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Zebede Tongva is a gold blooded troll living on Alternia during the time of the MSPA reader's first visit.
His sign is Gempio, sign of the Concise, which has a Prospit sway and is bound to the Light aspect.
Concept and creation[]
Zebede was designed by Phil Gibson. He shares a sign with and seemingly took the place of an earlier beekeeper troll depicted in concept art. His character and appearance is loosely based on that of What Pumpkin Studios team member James Roach, who lives "20 minutes away" from some of the other members of the team, compared to Zebede's "too far (away) to visit" bullet point. In a questionably spirited joke, he is also intended to be a character who "would make the most people angry" in a way that is "a very specific kind of horny".[1]
Zebede was first revealed during the Hiveswap Troll Call event alongside Tyzias Entykk on November 11th, 2017. His bullet points were "aspiring beekeeper.", "3 hours too far away to visit", and "subchirps you when you don't." His bullet points were altered from December 6th, 2018 to "Two days too far to visit" "Sub-chirps you when you don't" and "Hard HATCHED2DANCE stan".
Zebede's Troll Call post announced that "new trolls [would] be revealed every Wednesday... and you can see them all in HIVESWAP: ACT 2", and development screenshots of the game indicated Zebede would be present alongside the rest of the trolls introduced in the Call; in the released product, however, the beekeeper's hive area is abandoned save for a wasp lusus, and is only circumstantially implied to be Zebede's place of residence.
Etymology[]
Zebede's names also reference his apparent similarities to James Roach: the biblical Zebedee was the father of the disciple Saint James (in Spanish called Santiago, Roach's birthname), and the Tongva are an indigenous people of the Los Angeles Basin area where Roach lives.
Biography[]
Zebede is a goldblooded beekeeper living on Alternia who follows Cirava Hermod's streams and enjoys Alternian pop band Hatched2Dance. He lives way out in the countryside for the sake of his bees, which means that people are less likely to visit him due to the distance. Zebede presumably divides his time between tending to his bees and writing fanfiction about his idols.
During the events of Hiveswap Friendsim: Vol. 10, he sends a Chittr and then a Grype request to the player, asking them questions about the player's friendship with Cirava and expressing his desire to hang out with both the player and Cirava someday. Zebede laments that he would never get a chance to do so due to how far away lives, but insists that things are fine.
His hive is decorated with hanging baskets of flowers and plants everywhere, has a bookshelf loaded with colourful tomes and a large television next to an entertainment center. His sofa is yellow and black, much like a bee's colouration.
Good Ending[]
If the player asks whether Zebede is really alright with his entire situation and offer some comforting words, Zebede will be lifted out of his dour mood. Zebede says that he wouldn't want to be a nusiance, but the player agrees to visit Zebede's hive as they are eager to make new friends. Elated, Zebede ends the video call so he may prepare his place for the player's arrival. The player steals an unlocked scuttlebuggy and makes the long drive to Zebede's hive, the goldblood clearly overjoyed to see the player at the door. Right after inviting the player into his hive, Zebede disappears someplace else, leaving the player alone for a moment. Should the player ignore the call from Cirava, Zebede will return with snacks and beverages and ask what the player would like to do. Not wanting to stress Zebede out, the player allows Zebede to decide what could be done for the night. Despite this, Zebede is incredibly fickle when selecting shows and video games, unsure whether the player would like them.
Getting irritated, the player suggests that they just watch the last thing Zebede viewed on Grubtube. Zebede is initially hesitant to do so, but after the player promises not to judge, he allows the player to have a look. After chatting a bit about his favorite band, a loud commotion from outside startles both the player and Zebede. The player decides to face the owner of the car before the intruder destroys Zebede's hive, and the goldblood is extremely touched by the player's dedication. Just as the player is about to exit the door, Zebede raises his voice, causing the buzzing outside to increase in volume. The reason why the buzzing sound became louder was Zebede used his psychic powers to make his bees attack the intruder. The intruder is nowhere to be found after a lot of screaming, and Zebede concedes that what took place was cool. Zebede offers the player popcorn after embracing them, and the two enter the hive to continue watching videos.
Bad Endings[]
If the player asks about where Zebede lives and mention the wonders they've seen while out in the countryside, Zebede will take the player's statements as a backhanded insult. Even though the player quickly insists that Zebede is most definitely not uncool, they fail to convince Zebede. The player laments their lost opportunity to make friends with Zebede, as it was clear that the goldblood wouldn't share much with the player.
