#to tie the tribe members together

[littleblackqrow]

Despite the fact that Qrow had been free of the Branwens for twenty years and despite the fact that he had no intention of ever returning there, Qrow couldn't help the pang in his chest from hearing that. Those bandits had been family at one point. A family of killers and thieves, but still. They had left their mark on Qrow, literally as well as figuratively.

"All those years you tried to get me to give up fighting the War, and you can't stand those morons anymore than I can."

"Hardly. He was born into the tribe, unlike us. He's inbred, grew up malnourished, and never had anything resembling an education. He's the very literal bottom percentile. That's the reality of the tribe now, Qrow."

"Are you starting to see the bigger picture yet?"

[animalstamp]

Skywings Ref

Horns:

Skywings’ horns are light and decorative. Because of this they will not often drill or carve into it like the other tribes.

They will be trimmed down if they are considered to be too heavy but back in the day large and cumbersome horns were a quality of the upper class. So much so that some would graft metal covers that would exaggerate their profile.

Wings:

Skywings have petaled wings that act like flight feathers. They are flexible and sharp along the edge. NO TOUCHING.

Instead of digits or talons along the wing they have a line of spurs that protect the bend of their wings.

Feathers:

Feathers are modified scales; they are strong and flexible like a sheet of thin metal.

Skywings often grow trains that can grow from three locations. It can grow from one or all three locations.

The length and quality of the trains is a sign of status and competence in combat if they are a warrior. Much like a lion’s mane or peacock’s tail, individual health plays a great part in the train’s appearance.

Criminals, lowlifes, orphans, and dragons in subservient positions often have their trains removed via clipping or yanking out. (ouch!)

If a dragon is in a higher social circle and does not grow trains in all locations might find it in them to add feathers. (These can be fabricated, from beloved family members, or trophies from rivals.)

Patterns:

Skywings vary less than the other tribes when it comes to colors, but they do have a number of interesting patterns.

Saturated colors are the sign of a more dominant individual. The brighter they are the better health, mood, and confidence. Or at least that is the general perception.

Each dragon has their own personal range of saturation. What might be considered a “bright” day to them might still look drab to another.

Red is considered the most desirable, especially at full saturation. Yellow and orange often tie in attractiveness. Brown isn’t very exciting but gives off the impression of being a stable if boring person. White is the wild card.

*Blue is exceedingly rare which only one documented individual that was truly blue. All other cases have be dye jobs.

Body Configuration:

Unlike the other tribes Skywings are exclusively bipedal. They never walk on their front talons thus keeping them extremely sharp.

While their hands are perfectly capable of holding things it’s not unusual for a Skywing to pick things up with their feet.

Skywings have unusual vents that resemble Seawings’ gills that they use to take in air without breathing thru their mouth or nostrils. These vents allow Skywings to breathe a continuous stream of fire hotter, farther, and longer than any other. No one is really sure how long a dragon can maintain the stream the longest record is 2 hours straight and only stopped out of boredom.

The vents can also expel fire, if rarely, to help flying and lift off. There is a skill to this, and it needs to be practiced with caution.

 

Extra:

Storm pattern appear to have correlations to a specific location.

Sky pattern is only uncommon, but the color blue is practically unheard of.

Skywings have shown an ability to change color within seconds, this is associated to levels of emotions. Anger and righteousness make the dragons more saturated, and fear and submissiveness make them duller.

Because of this correlation with brightness higher-class dragons are more saturated overall which causes a false assumption that brighter dragons are more qualified to rule and lead. (They just eat better, are more confident, and are more likely to anger.)

There's a myth that if two Hot Spots have eggs together, they will get a firescales dragonet.

There is a theory that Skywings were the first dragons that the other tribes descended from as they share traits with each tribe that are specific enough not to not shown in any other tribes. Example: Vents= Seawing gills, color change= Rainwing mimicry, etc.

[david-talks-sw]

Since people were talking about it recently: is there any official reason given of why Padme forgave Anakin immediatly after the Tusken Raider massacre? I always see a lot of diferent reasons given on the internet, from long and deep analises of theirs characters to "the writers didn't think about it".

Okay, folks (or single person who messaged me three times) I'm finally talking about this XD !

I got no official answer.

That said, here's a few points that I do think merit consideration, and I haven't really seen them mentioned anywhere.

1. Anakin is more regretful in the script.

If you look at how the scene is portrayed in the Attack of the Clones July 2001 draft of the screenplay, in Scene 118, pages 83-84...

... he's sorry and ashamed. He is in absolute shock of what he did. We get a bit of this, in the film...

... but in the script it's much more explicit. It starts out with him lashing out at Obi-Wan, at his own lack of power, but it ends with him breaking down and just apologizing over and over.

He didn't just kill them, he went Wolverine-style berseker and murdered EVERYTHING in his path, and he's thinking back on it with a clear-ish head now and realizing the gravity of his monstrous act.

When it's on paper, it reads very differently, to me. He's more remorseful, so Padmé's reaction makes more sense.

But there's a big difference between what you write in a script and what comes out in the film. Once you're shooting, myriad other factors come into play. So Anakin's dialog changes as the delivery and the rhythm are narrowed down, the beats in the scene shift around... but Padmé's reaction stays the same.

And that's where you get the disconnect.

Because what sticks with the audience more is this moment, now.

The anger. Not the shock and remorse.

So why the change? Well, George Lucas had this to say:

"He's very unhappy about that. Very sad and depressed. There was some dialogue here before that I took out, because it seemed to get in the way of the emotional moment of this scene where she says, "To be angry is to be human," and he says, "But to control your anger is to be a Jedi." And so that issue was actually laid out in dialogue at one point, and I decided to pull back from it... because it seemed to me that it was pretty obvious that was what was there. And I didn't think I needed to state it quite as boldly as I did. And that issue will come up at a later time, and I just felt it took away from the moment of his sadness. And I thought the sadness pretty much said the same thing without words." - AotC, Commentary Track #2, 2002

The reasoning was: too much dialog takes away from emotion.

An audience member will have a stronger emotional reaction from Anakin crying than Anakin crying while screaming "woe is me!"

I get (and generally agree) with the reasoning. But, personally, I have mixed feelings about this particular artistic choice.

On the one hand... if the intent is to show that Anakin made a big mistake and is sorry and sad because of his actions, then I think it's safe to say that it's not what most people took away.

Which then leads to things like John Ostrander writing Anakin as thinking he'd kill them all over again.

Also, it makes the viewer question the wisdom of Padmé's judgment.

But on the other hand... whether Anakin was feeling apologetic or not, he still did it. He still effectively massacred a whole tribe, he made that choice.

And whether the intent in that specific scene is conveyed efficiently or not, Anakin's character flaws (which the Prequels are really about) aren't really impacted and still tie together perfectly.

The only real change to that scene is that Padmé goes from having a more understandable reaction to "missing a lot of red flags".

