@temperance-sunlight And @a-sad-mage, U Both Make All Fantastic Points. I Really Like The Idea Of The

AYEEEEEEEEE

Going back to redeem characters who else do you know would be redeemed? And why?

Honest?

I don't really know-

There are a lot of fun minor antagonists, all of which have their own charm.

But if I had to pick just one, it's would be Quintin

Quintin, as explained in Robo Slugs, wasn't originally a bad guy. He was just traumatized by being trapped in that Slug Pit as a kid.

He ended up with what if think was a justified phobia of Slug, thus leading him to make the Robo Slugs. But because of Slugterras' overall culture around Slug's, he was constantly laughed at and mocked for wanting to make the artificial Slugs. No one took him seriously.

Him going full Power Rangers Villain in Futuria Cavern was just, him providing his inventions where not a waste of time.

I mean, he did go about it the wrong way, don't get me wrong, Quintin was so in the wrong, but he wouldn't have been pushed to that point if the other scientist fucking listened to him, and actually took into account just how much research and innovation went into Robo Slugs(they are objectively cool)

And by the end of Robo Slugs, when Eli dumped that Slugs on Quintin, and the Slugs saved him from being crushed by the Mecha Mechas, Quintin, seemingly gets over his fear, at least enough that when he's recruited by Blakk, he doesn't mined working in close proximity to Ghouls, or firing them out of the Titan Tank.

I believe the reason Quintin sides with Blakk isn't just because Blakk bailed him out of jail time, but because Blakk, actually was interested in his work and what he was capable of, in comparison to the scientist from Futuria Cavern who brushed him off. Which is why he was so willing to make the Titan Tanks to begin with and probably even help refine the Gatling Blasters.

Should Quintin be redeemed, I want it to start off with him realizing, Blakk don't actually care about him, but what he brings to the table, his inventions.

Blakk piling on more and more and more work on Quintin, to the point Quintin asks for, like a few hours to just sleep and Blakk snapps threatening to haul Quintin back to Stalagmight 17 himself if he doesn't comply.

This leds to Quintin doing small acts of rebellion by delaying projects, putting in more obvious weak points in the Titan Tanks, to full on sabotage.

Eventually, probably around the aftermath of 'Light as Day' while Blakk is still in the Deep Caverns, Quintin takes as much shit as he can, and leaves Blakk Industries, settles in a new Cavern under a new identity, and lives a more regular life as a local inventor who helps out fixing stuff, and making things.

I see him being an informant as well, like leaking info anonymously about Blakk Industries on forums for the Shane Gang or anyone else who wants to take the fight to Blakk themselves.

Slugterra's Brothers (1417 words) by Mister Rose

writing is so much fun but im tired, leave a comment if u like I'd love fic ideas and thoughts about what I could improve on, see yall tomorrow :)

ROTE: my incoherent rambles

whenever Burpy is ghouled/gooned/sick in the show, Eli is SO. DISTRAUGHT. or at least happy when Burpy is freed. Like, pets their head, says "hi", smiles to them, quipps a joke; something to show Burp that their human is very happy they're back.

I watched the will shane gets cured scene again, and I forgot that Burpy is also ghouled there; the shot that saved his dad also freed Burpy. And does Eli retrieve Burpy, like he usually does?

No. He immediately thinks the worst, walking up to his dad on the ground. Burpy doesn't even cross his mind. And Burpy's chill with it, hopping to will shane just like Eli did. After all, Burpy and Eli only really bonded after Will's disappearance; he obviously knows how much the man means to his son.

Its a great way to subtly hit the viewer with how big and tragic it all is. Imagine watching lightwell and ROTE back to back? Eli nearly sacrifices himself for Burpy a million times, and would again and again and again. But then his dad returns, and the fabric of time (and our understanding of the lore) changes dramatically.

So much so that, in the chaos, Eli touch-Burpy-and-I-will-kill-you Shane has bigger fish to fry that Burpy being back. Its startling to watch. It's something so small, but so impactful. It's even made more clear when Jun - who we learn in slug-fu showdown demands more time from his slugs to trust them - warmly greets Joo-Joo again, and thats the only time we ever really see that from him. and even will says "hello, old friend." and after that? Burpy isn't even ANIMATED, OR ON SCREEN for the last 5 minutes. Like Burpy isn't a main feature of the battle. thats BIZZARE. until...the promise to save his dad. Burpy retook Eli's shoulder, right next to doc.

