Naem (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
mistytpednaem) wrote2010-07-11 04:19 pm
mistytpednaem) wrote2010-07-11 04:19 pm
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Sooo, a few days ago I said I'd be willing to tl;dr about Shelly again. Since I'm not one to break my promises, uh, this is what this post is for. Yeah. I still feel really pathetic doing this.
On a vaguely related note, I'd be the worst assassin ever because I feel remorse just from making an anonymous person feel bad on the Internet (and also because I keep dropping anon at the worst times).
I had more questions asked this time! However, I forgot like half of them, so I'll just talk about things as I remember them.
Several people asked about Shelly's monocle. Now, in terms of character design, its obvious purpose is to add to his "ridiculously British butler" look. Really, the only reason they didn't give him a top hat is that it'd be just plain over-the-top, and then they'd have to try extra hard to make Matt look stereotypically evil (and it wouldn't make much sense for him to magically sprout a goatee as he reveals his scars). As for an in-character reason for why he wears it, well, the simple way to explain it is that he just doesn't realise how anachronistic it looks. But I like this theory that I've seen a couple of fanfic writers using: it's a corrective lens for his left eye. Perhaps that eye in particular was worn out from, say, extensive use of a sniper rifle, or perhaps it was just some other random injury. In any case, my first hypothesis still has to be at least half-right, because he could just wear a contact lens instead of a monocle. :T
... Or maybe his vision is deteriorated in BOTH eyes and he just wears a monocle on one and a contact lens on the other. But that'd be very silly.
Next question: IF SHELLY WAS STUCK ON A DESERT ISLAND, WHAT FIVE THINGS WOULD HE BRING WITH HIM? I ASKED IF I WAS REQUIRED TO ANSWER IN ALL CAPS, but I'm not. Well, this is something I've never thought about! Maybe because he does essentially live on his little island of solitude and loneliness when he's not doing business. He'd barely notice the difference, really, it's just that he'd get bored much more quickly and he wouldn't even have a newspaper to keep track of what's going on outside. But, well, I can try to pull an answer out of my ass:
1) If he had a cat or a dog, he'd bring them with him. SHUT UP. THAT'S NOT CHEATING.
2) Shaving cream and several other hygiene products. Can't let himself go just because he's fighting for his survival, you know.
3) A knife. Guns need ammunition, and you'd have to be retarded to try and kill a wild animal with piano wire. Not just any knife, though; he'd want to bring his fancy little heirloom. Yeah, normal people get necklaces and bracelets as heirlooms. Assassins-that-aren't-really-related-by-blood-but-almost get fancy Italian knives.
4) A change of clothes. No, they wouldn't be t-shirts or shorts. He's got a dress code, dammit, and he's sticking to it.
5) A few books. More on this just in a second.
A totally cool dude asked me about the creative activities Shelly engages in. And this is a surprisingly difficult question, as I mostly write him as someone who barely has a personal life beyond his job. After some thought, I've established that he enjoys reading; however, as he has little time for it, he just sticks to reading the classics he has heard of (because that means they've got to be decent, right?). I have also decided that he's particularly fond of Charles Dickens. This might be solely because of something a friend wrote for me.
Plus, through the power of MATHEMATICS and ASS-PULLING, I have concluded that he could have been a fan of the original series of Doctor Who when he was a kid. Eventually, he would stop having the time to keep up with the show, but I'm sure that, even when he was already training under his mentor, he was occasionally allowed to watch it as a reward for doing well. 8D
Aaaand speaking of his childhood, a very interesting question I got was about Shelly's hopes and dreams for the future and what he thinks of them now. It really is an interesting question... because he might have had none at all.
He probably had a reason for becoming an assassin, especially one with a fake name that he regards as his real one now. For some reason, I'm fairly sure he had absent, possibly even neglectful parents. Well, "neglectful" is really a wild guess, but I can say with some certainty that his parents were absent - whether their absence was physical or affective, that's anyone's guess. Basically, he felt as if he had no purpose in life - his only dream was to have one.
So hey, one day he meets a nice guy, follows him around for a bit, nice guy likes him and offers to look after him and teach him how to do things and he gives him a purpose and Shelly's satisfied. Maybe even happy. And thus, this little boy grows up, ages, and ends up as a mostly angst-free guy. Sure, he might be a little messed up in the head, but at least he's happy with his life.
Lastly, a friend asked me to explain Shelly/Viola. Man, why do you need an explanation? You have WRITTEN Shelly/Viola. But I said I'd answer it, and I will! Well, from time to time, when some particularly touchy business needs to be done, the Mafia could totally hire an assassin. Bruto Cadaverini hires Shelly, Shelly sees no reason to suspect him, they might even become sort-of friends. One day, Viola's the one to discuss business with him, and they end up bonding. They're both polite lonely people with a peculiar sense of humour and a talent for sneaking death threats into casual conversation. They're like... soulmates, man. I-I'm sure the age difference squicks some people out, but for some reason, I'm not bothered by it. ;;;
And if you can't see them being loving partners in crime, well... Yeah, don't worry, that might just mean you're not insane.
