I know Theo looks a bit off in the first two panels. Drawing someone from a lower corner view is hard, even with a reference.

Also Happy Halloween! I’ll post a picture of some of my costume here soon. (The full costume didn’t turn out that well, but part of it looks good so I’m going to post just that.)

So, I’ve been doing some thinking on Akila’s ability to shapeshift. She has a form that looks human as well as her default fishman form (She doesn’t enjoy being called a fish-person, but it fits) and her squiddy form. I’m not sure what that would look like, but she’d easily be able to pass as human. HOW she does this I’m not sure: She either physically changes her shape and body or she just fools everybody into thinking she looks human. Both these ideas are common in european folklore, with the main example being fae and their “glamour” effect. (Note: When I say “fae”, I’m talking about the “actually a vicious cunning predator that preys on humans” kind of fairy, not the “has wings and a magic wand” kind.) “Glamour” is the ability to make yourself look better, so if you saw someone who was using it, they’d look like a flawless human. They can also use slight mind control this way, but it mainly just changes what your eyes see than making you do things. However, it DOES make you more suceptible to actual mind control. Also, this ability can be used on crowds, such as in one example, a powerful magic wielder was able to clear a crowd of protestors just by showing her face. (It’s from The Lunar Chronicles, a good sci-fi book series. It actually explains the whole mind control thing realistically, and it’s worth a read, if you’re into science fiction.) I’m pretty sure Akila has the ability to control minds, but my guess is she doesn’t use it because it isn’t something to mess around with. So that’s a bit of random lore for this week.