#Ares the bat

[yesthefandomfreakblr]

I love that Ares and Gregor are commonly depicted with this Hiccup and Toothless relationship or Percy and Blackjack but like in all reality this sweet goofy 12 year old is being piggy backed by this hulking terrifying fully sentient adult man that has almost zero moral reservations and is feared by almost everyone and for damn good reason. Ares just carries this kid metaphorically and literally and goes along with whatever bullshit they decide on cause. Like. Whatever, sure, we're bros let's do it.

He's a trained soldier who's been to battle and has killed and will do it again. He saw an infant rat pup and was like 'Oh thank fuck it's defenseless, let's just throw it in the river and be done.' And 'Oh shit it's a baby, my dumbass 11 year old bond with a heart of gold will never allow this oh fuck oh shit please no.'

He's ALSO such an attentive, comforting dude who knows how to handle distressed kids (COUGH HENRY COUGH) and really looks out for them and their peace of mind. Bro keeps his word and bro minds his vows religiously and NOT just out of legal obligation. He is above and beyond ride or die. He shares a braincell with a 12 year old New Yorker. If someone shoved the kid Ares wouldn't give two shits about ending their life. He's a huge asshole who can say things that destroy people but never lets Gregor see that side of him because like. He's Gregor's bond now and as a team they don't do that they gotta be nice. He has very few shits to give and he gave them all exclusively to like four or five people.

Ares is a sweety the way a 200lb guard dog is a sweety.

[ask-healthy-light]

Simple doodle of Ares the Bat, Alex1302 ^^

[hacknineirl]

any gregor the overlander enjoyers in the chat? anyways, i made a humanish au of ares! i might do aurora or ripred next. i have some ideas for them :3c i dont recall what the underlanders were wearing, bc gregor was like "their clothes are weird" and then thats it. but i feel like their clothes would be old timey. and yes, i know the underlanders have silver hair. but silver hair on ares felt wrong. hes always had black hair in my mind

[overandunderland]

Yo Ares trial pisses me off.

"whether it's for Bond breakage or treason I care not! I just want him gone."

I swear I paused the audio book like:

[0nelittlebirdtoldme]

Everyone, meet Ares, the black bat!

Had him for over 10 years by now. Bought on a school trip in fifth grade. Don't worry, he doesn't bite ;)

Ref: this post and @argyleheir

[originalwinnercheesecake]

I wish we could have gotten more on the bat's and their interpersonal relationships

okay we know which bat's are bonded to which humans, what each bat looks like, and basic descriptions of their personalities

Ex. Ares: large black bat. Had two bonds: Henry and the Gregor. Was very strong, a known risk taker, broody/emo, unpopular with others, still a very good guy.

Aurora: Bright gold bat. Bonded to Queen Luxa. Patient, quiet most of the time. Soft/gentle spoken the rest. Is very brave. Can fly in a series of complicated acrobatics to where a rider has to be very skilled to stay on her. Her and Ares are very close friends.

Nike: Silver and black stripped bat. Daughter to Queen Athena, and the second bond of Howard. Cheerful and helpful. Notably more talkative then other bat's. Boot's is the only one whom she allows to call her "Pincess Nike."

But that is really kinda all we know. Those couple facts about Nike's patentage and Ares&Aroura's friendship, plus maybe that the bats technically need Queen Athena's permission to join the humans for missions, is all we know about their relationships outside of the ones they have outside of their bonds

I do not think Nike is Queen Athena's oldest child. Her being allowed to go on the quest for the plague was explained as the prophacy specifically stating bat's needed to send a representative, and Nike also being a "back up princess incase Boot's role has been misinterpreted". So letting her go off into danger then checks out. The Marks of Secret quest checks out too as it was completely unsanctioned and none of the group had permission to be out searching for the nibbles. All of them knew and said they would be put on house arrest once the returned home.

But still if Nike is next in line for the throne why does the title "Princess" mean so little to her that she only allows a baby who is laughing at an inside joke address that way, She specifically asks others not to "hold it against me" when they try to call her "Princess Nike". Additionally after she and Howard become close and decide they want to eventually bond she starts spending a lot of time with him in the human land. Again there is nothing outright strange about that, plenty of bat's hang out in the humans land with their bonds. But Queen Athena can be noted to mostly stay in her land. The only time she came to the humans land was for the meeting in Curse of the Warmblood. If "overseeing her kingdom" and "preparing to one day rule" were part of Nikes daily life the way they are Luxa's, wouldn't it make more sense for Nike to stay in the fliers land with her mother and Howard to go visit her? Not the other way around? The humans are welcome in the fliers land just like the bat's are in there's. Howard has family connections, medical skills, and is the nicest guy ever. I would be very surprised if he was not allowed to go to any safe land anytime he wants. Nikes disregard of the "Princess" title and seeming freedom to leave her land for adventures as well as casual trips leads me to belive she has unamed older sibling in the bat's land who is on deck to rule befor her.

