#askskel

Good question! The Kelvingyard Company isn't supposed to be operating outside Evangeline Kingdom, but the reality is, it's secretly operating a global underground slave ring.

They are only supposed to catch fae and gaians that "trespass" into Evangeline territory, but it's not uncommon for them to send teams of slavers into foreign lands to illegally nab people. This is what happened to Philippa, who was living in Yerim-Mor Kingdom at the time she was enslaved. They also snatched Ginger from Folkvaran territory. This is happening purely due to Kelvingyard's greed.

By Evangelite law, foreign citizens can't legally purchase slaves from Kelvingyard. But they can get around this by hiring an Evangelite citizen to purchase a slave for them, then have that slave trafficked across the border. The citizen who bought the slave reports them as "missing" or "stolen" and brushes their hands of the situation.

There are crooked mercenaries who work with Kelvingyard on these operations. The mercenaries who captured Linde are an example. They don't work for Kelvingyard directly, but they are contracted by them or their clients.

This is how the Uekoran royal family got most of their slaves, and I imagine it's how the Barhatian royal family got Skel too. Kelvingyard's operations are very shady and a lot farther-reaching than most people realize.

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Questions/Comments?

Lore Masterpost

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That's very true! But I think for Skel, it's more about the principle of the thing. He feels like the royal family already stole half of his life from him, then they take part of his body and all his possible descendants from him too? The nerve!

I feel like he would seek bodily restoration not because he wants kids, but because he wants the choice to have them. This man runs on the sheer power of spite.

Not to mention, I'm sure he suffers from some nasty symptoms of hormonal imbalance that he'd like to clear up...

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Questions/Comments?

Lore Masterpost

It's a perfectly valid question! I imagine he's had his testicles surgically removed and he's probably circumcised. So yeah, neutered would be appropriate to say. The Barhatian royal family didn't want to torture him by removing everything, they just wanted to reduce his sex drive and therefore his attraction to their daughter.

This means he's totally unable to reproduce. However, a curative sorcerer might be able to restore what was taken from him and allow him to have children in the future. Such a procedure would be prohibitively expensive for a mercenary though.

Maybe there's some other way he could earn it? If he saved the life of the sorcerer or their loved one, for example, he just might earn himself a free favor...

Just a thought!

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Questions/Comments?

Lore Masterpost

Thankfully the Barhatian royal family liked Skel (or as much as a master can "like" their slave...) so I think his medical care was on par with the nobles! I'm sure he was totally knocked out for the procedure and doesn't remember it.

Now, the recovery on the other hand...that's a pain he'll never forget, as much as he'd like to.

razzek From what I've read, circumcision is entirely a religious practice irl and has never had anything to do with keeping clean. But it is interesting to see how and why it might be a thing in a world completely without our religious hangups (but with plenty of it’s own no doubt).

I always assumed it was one of those cases where it originally had some practical purpose, but religious institutions were just like "because God said so" because it was easier to instill practices into people that way.

Like not eating pork, for example. The reason given is "don't eat it because God said so", but I think the practical reason was that pork is infested with parasites moreso than other meats, and food sanitation was too primitive in those days to prevent illness from it. Best to just teach everyone to avoid it all together, thus creating a healthier population of followers.

I have zero proof of this, of course. It's just a personal theory, but I believe in it so strongly that I just automatically assumed this was the case for circumcision and a bunch of other cultural traditions too!

Now, it's very possible that I'm just full of shit and there is no practical reason for some of these traditions at all. They could have all kinds of origins. I'm a smoothbrain who knows next to nothing about history, religion, or...anything to be honest. So take my opinions with the most microscopic grain of salt.

This does get me thinking about the origins of different religious traditions in Looming Gaia! Maybe not all of them have to originate from practicality.

I saw a post somewhere, maybe here on Tumblr, about a family who traditionally sliced off the top couple inches of a ham before putting it in the oven. No one knew why, it's just the way grandma always did it, so mom copied her, and grandaughter copied mom. One day the granddaughter asks the grandma why they did this, and the grandma was like "Oh, these giant hams never fit in my old oven so I had to cut off a few inches. I have no idea why your mom does it!" (I may be botching some details here, bear with me...)

So, even though there was no practical reason to cut the ham like that anymore, it's just one of those things that got passed down through the generations out of habit or miscommunication or whatever.

My point is, I think the same thing could apply to religious/cultural traditions in worldbuilding! Thank you for helping me think about this in a whole new way!

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Questions/Comments?

