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Hello Everyone This is Buck and I hope you are doing well today. I just got done playing Ad Astra a Visual Novel by Echo Project over the weekend.

If You are A furry or a Member of the LGBTQ community then this Novel will be especially fun for you, but don't let a little guy on guy action get in the way of a good story because you can skip certain sections if you like and just enjoy the story. The writing itself is really awesome to me personally and if you love History especially ancient roman history then this Visual Novel will hit the spot for you to and allow you to notice some key areas where it might have taken some inspiration from actual events in Roman history and others from Roman myth and legend. Throughout this Article I'll touch lightly on some of these. Feel free to comment bellow about any that you personally noticed yourself or if you think I missed any which I'm sure I did.

Marcos AKA The Human!

The name Marcos means Of Mars and is of Portuguese origin. May Have been inspired by Marcus Aurelius a Stoic Philosopher and emperor of Rome known as the last of the 5 great emperors

Marcos is a guy I'd like to say is in denial at the beginning and doesn't want to admit that he is suffering from a disease Called Isekaitus popularized by some guy in his mothers basement! Marcos is also suffering from a major case of bitch toast as well. This is understandable most of the time after being taken by a certain space wolf from his study abroad, but at certain points his personality can be abrasive as he is not really considering the feelings of others or often assuming the intents of the aliens around him. Again due to the politicking and constant backstabbing going on it is understandable why he would react in some of the manners he does, but for some it may be a turn off sadly. I personally still love the human character as the chemistry he and Amicus share is really something.

Marcos is a guy I'd like to say is in denial at the beginning and doesn't want to admit that he is suffering from a disease Called Isekaitus popularized by some guy in his mothers basement! Marcos is also suffering from a major case of bitch toast as well. This is understandable most of the time after being taken by a certain space wolf from his study abroad, but at certain points his personality can be abrasive as he is not really considering the feelings of others or often assuming the intents of the aliens around him. Again due to the politicking and constant backstabbing going on it is understandable why he would react in some of the manners he does, but for some it may be a turn off sadly. I personally still love the human character as the chemistry he and Amicus share is really something.

Amicus

The meaning of Amicus is "Friend".

•Coming to an Amicable arrangement, Amicus Briefs aka Amicus curiae in Latin which means friend of the court.

•HE IS BEST BOY, HUSBANDO and a True Bara Wolf Shonen Protagonist!

•He is Definitely what results when a Snug Wolf and a Hug Wolf Combine into one big Fluffy Boy!

Amicus due to being in line for the emperorship of Adastra and is duking it out with his brother definitely fits into the Roman creation myth of Romulus and Remus who were raised by a she wolf and eventually founded a city together, but not before Romulus slew his brother for the right to name the City Rome and its why its not called Reme...thank god! But it does explain why we say we are going to reme someone hehehe. But anyway the whole 2 wolf brothers fighting over the right to rule a kingdom just feels very much inspired by this ancient myth.

Amicus is definitely inspired as well by modern Shonen protagonists who are not often noted for their intelligence, but instead by their overwhelming strength and determination. Along with Huge stomachs, hearts of gold and a love for fighting and other tests of strength. So Your Human character better be ready to support this big loveable hunks love of sweets and large portions of Roman themed food!

Cassius

The name Cassius means Vain and is of Latin origin. Name inspired by Gaius Cassius Longinus Conspirator against JuliusCaesar Despite wearing his Vanity on his Sleeve Cassius genuinely cares about his own people especially those who are poor or impoverished due to his illness growing up. He is very much the type of guy who would punch an antivaxxer in the face! He is also the definition of a smug wolf! Cassius is very much The emdiment of that Ancient roman take on Remulus who was killed by his brother for the naming of the city, but even so he challenged his brother for the throne and wanted to do things his way. Giving off a persona of the people who were forgotten by the empire Cassius wants to go to a more isolationist way of thinking and very much become similar to Julius Ceaser in our world where power is located more so in the crown rather than in the Triumvirate of Ad astra. Ceaser took many similar actions during his reign towards wealthy land owners and sought to improve representation of the people by enhancing the number of people in the senate...which is the opposite of abolishing the govenors who are elected by the people, but the methods of trying to effect change and root out corruption were very much agendas of the day in both cases.

Virginia

Virginia is a feminine given name derived from the Ancient Roman family name Virginius, a name probably derived from the Latin word virgo, meaning "maiden" or "virgin." According to legend, Virginia was a Roman girl who was killed by her father in order to save her from seduction by the corrupt government official Appius Claudius Crassus.[1]

•She is very much a plotter and planner and seeks to maintain her role in the government no matter who is in charge. Very shrewd and good at manipulating the situation to her advantage. Hates people being late especially her brothers. Virginia's marriage to Cato towards the later half of the visual novel was a direct inspiration for an incident that led to massive revolts in rome because they had overthrown their kings and were a republic, but a corrupt politician who was trying to make himself king very much like Cato is attempting to make himself emperor fell in love with Virginia and forced her to marry him by having one of his supporters claim that she was a slave of his. This eventually led to her death by the hands of her father in order to free her from her fate. In Ad Astra a knife is used in this scene, but I wont spoil as to who it is used on but I will say its not Virginia.

Two ladies fair, but most unfortunate

Have in their ruins rais'd declining Rome,

Lucretia and Virginia, both renowned

For chastity.

