Question for ppl who've read the Doom Patrol comics: Is the emphasis on fathers/fatherhood as prominent in any of the comic runs as it is in the show?

I'm on my...like, 4th or 5th rewatch now and I just got to the end of S1 and I'm sitting here like. Man. This show is so very deeply about fathers, specifically shitty fuckup fathers and their children. And I'm wondering if that's something like Jeremy Carver's Supernatural influence seeping and oozing through or if that's important in the source material too.

I love the show deeply and so I'd love love love to get my hands on the comics eventually but rn I have zero knowledge on them

Process Blog #2

To the person who left this comment like, two years ago:

You were so on the nose, you didn’t even know. But I knew. I KNEW!!!

Process Blog #2 covers pages 6 through 9 of Chapter 3.

Man, this was the sequence from hell. I’ve been having some computer troubles, and in my attempts to fix the issue, I ended up losing a lot of my files for Chapter 3. It’s fine - I ended up recovering almost everything, and I’m using a cloud service going forward. But the issue still persists and my computer just shuts down at random. Some days it doesn’t happen at all, but on others, it’ll happen continuously.

(You can also file this under ‘reasons why Michelle can’t manage to keep a stream schedule’, btw…sorry.)

Nevertheless, I’ve been looking forward to making these pages for a while, and they are juicy. So let's get into it!!

Historical Inspiration & Stylism

Sha’s memory is kind of hazy - it’s why she, say, rounds to 2,000 years instead of providing an exact date; see also the ‘egg incident’ - and her recounting of her past is similarly lacking in detail. That being said, I do want to imply something about when and where this occurs, and have tried to do so through the visuals. 

The compositions and figures themselves are inspired mostly by red-figure pottery, while the eyes and decorative details are inspired by Minoan frescoes.

Panels are made up of Greek meanders - those decorative borders. I know it's not what the Greeks were going for, but it looks very comic-like to me and I'm here for it.

Aphrodite

Aphrodite’s domain was love, passion, and beauty, but she was also associated with fertility and marriage. I’ve peppered a few of her symbols throughout this sequence - sparrows, myrtle (those leafy branches) - but the main one are shells. 

Aphrodite was often depicted with scallop shells, alluding to her birth by the sea. Oh, hey - we’ve seen shells like this in TSOS before!

Well, have you caught it? Have you figured out that we’re drawing parallels between Sha and Aphrodite? What if we were both girls…and we were both born from the ocean…

The (Ex-) Husband

Divorce was a viable option for couples in Ancient Greece, so his threat isn’t completely out of left field - neither is the implication that he’d hold Sha responsible for their troubles. Infertility was seen as a women’s issue, and was perfectly reasonable grounds for divorce.

Yes, this guy comes off like a complete asshole to us, but to Sha, this would have been normalized (though still awful).

Not much else to say about the dude. He was a fisherman,  though that detail ended up really only coming through here:

Shop Talk

For all the troubles I had with research, stylizing, and tone, the actual making of these pages was pretty quick (thank god…I had to make up that time somewhere!). I really tried not to fuss too much on the execution of these, given that I was working on them in such sporadic sections and lost my original files partway through.

I didn’t really do a sketch pass, instead jumping right into the lineart so it’d look stiffer and less refined than the usual style. I gave the lines a little oomph by adding a duplicating lineart underneath, blurring the heck out of it, and changing it to red. This just gave them some warmth and helped distinguish them better from the screentones.

I chose this screentone for its resemblance to tiny mosaic tiles, with some slight hue shifts for variety and a gaussian blur to soften up those harsh anti aliased dots.

Closing Arguments

Well, now you know the terrible truth: TSOS is not very historically accurate or specific.

Instead of sharing her story through facts and events, I wanted it to be shared in Sha's own words, supported by visuals that could be interpreted freely.

Sha doesn't remember where she lived, or when she died. Even if she did, those things would be counted and named differently today, and those facts wouldn't add anything to her character or the story. What Sha does remember is the loneliness and desperation that got her to where she is now.

It's not the most forthcoming, I know, but hey - neither is Sha!

This flashback continues for another two pages, but they start to break from this ancient style as we fade back to present day, so that's all for now!

As always, if you have any questions about the making of TSOS, leave them in the comments and I’ll answer them in the next!

Process Blog #2 was originally published September 21, 2023 on Ko-fi. Supporters get early access to TSOS pages and process blogs!

Acquiring Feegle and Rickets

I just adopted two rescue bitties! Feegle is a Sansy and Rickets is a Brassberry. You can read their story on Ao3 here:

https://archiveofourown.org/works/18008270/chapters/52148683

Or under the cut below!

You would think 25 bitties would be more than enough for anyone to handle. You would be wrong. My pack has finally settled in and worked out all their kinks.

Vergeven bakes treats for the dogs and me. He’s discovered my love of cake donuts, and he bakes them at least once a week. Shenling and Yu absolutely adore their alter. We keep adding more to it, and they love it. Kronkel and Hemlock are the sweetest couple. They’re almost always touching one another. Gates and Starlight are zooming around. Having someone to adventure with him has really pepped Gates up. Verst is always tagging along for everything except the kissy stuff. Yong, Qiang, and Dijkstra are inventing new ways to show off in the water every day. They all like the hot tub right now, given how cold it is. Pleiades has a whole collection of scarves now. He’s usually swaddled in at least three.

Strawberry and Baza’eir go everywhere with me. It’s nice to have a service bitty I can pick up, although Hemlock and Kronkel still squish me if I have a panic attack. Inktvis seems to like doing art with me. I’ve been more active in that area. I’ve also been getting back into science thanks to Decon. I’m not sure what, but once my health issues are more stable I plan on going back to get another degree. Byzantium has a little “roller skate” that fits around the bottom of his pot so he can roll around. He has safe caves all over the house. Plato and the blasters love our pack. Their favorite game is Thunder Paws, which my corgi pup Teagan plays all the time. Meng has a little bit of a crush on Inktvis, but hasn’t wanted to acknowledge it yet. He’s helped tremendously with my night terrors. All in all, everyone is happy.

