Okay. First of all.
WOAH THAT'S A LOT OF PEOPLE.
I did NOT expect 74 people to vote in the poll 😭🙏🙏🙏 (what the hell, where the fuck did y'all come from?????)
Second of all,,
TIME TO TALK ABOUT THESE FUCKERS 😈🔥🔥🔥🔥‼️💯
Just to state it here before I start yapping my ever living soul out, Shiver is an eastern tall-man, Frye is a beast-man (like Izutsumi) and Big Man is a kobold. I can get a bit more into their designs and headcanons in another post, but today I want to focus on the lore.
It allllllll roots back to Shiver and Frye's fathers, who were friends since lord knows when. They were a team of burglars, looters, thieves, whatever you may call them, but in the end of the day just let it be clear that they were BAD. And they engaged in BAD shit, like looting corpses in dungeons and stealing from people's houses.
One day, they hit a huge one, they got into the house of this really rich dude that turned out to traffic beast men and other illegal creatures. And the rich being rich and caring about their richness, the security was top notch, and let's just say they struggled to get out of the place alive. BUT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! They left in NO WAY empty handed.
While looting the place, Frye's father found a kobold cub, chained up inside a cage in the corner beside other creatures likely being sold illegally. He brought the cub with him, and after almost getting their asses turned into kebabs by traps everywhere, the two companions were like "holy FUCK i ain't ever ever ever doing this shit again man.,.,. Wgart the ehll,,,,,, I'm getting too old for this, hell naw!!!!!!!" and decided to settle down as (this time legal) and functioning members of society. Shiver's father opened a dojo, while Frye's father opened a restaurant.
However, the rich guy who owned the house was PISSED (and also happened to be a black magic user......... woah how unlucky of them) and as revenge for stealing his wealth and freeing their beast men, cursed Frye's expecting father, mending the soul of his firstborn with the soul of a monster. And alas, that's how the critter was born😋🙏🔥💯😭
So yeah!!!!!!! Frye is a beast man just like Izutsumi is a beast man. They're the same typa monster, pretty much, except that Frye is a leopard instead of a housecat.
Anyway, back to the kobold pup; you guessed it, BIG MAN (or Big Dog?), being raised in the Onaga's restaurant, was always raised around the kitchen, both because he was genuinely interested in watching people cook and because he hoped to get food that fell from the floor lmfao-- as years went by, he started working as a server, apprentice, and eventually assistant chef of the family-ran restaurant. (So yeah, Biggie is the party's chef!!!!!!!!!!!!!! He also has an incredible sense of smell when it comes to cooking btw, both because of genuine talent and because of his race).
Ironic to his early years as a burglar, Shiver's dad grew to become quite the overprotective father once his daughter started growing up, wanting her to do anything but follow his steps and become a criminal before the age of 20. That backfired though, because she started running off to hang out with Frye causing all sorts of trouble (and eventually dragged Big Dog into it all too). The three were raised almost like siblings, and later on joined together as a party and continued to cause all sorts of troubles inside dungeons, where they eventually bumped into the other idols and started this whoooole story years later.
(They weren't all like their fathers though, instead of keeping the money they got from dungeons to themselves they gave it to the poor, much like their canon bandit dynamics.)
Anyway, that's the end of the yapping session, I hope y'all enjoyed (and if you did, please enjoy this page I doodled while blasting ToyBox in my headphones 🦄🙏 perhaps I'll outline and color this one day, but not now because it's 1:30 in the morning while I'm typing this out.)
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Nico who has been deified after his death. Nico who's sure, after all this time, he's finally managed to let go of his older sister's death, of course, it still hurts, and of course, he will never forget her, but that fiery hatred and overtaking sadness, has finally been put to rest.
Nico knows and understands that his sister chose to move on without him, and that's okay, no it's never gonna be okay but he's made his peace with that too, and now, that he's an inmortal himself he never expects to see Bianca again.
Nico lives easy. He works for his father, he sleeps for a couple decades at a time, sometimes he goes back to Camp, takes care of some kids during their quests here and there, but for the most part, he's a chain-free roaming God.
And then, one day at Camp Nico meets her, a tiny little girl, with how long he has lived, time has become almost impossible for Nico to really track down anymore, but he's sure this girl can't be more than 10.
And something about her eyes, her dark, void-like eyes, and her long black hair, and her proud stance. It really reminds him of somebody else.
The girl is all alone, no little brother or older sister of her own, no parents either, apparently, she's a child of Hekate, but that really doesn't matter.
Something about the girl's every move, about the way she approaches the darkness without fear, about the way she approaches him, like she's known him all his life, the way she uses her whole body when talking.
It reminds Nico of Bianca. This girl's soul is just like Bianca's.
And Nico supposes it's no longer a fatal flaw, but he still doesn't know how to let go.
