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WARNING: Character rant ahead.
I feel like it’s hard to rant about something without being asked questions to start a rant… anyone feel me? Or am I crazy, lol. Sorry if the following is hard to read/understand. I’ve been told, and agree, that I write how I talk, and sometimes talking comes across a lot better in person than written down, lol. Also, how can you read through your message a million times and still find errors after you post?? Like, wHaT iS ThAt.

Also, ignore spelling mistakes. I don’t keep auto correct on in the place I originally wrote this.

I created the Gretchen siblings back in 2021. The only one I really thought a lot about was Blaine, and that’s because he was—and still is—in a group of characters that had a huge impact on my life (TPE, my novel, is about that group). At the start of my story, the Gretchens live in the center of Needslight, which is a huge dangerous hood area.

Blaine has changed quite a bit from who he was when I first created him. Nowadays he is a chill fellow with a passion for justice and empathy. He’s one of the five main characters of my novel, and he’s the leader of a warrior team called the Fire Untamed (that’s what they were called back in the day when they weren’t exactly good characters, so the chances of me changing that name is high, but it’s a bit nostalgic for me so maybe not. It doesn’t fit the team’s new vibe… idk). His name was originally spelled Blaen, but I’ve changed it for the sake of my possible readers. Blaine is the second youngest.
Don’t judge—originally he was based on Shoto Todoroki from My Hero Acadamia… but I didn’t really know anything about Shoto because I don’t watch that anime and hadn’t read the manga. All I knew was that he had some siblings, a kinda nonchalant/cool personality, fire and ice powers, and a troubled-ish past. And so that’s what Blaine was: a boy with siblings and a troubled past. Blaine’s team’s weapons had to do with fire, so that was a play on Shoto’s powers. I went overboard with the number of siblings Blaine had because, once again, I knew nothing about Shoto’s siblings. I think Blaine might be the one case of me subtly trying to steal a character… at least that I can recall. Okay, I’m done making myself feel guilty, lolol. I was just really fond of the MHA characters back in the day… well, I still am to a degree.
I haven’t really decided on MBTIs for the Gretchens because I don’t wanna pin them with the wrong types… I mean, I could change them later, but I don’t wanna shout them around and then go with something totally different. No matter—we’ll step out of comfort zone. Any type I say is liable to change. Blaine… ISFJ… maybe?
Blaine’s goal is to bring the Light to his dear broken neighborhood of Needslight.

Brayden is the second one I think about a lot—sometimes more often than Blaine. He’s the younger twin of Brody, and they are both the middle children. Brayden is a curious situation. When he was a younger boy, he was outspoken and agressive—but after their mother went into a coma, he quieted down a lot… and then quieted down a lot more when she died three years later. He’s an internal ball of flames, a grenade waiting to explode. Despite being mostly quiet and observant, set him off and he will talk too much or argue with you. He’s usually pretty chill though and can be really sweet/kind. Sometimes somewhat bitter.
I’m thinking ISFP for now, but that could change.
Y’all… I love him so much. He’s not my favorite character of all time, because I don’t have a fav… but HOMIE. MAN. BRO. GUYS AND GIRLIES. Y’ALL. Denny is my chlid. My love. My boiiii. (proceeds to say that about all of the Gretchen siblings, since they’re all my children lolol). He’s the bad boy of the Gretchen bunch. The little devil compared to his angel twin. I think he used to be something of an alcoholic, but I think I dropped that. I don’t think he drinks anymore… he likes orange juice though. Has a strong unspoken opinion about it. He also sorts all his candy and snacks by color because he finds it soothing—sometime he does it without thinking about it.
He plays the guitar, and is actually quite good at it. He looks like he would like rock or something, but he actually really likes pop/dance/disco kind of music. Apparently I wrote down that he likes the song Defying Gravity (from Wicked)… we’ll see if that stays though.
His theme song is either Parent Me feat. J.R. by Json or Tonight Tonight by Hot Chelle Rae. I actually have got quite a few of songs for him, not theme songs but just ones that fit his vibe… 3 O’Clock Things (the clean version, of course) by AJR, Everything Goes On by Porter Robinson, Talk Too Much by COIN (goodness, most COIN songs fit his vibe), Glad You Exist by Dan + Shay…

