#thank you for giving me reason to lol

[first-only]

You got any tips on how to analyse media properly?

I don't think I'm too bad at media analyse, but it is always something that I've wanted to better at (and a good skill to have imo! Even if it's just a basic understanding)

See, this is not aimed at you per se, but i really dont like the way people use 'media' now. "Media" could easily also (and sometimes primarily) mean, like, the news. Which is indeed something you very much need to learn to analyze and think (actually) critically about. What are the sources cited? What are the sources' backgrounds, and groundwork, and motivation? Who pays? Who owns the media? Did you look at different sources reporting the same thing? And if you have access only to shitty sources, try to separate the cold facts from emotional manipulation and twisting words and stories (eg our prime minister is talking about unity while actively bribing other parties' representatives. 'unity' takes a different meaning here, yeah?). Think of consequences, not ideals. Even if the ideal is protecting children, will banning drag queens from schools achieve that? What will the actual result be? Are they even trying to protect children or is the goal elsewhere? Media, as in reporting and news work, is genuinely the best to learn to understand tbh.

As for fiction and non-fiction prose and poetry, which is what im assuming you're actually talking about, there's no real set in stone 'real' and 'true' analysis take that can hallmark doing it 'properly'. Of course, some people will tell you it's 'obvious' and then oscillate vastly between approaches themselves. Let me make this more clear - when talking about interpretation and analysis im always reminded of a work of poetry i studied in high school. It was a poem called "you will be wearing white" (in my native tongue), and everyone in class was convinced that, yes, obviously the author is talking about marriage. He's talking to a woman about the future, about /their/ future. Marrying is never mentioned, but love is hinted, she has to be in white. Simple, right? Except our teacher was extremely adamant that no, the poem is definitely not about marriage. She listened to our arguments, called the interpretation shallow and then explained that the work is about the relief of the future, freedom, and happiness. Why? When it was written, brides did not wear white. Marrying for love was.. well, not impossible but definitely not how you would mention marriage one-sidedly in a work of art. White was a color not for a bride, but for a woman free from having to work hard to feed herself and her family, a woman with enough money to afford it. The intent of the author wasnt "i will see you married to me" (or "i will own you", as the teacher would say); but "i will see you happy [and i will be happy too]".

[under the cut because this turned into a monster im sorry]

Which interpretation is more valid? A bunch of high schoolers saw a love poem with a white dress, and thought of a happy marriage, that signifies future happiness. A lit teacher, used to interpreting marriage as the other side of Death, in symbolic meaning of course, and aware of the cultural and period background of the writer, tells them the original way it was meant to be interpreted. A 'modern' outlook versus authorial intent. Now, with all of the blatant wrong info floating around, let me tell you, /this/ is what death of the author means. Interpreting the text for itself, without the background or intent woven into it, even if you know it.

Now, to do Actually Proper, or /academic/ analysis you will have to either follow the author's works, life, intentions, and gimmicks closely, or you will have to catch and learn references to known classics. Especially biblical symbolism and references are an integral part of the classic analysis of (western) Classic Works, and catching how they're interwoven and reference each other is exactly what they teach you in school. Another huge part of this is learning how symbolism works (both in the particular text and outside of it - local symbols and widely used ones). Big archetypes are commonly referred to and used as a base of analysis, and i mean the actual meaning of this word by Jung (and by extension Freud), interwoven into literature on a bigger scale by Joseph Campbell. Im saying this because Star Wars is a good example of what im talking about - Campbell and Lucas are good friends, and the original trilogy is ripe with archetypical symbolism, it's effectively based on it. A simple example - Luke breaking Vader's mask in a vision is usually interpreted as a hint that vader is his father, but thats not the symbolic meaning. The Mask is an archetype - it covers the self in what it wants to see. In breaking the mask, Luke is discovering his fear that if he keeps on this path, if he lets the dark side guide his instincts, he will turn into what vader represents himself. It's a warning, not a foreshadowing. (now, the giant tree, that is the archetype for family, is very much foreshadowing and warning that his roots are in the Dark).

