OC Playlist "Challenge"

This isn't any kind of official challenge, just something that occurred to me over the last couple days, so if this isn't the right place to post it, I'll happily move it elsewhere.


To make a long story short, hanging out here and reading all the AMA posts and thinking a lot about my character put me in a character-playlist-making sort of mood. I've put one together that I wanted to share, but I realized that it would be more fun to listen to music inspired by all of your characters too!


So, to those who already have playlists for their characters, I'd love to see you share them, and for those who don't have any and you feel so inclined, I challenge you to make one. It could be made of songs that remind you of them, songs that tell their story in the lyrics, songs they might like, songs that could soundtrack their life, whatever strikes your fancy. No rules on length, genre, anything like that;  just follow your heart! (And I will try to listen to these, within reason of length/volume)


Here's mine, it's kind of a mix of lyrical storytelling and soundtrack moments and it mostly pulls from indie pop, rock, and electronica. Still working on the exact ordering and might still be adding songs as I think of them, so it might change, but hopefully not much.


Anyway, hopefully this "challenge" strikes a chord and gets you listening through old songs, and I look forward to the results!

Edit: Made a second one cause I definitely had too many songs on the first one, Lehon'a X G'raha this time.
Gonna write this one up later too, cause I've got too many thoughts not to!
Edit 2: WoL/G'raha playlist write up done, I'll write up the solo playlist soon!

OOOH I love Bon Iver, I'll definitely have to check this playlist out.

I, uh, inadvertently started a prompt/ask game on tumblr by sharing my playlists that I had made a write up for ^^; So it's not a foreign idea to me. Mostly Rock/Pop/Indie from various decades. And a Jazz Playlist for the times that Frank Sinatra sings about my blorbos.

Rowan playlist.

Rowan x Urianger playlist & write-up.

Rowan x Urianger Jazz AU playlist.

Minthe playlist.

Minthe (Azem) x Hades playlist & write-up.

Minthe x Ariadne (friend's OC) playlist & write-up.

Minthe x Daedalus (different friend's OC) playlist & write-up & supplement.

Emmy-Stink Romance playlist (a general WoLxEmet-Selch playlist, Rowan does not allow Emet-Selch to get close enough to her to call it shipping lmao).

And a bonus: Emet-Selch, but it's the 70's playlist.

I, uh, like making playlists ^^;

Rayn wrote:

OOOH I love Bon Iver, I'll definitely have to check this playlist out.

I, uh, inadvertently started a prompt/ask game on tumblr by sharing my playlists that I had made a write up for ^^; So it's not a foreign idea to me. Mostly Rock/Pop/Indie from various decades. And a Jazz Playlist for the times that Frank Sinatra sings about my blorbos.

Rowan playlist.

Rowan x Urianger playlist & write-up.

Rowan x Urianger Jazz AU playlist.

Minthe playlist.

Minthe (Azem) x Hades playlist & write-up.

Minthe x Ariadne (friend's OC) playlist & write-up.

Minthe x Daedalus (different friend's OC) playlist & write-up & supplement.

Emmy-Stink Romance playlist (a general WoLxEmet-Selch playlist, Rowan does not allow Emet-Selch to get close enough to her to call it shipping lmao).

And a bonus: Emet-Selch, but it's the 70's playlist.

I, uh, like making playlists ^^;

Yes, YES! This is exactly what I was hoping for! Definitely gonna read the write-ups and try to pick one or two of these to play during work tomorrow. Thank you! (and also maybe do a write-up myself cause that hadn't occurred to me)

Veni Vidi Vivace - I tend to keep my character playlists pretty short and sweet, they mostly exist to give a general vibe of what the character's about, and I think this one does it pretty well!

Only two characters of mine have a playlist: one that I made years ago for an ask, and one from whom I had a few songs set aside but made the playlist for this thread.

The Advocate: Dark/epic mood
He's a Dark Knight from Ishgard who fought in trials by combat in people's name when they were accused of heresy. Off-putting and unnaturally strong, he's struggling to keep his humanity (and losing).

Hanae: dark and confident? Not sure how to describe it
She grew up poor with her mother until her father came back in her life and took her in in exchange from breaking all contact with her mom. Since he was rich, her mother agreed in order to give Hanae a better chance at life, but that wasn't, in fact, the best choice. The playlist is pretty much how Hanae tells herself her life went: from an idealistic and naive girl to a confident woman that no one will cross again without consequences, even if she must take up the role of a villain in (people with a moral compass) some people's mind.