Apparently the universe decided that wasn’t enough. I was stopping by my local bitty center to get Gyftmas presents for everyone. I usually take the time to talk to each bitty that’s there. I’d finished with the main kennels and moved into the rescue area. This was the place where rescued or returned bitties go to recover and, if possible, get re-adopted. My area is big into being humane, so there are usually very few or none at all. That was what I was expecting because of the holiday. There’s always a rush to give them homes for this special time.

Most of the kennels were empty, save one. It was in the bottom row where nobody looks. Well, except for me. I squatted down to see who was inside there. I was shocked with what I saw.

There were two bitties in the back corner of the kennel. One was a Brassberry. It’s hard to mistake that wound covering. What I could see of his bones outside of the hospital gown he was wearing was covered in bruises, cuts, and scrapes. They were all mostly healed over, so they had to have been here for a while. He was glaring at me with fear just under the surface of it. In his arms was a Sansy bitty who looked almost dead. His bones were grey and in multiple casts. He honestly looked like he was going to dust any minute now.

I didn’t even think about it. I directed a tendril of my magic into the kennel and fed it to the Sansy. I filled it with love and support and hope. Slowly, painstakingly slowly, his bones became the proper white. Now I could see the carvings. Someone had decorated his bones with geometric patterns etched in deep.

I swallowed and looked at my own wrists. They were covered in sleeves, but underneath the sleeves both arms were criss crossed with cuts all the way up to my shoulder. Some were old and barely visible. Others were still red. A bandage covered the latest set so I wouldn’t bleed all over my clothes. I chose and choose to put them there. How would it feel if someone else forced them on me?

“Fuck off, human,” The Brassberry growled. He had drawn the Sansy closer to him, jostling his head. Now I could see that the Sansy was awake, but there was no expression on his face. He just...wasn’t there.

“No,” I said stubbornly, sitting down. “I’m going to stay here as long as I want to, Brassberry. I’ve got nothing urgent to do today. I might as well help you and your friend feel better. Would you like some magic of your own?”

The Brassberry’s eyes went wide. “You- You’re feeding him magic? Stop! He can’t handle losing another bond. It’ll dust him for sure!”

I blinked. I’d completely forgotten about how bitties bonded with their owners.

Strawberry jumped to my defense. “Sh-she’s not like that. She wouldn’t do that on purpose She just wants to help!”

Baza’eir, on my other shoulder, chuckled quietly. “What makes you think she’d break it? She’s got 25 bitties so far and we all know she’ll adopt more. I bet you a steak that she’ll adopt him. A nice, fat juicy one.”

The Brassberry’s mouth was watering, but he shook himself out of it and scowled. “There’s no fucking way I’m letting another human take him. How do I know she won’t just abandon him again? He needs me to look out for him. He’s just...given up on fighting back. He’s given up on living. I’m barely able to hold him here.”

I spoke up, “Then let me handle feeding him magic and you handle keeping him physically safe. I know about bonded pairs in animals. You might not be lovers, but it would be bad for both of you to separate you. I don’t mind having another two bitties in my house. Please?”

He blinked at me, searching my face for signs of danger. I tried my best to look non threatening, but I’m not very good at expressions. He seemed to be put off by this, so I added, “I’m autistic and don’t always get my expression right for my feelings. I really do want to help you. You both deserve a better life than you’ve had.”

He huffed. “Read through our chart before saying that. You’ll run away, just like the others.”

I dutifully looked at the packet of papers on the front of their kennel. It detailed all the horrible things that someone had inflicted on this Sansy while trying to turn him into something like a Meek. Brassberry’s papers told of a fighting ring and all the times he had hurt other bitties and staff. He had quite the rap sheet.

“I’ve seen worse, Brassberry,” I said confidently, “I’ve volunteered in animal shelters for more than 10 years. I worked in foster, where the youngest, sickest, and most feral cats end up. I’m more than prepared to take care of both of you. And...I understand about abuse on a personal level. I was abused by teachers, students, and other staff members all the way up through high school. I’m still healing from that, and I know it’s a process. And I’m extremely well versed in wound care,” I said as I slipped up my right sleeve to show him my arms. “I’m very clumsy and I self-harm. I’d love to take you both home and help you heal.”

The Brassberry’s mouth had dropped open at some point in my speech. He closed it and gulped. I could see the distrust warring with a glimmer of hope.

Strawberry added the final touch. “There’s hidey holes all over the house for Byzantium, our Error-type plant bitty. If you don’t want to interact with anyone you don’t have to. And there’s always ketchup and meat in the house. Please come join us? Please?”

The Brassberry looked at his friend. The Sansy gave the barest of nods. The Brassbery sighed.  “Fine. But if you’re lying I’m going to wreck your house and wreck you. Don’t think I won’t.”

I smiled. “I wouldn’t expect anything less.”

An employee came up to me and asked me to leave, as upsetting bitties in the rescue center was a big no-no. I jumped a little and haltingly explained that I was going to adopt both of them. They asked if I had read the backstories with a distrustful expression.

Amazingly, it was the Brassberry who stood up for me. “Leave my owner the fuck alone. We’ve been through all that already. Just go get the care bag and the adoption papers. Um...please.”

The employee quickly scurried off, and I turned to the two bitties in the kennel. “Thank you. I have problems with anxiety so extreme that it can block my voice. I was about to lose it, there. They startled me so much.”

The Brassberry huffed. “Don’t think anything of it, owner. This means nothing.”

I smiled back. “I won’t. Since we’re going through with this, I should probably introduce myself. I’m Yastaghr, which is pronounced Ya-star but spelled completely differently. Um...do you two have names?”

The Brassberry shook his head. “Fighting bitties don’t get names, and the Sansy here...they didn’t bother. They just called him Sansy.”

I puffed up. “Do you mind if I name you? Or do you want to pick your own names.”

His eyes went wide. “Pick...our own names? Really? What kind of a weirdo are you to let us pick our own names?”

I giggled. “A weirdo who is notoriously bad at naming things. I pull names from 4 different languages and multiple different disciplines. Really. I have bitties named in English, Dutch, Chinese, and Icenic. I also have pets named after book characters. So, what do you say?”

A weak voice whispered, “i like pratchett. something from him?”