Obviously this approach has many critiques, and not every story will follow or acknowledge it. That doesn't stop you from analyzing it this way anyway. There is a reason when people write analyses theyre calling them "an analysis". There is place for interpretation, a lot of strings to pull, a lot of variables to take into account and a lot of approaches to consider.

Let's look at the infamous blue curtains. Were the curtains always there, and always blue, or are they mentioned specifically for this scene? Does the writer use the color blue in the work before to establish a particular meaning within the confines of this specific work? Are the protagonist's SO's eyes blue for example? Were the curtains in his childhood home blue? Does the writer use common symbolism often? Is blue the color of sadness to them as it usually is? Is the writer so inept as to not know that every word written on a page of a book has to have a meaning? (ie the "the curtains were fucking blue" approach). Or are the curtains a symbol, the cover hiding the outside world from the eyes of the protagonist, and painting his view in blue? Are the curtains the archetype of the Veil, the walkway into the underworld? Thus is the protagonist thinking of death? Does he feel dead? Is the protagonist dying? Or being reborn? (for in symbolic language death itself often just means Change).

None of these readings are Correct. Some would be based on the entire work's properties (looking for other symbolic language for example), some might be supported by the author themself (outside of the text), some might be rooted in cross-references to Classics or religious or culturally significant texts. Others might be a projection of the reader themself, what does blue mean to you? But no matter which approach to analysis you take, finding ways to support it can dip in different wells.

Let's go back to SW to have more clear examples. The dominant social media approach seems to be that The Empire is the nazi regime and everything is intentionally made to look and feel this way. Is this supported by authorial intent? Or is it more of a modern interpretation by people who want to find their morality everywhere. There was a post flying around mocking someone for saying Anakin is a Jesus figure, but, regardless of that person's other views, that /is/ a valid interpretation. Be it that Vader is actually the antichrist who fooled people into thinking he was a saviour, or be it that the story can be read as an attempt at construing what it would be like if their lord was in fact a mortal and fallible man. And Lucas? Lucas has given enough interviews to show that he was just writing about his special blorbos and their epic story about the magic of the universe.

When it comes to modern storytelling, be it shows or movies, etc, the approach to analysis is often Doylist first. Who is the target audience? Who paid for its production? Was there censors and content policies? Who are the actual writers, what conditions did they write under (did they know the whole story? were they allowed freedom of creativity? were they paid enough? how did they get that position?)? Was the story influenced by fans/social media's reaction? I feel like this is where the modern meaning of 'trope' comes from - it's more of a cliche, a setting of "the good guy" "the bad guy" and so on. Easily digestible and reproducible. That doesnt mean there isnt merit to deeper analysis however. Even if its unintentional (and thats not always the case) sometimes the best stories come from disjointed and confused narratives. A game sequel forgot about an entire essential part of the lore? Maybe something happened behind the scenes that explains it, and furthers the current narrative. Practicing suspension of disbelief and being charitable to the narrative is never wasted imo, you practice creative thinking and watsonian explanations, thus an 'internal' interpretation of the narrative.

I honestly think the most immediately helpful thing when approaching a story is your own, personal, what used to be called 'emotional intelligence', now emotional differentiation. Yes, knowing your own feelings, but also ability to decipher and interpret characters' feelings, emotions, goals, driving forces. The general theme of the narrative, and yes the narrative itself - what is the story about? Why did Luke refuse to kill Vader? Did he betray the republic for his family? Does he sympathize with a murderer? Did he Choose the Light and realize that walking into the dark side will make him worse? Or did he showcase his own character and personality, defend his own principles? Or all at once?

You know, i genuinely think that doing some analysis of fics can help with the basics of interpretation. Even bad fic. It's easier to see what the author is trying to tell you, and how they're doing it. Are they telegraphing simple movements just to make you understand the physicality of the situation? Are they trying to make it poetic and how? When reading a more advanced versus a more inexperienced writer, where are the differences between their ways of showing intent, and achieving it? The strings of symbolism and metaphor are also usually better visible in fic for an inexperienced analysis, because you can both juxtaposition the original text, and get an interpretation of it. And then, beyound authorial intent - how does your headcanon and interpretation of the canon differ from the fic author's? Why? Does the original text support their reading? How? Do the intent and the result in the reader match? What words do they use so their fic can be interpreted differently than intended? (the amount of 'fluff' ive read that was actually an unintentional horror lol).