2. Padmé thinks she can fix Anakin.

Here's what Natalie Portman had to say on the scene, which I think is an interesting take.

"She's this very powerful woman, and I think Padmé is sort of intrigued by this darker side she sees to him, especially because she's such a person who tries to fix everything. She sees problems in the world and she still has that idealistic passion… to think she can change everything, and she can change people who have darkness to them. And she sees goodness in him. She sees this passion. And she sees that there's a lot of anger in that passion, that it's not just the goodness and purity of her passion. So I think that is definitely attractive for her- that there's something that she can try and help heal or mend. That might be a big surprise for her when she can't." - Natalie Portman, AotC, Commentary Track #2, 2002

A part of Padmé is intrigued by Anakin's darker side, the "handsome bad boy" part... but that's coming from a place of "I can change him".

But the only thing that can change Anakin... is Anakin himself. Unfortunately, he keeps:

indulging his darker selfish impulses because he lacks discipline, acting on emotion despite knowing better,

regretting it for a moment and acknowledging that it was wrong,

starting again, never learning from his mistakes.

Which is part of the reason why their relationship is sort of doomed from the get-go.

[bonefall]

I absolutely love the sisters but I have so many problems with them. I like them as a sorta semi more realistic portrayal of a real clowder, and women with magic is very cool. But the child sacrifice and making the men oppressed is so stupid I hate it.

Any ideas on how to reshape them? Maybe just give the women power I mean more power to them the better lol

Oh I have a very solid idea for how I'm going to rewrite them!! The Sisters and The Guardians are now two sizeable cultures, about the size of a large Clan.

I care immensely about sociology so fixing BloodClan, the Sisters, the Tribe, and the Guardians was one of my most important personal goals!

Origin

The Sisters are a splinter group of the Tribe, like all civilization in the area. This becomes super apparent when you examine the social role of a Tribe "Medic," an individual healer who moves between the three Wards as needed, speaking an additional 'Classic Tribemew' language to communicate with ancestors better.

The Sisters are descended from a group of medics who broke off from the Tribe, in search of knowledge and heroics. It's their mission to help as many lost ghosts as possible and document the world's many offerings.

Child-Rearing and Adoptions

The Sisters adopt abandoned kits readily, and often accept cats seeking a new clowder. Especially ones who seem mistreated or in need of an escape (such as Squirrelflight).

A kit has a primary mother, and it's the Sisters' collective responsibility to rear all of the kittens together. A newcomer cat will also be assigned a 'Mother,' even if they were an adult, who will introduce them to their various rituals.

I would like for the Sisters' powers to be taught, rather than inherited when that's possible.

Though, being born and raised tends to make stronger soothsayers just on account of being submerged in the culture, plus having a closer emotional connection to any Sister cats who have died.

Gender

Since I stick close to canon, I will still keep their strong concept of gender. But it's tweaked.

For one, a male kitten is socialized to wander. It's not suddenly and traumatically dumped on the cat equivalent of a 13-year-old. At 6 moons old, they're encouraged to leave camp to fetch things and begin doing tasks on their own. As they get older, they act as 'satellite' members, following the Sisters as they travel, nesting with them at night, usually taking the other boy kits out in the morning.

By the time they're 2 years old, it's expected that they've found a particular territory or land they'd like to live in. This serves a very important purpose; a male Sister will welcome his family back into his territory, warning them of any changes and helping them survive there before they roam again.

Male Sister homesteads are numerous, many of them founding their own groups, becoming house cats, or even joining established groups like the Tribe or the Guardians.

The Departing

When the boy has finally found it, the Sisters celebrate that their child has finally found their Home Land. They throw a coming-of-age/farewell ceremony, called The Departing (ghost pun ayyyy).

There's a big teary goodbye, a lot of singing, chanting, and eating, and a ritual to summon spirits to assist them in their journey, allowing them to see nearby ghosts without the need of the group's collective soothsaying abilities.

I want to make this ritual the reason why "male-lineage" cats can see ghosts, but I'm still working out how Rootspring got it if it is ritual-based.

I might tie it to some sort of charm or artifact specially made for a Departing male, that Tree has given to his son.

Still working on it.

[ym-loreposting]

Dark Matter: a profile

Aside from King Dedede, the most reoccuring antagonist in the Kirby franchise are members of the enigmatic Dark Matter tribe. The tradition of Kirby final bosses being grotesque compared to the rest of the series really started with them and Nightmare in Kirby's Adventure. Unlike Nightmare however, Dark Matter went on to become somewhat of a series staple and when I think of spooky Nintendo lore, they often spring to mind. As such, in this blog post I want to explore Dark Matter.

Dark Matter Trilogy

The first appearance of Dark Matter was in Kirby's Dream Land 2, where it is the true final boss of the game. According to the game's manual, it was responsible for shattering the rainbow bridges connecting the rainbow islands together. It also possesses King Dedede and plans to turn Dream Land into a dark world to inhabit (specifically according to the Japanese Digital 3DS manual). What exactly this means is left unclear in this game. It apparently does this because it is lonely and wants friends, according to an excerpt from the January 2019 issue of the Japanese magazine Nintendo DREAM (translation from Wikirby):

最初に登場したダークマターには、友達が欲しくてちょっと寂しがりやなのでは…という設定も『星のカービィ2』開発当時の社内にあったようですので、今回のフレンズとハートの物語と親和性があるのではとも考えましたが、さすがにダークマターには今はまだ悪役を貫いてほしく (It seems that, when Dark Matter first appeared in Kirby's Dream Land 2, the developers had the idea that he was lonely and wanted to have friends. I thought that this could tie into this game's themes of "friends" and "hearts", but I'd of course prefer for Dark Matter to remain a villain for now.)

When all Rainbow Drops are collected in Dream Land 2 and King Dedede is defeated, the drops turn into a Rainbow Sword and Dark Matter emerges from Dedede. Dark Matter is fought in two forms: one resembling a swordsman and one an eye surrounded by darkness. Of the two, the latter is considered its true form.

Dark Matter returns in Kirby's Dream Land 3, but with heavier guns. The plan is much the same as in Dream Land 2, but this time the stakes are raised. A ball of darkness with a red eye in the center emerges from the depths of space and shatters the rings of Pop Star.

After arriving, the dark cloud spreads five tendrils to five corners of the planet and possesses six beings: Whispy Woods, Acro, Pon/Con, Ado and King Dedede. Kirby and his friend Gooey, who first appeared in Dream Land 2 captured by Dark Matter, set out to face this crisis. During it, they collect heart stars by helping the people of Pop Star and cleanse the darkness from each area by defeating one of the primary possessed beings. All of this culminates in a fight with King Dedede, who probably gets the worst deal out of the possession: a mouth and a Dark Matter eye in his stomach.

