An absolutely gorgeous commission from @dragynkeep of cozy freezerburn, specifically Antares: Vacuo outfit edition! They offer commissions here, I couldn't adore their work more!
If you dont mind me asking, why was May's allusion in Antares changed from Maid Marian to Will Scarlet?
A few reasons! Firstly, how is May Maid Marian beyond the initials, same as Fiona Thyme being Friar Tuck? I don't really see it, and I couldn't think of a way to make it work.
So instead, I started looking a bit more into personalities, and the whole idea of a firebrand swordswoman, youngest of the group, but loyal and outcast from a noble family. I also thought that having her colour scheme be distinctly red and blue would help differentiate her somewhat from the others, who are majority green, but would also tie her closer to Robyn, who has red as her secondary colour with her waistcoat. It's very clear who May idolises the most in the group, who she styled herself after.
She's also paralleled with Marrow, who also has a red/blue colour theme, but he leans more blue, so they're that contrast of hothead and cool-tempered (they were on a team together in Atlas, now they're mortal enemies over petty ex-roommate things)
Also the scene in Robin Hood: Men in Tights with Will Scarlet and his daggers is iconic and May has that 'shoot at me bring it on' energy, its what she deserves.
Do not meddle in the affairs of wizards, for they are subtle and quick to anger.
Whitley and Ozpin, the disaster duo. I wanted to make it look a bit more eldritch (and obvious) when the Ozs in Antares were either using magic or switching who was in the driver's seat, so to speak. Also Antares is an Oz!Whitley AU, they're very fun together🕰️☃️
What is the general ethos of each character when they enter a fight? Are they formally trained and thus play by the rules, so to speak? They wouldn't throw a punch in a fencing duel as an example. Do they use everything at their disposal, including underhanded tactics? Do they fight to kill? Do they fight exclusively to restrain but would never willingly or deliberately kill someone? Would they rather not fight at all and talk the enemy down, fighting only to defend themselves? Those sort of questions.
Interesting questions, I might break it down by category.
Fully Pacifist (no fight only talk)
Whitley, Ilia
Mostly Pacifist (self-defence or defence of others is an exception)
Oscar, Joanna, Fiona, Arslan, Iris, Ozpin
Pacifist Fighter (won't start the fight, but can fight)
Bloodthirsty Fighter (violence is their existence)
Tyrian, Marcus, Salem, Neo, Cinder, Vernal
Meanwhile the second line on this graph I'm going to just pick the characters that most exemplify these options, noting that some characters are more willing to slide up and down the scale depending on the situation and the severity of a fight (i.e. Winter would fight fair-ish in a spar, she would not in a real fight)
What would the cast of Antares have as their Epithets if they were transported to the world of Epithet Erased? It doesn't have to be associated with their semblance. It can be a new power entirely.
ooo this one is fun! I ended up grabbing a lot of characters because honestly the dynamic is entirely up to interpretation, so I'm just going to give the characters and their epithets, I think!
Also on a lot of these, I actually decided by just rolling random word generators a whole bunch of times until something jumped out as interesting or distinctive to tie to a character, I'll be honest. It made it a lot more fun, having that randomised element rather than specifically worrying about tying things in. A lot of these are based really on vibes, or on the fun that could come from the secondary meanings of words, or how the powers could work.
What do the characters themselves think is their most positive and negative attribute and what do you think as the author (not all characters are gonna be aware or even open about themselves fully) of Antares? I’m interested in knowing about RWBY and JNPR obviously. But also STRQ, the Ace Ops and Sun and Mercury. You can add more if you like but that’s a lot already.
This got so long, here's a readmore
Ruby
Ruby thinks her best trait is her good heart, she’s definitely convinced she’s heroic and kind and loving. Pure of heart, idealistic, she thinks those define a hero. She also thinks her most negative attribute is her scorpion bloodline, because it’s a direct link to the fact that she’s the daughter of a serial killer and living proof that Summer Rose wasn’t as good as everyone says. She’s ashamed of the fact, and hates that she wants to know more.
As the author, her best trait and worst trait are one in the same. Ruby is not pure of heart, she’s not tainted by who her progenitor is, and she’s not self-aware. Ruby is determined. It means she’s incredibly hard to knock down, she’ll always get back up, she doesn’t give up, and it also means she doesn’t listen when she thinks she’s making the right call.
Weiss
So uh, it’s hard to narrow down because Weiss thinks lots of her attributes are positive. She’d probably want to pick her determination, her looks, her fighting spirit, her combat skills. But at her heart she thinks her best attributes, listed prior, are all the ways she’s similar to Winter. There’s an idolisation there. Her worst trait she thinks is her coldness, her isolated nature. That it keeps her from connecting to the world. Very sad and all that.
