#there was a lot only implied in this chapter and it's fun to elaborate on that

[lavenoon]

*cracks knuckles*

(gonna copy this to AO3 too, after sending it, but I don’t know it just feels like tradition to send the big ones to tumblr first haha)

Ok let's get right to it!!

So first of all I gotta say I love everything about this first ever interaction! It really gives a good look at what it was like for both Dusk and Robin before meeting each other. 

Like, the fact that Dusk was so sure he would be able to get there before them, because he took a “shortcut”, but it’s clear who is the most familiar with the city and the actual fastest routes. He’s so impressed that they were able to get there faster than him, haha! The fact that he did this at all makes me wonder if as a way of proving himself as capable as he is, he has taken it upon himself for a while to get into jobs above his ranks and steal the show. He certainly seems to have had a plan from the start to outdo this agent, even if he didn’t know who they were at first.

But I adore that Robin immediately shows him it’s not that easy. They are a star agent for a reason. Beating him there, stealing his cap, and not even a lick of doubt when they say they are sure they could take him in a fight. Dusk might be used to people outright being scared of him, but Robin shows none of that.

Not that they’re unaffected of course. We see it through all the chapter and Dusk throws a couple of low blows even if he doesn’t realize it. “The prickly agent that no one likes”, and especially the “If that’s how you treat your fellow agents, maybe it’s no surprise you’re unpopular.” Because oof. We know a younger Robin likely tried. Really tried to get along with others before any illusion of camaraderie was broken. And it must have felt like they were the problem because of something natural to them. And now Dusk is telling them that they are the problem for how they choose to act. Damned if you do, and damned if you don’t right? (and while I know that it’s probably not necessary at all I am just a bit curious if Moon ever thinks back and realizes his words might have stung more than he realized at first)

But aaaah, it seems Robin’s honesty does seem to have piqued his interest! Because there are implications in what Robin says about him needing to try harder to make fun of them. That maybe it wasn’t just once or twice that they received worse. Also there’s Robin saying that he doesn’t trust him, because he can hardly argue against the fact that they haven’t seen him work, and they have already shown that they are ahead of him in the game twice in the night so far. So it’s not a dismissal of him being incapable, it’s very much just that as an agent they can’t just go ahead and make careless assumptions, and Dusk knows it. 

But oooh it’s so nice seeing how they can clearly connect a little, even if Robin tries to resist it. Because Dusk reminds them so much of their own early days and how he shares some of the same interests and likes that they need to keep guarded most of the time. 

(sidenote: ooough my heart when he asked if they had given up on the fun, because while clearly they haven’t it’s such a lonely way of having fun and I worry that eventually they would have lost the drive to even try and keep that aspect of their job in the future ;-;)

And pffff it was hilarious seeing Dusk so cocky, confident that he’d just stolen the job from the top agent and was on his way to impress the office XD I can just imagine whoever needed the info looking at what he brought and going “ok… where’s the rest?” and him suddenly a mini panic because uh oh, what rest?

Kinda deserved tbh XD

(But aaaah again with the “you’re no fun” bit ooough, because trying to be fun only brought them rejection among their peers HHHHHH)

But it’s clear that with every moment that passes Dusk doesn’t really think they’re not fun. Actually it seems he really finds them the most fun to be around, and it’s nice that he seems to bring out that a bit more when he himself reflects what Robin wishes the job could be more about, cool stuff and booby traps or even just the secret agent theme being a cool thing to think about. Bet Dusk counted it as an absolute win when they finally ended up laughing freely. Also the fact that he was so offended at the notion that he is boring because he keeps telling them not to swear is so funny XD How dare they imply he’s as dull as the other agents!

And awww when they mentioned him in the report! It’s not nothing to receive a commendation from the star agent, but to Robin it was probably just giving credit where credit is due. But oof, the small doubts that he is still just using them to serve his own image are still there and they definitely come to play later in the fic.

It’s nice to see how from then on Robin half takes him under their wing (had to, sorry Robin XD), but it also is not precisely mentorship, but a developing friendship with a pinch of helping out. The fact that they let him know the rookie mission was a setup to alleviate the pressure from the “failure” after all. How it’s a cynical practice to harden the agents. Knowing that would definitely help him be more aware of how EVOC works. 