When else do we see Eli not go above and beyond for his slugs? When others show more care for their team than he does? Never, actually.

It was just there, when he realized he still had a dad, and needed to speak to him first. He's in full "omg dad's here and alive" mode. Of course he is; but a lesser show would have had him reunite with burpy. The end of ROTE is a very harrowing slugterra watch, and its little details like this that made it so poignant. Eli's slugs took the backseat to his dad, on screen and as a part of the narrative itself, till Eli needed them again when he lost his dad for deeply sorrowful second time.

If you ever rewatch this show, keep a very close eye on burpy. What they're doing, how they react to events. Knowing the little guys been around for thousands of years and probably knows all the shane secrets makes all the little emotions fascinating. one of the best things I noticed was when Will saved eli on the ground with burpy; Burpy was growling at blakk while being shot. We havent seen him growl like that since....eli first met Dr Blakk in episode 1 of the entire show. I now see that shot as Burpy's true revenge, for that moment 5 years ago; Will got to shoot Burpy and land a hit with them on the monster who sent him to the deep caverns. Justice at last, for both of them...till, you know.

I'll leave off with one more note: in the show, especially pre-movies, Eli looks to burpy for advice constantly. It's never pointed out, but Eli always checks in: "do i tell them this?" "Is this the right move", etc. When the five of them promise, he didn't have to check. Either he didn't need a second opinion - he knew what his mission was - and/or he already assumed burpy was in agreement. I don't know if eli "grows up" during the slugterra timeline - its only a year - but he does gain more confidence in himself. And thats not him getting over past trauma or not feeling guilty over things anymore - thats on him becoming more accustomed to looking ahead instead of behind him. Like what jun said to pull him back.

If you catch me on ao3, I'm fascinated with the shows absolute hatred toward backstories. I think that's convenient for the writers, duh, but I also interperet it as a mirroring of the shane gang's attitude towards their pasts. They need to go forward, yes, but they also desperately want to move on, to make the past not matter anymore. If they were to make any actual good slugterra content again, I would like them to keep making ROTE-like stories; not even necessarily giving us complete backstories (we didn't even get that with Blakk), but having our characters contend with past events. his dad, of course, but also: Twist. dana. tom por. the goon. eli's mom. any and all lore about pronto, kord, and trixie. Any of these things returning would fit well in any plot they come up with, and continue making slugterra's fight with good and evil more and more personal to the characters. that's what slugterra exceeds at - having a plot's lore tie juuuuuuust slightly to broader slugterra history/culture and making these characters learn and face it together. If you want to make a better future, the past must be resolved.

and I think eli finally realized that at the end of ROTE, even if he spends the rest of the running show letting other missions distract him from that painful reality.

also we can be saved ch 2 is in production and i have monday off, and legend says that if you comment on my other stories my depression will lesson and i can actually produce content again thanks yall i love this fandom :)

😭

Eli Shane: As long as I was going on a mission, I could pretend you weren't gone. It's crazy.

Will Shane: No, not crazy. Very human, actually.

i'm not writing this exact scene, but i am writing something very similar.

...lowkey, ive been writing for 12 hours straight....

Going back to the questions that tad and twist are in how much you want to bet that when junjies comes to visit and brings his master with him ( to see the western part) twist instantly gets ptsd just from seeing her?

Yes

Twist is not okay he has not been okay, and seeing Junjie's Master, Lian is not helping him.

Obviously, he knows they are different people, but they look alike. And for the entire visit, Twist can't look Lian in the eyes and does not want to be left alone in a room with her.

He needs therapy so badly

Eventually, I think he gets cornered and has a mini breakdown about his part in what happened to Unbeatable Master Shanai and his overall guilt.

