In this instance Androgynes as a distinct gender are in essence fully functioning hermaphrodites with the ability to both impregnate and be impregnated, but they exist along a wide spectrum. In essence this means that the manly beardy rock-breaker could be pulling a few extra shifts because zhe just fell pregnant or the bombshell tending bar might well be taking care of zher pregnant wife by taking on another job. These Androgynes are all born as diverse and different as you might expect, some looking and acting more like one gender than the other or adopting a more blended gender identity.
Because society has been living with the Androgynes since long before the Fall, they have gotten quite used to having them around, and it is considered good luck to have an Androgyne born into the family. Most of this ‘good luck’ comes from the fact that Androgynes have a variety of genetic resistances to diseases and genetic disorders because their genes have been extensively tampered with by long-dead gene-smiths.
It raises some interesting questions about how our own artificial selection processes feed back into Natural Selection given enough time and distance, but I’m sure you’re not here for a thesis on that particular subject.
The fact that Androgynes exist at all has prevented gender taboos from forming, fashions come and go as the centuries pass but as a rule the fluidity of Androgynes has allowed the two traditional genders to toy with and overturn their own preconceived roles in a more supportive environment.
More or less, yes. Although Mr Finn would probably be a tad miffed at having to skip a few stages he was really looking forward to.
Well if the man weren’t (apparently) so gosh darn handsome, this wouldn’t be an issue.
…if I could only draw. I’m envisioning a silly fancomic entitled “The Sexual Misadventures of the Esteemed Mr. Finn.” The punchline in every single one is that his partner is done long before the fellow can even start to unbutton his shirt. He can never get any ever, poor thing. But his reputation is that, by night, he is one hell of a lover because he always leaves 'em satisfied.
I’m not going to be that guy and say that it should definitely awaken something in you, but… Y’know, if you’ve the time and all that, and it’s not too much trouble…
(No, no, no, now I feel like an unappreciative dickbag for some reason. You’re not here to dance like a monkey for our amusement, I’m sorry.)
Also, somewhat random, but I’ve come to the conclusion that Finn is Zapp Brannigan if Zapp were competent. And in shape. And not a complete putz.
You genuinely have nothing to apologise for. I like writing, it isn’t a chore for me to follow a funny idea to a conclusion. Furthermore I enjoy your (digital) company and shall reiterate that you are no imposition whatsoever.
I absolve you. Go forth and sin no more unless the situation warrants it.
That’s basically Captain Kirk. Which tying into earlier conversation makes Mr Finn this guy:
Force of habit, deeply ingrained self-image of being a social (and otherwise) burden, etc., etc… not the place for my life story, not my LiveJournal, so on…
…of course, this is appreciated. Thank you, as always.
edit:damn it, now I’m genuinely almost crying.
Hello, Internet police? Some fellow on the interwebs is making me feel feelings of an almost… human nature. This will not do. Please come arrest him.
So… do nothing but sin. Roger that.
I’ve been imagining Finn as being much less of a ham than dear old Shatner, but… I could be wrong. And I think I’d like it if I were wrong.
((I’ve missed so much here, I am ashamed, but also highly amused at the turn of events that have been taking place.))
Okay so weird question that occured to me when you mentioned Ariadne:
So all these little quirks and questions we’ve been asking about autonomy, androids, emotions (which apparently equals prostate exams), machinery, humanity, etc. are all in context of the MC…
But we’ve basically never(?) asked anything about Vintruvian and Ariadne, save for a few inquiries about their feelings towards Arinthas.
So they’re both automatons, how do those differ (if at all) from Myrmidons? In regards to emotions, I remember you mentions previously the whole “they’d be willing to find out what this weird human thing called love is” when talking about the ROs on each path, so if they don’t really know love, how do they register emotions? How many emotions do they know? Do they feel any? Or do they just know? Do they even know?
Also since they were made for specific duties (police duty and industrial duty if I’m not mistaken?) how does this affect their personalities? Does it at all? Is Ariadne more “you have to do the right thing” kind of gal while Vintruvian is a hard worker? At this point, how individual are they? I.e. have they developed individual personalities? Or because they were programmed and built for specific duties have they just chosen to follow Arinthas because… well they’ve gotta follow someone and that’s how they were coded?
Furthermore, what are their opinions on humans? (Yay or nay or don’t really care?)
All this long conversations about the game itself are all really great because it gets the author and other players talking about how to improve or tweak on an already great game. Also that captain America moment made lol. I do like the title because it’s just so out there and nobody has probably heard of what a myrmidon is and that’s what your character in a sense is. Really great job so far and keep it up. Looking forward to seeing more.
…oh! Another you may have missed, all that talk about a certain disbutled gruntler…er, disgruntled butler reminded me. …I don’t recall seeing this one featuring Mr Fifty Shades in the teaser doc.
also, random as hell question, but I don’t remember if this was discussed or not… MC’s immune system - human equivalent? Or do they not have to worry about disease because that would definitely be something that you don’t want your robot butler to have to worry about?
You are absolved too. Go forth and sin in context.
Automatons and Myrmidons are the same thing, it took me a while to admit to myself that I liked the title Myrmidon and that I wasn’t going to change it, so I used a lot of interchangeable words in the mean time.
As to their emotional range, that is really determined by their experiences.
Vitruvian is… well Vitruvian is old. Clearly very old. He is clearly at least several thousand years old, but in order to keep his mind intact he cannot remember any of his long life. Every century, he purposely purges his own mind of all memory and experience.
Sometimes he wonders about the things he has seen, the things he would not allow himself to remember. He has always been an isolationist, trying to steer away from humans and other Myrmidons and living as a sort of self-imposed hermit. Vitruvian would be absorbed in thought for decades, then sleep for centuries. Each century brings a new personality, as he saw the world with fresh eyes.