But aaaaaa then we get the nice routine established only for the doubts to come back with a vengeance.  And ooough it hurts! Because Dusk was likely just looking for some guidance on what to expect if he did get the promotion. So from his perspective the sudden hostility likely felt like a slap on the face! But it comes back to that right? Robin’s fears, that once again them being them is what will make them lose it all. That once the newbie climbs up to where they are he’ll kick them from their place, because now the higher ups found someone better and if they keep slacking off it’ll go beyond that. Deep down they probably know Dusk isn’t trying to hijack what they have, but even if aware of their practices, Robin is still affected by what the company has done to them. Having left behind nearly everything else, the prospect of having the one thing they cling to torn away is too much at that moment. And so they snap at the main threat, who is also the closest they’ve had to a friend. Makes me think a little of the non canon scenario, where the boys get a promotion, actually! Because no wonder if this was the initial reaction, in that case it would feel even worse! 

But omg! The part where they defend him AAAAAAA Because gosh, if that didn't mean everything I don’t know what would! Just everything about it! The fact that every time he looks at them his eyes turn blue! The red reserved for those antagonizing him! Robin at first thinking that it’s best for him to just handle the situation alone like they had to because nobody helped when they needed it, only to become so angry at the agent discrediting all Dusk has done that they automatically intervene. Because they saw the potential! They know it’s not true! They literally had a freak out because Dusk is that good that they felt their rank was in jeopardy! And they put a stop to the mockery because it just isn’t right! Makes me remember Dusks words from a couple chapters ago. When y/n says they weren't always nice, but he replies that they have always been kind. He likely saw that way before this incident, but I can see it staying with him for a long time.

And ooough the confrontation! Dusk really deserving an explanation of what was all that about and Robin knowing that if there’s anything they do to fix it, it’s going to involve opening the slightest about their insecurities. And at first it must seem like a dismissal to Dusk. A finality of Robin saying that he’s the problem that will make them lose what’s most important, but then they call out to him! And he sees that they really don’t want to throw him aside and this must be the most vulnerable they’ve seen this hardened agent that doesn’t drop the facade around anyone else. And they’re about to offer, but they’re scared. And he can see that. But they retreat before he can even reassure them and it’s a glimpse of the person no else has likely seen, and he must understand as well. He just faced a whole lot of rejection, it’s no wonder he recognizes it in someone else’s face. 

(also shaking Robin’s hand about fearing disappointment most of all)

But aaah that’s such a sweet ending! Dusk finally got to deliver the smooth line that got interrupted before XD Makes me wonder if he intended to deliver it that first night when they met but was just completely thrown off by finding Robin there hehe

A complete delight of a chapter, Luce!! I adored every second of it!! <3

In the most affectionate way, I'd love if tumblr allows read mores for asks just so I could un-collapse your asks like those comically long unfolding scripture rolls or something. Y'know in cartoons when they start unrolling and it just keeps going? I want that FHDJS

but without further ado, the actual reply!

The thing about Dusk (and Dawn) at the start of their agent career is... They underwent a year of training, where especially Dusk quickly realized that he excels at the sneaky stealthy aspects, and he's a gremlin who likes to climb. Equipped with his special grip gloves (courtesy of Eclipse), parkour works out just fine for him, and while he technically hasn't started so long ago, he's gotten used to being better than human agents! And those human agents, too - except they don't even wait to see his performance, rather dismissing it because "he's an animatronic, of course he's good". He doesn't want that - it's empty validation.

So when Dusk sees a certain someone leave, with people around him sparing them only disdainful glances, if anything... Well, he decided to prove his merit and show that he's good! He gathers it's a star agent, asks where they're headed, and thought he could get a headstart, only to get there at top speed and they're already there. Spiderman pointing meme moment.

And it that sense, Robin's insistence that he's a rookie is refreshing to him. Because yeah, sure, it can rankle his pride - he wanted to prove how good he is, and there's someone insisting he's not that great! But then he just. stays. and realizes they see him as a beginner agent, which he is. They don't see him and say "ah, animatronic, of course you're great". They basically tell him "no matter what, you just started out. Stay vigilant, or it's going to bite you in the ass." He's intrigued!

He's still a little shit, and he throws those low blows - without realizing. He tries to match the energy Robin puts out while still adapting his plans from "show up this star agent" to "tag along with this star agent", and he ends up hurting them. And he realizes it quickly, too. Because he doesn't need to look back far into the future - he falls silent right then and there. Robin tells him outright they've had worse, try harder, and Dusk walks behind them with the realization that 1) they just admitted that they think he wants to hurt them, and 2) they have gone through a lot that made them this prickly. He's already getting prickly! He's been doing proper field work for just a few weeks there! All his attempts to be seen and acknowledged and taken seriously while having fun, fruitless.

And then they have their little conversation where Robin locks up when it's their turn to answer, and still he gets it when he spots the sticker on their little gadget.

