"Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there."

As the morning sun finally broke the horizon, Amber's thoughts turn to that part of the song. This part of the city had been ruined by the battle that waged through the night. Many buildings had been damaged in the fighting, and by enemy vessels knocked out of the sky. In spite of the wreckage and casualties, Amber greets the dawn with a smile. "We didn't just survive...we won. And we'll continue to live on and thrive. It's a victory for everyone who lives under our star spangled banner."

She looks up at the flag and thinks about the significance of its design. The 13 stripes represent the 13 colonies that sought liberty and sovereignty. The 50 stars represent the 50 states of the union, along with all the people of those states and their different walks of life. The red means valor and strength. The white symbolizes purity and innocence. And the blue means perseverance and justice. It is a banner signifying unity, a symbol of people who have their differences but come together as one nation. Regardless of what divisions some may sow, this is the only flag that Americans need. "Some people who look at this flag will never understand its meaning. They'll spit on its ideals and call patriots and nationalists evil. Every person in the world could tell me its a horrible thing, but I will proudly stand by it. Because I know what it stands for. I know its ideals. And denying those ideals...does not take them away."

Amber's thoughts are interrupted by the pain in her arm. She adjusts her grip, but doesn't change which arm she holds the flag with. Amber grins through the pain, knowing that this was just the beginning. There is a lot of work that needs to be done. They will come together and repair their city. No matter what threat comes their way, they will defend their nation. Together they will stand up to any foe, no matter where they come from. "Because we are united by something more powerful than our differences."

She looks at the flag once more. "For the land of the free, and the home of the brave," she softly sings.

---

Happy Independence Day!

Three things about this image. One, this was done entirely in a software that's new to me. It's called Clip Studio Paint and its really cool. All of the lineart is done with vector layers, and is scale-able and lossless. I'd really recommend trying it out. Two, I wanted to give the image a more manga inspired look, which was achieved using Clip Studio's halftone system. I can definitely see why people use halftone made up of two values instead of multiple. And actually, this kind of really soft halftone isn't even possible with traditional methods. Thank goodness for digital. Three, this is actually the first time we've seen Amber's official design. There may be some tweaks later on, but this is what she'll wear in her story.

Amber and art ©  AtticusKotch
The US flag belongs to all of the people of the United States.