#mcd redesign

My priority while designing my version of Aphmau was definitely keep the energy of her original MCD personality alive while still leaning into the aesthetics of Rebirth.

Her regular outfit was by far the hardest, seeing as the Rebirth outfit was ugly and her iconic tank-top + booty short fit just wouldn't work in the new world I'm building.

Despite that, I still wanted it to show a lot of skin, to symbolize how much of a free spirit she is, especially early on. Fun fact, I at first wasn't going to give her any shoes in this outfit, but I do not think Donna would ever leave her barefoot like that.

In addition, I tried to design her markings as if they were a snake wrapping itself around her body, but I don't think that came through very well.

Lastly, I added only a minimal amount of purple into her first outfit. This is because I want the purple to be a symbol of her lordship since historically, purple was the most expensive and royal colour. Therefore, as the season goes on, one can see more and more purple take up space in her design.

Her second design, the clothes she wears when active as a lord don't have any specific inspiration that I pulled from, unlike my other redesign (Zane, who's closely modeled after Catholic and Orthodox priests). The main reason for this is that I wanted to show how both Aphmau and Phoenix Drop itself are relatively new, not century old culture or traditions to make use of. Only its mismatched collection of people make up its identity as of season one, just like Aphmau, who's completely new to this world.

I like to think that most of the equipment she has on her when wearing this are things she got from others. The shoulder plates from Garroth's old stash, Zenix's leather chest piece and gloves, the purple waist thingy a gift from Nana when they first met, the crystal on her neck a gift from Zoey and so on. I believe it all gives her a sense of comfort, and that, is something she needs when wearing these clothes.

And last bit not least, the dress. I believe the dress is the most iconic fit Aphmau has. It's the one I always think of her in and it has some great moments attached to it. So, I didn't change much. Just added specific flowers to her flower crown (American Cowslips and White Chrysanthemums) and the new sigil of Phoenix Drop at her waist.

And so it begins 😭! When I started working on this i already knew I wasn't gonna be redo-ing specific outfits, but for this one specifically you can definitely see the inspo from her Amethyst dress, as well as her lord outfit. I don't know if it'll be like that in the future, I've got a bunch of ideas (especially for Cadenza and Nicole).

Aaaaaaand of course, headcanons and fun facts and stuff:

Irene:

Irene’s real name is Aphmau Shala’shaska. Irene is the name she uses in the public eye, to keep some sense of privacy.

She got her name from the Irena flower, a white and indigo flower that grows abundantly throughout the surrounding areas of Scaleswind. It’s best know for its medicinal properties, often used to heal cuts.

Kul’Zak was the one who suggested she come up with a knew name to use.

Aphmau’s grandmother, Sapphire, was cursed by a mage. The curse entails: Should your family ever bare twins, they shall be destined to bring upon death and destruction. They shall be destroy themselves, and neither good nor evil shall truly prevail in the end.

Sapphire’s daughter, Sylvanna, ending up having twins. They were named Aphmau and Raaph.

For fear of the curse, Aphmau was sent away to live with and be raised by a very powerful family friend, named Hyria. Hyria never told Aphmau about her real family, but she raised her as if she were her own, and she taught her everything she possessed could. Which was a lot given her hundreds of years of experience.

Aphmau was raised in the enchanted forest, trained to use her magicks from an early age. She was even taught about witchcraft by Hyria. When she was old enough, Hyria used enchanted ink to draw ruins on her so she could even learn how to actually use witchcraft.

Many people claim to be direct descendants of Irene, but the truth is, she never had any children.

Xavier:

Though he is remembered by history as Xavier the Admirer, his real name was Prince Xavier Laith of O’khasis.

Xavier was the nephew to the terrible king who ruled all of Ru’aun from O’khasis, Evren Laith.

He worked with the divine warriors both before and after they each became divine. He helped de-thrown his uncle, helped to end the wyvern-human war, and even helped seal Shad in the Nether.

He was offered the chance to become divine but declined. His reasoning; in order to obtain a relic, you must first sacrifice that which you love. Xavier only held love for one thing.. Irene.

Even after declining, he was still considered an honorary divine warrior, even if that much had been forgotten by history.

He loved Irene with his entire being, and she, him. But they never truly had the chance to allow that love to grow and flow. First, Xavier was taken prisoner by Shad, being transformed into some kind of beast. Xavier had to fight for control over his body and mind, and it was hard to be around Irene knowing she may not be safe with him. Then, as they were sealing Shad away, there was an explosion of magick, left in Shad’s wake. A shard of Shad’s soul pierced through Xavier’s body, and Irene could not save him. Xavier died and Irene could only watch, unable to heal the magickal wound.

Because of his manor of death, Shad and Xavier’s souls became somewhat intertwined. When Xavier was reincarnated into one Laurance Zvahl, he was born with a fragment of Shad’s soul attached to his own. When Laurance became a Shadow Knight, much like Xavier did, he continued his trend of being nearly impossible to control. And though he too never gained his immortality, he became one of the strongest Shadow Knights to exist. Both in spirit and body.

Xavier has central heterochromia. The outer ring of his eyes are green and the inner, blue.