If all Heart Stars are gathered, they become the Love-Love Stick after Dedede's defeat. In a similar scenario to Dream Land 2, Kirby follows up Dark Matter to the heart of the black clouds, the Hyper Zone, and defeats Dark Matter. After Dark Matter is gone, a new being called 0 appears. It is a red eye in a larger white body, from which it can spawn smaller Dark Matters. Once 0 is defeated, the Hyper Zone and the black clouds around it collapse. It is thus implied 0 is the source of Dark Matter and may have been behind the events of Dream Land 2 as well.

Another thing that Dream Land 3 adds to the Dark Matter lore has to do with Gooey. According to the manual of the game, he is made of "the same stuff" as Dark Matter but he doesn't have an evil spirit. He also takes on a form similar to Dark Matter during the final battle, which later games have dubbed Mock Matter. Beings can thus be made of the same dark substance as Dark Matter while not being evil. This also adds an additional layer to Gooey in Dream Land 2, as he was captured in that game. Perhaps Dark Matter put him on Pop Star in the first place as a captive.

The final game in the so-called Dark Matter Trilogy is Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards and it involves a plot similar to that of Dream Land 3. Instead, this time the Dark Matter beings target a different planet: Ripple Star, where Fairies live. One of the Fairies escapes with the planet's precious Crystal and three Dark Matters give chase, leading them to Pop Star. This is how Kirby gets involved and the three Dark Matters do their possession shtick: on a Waddle Dee, Adeleine and King Dedede.

After Pop Star, the first world of the game, Dark Matter beings do not play a large role until the end of the game. But the game does introduce a whole slew of new Dark Matter beings. The first is Miracle Matter, who controls the black clouds covering Ripple Star. It has the appearance of a many-sided die, some sides covered in red eyes, and it can take on copy ability-esque forms: Bomb, Burn, Cutter, Ice, Needle, Spark and Stone. The black clouds controlled by Miracle Matter also spit out N-Z enemies, indicating they are made of darkness as well.

The final major Dark Matter being in Kirby 64 is 0², who possessed the Queen of Ripple Star. If Kirby and his friends manage to repair the Fairies' Crystal, the darkness possessing the Queen is dispelled and forms the Dark Star. Inside lurks 0², who resembles 0 but also has an angel motif. This might indicate he is 0 resurrected from the dead, though the relation between the two has thus far been kept vague. Both 0² and Miracle Matter appear to be sources of Dark Matter and dark clouds, similar to 0 at least. When 0² is defeated, the Dark Star collapses similarly to the Hyper Zone and the threat of Dark Matter is dispelled once more.

The final game to introduce a Dark Matter being without much ambiguity is Kirby Squeak Squad. A lot of the game revolves around collecting a particular treasure chest. When it is opened by antagonist Daroach, he is enveloped in a black smoke and turns dark. After his defeat, it is revealed he was possessed by Dark Nebula, a being with an eye similar to both incarnations of 0. It has hallmarks of a Dark Matter being, such as possession, a red eye and even has elemental powers similar to Miracle Matter. It also seemingly creates a black hole near Pop Star after it is released. This all makes sense, as its Japanese name is ダークゼロ or Dark Zero. In addition, it is also not called Ruler of the Underworld in Japanese but 暗黒の支配者/あんこくのしはいしゃ (Ruler of Darkness).

It is interesting to note that this Dark Matter being was not roaming around freely in space, trying to create dark worlds or wanting for friends. Instead, it is sealed in a chest and Meta Knight seemingly knows this, as he tried to keep the chest out of the hands of Kirby and Daroach's Squeaks. This potentially suggests there is a history of Dark Matter invasions that goes back futher than just Dream Land 2.

Origins of Darkness

Starting with Kirby's Return to Dream Land for the Wii and under the directorship of Shinya Kumazaki, the Kirby series became more lore focused. Of this new era of Kirby, Star Allies goes the most in-depth about Dark Matter through the being of Void Termina, the final boss of the game.

Void Termina itself is not a Dark Matter being, but more of an empty creature that is influenced by the energy that surrounds it. This is explained in an interview with Kumazaki. Due to this, during the final battle, he takes on the appearance of Kirby and Dark Matter. Kirby because it is the first thing he sees when being unsealed and Dark Matter due to the darkness gathered by the people trying to revive him.

The people trying to revive Void Termina are a cult who worship him as a God of Destruction. According to their leader Hyness, they also worship "matters most dark" and they revive Void Termina by assembling a vessel he is contained in. This is the Jamba Heart, which consists of smaller Dark Hearts, and it is this darkness that Hyness and his minions gather. The Dark Hearts possess and twist the people that grab them, similar to Dark Matter possession. Due to this darkness, Void Termina takes on the appearance of Dark Matter during the final battle.

There is more background to Void and his relation with darkness however. According to the Japanese description of Void Termina, True Destroyer of Worlds (Phase 2), he is the originator of four types of matter: Soul, Heart, Dream and Dark:

夢ドリームが、闇ダークが、魂ソウルが、心ハートが… その物質に 混沌と可能性が全て集い、淵源の祖となり 生誕する。 (When the matters of dream, dark, soul, and heart gather... and combine with chaos and infinite possibilities, the ancestor from the origin is born.)

And according to the description of Hyness in the The Ultimate Choice mode, Void produced darkness at some point in the distant past before being sealed in the Jamba Heart by four heroes:

"All that was written about Void Termina in the ancient scrolls was the progenitor of darkness was vanquished by four heroes of yore, using four spears of the heart."

Void producing darkness may be the ultimate origin of the "Dark Matter" substance in the universe, which in turn may have given rise to 0, 0² and Dark Nebula and the rest of the Dark Matter beings produced by them. The "Dark Matter" substance is likely what is seen in Dream Land 3 and Kirby 64 forming Hyper Zone and Dark Star. Of note is that upon the collapsing, many Dark Matter eyes can be seen in Dark Star, similar to the red eye in the Hyper Zone.

Other appearances

In the Kirby series, there are several other beings that might be made of or are connected to Dark Matter, though it is a lot more loose:

Dark Matter Clone: a clone of Dark Matter's Dream Land 2 incarnation made by the supercomputer Star Dream. It appears in the Meta Knightmare Returns mode of Planet Robobot, which is set in a world parallel to the main Kirby one. It only appears in its swordsman form and wields the Rainbow Sword, based on its memories of his defeat at the hands of Kirby.

Dark Mind: a being inhabiting the world that lays in the Dimension Mirror. Its true form looks like a fiery version of 0 and it formed from evil minds gathering and being born in the mirror according to Kumazaki. These "evil minds" may be a form of darkness/Dark Matter substance. Of note is that Shadow Dedede, another being spawned by the Dimension Mirror, has similar attacks to Dedede's possessed form in Dream Land 3. A mix between Dark Mind and Shadow Dedede, King D-Mind, appears in the two Kirby Clash games.

Dark Crafter: a single-eyed smoke being that drained Dream Land of all its color in Kirby and the Rainbow Curse. It operates by possessing Claycia and during its fight, it is revealed that under its colorful appearance, it looks like it is made of darkness.

