#some of these are probably carryovers from previous chapters

[charlie-pippin-faraday]

A compilation of my favorite Makoto lines you get if you fuck around in chapter 6 instead of investigating where you're supposed to:

The shelves in the warehouse: How can they afford all this stuff? Are they making that much money off their damn "killing game" broadcast? That's the only way I can think of for them to be able to buy all this. Whoever they are, they must be an adult. A dirty, awful, evil adult!

The bath water inside the bathhouse: I just realized I haven't taken a bath since I rolled around in all that trash...I could really use a nice bath to clear my head...but there's no time!

Sauna: Urg...it's so hot. Makes it hard to even focus...I feel like I'm slowly losing my mind...Y-Ya know, if you pronounced "Thursday" like "Thaursday"...that'd be kinda funny...

The machinery/control panel thing in the physics lab: The sound of the machinery seems like it's trying to tell me something...It's exploring the structure of the materials, recording the interaction of the elements...From individual particles to cosmic systems, including the phenomena of life itself...That's physics!

The shelf in the physics lab equipment room: Now that's a big shelf.

The locker in the rec room: This is where Toko hid when Sakura...It almost seems fitting. Not that I'd ever say that to her... [wtf do you mean by that, Makoto???]

The chess-themed bottles in the rec room: Did Monokuma make this bottle himself? Like...by hand? Or paw? Or whatever?

The pool table in the rec room: The pool table...For some reason, I feel like Byakuya would be into something like this. [side note: based on my notes and what I remember, I genuinely don't think Byakuya stepped foot into the rec room until Sakura's death. Like, there's not even a free time slot where he's hanging out in there. So why would Makoto think this lol. Is he just fantasizing about Byakuya?]

The Monokuma statue in the art room: I have to assume Monokuma made this statue himself...What kinda big-shot wannabe makes a statue of himself? That's so medieval...

The plaque on the trophy case in the gym entryway: When I look at this plaque, I think..."so what?"

Hiro's room: This is Hiro's room. I don't have any reason to want to go inside...

Hina's room: This is Hina's room. I don't wanna imagine what she'd do if I went in without telling her...

Byakuya's room: This is Byakuya's room. If I set foot inside without asking, he'd feed me to the vultures...

Kyoko's room: This is Kyoko's room. I think she'd be *very* unhappy if I just barged in without permission...

[Interestingly enough, despite being alive, Toko's room doesn't get a personalized thought like the other 4 do, that line of dialogue isn't that much different than the one you get when clicking on the doors of all the dead students. Meanwhile Sayaka's room actually gives you something ever so slightly different. Just an interesting thought]

The gun by the front door: This makes me think of that evil robot from Robocop...I really don't have time to be thinking about Robocop. Still, what a great movie...

The cardboard box in the A/V room: Maybe there's some Monocoins hiding in here somewhere... [followed by me immediately finding a Monocoin]

The DVD player in the A/V room: I mostly rent DVDs, so I don't really have too many of my own. That's probably true of most people, so I dunno why I bothered to say anything... [nothing dates this game and says "this was made in 2010" quite as much as this line imo]

The clock in the dining hall: Time is money, they say. Which means I'm burning through my life savings just by existing...

And then finally, my personal favorite:

The swimsuit hanging in the laundry room: You know, all this time the swimsuit's been here, I never found out whose it was. Let's see...Ah! It has Hiro's name written on it! I've been lied to! In so many ways!

[magic-and-moonlit-wings]

Chapter 27: Market

Marianne had asked Dawn if she could find an excuse to get some of the other goblins out and about in the Fairy Kingdom. She wanted to save Bog's tour for when Marianne could personally escort him, but she also wanted their citizens to get accustomed as quickly as possible to goblins peaceably walking the streets. 

Dawn had decided to start with Griselda. Once you got over the initial startled impression of 'grey skin, clawed hands, too-long arms, too-large mouth, teeth, horns, goblin,' Griselda was almost completely unintimidating. 

She must have been a force to be reckoned with at one time, to have raised a son like Bog and to have been former Queen of the Dark Forest, but Dawn's primary impression of Griselda was that she was affable and gregarious. 

She was also around an elf's average height, so she wouldn't have to duck while visiting or shopping if things went well and she made friends in the elves' village … and wasn't quite as startling to see out of the corner of your eye, like Bog or his looming bodyguard. 

Okay, so Dawn had multiple motives for selecting Griselda for the first attempt at this and some of those reasons were more callous and manipulative than others. 

Such as knowing that making a good impression on his mother would likely also have a carryover effect of making a good impression on the Bog King. 

And Griselda being compact enough that Dawn could probably fly her out of danger at least a short way if this didn't go as well as she was hoping. 