Nico immediately claims her on the spot, lets her sleep on the Hades Cabin, helps her out with everything, takes care of her for years and years.
It's the first time in centuries, that Nico as a God feels connected to his mortal side.
When the little girl cuddles against him, because she's had yet another nightmare about manticores and huge robots, while Nico quietly tries to hug her, and reassure her she's going to be fine, he even starts thinking that maybe his family has grown, yet again.
And then, she's send off on a Quest, Nico loudly protests against it, because he knows how those end.
Because, he still remembers waking up screaming and trashing, in the middle of the night, inside the Hermes Cabin, surrounded by strangers and shadows, as he felt Bianca's soul perish away.
But it's no use, the Oracle of her time had already issued her prophecy, this new girl, Rachel having long since passed away, who Nico feels almost comfortable cursing in the spot, just like his father had done so many centuries ago.
The little girl leaves, and Nico now has nobody to swear to keep her protected. Nico knows it's useless to try to convince her to stay, but he still does, it doesn't work, it never has worked
But truth is, she doesn't even look scared.
She's excited, and ready, and determined, and Nico has to wonder if this is how Bianca looked like, during her last week on Earth, too.
The girl leaves and she doesn't come back.
Nico thinks, it should be easier by now. It isn't, it's never gonna be it
Hades catches Nico roaming mindlessly around Elysium, after noticing his absence from The House, for what's either days, or years.
Hades mournfully reassures Nico that Bianca is not there anymore. No, not this time, not last time, not next time either.
After that, Nico chooses to abandon Camp fully, once again, he doesn't come back for another few centuries, until Hermes asks him for help getting his children to satefy at Camp.
Nico swallows the bile, that he's sure a Godly body like his own, shouldn't be able to produce anymore, shakes Hermes's hands, and tells his cousin his children will make it through, just fine.
Nico rescues the kids, regretfully send them off to live all cramped up together at their Father's Cabin forever, but one of the boys of the bunch, just has such dark eyes, like a black hole consuming souls.
And he stands so proud, and Nico just knows once more, and all at once, because he would recognize Bianca's soul anywhere.
In life, in death, at the end of the world, in a Hekate's daughter, in an Hermes's son, it doesn't matter, the person standing in front of him, is simply Bianca in another skin.
Bianca, being a wild hero once more, and Nico has to wonder if she can see him as clearly as he can see her.
Bianca is the only one after all, who has known him all his life, Bianca knew his name before it was even his own. Nico was born knowing her.
If she can see him, or if she can't, Nico doesn't even know which one would hurt more.
Time passes, and if Nico let's the boy sleep at the Hades Cabin, because the nightmares about manticores, giant robots, and magic are too much to bear, and he can't even scream in peace inside the Hermes Cabin, well, that's only Nico's own business to know about.
Nico realizes, after a few ages of Godhood, that The Fates like repeating their own stories.
Nico knows he hates all of them, deeply and purposefully.
The Oracle comes up to the boy, Nico is sure she must be a new girl, but all the girls Apollo chooses all look the same, and she is the same, she gives the hero the prophecy that will bury him.
And, it doesn't even take Nico a glance to know, that this is where that boy's life thread is cut.
Nico wants to sneer, this would be Bianca's third death, and if a hero dies three times they get the special prize, and yet.
Nico begs the boy to not go, because they both know he's not gonna make it back.
Bianca never has. Bianca never does. This is Bianca's fate. She was already dead before the story even began.
But the boy doesn't even break eye contact with Nico, as he tells Nico that he's very kind, and that he loves him too, but no way.
He's gonna go, and so, the boy does.
The boy leaves and he doesn't come back, and Nico has to crawl at his Godly skin, and remember the sensations, of back when there was human flesh, and blood running through his veins.
And that's just the thing isn't it, that Bianca is never going to stay by his side, because she doesn't want to.
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So with Clementine Book Two coming out in October, I decided to do another reread of Book One. Though, I'll be honest, the bigger reason for this reread was out of spite; I follow Tillie Walden on instagram, and while I don't go on there often, I usually check her page when I do so I can see any new artwork or Clementine updates. Her latest post is from one of her other graphic novels, and I guess I just... don't get it.
I don't understand why people are like this:
This is on a post that has nothing to do with the Clementine comics. As for ones that are about Clementine-
Those are just a handful from a few Clementine-related posts, but there's so much of this all over Tillie's posts and I don't understand.
What does this accomplish? Other than making you look like an asshole? Like... no one is impressed by this. No one is applauding you for repeatedly commenting "lol we didn't want a forced gay romance ew," which by the way? Repeating that in every single paragraph you comment? Tell me you're homophobic without saying you're homophobic, y'know?