Conclusion

That is most of what there is to say about Dark Matter lore-wise. A persistent enemy in the Kirby canon that is made of pure darkness and can twist the minds and appearances of those it possesses, with a potential origin that goes back to a being worshiped as a God of Destruction. In short, a black of darkness spot in a series that is otherwise mostly cute and wholesome.

[marta-bee]

Continuing on with book-Good Omens. Let me just start with two general observations.

Neil Gaiman, or possibly Terry Pratchett, or both, are just ridiculously funny. The humor shot throughout here is some of the cleverest things I’ve read in a long time. The parentheticals! Mister Dowling being so painfully British in a provincial way given the antichrist meant to be cosmopolitan and international, just.... all of it.

Those chapters are just so durned long. Any editor worth their salt would break this one into at least three or four, and boo on them, because I can’t imagine anything being quite so fun as the way the different sections weave together in such interesting ways. It just keeps going.

More substantively, let’s talk about Crowley again, and evil, and people being people. Because one of the aspects I’m finding most interesting in this opening chapter is how it’s not being good or evil that makes you good or bad. Or destructive. Or the characters I should root for or against at an intuitive moral level. I’m actually having a failure of language here, but speaking as a philosopher even so early it’s something that strikes me as a very interesting take on the concepts. True, and also real.

Take this description of one of the chattering nuns:

Sister Mary Loquacious has been a devout Satanist since birth. She went to Sabbat School as a child and won black stars for handwriting and liver. When she was told to join the Chattering Order she went obediently, having a natural talent in that direction and, in any case, knowing that she would be among friends. She would be quite bright, if she was ever put in a position to find out, but long ago found that being a scatterbrain, as she'd put it, gave you an easier journey through life. Currently she is being handed a golden-haired male baby we will call the Adversary, Destroyer of Kings, Angel of the Bottomless Pit, Great Beast that is called Dragon, Prince of This World, Father of Lies, Spawn of Satan, and Lord of Darkness.

And then later:

Most of the members of the convent were old-fashioned Satanists, like their parents and grandparents before them. They'd been brought up to it and weren't, when you got right down to it, particularly evil. Human beings mostly aren't. They just get carried away by new ideas, like dressing up in jackboots and shooting people, or dressing up in white sheets and lynching people, or dressing up in tie-dye jeans and playing guitars at people. Offer people a new creed with a costume and their hearts and minds will follow. Anyway, being brought up as a Satanist tended to take the edge off it. It was something you did on Saturday nights. And the rest of the time you simply got on with life as best you could, just like everyone else. Besides, Sister Mary was a nurse and nurses, whatever their creed, are primarily nurses, which had a lot to do with wearing your watch upside down, keeping calm in emergencies, and dying for a cup of tea. She hoped someone would come soon; she'd done the important bit, now she wanted her tea.

It may help to understand human affairs to be clear that most of the great triumphs and tragedies of history are caused, not by people being fundamentally good or fundamentally bad, but by people being fundamentally people.

Usually when we talk about good and evil not being as starkly different, there’s an element of moral nihilism, or at least relativism, this feeling that that means everything is equally right or wrong. And again I’m struggling with language here because good/evil and right/wrong are usually thought to be, if not synonyms, at least strongly parallel concepts. So if you don’t have good and evil or they don’t function in the same way, then of course you affect right and wrong in much the same way. But this seems to be doing something quite different. Good and evil are more like warring tribes than moral distinctions, what we should root for and against. But there’s still something of morality shot through here. People may be people which means liking dressing up on a Saturday night apparently, and that may explain why they’re just as likely to dress up in white sheets or jackboots as tie-dye; but of course the result is nowhere near the same.

And Crowley gets that, probably better than anyone.

Crowley had always known that he would be around when the world ended, because he was immortal and wouldn't have any alternative. But he'd hoped it would be a long way off.

Because he rather liked people. It was a major failing in a demon.

Oh, he did his best to make their short lives miserable, because that was his job, but nothing he could think up was half as bad as the stuff they thought up themselves. They seemed to have a talent for it. It was built into the design, somehow. They were born into a world that was against them in a thousand little ways, and then devoted most of their energies to making it worse. Over the years Crowley had found it increasingly difficult to find anything demonic to do which showed up against the natural background of generalized nastiness. There had been times, over the past millennium, when he'd felt like sending a message back Below saying, Look, we may as well give up right now, we might as well shut down Dis and Pandemonium and everywhere and move up here, there's nothing we can do to them that they don't do themselves and they do things we've never even thought of, often involving electrodes. They've got what we lack. They've got imagination. And electricity, of course.

One of them had written it, hadn't he . . . "Hell is empty, and all the devils are here."

Crowley had got a commendation for the Spanish Inquisition. He had been in Spain then, mainly hanging around cantinas in the nicer parts, and hadn't even known about it until the commendation arrived. He'd gone to have a look, and had come back and got drunk for a week.

That Hieronymous Bosch. What a weirdo.

There’s an interpretation I read years ago, that Crowley’s brilliance as a demon comes down to project management, not hatred or bile or the like, and that that doesn’t make him less demonic. I like that and quite agree with it; it makes him much more modern, and much more influenced by humanity I think, than Hastur and Ligur; but it’s obviously not getting in the way of him doing a good job. What’s so interesting here is this isn’t a project that requires a lot of management at all. 

Is it the deep affect of sin? The world is corrupted and broken etc.? That seems completely wrong for this book, and, for the record, my personal moral and theological intuitions. Or is it that there’s something about the demonic that’s integral to the Great Plan that it’s sort of hard-coded into humanity? The asking of questions, the breaking of things so change is even possible? Or, more uncomfortably, is this need to hurt somehow more natural than we’d like it to be? The flipside of the urge to protect, perhaps, paired with the much less admirable tendency to divide groups too large for us to really bond with into us and them, our side and people our side needs to be protected from?

Maybe. I don’t have hard answers here for myself, let alone for Neil and Terry. But what I do see is Crowley is sd about that. He’d torture and hurt because that was his job, but I think he also wanted humanity to be better than that. Which they are, some of them and some of th time, but when they aren’t: hoo boy. It hurts him. It hurts me. But damned if it isn’t also compelling. I’m definitely looking forward to how this distinction (or lack of same) develops. 

.... And on that note, I just saw Aziraphale’s name mentioned for the first time since the Garden. This seems like a good place to stop and read other things so I can return refreshed, because as I said these chapters are long. 

[sun-death]

Neither a natural nor a spiritual tie holds the association together, and it is not a natural nor a spiritual alliance. Neither one blood, nor one faith (spirit), brings it about. In a natural alliance—like a family, a tribe, a nation, indeed, humanity—individuals only have the value of specimens of the same type of species; in a spiritual alliance—like a parish or a church—the individual only symbolizes a member of the same spirit; what you are as unique must in both cases be suppressed. You can assert yourself as unique only in the association, because the association doesn’t possess you, you possess it or make it of use to you.