All eyes snapped to the Sansy. The effort of speaking seemed to exhaust him, but he was smiling slightly.

I grinned back. “I like Pratchett, too. How about Feegle? Would that be a good name?”

The Sansy, now Feegle, nodded. He seemed to have run out of words for the day, which I could understand completely, so he fell asleep. The Brassberry smiled down at him. It was a proud smile, the kind a parent gets when their kid does something good.

“What about you, Brassberry? What do you want to be named?” I asked.

He hummed softly. “How about Rickets? The humans here say I’ve got it, and it sounds cool. Can I be named that?”

“Of course! It’s your name, so you get to choose. Rickets. It’s-” I started to say.

“I have the paperwork here for you, and the care kits that comes with every bitty. There are medical supplies in both, extra clothes, snacks, and a care pamphlet. Oh, and a hand towel that smells like them for introductions to pets.”

I nodded, my words suddenly gone, just like Feegle. Baza’eir came to my rescue, his service bitty vest shining. “That’s good. Thank you so much! We’ll fill out the paperwork right now.”

I started scribbling down the necessary details, including their names and mine. I signed multiple consent forms. I read through pages of text. Finally, the paperwork was done and I handed it to the employee.

Once the employee was gone, I carefully opened up the kennel and scooped up both bitties. I smiled at them and whispered, “Time to go home.”

Amazing Quest 1: Chapter 4

The fourth chapter. You know how it is. Thanks for reading!