And how Griselda was still keen to get Marianne and Bog together, especially now that the love potion seemed to have worn off, making it only a matter of time until they stopped denying their attraction and kissed already, so Griselda would have a vested interest of her own in wanting this to go well. 

And how much more quickly Marianne and Bog's relationship might progress if they weren't worried that his mom might come in and interrupt them at any moment. (That one might have been over-eagerness on Dawn's part. There would still be a chance of her and Marianne's dad interrupting, after all; along with the royal physician, and potentially literally anyone else in the castle, as long as Marianne was in the hospital wing.) 

But Dawn also enjoyed Griselda's company and thought that Griselda would enjoy this experience. 

Dawn knocked shyly on Griselda's door, aware she might be waking her up, and careful to tap softly so that Griselda could pretend, if awake and disinclined to company, that she simply hadn't heard. 

"It's unlocked!" Griselda called from inside. 

Dawn peeked in. Griselda was sitting in one of the fancy twig-woven chairs, just setting aside a book. 

"This a social call? Or did my son finally manage to mortally offend someone, and you're here to tell me I have to either talk him out of it or watch the duel?" 

Dawn had to laugh. 

"Neither. You seemed really interested, when we were talking about plumbing? So I thought, if you wanted, we could go into town and I could introduce you to the Plumbers' Guild, since they'd know the most about what you'd have to do if you wanted to set up pipeworks in the Dark Forest. We don't need to do it today, I didn't set up an official appointment with them or anything, but we would probably have to during the day since most businesses shut down at night." 

"Well, aren't you just the sweetest sprig of honeysuckle!" Griselda's wide face was perfect for wide smiles. "I've been wanting to get a better look around this place. Let me leave my son a note where I've gone, then I'll get Thang up to take notes on the meeting if we need any, and we can go." 

Thang wasn't one of the goblins who wore clothes, but brownies didn't wear clothing either, unless they were doing some kind of fiddly work where fur could be hazardous, or messy work where protective clothing would be easier to clean than their own pelts, so the presence of a naked goblin wouldn't be as scandalous in the village as it was in the castle. 

Dawn was in two minds about which goblins to start with when events moved on to formally presenting goblins to the Fairy Court. If they started by inviting goblins who did wear clothes, then the courtiers might be more … willing … to adapt to goblins, before having to adapt to casual nudity as well. But, on the other hand, clothed goblins seemed to be a rarity, or at least a minority, and would not create an accurate representation of all the Dark Forest citizenry that the Fairy Court would eventually be expected to interact with. In that case, getting both shocks over with at once might be the better route? 

Dawn would run those points by Marianne later and see what her sister thought, before asking Griselda which goblins the former queen thought would be willing to adapt to Fairy Court. From the admittedly little amount Dawn had seen of it, the Dark Forest Court didn't seem nearly as formal as the one to which she had been raised. 

The walk to the guild hall was slightly overwhelming. Griselda had been out and about by day before, but almost always with a canopy of tree branches blocking most of the light. The Fairy Kingdom was as bright as noon in midwinter, and a thousand times more colourful. 

It was crowded, too, once they got to town. The streets were full of elves and brownies going about their business. Despite being only a small village, it had an energy that reminded Griselda of some of the bigger cities in the forest. 

"Are those bridges?" Thang pointed out rickety-looking connections between some of the taller buildings that ran over the streets. "It's almost like the capital, isn't it?" 

Amber Hollow had a cluster of trees on one side connected by a weaving nest of bridges, so the goblins inside didn't have to go all the way to the ground and climb back up to travel between them. They were mostly government offices; not every piece of official business had been done in the castle. 

There was also talk of building an indoor marketplace that way, to shield goods from inclement weather, but as far as Griselda knew that was still idle chatter. 

There were shops in the bridged trees, which were mostly to sell food to busy goblins who didn't have time to leave their jobs for a meal. One clever, enterprising soul was also doing brisk business by selling blank paper and bottles of ink. 

The marketplace here had a great many food stands as well; produce and baked goods and preserves. 

There were bolts of cloth and sheaves of petals and leaves for clothing, piles of clothing already sewn, hats, and what Griselda eventually figured out were shoes. 

Livestock, insects and rodents, were herded through the streets once in a while. This got Thang very excited the first time they had to move aside for such a group, because he mistook the procession for the start of a parade. 

There was a shop filled with ceramic dishes and another shop beside it with metal pots and pans and utensils. 

Merchants sold all manner of tools, some of which she could identify; others of which, to Griselda's untrained eyes, might as well have been abstract sculptures. 

It was less bright inside the guild hall, though still crowded and still colourful, with shining metal pipes and tools displayed throughout. 

There was some tension when they arrived. Griselda expected that. She'd seen the suspicious looks sent her and Thang's way the whole walk over, and noticed how, despite the crowds, no one had gotten close enough to bump into them. But Dawn's pointed presence and Royal Endorsement got the conversation going, and kept anyone from being openly rude. 