Bryson… MY BOY. Um, I’ve only started thinking about him in the last few months. I can’t remember if Bodhi is his twin or not… I don’t know but don’t think so. We’ll say not for now, I really don’t think so. Bryson is the oldest Gretchen sibling. He blames himself for the death of their mother, even though it wasn’t exactly his fault… or, wasn’t at all. Kinda. Story for another time. He’s quiet, kind, friendly, you get the gist. But then at the same time he’s often pretty reckless. Generally means well.
INFP, for now. Will likely change
He loves one wall handball, which is the most popular sport in all of Burne.
His theme song is either Memories by Maroon 5 or Old Phone by Ed Sheeran. Probably just Memories.

Bennett is a funny one. I like him a lot too. He is… very opinionated. His witty and sarcastic comments often get him into fights with Brayden, most of which he often loses (especially when they’re battles of physical strength). When he’s a late-teen or adult, he shoots up and is taller than the rest of his sibling—and I love it, so funny. Personality might be ISTJ. I do and don’t know a lot about Benny…
He is the one who cares for the family dog most, and they all kind of consider it to be his dog. He always chokes on his food, no matter if he eats fast or slow.

Brody… the older twin of Brayden… just an all around kind guy. I like him. He’s a good listener and will give advice.
Likely ISFJ. Need to do more research.
Oh! I just realized that that mbti is the same as Blaine’s. They are pretty similar tbh. Brody is just older than Blaine. Ha. Funny. He’s always there for his siblings, and he’s easily one of Blaine’s top favorite siblings (messed up for him to have favorites, but it is what it is).
Homeboy’s passion is cars. He is that friend that is always working on a car and could fix yours if you needed. Knows a lot about them and will talk about them if you ask. He’s always outside or in the garage. He likes to mow the grass.

I know a little about Bodhi and Bristol—not enough for a whole section, but whatever. Bodhi is cute. Kinda vain… kinda obnoxious… kind of a flirt. Obsessed with himself. ESTP, likely. He prefers to sit facing away from doors and at the ends of aisles, and will take positions like this without thinking about it, and without realizing he always does it. Bodhi loves working out. He always talks about how he’s on a diet and can’t eat this or that, but then always has snacks and always eats whatever he feels like. HiS tHeMe SoNg Is CrY bY bEnSoN bOoNe.
Bristol is something of a tomboy. She’s the third youngest. My usual personality pick for characters like her is ENTP… so either that or ENFP. Bristol’s theme song is probably Girl Can Rock by Hilary Duff.

I also still don’t know a lot about Braelynn and Braxton, so I won’t try to rant about them right now. Maybe sometime I’ll ruminate on them for a long time and then jot down a bunch of notes when my brain feels like it’ll explode. Oh! what I do know is Braelynn’s theme is either Making It Up As I Go by Kylie Morgan or 1992 by Jennifer Hart. Oh, or Little Black Dress by Sara Bareilles. No clue about Braxton’s, though.

I skipped all over the place with ages here, so heres the birth order for anyone who cares: Bryson, Bodhi, Braelynn, Braxton, Brody & Brayden, Bennett, Bristol, Blaine. There’s actually one other Gretchen sibling… Sam, the baby of the family… but he belongs to my brother, so I’m not going to write about him.

Was this filled with me going “eeeeee I love them so much!!”… yup. Probably. A long Blaine-history lesson, a bunch of rambling about Denny, and then very little for the other seven siblings. Apparently I actually need to do a lot of thinking. Maybe I’ll share more when I know more.
Ok ramble over.