Chapter 4: 2 Million Leagues Under the Sea!- We get another sepia tone flashback, this time of an only slightly-younger Hiro and Emilia. Emilia: Well… your form is good. But you swing your sword like a little girl. Hiro: I don’t like hurting people, sis. Besides, everyone knows YOU’RE the messiah the Pudding tribe has awaited! I’m only here because mom had that bottle of aged tequila lying around. Emilia: That has nothing to do with anything! You need to have more confidence! … Wait, I got just the ticket! Emilia runs behind Hiro and plays with his hair. Hiro: Um. What’re you doing? Emilia: I’m giving you a Pudding Warrior Knot in your hair. It’s an ancient custom of our tribe that when a Pudding Warrior comes of age, he gets one! Hiro: Oh. That’s pretty neat. Emilia finishes, presenting the now French braided hero, Hiro, we know now. Hiro: Somehow I feel more fabulous than before. Can’t quite place my finger on it. Emilia: It’s perfect! You’ll be beating up Dark Puddings before you know it! The scene fades, then returns, Hiro, Ozma, Kimyawa and Loyroll laid out on a beach. Hiro: Ungh. I wonder why I never dream in color. Hiro gets up and the others join him. You’ll soon discover this area is only one screen wide, so you’re left to exhaust every possibility until you investigate the water. Not just any water, though, the ONE specific square, just to the left of center. Many players wasted HOURS trying to find this event flag, and many people wrongly believed it was an anti-piracy measure. Nope. Just shoddy programming. The mermaid from before surfaces. Mermaid: So, thief, ready to pay up? Ozma: Hey! We don’t even HAVE a thief in this party! Hiro: Just a reasonable facsimile. Loyroll: You flatter me, as always. Mermaid: You yoinked the goods from that place without paying its rightful owner! Kimyawa: Isn’t that technically liberating it? Mermaid: QUIT CHANGING THE TOPIC! Kimyawa: What’s your name, Stranger-chan? Mermaid: I’m Mancala! Call me Manny and I’ll punch ya in the mug, got it?! I’m the number one marine merchant mermaid you’ll ever see in the sea! Ozma: Meh, mehmehmeh? Mancala: Ignoring that. The point is you took stolen property. So I’m gonna maroon you here until you pay up! Hiro: (Great. Now what do we do?!) You then get a prompt which can result in some different dialogue options. 1) Barter 2) Lie 3) Beg -Barter- Hiro: Okay. It was just a few things. Can’t be THAT expensive. What’s the tab? Mancala: Well… since you asked so nicely! Mancala brandishes an abacus and begins calculating. Mancala: The items total net value, plus the emotional damage to this delicate mermaid, plus interest, plus tax not withheld, plus tax withheld, social security, deducting the “asked so nicely” fee… it all tallies up to a measly 36 trillion gold! Ozma: Can I crush her head like an overripe melon? Hiro: T-trillion?! Are you MAD?! Mancala: If you’re nice, I’ll even include the “cute boy” deduction! That would knock it all the way down to 34! Loyroll: And certainly a deduction for yours truly, if I may be so bold? Mancala: I’m not into girls. … Much. Loyroll: Pardon? Hiro: There’s no way we have that much. That price is absurd. I refuse. Mancala: SAY WHAT NOW?! -Lie- Hiro: What if I told you I know of a great treasure?! It’d more than make up the difference! Mancala: Okay, I’m listening now. Kimyawa: Hiro-ni-chan! You DO?! You’ve been holding out on us?! Ozma: Hiro, how could you?! Loyroll: Most unfabulous of you, my friend. Hiro: … Mancala: … Hiro: Err. Friendship is a sacred treasure, above all material wealth in the Pudding society! Ozma: (So it was just a lie…) Mancala: *Sigh* -Beg- Hiro: Please don’t make me beg. I am not a proud man. Ozma, Kimyawa & Mancala: (This is about to get really hot…) Hiro: (Suddenly, my pride is flaring up within me and I don’t know why…) Loyroll: Well? We’re waiting. Hiro: On second thought, I think I’ll just take a moment to absorb the scenery instead. Mancala: (Darn…) Regardless of your choice, it comes back to here afterward. Mancala: This isn’t getting us anywhere! Hiro: Is there no way to come to an agreement on this? Mancala: Well… you could be my servants for a while! Y’know, help with this, that and the other for a bit and we could call it square! Hiro: I somehow get the impression you’re more ambitious than that. Mancala: Aww, you flirt~! Hiro: (Not the intended reaction. Why does it feel like my life is in danger now?) Ozma & Kimyawa: *Stare* Hiro: At any rate, we don’t have the kind of money on-hand to pay. So I guess we’ve no choice. Mancala: Well, you’re in luck! I just so happened to overhear some of the Dark Puddings talking about the Water Talisman. Hiro: You did? Where is it now?! Mancala: In the Octopus Garden. It’s some ancient ruins not far from my hometown, Mermania. Regrettably, those have been locked up tight since far back as anyone can remember. But I just so happen to know some juicy gossip that may lead us to a key. The Legendary Ice Key! Hiro: Sounds like a lead! Ozma: Or a diversion from the main plot. Poh-tay-toe, pah-tah-tow. Mancala: Either way, I need some henchmen and you need the talisman, right?! I knew it soon as I saw that birthmark! Hiro takes a moment to examine himself. Hiro: Okay, seriously, where is this birthmark you people keep going on about and why do I not see it? Mancala: But that whole “air-breather” problem… there’s only one fix for that! Hiro: Oh no, not another racket… Mancala: Calm down, calm down. It’s a Mermaid’s Kiss! Hiro: Oh. Is that some kind of stone? Or maybe a plant? Or— Mancala leaps from the water, her tail morphs into legs, allowing her to glomp Hiro. Accompanying in a loud, cartoonish “SMOOCH” sound effect, which always gets a giggle out of me. Hiro: W-whoa. That was… brusque. Ozma: *Furious* Kimyawa: *Envious* Loyroll: *Yawns* Are we ready to go now? Then we can enter the water and dive to the underwater map. Though, thanks to aquatic canyons, we can’t just go anywhere we want… yet. Our first stop is down south a ways at Mermania, a recurring city throughout the franchise. There, we can get the “Bikni” armors for our female party members, which give a serviceable boost in defense to each. Hiro and Loyroll can get the “Trnks” which are a step up, but not as huge of one. How does an armor that covers less protect more? It is one of the long, lost legendary mysteries of JRPGs. Anyways, if we talk around at the merchant’s guild here, we’ll learn that Mancala has lost her trader’s license 17 different times due to “questionable practices”. The others roll their eyes when they learn this news but refrain from commenting. After talking to enough merfolk, Mancala fans out from the party. Mancala: Okay! We got everything we need? The legendary ice key is held in the underwater volcano! Hiro: I’d question the physical possibilities but somehow I feel like I’d just be encouraging you at this point. Mancala: Oh, don’t be so glum, chum! It’s pretty much a straight line there! … With a few curves and bumps. And a giant, angry dragon at the bottom. Hiro: Ah. There’s the hitch. I was waiting for that. Loyroll: Slaying a dragon? It’s a tad cliché but I think we can handle that! Mancala: Then what’re we waiting for?! Let’s do it! Ozma: What? You mean stroll up to the dragon and punch it in the face? Mancala: … Yes? Ozma: Metal. Kimyawa: Sugoi, Ozma-chan! At this point we can move back to the ocean floor and the cave in the top-right area is open now. Had we gone he previously, Hiro would’ve met the Giant Sentient Block, a really existential gag that plagues AQ players for years to come. In fact, in the early-internet era, whether this pseudo-character even existed was up for debate, as most of his appearances in this game are very easily missed. The cave itself is pretty straight-forward, except about midway, where the current puzzles spell out great confusion for those who tried to brute force the puzzles, which would flush them down a comically oversized pit where you’d battle the Toilet Snake monster, which is obsessed with poison attacks. Otherwise, the local monsters like the Munchkinfish, Seaweeder, and Poof Fish are actually quite weak compared to other monsters around this level. Here you can find a Coral Abacus for Mancala, replacing the nonsense “TmSn” Abacus she comes with normally (the Japanese name is “Termite Snack” and I guess they were okay with letting everyone assume it meant “Thompson” or something!). Afterward, you just press on down the stairs… up until you enter the gameshow chamber. Yeah, that’s not a joke. The party fans out and stands behind a podium as a huge, anime octopus-man plops down in a suit and tie. Octopus: Welcome, ladies and gentlefish to Amazing Quest: The Game Show: The Video Game: Home Edition v. 1992! I’m your host, Otto! And you lucky heroes are in for a treat today! You get to try my quiz game challenge! Win and you’ll receive fabulous prizes! Fail and you get… well, nothing! Are we ready to play?! We then get a prompt of “Squid yeah!” or “Fin no!”, but obviously the game won’t let you progress until you at least TRY, so, yeah… Otto: Question 1 will be an easy one to get your feet wet! What tribe is Hiro