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I saw a Sailor Country contest and couldn't resist:

Sailor Country ContestHey guys! Been a while since I did a contest. So here it is! (It's on FB too here : https://www.facebook.com/notes/val4s/sailor-country-contest/821011954626136 )
****EDIT**** Added more entries!!!
The Theme:
Quite simple, you have to create a Sailor after a specific country. (You can also go for a state, or province. As long as the flag's colours are predominant)
The Deadline:
The contest will be running from the 5th of January untill the 31st of March.
The Rules:
You can only submit one design per country, up to 3 submissions total.Do try to choose a country that's related to you (family ancestry and such). Or if you choose another country, try one we don't hear much about.Keep the designed senshi as close as possible to the ethnicity from which she's from.Once your design is submitted, you can't change it so be sure before sending it.Make sure the image quality is good (as in we can see the details correctly, so no blurry pictures pl

So, Sailor Germany!

Name: Diota Müller

Age: 23

Main Attacks:
Wiederaufbau - Less an attack and more of a powerful healing spell, in which she writes out words of encouragement with her staff. Those words then wrap around the injured, demotivated or mentally weakened party and boost their abilities, health and confidence.
Einigkeit und Recht und Freiheit - Again she writes out words with her staff, usually a reflection of her own feelings and thoughts, which then wrap around the head of her opponent to make them abruptly develop an understanding of her point of view, whether or not they inherently agree with it, and of the fact that every sentient being around them is a sentient being with a history, life and world of emotions. While this doesn't force the opponent into any action, it can quickly make them doubt their mission or entire worldview.

The rules for this contest included making the senshi the prevalent ethnicity in the respective country, something people would probably normally take to mean that this character should be white. But I gave her brown skin, eyes and hair - because Germany is one of the most ethnically diverse countries ever. We sit at the heart of Europe, or at least are central enough to have a long history of people traveling to and from our country, often in the process of laying out trading routes to lead through the continent as a whole. Did you know that Saint Maurice/St. Mauritius, the Knight of the Holy Lance and patron saint of the Holy Roman Germanic Empire, was black ? Or that some of the most influential people in our history share this trait, like Beethoven ?

I'm not saying that Germans aren't mostly bright-skinned, because many of them are. However, almost none of us can trace their roots back very far without discovering tons of foreign or mixed-race ancestors and family members. Germany has always been a place where the cultures mingled, and so I felt that the "stereotypical" German - blue eyes, blond hair, bright skin - was completely out of place for this. In fact, I know like two people who even fit this color scheme - and the hair of one of them already has gotten very dark with age, because that's how it works for some reason. Germans usually have brown or dirty blond hair and brown or brown-green eyes. And all kinds of different hues for their skintone.

I also gave her Vitiligo though, to find a visual display of the torn nature of Germany at times. Germany is a very young and unusual nation. England, France and Russia have been nations for ages already when the many tribes of Germany suddenly decided to be a country, too. After World War I, Germans began to segregate out of antisemitism. And after World War II, the nation was divided up until a few months before my birth. Divide and separation has always been a huge theme in our history and culture, as has the longing for unity. I felt like giving the character this skin, divided into two different hues, visualised that neatly. I also think this is a nice compromise for everyone who might feel disappointed about her being mixed-race.

Her weapon is a staff reminiscent of an ink pen, symbolising the art and science Germany is still trying to shine with. Her attacks are probably strongly based on the power of words, and she might be (in DnD terms) kind of a Bard/supporting character. Since Germany is good at supporting things - in good cases like charity-organisations just as much as in bad cases like war - and doesn't meddle with many things directly anymore.

The bird by her side is the German Federal Eagle . While most contemporary depictions of it look less intimidating, I wanted to take the elements that have been in most depictions of it, like the fearsome dark feathers and red beak. I like the idea that the eagle is a fearsome companion to this senshi, intimidating and at times with tendencies to go for cruel options - Germany always prided itself on it's logic and power, and we see what that has led to. The senshi though is the much needed counter-element of change, understanding, and empathy as brought on by smart pieces of the fine arts. She needs to teach this old spirit a lot about respecting life and rediscovering beauty in the things that are different, even if the eagle can't understand them.

I kind of didn't want to give her a name, partially because names give away a lot of background, and she's supposed to be at least enough of a blank slate for a whole nation to fit in. But I settled on Diota, since it means "the people" or "humans" and is the word from with 'Deutschland' ("Land of the Deutsch" = "Land of the Diota" = "Land of the people") evolved. She does have a bit of a personality though - namely she loves everything creative and artistic, and is very loyal.

By the way, I opted to not put in any elements like dirndls or such because most of the stereotypically German clothing bits are not really German, but rather Bavarian. Bavaria is that little buttface in the corner which agrees with the rest of Germany that it's really not German at all. So... no Oktoberfest references to find here. Sorry!