Alexios

The name Alex means Defender Of The People and is of English origin.The question still remains as towho's people he is looking out for.The Word Gossip is this cats middle name and he will sleep, drink and screw over whomever he has to to get what he wants. Code Name is Chaos!Alexios because of his namesake and sexual relationship with Cassius and his peoples association with Greece is a slight inspiration for Alexander the great who conquered much of the known world in his time. Alexios although crafty, shrewd and meticulous in his plots and sending back information to his homeland is not a conqueror, but he is a lover of a man as Alexander was to Hephaestion a Macedonian nobleman. The grapes he wears on his ears a representation of Bacchus in our world and his willingness to get Cassius drunk, his love of academia from his homeland and general disdain for Adastra speak to the real world rivalry that the Greeks and Romans held during the the early parts of their History. But his love of Cassius Shows the way the two cultures are so heavily intertwined with their gods, love of the arts and theatrical performances.

Neferu

Meaning"the beauty"

•Named after an ancient queen of Egypt

•Is a Master of Flirting 101

•His theme song would be walks like an Egyptian by the Bangles

•The Very definition of sweet and sassy!

Neferu and the Khemians are very much a representation of Egypt and during the time of ancient Rome the two cultures were very close to one another only ending with the death of Cleopatra last pharaoh of Egypt. With her lover Marc Anthony Egypt was also conquered by Alexander the great who's successor kingdoms after his death kept the tradition of pharaoh going until her death and were influenced by the Greek's as well. Alexandria being a prime example of this.

Neferu being a Jackal/Golden Wolf is also a connection with Anubis who is the god of death, mummification, embalming, the afterlife, cemeteries, tombs, and the Underworld. Anubis means A royal child which is fascinating with Neferu being the second son of the pharaoh of Khemia.

Also the fact that Neferu applies sex and seduction to get his way very much fits within the mythos of how Cleopatra acted towards Julius Caesar and Mark Anthony to secure her kingdoms survival even under Roman rule.

Cato

•The name Cato means Good Judgement, Wise and is of Latin origin. Ironic because this Cato turns out to be haunted by the war with Khemia and bears bigoted behaviors towards Neferu and the other Children of Khemia throughout the Novel.

•Could have been inspired by Cato the Elder or Cato the Younger who were Both famous in Ancient Rome for their conservatism, being against Hellenism and Very much standing up to the corruption of the Era they existed. Cato the Younger had a lengthy conflict with Julius Caesar during the Roman Civil war against Caesar and His fellow Triumvirate's Crassus and Pompey.

•I found this particularly interesting because of Cato's desire to dissolve the Adastran Empires Triumvirates and orders exactly that at one point.

Cato as a character takes influence from many areas as he is inspired by a number of men and is a list of contradictions in his behavior. His marriage to Virginia again causes him to be related to Appius Claudius Crassus who lusted after Virginia in ancient Rome and like Crassus was overthrown and the rule of Kings later abolished, which at the end of Ad Astra is heavily hinted at as what the efforts of the Parents in Ad Astra will lead to and Amicus will eventually hand over control of the empire to the people fully allowing for the formation of a true Republic. Much like the Roman Republic in our world.

The Monitors

•Clearly inspired by both Eastern Dragons and the Watchers from Christianity as they are responsible for enforcing the Laws handed down by the Parents and seeing to it that the Parents will is carried out in the Universe that Adastra is a part of. The Monitors seem only interested in those deemed worthy by the Parents and very Dismissive of anyone else. Those who try to contact the parents without it being in the will of the parents often find the Monitors attempting to mock or toy with them if they do not dismiss you outright in the first place. False emperors and those who fall out of the will of the parents especially see the monitors as demons or vile apparitions.

Watcher (Aramaic ???? ?iyr, plural ??????? ?iyrin, [?i?r(i?n)]; Theodotian trans: ir; from the root of Heb. ?er, "awake, watchful".[1] Greek: ?????????, transl.: egr?goroi; "Watchers", "those who are awake"; "guard", "watcher"[2]) is a term used in connection with biblical angels. Watcher occurs in both plural and singular forms in the Book of Daniel (4th-2nd century BC), where reference is made to their holiness. The apocryphal Books of Enoch (2nd-1st centuries BC) refer to both good and bad Watchers, with a primary focus on the rebellious ones.

The Parents

Interdimensional beings on the level of gods or God himself as they are an amalgamation of different entities who have given themselves over to the parents to live in eternity as a cacophony of voices being separated and reformed into something new and the original souls cease to exist as an individual entity at all but as many speaking as one. Those who follow the parents have a similar choice as that found in the Christian faith. You either follow the Will of the parents or you cease to exist. It is unknown whether you fall down into where the other is located or merely stop existing altogether. The Parents are very much the embodiment of the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few. This is largely seen through how they manipulate those who follow them into doing what they ask in return for gifts and favors that they could not otherwise achieve. A give and take relationship often reserved for emperors or those able to commune with them. They can be assholes!

Ancient Rome and Ancient China had this philosophy of trying to keep the empire in balance on a spiritual level essentially when the empire wasn't doing well it was because they were not honoring a particular god or were outside of their will so they would either cut off communication with them or cause disaster to befall the empire. That's why Rome would ensure shrines were built to every god and every religion was worshipped so that every god was respected and the empire could flourish. The Chinese similarly held that the Emperor was only on the throne so long as the heavens were satisfied and whenever they weren't the nation would fall into disarray and civil war to replace the emperor would inevitably commence.

When it comes to the Parents I find it fascinating that they felt the need to press the issue of Loyalty with Amicus because he was already a devout follower of there's and to force him to submit in the manner that they did one must really ask if the parents are all good or what ulterior motives they may have in this story. I guess it's because I've always been taught that if you have the power to effect change or help others then you should do just that. To allow another to die when they are in need is counter to that thinking for me. The Hippocratic oath of doctors is to help or at least to do no harm. For the watchers to give the ultimatum that they do in the story of submit to us or condemn this person to death is not a choice...it's just cruelty on the part of the divine in my book. The same in Christianity of accept Jesus or face eternal damnation is very much counter to a fully freely made choice, but instead the illusion of one.