i typically struggle with reading but i want to know more about canon skitter marshall. is there any tales that help me with understanding him as a character better?
ahhhh sorry anon for being incredibly late, but for those of you who want to know more about skitter, i have bad news; beyond his introduction, he does not have his own personal tale nor have a series of tales. if he's mentioned in a tale, he's typically used as an MCD stand in due to being the public face of MCD (see; Skitter Marshall), which means he's the most prone to inconsistent characterisation. however, he does have different characterisations that depend on the canon!
for all intents and purposes, we're going to differentiate the main skitters by "Wayfinder Skitter" and "Incel Skitter."
out of the MC&D adjacent canons (which basically MC&D has more than 3 dedicated tales), Wills and Ways/Acidverse and All That Glisters share the same characterisation and backstory for skitter; a Wayfinder that explores the Ways. Usually uses it to his own benefit, whether it be for entertainment or company purposes. he's the public face of MC&D because he's a real everyman compared to the other two junior partners. Robert's off going into hedonism, Iris is smarter than the other two and is being groomed into a role for it, and Skitter is just a guy. Wayfinder Skitter has been the standard skitter for years, up until recent times.
tales that i believe characterise Wayfinder Skitter well:
• Skitter Marshall; introduction tale to the character himself in wills and ways. also just read wills and ways, it's been around since 2014, and outside of iris, has been the defining source of characterisation for skitter and robert (at least from a reader's standpoint)
• Masks, Monsters, and Merchants; admittedly one of the only times we see skitter in this canon, but for what we get out of him, it fits in line with what i described above.
• Nexus Hyperline; i feel as if this tale really highlights his 'just a guy-ism' and i just like it :P also i havent read this canon i literally have only read this tale from it so take it with a grain of salt
moving onto Incel Skitter, differentiated from Wayfinder Skitter through the fact that 'skitter' is a nickname, not his actual name; his actual name is Chrysophilus "Skitter" Marshall. Incel Skitter is a funnier name to call him by though. despite his name, he does get laid, however he is more of an insufferable rich boy. Canons that adhere to this skitter are Rich Man's World and Black Diamond Billions. This Skitter seems to be more popular as of recent (as in the last 5 years) and admittedly i dont like him as much as Wayfinder Skitter (but i am autistic and cling to what im used to so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯)
tales i believe characterise Incel Skitter well:
• Get Out of Her Way; im pretty sure this is the first time we see Chrysophilus? at least as a reader, its the first time i recall seeing him ever. ever since then, i have disliked him
• Eat Your Food!; casual mcd is rare and inbetween. i like him here actually. hes silly
• What Are We To Do; you can put anything for password + username, its a gimmick. skitter is stressed yayyyyyy he deserves it
there are also some tales that i feel like are separate from these two previous characterisations, but are still worth reading (because we love skitter);
• Your Number One; highlights how different he is to his partners! more in line with Wayfinder Skitter than Incel Skitter imo. i feel bad for him here, my sopping wet cat. also i havent read the 120 hub so i dont wanna put him on either side of the spectrum
• Job Opportunities; an example of skitter marshall being used as a stand-in, as opposed to an actual character.
also theres that one cowboy au canon that i wont lie! i dont care for all that much so i dont have anything to say about. but i think it somewhat falls under Wayfinder Skitter???? idk its been a hot minute since i've read it but i dont care for it enough to reread
anyways skitter as a character overall seems to have to be different from the other two junior partners, being more human and down to earth in a variety of ways. this makes him a good face for MCD, but it also makes being a skitter fan a bit annoying without context, so i hope this helps! happy reading to all <3