I do want to say that if you're trying to get better at analyzing in order to participate "better" in fandom, that's your choice and all that, but it's not necessary. It's a buzzword nowadays how "critical thinking" and "actual analysis" in media are rotten and forgotten, but the fact is - this is fandom. Yes overanalysis and essays exist, but they were never lit crit or academic essays. They serve the purpose of fandom. And the purpose of fandom is very often, very expectedly, and very normally, "the curtains are blue, because his lover's tie is blue". There's nothing wrong with that. This is a hobby. We're here for fun. And way overanalyzing something in a completely haywire direction is tons of fun. Like hell, my personal take on a shallow ass FPS game with a base mechanic of healing orbs and vampiric attacks? Souls exist in this universe, thus soulmates too, thus my headcanons are toootaly canon-compliant. Was this the intent of the shallow FPS? Hell no. Is it supported by the source? Sure.

Worth saying however that like actual academic lit crit and analysis is a whole ass science and a huge field with many resources, theory and /a lot/ of work. If you want to get into it seriously, classes or at least reading theory is kind of a low bar, to be honest. And reading /a lot/ of classics - cant catch those references and universal symbols and common lit knowledge if you havent experienced them. It's genuinely not just making some shit up on the basis of five lines. And honestly? A lot of the theory is biased, and subjective, and western-centric so you gotta analyze the analysis theory. Yeeah.

Now the actual advice i will give you when it comes to existing in a social media world that's viscerally discoursing over every story is don't get gaslighted. Just because everyone is shouting loudly about a particular interpretation doesn't mean it's the only valid real one (or that it's valid at all). Listen to yourself too, read the source for yourself, if you care check on the author/s (and disregard as needed). If we went on tumblr one day and the dash was covered with new hot takes over how Luke is supporting fascism by not mercilessly killing his father will that mean he is the villain of the story? We've seen the Steven Universe/Aang is the real villain takes. Were they the villains? Is the claim supported by the text? Was Kylo Ren a one-dimensional villain with zero nuance? Did the text support that, regardless if it's his fans or haters that claim it? The Only Rule to make an objectively Valid take is take the entire source into account. Cherrypicking will get you an incomplete idea of the narrative and character. Support your claim with canon examples, references to outside sources, authorial intent, doesn't matter - but if you take a single scene, or a partial context, you're achieving a headcanon and personal fun (which is great!) but not an analysis that will hold to scrutiny and outside inspection.

[heybiji]

[bee-rosmyth-art]

U should draw Wheatley and Chell dancing to some tunes

Wheatley didn't fully understand which songs were good for pulling your partner away from her work to have a romantic sway about the kitchen and which were not, all he really knew was that when something was catchy it was hard to resist the urge to take Chell's flour covered hands in his own and spin around the room. For her part, she was getting used to- enjoying, even- the routine of dancing to an increasingly bizarre set of songs, the current one about a well named bull frog included on that list.

[willowser]

you don't know how much comfort your dragon king bkg drabble has given me ever since you posted it!! i keep reading it i love it sm 🥹

as it turns out, the man bakugou is — a bit harder to handle.

he sleeps like a heathen; you once thought the dragon bakugou to be a bit lazy, with how often he tended to curl up in the fields of grass, warm under the sun, but now — it would seem his little human form needs significantly less rest.

almost up all hours of the day, and when he does finally lay down, he's everywhere. a mess of limbs: one thrown carelessly out to the side and the other bent at an angle you can't believe doesn't hurt his joints. his head stays tucked into you somehow, either buried in your neck or pressed against your ribs — or you'll wake to find him nose-to-nose with you. he still snores like a dragon, however.

you're also beginning to wonder if there is a bottom to the pit of his stomach. he ate much before, whole fields of things, but you expected that appetite to dwindle, at least a little, now that his stomach has decreased considerably in size. and in number ? you're not even sure how many stomachs a dragon has; that's not something that was mentioned in the fairytales.

it burns through him quickly, gives him more energy than he needs, and it doesn't ever seem to affect his weight much. already, he's huge and thick with muscle and eating as much as he does never dulls the severity of his cut abdomen. not that you're looking all that much.