Gonna move on in a second, but while we are talking about unamed members of Nike's family let's talk about her father. He is not in the books and Queen Athena seemingly rules the Bat's by herself. Does the fandom believe he is dead and Athena was not required to take a second mate/King afterwards, or is he alive and the flyers are a monolithic kingdom (one ruler). Because of Athena's royal status I personally belive the monolithic kingdom. Secondly since Queen Athena is a white bat and Nike is zebra stripped, is her father a dark colored bat, or would that not be how bat genetics work? This is a question I do not know the answer to.

Now let's move on from Nike and talk about our boy Ares. Again even before bonding with Henry he was known to be reckless, disobedient, and a risk taker. While in our safer society this might make Ares seem really cool to kids/teens he was never popular in the underland. Since the underlanders are always at war, or trying to live through or recover from a crisis this possibly made Ares seem like he was kinda crazy/dangerous to be around (You all judged him wrong). After Henry betrayed everybody and Ares broke his bond to save Gregor Ares was then completly shunned by every bat and human, save Luxa and Aurora. Okay to give minor credit: Nerissa still cared about Ares, and the reason he didn't know that was he was avoiding her. While Andromeda and (I guess) Nike did not originally trust Ares after the events of the first book, they got over it and became friends with him. Gregor started visiting more, and Howard is friendly to everybody. But still for like six months Ares had no one in his life but Luxa and Aurora. When they got lost on the second quest he referred to them as his only two reasons to live. He gave up going to the doctor for medical treatment for his mite bites and made a desperate venture into enemy lands alone to search for them, only going back to his cave when he was to sick to keep going.

During all these times there is no mention of Ares having parents, siblings, or relatives of any kind. So was he an orphan who had no one? Or did he originally have family, who after the events of the first book, hated and shunned him with all the rest? And if so were they ever sorry?

Lastly let's talk about Thailiah. Poor, brave, little Thailiah who was such a young bat when she died so tragically. Her friends all tried so hard to take care of her on the quest, and when she still died they all cried and promised to hold her in their hearts forever. Did she have a mother and father back home? What did they think/feel when the "picnic crew" went missing? When Gregor brought the other pups back did her patents believe Thailiah would be with them? Who had to tell them she was never coming home?

[unorthodoxiguana]

Could you just imagine Top Gear, but with Gregor, Ares and Ripred?

Ripred: How, in the name of all that is holy, did you manage to do that

Gregor, holding a baby Bane: ...well it's quite interesting, isn't it?

Ares, looking on with a look of mild apprehension/fear: Yes, it is

[useyernamesteven]

Its criminal that more people don't know about Gregor the Overlander. It is still my favorite book series ever, and Ares was one of my favorite characters. He's the reason I fell in love with bats and became obsessed with them for a good portion of my childhood. He carried the whole series on his back (literally) and his death was the first time a book made me cry. Ares the Flier, with all my love, you deserve this recognition.

round one: i don't know enough to be witty

Noibat and Noivern are bat Pokemon. Noibat is cute and purple with big ears and evolves into Noivern, which looks like a bat dragon with the classic color scheme of purple, black and green—and still has big ears. A+ bat designs here.

Ares is a large black bat of unknown species from the Underland Chronicles quintet by Suzanne Collins.

[thelimehazard]

Shadow of Hades

[carnation-damnation]

sometimes all you need is a hug from your big sister

[yesthefandomfreakblr]

Rough doodle of Ares vs. Ajax size comp

ft. Gregor, Boots, Temp, & Solavet.

I made Gregor, Boots, and Temp too big. Solavet is to scale.

[chlorophyllium]

I just finished my reread of book 2 and the little tidbits about Ares are so fascinating such as:

Retrieving his flashlight first when Gregor jump through the Waterway opening because Ares thought 'it would provide some comfort' and apologizing for letting him fall so far knowing Gregor's feelingson falling and flying. I figured many bats would rush to catch their bonds first then get light but Ares does the opposite. Could be since Gregor is an Overlander and Ares knows he is much more sight dependent, could be because he knows Gregor would want look for Boots asap. Either way, the fact that comfort is one of the first things he does is telling.

Ares appearing to a panicking Gregor after hitting the bloodballs and flying him away from Regalia to his and Henry's old hideout. Again, offering comfort upfront. Definitely something he's done Henry, but with his mention of Henry not listening to him and the latter becoming "as hard as stone" after losing his parents, did his bond do the same?

Similarly, he gently reminds Gregor to eat when its just them two in the Labyrinth before they continue. Gregor assumes Boots is dead by this point and this isn't the first time Ares had a bond who lost family. There are also instances in the books where Ares can read what Gregor is thinking and provides reassurance of the situation: "The rats cannot reach her here." "You also freed me from one." "If I were Twitchtip, I would not want you to come back." He's receptive to the grief of others and seems

The supplies in the cave. We know Luxa and Aurora know where the hideout is and more than likely visit Ares there (the supplies might be for Luxa and none of this matters) but a part of me wonders if its Henry's old belongings that Ares didn't toss out after his death. Given that it has been 5-6 months after his death and there are numerous caverns around him in the area, he still returns to the one that he and Henry hid in... it wouldn't surprise me if Ares couldn't bring himself to clear out his former's bonds belongings even after the bat calls it home. He's swallowed by his grief and memories of Henry. He is physically living in it and with his comments about how Henry could have tricked them all, and the way Ares seems to spiral in his thoughts (ex when he and Gregor find the Bane and when their about to be put on trial), he's mentally trapped in his grief as well as socially trapped with the way he is treated. How is he suppose to heal? To move on? (Personally I don't think he was meant to by Regalia and Flier society which... wow)

The irony of bonding for royal blood to provide Ares protection whenever he breaks the rules is the very thing that doomed him.