This is an appreciation post for the fanfic authors who aren’t included on rec lists

For the fanfic authors who don’t get art of their fics

For the fanfic authors who can’t get to 1000/500/100 hits

For the fanfic authors who don’t get comments/reviews

For the fanfic authors who write for small fandoms

For the fanfic authors who write rarepairs or gen fics

For the fanfic authors who get hate for the ships/characters/fandoms they write

For the fanfic authors who write in English despite it not being their first language

For the fanfic authors who don’t write in English

For the fanfic authors who don’t think anyone reads or likes their work

For the fanfic authors who aren’t big name fans

For the fanfic authors who don’t get requests in their inboxes

For the fanfic authors who can’t write stories that are more than a thousand words

For the fanfic authors who only write one ship

For the fanfic authors who are just starting

For the fanfic authors who have been writing fic for years

For the fanfic authors who use fanfic to practice writing

For the fanfic authors who write self-insert fics

For the fanfic authors who write about their OCs

For the fanfic authors who write to vent or cope

For the fanfic authors who are just waiting for their big break

Keep creating, I love you ❤️

another addition to the will Shane discussion

...I'm gonna be SO clear about this: this is NOT the fault of Eli, obviously. He's a kid and trying his best.

but, when Eli got to Slugterra, he COULD have made it his life's mission to find out what happened to his dad, or find all the secrets that supposedly died with him. He didn't. He took up being the Shane and left the past buried unless it smacked him in the face in some current situation. He never once looked for what his dad left him, didn't even go looking for Will's remaining allies. They all just found him, and he only went searching when he needed to - Redhook, the elementals, etc...

it could also be that Will left some things, as much as he could (tho he still should've told him stuff about his enemies), but Eli wasn't interested in unearthing it. He wanted to move on, make a path for himself and not focus on what happened. That could also influence why he never even looks for his dad - he wants to, but he's been in a "look to the future" mindset for so long it hurts to look back and realize all he's missed out on in being a Shane.

personally, I think he did take the right route. That would have driven him insane, and he knew that. There's something really refreshing about such a possibly vengeful character strictly choosing to be a force for good and stick to current bad guys instead. Just...remember. We got no will/Slugterra answers partially because Eli never truly looked for them. I think he was going to...but in the future, when the current fires are put out. Or after therapy, whichever came first.

well, i'm not sleeping tonight

my honorable brain rot buddy, I would like to brain rot some more on this.

one: I don't see tads mom as a plot hole; more like a plot Pandora's box. They could basically do anything with her. But without something...yeah, a bit hallow. I like your idea though. I find compelling the idea that, whoever Blakk has a kid with, shares some type of ambition, just on the side of exploration instead of power. Like a more cynic view of a gar revelle type character.

Two: this is what makes blakk's irrationally ONLY for Eli so good! He wants power and will stoop to any level to get it, but besides that, he's perfectly fine with the world being a fair and just place. This will get overshadowed by ambition (grown from trauma of course), but if it doesn't interfere, he's fine w a lot of things. It's where all the "blakk is a chill boss sometimes" memes come from, and actually contributes to my personal headcanon that he's fruity!

but Eli. Eli Shane. And will Shane, and jimmo Shane. All pretense of "well if they're not in my way it's fine" flies out the window. Their mere existence (after ep 2/3, like u mentioned) is a hinderence, so Blakk stoops to his lowest. And the animosity BUILDS. Like blakk in ROTE wants Eli to suffer so BADLY that he gives up his team's win? Just to keep him alive? so the full story of his character is: femenist as long as it doesn't negatively effect him. When it effects him, he rationally destroys the obstacle. And if your the Shane's...it crosses into an irrational hate, at some point, where the original ideal of "anything for power" crosses into the sadistic, how is this in a kids show, "anything for a power that would harm the Shane's". it's actually a good representation of how anyone can fall into evil. Be situational instead of steadfast with your feminism, and you excuse yourself for some bad shit. and when ppl don't like what your doing to them, you hold grudges, which situationally, are super logical to keep...at first...till suddenly, when you plan out what world you wanna live in, it literately MUST include the suffering of those enemies. It's a toxic pool to fall into. We see that constantly in the real world...

I love this show.

"Sad Mage, you fool, Dr. Blakk can't be a feminist he's-" [gets smacked with a pan]

"Silence heathen, you know not my reasons!"

♤

First, to quote a fic i read

"Im a businessman, not a monster" - Dr. Thaddius Blakk

And i have never agreed more.

Blakk is a horrible guy with little to no redeeming qualities, but here's the thing-

He's not like, a major d¡cƙ either.