— not that you have a choice not to, as he seems to have little-to-no understanding of —

the door to the bathhouse kicks open, with enough force that you already know who it is without ever turning to look. you try not to shriek when you see him, because he seems to like that in some evil, impish way.

you've been alone to wash so far, thankfully, as the inn you'd managed to find was small and far enough out from the nearest kingdom that the occupancy was low — enough for you and your little brute.

the man bakugou comes to stand in front of the bath, blinking and huffing against the steam. finding clothes for him was — nearly impossible, and so the trousers you'd found hanging on someone's line outside fit above his ankles, a bit too tight around his waist. instead of a shirt, you've wrapped him in a scratchy linen, swaddled him up like a baby to cover the small smattering of scales that decorate his body, almost like freckles from the sun, though they gleam just as bright and red as they ever have. no matter his form.

a horn has started to sprout, on the right side of his forehead, and you've done your best to cover that, too.

you have no idea how long this man thing will last. if it's permanent or if he even has control over it. the last thing you need is for him to switch back, somehow, while you're in the middle of feeding him, absolutely demolishing whatever tavern you're in and calling all of king todoroki's guards to attention.

bakugou grunts, almost sleepy, and tosses a fat, weighty sack onto the edge of the bath. it jingles a certain jingle that makes your heart stop.

"oh, allfather—" you move for the edge, awkwardly keeping one arm against your chest despite the fact that he's seen it all by now. when you peek inside and confirm your fears, you lob it back to him furiously, as if it were a steaming potato. "where do you keep getting this stuff?"

things have started to turn up, miraculously. shiny things — like coins and rings and gems. things he could not have simply found rolling around in the dirt.

"go put it back!" you hiss at him, and the tone of your voice makes his frown deepen. you never realized how pouty he was, when he was still a dragon.

you think he understands you, and you're pretty certain he just chooses not to listen; instead of doing what you've told him in the slightest, he simply dumps the coin-purse to the floor, and then lets his linen and stolen trousers cover it as he unceremoniously undresses.

the biggest issue that you would say the man bakugou poses is — his complete lack of understanding of personal space.

"bakugou!" your voice wavers, shocked again by his nakedness. as if you haven't seen it all by now. "no, you — get out!"

but he does the exact opposite, which is hop into the steaming water, ignoring the arm you hold out to keep him away as he saddles up beside you. skin against scales, pressing a nose into your hair to huff out his annoyance, to make it something you can feel.

if anyone were to walk in right now, they would — probably think the lie you'd told the innkeeper was true. that you are a simple traveler and this is your mute, over-sized husband.

regardless, you think this behavior isn't polite. especially in a public bathhouse.

"bakugou," you try again, turning your face away as you speak to the wood-paneled wall. "i'm taking a bath, you have to wait your turn."

all you receive in response is another huff against your ear and a low rumble of disagreement from his chest.

he has yet to speak back, and has only used inhuman sounds as his points of conversation. the only word you've ever heard him utter is oi, which he does when he really thinks he needs your attention. you're starting to wonder if he's named you that in his head. oi.

curiously, you turn back to him and the movement has him pulling his face from your hair, just enough that he can look down at you, too. watch you, with the red-rippled sea in his eyes.

they're — amazing, you will admit. just as bright and detailed as they always have been. fit for a fairytale told by the fire, veiled by the soft-ash of his lashes. he watches you through them, half-lidded, and you wonder if it's something other than fatigue that has them so heavy.

"do you know what i'm saying?" you ask quietly, voice lacking the firm heat you want it to. instead it's heavy, too, weighted by something soft and unfamiliar and frightening. "can you even understand me?"

bakugou doesn't respond, not with a huff or a rumble or ever a purr, like the one he let out on the night he lay over you by the lake. you've only heard it sparingly since then, oftentimes in his sleep when his face is pressed into you.

you try not to frown at his silence, try not to let it disappoint you because it shouldn't; he's a dragon afterall, and you're not sure what it matters. the little horn protruding from his forehead catches your eye and you reach up to touch it gently, watching him blink away the water that drips from your wrist — and then he's turning into you again, too close.

