Since it’s Pride, I thought I’d write about a queer character in my books for every day in June. I’m a little behind, but meh, haha

Oisin O’Connor (he/him) is a gay, gender non-confirming anthro crocodile who is a sex worker, burlesque dancer, business owner, and one of the top 5 most powerful politicians in my world. He is also Kingsley’s LI. Kingsley is 50% attracted to him and 50% terrified of him which creates some not great dynamics in their relationship. He’s also one of my all time favorite characters I’ve ever created. 

His current theme song:

She’s an old-time ambassador
Of sweet talking, night walking games
Oh and she’s known in the darkest clubs
For pushing ahead of the dames
If she says she can do it
Then she can do it, she don’t make false claims

Queen Bitch by David Bowie

Oisin fought for everything he has. He was orphaned at a young age and found work as a sex worker at the age of thirteen. Sex work is legal in the state of Heva. Oisin worked his way into an agency before joining the burlesque nightclub: Bohemian Dreams. He fought tooth and nail to become the star attraction and then blackmailed the owner to make him partner. He also worked with the KLA to create a political arm and was elected into the Chambers as party leader. He knows where all the bodies are buried and has no qualms in using that knowledge to destroy anyone and everyone.

Oisin is completely shameless, knows his incredibly attractive, and has no problem using his many physical assets to his advantage. However, he is also incredibly smart and manipulative and survived for this long because of his natural talents and his high sense of self-preservation. His good looks are just an added bonus that makes everything a little easier, but never make the mistake and believe he’s just a pretty face.

While Oisin has slept with a lot of people (about half of the wip’s cast, honestly), he only wants a long term relationship with Kingsley. Everyone else is either good business or an investment for future favors (or future blackmail plans). He enjoys his work, but it’s exactly that: work. There are no attachments and as soon as a customer becomes clingy or demanding, they’re banned from the club. He also adores being a politicians because it’s a new, heady type of power that he doesn’t plan on giving up any time soon.

Everyone who meets Oisin develops some sort of crush on him, so he’s used to being the center of attention and being an object of desire which can make it hard for him to recognize when someone genuinely cares for him. He’s solely focused on Kingsley but there are hints that he could have a healthier future with Cathal, a political rival, and Thomas/Cynthia, a fellow rebel and burlesque performer who is still learning about his own identity. But I’m not sure if Oisin will trade the heady, volatile lifestyle he has with Kingsley for something mundane and quiet. 

Important Relationships

Oisin is used to being wanted, but the three most important relationships are with his husband, Kingsley, with his political rival, Cathal, and with his fellow rebel and burlesque dancer, Thomas/Cynthia.

Kingsley

Kingsley (he/him) is a gay, somewhere on the ace spectrum, crocodile rebel leader and Oisin’s eventual husband. Oisin has been obsessed with Kingsley since a spoiler thing happened and his number one goal has been getting Kingsley’s attention and becoming his irreplaceable one and only. Oisin, who is a shameless flirt, has done just about everything to get Kingsley’s attention: dressing well, dressing slutty, inviting Kingsley to his public shows, inviting him to private shows, stripping teasing for him, giving him lap dances, everything, but nothing seemed to work until spoiler things happen and then Kingsley wants to date him. Their relationship is incredibly volatile because it’s based on unrealistic expectations and assumptions and it is very co-dependent.

Kingsley, who is somewhere on the ace spectrum, intellectually understands Oisin is attractive, but that doesn’t mean much to him. This drives Oisin crazy because he doesn’t really know how else to get people to like him. Kingsley seems to prefer hearing about his accomplishments (usually done per Kingsley’s request) and that puts a lot of pressure on Oisin not to mess up. There is a real fear that the moment he makes a mistake, he’ll lose Kingsley forever.

Cathal

Cathal (he/they) who is also ace (Oisin seems to have a type haha) and non-binary is Oisin’s political rival. His uncle is also Kerry, a fellow rebel leader who has beef with Kingsley. Oisin and Cathal have a difficult relationship but both are fond of each other and even sympathize with each other. Cathal doesn’t like the way Kingsley treats Oisin and believes that Oisin could be so much more if he got out from underneath Kingsley’s shadow. However, there is an ulterior motive there as well because Oisin is one of Kingsley’s most powerful allies. Break that alliance and Kingsley loses a lot of power.

For his part, Oisin finds Cathal amusing because Cathal should hate him for so many reasons, but seemingly doesn’t? Cathal also feels safe in an odd way, which can be a nice relief from Kingsley, who always feels on the edge of some great tragedy. The problem is that Cathal has very little to tempt Oisin with, so the chances of their relationship ever becoming more than a strange frivalry is unlikely.

Thomas/Cynthia

Thomas, who also goes by Cynthia, (he/she) is one of Oisin’s friends, a fellow rebel, and dances with Oisin at the Bohemian Dreams. Thomas is a bisexual, bigender crocodile who goes by Thomas when he is using his masc identity and Cynthia when he is using his fem identity (Cynthia is also his stage name).

As far as Oisin is concerned Thomas is a sheltered crocodile person who desperately needs someone to smash the limits Thomas built in his own head. Since Oisin lives to destroy all boundaries, it seemed natural to take Thomas under his wing and introduce him to the heady life of being a burlesque dancer at the most popular nightclub in Heva. While under Oisin’s guidance, Cynthia flourished as a dancer and seemed happy for the first time her life. Oisin is genuinely fond of Thomas and it’s one of his most cherished friendships, but something he tells himself he can destroy if Kingsley asked him to.