Sure, he's a jerk to a lot of his employees, but he's not outright crule either.

Remember, Thaddius Blakk was once a traumatized kid who was to claw his way to the top. And probably witnessed a punch of messed up crap while Viggo Dare was still in charge.

And FYI a true feminist cares about men's problems

Blakk is equally himself to just about everyone he meets, you know what your getting into when you get involved with a guy like him.

Blakk does not care if you are man, woman human, elf, Moleinoid, Cave Troll, have money, or are a poor orphan on the street - all the man cares about is whether or not you're useful.

Feminism, at its core, is equality for women and men. To be on equal footing in every possible way. No discrimination. Just equal rights and equal fights.

[This next bit is kinda a tangent, tbh but i feel like it helps explain my 'Blakk genuinely dose not care' mindset]

Hell, he tried to convince Eli he wasn't all that bad when they first met, and had it not been for Burpy and the suddenly showing the young Shane that Ghoul Slug, Blakk might have convinced Eli he wasn't a threat had things just played out differently.

Blakk didn't officially become Eli's antagonist until Eli declined any sort of 'professional relationship' with him and then declare 'war' in episode 3. Because at that moment before being turned down, Eli Shane, was useful in some capacity. Even if that usefulness would have involved a lot of manipulation.

On top of that, he doesn't undermine Trixie either. While he may not personally know her name, he knows enough that Trixie Sting is an obstacle and a threat. And treats her as such.

And probably made sure his henchmen knew as much.

Then there's Dana

He went out of his way to higher one of the best Highered Marks just to track Dana down, get his blaster back, and get rid of her. Blakk, could easily not care about something like a Blaster, Blakk Industries makes them for crying out loud, he probably has a collection of them! But he goes out of his way to get that one Blaster back from Dana, and then make an example of her. Even went as far as to show up in-person to make sure.

A thing, he wouldn't do just for anyone.

Blakk's fits are rated E for Everyone

The man does not care who you are, prove yourself useful, he'll pull the strings to get you on his side, prove to be a nuisance, and you'll be dealt with accordingly regardless of who you are.

Hence me HCing the man as a Feminist.

You can stand on business, have upstanding morals, all while still being a horrible individual.

It's like Odalia from TOH. She doesn't care, Amity is into girls, she just doesn't like Luz and the rest of her daughters friends because 'their beneath them', and she wants to rule over the Demon Realm.

Same thing with Emperor Belos/Philip. The guy grew up during the era of witch hunts, yet two of his most trusted individuals were women(or female identifying). While he was going to ultimately pull off the biggest witch extermination in history, he didn't care who was working for him, as long as they were useful and fulfilled a purpose. He doesn't underestimate Luz for being a girl, just young and nieve, before getting bitch slapped with the reality this human is more resourceful then he was.

-

Now to touch on something @mrros-e my brain rot buddy in crime mentions in the tags.

How Blakk being a Feminist effects his relationship with whomever Tads mom was.

Jokes on you, friend, because i hc Tad is an oops, baby.

Yeah, that's right, Blakk had a fling with a lady, and she got knocked up and didn't tell Blakk sht

I don't know where the idea of Blakk having to have been married or even a committed relationship to have a baby spawned from, but with as much networking that guy probably had to do while building up Blakk Industries it's safe to assume he met ppl and had a few casual flings.

One of which resulted in Tad.

(And this is not me discrediting/bashing the hc of Blakk having a wife/romance partner, I think its an interesting concept and adds onto Blakk still being a human even though he may act like a monster, a concept i very much so like and will champion because i love complex villains like Blakk. But for the sake of this particular narrative and the limited clues given in cannon, lets pretend otherwise)

The woman, somehow leaving Slugterra and to the Surface, is a plot whole (let's be real, it is). But ignoring it, and just assume the lady was a Surface dweller who would sneak down to Slugterra for fun, and met Blakk by chance.

And when she did realize she was pregnant, she had a choice, and at first she wanted to tell Blakk, he was the baby's father after all, but by then Blakk had developed his reputation, and when she tried some probably thought she was after his money or something.

You know, because people suck.

