PTS Lore Drop: character art & info.

When I started developing Pierce the Sky, I knew I wanted to commission my friend Bee to do art of the primary cast, because I absolutely adore her work. Bee’s art is full of so much personality and is so fun. Anyway! She finished the collection today, so I wanted to post them all together in one place, along with some info on each character. However, before you read this, I recommend you read my first post about PTS that I put on Patreon (it’s free to view) to get a little context for the world and the alien race that three of the characters here are part of, the Xuaci-olokan.

Now then, onto the cast:

Suzuka Shibuya-Preece (they/them) is the main character and POV we stick with for the entirety of PTS. They are considered a prodigy fencer for their age, which is why they were considered to wield the dual laser sabers, Phantom Blades. Aside from being a fencer, they also are pretty accomplished in kendo.

A few little Suzuka facts:

• They are agender! They do not do HRT, but they did have top surgery when they were 20.
• They are French and Japanese. They were born in Paris, where they lived until their father’s tragic passing when they were 6. They moved to Japan to live with his family shortly after, but returned to France at 18 to pursue their fencing career and attend college.
• They didn’t begin learning/speaking English until they were 15. Their accent is mostly Japanese, but their French accent slips in from time to time.

Tsukiya “Tsuki” Ryudo (he/him) is the secondary main character and wielder of the splitting katana, Kokuryūnotsume. He is one of three Angels in all of the Forces to have inherited his weapon from a blood relative, his grandfather. He’s an incredibly skilled swordsman, so much so he was offered a prestigious position among the elite of the Angels, the Eternal Drifters. However, he turned it down. I wonder why.

A few little Tsuki facts:

• Where the typical Angel is only able to wield their own weapon, Tsuki is capable of wielding other Celestial weapons temporarily, as his natural ability to bond with their souls makes weapons amenable to him.
• Tsuki treats all weapons like they are people and enjoys connecting with them and talking to them.

Héctor “Lázaro” Estrada-Gutierrez (he/him) is the wielder of the hydraulic harpoon Devil in the Deep Blue Sea and the primary Eternal Drifter we follow in the story. Despite being a very laidback and chill guy, he’s a very impressive fighter with an intensely close bond with his weapon.

A few little Lázaro facts:

• He is the inverse of Tsuki when it comes to Celestial weapons. Where Tsuki can bond with any weapon, Lázaro’s bond with his own is SO strong that all other weapons reject him immediately.
• Láz was born without his left leg, but has never let that hold him back. His current prosthetic is worth over $200,000.
• He is a polyglot and knows Spanish, English, Russian, Portuguese, Hindi, Chinese, Italian, and French. He is learning Japanese and can speak it conversationally, but is still wrapping his head around writing it.

Aaz-min Wen-do (she/her) is the main Starsmith we follow in the story and creator of Phantom Blades and Devil in the Deep Blue Sea. Like her peers, she is considered an exceptional talent, having designed her first weapon at just 15 years old. (She is 23 now.)

A few little Aaz-min facts:

• She is trans! Xuaci are very open about gender and gender exploration and encourage everyone to explore their gender. Because of this, she realized she was trans at a young age. While many trans Xuaci do pursue physical transition, Aaz-min chose not to, content with herself as she is.
• She is obsessed with fantasy media. While Starsmithing is her profession, she loves to write as a hobby and hopes to publish her stories someday.

Yo Masuda (he/him) is the wielder of the dual semi-machine pistols, Semi-Automatic Sky Rider. This Celestial weapon is one of the few actual guns in the Forces. Yo joined the Forces to pull his family out of poverty and takes his job very seriously.

A few little Yo facts:

• He is the oldest of four. He has two sisters and one brother.
• He is known among Angels as “everyone’s big brother” because he tends to take on a very brotherly or parental role with anyone younger than him. You would think that means he’s a kind guy, but that’s not the case. He’s a stern brother/parental figure.
• He bleaches and dyes his hair blond, but absolutely refuses to admit it.

Gen-eva “Azi” Na-hum (any pronouns) is a student archivist who primarily works in history and Angel combat data. They help compile the information needed to make virtual reality copies of Angels for training purposes.

A few little Azi facts:

• They were born with a genetic mutation that causes some Xuaci to have five-fingered hands. (Typically referred to among Xuaci as the “ham-sa vu-rai-do,” which translates to “ghost’s touch.”)
• Like Aaz-min and Suzuka, they have a strong affinity for fantasy media. While typically shy, when given the opportunity to talk about their favorite media, they are easily prone to rambling.

Arisu Narukami (she/her) is a research intern studying the mental-emotional bond between Celestial weapons and wielders. As part of her internship, she’s been assigned to work with Aaz-min to understand the fine points of weapon crafting. She also studies Lázaro and Tsuki because of their unique relationships with weapons.

A few little Arisu facts:

• She’s a big lovecore fan and insists on decorating her work area in pink and hearts, even if it’s frowned upon by her work peers.
• Her work with Celestial weapons inspired her to take up archery as a hobby. She’s a pretty decent shot.

Tsu-ba-sa Ada-chi (they/she) is a research intern studying human-alien interpersonal relationships and coexistence. Their field has them traveling across the world to study how Xuaci have integrated into human society. This is considered a secondary responsibility of the Forces, which deals a lot in the political landscape of human-Xuaci relations.

A few little Tsu-ba-sa facts:

• They are trans femme nonbinary! This was a fairly recent discovery for them, so they are still exploring it with the help of their friends, Azi and Aaz-min.
• Like Azi, they possess the “ghost’s touch” genetic mutation.
• Tsu-ba-sa is obsessed with cryptids. They love talking about cryptids with anyone who will listen, so tread lightly if you don’t have the time to learn everything you could possibly ever want to know about the Mothman.

Wow, that ended up being a lot of info! That’s all for today, though. For more frequent updates on PTS (and other things) I recommend checking out my Bluesky, or following my Patreon or this blog.

Until next time!