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stardustdiiving · 8 months

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I love Neuvillette and find him so interesting to compare to other characters he shares characteristics to—I rlly wasn’t expecting them to go the route they did for what kind of character he was going to be but I’m so on board with it he’s so fun

First comparison I’ve been thinking about I suppose is him and Zhongli. They’re both distinguished old men (tm) who r powerful non human entities, but the way they both go about this are both enjoyably distinct. Both of them are both capable of deep gentleness, but Neuvillette’s gentleness feels a lot more “innocent” than Zhongli’s does. Zhongli is gentle from a place of experience of having to be not gentle in his time as an Archon who had fo hold his country together through apocalyptic war and calamity, but while he is gentle from a place of certainty about himself and what he’s learned/will learn about the world, I feel Neuvillette is gentle from a place of uncertainty and feeling he still has much to learn about himself and the world

We still don’t know a lot about Neuvillette’s history as of 4.1 but it’s interesting to me Neuvillette feels like a non human character who hasn’t had a lot of unique suffering tied to being physically nonhuman, and/or calamity intertwined with him learning about and building a relationship with humanity, like a lot of other non human characters we know have. A lot of his hardship in this vein feels very…grounded on a human level (see: his SQ) and different than say, a Scaramouche or any of the Archons

Neuvillette seeking out humanity and the way he connects to communities and other societies I think can have this additional sad edge to it because I wonder if you could frame that as being influenced by the fact he doesn’t really have any community of his own kind around him to feel a sense of identity with. So like, compare how Neuvillette engages with humanity, compared to how characters like Yae Miko or Xiao—I feel there’s a level of disconnect and difference in how they want to/feel they should engage with humans because they have a sense of identity as youkai/adepti that Neuvillette might have never really had a chance to develop, because of the circumstances with his own kind

The way he forms bonds with humanity and the melusines just feel very distinct to me, and feels like he’s been able to explore it with a less jaded view than a lot of other characters have been able to do. That’s sort of what I mean when I describe him as having this certain feeling of “innocence” to him

He’s just very earnest in a way that’s honestly really endearing. I like how he sincerely responds to Paimon’s silly suggestion to refer to himself as a “dragon out of water” rather than a “fish out of water” because he’s just genuinely spending a lot of his time trying to learn and understand how to communicate and engage with others very often. It’s funny how it’s not even like Neuvillette isn’t jaded or doesn’t hold strongly worded opinions or dislikes of things. His earnestness about this sometimes manifests as him being kind of sassy and it’s honestly hilarious. He’s very a impartial judge who cares a lot about fairness but also he must scoff at a lack of respect towards the Art of drinking water and Zhongli + Venti LARPing normal mortal humans , you see. Love this guy

#neuvillette #zhongli #genshin #fandomferns #fern.txt #neuvillette’s occasional ‘sass’ is something I also find funny when compared to Zhonglis humor #because zhongli gets his amusement out of being kind of playfully mischievous almost #for example #I am jestering to the entirety of lantern rite 2023 #no wonder xiao is so vaguely tormented the entire time #(of course this is the first thing I think of)

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sage-nebula · 1 year

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More Thoughts™ about Tails spending time in Possum Springs to crash and burn for a little while post-Frontiers.

For this melding of the two worlds, Possum Springs would be part of the United Federation, and of course out in the boonies. Although it's an all-anthros town, it's still very near human cities and towns and as a result all the anthros there wear full outfits, pants included, even the guys. So when Tails got in the area he would pick up on the fact that he would be Judged™ for only wearing shoes, and would pick up an outfit. Might switch his running shoes for boots while he's in town (better to hike into the woods with), and I definitely see him with a denim jacket that patches can be sewn into (this would be important for later). Plus, denim jackets are very 90s, so it also fits in that sense.

He doesn't make it there right away. He really is optimistic about his ability to change and Become a Hero Instead of a Burden when he first sets out. But he realizes pretty quickly that you can't just go out and find crises to avert, and just wandering around isn't really making him feel better, and that's when the risk-taking behavior starts. And through some turn of events the Cyclone ends up needing maintenance when he's in the Possum Springs area, and he doesn't have the money to get the necessary parts he needs, but he's not about to call on Sonic for help, so he wanders into town to see if he can maybe do some work for someone to get some money so he can buy the parts he needs. And that's when he meets the squad (Gregg and Angus having not managed to make it to Bright Harbor yet), and spends a long while there, working at the Ol' Pickaxe with Bea, living either with Mae and her parents or with Gregg and Angus, and just . . . getting to exist and work through some stuff while also not having to be a super mature, responsible young hero.

a.k.a., he gets some time to just be burnt out for a while, doing stupid kid things, because he needs it.

