hair analysis pt 2
part two to this hair headcanon post i made a while ago that talked about aphmau, laurance, and katelyn’s hair. now we’re talking about gene, garroth, and cassandra :P
masterlist | aphmau masterlist
Gene Accardi
for reference i mostly imagine @crows-of-crows gene design for his visuals, especially his hair
gene oh gene. gene my love. gene your hair.
I actually think he'd have super nice hair. it's his genetics.
it’s sort of effortless healthy. like he doesn't even have to try to make it nice and luxurious and that's kind of to convey that he's smooth and attractive without effort. it's to show that he could get what he wants without trying
it’s isn’t super long but he CAN tie it back and he often does to sort of keep it off his neck and out of his eyes
his hair doesn’t ever really get long because he’s misogynistic in my rewrite and (like i’ll highlight in garroth’s) gene sees long hair as a woman thing and doesn’t want to fall into feminine stereotypes
when he’s younger his hair is really messy. this obviously is because he’s like a child/pre-teen but also partly because he’s navigating his mnemokinesis (off topic but i learned that word and that’s what memory based powers are actually called, just though i’d share) and doesn’t exactly know how to handle it quite yet
he initially starts pulling it back when he first goes to the guard academy. there it’s neat for the most part but when he discovers that he can actually use his memory manipulation to his advantage, there’s a couple locks that start to sort of fall out of place
when he returns to Borobos it goes back to being a nicer pull back. there isn’t really anything out of place and if there is, then it’s intentional
his hair remains the same during the Borobos arc. this is to show that he’s the only “stable” one visually. i’ve said before that during the Borobos arc Cassandra and Dante are both unreliable narrators, and their hair gets progressively messy to reflect that. Gene’s neater hair is kind of a nod to the fact that he’s the only one with the whole truth, even if he lies about or doesn’t share it
however. the one thing that Gene ends up being sort of iffy on is when he actually attacked Borobos and did his whole massacre thing
during that, his hair is messy. it’s frizzy, it’s matter with blood, it’s wet with sweat, his hair during that is gross
it’s the only time the audience sees his hair like that, even in later scenes of the rewrite. i want that to kind of be a mirror into how out of control he’s become because he turned into a shadow knight. it’s going to be a look into how far he’s willing to go with his whatever it takes mindset
after that incident when he appears to Cassandra (whether it’s in her dreams or in a physical sense that i haven’t quite figured out yet) his hair is down. it’s shorter on one side and kind of swooped over, but it’s nice. it’s presentable, and Gene makes that appearance intentional to gaslight Cassandra into a false sense of security (reason for tha being pretty privilege and how people tend to gravitate toward more attractive, put together people)
i haven’t really figured his hair out for post-Borobos. however, during fights or like big reveals it is a little messier and more out of place. it’s kind of to show that when he’s standing on his own he presents as this high and mighty figure but when someone challenges him that persona starts crumbling just a little bit
Garroth Ro’Meave
Garroth Ro'Meave hehehe
okay basically like the entire time he's in O'Khasis his hair is very clean. it's short, it's styled, it's clean, it's carefully groomed, he's clean shaven even after he reached the point where he can grow a beard, there is never a hair out of place
it's a reflection of his father. calculated, groomed, deliberate. like a doll or a statue
and when I say Garroth's hair is never out of place when he's in O'Khasis I mean it is NEVER out of place. it's neat in front of everyone, even his own mother at one point
even when he's by himself his hair is very well trained so it tends to just naturally fall nicely. this is to convey that even in the privacy of his own mind, Garroth cannot escape his legacy, more specifically that of his father
in my rewrite I have a sort of jousting scene when Garroth returns from the guard academy. this is one of only two notable times Garroth's hair falls out of place and as a result his father is livid (not because of the hair, but his missed hair in the following scene acts as a reminder that they aren't the same person)
also!! Garroth's hair is unruly in the following scene while Garte scolds him because it's a callback to a child! it's to reflect that even though he's the spitting image of Garte, he still feels smaller!
the next time Garroth's hair is messy before he leaves O'Khasis is when he meets with con men to arrange his death. the con men even make jokes and poke at Garroth about it, making offhanded comments about how rebellious he's being. his hair is part of that because no one ever sees his hair out of place!
now when he leaves O'Khasis. he lets it grow out just a little. in my rewrite Garroth has very bad internalized sexism/misogyny and homophobia. to him, long hair is something feminine. something for women. Garte has drilled into his head from a very young age that women are inherently weaker than men, and Garroth further internalized that by asking himself why else Zianna would stay with Garte other than that she's weak?
it's not on purpose that he thinks that, of course. Donna ends up radicalizing him and showing him that women aren't weak and can do just as much as men can, even making him remember Azura from his academy days
but this is about Garroth's hair. when he first escapes from O'Khasis, Garroth lets his hair grow just a bit but tends to keep it short. He isn't as meticulous with styling it, but because of how long it's stayed in the same style it kind of just falls that way
I also like to think that after running away Garroth has like an identity crisis and keeps his hair short and beard shaven to remind him of O'Khasis. it's a really nuanced feeling I haven't quite figured out yet BUT. it is there
as he gets more comfortable in Phoenix Drop he kind of lets stubble grow. he keeps everything under the helmet and still pretty short just because it gets hot
but AFTER THE HELMET!! we see Garroth having a little bit of a struggle with himself via his hair. it isn't as trained anymore and it's almost like he doesn't know how to style it
Garroth lets his beard grow even more. he lets it get long and discovers that it's wavy?? his hair is wavy??