There are legit criticisms to be had of Clementine Book One- The pacing is all over the place where it starts very slow and then goes into whiplash mode after Amos dies. Georgia as a villain is a weak point in the story. Clementine naming her leg after Kenny is a bit icky considering in canon, he physically and verbally abused a disabled person with a brace on his leg in S2. I don't think there was much thought behind that decision past "Hey, the fans like Kenny," and I think that's worth pointing out as "Hey... maybe don't?"
Some of the dialogue is a bit stilted, but some of it is actually pretty good. My personal favorite is when Clementine and Amos are fixing a roof-
Amos: Lord, this roof is...
Clementine: ...fucked?
Amos: SHH, don't say that! It's... troubled.
I'm sorry- that's funny! And it actually says a lot about who these characters are and the kind of friendship they have.
And yeah, Ricca is just okay. She's clearly the love interest, and I'm hoping we get more development of her character. And yes, the "baby" thing is still weird.
There's a lot about the art style that I'm not crazy about, specifically Clementine's face and expressions, and I hope to see an improvement in that for Book Two.
And then the obvious: Clementine leaving because she was unhappy and felt everyone thought she was a liability doesn't match up with the end of TFS.
I don't think it's mean to say that Tillie wasn't the best fit for this project, but that's on Skybound. They're the ones who reached out to her and hired her. I think Tillie's a great artist and her graphic novels have great queer, wlw representation in them. Just because she wasn't the perfect fit for Clementine that doesn't mean she's bad, it means that maybe she should've been considered for a different project.
And honestly...? Y'all, Book One isn't THAT bad. It's not great or anything, but the comics can't take the games away from you. If you want to say canon ends with the TFS, then that's where it ends. That's where it ends for me; these comics are more of a "what if" scenario than anything.
No one is forcing you to accept this as canon, and if you're so pathetically butt hurt over the existence of a comic that you feel like you have to go on Tillie's instagram, the artist who is only doing the job she's obligated to do, and comment shit like this on every. single. post-
Maybe, just maybe, you need to go outside. I'm serious.
This isn't the only comment about grooming on Tillie's posts, or that I've seen on reddit. Like... do you understand what grooming actually is and how serious it is? Or are you just using it as a buzzword that you know is bad and triggering as a means of insult and convincing others that she's bad, too?
Also, I don't think you really understand how creativity and writing work. Maybe it's just me, though I doubt it, but when I create characters or write already established characters in my fanfiction, they all have a piece of me that's apart of them. My life experiences and who I am as a person influences everything I write, and that bleeds into the characters, for better or worse.
What, you think Louis having a random pillow collecting problem was something I just pulled out of my ass? No, it's because I have a pillow collecting problem! Do you know why I've always had a such a hard time writing for Violet? It's because I see a lot of myself in her and that scares me and I'd rather just not unpack all of that, okay?
I mean, how many times on this hellsite have you come across someone saying, "lol my otp is just Person A is my type and Person B is the one I project onto" and it has thousands of notes because, on some level, we all get it.
Tillie has talked about Ricca before and like most creative people, she's drawn from her own life to create her characters. Ricca isn't some self-insert character just because they both wear glasses, I'm-
You are just being an asshole! I just- I'm getting pissed off because this shouldn't even be a thing. WHY ARE YOU LIKE THIS? WHO HURT ALL OF YOU?
I love Clementine, too! She's important to me! I have replayed TWDG more times than I can count! I was pissed about the comics in the beginning! You can go back on my blog and I probably said stupid shit, too!
But Clementine isn't real. She's a fictional video game character. She isn't going to reward your bullying or white-knighting because she doesn't exist. You're not doing this because you're a "true fan" that loves Clementine. Honestly, if you were a true fan, you would know that if Clementine was real, she would find you and this behavior disgusting. Tillie Walden is a real person and I don't give a flying fuck if you hate her work. By all means, hate the comic! Criticize the comic and Skybound for continuing the series, but leave Tillie out of it.
And I think the part that sucks the most is it doesn't matter what I say, you can't rationalize with irrational people intent on being assholes so they're not going to stop.
I guess what I'm trying to show with all of this is when Book Two comes out, and y'all start reading it and making posts... please don't be these people.
Whatever you may feel about Clementine Book Two, try to remember that Tillie Walden is a real person and she's just doing the job that Skybound hired her for. Tillie's an artist just trying to live her life in Vermont with her wife and their cats, and she's gotta deal with all of these people harassing her posts. She can't even post something non-Clementine related without a bunch of #notmyclementine shit in the comments.
I don't even know what else to say... Uhm, I guess if anyone from those screenshots sees this, then... I don't feel that bad about calling you an asshole. We all learned in kindergarten to treat others the way we want to be treated, but maybe you were sick that day, I don't know. Go outside. Get your life together. We have a short time on this planet and maybe you should try to actually accomplish something while you're here. Eat a kitkat or something👍
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