from? We get a prompt between “Pudding”, “Protagonist” and “Team Laser Explosion”. The answer is quite obvious. Otto: Correct! Question 2: What is Ozma’s family name? This one is a little trickier, being given the possible answers “Trouble”, “Tohrubble” and “Toruble”. Just be aware of what her name REALLY is, and you’ll be fine. Otto: Great job! Really kraken ‘em up! Question 3: What mystical artifacts, when united, unleash a great and terrible power? The answers this time are: “The DisKord Stones”, “Hell’s Bells”, and “The Talismans”. Interestingly enough, the other options are shout-outs to DOS-era adventure titles, which AQ4 later also shouts out to. Otto: Whooo! Now we’re gilly getting into it! Question 4: What elemental affinity is the first boss of this game? The prompt is just Fire, Water and Pie, so the answer is obviously water as it was the monster in Fog Tower. If you say Pie, Otto’s arms drop to his sides, as he turns to face the player directly and will stare at you for 10 tedious, unnerving seconds before prompting you to try again. Otto: ALRIGHT! Last one and this one separates the squids from the suckers! Question 5: Which of these is NOT an element of magic?! The answer prompt this time is four options wide, including: “Music”, “Emotion”, “Boobs” and “Food”. You’d only know the answer to this if you read the instruction booklet – which specifically references the elements of magic in the AQ universe. This is kind of a jerk move by the game devs, as losing the manual in the early SNES era was a foregone conclusion by all but the most dedicated collectors. The answer is technically food, but the AQ manga series actually contradicts this during the “Great Pudding Cook-Off” arc. Otto: N-no way! What an amazing contestant we had on the show! Everyone, put your fins together for our new winners! A bunch of fish suddenly leap-on screen and shake about excitedly as the SNES strains to emulate the sound of uproaring applause. Then they retreat to whence they came. Otto: How do you feel? Hiro: A little drunk? Otto: YOU HEARD IT HERE, FOLKS! Now, enjoy your fabulous prizes! For answering all five correct, we get 3 “Fishy Hats” which are helmet upgrades that anyone in the party can put on. We’re then booted from the quiz room and resume our trek through for a few more rooms up until we reach the boss chamber. There, there’s a huge hole in the center of the room, glowing red. Hiro: I have to assume this is where the dragon awaits us. Mancala: Better go up and check just to be sure, Hiro! We’ll wait back here, where it’s safe! Hiro: *Sigh* Very well. One moment. Hiro walks to the lip and looks down. Hiro: Deep. But I don’t see anything. Hiro kicks a small stone from the lip down below, then puts a hand to his ear to listen for it. Hiro: … Deep. Very deep. But I still don’t— The screen begins violently shaking. Hiro: Well, I’ve been wrong before. -Boss Fight!- Trench Serpent LP: 7500 MP: 1000 This gigantic beast is a real threat at last! I hope you took the time to level up on your way here! Your best bet is use Kimyawa’s Fox Flip, if you’re leveled high enough to have it by now, which can briefly confuse the monster to some considerable effect. However, it mandates being quite a bit over-leveled to use here, so she may be money ahead to spam the Mirror of Kii. The serpent’s most dangerous move is “COWABUNGA!” which sends a killer tidal wave over the party – never mind that we’re already underwater during this fight. Your Pudding Swirls should be sufficient, provided you’re not careless. If you monitor your HP burn, you should come out on top. -Boss Fight!- Hiro: Whew… that was surprising. Mancala: Look! The Ice Key! A banana in a block of ice floats down to Hiro’s hands. Hiro: I lack the words. As usual. Mancala: We have it! Now we can go to the Octopus’ Garden! Hiro: Tell me it’s not a quiz game. Mancala: Probably not! Loyroll: Life is far more fun when you never know what comes next, right? Hiro: I guess so. At this point we –can- go on to the next area, if we wanted to. However, a hilarious and easily-missed Easter egg awaits those who return back to Zaius and Heston. The people gather at a neutral ground once you walk into one of the cities. Hiro: Okay. Everyone. Watch very carefully. I’m gonna bring peaceful resolution to this once and for all. Hiro brandishes his sword, then cuts the Ice Key clean in half. Mancala: HIRO! WHAT THE HELL?! Hiro: Just watch. This is going some place. Hiro takes the banana free of the ice, then peels it from center-out on both ends. Crowd: WHAT?! N-no way! No one has ever… how did he DO THAT?! Hiro: See? Now you understand: there’s more than just two ways to do something! And each is equally valid. And now we all learned an important lesson, right? Crowd: HE HAS ANGERED THE VOLCANO GODS! Hiro: Beg pardon? The camera pans out as a nearby mountain erupts into a volcano, the magma pours out and wipes out both villages in a flash. It then cuts back to the party. Mancala: Oh. Right. This place is ruled by the twin brother gods of volcanoes: Rilk and Klir. They also had very particular food habits. And banana peeling was one of their sacred doctrines. Hiro: … How was I supposed to know that? So with two more destroyed cities under our belts, we find the Melted Blade, a new sword for Hiro as we return to the sea for the Octopus Garden. The garden is a 3D maze, using a really curious fixed-perspective isometric view and water spouts that move Hiro up and down as you run through. People have wasted HOURS of their lives here due to the numerous deadends and confusing layout. This is also only the first screen. The second area has moving platforms which Hiro must traverse in order to cross a river. For some reason, this ordeal seems quite nostalgic, doesn’t it? The third area introduces the garden’s true gimmick – the octopus jars and the red and blue octopi. When you get here, the party fans out. Mancala: Ah. I’ve heard of this room. We have to approach it from a certain angle! Hiro: I don’t suppose you know what it is? Mancala: Grandma said this: red octopi are friendly and will pull you near them for a closer look! Blue octopi are shy and if approached, will politely move you away from their homes! But don’t fear – neither will harm you! Hiro: What on Earth does THAT mean?! Mancala: I dunno. Why? Hiro: … Kimyawa: Nii-chan, I think I understand! The octopi-tachi are different colors here. Red will pull us near from far away and blue will push us from near to far. And the room is full of holes in the floor. So, to progress, we need octopi-tachi to move us from one spot to another. Hiro: So the riddle lies in the color and the distance. I see. This is the most head-scratching moments in the game, not due to the base mechanics, but to how fiendishly clever the rooms that lie ahead really are. As explained, red octopi reach out three or four spaces ahead to grab us, but will ignore us if we’re one or two spaces out from them, and blue octopi ignore us at distances of three or greater, and will move us away from them three to four spaces if we approach. Using this knowledge we must move about the map step by step to progress. The first room is very simple and just a test of how each works. The second room adds more walls and holes in the floor to test your critical thinking. The third room adds floors that collapse once stepped on (which reset if you leave and come back) and the final room adds conveyer belts for a touch of twitch-reflex testing! Even with random encounters turned off for these moments, this still routinely gets ranked in the top 5 most hair-pullingly frustrating dungeons in the series. Once you get to the end, we see another pit not unlike the underwater volcano end area. Mancala: Oh? Is this the center area of the Octopus Garden? Ozma: Ugh. Not a recolor boss fight. How uncreative can you get? The area rumbles as a large, purple Trench Serpent rises from below. Kimyawa: Ozma-chan, Snake-san didn’t like that comment. Hiro: Get ready, everyone! Before the battle can begin, something flashes across the screen, and the serpent roars, sinking back into the abyss. Hiro: Wait, what? Who was that?! ?: Light Puddings! Prepare yourselves! Ozma: Uh. Strictly speaking only one among us is a Pudding! A tall, slender man with an oversized tower shield on each arm stands before the party. Man: I am Praetorian Mih! Hiro: Of course you are. Loyroll: I understand your frustration, my friend, but you must admit, he’s got style! Mih: You’ve done enough damage, Light Pudding! It’s time your little escapade— Hiro: Excuse me. Mih: What? Hiro: How are you breathing right now? Did you kiss a mermaid too? Mih: Huh? Hiro: We’re underwater, so I just wanted to know if we did the same thing is all or if there was a better way. Mih: Kiss a mermaid? What are you on about? Everyone knows mermaids aren’t real. Mancala: *Ahem* Mih: Bah! I tire of this. Enough banter! Have at you! -Boss Battle!