So by the time Blakk learned of the pregnancy, the Lady had returned to the Surface and swore off coming down to Slugterra ever again. (For reasons)

Blakk probably tried to track her down, but was stumped because there where no records of her ever exiting in Slugterra, and then he remembered bits of their conversations, and how it sounded like she wasn't from Slugterra but the mythical world above.

Thus, his obsession with Shane Secrets begins.

I have a completely different post in my drafts I'm working on, but it relates to this a bit, and the gist of it is, Blakk would have support the woman who was pregnant and any decisions she made, but also given Tad everything he didn't have as a kid.

Again, absolutely horrible individuals can have completely, perfectly normal morals and standards. You can have a monster, give them a humanizing trate, and still be irredeemable.

Dr. Thaddius Blakk is a villain of the highest degree, but he has standards damn it.

This was an incoherent rant of a Mage in desperate need of sleep

Peace ♤

haha, love it! Ur so right. I'd just like to add a brief HC;

so I'm a rifle instructor at a gun range for a junior club. At the end of our sessions the instructors pick up the shells - only the ones to be reused or sold as scrap, though. It's possible that depending on the material (being biodegradable or valuable) slingers would just leave it there.

furthermore (this is probs wack to the average person oops) a lot of kids like going into the firing range (WHEN THE RANGE IS COLD) to help clean up the shells, and it's not uncommon that when a kid sees a cool looking one (it's big, it's dirty, it's dented, it's neon pink, it's green, it was rare ammo, it was EXPENSIVE ammo, the shape is funny) they'll pick it up and keep it as a keepsake. I got a few from my own junior days. (Just please, please wash you hands after touching ammo shells. Cold water. Must be cold water. 30 seconds. Soap. Orange Non-lead soap if you can. Lead exposure is NOT FUN.)

so....new hc, I think kids in Slugterra pick up shells for fun, plus they are useful when getting older and they're learning how to shoot. But if they're really well-working or expensive, or could be sold for scrap, the slingers themselves go through great lengths to get back their shells. (Not to mention - the rarer the gun (like Eli's), the less compatible the chamber is to the average shell., unless shell and chamber sizes and blaster force have been following a set standard across blaster shops for decades already). They would not be laying on the ground for long. You would not believe how obsessed range officers get at their scrap metal deposit side-hussle...the janitor stole the lead my coach was gonna deposit one year...

This has been bugging me ever since I got into Slugterra: Where the hell do slug shells even come from? Do slingers pick them up after duels? Is there a limit to the number of times a shell can used to sling? I have my own ideas but I like hearing other people.

Im dumb when it comes to technical stuff, but for me, these three Slugidoes help when having to think about this kind of thing

[SI-2 Blasters and You]

[SI-6 Slug Retrieval]

[SI-14 A Bried History of Slugslinging]

I SWARE there was a Slugidoe that explained the Shell/Berrals thing, but I might have hallucinated it, or it was explained in an episode briefly-

But the long of my take is that they are manufactured by Balster manufacturers and are used to house slugs while on the move and for loading them into a blaster.

Before Blasters Slingers(and slugs) would use just about anything to help a slug reach their Valosimorph.

The Shells/Berrals are reusable, and depending on the type of blaster you own, it will determine how much of a mess you make in a duel lmao

For instance, there are Gatling typ blasters but they don't fart out Shells/Berrals like a Gatling gun would after firing, the Shells are hooked to the blaster, like a revolver, and rotate, allowing a Slinger to shoot multiple slugs in quick succession, and reload multiple slugs as once, at the disadvantage of it being heavy, and take a bit longer to load.

One Shell/Berrals Blasters, like Eli's typically have you pushing out the previous shell to load in a new one with a slug in it already, but I believe it's been shown a slug can be loaded into a blaster with a Shell already in it and fired.

Over all clean up depends on the situation.

Tournament? Cleaning crew most likely.

Duel against an enemy? Probably collecting them after the fights over, or there probably staying on the ground, see the Episode Bandoler of Brothers for an example of that.

Probably a whole job to go out and collect them.

Overall, Shells/Berrals are a reusable resource, with the only limitations being how many you can carry on your person at a time and what's needed for the model of blaster you own!

I also like to think they are customizable!

Blakk Industries makes red Berrals, though they might just be stained from Dark Water lol