Max Stirner, The Unique and Its Property (trans. Wolfi Landstreicher)

[einarshow]

nilva the last wings part 2 … this is just for my friends

Without any real need to acknowledge your current existence you, who is referred to as a guivre though many mistake you for a tie-snake because of your outward appearance, sit alone within a small hut that your Púcá had built many decades ago. Tip tap tip tap—you hear the acófkē roof stuttering itself just loud enough to presently annoy you. You are very glad that the rains have chosen your land to oh-pvlátetv and give nourishment to the soiled crops, but if theres another downpour you might go insane. You hear soft breathing coming from an incapacitated patient. The opinions of that grotesque, soft creature have not fully come to you yet. You certainly don’t want to be around the damn thing especially after it began weeping tears of ruby when you merely attempted to help them. You finally here a loud call which you assume means to flock towards mekusv’pkv, the lavished stoned building in the center of your small tribe, which could only mean the something had or is happening within this place. It feels as if your body is automatically responding to the stimuli as it wriggles out of your own minds reach as you approach the large building. Much to your dismay, the patient you have been caring for wakes up once again in a sort of daze state. You stop dead in your hasty slither and look back into his eye that has a glassy, death ripened, tint to it. Your taloned front hands clack together with your inpatients building steadily.

“What happened to my eye?” The illness-ricken man states in punctuation of a demand more then a question.

You knew what happened to it, of course, but you still found yourself stuttering over your words no matter what language you spoke. Your voice feels icy and smooth as you orientate your stature to better look down the man in attempts to ensure he won’t break out in some ape fit of hysteria… or something along those lines.

“It—it hadda done away with,”

You continue staring down the fatigued man keeping your 2 unblinking eyes on his face and your beautiful bandage work. He gives you a stern and concerned look with his face coming off like a dog begging for food with the way his eyebrow contorts. It’s quite surprising with he lets himself fall back into the hands of slumber, though. You find yourself a little less anxious now knowing to can attend a probably important meeting once again. The door bursts open and stutters upon its hinges leaving with magnitudes of speed towards the mekusv’pkv. You know not being on par with the other tribe members, especially after disappointing a neighbor of yours, can cause great issues with your work and residence so you decided its best to attend every single meeting and gathering in hopes to persuade the public eye on you. Being one of the few outsiders was extremely hard, and what was worst is them having to accommodate to your physical stature making you further guilting on your present existence. Never-mind all that! You have a meeting to attend after all.

[saselfdefense]

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[howieabel]

“No member is permitted to marry within the gens. This is the fundamental rule of the gens, the tie that holds it together. It is the negative expression of the very positive blood relationship, by virtue of which the individuals belonging to it become a gens. By the discovery of this simple fact Morgan for the first time revealed the nature of the gens. How little the gens had been understood before him is proven by former reports on savages and barbarians, in which the different organizations of which the gentile order is composed are jumbled together without understanding and distinction as tribe, clan, thum, etc. Sometimes it is stated that intermarrying within these organizations is forbidden.” ― Friedrich Engels, The Origin of the Family, Private Property and the State

[neechees]

So the thing with Charles is that his rep is kind of a double edged knife.

So on the positive end, he's an Afro-Native man (like literally HOW many Afro-Native characters do we get ever? It's rare), he's a protagonist, ultimately a "good guy" I'd say despite being involved in the gang & doing gang stuff (I'll come back to this), he exhibits traits such as kindness, honesty, comradery, care for animals, & altruistism, the game's portrayal of him as a Native character is sympathetic towards him & his storyline, and he doesn't end up dead by the end of the game, he gets a sort of ambiguous (arguably "happy"?) ending where he goes to Canada for a new life due to feeling trapped in his life while in the U.S.

On the negative end, Charles is also quiet, kind of a loner, and rather stoic, with only a few cases where he shows a lot of emotion or expresses himself, and these things, especially stoicism, has been a negative stereotype targeted towards both Native and Black men. On top of that, Charles is like a secondary npc within the camp, so we don't get as much time with him as someone versus like Arthur (the main, playable character) or John (another main playable character), or even Dutch.

One thing I think it glaring within Charles's info is that we don't know a WHOLE lot about him, including specifically his tribe: in game iirc this is exained because of his sad backstory that his mother was kidnapped by U.S soldiers when he was a child, and his father never found her, which led to his alcoholism & Charles having a difficult upbringing, ultimately leading him to run away before landing in with the Van Der Linde gang. One of the major themes within rdr2 is that the law does not always equal morality, so we see this in these otherwise "criminal" characters, many within the gang who have ultimately good hearts, but do things like bank robberies & murder, and that their lives led them to this life of crime because of the lie of the American dream, and the inherent corruption of the state, which pushes certain groups to the margins. Charles encapsulates this really well, where he didn't have a lot of options growing up, and he outright states that one reason he stays with the gang is because Dutch & (most of) the gang members (except for Micah, but he's a very recent addition to the gang) treat him well, and aren't violently racist to him.

So in terms of Charles' backstory, it does feature an alcoholic Black Father (also a negative stereotype regarding Black men) & a Native Mother who was victimized by racist White men, but before those events his life was happy. I think its important to not disregard that, but it does also explain Charles' decisions in life & they fit with the wider themes of the story, and he's not the only character that gets this sort of narrative. I just wish that to counteract some of the negative aspects that we got something like Charles finding his mother (like a side mission maybe?), or showing him gaining more community with other Native and/or Black people when he leaves to Canada in-game to tie off his story a little better.

And lastly, the problematic elements of Charles's portrayal has to do with the wider portrayal of Native Americans in general within the game. Again, while the game is quite sympathetic towards the Native characters, there's also the fact that there's only one named Native American tribe, but they're a fictional tribe (the "Wapiti") with elements of multiple tribes mixed together, who speak Lakota & are largely coded as Lakota, so I don't know why they couldn't just be. Lakota. Charles himself doesn't have a named tribe, so we don't actually know that if in this universe there's only one tribe of Native Americans (which would be a big problem itself), or if he's Wapiti, or another tribe. The Wapiti & Charles are the only Native Americans the player interacts with, & the Native elements that make up Charles's character & design are VERY pan-Indian, so its difficult to even GUESS what tribe he might be. There's also things like scattered (very shitty looking btw) tipis & Native structures & even a Totem pole iirc that the player can find throughout the map, but no Native people besides certain areas & points with the Wapiti npcs. So this kind of makes it feel like America is kind of devoid of Native people & that theyve all "died out". I can only assume the game did this because of limitations on the game & for simplicity, (& because of the fact that this is sort of like an AU of the U.S), but it's still kind of weird

I'm probably forgetting some stuff but that's some of the problems this game had

Hey can someone tell me more about Charles from Red Dead Redemption? I wanted to watch a play through but my motion sickness makes it hard.