"Hey, Thang, are you officially a scribe?" Dawn asked on the way back to the Fairy Castle. 

"I had some scribe training mixed in with secretary training, but my official title is Royal Aide. Stuff and I have worked for the Bog King since he was the prince." 

Thang proudly clutched his notes. Griselda, listening to them with half an ear, was glad Dawn had suggested meeting the Plumbers' Guild when she had. If the Dark Forest's next castle was going to have running water – so much more convenient than buckets! – it would apparently be a lot easier to put the pipes in while it was being built, rather than – what was the word that one elf had used – retrofit the completed fortress. 

An intoxicating smell wafted through the air and Griselda stopped walking. Was that –? She sniffed and turned. Yes. A butcher shop. 

It was the middle of the afternoon, but a little snack wasn't going to spoil her breakfast that evening … 

She patted the pocket of her dress and bit back a curse when she remembered that she wasn't carrying any money. 

Probably for the best, she told her growling stomach as she hurried to catch up with Dawn and Thang. Who knew if a brownie- or elf-owned store would even take goblin currency? To some shopkeepers, gold was gold regardless of where it came from, but others could be so picky. And of course she couldn't expect a foreign shop, where they didn't know her, to sell her anything on credit. 

Griselda made a mental note to lean on Bog and Marianne about settling an exchange rate. 

I finished this and Chapter 26 together, but wanted to save this update so I could post a new chapter for Christmas. I do not have Chapter 28 completed yet, but hopefully I will by next month! 

Those who have read 'Economic Differences' might be confused by Griselda’s comment about goblin currency, since in that story, they don’t have money. To put it simply, 'Economic Differences' and 'Taking the Feisty One' are in different continuities, and in this story's timeline, goblins do use money. 

Re-read the previous chapter. 

Read the next chapter.

[shadowsong26fic]

Follow up question: What exactly is keeping her from telling them at present? It's not like they can't keep a secret from Luke.

A couple reasons, actually, and keeping the secret from Luke actually isn’t one of them.

Behind a cut, because it got a little wordy.

First, it’s…sort of a carryover from the early days, where she had to be Completely Committed to the lie. The more times she discussed the truth, and the more people she discussed it with, the likelier she was to slip up and say something somewhere/to someone she shouldn’t. That’s less of a concern now (she’s got things compartmentalized in her head pretty well after seven+ years), but it’s a hard habit to break.

Second, it’s to protect them. Like she mentions in the chapter where she and Sola are talking about Pooja, she feels that keeping them in the dark as completely as she can is the best way to protect them: 

She had tried so hard to keep her family out of danger–they’d already had more than enough of that, in the detention camps during the Trade Federation occupation–which meant keeping them in the dark about what she was doing now. What she never told them, she reasoned, they could never be arrested and tortured, or otherwise–blackmailed, coerced, forced to divulge.

She’s talking here just in general about her Rebel activities, but it definitely also applies to her husband and children, especially since any knowledge of Jedi whereabouts, or Anakin Skywalker’s bloodline/children, would be a very dangerous secret to have. Besides, everything to do with Anakin and Leia, and how and why they all separated, is all tangled up with her current, actively illegal Rebel work anyway, so it’s doubly dangerous.

Third (and this is kind of more…nebulous/hard to articulate), when they separated, she and Anakin agreed that they would reunite after ten years, or when Palpatine was deposed, whichever came sooner. So, in her mind, she’s sort of…there’s a boundary there? Because the previous two points, those don’t change at this boundary point, the risks don’t go away, but…at that point, the status of her relationship (both with Anakin and with her children) will change. So will how they protect the twins. So, partly because she’s a little paranoid about changing her approach before she hits this point, and partly because she doesn’t know exactly how things will shift until she gets there, she’s holding off on bringing any new people into the conspiracy (unless there’s an immediate, obvious need to) until then.

And then there are some even more nebulous, purely emotional reasons. Like…how can she introduce Anakin and Leia to her family, so to speak, when they’re all so separated? How can she introduce them before she sees them again, holds them again? Which is sort of related to what she told her parents about why she never mentioned she was pregnant, way back when–she had to talk to baby’s father first. It’s not exactly the same situation, but it’s sort of the same emotional faultline, if you know what I mean? Plus, Not Talking About her relationship with Anakin is sort of second nature to her (even if, while they were in much closer contact during the Clone War, they gave themselves away in so many other ways) so approaching an actual Confession is not going to be easy for her.

Basically, she has a lot of reasons, most of which are extremely emotional and therefore probably don’t make much logical sense, and some of which may be wrong/deeply flawed/mistakes. But there are actual reasons why she hasn’t told them yet.