- Praetorian Mih LP: 8800 MP: 750 Praetorian Mih is every bit the human wall his massive design and dual-wielding shields might indicate, coupled with by far the most LP of anything we’ve yet encountered. The best thing to do is to use Ozma’s Table Flip in hopes it reduces this giant’s defenses and use Pudding Swirl with Hiro and Kimyawa in order to give him the offensive edge needed to compete. Loyroll should use the Mirror of Kii, exploiting Mih’s middling magic defenses. Mih’s most annoying ability will be “Safe & Sound”, a special technique accompanied by an unusually cool trumpet solo which will render him virtually invincible for two rounds before he opens up with a party-wide physical blow. However, if you can weather this, he has a 3 turn cooldown on the ability, so he cannot spam it. You’ll have to play the endurance game just as much as he does, but if you keep it up, you’ll send him packing. -Boss Battle!- Mih: Hahaha! Not bad. Not bad at all. But it will take way more than that to defeat the Human Wall, Praetorian Mih! Hiro: How many more times are you going to introduce yourself?! Loyroll: It seems our unstoppable tempo has met with an unmoving mountain! Kimyawa: Nii-chan, I think you’re mixing your metaphors. Ozma: Don’t give up. I have an idea! But I’ll need your help, Mancala! Mancala: Huh? Uh. Okay! Lay it on me! What’s the plan?! Ozma palms Mancala’s head in her hand. Mancala: Eh? Wait, what— Ozma then hurls Mancala head-first into Mih, who slides back as she impacts, coming to the rim of the pit behind him. Mancala falls flat, stars circling her head. Mancala: BARF! Mih: Hahahaa! You must be truly desperate to resort to such flailing, desperate measures! Ozma: Oh, am I? Mih: Huh? What did you…? Oh no! Mih panics, desperately attempting to run as the cliff below him gives out and he plummets into the pit below. After a few seconds of a whistling, falling sound, we hear a violent crash below. Kimyawa: Yatta! Hiro: That was, uh, a creative way of dealing with that. Ozma: I’m pretty pleased with myself. Mancala: My poor head… I’m gonna feel that for weeks! Ozma: Oh, walk it off. Mancala: How do you walk off a headache?! Hiro: C’mon, guys. The water talisman must be… huh? Do you guys hear something? The area rumbles distantly. Suddenly, an explosion rockets up from the pit, sending the party skyward. Hiro: He exploded?! Loyroll: Not just him! The serpent too! Hiro: BECAUSE THAT MAKES SO MUCH SENSE, RIGHT?! Something shiny flies among the party. Kimyawa: Sugoi! The water talisman! Guy-nii-chan! Ozma: I got it! Ozma grabs Mancala’s tail and swings her around, causing Mancala to grab it. Mancala: STOP THAT, YOU CRAZY BITCH! Ozma: But it just feels SO RIGHT! How can it be wrong?! Ozma learns the Dual Tech – Fish Slap! She’ll grab Mancala’s tail and swing her about like a flail, dealing great damage to a single target. This move deals water-type damage. And we get the Water Talisman! Ozma: The important thing is that we got the Water Talisman now, right? Hiro: No! The important thing is that we’re ABOUT TO FALL AND DIE!!! Ozma: Such a gloomy gus… The party is then viewed falling, crash-landing in a seaside village on the opposite side of one of the underwater canyons that previously prevented our passage from Mermania. They pick themselves up and survey the town. Mancala: Oh! I know where this is! This is Trackland, the town known for its enormous race track and horrible, crippling gambling debt! Hiro: That seems… informative. Never heard of a place that bagged on their own town when they were naming it. Ozma: Might as well have a look around. I don’t see anything else we can do for now. Here we can buy some upgrades, like Kimyawa’s CatCap helmet, Ozma’s Blaz Knuckles and Hiro’s Shing Sword, provided you didn’t find the Melted Blade earlier. By talking to the locals, we learn the Dark Puddings have already ransacked their town, and now their sole joy remains in the race track – famous for being so long it’s also the main highway to the next town! We then go to talk to the operations manager to find a means down said road. Hiro: Hello. We were wondering if it would be alright to head down the race track to the next town. Ops Guy: No, no, no. You don’t “head down” the race track. You RACE down it! That’s why they call it a RACE track! Mancala: Yeah? Then why do they call something you drive on a parkway and something you park on a driveway?! Ops Guy: Look, I don’t make the rules – I just enforce them. If you try any funny business, I’ll run your butts down and drag you back here for the biggest lecture of your lives! So race properly or don’t race at all! The party leaves the room, then spreads out again. Hiro: Well, so much for the direct route. Ozma: Anyone have any ideas? Loyroll: Why not do what he said? After all, a race sounds like fun! No one can keep up with our tempo! Mancala: We can’t just run the track. We’d pass out from exhaustion before we hit the midway. We need something we can ride. We need a pack mule! Hiro: A town renowned for its race track? Well, there has to be a ranch nearby with animals for such an occasion. Let’s ask around. Heading over to the ranch on the east side of town we can talk to the rancher – a strangely feminine man in a long, white trench coat. Hiro: We need— Rancher: A monster for the race, right? Hiro: Wow, you’re— Rancher: I am pretty awesome. Moreover, you’re wasting your time. The Dark Puddings raided my ranch last month and I’m still putting the pieces back together. Hiro: Isn’t there anything— Rancher: Yeah, if you get a few million going spare, I could lend you one of my thoroughbreds I’ve been raising. Hiro: We don’t have— Rancher: Neither does anyone else, bro. If you want the bargain bin, you’re in luck. This way. Hiro: Are you going to let me— Rancher: No. The rancher leads us over to one particular pen where a sad, squat lizard-like creature with a camel’s hump, two wings and two tails, weighed down by mace-like appendages crawls out. It coughs out dust on Hiro’s boots. Hiro: Is it dying? Rancher: I can only hope. This here is the bottom of the bottom of the barrel. This is the last of the Griffohumps. Hiro: Okay, you’re gonna need to explain that one to me. Rancher: It’s half griffon, half camel-dog. Its eyes also don’t align properly and it’s wantonly flatulent. I’ll let you take it for 100 gold. Take it or leave it. Hiro: Well, that’s a very reasonable price. For an unreasonable animal. I was thinking more of something like a horse… Rancher: Then you’re out of luck, chum. What little I have left other than this guy is for rebuilding and repopulating my ranch. Hiro: Looks like I don’t have much of a choice. We then get a Yes/No prompt, which is entirely pointless as saying no means we just walk around town until we go back and say Yes. In the GBA remake, however, if Kimyawa is level 37 (really, only a few levels higher than the average for this segment) and knows her Fox Inferno technique, this entire segment takes on an entirely DIFFERENT connotation as Kimyawa can replace the Griffohump as our pet in this minigame. But that’s creepy. So I’ll stick with the SNES version, thank you very much. The Griffohump is then dropped into a special Virtual Pet-style menu, which we can access whenever we want by speaking with the rancher. We’re then prompted to name the little guy – his default name is “Stinky”. We can feed it either mundane items, or special items the rancher will offer to sell us, which influence its stats. We can train it in minigames, or by fighting it like it was a monster encounter – which is the most effective means to raise it. Unequip the party and let it beat on the party and its stats will skyrocket, especially if it KOs the party. We can also have Hiro pet it and talk to it, which makes Hiro spout off nonsense jokes that were poorly translated from their original Japanese counterparts. You may persist in doing this as long as you’d like or until you hit the ludicrous 999 stat caps. Really, if you get it to around 150 in everything, Energy, Speed, Acceleration and Defense, you don’t need anything more than that. Return to the ops guy. Ops Guy: You again?! Didn’t you hear me?! Hiro: We’d like to enter the race properly now! Ops Guy: Really now? Well, that’s an entirely different story. Ready to begin? We then get a Yes/No prompt. Select Yes to continue. Ops Guy: Alright! To the starting line! This cues up the race minigame, with Hiro sitting astride the Griffohump, who is barely larger than his owner. The race itself involves running to the right-hand side of the screen as other racers try to jump on/over us. We’re ranked as we go and we must be in one of the top three places in order to win the minigame. Failure to do so drops us off where we started the race and Hiro mumbling something about “Not being on his A-Game today”. Clearing in higher ranks nets us better money and item rewards, but nothing worth freaking out over just yet – but they do get better as the plot progresses. But if we manage to win in 1st, 2nd or 3rd, we reach the chapter’s end! Narrator: And thus, Hiro and his party, riding gallantly atop Stinky, gracefully coast across the valley. What awaits them ahead? Only time will tell… We then get the Griffohump Feather, a key item we can use to access the virtual pet minigame from anywhere, anytime! Don’t forget to feed him from time to time!