beneath the water, you feel his hands skate up your bare thighs, wrap around your waist until your chest is pulled flush against his. you feel his huff, again, against the damp skin of your neck but it's slower, lighter. not laced with his frustration. some unknown thing you feel guilty for liking.

you drop your hand to his hair, rushing full force into all the damned things you've thought about doing but have been too afraid to. he's soft between your fingers, and you trace your nails lightly against his scalp until he groans quietly; a new noise, one you don't know how to translate.

your fingers stop when they brush upon little spines that have grown at the base of his skull, that have started to trail down the center of his back.

suddenly, tangled up in the bath with him, you wonder how much time you have left.

bakugou huffs again into your skin, a little fiercer this time, and it's because of his light jostling that you realize how rigid you've gone. you try to relax so that he will, too, though you must not do a convincing job, because a sharp nip comes to your earlobe.

"ow!" you squeal, but he doesn't let you go far, not even as you try to jerk away from him. in fact, the harder you try the more his teeth show: into your cheek and the point of your jaw and then dangerously low on your neck.

it's not until you finally freeze that he stops, huffing again, with a warmth that burns more than the steaming water.

and then, very quietly, he grumbles, "shitty wife," into your collarbone, just before biting you again.

[ann-chovi]

might i suggest cuddles? im sorry i just think that silly train man and medic gal deserve lovins fr 🥹🥹🥹❤️

Anon, you're so right.

Have a couple of middle-aged sleepies having some well deserved snuggle snoozes~

[anodymalion]

ok I am in fact using this as an excuse to make a long post about this thank you thank you asjksdjfaljdf

---

Interpreting Yuri as asexual is my very very favorite type of headcanon, which is one that 1. is compellingly coded in the source material (even if that wasn't the creator's intent), 2. is thematically relevant to what the piece of media is Trying To Do as a whole, and 3. just means a lot to me, personally, because I said so.

Coded in the source material

Yuri’s short program is “eros”, aka desire (you can interpret what “eros” means in various ways, but YOI itself explicitly refers to sexual love, at least in the English translations). Yuri struggles with this. Hard. He can’t come up with an answer when asked what eros means to him. His big revelatory moment about desire is that it’s how he feels about wanting to eat his favorite food (omg… boy). Even as the season goes on and the way he views the Eros program changes, the program doesn’t ever really embody the idea of eros as sexuality or romance (which was how the other characters expect him to interpret it) but rather as a desire to keep Victor in his life.

Like look. I’m obviously not going to say that the creator intended any kind of ace subtext to be there. I kind of doubt it was her intent. But goddamn is the subtext there.

2. Thematic relevance

The central theme throughout YOI is “love”, and especially loving people in a way that inspires you both to be your best selves: Yuri learning that the people in his life truly love and support him; Victor finding someone who makes him feel joy about skating again.

Like, Yuri’s whole skating theme for the Grand Prix is literally about him exploring what love looks like to him, even when it takes a form that other people don’t totally understand. Viewing all this through a lens of him being ace is really compelling. It adds depth to the idea of learning how to express the way you feel love even when it looks different than what other people expect. I think it’s a really delicious layer that adds even more nuance to what the show is getting at.

Besides, it’s an interesting way of viewing the criticism of the show that occurred for it not being 100% explicit about them being a couple (aka people getting mad because the kiss in ep 7 is blocked by Victor’s arm lmaooo). Like, ok, did you see the ending scene of ep 9? Did you see ep 10??? They definitely, definitely love each other, in whatever way that means for them. Their relationship takes a form that’s pretty different than the other way people in the show are going about romantic relationships, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t real for them. That is very much in line with the main themes of the show.

3. Means a lot to me

In the final scene of the penultimate episode, Yuri tells Victor that they should end their coaching relationship after the Grand Prix ends. This is because he thinks he’s holding Victor back, that Victor would be happier being free to go back to skating on his own instead of being Yuri’s coach. When I watched this (and, I’ll be honest, this is completely me projecting here) I REALLY interpreted this as an ace thing. I think it’s pretty easy to internalize the idea when you’re asexual that you just won’t be… enough, for other people. In my case I ended up a strong impulse to self-sabotage relationships because I would rather be the one to end things than to let someone else tell me that who I am as a person is fundamentally lacking. Yuri destroying a connection he desperately wants because he thinks there’s something about him that is holding Victor back from a life he’d be truly happy with? Oh yeah. I can fucking relate to that.