Ares' little comments after an awkward situation. Making Gregor laugh by saying he's a fast learner or suggesting Gregor choose which of the three tunnels to go down AFTER they already tried the other two. He's unintentionally funny and as a kid I completely missed it but as an adult I was cackling.

Ares admitting he once thought about flying over the Waterway, a massive and near impossible feat among fliers. It fits his wild and rule breaker nature were told about but iirc we don't really see that side of Ares throughout the books. I would love to see what he was like before book 1 especially with that he wanted ROYAL protection for whatever he broke. Ares buddy what were you doing? I guess if you want protection go premium but also baby boy WHAT were you doing? (My guess is he disregarded rules that were morally wrong to him. He was let his traitorous bond die to save the Warrior, which was the right thing to do but not the socially correct thing to do as seen by his trial and isolation)

Book 2 he's quiet, hard to read, thoughtful, gloomy, and self sacrificing, especially after Luxa and Aurora's supposed death. The way he talks about his life as if it means so little is heartbreaking but understandable given the way his been treated. "Its seems a crime to be alive." "How has the world changed so much?" LIKE MY GUY I WANNA GIVE YOU A HUG, ROLL YOU INTO BAT BURRITO, AND LET YOU KNOW HOW LOVED AND WORTH YOU ARE. HE DESERVED THE WORLD SUZANNE.

Some Interesting quotes about Henry and Ares' relationship in book 2.

"Like Henry, you are under the impression that I am a servant."

This is what Ares says to Gregor when Gregor was making demands and trying to order him around. I haven't read book 1 in a while, but I can't recall any standout moments about the ways that Ares and Henry interacted. But this gives a good idea of how it tended to be between them. Henry treated Ares like a servant.

"Henry chose me because I was wild and known to disobey many of the rules of my land. I chose Henry because I was flattered and he was royal and under his protection I knew I could be absolved of many things."

And this is SUCH an interesting insight into Ares and Henry's relationship, tbh. They originally gravitated towards each other for what the other could provide. "I was flattered." That's so... I don't know, superficial? The whole thing is very transactional, as my friend @apple8ees described it.

And also: "It was not all bad. We flew well together and shared many of the same tastes."

The phrasing of 'all bad,' too. The implication that there WAS a lot of bad- likely Henry ordering Ares around like a servant.

Like, their relationship was definitely not the best. That's not to say they weren't close and didn't care about each other- of course they did. But that doesn't mean their interactions will always be healthy.

From the looks of it Henry initially wanted Ares because he was a rebel, and I wouldn't be surprised if it was also because he's very powerful, too. But none of that is about who Ares really is? What he values? Henry wanted a big strong and wild flyer to benefit himself. And Ares wanted the benefits of royal bond. I think that Henry, maybe subconsciously, cared a lot more about what Ares could give to him, than about what he could give to Ares. And it led to that imbalance.

Honestly, it had to have been doomed from the start.

(Makes me wish we had more insight into Aurora and Luxa's relationship- we know they bonded young, but what else? But I imagine it had a lot more to do with a real bond between them than what Ares and Henry had.)

So what is it like for Ares then? To be held back by his grief and the hole left behind by Henry? All while finding a new bond who, eventually, he gets truly close to. Someone who treats him as an equal and friend instead of a servant.

[tezzbot]

My friend knew a guy who just didn't like music I think that's my official stance on the what music does Shadow listen to debate . none unless he's asked/made to hear something<3 I think that's the funniest outcome

[themirepirate]

redrawing a piece from over a year ago! I’d say I’ve improved, or at least the bane actually looks like a rat and not a borzoi this time

click for better image quality

[0nelittlebirdtoldme]

Locust 📕

Thank you so much for the ask, Argyle! 🖤

Ask Game here (feel free to send more)

You had me googling for this ask game for a second what locust even was (an insect? shellfish? oh that flower), because I have never heard it before.

LOCUST: What was your favorite book as a child?

Definitely the Gregor the Overlander saga by Suzanne Collins. Read it religiously when I was like ten. I mean, an 11 year old boy finding a secret world beneath New York with oversized, talking bats, rats, cockroaches, and trying to fit into the role of the "chosen one", destined to fight as a great warrior in a war between the Underlanders and the Gnawers (rats)? As a child?? Yeah, I ate that shit right up. Also, I am pretty sure I had a crush on Ares, the giant black bat. I even have a plushie named after him (sidenote: do you guys wanna see him?)

[greekgodssitcom]

GPS: Keep straight

Apollo: Absolutely not