Lore Masterpost

If this doesn't end in 100% Itchy, those pollsters are lying. XD

niittinaatti

I'm gonna go with Morbus, putting your crush's wife in a coma and trying to persuade him into having her euthanized is pretty hard to forgive

kid-az

Boy do I regret not picking Morbus after remembering just what happened in Love Poison….. Skel is an ass but atleast he wouldn’t do THAT!

aveture

Ah I forgot about morbus and the love poison. Can I change my answer to that?

kid-az asked:

No joke I actually really loved Morbus as a character until Love Potion. After that all I want is for her cats to leave her and be adopted by better people and her being unable to find a cure for her outwards appearance being (Half) as nasty as she is on the inside.

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These are all good points! I think in the name of fairness, we should have a break down of each candidate's most punch-worthy actions...

Itchy: "Allegedly" fucked a goat, burglarized homes, mugged people at knife-point, calls people slurs, assaulted an elderly person unprovoked, various peeping-tom behaviors, straight up murdered a dryad once, stole a horse from a soldier.

COUNTERPOINT: He has poor impulse control due to brain damage, some of these behaviors are not really his fault. Once he understands what he's done wrong, he usually feels bad and tries to make up for it. Usually. He's very capable of love and empathy for others, he just doesn't show it at the appropriate times.

Lukas: Murdered his own mother, is verbally and sometimes physically abusive to his crewmen, almost axe-murdered his best friend while drunk, victim-blamed a crewman who was sexually assaulted, tried to goad Zeffer into suicide and then hired an assassin to take him out when he refused.

COUNTERPOINT: Lukas acts the way he does due to immense trauma, and he's fully aware that his behavior is unacceptable. Recently in the series he has expressed remorse and taken steps to become a nicer, more empathetic person. He takes full responsibility for the pain he's caused others and doesn't make excuses for it. He is ashamed of his nasty behavior and is trying to understand why he acts the way he does, so that he doesn't keep repeating his mistakes.

Gwyneth: Cheats on, takes advantage of, and abuses her "husband" Brogan, extremely greedy and miserly, regularly insults people for no reason, flirts with married women and tries to break up marriages.

COUNTERPOINT: Gwyneth has endured the horrors of retail for decades. 'Nuff said. (Just kidding...In reality, she was kidnapped by slavers and quickly learned that the world is brutal and unforgiving, so she fears showing any sign of weakness or tenderness towards others. Bad experiences in her life have hardened her. She was probably aloof to begin with, but the experience of being kidnapped kind of "broke" her emotionally.)

Skel: Racist, misogynistic, classist, arguably transphobic, almost abandoned his crewman Jeimos in a hostile territory, verbally abusive to his crew and everyone around him, general asshole behavior.

COUNTERPOINT: Much of Skel's bigotry is hypocritical, and it's apparent by his contradictory thoughts and behaviors that he's quite mentally ill. His actions are much kinder than his words, and he performs these kind actions in secrecy, as if afraid to show any kind of "weakness" in front of others. Much of his hostile behavior is due to untreated mental problems.

Frederick: Literally stole candy from a baby, physically assaults people (including his own father) to get what he wants, acts arrogant and defiant, bullies others for fun.

COUNTERPOINT: Frederick is young and most of these behaviors are a result of bad parenting on his father's part. As he grew into his teens, Frederick started realizing this behavior wasn't getting him anywhere in life and promised to change. He has shown gradual positive changes ever since, though he does still slip back into his bullying ways from time to time.

Morbus: Neglected her son in favor of her career, abandoned her family, sold harmful drugs for decades, fetishizes and sexually harasses male satyrs, acts sexually aggressive towards Che, verbally abuses just about everyone, poisoned Philippa into a coma out of jealousy, forces her pets to live in her nasty hoard, generally snotty, selfish, and rude behavior.

COUNTERPOINT: I think it's obvious that Morbus is very, very mentally ill. This woman has been spiraling into Hell for over a century, completely untreated, and all the fumes from her alchemy career probably didn't help. I think some of her behavior is just due to her shitty upbringing, and she probably is a bit of a selfish bitch at her healthiest. But I also think her more extreme behaviors are the result of sickness and trauma that were left unchecked for way too long. To her credit--and this is a big deal imo--she does display some empathy and usually rights her wrongs eventually...granted, she'll reach the point of nearly killing someone before she does, but tends to shape up at the very last minute and save them from herself. She also apologizes for her actions once her conscience beats her over the head hard enough, showing that she's not a total psychopath. Morbus is undoubtedly a despicable individual, but it's hard to say how much of that behavior is really within her control. She gives the impression that she's been fighting a horde of personal demons all her life...and she's not winning.