Arinthas found him sealed at the bottom of a great cavern, the walls absolutely covered in scribbles, drawings and writings in a language he could not decipher, pushed into the rock by Vitruvian’s finger in ages past.
This cycle’s Vitruvian is brooding, aloof but more willing to interact with others than he has been in centuries. He respects Arinthas, and wonders whether Humanity has sufficiently evolved to the point where men of his calibre are beginning to return.
His personality is somewhat inflexible, which is his greatest strength as well as a weakness. He will never stop in the pursuit of his goal, even to the point of self-destruction. His willpower is legendary, and for the first time in an age he has a goal to turn it towards.
Ariadne is quite different. Like the MC she is young in a way, cobbled together from components taken from several junked Myrmidons and reanimated. Her mind contains cortex-matter from no less than five other Myrmidons, and while she can function her personality is fractured and she often becomes confused and difficult to understand.
She is grateful to Arinthas for giving her life, but deeply upset by her own ‘otherness’ compared to Humans or other Myrmidons. I think romantically what she needs is someone who can work with her to try and open the lines of communication, someone who listens for long enough that they don’t get angry when she becomes confused.
Ariadne is a little like Pinocchio in a way, she desperately wants to be human, and to be a part of a society of friends. The only two beings she knows in the whole world are Arinthas and Vitruvian, and as a result she’s very lonely. Well, that’s what I think anyway.
Vitruvian follows Arinthas because he respects him, and Ariadne follows him because she knows no other life.
Always pleased to meet a new reader, come in and take a seat, Cooper will be along to take your order shortly.
As you can see, I’m very happy to answer any questions or debate any topics you’d care to mention, so don’t hesitate to jump in.
Huh… You’re quite right… How did I miss that one?
Myrmidons probably have their own diseases after such a long time as viruses may well have evolved to attack them, but no they won’t catch colds and their cells are hardwired never to degenerate so diseases like cancer aren’t a concern for them.
So are they made the same way then? Was Ariadne made in a “Forge” of sorts in which one of those “components” was a human?
Has Vitruvian ever abandoned anyone that’s still alive and remembers him? (Most likely an android or some other essentially immortal robot-figure) Could he, hypothetically, run into someone who might remember him from a “past life” and not know who they are himself?
Could this happen between him and the MC? If they were to romance him (and since both are in the “essentially immortal”) category, would they inevitably have to split, upon realizing that they’d have to wipe their memories and forever forget about one another?
For that matter - you also mentioned that Arinthas is exceptionally old, how old is he? How has he maintained that age while living? (He’s not an android… is he?) How does he cope without going insane?
Also, what does Arinthas/Vitruvian/Ariadne think they’ll do once their goal is accomplished? Do they plan to stick together? Or go their separate ways?
Hmm. I’m trying to think of how to word this. There is a question or three in here, I promise…
The MC in the mage branch (likely) won’t have the same idea of romantic and such love that humans might have, right? Since they’re all but completely cut off from “humanity” at that point and, as such, have not been inundated with all that (I’m assuming. Maybe Arinthas has a rather extensive secret collection of the Rings’ Harlequin novel equivalents, I have no idea.)
All the romances will likely (obviously) play out differently, given how different the characters are, but I’d imagine that romancing Ariadne or Vitruvian (or…both?) is something else entirely. Is that… is that correct?
…that wasn’t all/exactly I wanted to say/ask, but I’m trying to keep things somewhat short.
I’m just picturing him hiding away his cache of fluffy romance novels, sobbing when the hero/ine reaches a point of conflict and loses their loved one. Trying hard to hide it but sniffling along. He tries especially hard to hide them but they end up falling out of his hiding place, all these extremely sappy, horribly written romance novels that he denies are his.
…
Actually that led to me a serious question:
If Ariadne is the Pinocchio of the group, is she very interested in human literature and art and such? Does she try to read as much as she can in order to kinda understand how humans think and feel?
Is she the one that has the stack of cheesy romance novels?
She gets her recs from Arinthas - every time he accidentally leaves one out, she either steals it or commits the title to memory so that she can use it as inspiration and write her own cheesy human love story in her head.
Like father, like daughter.
…I wonder how Arinthas’ll feel if his children get tangled up in romance. Will he secretly be like ‘yus, just like my stories’ but minus the creepy ‘father shipping his children’ implications? Will he be annoyed and wish that they would focus, come on now?
“…why are you showing me-” The MC leaves the room. It is just Arinthas and Ariadne now.
"Truly? Those two ended up together? If you need to twist the plot until it’s an unrecognizable convoluted mess just so two characters can get together, then you must stop and ask yourself whether it was truly meant to be.
…besides, the knight is much more logical as a partner for the put upon farmer. Allow me to explain…"
-longass diatribe about his shipping preferences goes here. There’re probably diagrams and the like.-
Ariadne listening intently, but retorting with her own reasoning. Days later she comes up with her own diagrams to show to Arinthas, and the two get into a heated discussion about whether or not the knight should end up with the farmer. The MC looks on in curious horror at the mess of fanart and shipping diagrams. Vitruvian explains that this happens at least once a month.
Tumblr is alive and well in the Three Rings, it would seem…
Of course, Vitruvian won’t admit it, but he gets caught up in the frenzy sometimes - not like he’s able to help himself. He’ll be sitting off in the corner, A and A will be deep in their shipping war, and all of a sudden…
“hmph. You’re both wrong. The Marshall’s a better choice for the dancer…”
And sometimes fanart that neither Ariadne nor Arinthas can lay claim to will crop up…