Weiss’s worst trait is, in actuality, the fact that she tends to accept what people tell her without interrogating that information, and will dismiss things that don’t fit that worldview out of hand unless she really can’t ignore it. She believes ‘dad is bad but Grandfather was good’ without actually thinking about how the SDC was made, she thinks ‘Winter is the best’ and refuses to see Winter’s flaws, she thinks ‘faunus are bad aside from the Good Ones’ and then needs to do a lot of unpacking and course correcting. It’s a flaw she’s working on without realising she needs to, but she just tends to take things at first impression and needs to move beyond that. Her good trait is that she is, at her core, a compassionate person who is willing to care and put her whole heart into something she believes in. She just needs to learn to be careful with where it goes.
Blake
Blake doesn’t really think about her positive attributes all that much, but if she had to pick she likes her drawing ability. She’s quite proud of how good she’s gotten at it. She hates that she’s cowardly, in her own head. Its what she thinks is everything wrong with her, that she cuts and runs when things get hard to the point she disavows her semblance.
Her best trait is that she doesn’t see the world in a black-and-white binary. She’s willing to see the good in someone but doesn’t ignore the bad. She’s willing to offer a hand to those in need, but she knows that she can’t make them take it. And she knows that some people don’t want to do good. When she’s not spun up in her own head, she’s able to understand the complexities and contradictions of people in a way that Ruby, who very much has that strict binary, cannot. Her worst trait is that she gets very caught up in her own head and that can make her self-focused to the point she forgets other people have lives going on.
Yang
She was convinced her best trait was her strength, physically, and that her worst flaw was her temper. She’s half-right.
Her best trait is similar to Ruby, she’s determined and won’t give up if she can say a way through. She’s slightly more aware of her limits then Ruby, so has a better handle on when not to let determination become her downfall, but overall she’s driven and that’s what keeps her going. Her worst flaw is her temper, but that even though she’s learning to control her rage, she’s not controlling her fuse. It’s still short, things still get to her easily, and she’s switched from ‘angry outburst’ to ‘stewing sullenly’ which is not better.
Summer
Oh man I need to be careful about spoilers with this one! Summer, eventually, by the end of her story, thinks her best trait is her silver eyes, and she buys wholly into her own legend of ‘the monster slayer, the greatest of warriors, the best of the best’ (against Grimm). She thinks her worst trait is her secrecy, but she feels like she needs it too much to let go, so she just tends to always have a slow boil of guilt going on.
Her best trait, for real, is her devotion and love for her friends and family. It’s what gives her the strength to get through a staggering amount of bad, it brings out the best in her, and it also makes her happy, which is a good thing. Her bad trait is, well- similar to Ruby, her best trait turned flaw. Her devotion to her family can manifest as ‘protecting them’ in a way that means lying, keeping secrets, and eventually running off alone because she thinks she can handle it herself and doesn’t need to drag down anyone with her. It gets her killed, in the end.
Taiyang
He knows damn well what his best trait is, it’s his kind nature, warm heart, and positive spirit, and he’s correct. That heart of his kept STRQ from falling apart emotionally at the seams when things got bad, raised two daughters in a loving household, and mostly kept Qrow from self-destructing. As a teenager, he thought his worst flaw was his temper, to the point he was afraid of it. He’s grown beyond that, and now he thinks his worst flaw is his depression, though he does try to manage it, he hates how badly it can affect him and what effect it has on his family. That’s what scares him now.
And while he is correct about his positive traits and has full rights to be confident about it, his most negative quality is in fact his own fear, both of his own negative emotions, and of dying on his family, or something. Both can cause him to be more passive than he potentially should be, as he’s quite adverse to taking risks at this point in his life where he can avoid it.
Raven
Oh man Raven thinks she’s the tits, convinced she’s strong, brave, powerful, knowledgeable. And she hates that deep down she’s the type who cuts and runs when things get hard. Despises it. So she covers it up with bravado and danger.
As the author, I can safely say that all that is bull. Raven’s most positive quality is that despite herself, she does actually care. Somewhere deep down. She buries it behind all her rules, but she does care. This does not absolve her of being terrible, and may in fact make it worse because she has the capacity to do better but chooses not to. Her worst flaw is that she’s very stuck in the past, but it’s specifically a self-martyring version of the past where she’s never wrong, and she refuses to actually think about herself and her actions.
Qrow
Qrow thinks his looks and charm are his best quality. His worst flaw is his semblance. He’s really not that introspective.