Some thoughts on the relationships:

Mae: Mae definitely acts as a sort of cool big sis to Tails, similarly to how she does with Lori. My original thought is that he stays with Mae and her parents while he's in Possum Springs, but I'm not sure if her mom can handle that added financial stress lol. Anyway, Mae encourages Tails to do stupid immature things like walk along the power lines, shoplift things like pretzels to feed potentially rabid animals like rats and raccoons (and also possums but as Tails informs her those are not rabid), and mess around with the Fort Lucenne mall fountain to squirt passersby with water. She also struggles a lot with mental illness herself and so she passes along that she had journaling recommended to her and that it kind of helps sometimes. Oh, and she also teaches him how to wield a baseball bat. Mostly for breaking lightbulbs, but maybe also in self-defense if ever necessary. Tails definitely calls her "Maeday" after she tells him that used to be her nickname, and his jacket gets a patch of her "no entry" sign before he leaves town.

Gregg: I'm considering having Tails stay with Gregg and Angus instead because Gregg is an adult fox, and while Tails might feel a bit weird about being around another fox at first (the Foxeye Village villagers were not kind), Gregg is so enthusiastic and outgoing that it's hard for anyone not to warm up to him. Plus, as an adult fox, he knows all about what it's like to grow up as a fox and while he might be a bit insensitive about it sometimes ("Dude, how are you so small. I don't ever remember being that small") he means well and can relate to Tails in ways Tails' other friends back home can't necessarily, because . . . they're not foxes, so they don't get things like fox puberty, lmao. Like Mae, Gregg teaches Tails about doing crimes, albeit on the down-low from Angus. His crimes skill set includes picking locks, hotwiring cars (although Tails already knows this), and smashing lightbulbs with a baseball bat out back of the Snack Falcon. (Oh and also shoplifting food items from the Snack Falcon.) Gregg never had a little brother so he thinks it's super cool to be able to mentor Tails in stuff. Tails doesn't see Gregg as an older brother (he already has one), but it does feel so, so nice to have an older fox in his life that doesn't, you know, despise him. Tails gets an anarchy symbol patch in honor of Gregg on his jacket before he leaves town.

Angus: Canonically Angus is a computer nerd and so he and Tails would get along magnificently in that area. Angus would introduce Tails to Demontower and other computer games and Tails would definitely get hooked. Tails would offer to teach Angus how to do things like hack bank accounts (only of super rich people) because those are the crimes he knows and it would really help Gregg and Angus get to Bright Harbor (and thus is a worthy cause for crimes), but Gregg declines. However he does let Tails massively upgrade his computer, and Tails also massively upgrades the internet service in Possum Springs, so that's appreciated. Tails would feel guilty about doing crimes with Gregg when Angus doesn't appreciate the criminal activities, but it's kept on the DL and Tails isn't in a great headspace, so. The crimes happen anyway. Tails would have a lot of fun talking about science with Angus. Before he leaves town, Tails gets a top hat patch on his jacket, for Angus.

Bea: Bea gives Tails a job at the Ol' Pickaxe because even though she's pretty sure that would violate child labor laws . . . honestly she doesn't really care that much and they could use the help, and he proves he's capable enough, so. His job mostly involves doing house calls for things that need repair, like broken furnaces and the like. Yes, he does end up locked in the basement of that one lady's house. But thanks to Gregg teaching him how to pick locks, he gets himself out without fuss. Tails makes a similar mistake that Mae does in the game where, when he learns about Bea's troubles, he tries to come up with solutions to fix them. Like they're still employing the guy that (potentially) assaulted her, so why doesn't he just build a robot to do that work so they can fire the guy? This makes Bea angry, because the guy needs to provide for his family and it's not their fault he's a scumbag, and no one asked Tails to try to fix these problems, etc. So it's rough going at first. Eventually Tails does help Bea in a way she appreciates by setting up her laptop with an accredited online university and paying for her courses for four years, calling it The Prower Grant. (This money was stolen from more billionaires, but shhhhh, Bea doesn't need to know that.) Bea tries to refuse at first but Tails is like, hey, the classes are already all paid for, if you don't want to do the homework or anything you don't have to, buuuut . . . so she takes it. It's not the same as attending college and getting that experience, but it makes her dreams a little less out of reach. Before he leaves, Tails gets an ankh patch on his jacket, for her.

