So Mod Aster’s breakdown of the weapons design inspired me to make a break down of the girls Vale designs. The designs for Maggie and BB had a first draft done by me and a second finalized version. Lily and Sakura on the other hand were picrew’s by mod aster which got made into first draft by me then mod aster drew them herself which I then edited into the final draft.
Final Draft or “Cannon Look”
First off BB! Double B, Blue, Blue Bonnet whatever you call her. They changed the least from draft to final stealing the mismatched pant thing from lily to her jacket sleeves. She lost a sleeve in a pre-cannon grim fight and it’s more punk. (Sakura hates this the mismatched length is driving her crazy). She’s wearing a leather jacket because that’s the stereotypically cool and they are nothing if not cool. Her boots are pair of old combat boots inherited from her mom a quite literally representation of the shoes they are trying to fill. They are hot and they know it for their main clothing I chose a crop top and tennis skirt (she has never played tennis in her life) as they both show off while allowing them the freedom of movement to spring into action and be the hero they were meant to be. The heart on her top is a little hint about her semblance and how she eventually unlocks it and also a warning for the sheer amount of flirting she does.
Physical appearance wise she’s a jellyfish fanus! Her hair is replaced by a jellyfish bell and stingers that frame her face like bangs. They are actually specifically a Portuguese Man o’ war so do not touch those they could kill you if they get through your aura. Her fanus status was determined by their fairy tale of origin how the jellyfish lost it’s bones a tale warning about the dangers of arrogance one of BB’s most prominent flaws. I can’t say this anywhere in cannon but her Aura is hatsune miku ramen blue.
Sticking in team order next up is Lily. Plausibly works at Olive Garden was kinda the vibe I was going for. Lily’s rather dapper appearance is because she worked at a sever/bouncer in her mom’s bar and those are the most masc clothes she owns and Lily is a butch lesbian. Fingerless gloves and what was essentially the in universe equivalent of Converse are touched of personality added to make the uniform a little more Lily. Her outfit got slightly neater and more formal because she was much more mischievous a thieving magpie in her original incarnation but most of the problems Lily causes are on accident. She is not the person on team BLSM that’s been arrested for theft.
Physical appearance wise she’s has that one stubborn curl that looks like a feather as a nod to the fact she’s a magpie fanus. Her wings sprout from her hips at mod aster’s request and her skin got darker from the first draft for that reason as well. The scar on her lip got removed again to make her look less like a troublemaker. Her fairy tale of origin isn’t tied in with her appearance it’s Ali the honest man it’s rather shown by Lily’s complete inability to lie. You may notice her magpie wings are those of a male magpie that’s because Lily is trans! This will come up in story she just hasn’t decided wether everyone else is gonna be cool about this or not. Her aura is a warm sunset orange.
The one who went through the most changes from draft to final is Sakura. Because Sakura is from a wealthy mistrali family on the level of the Shnee’s I initially designed her in more elegant attire and showed her athleticism via messy hair but as Sakura is further in the process of breaking away from her family then Weiss she has more athletic less traditional clothing. However she actually has bits of her family’s traditional armor the belt and shoulder guards ontop of her more athletic outfit because they are still important too her. This is pretty close to mod Aster’s og art of her with the exception of me adding the shoulder pads because I feared the design was too bottom heavy which it still is now but the shoulder pads help I think. More green was also added to make better better compliment her teammate Maggie.
Sakura is meant to look very neat and elegant. She’s is the groups only human and feels a little strange about that. She had glasses because she’s mod aster’s baby and mod aster wears glasses. Her fairy tail of origin is less a story and more the concept of soulmates or one true love this is shown less through her appearance and more in her semblance life-link allowing her to connect to one person’s aura and share their pain. Her aura is a soft pink.
Last and certainly not least (especially considering she stands half a foot taller than her teammates) is Magnolia or Maggie. You may be able to think of another character in this series with a green layer over white under clothing. Maggie’s long green dress with white under layer is intentionally mimicking Ozpin’s long green coat because she wants to be a headmistress someday so she mimics Ozpin in her choice of clothes. The consistent plant theming ties into her somewhat mysterious semblance. Maggie’s floral blindfold is a deliberate choice she refuses to hide her scars for anyone but she understands they are scary and is trying to soften them with the pretty flowers. The mossy cloak is because she’s used to the desert and jungle climate of menagerie which are both very hot and the cloak keeps her more at the temperature she’s used to in Vale which is comparatively cooler by a lot.
Maggie is a Atlesian (European) Red squirrel which is sort of a nod to her story of Origin How the chipmunk got its stripes. I honestly just thought all the extra chipmunk details would be a pain to describe/Draw so squirrel it was. Plus behaviorally speaking Maggie is closer to a squirrel rather than chipmunk. Also her stripes the story refrences aren’t literal and are meant to be the scars over her eyes. You may notice the scars got brighter between the first draft and the second that’s because they are burn scars which tend to appear brighter pinkish reds rather than normal scar tissue but no info for you on how she got them yet. Go read the fic to find out.
