Styling and Beauty: Ad Lunam
Designer's Reflection: Ad Lunam
Obtained: Reminiscences of Starstream anniversary hell event
Rarity: UR
Attribute: Pink/Sweet
Awakened Suit: Ad Lucem
Story - transcripts from Designer's Reflection
Chapter 1 - Emerging Tune
Chapter 2 - Starry Melody
Chapter 3 - Dusk Moonfall
Chapter 4 - Dawn of Stars
Chapter 5 - Converging Light
Story - summarized
People on Miraland have always praised beauty, and from this constant worship the God of Styling and Beauty is born. The god senses a mother's love for her newborn baby and the great potential of the child, and the god decides that this is Their purpose: to cultivate the potential of beauty and guard it forever.
They use Their powers to unite the nearest stars into Starstream Islet. Next, They turn to the five realms of beauty from Miraland and create an envoy from each of them. Together they watch over the continent and preserve their own version of beauty. The God of Styling and Beauty turns to music to express Their love for humans and beauty.
Everything changes when Leonid appears. He escaped the Goddess of Desire in the Abyss, and now he's set foot on Starstream Islet. The God of Styling and Beauty spends nine days with him, learning about humans and asking about his own journey for beauty. But Leonid's appearance upsets the old gods, who always thought themselves superior to humanity, and thus consider it heresy to mingle with humans as equals.
The War of the Gods begins, but the God of Styling and Beauty could see that the war was affecting Miraland. Without humans, there would be no beauty or music or worship. So, to protect the world, the God of Styling and Beauty unravels Their power, falling and plunging into the ether between realms.
Not truly dead but not alive anymore, the God of Styling and Beauty merely exists, cut off from everything. But eventually, a single faint star appears. Then another, and another. Slowly, a shimmering Star Sea forms, and Nikki appears. She failed again to save Miraland from destruction, but tired as she may be, she won't give up protecting her friends.
This sincerity touches the God of Styling and Beauty. In Their last moments, They create the bridge between Miraland and the Ocean of Memories. Now every human can access Styling Power.
One more star shines in this dark world. The god senses a strong kindness and love of beauty radiating from it. So, the god pushes that light toward Nikki, and that's how you meet Nikki at the Gate of Heart. Now, you have the blessing and power of the God of Styling and Beauty, forever tied to the fallen god, but living out Their dreams to the fullest.
Connections
-There are hints throughout the game that you're the resurrected God of Styling and Beauty. The first is the game mechanics: it's easy for you to access people's memories through the Ark without anyone escaping (like Yexiao in Blooming Magnolia) or cracking and upsetting the balance of memories and magic on the Ark (like the Whales Fall, Flowers Bloom hell event). The other is that at first, in Vol. 1, Nikki hears you in her head, which is a common way for gods to communicate silently or meaningfully with humans.
-Even though there are no musical instruments in the completed suit, the God of Styling plays songs. This is a reference to Leonid's suit and Reflection, Prophecy. He meets the God of Styling and Beauty after escaping the Abyss, and the God is playing a harp.
-The God of Styling and Beauty finds Nikki as she creates the Star Sea dress. It's possible that the voice she hears in the trailer for the Reflection is Them telling her, "You can do it."
-Music is important to the God of Styling and Beauty, so it makes sense why Leonid sought Modric as a student and taught him powers associated with music. In Journey of Memory, Modric learns the song that, when played on the piano, will take away someone's memories. He did that with Joy after she regretted betraying Nikki in Vol. 1, Ch. 9.
Fun Facts
-This is the second shiny UR Reflection, the first one being Nikki's Guides of Star.
-When the God of Styling and Beauty asks if Their hymn to humans is good, Aloysius is quick to point out that humans and divinity should be separated, and that humans serve and praise the divine, not the other way around. This foreshadows Aloysius' deep-seated hatred of humanity and his ultimate betrayal during the War of the Gods.
-Throughout the fifth chapter transcript, the backgrounds show places referring to the other anniversary events (Angel/Demon, Water/Fire, and Star/Black Hole), as well as the envoys and some of the places they adored the most (Cicia for Dodora, the Tree of Life for Aloysius).
-Even though the God of Styling and Beauty talks about starlight and moonlight, Their avatar art has a pinkish-purple hue. This is probably the inspiration for the special rainbow dye that comes for free after you complete the suit.
-Since the player is the reincarnation of the God of Styling and Beauty, the god's character art has no distinct features and no face. That way, everyone can be a god, no appearance restrictions.
-The God of Styling and Beauty mentions that now that humans have Styling Power, that there is a bit of Them in every human. This is similar to the Christian concept of every human having a part of god within them (whether this is just breath/spirit or more metaphysical, is up to debate within the religion).
-Another tie to religion is the concept of reincarnation, like in Buddhism, Jainism, or Hinduism. Furthermore, since the God of Styling has fulfilled all Their wishes and found perfect peace, there is no reason for Them to be reborn and (if there's a "final heaven" or resting place for the soul) They can move on.
