#i also think it's his most significant relationship post-fall outside of v1

[muzzleroars]

Was Gabriel able to retain or fix any of the relationships he had prior to his Fall? Considering how distressed he was with the changes he was going through he probably completely disregarded the idea of approaching the Ferryman, virtues or any other being for a long while in fear of their reaction and judgement. But I imagine with V1's help in bringing back his confidence, he may eventually regain the courage to reach out (assuming they aren't already trying to track him down.)

Having a greater support network outside themselves would be good for them both, as good to him as V1 is, there would be a lot of gaps it wouldn't be able to fill considering its naivety to topics outside its programming and the patchwork of experience it has developed. And it is a little unfair for it to be the sole bearer of Gabe's mental health (and vice-versa), even if it is more than willing to try. Also it would be sweet seeing V1 being able to investigate others who would normally be trying to kill it (you get that life experience, you funky little bug!)

Actually, would his fall, or his relationship with V1 be considered more 'controversal'? for the Virtues that might depend on when and how they died? At least with V1 being the only one of its model and presumably, only activated towards the end of the machine war, means the odds of encountering a Virtue it personally killed is very low.

I love your art and all the thought you put in to your world building (Unicorn Gabe is inspired) :)

waahhhh thank you!!!! and OH this is definitely something i want to talk about because gabriel does have relationships outside of v1 (and the opposite is true as well, although it's not as important nor "easy" for v1). i do have the idea that there are actually a couple of virtues that "fell" with gabriel, their dedication to him so full that they continue to follow him as they believe he must be right in what he did. he feels exceptionally responsible for them, but humans are not so rigid as angels are and they are not fully corrupt either as there is no god or council to punish them. so they sort of act as agents for him, bringing him news of heaven and its progression after his liberation, though they implicitly understand not to discuss his reputation. otherwise they try to continue doing their duties so as not to attract attention, staying quiet and tracking the movements of the other angels in hell since well....they're sort of where any sympathy for gabriel's situation ends.

those other angels are grieved by his presence and any time they come in contact with him, he is doggedly pursued while they cry out lamentations for the late archangel. he doesn't wish to engage them but that can be difficult, particularly as v1 has no issue with returning fire as it's not about share gabriel's hesitation concerning heavenly citizens. they don't know any specifics of his relationship to v1, but to protect their own angelic egos, they do view it as the instigator of his fall and an evil he's bound to now that he's become a demon. the lesser angels curse what humanity has done, they carry a burning guilt for their own creation to have so sullied the brightest of angels, while the greater angels bemoan god's very creation of humanity that their inventions corrupted gabriel to his core. luckily for them, the angelic presence in hell has decreased a fair amount considering heaven is going through its second upheaval, so gabriel's virtues are generally able to warn him about where any are posted so that he might avoid them.

where things begin to unravel is in gabriel's more personal relationships - he owes little to the angels that simply worked under him, but those like the ferryman are much more difficult to ignore and their presence looms larger in his mind now that he's been given so much time. he can't let them linger, yet how can he show himself as he is? like i mentioned, i'm drafting a comic depicting their initial encounter but...the ferryman takes gabriel's fall poorly. i will say it's a thought i've had for awhile simply based on a little coding quirk of the game - gabriel, judge of hell is a top priority for idols, while gabriel, apostate of hate is lowest priority. this made me think of how it could be reflective of the ferryman's feelings, how they are not forgiving of gabriel's choices and are agonized, bitter, and angry seeing him return to them after all this time in the flesh of a demon. they had labored so tirelessly always thinking of him, the memory of his radiance carrying them through even the desolation of hell...and now he comes back just as ruined as they are, a sinner like the billions of others that had teemed in hell. it's a deep betrayal, he was the one angel that had recognized and loved them in spite of everything, who had whispered the hope of salvation and who they loved in return. honestly, it's difficult to articulate what the ferryman goes through here - a devout soul, one that had worshiped gabriel as the light in their darkness, had dedicated any spare time in their unending labor to venerate him in their art, could do nothing but feel themselves collapse inward at the sight of him crowned with horns.

SO their relationship is exceedingly tense at first, with gabriel feeling at once deeply guilty...and a little mad himself. foremost, he does hate what he's putting the ferryman through, he feels all the resentment and disappointment, with a large part of him thinking he deserves that hatred. because this was always their hope, the rosy thoughts of one day being accepted into heaven even if they both knew it was fantasy. but he so wants them to understand why he did what he did and they're not receptive to it...they're not receptive to him, which is hard to swallow when before they would have bent to his slightest whim. it's selfish and he knows it, but experiencing that loss in their devotion to him stings more than he wants to admit. this issue is compounded GREATLY by the ferryman coming to understand just why he's traveling with v1, not only that it won his heart and corrupted him with it, but that gabriel would love the very thing that had helped wipe out the whole of humanity. it's a waking nightmare for the ferryman honestly, refusing gabriel's desperate explanations and fully condemning him when he tries to grab hold of them as they leave only to burn his hands on their holy cloth. he is so much further from god than even they are.

this got...a LOT longer than i meant, but i do think of them working through this mostly because they NEED to, including the ferryman growing to understand v1. they largely need to confront their worship of their idea of gabriel and reckon that with him as a full person, just like themself, while gabriel needs to accept that he is no longer an object of worship. i do also 100% have ideas about minos finding gabriel, since he IS an optional boss and i think of his prison weakening considerably with gabriel's fall + the death of the council. it similarly goes BAD, but that's much more self-explanatory (i've had a comic idea for...almost a month now, and it goes as well as you think. plus gabe's bull/minotaur theming is a. point. BUT i'll get to it at some point!!!) basically, outside of those couple virtues, gabriel is dealing with the mistakes he made and the lives he left broken as an angel to greater or lesser effect. plus i also just need to shake all these characters around like a dog for enrichment lol