Also: YOI came out in 2016, which was the absolute peak of hostility to ace people I was seeing on this site. It was bad here. At the same time Tumblr was going wild over this show. Everyone was watching it. Seeing a whole site of people absolutely adore a character I very deeply in my heart believed to be ace? Extremely vindicating.

---

In conclusion Yuri is asexual because it is fun and interesting that way, and also because of this:

[poorlydrawnandroids]

…

Unfortunately they did not get burgers for Hank, but Connor at least learned a valuable lesson. I guess Nines suffers from Amelia Bedelia Syndrome.

———

Hi guys, this is actually a comic I drew and basically finished 11 months ago. And it’s been just about then since I’ve last really opened my iPad and did any drawing. There’s a ton of half-completed works on there and they’re pretty cute, so I’ll try to post them as I get the motivation. My therapist says posting to this blog will probably improve my mental health and he’s right but >:3c

So yeah! Let’s see what I can toss out this year, wooo!!

[puppyeared]

Hey I’m new to the LMK fandom, why do so many people ship Sun Wukong and Macaque??

A lot of people like the hurt/comfort potential because of their backstory and because they’re just really good counterparts lol. Macaque even makes a whole play about their past relationship, which is where a lot of that fuel for the ship comes from and the whole “the hero and the warrior were like the sun and the moon” spiel that people love using for shits and giggles. There’s also a really strong enemies to lovers sentiment and i think it’s kinda sweet

Personally, I just really like riffing off the divorced energy. To me, these idiots would rather beat the shit out of each other than make up and I really really eat that up. Not just as a joke, maybe as a way to cope with their feelings like “I want things to go back the way they were but this is all I can do”

[my-thoughts-and-junk]

the father [solar lunacy] the son [you move to dayshift but aren't paid any more, go figure] and the holy spirit [i see you, sundrop!]

[wifegideonnav]

tbh when mitski said “you’re my best friend/now i’ve no one to tell/how i lost my best friend”

[communistkenobi]

Hey, I just wanted to thank you for your readthrough of Whipping Girl! You have a lot of excellent commentary on it, and although I've read the book many times myself and recommend it to all the other trans women I'm friends with, it rooted itself so deeply in my mind that I can't always tell when I'm drawing on Serano's argument. You've helped me to see the book in a new light.

thank you right back! It’s an incredible book and I’m learning a lot from it. It’s also a really good book to have productive disagreements with - I’m pretty skeptical of Serano’s conception of social constructions (or “the social” more broadly - basically, the social elements of gender) but that has more to do with the liberal framework of the book and her background as a biologist - every academic believes their field is the key to unlocking all other fields lol. I’m also sensitive to the fact that this is like a foundational text in trans theory and she has to deal with the biological essentialism embedded within virtually all discussions of gender, so i think reading her concessions to biology as charitably as possible is probably the best way to deal with those elements of the book

[timothylawrence]

I actually didnt know rana was your oc 😭 i thought she was a canon character

LOL no she's my own created character 😭😭😭 i just love her so much and never stop talking abt her 😭😭 shes so pretttyyyy

[liquidstar]

WOW I FINALLY FINISHED THIS SET. There were a lot of things I wanted to get right for them so I took some extra time but hopefully it was worth it! The guild for this set is Cobalt Heart- a guild with focus on maritime missions, lead by (of course) guildmaster Neptune. There was no other planet I could've picked for his namesake lol. They're the guild I jokingly call the most jockish, but some moreso than others. I really do hope I did all the characters justice, but if you wanna know more about the individual members, it's under the cut as usual!

Name: Neptune

Name Origin: The planet named for the god of the ocean

Pronouns: He/him

Age: 52

Guild rank: Guildmaster

Weapon: Trident

Ethos (Power): Ocean wave (Control over water- stronger with sea water)

Flaw power is based on: Originally based on his overly relaxed go-with-the-flow nature, but since becoming a father and guildmaster he's matured, and his power grew from simple wave control to more powerful control over the ocean's water. Waves aren't always peaceful, but he's become someone who understands their power and the responsibility needed for it.

