our Own", Reuben is a Manhattan local who likes to keep to himself. Painfully shy and kind of awkward, he's an average guy who doesn’t turn a lot of heads- and that's just fine. Orphaned at a young age due to losing his mother to illness and having his father walk out on him, he’s spent most of his life with his foster family who spare no expense at reminding him how fortunate he is to be living with them. How lucky he is to be taken in when no one else would bother to help him. Reuben is very aware that his foster parents are far from the perfect beings they set themselves up as; he can see right through their false pleasantries and manipulation that boarder lines on verbal abuse but…he isn’t able to do anything about it. No amount of complaining or obedience has improved their mood or their relationship, and it’s making him miserable. He’s trapped with them until he’s 18, and the most he’s able to do to get some distance is to keep up with his after school clubs and sports meetups. It isn’t until he befriends the random musician at his local park that he starts to be a little more proactive and rebellious around his family.

Currently getting his shit together and living with his best friend, Cosmo, who he has a massive crush on. Part of his story- other than overcoming his abuse- is figuring out the feelings he has towards the guitarist. Which is kind of hard, considering he’s not really sure what Cosmo’s gender is and they like to flirt with him pretty often, and the whole thing just makes Rueben very flustered and confused. He also ends up having to deal with the sudden intrusion of his estranged father coming back into his life, which is just…great.

Fun Facts:

• Back when the story was originally about Cosmo befriending a gang of monsters, Reuben was a werewolf that wanted to leave his pack and find a way to become permanently human.
• Tends to act as a foil to Cosmo’s more naively trusting nature, even if he does envy how ready and willing they are to go up to random people to start a conversation.
• Originally, Reuben was only going to have both of his legs broken and then go through intense physical therapy throughout the story. This was changed later on and he became an amputee because I can’t draw wheelchairs which I then changed again to him having all his limbs and no mobility aids. I should not be allowed to make decisions sometimes
• Favorite food is grilled sheese

One of Cosmo’s oldest friends, Darcy is someone whose been way too familiar with the young musician’s antics for as long as he can remember. A tall, sarcastic, brooding figure in a small southern town, he turns a lot of heads for various reasons and is sometimes the subject of concerned townsfolk. Darcy is the son of a family friend who was tasked with keeping an eye on Cosmo while the other adults were busy. He takes the job more seriously than he lets on and has become something of an older brother to the tiny music maker. They’re just two dudes with daddy issues and no one to turn to, so they rely on each other instead. While everything the town says and does is just water rolling off his back, Cosmo isn’t as lucky so Darcy does what he can to be there for them. Before Cosmo moved away, Darcy worked at an unnamed factory, drank most of his money away, and played the bass in a church band every Sunday.

Fun Facts:

• Back when the story was originally about Cosmo befriending a gang of monsters, Darcy was a Glashtyn- an aquatic horse said to steal away women. By the time he met Cosmo, he had already killed three other women and was on the run. This idea was scrapped and moved over to Pleasantville, but a nod to his deadly origin lives on in his surname- which was used in a Kelpie tale.
• Went through many revisions regarding his personality, occupation, and affliation to Cosmo. He was a teacher at one point and the same age as Cosmo at another. They were strangers who knew nothing of each other, or they were secret irl/online besties, or they were implied to have fucked at some point. I've thought about killing him off! It was a mess. I quite like where things are with him now; he's just a glorified babysitter who never clocked out and would love it if the closest thing he's ever had to a sibling didn't get stabbed somewhere out in Queens.
• Is able to read others quite easily.

A set of New York locals who are a part of Cosmo’s friend group. They’re twin brothers who live and breathe art in their artistic, free expressionist, self-discovering family.

Lee is the oldest and his main median is dance, mostly ballet. Despite the stigma he gets for being a black man who enjoys the "least masculine activity" alive, Lee enjoys being able to express himself on stage. He gets to discover new music to add to his routines, meet some pretty interesting people, and it helps him stay in shape. He's hoping that with enough dedication, he'll get to perform in a large scale production. Lee is very social, it's easy for him to make friends wherever he goes and he often likes to break the tension with a joke. He worries about Louis a lot and often tries to make his brother feel included in whatever is going on at the time (and maybe get him to touch some grass too) and while Louis feels kind of annoyed by this, there’s a part of him that appreciates the thought.

Louis is the youngest and his preference lies in visual art. While most of his pieces consist of oil based paintings, he’s also been known to take on other forms of art such as sculpture, metal work, and sketching. His hair is fashioned into dreadlocks which he will sometimes substitute for a paintbrush; it’s common to see the tips of his hair in a rainbow of colors while he complains about misplacing a brush. Most would describe Louis as the voice of reason in his small friend group, but he’s also very quiet and keeps to himself due to years of bullying and harassment. Trying to ask what a particular piece is about/is supposed to convey- or even just asking some basic questions in general- will usually result in some mumbling or silence. He paints for no one but himself but he has had thoughts of trying to sell his art, although he always finds a reason to push the idea aside.

Fun Facts:

• Their last name is inspired by my old neighbors, the Harris’ who lived across the street from my childhood home. My dad knew them more than I did, but I always remember them being very welcoming and nice. Vincent Harris (the twin’s dad) was named in memory of the real Vincent who was an old friend of my dad and passed away in late 2022.
• Even though each twin has his preferred medium, they also have knowledge on the other brother’s interests. Sometimes Lee will help Louis with his art and vice versa.
• The whole family practices some medium of art, with their father being a musician for a small jazz band and their mother being an actress.
• Lee is rather flexible. One of his favorite party tricks to showing off how much he can contort his body.
• Louis isn't rude, he's just had some bad experiences with opening up to others. Once he warms up to someone, he's very talkative and more open to discussing art and the creation process.
• The twins have been one of Cosmo’s biggest influences when it comes to freely expressing themselves and getting the creative juices flowing, the studio is always open for them to swing in and blow off some steam.

A confident performer with a sharp tongue and a pretty face. Their name means “shining excellence”, which they practically ooze on a daily basis. Hyde is a solo artist who has started seeing some mainstream success in the music world. The power trip has given them a massive ego and a notorious reputation in the industry but the rumors, comments, and lack of real friends isn’t much of a concern to them. The only thing Hyde is concerned about is getting to the top and staying there, no matter what. Given the title of Cosmo’s self-proclaimed rival, the two are known to fight and get into impromptu competitions at the drop of a hat. While Hyde does show a great amount of joy in tormenting him, they also kinda help him out sometimes. But not because they respect him as a musician, oh no, don’t get the wrong idea. It’s just good to keep tabs on the competition…yeah, that’s it.

Cocky and aloof, Hyde is essentially a more successful version of Cosmo (which is probably why the two don’t get along, they’re just too damn similar). They have a habit of taking jokes too far and being insensitive towards everyone they interact with, but this quickly changes when all eyes are off them. On stage, Hyde is a fully focused and serious person who goes all out in their performances and has no problem keeping up with Cosmo’s energy. But when the curtain falls they’re back to being an annoying jerk that few can tolerate.

Fun Facts:

• Serves cunt 24/7.
• Meant to be the total opposite of Cosmo. More comfortable with their body/sexuality, wears flashier clothing, has money, etc. Doesn't know how to play any instruments though.
• First generation American. Their parents moved to New York from Okinawa Japan.
• David Bowie and Prince are my main references when it comes to posing Hyde or looking for fashion inspo.