Lori: Tails bonds with Lori so much. While the others are all young adults, Lori is actually a kid like him (granted a few years older), so although they have wildly different interests (he's into STEM, she's into horror movies), they still click and enjoy hanging out together, whether it's up on the rooftops or laying out by the train tracks. Lori shows Tails how she likes to squish her little guys with the passing trains, he flies her up to one of the rooftops using his tails (and she nearly hyperventilates from how shocked she is when he picks her up but it's okay, she recovers), she shows him her horror movie concepts and he shows her the Cyclone. Lori's non-judgmental and kind of blasé about the trauma in her own life, so she's easy for him to talk to and relax with. When he leaves town he not only has half of a BFFs pendant while she has the other half, but he also has a tombstone patch on his jacket for her. While the other patches are on the back, this one is on the front, over his heart. (Friendship only.) They become penpals and send emails back and forth after he leaves.

Germ: Honestly, Germ's kind of a weird guy and Tails isn't sure what to make of him at first, but Germ is a guy who goes by a nickname instead of his real name most of the time (Germ Warfare instead of Jeremy Warton) like how Tails goes by Tails instead of Miles Prower, and he likes video games and trampolines and Tails also likes those things. Germ never pries into Tails' personal life or is even interested in that really, he just sees Tails is having a hard time and is like "you wanna jump on a trampoline for a while? you wanna play video games?" and you know what, Tails does. He doesn't get a patch for Germ at the end of it, but he does enjoy the time they have together regardless.

Mr Chazokov: Mae's old astronomy teacher who likes to hang out on the rooftops and look for dusk stars. Guess what, Tails also likes to hang out on rooftops and look for dusk stars. Mr Chazokov tells him all about the constellations and their different stories, and while Tails was always more interested in the science behind space, he learns to find appreciation in the beauty of the story of the stars, too. He also feels some kind of connection with the stories he learns of and the experiences he's had, though he's not really fully sure what that connection is. The stories of the constellations inspire him to get star patches for his jacket sleeves before he leaves.

Other things of note:

— Gregg and Mae definitely introduce Tails to their robot son out in the forest. As a surprise for them Tails fixes their robot son up so it works again, and also so that it can walk and even talk. He doesn't quite have the materials to make it less horrifying, though. They love it anyway. Gregg decides to try to talk Angus into letting it be ring bearer when they eventually get married.

— At some point, because he is Going Through It, when the young adults in the squad are treating him like the kid he is, Tails kind of . . . loses it and goes off about the things he's done and been through—fighting Eggman, saving Station Square from a nuke, being made to believe he watched his big brother get blown up in space, being made to believe he watched his big brother be killed by multiple enemies at once during a war, etc. This is met with the NitW-patented "Jeez" from Mae. And that's when Bea decides that Tails might be a kid, but also, have a special brownie. Angus is like "should we be giving that to him" and Bea's like "we'll keep an eye on him" and Gregg's like "if he can fight in a war he can have some substances under adult supervision" and Angus is like "fair point." (All of this gets filed under the Never Tell Sonic He Will Kill My New Friends file the next morning.)

— He sits in on band practice and becomes a big fan, since grunge rock is pretty close to punk rock, so their music is already in his favored tastes. He's impressed by Bea's drums program on her laptop and Mae's like "no, don't be impressed, don't reward her for that." He also plays around on Casey's old drums, and while he's not exactly a master drummer by the time he leaves town, he's passable.

— Town council fucking hates him at first for being an out-of-towner with no money, but they fucking love him after he fixes up the town's internet. They try to get him to stay when he leaves, but it doesn't work.

— He enjoys Selmers' poetry, and writes her little poems down in his journal so he can remember them.

— He fixes some metal over the ceiling in Lori's bedroom so the plaster doesn't fall on her when the trains go by at night anymore.

— He stays penpals with Lori after he leaves, but also, when Gregg and Angus finally get married, he gets an invite to their wedding, and brings Sonic along with him as a +1 so he can introduce his big bro to all his Possum Springs friends 😌 (although he makes sure to tell them to keep all the crimes and other stupid kid bullshit he got up to on the DL lol Sonic doesn't need to know about all that)

(though Sonic still feels some kind of way by seeing an older yellow fox playfully scruffing Tails and giving him noogies and such. he doesn't say anything about it, but. hmm. he doesn't like it.)

— Once he goes back to his normal home he ditches the pants (lol) but probably keeps the boots and definitely keeps the jacket. It's a keepsake, you know. A reminder of that weird autumn he spent in Possum Springs.

#bc of course he's there in autumn. it has to be autumn #(''weird autumn - weird autumn'')#night in the woods au #miles tails prower #mae borowski #gregg lee #angus delaney #bea santello #lori meyers #germ warfare #mr chazokov #someone watching Gregg playfully noogie Tails is like ''wow they look so similar it's almost like they could be related''#and Sonic reflexively crumples his soda can in his fist #(if Amy was there she'd be like ''are you . . . jealous?'' and Sonic's like ''NO'' but the answer is yes. he is.)#(that's HIS little brother ok. not Gregg's. HIS. and his rsd is kickin in hard ohhh boy)#sth

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