ANDDDDDD. I've said before that Laurance's long hair is symbolic of his happiness. Laurance lets his hair grow long and majestic because he doesn't care about gender norms. Garroth sees this and is envious of how comfortable Laurance is in his own skin. Garroth wishes he could share that sentiment
I haven't quite figured out anything after this, but I don't think he'd let it get too far past his shoulders. I think he'd be able to at least tie it back, but not anything super fancy
Cassandra Ramirez
for those of you unfamiliar with Cassandra Ramirez she’s an oc! she plays a pivotal part in the story of Borobos because she’s the girl Gene fell in love with, meaning she is the lord's daughter and the heir of Borobos
anyways! Cassandra follows the teachings of Irene very closely and to display her devotion, she grows out her hair and kind of covers it. her plan is to do that until she's married, so she's never cut it in her life
during the first arc of her story it's very neat and under control. it is curly but she clearly has a routine put in so it doesn't frizz too much or look brushed out. in fact she actually finger curls each strand when she washes her hair
she has a couple basic styles she cycles through. when her hair is completely down she covers it with a lace mantilla, which ties into a visual representation of her devotion to Irene (that part is inspired by Spanish Catholicism). she does tie it back sometimes, though its often in loose and simple styles
her go-to is a braid that twists her frame out of her face and goes down her back. she often wears this style during village meetings or when joining her father on professional trips
she tends to leave her hair down but pinned out of her face for more formal events that happen in her own village. this is used to show the love she has for her people and how she's willing to hear everyone out
however. Gene comes into the picture.
before he starts manipulating her memories, Cassandra starts wearing her hair in a tighter braid around him. it's not a French or dutch braid, just something simple that goes down her back, it's just tighter like I said. this is to visually symbolize her distrust of him
after he starts manipulating Cassandra's memories, we notice her hair get a little messier. where it was sleek and neater before, now she's letting it get frizzy, she's letting curls fall out of place, it's going back to looser styles but... messier?
when she's sleeping, she does keep it down. obviously, this parallels vulnerability. however there are a few scenes where Gene wakes her up for whatever reason. there's a few times it happens just to wake her up—when it does she pushed it out of her face and sort of keeps a hand on her head to keep it back. this has DOUBLE MEANING!!!
meaning one: it's clearing her vision. she doesn't trust Gene. doesn't even really like him aside from what he's forced on her. she's making sure she can see everything so she isn't hurt.
MEANING TWOO: HER HAND ON HER HEAD BEING WHAT KEEPS IT BACK. Cassandra obviously doesn't know that Gene's manipulating her memories, but the way he is able to do that is by touching her temple. if her hand is in the way, then he can't touch her head. it's a subtle way of protecting herself
now the more urgent scenes when she wakes up and he's there. she tries very hard to keep her hair out of her face to keep herself protected, but it's always falling into her eyes and obstructing her vision in these scenes. this goes to show just how much is on her mind if she can't control the one thing she always takes care of: her hair
immediately after the destruction of Borobos, Cassandra's hair is in complete disarray which is a reflection of her mental state and change of priorities. her home just got burned to the ground, her family died, her best friends are dead, something feels wrong but she doesn't know what it is
Laurance and Cadenza both help her get back on her feet, and as a result she lets her hair loose and uncovered around them. when she starts stepping back into a leader role, she foregoes the mantilla and switches to a net of hair kind of thing of like these pictures from Pinterest (which were the only ones I could find???):
SOMETHING like that. I will look for better reference pictures but basically what it's meant to convey is that she's become more guarded. she's more concerned with safety, especially her own. I've said before that after Borobos she puts more effort into creating a strong army and she's pickier with who she trusts.
however. if you'll notice. it's a very holey style. it can be something that's easily undone or moved. her curls are meant to come through the holes to show that her own walls aren't iron-clad. it's easy to move to show that she's still trusting of others if they make the right choice around her
she also continues to keep her hair long, which continues to connect her to Irene the Matron and her religious ideas
i’m always like “omg i love gene so much” and then i make analysis posts with him and he’s like the most heinous person 😭😭
i almost put dante on this post but i just started thinking about him and realized i haven’t really looked too in depth at the story i want to tell with him yet so. dante will come at a later date when i figure his place out
lmk if y’all wanna see hair analysis for anyone else in my rewrite :)
dividers: @/saradika-graphics @/cafekitsune