The Kingsglaive + Their Appearance (Spoilers?)

And here I am once more, trying to pick apart the armor the Glaives have available to them. I’ll be honest: I always thought they have two outfits, the black coat one with black boots and their battle uniforms.

But since I took my time to find every little bit of clothing, I’m wiser than before. Read More if you want to!

We’ll kick it off with the shirts they wear beneath their typical black coats:

I’d consider this one to be the most basic one as we’ve seen numerous Glaives wearing this plain shirt with a sword pattern on its front part.Most of the time the Glaives are wearing their coat over the shirt so we only get to see small bits of the sword. It’s obvious the sword is a reoccuring symbol on the clothes. The most prominent sword would be either on the back of the black coat or on bits of the armor.

Anyway, we also get to see this type of shirt:

I’m still unsure. Is Luche’s shirt part of his outfit or not? Because it’s of the similar color and fabric. There’s also a pattern reaching all across his chest down to the hem. But I’ll settle with “Not part of the uniform” as the wing pattern on the side sticks out too much and tends to be covered by the coat anyway.

The female uniform is more.. delicate. I mean the whole construction with the red crystal makes it seem like it. There’s not really much I can say though except for the male and female uniforms are different. We never get to see a female Glaive sliding into a Niflheim soldier’s DMs and fuckin’ shit up, so I don’t know whether Crowe’s outfit is a mage or female specific outfit.

Side note (and a spoiler for FFXV!): It’s possible for Ignis, Gladiolus and Prompto to wear the uniform of the Kingsglaive, with and without the coat! This is where we get to see another piece of clothing, a vest. Its sword pattern spreads over the entire front of the shirt and doesn’t just go down to the hem. It doesn’t have sleeves. We know that because Prompto only wears the vest and no shirt in game.

EDIT: Would you look at Nyx though in the following picture:

Nyx is indeed wearing the vest the Chocobros are wearing in game. So there are different pieces for the upper body and Luche’s might be just a variation. Maybe he was on a different duty that day? (Thanks to @honeyflavour-blog for telling me it’s not a shirt, but a vest!)

To back it up, have a look at this concept art inspecting every layer of clothing of Nyx further (and backing up my claims):

Carrying on!

Of course it’s the uniform we most likely see them wearing when we mention the Kingsglaive. (I think I won’t lose too many words about this part.) I’m wondering: Are they wearing another long sleeved shirt beneath the heavy coat? Because I’d say the sleeves of the coat are pretty short, covering only half of the upper arms. Or is this bit connected to what I’d consider to be the second shirt? It seems just (or almost) as thick as the coat itself.

The boots, mhmmmmmm, good stuff!!! The sound of those boots being put on and the buckles being closed.. Yas, yaaaaas. If you inspect the shoes, you’ll also notice a small metal plate protecting the heel of each boot. Extra protection maybe? I like to imagine it gives them more support and more strength to run/kick stuff in certain situations.

The female boots though.. They must be pretty uncomfortable to wear. I mean, just look at them!

Reaching all the way up to the thighs. Wouldn’t that restrict your movements? Who cares, it looks damn fine. If we further look into the concept art of Kingsglaive we get this “full set up” of the female Glaives:

The first thing I can think of is ASSASSIN! And what a pity we never realy get to see Crowe kick some ass. This outfit makes her look even more badass, if not intimidating.