His best quality as an author is that his clever. He’s thoughtful and quick and full of schemes, and that makes him very effective as a Huntsman and a spy. It also means that with someone he really knows he can be quite a good soundboard. His worst flaw is that he doesn’t take responsibility for himself. He blames everything on Raven, on his semblance, on his tragic backstory, on his job, on the alcohol, later on Ozpin, and at some point he’s going to have to come to terms with that even with all of that, he’s still him. And he’s still flawed.
Jaune
Jaune totally thinks his worst flaw is his uselessness, and he’s still working on finding a best trait. If pushed under pain of death he’d probably like being tall.
In actuality, as an author, Jaune’s best trait is that he’s learnt how to step back. He’s at the point in Antares where he’s less egotistical about being The Hero and is more focused on ‘how do I keep everyone alive’ which is much more important and is good for him. His worst trait is that he’s really, really obtuse. The subtler nuances of things tend to just go whoosh over his head, he takes Ren going ‘all good’ at mostly face value, he doesn’t see the problem with Pyrrha’s aggression unless it specifically hurts someone else. He’s trying to keep the peace and missing a lot of the underlying tensions.
Nora
Nora thought her big personality was her best trait and deep down, though she’d never admit it, didn’t like how utterly dependent she was on Ren emotionally. She knew that their codependency was gonna bite ‘em in the arse eventually, she just didn’t think she’d be the one to go down first.
And actually? Yeah, she’s pretty much correct, except it wasn’t her big personality that made her great, it was the fact it was driven by her good nature. The codependency def was a timebomb though.
Pyrrha
Pyrrha is an interesting case because if you asked her this before the Fall of Beacon and afterwards you’d get two wildly different answers. The first answer you’d get, while she’s still at Beacon is that she thinks her best trait is that she can be great, she’s working towards a destiny of being great, of helping people. Of being a Huntress. Her worst trait, in her own words, is that she’s so ‘great’ that she’s all alone. Not much changes from the show here.
After Beacon, she’s changed her mind. Suddenly, her worst trait is now that she failed to live up to the titles and pedestals she was placed on, that she let down her own legend. She’s no longer invincible, and it gnaws at her. So, she’s decided, now that she’s discovered anger, discovered what anger can do to make her stronger, she’s going to embrace it. She has learnt rage and she’s going to keep it.
And I can categorically state she’s mixed herself up in quite the knot. Her worst trait is not that she’s now angry, I mean- she has every right to be upset, her worst trait is that she has no regulation on it. Very classical hero of her. Her best trait hasn’t changed throughout all of this, and it is that Pyrrha Nikos, at her core, is unfailingly kind. Angry moods not included.
Ren
Ren is a perfectionist and finds a new flaw every time someone asks. But the big one that grates on him is that everyone else around him seems so naturally talented and driven and he’s worked so hard, trained so harshly, and he can barely keep up. He likes that people think he gives good advice though, it feels nice to be helpful.
As the author, Ren’s best trait is that he both gives himself space to figure out what he wants to say, and gives other people that room to sort their emotions too. A lot of the characters are very impulsive and quick to make decisions, which is good for fighting, not so much for character interactions when everyone’s traumatised to the nines. Ren may not always get people, but he gives them the space to chat, and tends not to judge because he’s also busy figuring out his own words. It’s an overlooked skill. He’s also wrong about his flaw. Again, same as Nora, his utter dependency on her was good for him but now she’s not around he’s completely unmoored. The fact that he’s constantly using his semblance to dull down pretty much everything is a very bad thing and the fact that when he has his aura off so far in the story he’s been distracted by pure survival or blinding vengeful rage means he has processed exactly nothing.
Sun
Sun if asked would say his best trait is his optimistic personality and oh man he is clinging to that by the skin of his teeth. He thinks he doesn’t do enough to help the people he cares about, his conflicting loyalties stall him and though he knows damn well he’s on the wrong side, he’s not really tried to change it beyond token efforts.
I, on the other hand, think that his worst trait is that if he decides he doesn’t like someone he’ll literally just be like ‘didn’t ask don’t care, we all got trauma, it came free with your fucking lifespan’. He’s correct on the optimism tho, it’s important to stay positive when you’re living in an evil lair filled with evil-eating monsters.
Mercury
Mercury knows damn well how good he is in a fight and how hard he is to put down because he just keeps getting back up, pain is all in the mind. His worst flaw, for him, is his backstory. He tries not to sleep when he can because he doesn’t want to deal with the nightmares. This man runs on coffee and spite only.
