Odd question: Does FL4K think they’re an animal?

Borderlands 3 FL4K the Beastmaster
#1

I know weird question but hear me out. Ever since the FL4K trailer dropped it striked me as highly odd that a character that clearly befriends animals is all about ‘‘The Hunt‘‘.

So are they supposed to be like the alpha wolf of their pack? and think they‘re an animal themselves because they doesn’t understand humans.

Or are the pets merely their ‘‘hunting dogs‘‘?

Or am I just overthinking this.

What do you think. Replies much appreciated.

#2

I don’t think he considers himself an animal. Some people just enjoy the thrill of the hunt.

#3

I don’t think FL4K thinks they are an animal, but as an emergent AI it could be they’ve taken on a few animalistic characteristics over time from being around animals so much. It is stated in the official cosplay guide to the character that they have an easier time understanding animal behavior than human behavior.

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#4

Heck, I have an easier time understanding animal behaviour… They’re generally pretty straight forward.

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#5

Personally, I think they just see themselves as the owner of the pets. People who train dogs don’t (as far as I know) see themselves as an alpha dog. They’re the trainer. Someone with 5 cats doesn’t see themselves as a cat. They own 5 cats.

I think FL4K just sees themself as the pack alpha, but still an AI. They have brought all these creatures who come from all walks of life together to create a home for them. A pack they all can be a part of. That’s my take anyhow.

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#6

Threads like this one is why the entire world makes fun of you Americans.

#7

Three of the participants in this thread (not including your self) are not American - assuming by that you mean from the USA. Europe is very well represented.

#8

I’m not American and I also fail to see what my curious question has to do with Americans.

I just wanted to know what others thought of this situation because I would find it pretty weird if a characters greatly bonds with animals while at the same time enjoys hunting as a sport.

So I wondered if they think they’re a animal themselves and it’s more like a hunting pack of wolfs…

Sorry if this is dumb.

#9

The entire world is making fun of American threads on this forum? Didn’t even know Eskimo fishermen knew about GBX.

:wink:

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#10

The way I see it is that Fl4k sympathizes with animals and lives at least partially by their natural behavior. They see themselves as the Alpha of a pack and therefore as the leading part of that structure. They see themselves as themself, neither human nor animal. Fl4k is basically their own species/category.
That is at least the headcanon I get out of the skill trees, the character trailer and the description.

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#12

I think my question came out a little wrong. I wasn’t asking if FL4K CHOOSE to identify themselves as an animal but rather, because concepts of Humans are strange to them, kinda adopted a “animal mindset” from being much more around animals.

Don’t forget they’re an A.I. so it wouldn’t be out of question,I think, if their “program” analyzed hunting animals and deemed it the most efficient, thus adopting some of their behavior.

Hope this clears some things up.

EDIT: Also

This was never about their gender.

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#13

They might enjoy hunting, but in a world like Borderlands it is easily possible that they enjoy to hunt people more than hunting animals. Also, just because they sympathize with animals it doesn’t make it any harder to hunt animals if they can justify the hunt for themselves (like hunting to provide food for their companions). And animals kill each other all the time, that’s how carnivores survive.

Edit: And just to be clear, the possibility of choosing your sexual identity, your name or even your gender are all results of a culture that embraces individualism. You don’t have to like that and it certainly comes with it’s flaws and problems, but overall it means freedom for almost everyone (edit: at least superficially). How people use their freedom however is another story and very rarely something anyone else should insert themselves into.

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#14

That’s why I thought they may see themselves as an animal.

While this is correct I would still consider it strange if they would, after killing some beast ingame, take great joy in it.

That’s why I thought they might think of themselves as the “alpha wolf” and are simply hunting for their pets.

Because animals(for the most part) don’t have “fun” hunting for their food.

EDIT: @narfkeks

Was this directed at me? Did I said something against people who choose their gender, sexuality etc.?

#15

Not quite right, depending on the species. Most domestic animals kill for the joy of play and for the food. And some carnivores specifically kill herbivores with a high breeding volume like rabbits and overkill like crazy. It’s a natural way to keep the different species in check.

In my area there are way too many shrews and even though they aren’t even edible by cats my cats kill roughly 2-5 a day, just to please their desire to hunt.

That’s why Fl4k had different personality traits that they addressed their animals with. Those traits, the pleaser, the killer/hunter and the player are main characteristics that almost all mammals have, each species and each individual to a different extent.

@OMEGA no it wasn’t meant for you, more for @mrfedia3000
Edit to that: But it is also just a general statement, so nothing personal.

#16

Ah gotcha. Thanks.

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#18

I would even say that a human can have a lot of fun hunting, even if they love animals. Once I was on a trip to hunt down a wild boar and to be honest, it was really satisfying to hunt and then eat it. Obviously not everyone will feel that way. It’s a bit like fighting: It’s animalistic and not many want to do it, but for some it just feels good to do.

#19

If you do it to survive, no. But if you(in general) really love animals and still like to hunt them, just for the sake of the thrill or killing something then I find that highly wrong(This is my personal opinion)

Wholly agree with you!

#20

Fully agree personally, but there are many that barely emphasize with animals in general, but love their own. It is a duality I never really got behind. And yes, my example of hunting down a boar might seem contradictory to that, but in that case I knew that a certain amount of boars needed to be shot to keep the local wood’s population in check, so it would have been shot anyway and therefore using it to feed a group of people didn’t seem like a bad thing to me.

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#21

To elaborate on this. I wouldn’t want to play a character that on the one side is super lovely, playing, petting their pets etc. while at the same time shouting remarks how awesome it is to blow generic Skags to pieces…

For instance I absolutely love Aurelia for her gameplay but can’t stand her dialogue. So I always feel a little uncomfortable when playing her.

Edit: @narfkeks I totally understand that. When a animal has rabies I understand that it needs to be put down, that doesn’t mean I have fun killing it(This is also just meant in general and not directed at you)

#22

I think Fl4k is a god AI

whatever that means