I’ve been hearing that the game company is racist but I’ve also been hearing that Charles is positive rep?

I know I answered an ask about him and Eagle Flies before, but that was just on a friend’s opinion.

[ninjaboyjoel]

Enel, Elbaf, Urouge and Birka

An idea that came to me some time ago now that I believe has some weight to it is Enel's link to Urouge, Birka, and as I affectionately like to call it "Enelbaf".

Let's start with Urouge. Urouge is easily the member of the Worst Generation with the least development, we've seen a bit of him on Sabaody, we've seen a bit of him on Balloon Terminal and heard of his battle against Charlotte Cracker but that's pretty much it. He's a very mysterious character all things considered. So what do we know about to him? Well, let's start in a place you might not expect: his weapon.

-SBS 57, pg. 80

Now Oda has phrased this as a joke, but it could well have some impact on the story, what if his weapon truly is a large graphite rod, how could this play out? If you know the properties of graphite you might be able to guess where I’m going with this. 

Graphite is an excellent conductor of electricity, and a large conductive rod is often used in the real world... As a lightning rod. A lightning rod is designed to ensure that when lightning strikes, it hits the rod and is conducted into the ground instead of causing collateral damage such as electrocution or fires.

We know for a fact that Enel destroyed his homeland, Birka at the point of or sometime after receiving his Devil Fruit. We’re also aware that Urouge is indeed a Sky-Person though of which tribe it has not been made clear.

- The various body types of sky-people

When shown as a child, Urouge very much appeared to look like a Skypiean, sporting the wings and hairstyle that we see them sporting most often. However as an adult, his wings have shifted to look similar if not exactly like those of a Birkan (Like Enel’s priests, whatever happened to Enel’s wings I’m sure we’ll learn when he returns, lol). How (and if?) the Sky-People’s appearances change is something also unknown to us.

- Thanks to the OP Wiki for these images.

Now time for a little bit of speculation. How can all these elements tie together and link to a potential/hypothetical Elbaf Arc? Let’s start with Birka. Birka, in name at least, is based on the real-world Viking trading centre from CE. 750-975, in what is now modern-day Sweden and is in fact one of Sweden’s oldest towns. We know that Oda is a massive fan of Vikings, and was very careful to limit his Viking references in order to save them for things relating to Elbaf, ergo, in the One Piece world, all Viking imagery comes back to Elbaf. Then why would Oda pick a Viking location for one of the Sky Islands? We can’t know for certain, as we really don’t know about its geography or indeed where Birka even was/is located.

From what we’ve seen of Elbaf’s geography it seems to have a version of Yggdrasil. I can’t do anything but speculate here but, seeing as the Elbaf Giants are based on Vikings, we can assume that the level at which we see them live is the One Piece equivalent of Midgard, then wouldn’t it follow that perhaps, at the top of this tree might be a Sky Island? The equivalent of Asgard, perhaps this is Birka, I can’t say for certain but I think there is very much a possibility. This of course doesn’t account for Niflheim, the realm of giants in Norse Myth, but as others have said online, with two sets of giants, Ancient and the more humanoid, there is opportunity for both should Oda wish to go that route. 

So, I ultimately think that Elbaf would be the perfect place to give Urouge the spotlight, the perfect place to reintroduce Enel, if indeed they have a past together, this could be the perfect battleground, the victim of Enel’s destruction come to seek vengeance for his home. Urouge’s potential weapon would be the perfect counter to the false god that smote his home. Plus, wouldn’t a Sky Island over Elbaf be so cool!?

Now I meant to post this a long time ago, but I kind of forgot? If you read my update you’ll know I wanna post more frequently. I hope that this can be the start of this :)

[weatherman667]

The Greatest Turn-Based Tacticals

Fallout Tactics:  The Brotherhood of Steel

The biggest problem of Fallout has been an absolutely terrible companion AI.  One of the short-time companions in Fallout 2 will run behind you and shoot an automatic weapon through you at whatever was attacking you.  The escort mission should be about 5 minutes, but I had to redo it a couple dozen times.  You also can’t get you companions to carry something.  This is because if you give something to them, it’s theirs now.

Fallout also had a bit of a problem, (from a perspective), of not taking itself seriously.  The original creator was apparently against any sign of civilization actually recovering, regardless of what you did.  As such, the elements of the Fallout stories were basically just props.

Fallout Tactics gave you control of a party, along with taking itself seriously.  This meant it took the heretical measure of using real-weapons, to the point that AK-47′s became the primary currency.

So, how to you tie this altogether?  The Brotherhood of Steel.  The Brotherhood of Steel was the leftovers of the US military.  The original idea was that they were going to rebuild.  The problem is that the President turned out to be a bond villain.  Since, the Brotherhood of Steel has done nothing but perpetuate itself.

So, a faction of the Brotherhood of Steel wanted to do the heretical actions of... associating with locals, actually trying to improve their lot in life.  Trying to rebuild?  So, this faction of the Brotherhood of Steel left on blimps and flew over the mountains, crashing near Chicago.  Now, they didn’t really have much choice.  They started creating pacts with the locals, you provide us with men and food, and we protect you.  You play a tribal, newly recruited, with most of the other ones, as well.  You are in charge of your squad of up to 6 members.  You get to look through the various recruits, and build your squad off of it.  Depending on how you play the game, this can include Humans, Ghouls, Mutants, Deathclaws, and Robots.  You start off protecting the local tribes from bandits, but as you distinguish yourself in the Brotherhood, you are giving more and more important missions.  Eventually you go up against a robot army being controlled from Vault 0.

Fallout Tactics includes most of the basics from the other two Fallouts, with the exception of adding a semi-real time mode.  A remember a comment I made about Fallout 3, and that’s that cannot fire the Chinese Assault Rifle on single shot.  This is what made assault rifles so valuable, as they had plentiful ammunition.  Single shot had good accuracy, and a missed shot was not the end of the world.  This guy’s reply was that its “not that kind of game” despite the fact that the previous Fallouts not only let you do it, but it was almost an essential element of the game.  People who play the new Fallouts honestly do not know what they lost.

What Fallout Tactics let you do:  Individual Stealth, called shots, almost every firearm had a multi-shot mode, (semi-autos double tap, while full-autos typically fire 5 rounds), included melee, (if you really wanted to), multiple ammunition types, every character can be trained in everything, (all characters had 3 skills they gained 2 points from instead of one, which was a much better system than anything the new Fallouts use), consequences for major decisions, incredibly varied dialogue options.  Honestly, no game has combined them all together like Fallout Tactics did.

The problem with Fallout Tactics is that it was literally ahead of it’s time, as game engines and hardware were not good enough, yet, to do what they wanted to do.  While they had vehicles, you had to carry all of the ammunition in your own pockets etc.  One of the bases is too short, and your APC will get permanently stuck.  They used a weird hex-grid system that made it almost impossible to move up or down.  It tried to add a 3rd dimension, and largely failed.