Notes: If it's unclear, the marks on his chest are meant to be top surgery tattoos, but in cool wave shapes!

Name: Triton

Name Origin: Neptune's moon, aptly named for his son

Pronouns: He/they

Age: 24

Guild rank: 4 star

Weapon: Twin sai

Ethos (Power): Ocean breath (Underwater breathing as well as other aquatic adaptions)

Flaw power is based on: His ardent wanderlust, especially in regards to the ocean. They literally cannot leave it alone despite any possible better reasoning, which is when it becomes a problem.

Notes: Was his other parent a mermaid or did they just do the fish thing on their own? The world may never know.

Name: Otrera

Name Origin: A trojan asteroid named after the queen of the Amazons

Pronouns: She/her

Age: 32

Guild rank: 5 star

Weapon: Brass knickles

Ethos (Power): Preflexes (Hightened reflexes)

Flaw power is based on: Her overly-guarded and cagey nature.

Notes: But her brass knuckles are pink so its quirky when she knocks your teeth out.

Name: Naos

Name Origin: A star whose name means "ship"

Pronouns: He/him

Age: 21

Guild rank: 3 star

Weapon: Modified crutches

Ethos (Power): Helm (He can change the direction of inanimate objects. It's not limited to projectiles, he can change the direction of objects while they're in someone's hand too.)

Flaw power is based on: His avoidant tenancies, especially where more serious responsibility is concerned.

Notes: Honestly? Joined the guild to boost his playboy status.

Name: Aitne

Name Origin: One of Jupiter's moons, named after the personification of Mount Etna, a stratovolcano

Pronouns: They/them

Age: 27

Guild rank: 4 star

Weapon: Spiked gauntlets and armor

Ethos (Power): Molten Core (Lava manipulation)

Flaw power is based on: Their brash and destructive nature.

Notes: Likes all their food to be charred.

Name: Ariel

Name Origin: A moon or Uranus, named after an air spirit!

Pronouns: She/her

Age: 16

Guild rank: 2 star

Weapon: Baton

Ethos (Power): Harmony (Perfect balance on anything)

Flaw power is based on: Her own difficulty maintaining emotional balance under stress

Notes: She's a gymnast! And even though I didn't make the character named "Ariel" a mermaid, you can still see a scale pattern in her leotard!

Name: Maru

Name Origin: A white dwarf whose name means "Sky." It's orbited by the planet Ahra.

Pronouns: She/her

Age: 18

Guild rank: 3 star

Weapon: Claymore sword

Ethos (Power): Sky walking (She is capable of interacting with air as if it were a tangible object, creating leverage for herself to walk and balance on as if it were solid)

Flaw power is based on: Her somewhat vain tendency to place herself above others

Notes: Complete and utterly confident she's the cooler twin

Name: Ahra

Name Origin: A exoplanet whose name means "Ocean." It orbits the star Maru.

Pronouns: She/her

Age: 18

Guild rank: 3 star

Weapon: Claymore sword

Ethos (Power): Wave riding (Creation and control of tidal waves to ride on, as if she was surfing them with no board. But she does have to be on them.)

Flaw power is based on: Her arrogance and recklessness

Notes: Completely and utterly convinced she's the cooler twin.

Name: Pipoltr/Pip

Name Origin: A star named for "a bright and beautiful butterfly."

Pronouns: Whatever really?

Age: 8

Guild rank: 1 star

Weapon: Giant lollipop

Ethos (Power): None yet!

Flaw power is based on: N/A. This doesn't mean they're flawless, but until their power develops they're really just here to go on fun little adventures.

Notes: This child hangs around with sailors all day long. The words they know....

[howdoyousleep3]

i spent my morning at the DMV and it was the absolute worst way to spend my morning, 0/10 do not recommend

[whysamwhy123]

Hmmm. What if I attempted to write a piece of Trash and posted it anonymously?

[hestiasroom]

does anyone else's mom think they are "mean" for having boundaries? or is that just my mom?