Rayn wrote:

Rowan x Urianger playlist & write-up

Just finished listening to this one, fantastic work! Lots of songs on here I'd heard before and forgotten about. I think Turn by The Wombats was my favorite song I'd never heard before, but Moondance (which I'd heard but forgotten) and You Make Loving Fun (which I listen to a lot) were also excellent choices. And I'm definitely gonna check out more Kings of Convenience, too, cause that song was a lovely little bow on this playlist!

I'm definitely gonna try and give at least one of the lists from each reply a spin today, so I'll have more to say later!

BlissfulNomad wrote:

Veni Vidi Vivace - I tend to keep my character playlists pretty short and sweet, they mostly exist to give a general vibe of what the character's about, and I think this one does it pretty well!

After listening, I think I would have to agree! This list was a lot of fun to go through and had a pretty happy-go-lucky atmosphere throughout (the last song aside, which definitely stood out in a good way). 9 to 5 is of course a classic, and I'd heard of Left at London, but a lot of these were new to me. I think Christmas TV was my favorite of those new songs, followed closely by Brand New Key. Thanks for sharing!

Skaar wrote:

Only two characters of mine have a playlist: one that I made years ago for an ask, and one from whom I had a few songs set aside but made the playlist for this thread.

The Advocate: Dark/epic mood
He's a Dark Knight from Ishgard who fought in trials by combat in people's name when they were accused of heresy. Off-putting and unnaturally strong, he's struggling to keep his humanity (and losing).

Hanae: dark and confident? Not sure how to describe it
She grew up poor with her mother until her father came back in her life and took her in in exchange from breaking all contact with her mom. Since he was rich, her mother agreed in order to give Hanae a better chance at life, but that wasn't, in fact, the best choice. The playlist is pretty much how Hanae tells herself her life went: from an idealistic and naive girl to a confident woman that no one will cross again without consequences, even if she must take up the role of a villain in (people with a moral compass) some people's mind.

I think the challenge of a small song limit is really cool; it distills the essence of the character down really well. I think what I loved most was the cinematic feel of both of these. All the songs had a weight to them and conveyed the more dramatic emotions I think you were going for. Extra points for the use of that Mozart piece, got my coworkers to turn their heads with that one!

archaiclumina wrote:

Ahhh sharing tunes is my fav!
Gobbling up all of these!  ˗ˋˏ ♡ ˎˊ˗
My husband and I curate a playlist together for our OCs! It's here for the curious!
But maybe I will try and make a couple of shorter ones specifically for Oli & Ren and update this post with them!

Holy cow, that's quite a list! I'm seeing a lot of artists and tracks I recognize and enjoy already (Caravan Palace, CHVRCHES, alt-J, Fleetwood Mac, there are too many to list) so I'll have to dive in and give it a proper taste to see what the ones I haven't heard sound like. And if you do make any smaller playlists in addition, I'd love to hear those too!

I think I've shared my playlists wherever I go so why not here as well?

Biff - my passionate, sweet, intense, smad himbo boy - biff's playlist
Ever - ex noble and elegant, intelligent lady in black - ever's playlist

So I used to do a playlist for every single character when I played WoW, but somehow that didn't translate to my FFXIV characters. I only have the one so far. So here's Sword and Surfboard, my playlist for my Au Ra surfer paladin, Aeluan Hoshinata. He orders milk at bars and helps little old ladies cross the street.

My playlists in the past were usually for novels, because what is writing for if not to have six rough drafts that need editing which will never see the light of day?

However, I have one for Anna and one for C'allie I'm fond of.

TheDeerLord wrote:

I'm seeing a lot of artists and tracks I recognize and enjoy already (Caravan Palace, CHVRCHES, alt-J, Fleetwood Mac, there are too many to list)

I see you are a fellow person of fine taste!
(*・∀・*)人(*・∀・*)

No but for real tho, everyone's playlists have had some serious bangers on them! I am for sure gonna be checking back in this thread often! c:

Yessss playlists I have so many, but the more complete ones are:


Nahte'to Vhia
Fairly "hope in the darkness, you're not alone" themed, as a character who cares deeply about those around him and empathizes readily even with his enemies, despite the immense grief and frustration that sometimes brings as the WoL.