XCOM2

XCOM2 forces an incredibly dynamic gaming style, and as such, a lot of what it does it simplified, but still wonderful.  It’s one of the only games where you can barricade behind nearly everything.  The game designates it as half or full cover.  It has group stealth, which is something I don’t think any game actually deals with.  An infantry platoon can walk so quietly and swiftly that a company can overrun you in a minute without notice.  That said, once you shoot or are spotted, the enemy now nows where you are.  Returning from a patrolling is always more dangerous, as the enemy now knows you are in the area.

The downside is that because of the simplified nature, you don’t have an orientation.  As such, flanking doesn’t mean what it does in real life.  It has nothing to do with attacking from the flanks  It then eliminates the fact that having some cover beside you is a benefit, and turns it into a detriment.  But again, simplified.  You can make decisions quickly

Instead, XCOM adds a strategic aspect, that can sink your campaign as quickly as bad tactical decisions.

XCOM wants to make grenades more useful, and so makes Frag Grenades strip armour, because it went way too crazy on the armour, that you now needed to strip.  You can also use it for demolition, a lot more than real grenades will do.  And because of this, they only give you one grenade.  I mean, this is only the end of the world, we are talking about?  Two grenades isn’t too much to ask?

Because of it’s simplified system, the 3rd dimension works wonderfully, if a bit simplified.

XCOM2 is one of the only games to recognize the role of the Tactical Marksman.  It also answers the question of how it works extremely well, because you cannot move and shoot with your sniper rifle in the same turn.  You instead have to use a pistol.

Valkyria Chronicles

Valkyria Chronicles has a tactical system not used anywhere else.  It has no grids.  You have two modes:  Command and Tactical.

Command Mode has you overlooking a map of the battlefield.  All of your soldiers, along with all visible enemies are shown.  When you hold the cursor over an icon, it will show you which character it is, their stats, Potentials, (natural affinities / detriments), along with sight lines.  Enemies that character has LoS with have blue lines, enemies that that LoS with that character are yellow.  Every character has a facing, and if you are in tactical mode and move into the arc of an enemy with smallarms, they will shoot you.  Until either their magazine is empty, or you are dead.

When you go into Tactical Mode, the camera drops down to 3rd person behind the character, and you directly control them.  Every character has a distance you can run, and during this time you can make one attack.

If you enter tactical mode within the range and arc of an enemy with small arms, they will start attacking, immediately.  These attacks stop the moment you go into attack mode or end your turn.

When you are controlling the character, you directly control them, and move them as if they were any other 3rd person video game character.  If you push the stick softly they will walk, if you push hard, they will run.  Either way, you can cover the same distance during your turn.  When being shot at, running is preferable.  If you are worried about mines, then walking is probably a better choice.

One of the biggest downsides of this game is that characters will only barricade with sands.  Sandbags are easy to destroy, and easier to repair, because?.. but it does make a clear what your actions will accomplish.  Otherwise, you have to hide behind other objects, (including your tanks).  Infantry can also not cross terrain that would be incredibly easy to infantry to cover, with ladders being clearly marked.

This is one of the only games that has semi-automatic rifles be one of the primary weapons, and they are always useful.  It gives you 2 grenades, (kind of), is one of if not the only game that makes Engineers responsible for creating/clearing obstacles, (at least to a limited degree).  It includes tanks in a fantastic way, allows you to hide behind tanks, and makes anti-tank infantry INCREDIBLY important.

As for the ammo, small arms have unlimited ammo.  Other ammos give you a limited number, but you regain 1 per turn.  An Engineer running into an ally will resupply any of their used ammo.  This means that characters can use 1 grenade every turn.  Except Engineers that get 3, but this is largely because the game doesn’t include any satchel/demolition charges.

But, that said, the characters all have two grenades hanging from their belts.  Unfortunately, despite the fact they are stick grenades, you can’t throw them very far.  At least until your riflemen (scouts) learn to use rifle grenades.

The biggest downside is that despite the insane importance of cover, you can’t duck unless you are in a (designated) trench, sandbags, and tall grass.  This said, hiding behind sandbags does make you immune to headshots, (despite the fact they make them more likely).  Also, you can’t tell people to keep their fucking heads down because all of the snipers.

[kyogre-blue]

Artifact sets

Just making a list what they're about (as of 1.3), since so many have some little lore bits.

Mond's Aristocracy era:

Noblesse Oblige: About aristocracy as it was intended to be and once was, before it succumbed to greed and self-entitlement.

Gladiator's Finale: About a slave gladiator who was killed by Vennessa, one battle before earning his freedom. His master was the killer from the old Dragonspine expedition.

Wanderer's Troupe: About a troupe of traveling musicians, who traveled all over the world before making a stand against Mondstadt's aristocracy. Their swordsmaster leader was made a slave gladiator but she inspired Diluc's ancestor to help with the rebellion, and one of their other members also gave his aid to Vennessa.

Resolution of Sojourner: About the lyrist from the Wanderer's Troupe. He was a wanderer from Fontaine but fell in love with a woman to be sacrificed at Ludi Harpastum.

Arunros adjacent:

Brave Heart: About Arundolyn's childhood. Note how he's referred to as "a crownless king" as part of the Diluc parallel. Confirmed here that Rostam was killed during the cataclysm, while the knights were on an expedition in a foreign country.

Defender's Will: About Rostam. He fought in shadows to protect Mondstadt and a maiden he loved. Mentions also his apprentice, the white knight.

Bloodstained Chivalry: About a white knight whose pursuit of justice led him to become a bloodstained killer. Eventually, in the depth of the Abyss, he found a grave injustice and gave himself over to the Abyss posthumously.

Maiden Beloved: About a maiden who loved the "white knight" that owned Bloodstained Chivalry.

"Fighting monsters sucks":

Berserker: About a man whose homeland was destroyed in a battle between gods and humans, who fought madly for revenge.

Heart of Depth: About a seafarer who fought leviathans of the deep. Connects to Serpent Spine weapon and Tales From the Waves book.

Viridescent Venerer: About a hunter who worshipped the God of Woods and turned to hunt monsters when he was killed in the cataclysm.

Crimson Witch of Flames: About a witch whose hometown was wiped out by "demons." She became an embodiment of destructive flames to seek revenge.

Blizzard Strayer: About the princess and the outlander from Dragonspine.

Thundering Fury: About a Thunderbird that destroyed the tribe that worshipped it, after the young boy it had considered a friend was ritually sacrificed.

Thundersoother: About a hero who defeated the "Beast of Thunder." Not sure whether it's the same as the Thunderbird.

General Lore:

Archaic Petra: About Morax. Cute detail on the cup says that there were supposedly seven of them, referring to how the 1st gen Seven drank together. Aside from that, the mask talks about how he killed even friends who became foes.