I’d consider the pants to be.. less interesting so let’s move to the gloves!

Whenever you see pitchblack gloves like the following one, it tends to be (or even always is) just a minor character.

Why am I saying this? Because Tredd and Luche for example do not wear those thick gloves. Instead they wear those: (brown - Tredd, black - Luche)

I guess our main characters are too cool for school, idk.

I won’t try to justify their usefullness in battle and instead only claim “Hey, they’re different from the rest because they’re much more important than other Glaives”. Of course Nyx also has different gloves.

And Libertus’ gloves could probably knock out anyone since there are even small metal (glass? I don’t know) attachments.

Let’s get to the more juicy stuff: Their battle armor they select for missions. This is where I was genuinely surprised. I won’t argue about the practicality of the pieces we’ll inspect. In fact I’d consider most of them.. impractical. Oh well.

Notice how the usual uniform doesn’t have Bahamut’s symbol like we can see here. It’s clearly a seperate piece and being worn on top of the coat. (I’ve actually gone back and checked which uniforms have such a symbol on them. As long as I’m not entirely mistaken, the movie can’t settle with a clear option anyway. Some uniforms have this symbol, some don’t.) 

This is also where the hood they wear on missions comes from. It’s a seperate piece they choose to wear.

The metal visor thing and the bandana covering their mouth are attached to the hood and guarantees protection from dust. Furthermore they also cover up their faces which might confuse enemies. If Tredd didn’t get rid of his hood, we wouldn’t have got to see he was one of the betrayers. And today’s lesson we learned is: If you want to remain unnseen, make use of masks and similar objects and doN’T REMOVE THEM. It’s always wiser to just keep yourself covered up. Anyway, I’m getting carried away.

Instead I’d like to pinpoint a similarity: For some reason I’m reminded of Bahamut when the Glaives are wearing their masks. Only Bahamut’s eyes are visible, the rest is entirely covered. Just like when the Kingsglaive is out on a mission. Coincidence? I don’t think so since Bahamut seems to be damn important entity. Maybe the Glaives are supposed to be Bahamut’s swords..? I don’t know where I’m going with this.

Let’s get to the armor in particular.

The metal plate with Bahamut’s symbol is probably the most recognizable as we’ve seen it almost everywhere and anywhere. It typically covers a part of the chest. If I’m not entirely mistaken, we’ve seen Glaives wear them on both sides.

And then there are three bits of shoulder protection. The first one is the one we see in the picture above. Its pattern is similar to a wing (Bahamut’s wing?)

Just noticed Mr. Unknown up there makes it clear they are indeed just wearing their usual uniform and just pile everything else up on top on it... C’mon, that should get uncomfortable at some point! Aren’t they supposed to be quick and deadly? Whatever.

Luche is wearing the wing as well. And Axis went for the second kind of shoulder protection we get to see. Sonitus should be wearing it as well. And Tredd doesn’t need to be wearing a fuckin’ hood, okay.

Nyx has the third and last one and probably the most useless one.

Thin metal pads. I have nothing else to say. If someone understand the structure of the Kingsglaive outfit, please enlighten me.

@laciewhy came up with an interesting idea when it comes to the protection, though it sadly doesn’t seem to fit for every single Glaive: Maybe the different parts indicate the Glaive’s preferred fighting style. Heavy, thick armor implies brute force and heavy impact while the lighter parts are worn by people who move fast like assassins and don’t want to decrease the speed they move forward.

I sadly can’t get solid screenshots of the reoccuring daggers wielded by the rather unimportant members. The one we see in the picture above is rather.. untypical. But then there are people like Nyx and Luche with different daggers.

LIES, ALL LIES! Of course you can get good pictures of their daggers. Would you look at that:

The typical daggers have a slightly curved shape. I guess it makes it easy to ram the blade into either the enemy or an object. 

This is the one Luche is using and it’s even more curved than the one before. (Sadly hard to see.) And then there’s Libertus with something more of an axe/butcher knife than a dagger, holy shit. I never noticed that before!

Since @the-galahdian-warrior wanted to have Drautos’ outfit as well, let’s go for Daddy Drautos, no? 

His first appearance in the movie. (I’ll directly assume the producers/animators/whoever forgot to add Drautos’ medals to his chest but I’ll get back to those later.)

Whenever I look at a shot of Drautos’ whole body, I get this sense of sheer authority and force. You really don’t want to mess with this guy. It’s obvious he’s part of the Kingsglaive. Just look at the back of his coat (Bahamut’s sword) and at his chest (similar to the Glaive’s shirt with Bahamut’s sword). But overall it’s vastly different. First of all, his color (of course), but also the collar is more impressive. But the outfit is also asymmetrical. A cape which actually consists of two layers over his left shoulder, but not his right. Chains on his right side, but not his left. You see him and you just know this guy means business.

I don’t know about the quality but of course there’s also a concept art of his outfit. Definetely check it out! There’s one last thing I want to inspect though: His medals and his sword.

While the Glaives stick to daggers and similar, short weapons, Daddy D has a real sword, distinguishing himself further from the members. Now the medals.. If I’m not mistaken, he wears each medal twice. So let’s cross fingers and try to find a medal similar to his. Since the production team of FFXV has stated they directed the game towards the Western audience I think it’s fine to check Army Medals and Ribbons.

I’ll simply let good, old wiki speak: “The medal was created in the aftermath of the Second World War to recognize those who had performed occupation service in either Germany, Italy, Austria, or Japan. [...] The Navy and Marine equivalent of the Army of Occupation Medal is the Navy Occupation Service Medal.”

“The NATO Medal is an international military decoration which is awarded to various militaries of the world under the authority of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).”

“The Commendation Medal is a mid-level United States military decoration which is presented for sustained acts of heroism or meritorious service.”

Listen, I’m not saying that’s what Drautos’ medals represent, but it’s either thought through or a fitting coincidence. The pendants beneath the ribbons seem to be a Lucian/Insomnian inspired medal referring to the shape of Insomnia’s walls.

EDIT: Thank you so so much for all the active support! Because of you guys, this post grew even further and even more beyond of what I had in mind.