With all that said, if you haven't voted yet, you still have 6 days to do so! ---> Poll Here <---

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Questions/Comments?

Lore Masterpost

That's true! Their origin stories all began a bit later in their lives, so we didn't get to look into their childhoods the way we did with most of the other FGG.

I do have an illustration of a young Javaan and his mother here, but no artwork of the other SKS guys as kids yet.

Linde was a typical snotty rich girl, with one key difference...she didn't have a lot of friends. She was actually quite lonely, since her parents sent her to private school and forbade her from going out very much. They were worried about her safety due to her albinism, as people in their region are very superstitious and have ignorant beliefs about albino people.

As a child, Linde spent too much time alone, consuming media that made her feel bad about herself. She was terribly self-critical and insecure from a young age. When I imagine Linde as a child, I see an agitated, demanding, and unpleasant little girl. Despite her family's wealth, I don't think she was very happy back then.

As for Balthazaar, he claims he had a normal, happy childhood. Though he lived in a crowded house and his family was far from rich, they all loved and supported eachother. I think Balthazaar's biggest problem in his youth was his impulsivity. He was bad-tempered and quick to throw punches, and ultimately this got him into huge trouble as an adult. I think Balthazaar's parents were stretched thin with their jobs and too many kids, so maybe Balthazaar didn't get as much attention as he needed. He meant well, but he was kind of a troublemaker.

Skel speaks fondly of his life with the Barhatian royal family. Though he was technically a slave, the family never treated him like one. Instead, the king and queen treated him like one of their own children. He lived a charmed life, or so he thought. Maybe he was a little spoiled, but overall he was a happy and carefree boy...very much a contrast to the bitter, neurotic man he grew up to be! In his youth he was known for being sweet, mischievious, and romantic. It's a shame that life beat these qualities out of him later on.

I don't think Javaan ever really got to be a kid. From the day he was born, he learned that the world was harsh and unfair, and there was no time for games. His mother taught him empathy. She told him that a loveless, degenerate existence is not worth surviving for; It's love that makes life worth living. Javaan really took that to heart, so even in his most desperate moments, he tried to show mercy and kindness to others. I imagine Javaan was a good-hearted boy who was forced to commit bad behaviors by his circumstances, but ultimately that's what motivated him to seek a better life as an adult.

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Questions/Comments?

Lore Masterpost

I don't understand the reference, but it's hilarious to think about!

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Questions/Comments?

Lore Masterpost

Yeah he is a douche...but there's a good guy in there too, really!

I don't know how much of the series you've read, but the story "Steel Knuckle Squad" explains his backstory quite a bit.

Potential spoilers:

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He was a "slave" to the Barhatian royal family, but the princess loved him so he was never really treated like a slave at all. He was treated like royalty instead, and he developed this complex that he was somehow above all the other slaves in the palace. Well, when push came to shove and it was time for the princess to marry, she chose a prince over Skel because he was a slave. This completely broke Skel's heart and betrayed his trust in people, so he ran away from his kingdom and joined the Freelance Good Guys.

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End spoilers

Later on in the series, we see that Skel has developed a severe case of germphobia over the years, refusing to touch things with his hands unless necessary. He uses his telekinesis for everything instead and always complains about things being filthy. He's also expresses wariness around people he thinks might be sick.

How this happened to him isn't really explained in the series, but often this kind of obsessive-compulsive behavior develops in people after a traumatic event, as it gives them a sense of control in their lives. I would say being betrayed by his lover messed him up a lot more than he lets on, and now he walks around not only with OCD behaviors, but a shitty attitude too.

He doesn't want anyone to hurt him again, so he protects himself by beating them to the punch and hurting them first. Lukas has a similar complex, but from accidentally killing someone instead. Skel is also more aggressive than Lukas about it. Lukas can be mean, but he won't go out of his way to be mean to people. Skel will, because it allows him to feel "above" someone again for a brief moment, like when he was Barhatian royalty. Lukas is mean because he hates himself and loves everyone else. Skel is mean because he hates everyone else and loves himself.

If you haven't already, I recommend reading "Body Hopping". Skel acts like a jerk through most of the story, but he comes through at the very end and shows that he really does care for others. Also I think it was "Troubled Tides" when he saved Alaine as she was falling from the sky, even defying his germphobia to jump into a puddle of mud and catch her with his bare hands.