It’s very mean but I actually love that Mercury is incredibly amoral and self-interested (though perhaps not as much as he thinks he is). Atlas arrested his dad? Cool, he’ll work on their side. Schnee promised him money to keep an eye on some chick? Yeah, no worries. Pay me when I get back. It’s a very fun contrast to the rest of Team Good Guy who are all, like, heroic, and I love interesting character dynamics. Worst trait is basically the same thing, his incredibly apathetic which can make him hard to balance in a scene because he doesn’t care about the story he’s in unless I dangle a short-term motivation in front of him.
Clover
One might think Clover would call his best trait his semblance, after all, being lucky is incredibly useful. He’s got self-confidence beyond that though, and is quite convinced his best trait is his ability to keep a cool head even in dicey situations. It’s a very good trait for a leader, and it allows him a level of maturity which means his pride doesn’t tend to get in the way. He would think his worst trait is that he has a bit of an addictive personality, which he mostly tries to be constructive about and channel into, ironically for the cool head remark, being a complete thrill seeker and adrenaline junkie. It’s better than gambling, after all.
He is correct on the positive trait, but I would say his negative trait is a bit more insidious, and its that he takes way too much responsibility even for things out of his control. Though, when your power verges on the edge of mild reality warping, is it any wonder that it has a sprawling guilt complex to go with it when the odds don’t turn out in your favour?
Elm
Elm prides herself on being indomitable. She does not bow, she does not break. Whether it be her gentle heart, her cheerful brashness, her sheer indestructibility in a fight, or what have you, Elm knows that she does not give in. Ever. Unfortunately, this has a downside, as Elm has a history of being the Last Man Standing, and that… she does not like that.
Anyway, she’s correct on both things, someone has to be, you go Elm.
Vine
Vine is the Ace Op who is most willing to ‘do what needs to be done’, even if the option is not one the others find agreeable. He thinks that is his best quality, as every group needs a devil’s advocate to keep them from going too far in one direction. He thinks his worst trait is that though he’ll do it, he still feels regret, and he fears that one day his regrets will keep him from efficiency.
I can safely say that Vine’s best trait is not, in fact, being able to do the dirty work, even if it very rarely comes up as an option. It’s the fact that despite all of the stuff he’s done, because he had a checkered past he is still able to believe in the future. He has hope, very important. His worst quality is that he never says any of this, not even the top stuff, and works on a very ‘state words, assume you understand implied subtext and meaning without explanation’ way of talking that does not gel with people that don’t know him well enough to pick up on his very understated cues.
Harriet
Harriet knows she’s the best and she’ll brag about it to anyone who listens, she has the fastest speed semblance in the history of Remnant, they checked. Ego is important, who wants to go into a fight thinking they might not win? Harriet is confident and that is everyone else’s problem. Flaws? What are those? (Her darkest secret is that someone will find out she bleaches her hair, most people assume its natural because Remnant)
As the author, Harriet’s best trait is that she expects the best, of herself and of others, and pushes them towards it. She doesn’t settle, and she doesn’t let other people settle, and that can be in anything, but channelling it towards self-improvement is the main thing she does, second only to keeping herself and her semblance and her skills in tip top shape. Her worst flaw is that she’s as impulsive as she is fast, was that really a question?
Marrow
Marrow doesn’t hate himself, not really, but he definitely would rank his artistic skills as his favourite trait, he worked hard at his drawing, he’s self-taught, he’s proud of it. He designs all his own tattoos and they are awesome, thanks. He still has some hangups about being a faunus, and possibly a ‘race traitor’ for joining the military, there’s some guilt there over if he’s right for trying to work in the system to change things or not.
Marrow, unaware of this, has his best trait being his earnestness. He may worry in the small hours of the night over what’s going on, but he believes in people, in himself, in his dreams, and that’s important. His flaw is that, despite that, he’s incredibly indecisive, and finds it very hard to make snap decisions when he has to.
Secret Tortuga Option
Kelpie Tortuga was Harriet’s best friend growing up and the two of them were the cause of some of Ironwood’s grey hairs, not just the old age (Neon has inherited this label). Tortie, as Harriet called them, thought that his wicked sense of humour was his best trait, able to keep the Aces light even after a mission went south, helping keep everyone sane. He also did not like his faunus trait much at all, as his horse ears were incredibly expressive and always gave away what they were really feeling, even when they were projecting their cool guy image.
Tortie’s true best trait was, unquestionably, their loyalty, and in the case of Harriet, it was completely reciprocated. You’d never find one without the other, and she took his death hard. Their worst trait was the same as Harriet’s, impulsiveness. Tortie was the type to rush in without thinking, same as Harriet, and that’s led to the Aces being a little bit more careful in fights now.