Prayers circlets: About ancient times when people received revelation directly from Celestia. Back then, the earth was covered in endless ice. Priests with crowns of leyline branches would head into the depth, seeking knowledge. Since searching for truth a recurring theme, this line is interesting and ominous: "The search for truth is a product of prosperity, and not the seed that plants it." The most notable is Tiara of Thunder, where people dared to question Celestia and "schemed to enter the garden of gods."

Nothing notable in particular:

Adventurer: About an ordinary person, who fell in love and gave up the life of an adventurer

Lucky Dog: About an extremely lucky boy called "Lucky Dog." Cute detail, the crown is from when he fell into the tomb of an exiled aristocrat.

Traveling Doctor: About a nameless doctor who eventually fell ill and passed away. Cute detail is that the feather is from an owl and has the same nocturnal vigilance type wording as Diluc.

Instructor: About a veteran soldier who turned down promotion to teach recruits at a military academy

Martial Artist: About a martial artist who endured great pain to hone his skills. There is a strange vague mention of "condescending evil stole his love's joy" but I don't know what that might tie to.

Gambler: About a gambling woman who had countless tricks. Note that she played against aristocracy.

Scholar: About a scholar who pursued knowledge in Sumeru. She may have been from an aristocratic family.

The Exile: About an exiled aristocrat. Note the part about the silver goblet with the family crest.

Tiny Miracle: About small, overlooked miracles in ordinary things.

Retracing Bolide: About a man who met a fox woman in Inazuma.

Lavawalker: About a sage called the Lavawalker, who crossed the burning Mare Jivari.

[middysrants]

New Ambrosia Redesign: The Birth of Ambrosia Ignis

I've previously redesigned Ambrosia of The Phoenix, from the upcoming visual novel Beauty and The War: X Playing Pieces, but I believed that my redesign could use some improvements, so I ended up revamping her Present Day and First Act outfits, as well as giving her Don't Take This Risk counterpart a makeover.

Don't get me wrong, she has some good traits, like being a caring person and a maternal figure of sorts to her cousins, but some aspects of her personality could be polished. One of them is the fact that Ambrosia is basically pushed around by everyone, and her family is not an exception. Also, her situational awareness is nonexistent. For someone who has been incarcerated, far away from home, she doesn't seem fazed by it.

Another grievance is her wardrobe. I understand that the developers want an attractive lead for their Otome, but I feel that Ambrosia's attires are out of character for her. Her clothes are too revealing for someone who is canonically shy and doesn't want to draw attention to herself. Thus, I believe that she needs clothes that make her feel more comfortable and adjust to her current situation.

Outfit 1: Prisoner Ambrosia

When Ambrosia is introduced, she lands on X's lap and kisses him, with the tight, white kimono she is (seemingly) given by the "pervy guards" at the prison. Her golden lace mask is a power suppressor, apparently to prevent prisoners from escaping/rebelling, if my memory serves. All of this makes it look like she fell in love with X in a masquerade, rather than asking him for help to escape from a prison where "The Strike Master" rules with an iron fist.

Because of this, I decided to give her a more terrified and saddened expression, as well as a pose that showcases that she has her guard up. I also wanted to add bruises and scars since she is too unscathed for someone that "got in trouble with the Strike Master". Her cuffs and earrings replace the mask as a suppressor, with gems magically charged by someone who has the special ability to "block" the powers of others. This is heavily inspired by the magatama in the Ace Attorney Series, which needs to be filled with spiritual energy so Phoenix can see the Psychelocks. The cuffs also make it difficult for Ambrosia to move, adding more powerlessness to her predicament.

For her kimono, I wanted to give her something that covered her up a bit more. I made the skirt just a little above the knee so it would be appropriate as prison garb and showcased the places where she was hit. As for her hair, I wanted it to look a bit messier, held together by a single strap. It doesn't show in the final result, but I made her use the choker from her First Act outfit as a hair tie. I also wanted to make her look older since, in my version of the game, she is 27 years old during the events of Present Day and 21 in both the flashback and Don't Take This Risk.

Outfit 2 - Ambrosia of The Phoenix

I initially wanted to give her a kimono similar to Maya Fey's, but I ended up going for an attire that resembled the minimalistic designs of a phoenix that I used as inspiration. Her influence still remains, since I gave Ambrosia a similar gesture to hers, making our girl look approachable.

I wanted the Phoenix to distinguish themselves from the other tribes, like the four nations in The Last Airbender. Therefore, a combination of reds and oranges felt right, as well as a mini-dress that resembles the feathers of the mythical creature. I also had the idea of the members of the clan going barefoot, using bandages to protect their heels and arches.

I honestly don't have a deep explanation for choosing a mini-dress. The Phoenix have blood with healing properties, which they constantly need to draw out to help the wounded. In the demo, Ambrosia mentioned that she dressed the way she did to have easy access to it. Because of this, I figured it would be better to give her a mini-dress that covers her enough but leaves her arms and legs exposed. I wasn't expecting the skirt to look like Tinkerbell's and I'm living for it!

Ambrosia's choker and earrings are gold to complement her fire theme, as well as the dusty pink strap. For her hair, I decided on a braid that would prevent it from getting dirty while tending to the wounded, something that I carried onto her outfit for her Don't Take This Risk counterpart. All of this is heavily inspired by Callimara's Haruka Azami, as well as the nurse theme and outfit for Ambrosia.

Outfit 3 - Nurse-In-Training Ambrosia Ignis

(For those who haven't played Don't Take This Risk, it deals with dark and triggering subjects.)

I wanted to give her scrubs since her being a Nurse-In-Training would suit her DTTR rendition, given the healing powers she has in BTW. Also, I believe that she would choose a career that allows her to help people. I think this was also mentioned in the comic? It has been so long since I've read it, so I could be wrong.

Ambrosia would be studying to become a nurse, so she would be doing an internship at the hospital where Unknown just happens to be. This is mainly to explain his infatuation-turned-into-obsession since neither the original game nor the comic gives us a reason as to why he would call her number and how he got it. To make a long story short, he would have fallen in love with her after she tended to his life-threatening wounds.

I decided to give her an oversized, dusty pink sweater to complement her blue scrubs. It also matches her heart-shaped pin and her marine blue backpack. Of course, she would be wearing this when she finishes her shift. Since Ambrosia would, without a doubt, take her job seriously, she would follow the dress code to a tee. This is also the reason why I gave her loafers.

As a nod to her necklace in the First Act, I wanted to give her a flame-shaped pin that matches her earrings. I took the silver from her Present Day outfit and incorporated it into her DTTR design. I felt that it would go well with the cold colors I was going for, as a contrast to the warmth and gold of her Phoenix clan attire.

I gave her the "Ignis" surname since it alludes to the Phoenix's fire theme. The pins with her initials were going to be markings with permanent ink but I decided to turn that into pins. In my original sketch, she was wearing a dog tag with the initials "A + D" ("Ambrosia + Dev") since I have the headcanon that Dev collects military paraphernalia and they would wear matching necklaces, but I forgot to include it in the final line art.