So, I’d like to start this post by saying if you haven’t seen Black Panther – go see Black Panther. As soon as humanly possible.
From a BABD perspective, there’s a couple of really interesting and exciting aspects of the armor of the Dora Milaje (royal guard, aka bald women in red).
Firstly is while they do put an odd amount of emphasis of broadcasting that the wearer has breasts – they still read quite clearly as practical (very decorative, but practical) battle attire. It doesn’t rely on the lore to convey the purpose, and is easily some of the best female attire in a Marvel movie to date (and much, much better than the previously featured comic, seriously).
And they look so amazing when they’re together as a unit:
(Also if you love costume design in general you’ll want to see this movie simply to appreciate the authentically African inspired Wakandan outfits)
The second is that the all female royal guard, in Africa, is not without historical precedent. The Dahomey Minos (referred to as amazons by Europeans because… colonialism) who started as royal guards, became a militia and ultimately fought in wars against colonizers (who spoke highly of their courage and ability)
– wincenworks
[Pictured above: A fighter with a “Machiavellian philosophy and appearance.”]
Oh boy, it’s what I’ve been dreading when the Soul Calibur VI character releases started; another uninspired lingerie-esque outfit for Ivy!
[ x5 ]
It’s so aggressively boring that the details they added, like the lace on her stockings and the cords around her sides, somehow make it even less interesting. She looks like she’s cosplaying herself. They also seem to have removed the snake motifs she had previously, and replaced them with… uhh, generic skulls, I guess? Cause that’s intimidating and not overdone at all.
[Ivy, thinking “What, you thought this was going to be a good design? Ha!” with a knowing smile]
I guess I’ll give the devs credit for giving her a boob window while also showing off about 70% of her breasts (the lace doesn’t count as covering). That’s some next-level dedication.
What is it with companies thinking that professional, Machiavellian female characters wear fetish outfits?
-Icy
astoralexander submitted:
Hi. I hope you don’t mind me sharing my own work. I tried to make these armors as realistic/functional as my minimal knowledge on the subject allowed me to.
Of course we don’t mind! And I love both of these pieces very much.
I’m happy to see Ciri dressed in appropriate armor instead of a shirt that’s unbuttoned right between the boobs (even when they go to a cold place and she wears a fur cloak), and the armor design itself is very nice. [Link to original post with close-ups!] I like that you can see the layering in the gaps. It’s a bit too symmetrical for me, but that’s more of a personal preference than anything.
As for the second piece, that could practically be used as a poster to recruit monster-slayers in a fantasy universe! It’s quite awe-inspiring, and I love your entire line of Classic Arcade Girls.
Thanks for the submission, and keep doing great work!
-Icy
