I like that Dante gives hugs and kisses

[UnstarPrime]

I've been using Dante for weeks now and I'm still charmed by the fact that he casts his spells with X's and O's; it's such a simple yet flavorful flourish.

• In English, X's and O's can be used as a short-hand for hugs and kisses.
• In Japanese, the image of a circle carries the approximate meaning of "Yes/Correct" while the image of an X carries the approximate meaning of "No/Incorrect".
• X's and O's are key markers in the game Tic-Tac-Toe (or "noughts and crosses", depending on your locale).
• X's and O's are letters, and can thus be used to spell words.  Spelling "OX" will cast Wordwarden and summon a book (perhaps the book contains the word "OX" somewhere within its many pages?)
• X's and O's are used to denote the locations of allies and enemies in American football.

And these are just a few of the possible ways to evoke meaning from the symbols that Dante carves into reality with his magic fingers; due to their simplicity and universality, they end up open to a wide variety of interpretations, and I think that's pretty neat.

Spoiler

[Circle_of_Psi]

[BiancaRoughfin]

23 minutes ago, UnstarPrime said:

• X's and O's are key markers in the game Tic-Tac-Toe (or "noughts and crosses", depending on your locale).

Me imagining Dante and Loid playing Tic-Tac-Toe, Dante doing the X and smashing the game in half.

[(PSN)slightconfuzzled]

Thats clearly Dante propaganda and preaching! 

He clearly has a book, and kills lots of people. Dante therefore is Kira with his Death Note! Some sort of follower or possibly a second Kira! 

The similarities are too similar! Those hugs and kisses... are more like... kisses of death! Cue dramatic music! 

More seriously though, cool interpretation, from someone who takes an interest in the symbology there. Little movie reference for ya there. 

 

[TeaHands]

This is what I immediately thought of when I saw Dante using his powers.

 

Edited April 24 by TeaHands

[quxier]

Quote

I like that Dante gives hugs and kisses

1 hour ago, UnstarPrime said:

In English, X's and O's can be used as a short-hand for hugs and kisses.

 

Hmmm.. hmmm....oh. I guess Dante is "family person" ("something" changed him ;) )

 

1st Noctua:

Quote

Etymology

Feminine of an otherwise-unattested *noctuus (“nocturnal”), from nox (“night”).

Pronunciation

• (Classical) IPA^(key): /ˈnok.tu.a/, [ˈnɔkt̪uä]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /ˈnok.tu.a/, [ˈnɔkt̪uä]

Noun

noctua f (genitive noctuae); first declension

1. owl (small)

https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/noctua

So it can be interpreted as "night activity".

 

Wordwarden:

I'm looking too much into it but it sounds like "person that keeps their words aka not lying"

 

Pageflight:

Those looks like "book marks" e.g. https://www.etsy.com/market/book_marker

It can be generalized into some sort of Origami.

Here is 2 quotes:

https://www.origamispirit.com/2013/06/an-origami-owl-perfect-as-a-gift-card-holder/

Quote

Owl Symbolism
Learning, wisdom, helpfulness, guidance, mystery, foresight, magic, status, intelligence, intuition, wealth, darkness, prophecy, keeper of spirits who have passed from one plane to another.

https://www.superprof.com.au/blog/meaning-of-origami/

Quote

Fukurou, the Origami Owl

Along with the crane and the fish, the Fukurou (owl) is one of the most popular origami designs.

Lots of different cultures have revered the owl for a range of reasons. In North America, the owl tends to be considered a wise creature. In pop culture, they are often depicted as scholarly and serious.

The belief that owls are wise likely dates back to ancient Greek mythology in which owls were associated with Athena, the goddess of wisdom. In later years, the owl was imprinted on Greek coins, leading it to eventually become associated with the accumulation of wealth.

Some Native American cultures also have a history of traditions and legends regarding the owl. Owls were viewed as protectors, with some tribes wearing owl feathers in the hopes of warding off evil spirits.

The Japanese did not originally view the owl as a symbol of wisdom nor wealth. Rather, the owl or Fukurou was associated with luck. Like numerous other Asian cultures, the Japanese place a great deal of value on the idea of generating luck and good fortune.

For this reason, Japanese people, even in modern times, may carry or wear an owl charm in the hope of attracting good luck and warding off bad luck.

While the fukurou will always be a symbol of luck in Japanese culture, modern Japanese have also come to consider the owl a wise creature. This is likely due to the influence of western culture on the east.

So except that mysticism/magic/knowledge kind of things it's "protector". So you know, person that protect their family.

 

Triumph/Tragedy:

Your gameplay may be different but when it comes to Triumph & Tragedy I use to "Triumph a lot" at the beginning then go to Tragedy. So you can say that tragedy is what comes after triumph. :|

 

Summing up:

His whole kit maybe described as being family guy and activities *cough* related to it.

In the night (1st Noctua), you set the mood like candles or some music (Pageflight). You talk with your partner (Wordwarden) about your & your partner's needs. You continue with lots of hugs & kisses (Light & Dark verses). Then you Triumph*. After that there is Tragedy*.

* I'm sorry, I had to make it SFW. You know what I mean.

 

ps. Think of it as half serious half joke. I had fun writing this based on knowledge that I've found.

 

2 hours ago, UnstarPrime said:

I've been using Dante for weeks now and I'm still charmed by the fact that he casts his spells with X's and O's; it's such a simple yet flavorful flourish.

*chef's kiss*

I'm VERY into magic systems. Looking at changes from simple "X" and "O" from Devstream to gameplay visual were amazing. They have done great job! However it was just "ok, those 2 symbols looks amazing... and that's it". I had 0 thought about them. Reading your post OP made me appreciate this frame even more. You have my gratitude.

1 hour ago, (PSN)slightconfuzzled said:

Thats clearly Dante propaganda and preaching! 

He clearly has a book, and kills lots of people. Dante therefore is Kira with his Death Note! Some sort of follower or possibly a second Kira! 

The similarities are too similar! Those hugs and kisses... are more like... kisses of death! Cue dramatic music! 

More seriously though, cool interpretation, from someone who takes an interest in the symbology there. Little movie reference for ya there. 

 

From darker side it make "sense". From the Leverian:

Spoiler

Dante returns changed, hearing voices.