And that's the end of this post that is severely lacking in eloquence. Man, I'm so bad at expressing myself. And good God, I can't believe I wrote this much. WHAT IS MY LIIIIIFE?
On a vaguely related note, I'd be the worst assassin ever because I feel remorse just from making an anonymous person feel bad on the Internet (and also because I keep dropping anon at the worst times).
I had more questions asked this time! However, I forgot like half of them, so I'll just talk about things as I remember them.
Several people asked about Shelly's monocle. Now, in terms of character design, its obvious purpose is to add to his "ridiculously British butler" look. Really, the only reason they didn't give him a top hat is that it'd be just plain over-the-top, and then they'd have to try extra hard to make Matt look stereotypically evil (and it wouldn't make much sense for him to magically sprout a goatee as he reveals his scars). As for an in-character reason for why he wears it, well, the simple way to explain it is that he just doesn't realise how anachronistic it looks. But I like this theory that I've seen a couple of fanfic writers using: it's a corrective lens for his left eye. Perhaps that eye in particular was worn out from, say, extensive use of a sniper rifle, or perhaps it was just some other random injury. In any case, my first hypothesis still has to be at least half-right, because he could just wear a contact lens instead of a monocle. :T
... Or maybe his vision is deteriorated in BOTH eyes and he just wears a monocle on one and a contact lens on the other. But that'd be very silly.
Next question: IF SHELLY WAS STUCK ON A DESERT ISLAND, WHAT FIVE THINGS WOULD HE BRING WITH HIM? I ASKED IF I WAS REQUIRED TO ANSWER IN ALL CAPS, but I'm not. Well, this is something I've never thought about! Maybe because he does essentially live on his little island of solitude and loneliness when he's not doing business. He'd barely notice the difference, really, it's just that he'd get bored much more quickly and he wouldn't even have a newspaper to keep track of what's going on outside. But, well, I can try to pull an answer out of my ass:
1) If he had a cat or a dog, he'd bring them with him. SHUT UP. THAT'S NOT CHEATING.
2) Shaving cream and several other hygiene products. Can't let himself go just because he's fighting for his survival, you know.
3) A knife. Guns need ammunition, and you'd have to be retarded to try and kill a wild animal with piano wire. Not just any knife, though; he'd want to bring his fancy little heirloom. Yeah, normal people get necklaces and bracelets as heirlooms. Assassins-that-aren't-really-related-by-blood-but-almost get fancy Italian knives.
4) A change of clothes. No, they wouldn't be t-shirts or shorts. He's got a dress code, dammit, and he's sticking to it.
5) A few books. More on this just in a second.
A totally cool dude asked me about the creative activities Shelly engages in. And this is a surprisingly difficult question, as I mostly write him as someone who barely has a personal life beyond his job. After some thought, I've established that he enjoys reading; however, as he has little time for it, he just sticks to reading the classics he has heard of (because that means they've got to be decent, right?). I have also decided that he's particularly fond of Charles Dickens. This might be solely because of something a friend wrote for me.
Plus, through the power of MATHEMATICS and ASS-PULLING, I have concluded that he could have been a fan of the original series of Doctor Who when he was a kid. Eventually, he would stop having the time to keep up with the show, but I'm sure that, even when he was already training under his mentor, he was occasionally allowed to watch it as a reward for doing well. 8D
Aaaand speaking of his childhood, a very interesting question I got was about Shelly's hopes and dreams for the future and what he thinks of them now. It really is an interesting question... because he might have had none at all.
He probably had a reason for becoming an assassin, especially one with a fake name that he regards as his real one now. For some reason, I'm fairly sure he had absent, possibly even neglectful parents. Well, "neglectful" is really a wild guess, but I can say with some certainty that his parents were absent - whether their absence was physical or affective, that's anyone's guess. Basically, he felt as if he had no purpose in life - his only dream was to have one.
So hey, one day he meets a nice guy, follows him around for a bit, nice guy likes him and offers to look after him and teach him how to do things and he gives him a purpose and Shelly's satisfied. Maybe even happy. And thus, this little boy grows up, ages, and ends up as a mostly angst-free guy. Sure, he might be a little messed up in the head, but at least he's happy with his life.
Lastly, a friend asked me to explain Shelly/Viola. Man, why do you need an explanation? You have WRITTEN Shelly/Viola. But I said I'd answer it, and I will! Well, from time to time, when some particularly touchy business needs to be done, the Mafia could totally hire an assassin. Bruto Cadaverini hires Shelly, Shelly sees no reason to suspect him, they might even become sort-of friends. One day, Viola's the one to discuss business with him, and they end up bonding. They're both polite lonely people with a peculiar sense of humour and a talent for sneaking death threats into casual conversation. They're like... soulmates, man. I-I'm sure the age difference squicks some people out, but for some reason, I'm not bothered by it. ;;;
And if you can't see them being loving partners in crime, well... Yeah, don't worry, that might just mean you're not insane.
And that's the end of this post that is severely lacking in eloquence. Man, I'm so bad at expressing myself. And good God, I can't believe I wrote this much. WHAT IS MY LIIIIIFE?