Verheart
Red Mage/X'rhun Tia ship playlist, with lots of songs related to sailing, ships, and changes of heart - since my girl I'lyrha was a pirate before being rescued by that meddlesome Crimson Duelist!

Emet Selch
Angsty playlist that emphasizes his burdens and the dilemmas he faces when he meets the Warrior of Light.


Crystal Exarch
WoL/Exarch ship playlist. Emphasis on pining and timeless loves.

Been very back and forth with it, but here is my always evolving playlist for Erisys (with a side of their Azem).

You absolutely do not have to listen to 80+ vocaloid songs, so the summary is something like: Carnival, Religion of Loneliness, Don't Kill The Mary-Sue, From a Place of Love, Day By Days, sustain++;, Heartbeat Clocktower, and Aun no Beats

Slowly working through the other playlists in this thread, everyones character playlists seem really good!!!

I love making playlists Music occupies a huge amount of my waking hours so I am always listening to something.

Charging Thunder Vibes
I'm currently in the middle of organizing it so it follows her backstory, which is difficult but fun. Lots of violent, aggressive tracks, some instrumentals for environmental vibes.
Starts with a peaceful village track from Monster Hunter 3 to help visualize an insular mountain community in the far north of Abalathia. Goes into UruR by Wardruna, where you can hear the snorting and deep growling of some kind of huge beast. The beast within, both as a central theme of being a warrior and also as a metaphor for the rage and frustration that comes with being neurodivergent (for me, anyway) are important notes for Charging.

My music tastes are sort of eclectic I suppose but it's mostly metal, alt rock, rock, hiphop, and folk music. Some video game tracks. Enjoy!

Oh hey one of these~ All my playlists are permanently "in-progress" but I consider them "done" after about 20 entries. 

Shayun Ragara - 33 tracks, with one track (Re;BIRTH) that I'm still trying to find a replacement for bc the vibe is off but i'm desperate to have the emotional state of 30-50 DRK represented somehow so it's not gone yet. There ends up being a love song emphasis which makes him look a bit softer than he actually is, but at the same time Requiem of Revenge and EXEC_DESPEDIA are on there so it's not that soft.

Momoka Fujiwara - 9 tracks, so still a wip. No "ehh this is a stretch" songs for him, though.

I technically have one more for Lux Bellator but with only one song (Love the Subhuman Self) it's not really worth posting yet...

I'm always on the lookout for songs that fit my characters! Music is a huge inspiration, and I love it when a song just clicks with one of my OCs. 

I have one web-based playlist for Amon on his website. And one for him on Spotify.

I also have a much shorter playlist for his cousin, Tad, on Spotify.

Kiht'a is actually one of the rare characters I've made a playlist for! It's only seven songs, but I like to keep my playlists short. Passerine by the Oh Hellos has been Kiht'a's one song ever since I put the list together and every time I listen to it I think of him.

His playlist is a lot about grieving and hopelessly loving someone.
Here it is: to hear, feel, think (even though it hurts)

Admittedly I've been slacking on checking on this thread, but I see there are quite a few new entries since I was last looking, so I'm definitely going to check out some of those playlists!

In the meantime, I managed to make two new playlists with another one that will kind of be a perpetual work in progress, so I'll share those here too!

The Mage's Familiar - Lehon'a X Y'shtola that gets into slightly more sultry territory; more electronic & pop influences on this one that paints a night out involving much pining that eventually culminates in a shared bedroom. (no actually NSFW music, don't worry)

Through Gritted Teeth - A Lehon'a playlist for the final arc of Shadowbringers (Mt. Gulg through the fight with Hades) that's chock full of rock & noise. CW for a couple of songs that mention the word suicide in the lyrics, in case that's something you'd rather skip. (tracks 1 & 3)

Lehon'a's Tomestone - The perpetual WIP playlist! The idea is that it's a rotating list of songs I think Lehon'a might listen to herself if she had access to Spotify/our musical artists. Lots of very danceable tracks across different genres; stuff that I think might inspire a routine or get her moving if she heard it. Things will likely get added/removed periodically as I find new music!

Here's my main Hana's playlist
I'd do a writeup but I have low writing spoons on a good day, they're practically non existent currently >_<