The Canon Info Thread - What We Know

[tristePinguino]

I know this isn't exactly vital information, but when and why was it decided that Black Dahlia is no longer fully robotic from the waist down (to coincide with her namesake)?

I mainly ask because of the concept pieces included in the Digital Art Compendium, but it my assumption that said art is relatively recent. Like, from the time of her development as a playable DLC character.

 

[Chrono_Tata]

I know this isn't exactly vital information, but when and why was it decided that Black Dahlia is no longer fully robotic from the waist down (to coincide with her namesake)?

I mainly ask because of the concept pieces included in the Digital Art Compendium, but it my assumption that said art is relatively recent. Like, from the time of her development as a playable DLC character.

For the when, obviously some time during her gameplay development to her actual release, since as you say they are in the development sketches lol.

As for why, I think it could either be just a practical consideration, which is that she was rescued and then put back together after being injured by the Skullgirl, but it would be kinda hard to survive being bisected at the waist, so reducing the severity of her injuries would make more sense (I think a similar development happened to Band, comparing the early x-ray sketch that Alex showed vs the final injuries shown in his story); or it could be due to them not wanting to make too explicit of a reference to the murder of Elizabeth Short. Or both.

 

[Money_Lover]

I'm not sure it's a great look to list the three measurements of underage characters. But that's just my opinion.

I don't think that's an opinion thing that's just fact

 

[Chrono_Tata]

Okay there was a lore drop a while back on the SG socials (back when HVS was still working on the game) for the names of the other members of the Cirque des Cartes which I forgot to put in this thread. I'm putting them in now

https://twitter.com/x/status/1781805098563178924

• All the names of the main members of the Cirque des Cartes:
  • "Bert" Regent Bertolotto Balzary: The Ringleader (King card)
  • Regina: Beast tamer (Queen card)
  • Taliesin & Muse: Bard (Jack card)
  • "Stilts" Le Grand: Clown (Joker card)
  • Feng: Acrobat (Ace card)
  • Graber: Strongman (Spade suit)
  • Hubrecht: Strongman (Heart suit)
  • Cerebella: Acrobat (Diamond suit)
  • Beatrix: Knife thrower / magician (Club suit)

I also posted about the references for the names of the newly revealed character names on Discord a while back:

1) Regent Bertolotto Balzary

• Regent meaning king: obviously a reference to him representing the King face card
• His design is also meant to reference a flea (small stature, long antennae-like moustache, spikes on his boots), as a reference to flea circuses
• Bertolotto is a reference to Louis Bertolotto, the first recorded owner of a flea circus. Interestingly, his circus was located on Regent Street in London
• Balzary is the surname of Red Hot Chili Peppers' bassist, Flea

2) "Stilts" Le Grand

• Reference to one of the most famous "Pierrot" clown actors from the 19th Century, Paul Legrand
• "Le Grand" meaning big probably also refers to him being big, since he's a Gigan
• Stilts is a common prop for clowns and other entertainers to use to appear taller. Probably the inspiration why the clown character is the oversized one. Not sure if there is anything deeper with the nickname beyond that

3) Graber

• A German surname originating from the word "dig" (graben), and is an occupational name for grave or ditch diggers. Graber represents the Spade suit, and a spade is a digging tool
• Also most likely a wordplay on grabber, since he was supposed to be part of a "two-in-one" grappler character with Hubretcht, his strongman partner
• Both Hubrecht and Graber's names are Germanic in origin which is a nice touch

Since I'm making this post anyway, I guess I'll list out the references for the previously named characters as well, just for completion's sake:

4) Regina

• Regina is Latin meaning queen since she represents the Queen card. Interesting to note that the male form of Regina is Rex, not Regent which is the Ringleader's name. Regent does mean King in English which is based on a Latin word but not technically Latin
• Still, the similarity between their names (Regent and Regina) makes me wonder if they are related. Brother and sister perhaps

5) Taliesin and Muse

• Taliesin was the name of a famous bard from 6th century Britain. Taliesin in Skullgirls is also a bard, or at least some sort of musical performer. I don't think there are any references between him and the real-life Taliesin beyond that
• The Muses are the goddesses of the arts in Greek mythology, and the origin of the word music, so a reference to her appearance and power to turn people into musical instruments

6) Feng

• Feng is Chinese meaning wind, the word being most known in the West as part of "Fengshui", Chinese geomancy that revolves around the flow of chi. Feng's design is inspired by the Taiji or Yin-Yang symbol, which is a key concept in Fengshui. Her origin story is also heavily connected to Fengshui concepts

7) Hubretcht

• A Dutch name literally meaning "bright heart", which is a good description of his appearance and personality. Apart from that, I don't think he has any references to real people of the same name

8) Cerebella

• Reference to the "cerebellum" which is a part of the brain that coordinates voluntary movements, balance, posture, and motor learning. Most likely a reference to her being an acrobat, as well as her Living Weapon Vice Versa being worn on her head

9) Beatrix

• Honestly I don't think there is any reference to her name. Most likely it is just a pun on the "trix" in her name, with her being a magician that uses tricks. The literal meaning of her name doesn't really connect to her power or personality, and I don't think there are any notable Beatrixes that are related to the circus, knife or magic