Should the player answer Cirava, they will greet the player and begin chatting for quite a bit. When the player asks whether Cirava is familiar with Zebede (they only recognize Zebede's online username), Cirava becomes quite nervous and explains that Zebede has written erotic fanfiction about them. They give you a final warning before ending the call, and the player looks through Zebede's other work to pass the time. Zebede abruptly appears behind the player, becoming shocked and betrayed to learn that the player looking through his fiction without permission. The player tries to explain themselves, but Zebede has stopped listening to the player and is too busy crying. Feeling downright horrible, the player hopes that the scuttlebuggy has enough fuel to get them back to the city.
Personality and traits[]
Zebede is a beekeeper living out in the countryside, and seems to harbour a bit of resentment about living so far away from civilization. Even though he knows full well that it's all done for the sake of his bees, he constantly laments the fact that no one could be bothered to visit him as the distance is too much. Despite this, he genuinely cares about his bees; when the player enquires whether he telekinetically threw bees at an intruder, He is appalled at the idea of hurting his bees in any manner. It should be noted that even though Zebede is able to communicate with his bees, the bees would sometimes ignore him despite how polite the request may be.
At first Zebede appears to be an eager and somewhat dorky troll due to his eagerness to meet the player, but it quickly becomes apparent that he's hiding how lonely he feels behind his cheery façade. He constantly states how he would like to hang out with the player and Cirava numerous times, but would insist that he's alright with his friendlessness (his expression clearly says otherwise). He has a tendency to say downbeat stuff about himself, believing that other people are far better and cooler than he is. Apart from that, He is noted to say the word 'sigh' in an exaggerated manner instead of actually sighing; it is not made clear whether this is a verbal tic or a way to obtain pity. Whether his overall demeanor is a byproduct of his insecurities or a not-so-subtle manner of guilt-tripping the player (intentional or otherwise) is up for interpretation.
Zebede is also noted to be quite emotional, and has has no trouble expressing how he feels freely. This is best illustrated when he is talking to the player: he goes through a whole range of emotions, his face clearly portraying how he felt at each given moment. When he believes that the player has betrayed his trust, he breaks down into tears and cries unselfconsciously, causing the player quite a bit of distress.
Apart from that, Zebede seems to be a rather private person; he becomes visibly flustered when the player goes through his fanfiction without permission and when the player suggests viewing the last video Zebede watched. This might be due to the fact that he does not want to be judged harshly for his preferences, as he mentions feeling the need to agree with strangers blindly just for the sake of being accepted. This also implies that the frustration he exhibits when going through his interests in front of the player is caused by his fear of judgement; worried that the player would scoff at his hobbies.
Despite this, Zebede is more than willing to defend the player from harm (even though the player admits to committing the crime). This is likely because he is beyond touched that someone was willing to steal a car to visit, and now said person is willing to lay down their life for his sake. Just as the player is about to hand themselves over to the enraged owner of the scuttlebuggy, Zebede loudly insists that no one would lay a hand on the player, commanding his bees to attack the intruder outside.
Skills and abilities[]
Zebede "speaks" to his bees telepathically[citation needed] in a way similar to Tavros Nitram's animal communion; however Sollux Captor is also shown to have some ability to communicate with his own apiculture network.
Relationships[]
Lusus[]
Zebede seems to have a good relationship with his lusus.[citation needed]
Cirava Hermod[]
He adores Cirava a lot, and frequently expresses the desire to meet up with them and perhaps hang out sometime. Zebede also watches numerous videos from Cirava's channel, specifically ones where the streamer themself makes an appearance in the video. While this might appear to be typical fanboy behavior (fawning over idols and gushing over every little detail about them) he has gone on to write self-indulgent fanfiction regarding the popular online streamer. While Cirava isn't one to judge, they are still somewhat unsettled by the fact that Zebede had openly published the erotic fanfiction. Whether this means Zebede has feelings for Cirava is not made obvious.
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- The band he likes, Hatched2Dance, also happens to be the same one Vikare Ratite adores.
- The shows Zebede goes through include one about pirates, while the other was about space pirates.
- The icon he uses for his Grype account is a trollified image of Korean pop band BTS.
- Zebede says that he knows of the player since they appeared in one of Cirava's photos, and that he's both Cirava's and the player's biggest fan.
- His route is the first one to be co-written by two of the writers for Friendsim.
References[]
- ↑ James Roach. james roach. August 18, 2018. Archived from the original on August 2, 2022.