Description
I saw a Sailor Country contest and couldn't resist:

Sailor Country ContestHey guys! Been a while since I did a contest. So here it is! (It's on FB too here : https://www.facebook.com/notes/val4s/sailor-country-contest/821011954626136 )
****EDIT**** Added more entries!!!
The Theme:
Quite simple, you have to create a Sailor after a specific country. (You can also go for a state, or province. As long as the flag's colours are predominant)
The Deadline:
The contest will be running from the 5th of January untill the 31st of March.
The Rules:
You can only submit one design per country, up to 3 submissions total.Do try to choose a country that's related to you (family ancestry and such). Or if you choose another country, try one we don't hear much about.Keep the designed senshi as close as possible to the ethnicity from which she's from.Once your design is submitted, you can't change it so be sure before sending it.Make sure the image quality is good (as in we can see the details correctly, so no blurry pictures pl

So, Sailor Germany!

Name: Diota Müller

Age: 23

Main Attacks:
Wiederaufbau - Less an attack and more of a powerful healing spell, in which she writes out words of encouragement with her staff. Those words then wrap around the injured, demotivated or mentally weakened party and boost their abilities, health and confidence.
Einigkeit und Recht und Freiheit - Again she writes out words with her staff, usually a reflection of her own feelings and thoughts, which then wrap around the head of her opponent to make them abruptly develop an understanding of her point of view, whether or not they inherently agree with it, and of the fact that every sentient being around them is a sentient being with a history, life and world of emotions. While this doesn't force the opponent into any action, it can quickly make them doubt their mission or entire worldview.

The rules for this contest included making the senshi the prevalent ethnicity in the respective country, something people would probably normally take to mean that this character should be white. But I gave her brown skin, eyes and hair - because Germany is one of the most ethnically diverse countries ever. We sit at the heart of Europe, or at least are central enough to have a long history of people traveling to and from our country, often in the process of laying out trading routes to lead through the continent as a whole. Did you know that Saint Maurice/St. Mauritius, the Knight of the Holy Lance and patron saint of the Holy Roman Germanic Empire, was black ? Or that some of the most influential people in our history share this trait, like Beethoven ?

I'm not saying that Germans aren't mostly bright-skinned, because many of them are. However, almost none of us can trace their roots back very far without discovering tons of foreign or mixed-race ancestors and family members. Germany has always been a place where the cultures mingled, and so I felt that the "stereotypical" German - blue eyes, blond hair, bright skin - was completely out of place for this. In fact, I know like two people who even fit this color scheme - and the hair of one of them already has gotten very dark with age, because that's how it works for some reason. Germans usually have brown or dirty blond hair and brown or brown-green eyes. And all kinds of different hues for their skintone.

I also gave her Vitiligo though, to find a visual display of the torn nature of Germany at times. Germany is a very young and unusual nation. England, France and Russia have been nations for ages already when the many tribes of Germany suddenly decided to be a country, too. After World War I, Germans began to segregate out of antisemitism. And after World War II, the nation was divided up until a few months before my birth. Divide and separation has always been a huge theme in our history and culture, as has the longing for unity. I felt like giving the character this skin, divided into two different hues, visualised that neatly. I also think this is a nice compromise for everyone who might feel disappointed about her being mixed-race.

Her weapon is a staff reminiscent of an ink pen, symbolising the art and science Germany is still trying to shine with. Her attacks are probably strongly based on the power of words, and she might be (in DnD terms) kind of a Bard/supporting character. Since Germany is good at supporting things - in good cases like charity-organisations just as much as in bad cases like war - and doesn't meddle with many things directly anymore.

The bird by her side is the German Federal Eagle . While most contemporary depictions of it look less intimidating, I wanted to take the elements that have been in most depictions of it, like the fearsome dark feathers and red beak. I like the idea that the eagle is a fearsome companion to this senshi, intimidating and at times with tendencies to go for cruel options - Germany always prided itself on it's logic and power, and we see what that has led to. The senshi though is the much needed counter-element of change, understanding, and empathy as brought on by smart pieces of the fine arts. She needs to teach this old spirit a lot about respecting life and rediscovering beauty in the things that are different, even if the eagle can't understand them.

I kind of didn't want to give her a name, partially because names give away a lot of background, and she's supposed to be at least enough of a blank slate for a whole nation to fit in. But I settled on Diota, since it means "the people" or "humans" and is the word from with 'Deutschland' ("Land of the Deutsch" = "Land of the Diota" = "Land of the people") evolved. She does have a bit of a personality though - namely she loves everything creative and artistic, and is very loyal.

By the way, I opted to not put in any elements like dirndls or such because most of the stereotypically German clothing bits are not really German, but rather Bavarian. Bavaria is that little buttface in the corner which agrees with the rest of Germany that it's really not German at all. So... no Oktoberfest references to find here. Sorry!