#(OBVIOUSLY I'M TALKING ABOUT NATIVE WASPS)

[evanwevand]

Stop demonizing wasps

Just leave them alone please

[inquisitorius-sin-bin]

Ramble at me about some of your favourite bits of Ride Or Die symbolism

Oooo there is SO much to choose from.

So, I'm going to pick one I haven't really touched on before, even if it is really minor.

So we've mentioned the Kite Clan members are falconers, and we've even named the species of Drago, Bolen, and Dralla's birds.

Drago's bird is the strongwind kite, which is heavily based on the real life Swallowtail Kite.

However, the outlined, luminius feathers his clan uses as favors are from the Black-billed magpie.

...and the strongwind kite is described as having four legs instead of two. Still, let's talk about this kite!

It is a graceful bird native to where I live. Small and fragile compared to other birds of prey, not unlike the status of Kite clan itself. It's a stunning bird, and Drago is described as a particularly handsome Pau'an- tall with long facial marks, pearly black eyes, crooked teeth, etc.. They are known for their acrobatics and relatively docile nature, and are primarily insect eaters. Kite clan members also heavily eat insects, earning them a notorious reputation among other Pau'an, and Drago is a known pacifist.

Now let's talk about Bolen's bird, the stingerbuzzard. So the only mention of this bird is in Chapter 25, in a short section where Dralla mentions gifting Nagee and his mate Pleida a jar of honey. This bird is based heavily on European and Oriental Honey Buzzards, which eat bees and wasps, and are sometimes seen flying off with their honeycombs.

Bolen is a very romantic individual with an emphasis on personal relationships and family. I thought it would be fitting to give him a bird who could give him something that is sort of a comfort to others. He's sacchrine-sweet with his grand gestures to others, singing songs for them and giving physical displays of affection, so the association with honey felt right for him.

And dear Dralla. The Pyrefalcon. So, in Australia there are 3 species of birds associated with wildfires, even those that have been seen specifically SPREADING wildfires to flush out wildlife to prey on. These are the Black Kite, the Whistling Kite, and the Brown Falcon. Obviously 2/3 of these are Kites, which is fitting in itself, but let's look a little deeper.

Falcons are also most strongly known for preying on other birds, which felt right. She's a human hunting and killing other humans that have invaded the Pau'an landscape. Tsino is a former Jedi who hunted other Jedi. It tracks with the company she keeps.

Fire has also obviously been a powerful force that we've spoken about in-depth as a metaphor. When wielded by the Empire, it brings about an absolute end, a final death to all things. In the hands of the Plainsmen, it brings about a cycle of rebirth and is both cause for mourning and the center of their celebrations.

So when we see the pyrefalcon chasing prey fleeing the fire, we can think of the Grand Inquisitor, the Imperial, hunting down the remaining Jedi scrambling to flee the destruction of Order 66.

Or, we can envision a more triumphant image of a human hunting humans alongside a former Imperial hunting Imperials, chasing the invading force off of their lands. Diving from great heights to strike unaware prey below just like a Peregrine Falcon does in real life.

There's the potential for both, it's really a sort of dark image, which is why I feel it fits the themes of the work so well!

Thank you for asking!