Their honesty is crucial here, too. They keep secrets, yes - that comes with the job. But they tell him he's a rookie, they tell him they don't trust him, and they refuse to be vulnerable for the same reason. Dusk can appreciate that, and he refuses to push more of their buttons after that moment in the staircase.

Robin appreciates it, too. He's "clear", he doesn't mock them for those crumbs of joy they held on to. They're scared of connection and crave it at the same time, so it's a strange mix for them still. But hey, surely it's a one off!

(Also I need you to know that I am currently trying to stomp out another timeline thought at "Robin does give up on fun")

Well, and then Dusk goes back to his initial plan (: He grabs all the information they were sent to gather, but he's superficial, sloppy. Robin figures that not everything is kept digitally, and goes for the papers - and they find additional information. So it's not that there's a rest that's missing, but River gets two reports, one technically fine and just what she asked for, the other going above and beyond with even more information. She tells Dusk that next time he should save her some time and make her read one report only, and that'd be the report with the extra leverage he didn't provide.

Cue a little confrontation - and once again, Robin reminds him that he's a newbie and has a lot to learn! He's prickly about it, but he also just enjoys that they talk to him without bias, because whelp, obviously it's not a bias to say he's a beginner! He can admit that! (Dawn can't, not as well. Another reason the reverse rivalry starts out tenser). Dusk catches a glimpse of where Robin is headed next, and decides it's time for little shit, round two!

(And he immediately gets schooled, again. He nearly got a sizeable dent into his shell for spooking them, and he takes the moment to process that they absolutely could hold their own against him. He's a weirdo, so that only excites him)

Another mission where he tags along against their will, but they threaten him marginally less and he takes it as a win. Again the honesty strikes him - he's being silly, probing to see how Robin would engage, and they catch him by surprise with the mental image of automated suits of armor! It's again a proof for him that they're not as prickly as they pretend they are - and how ironic, that later on they start calling him the cactus!

He gets delegated to standing watch, but then he does actually get to see action. Takes care of it quickly, only to spot Robin standing in the doorway, and for the first time there's the notion of surprise, and in their moment of whiplash and in his own expectation, that looks way too much like fear. He thinks now he's going to lose that connection, make them realize that he's got inbuilt weapons that give him an unfair advantage, all the things he's been told before.

He cracks a joke. They laugh - openly, and maybe just a bit too much, but neither of them is going to complain. They make a joke back, and he gets to run with it, and thus the banter is born! So he pouts extra when they call him boring after that, but he also takes it as a challenge to turn it up a notch! Despite acting affronted, he's mostly relieved that it doesn't seem to have changed what Robin thinks of him.

Robin of course is still paranoid, and since Dusk himself burned them just the mission before by ditching them, trying to steal the credit (what they think - he did credit them in his report!), they opt for revenge. They leave him behind. He takes it as a hint.

But Robin is honest. They credit him in their report - and later on, too, when their shared missions become a pattern. That's the "good word" the higher ups mean when they promote him. He'd be good enough without that input, too - or Dawn wouldn't have been promoted in the same breath, but it's something Dusk remembers.

The rookie mission? It didn't go badly. Not for Dusk (and Dawn). No, they did well, but received backlash from other agents for all the usual things. Robin doesn't know that, and assumes when they find Dusk avoiding everyone and acting hissy, but they're genuine in their reassurance. It's what makes him relax, in the end. He still hates the outcome of the mission, so they were right as far as that is concerned, but they tell him it's okay, that's how it's meant to end, and it's not a personal failing.

It tells him more about Robin, too. The fact that they seek to reassure him. The fact that they're so competitive. The fact that they offer him distraction, and fun.

But even the nicest routine doesn't erase their insecurities.

Dusk asks them what it's like to be a star agent, and they demonstrate. He's baffled, because he's been told they advocated for him, only for them to lash out like this - he doesn't know how terrified they are. Losing their rank would prove everyone who made fun of them right. They have no friends, they barely have a life outside of work, and since they were a recruit of the "work for us or we're going to make your life hell after 'infiltrating' our base" sort, they're just waiting for the higher ups to get rid of them. They're too unconventional but now there's an agent who is obviously more efficient, and they have seen him in action. They know he's good.

And they're scared. They can't lash out against the higher ups, so they tell Dusk to stay away, and he does. They're both miserable for a good while, and there are so many changes in their life. Robin avoids Dusk like the plague, and Moon is too hurt to even want to introduce himself to the very nice new landlord Sun found for them.

It's been a throwaway thought that Dusk, in moments of stress when he's expected to look at people but he just doesn't want to see, switches to thermal vision because it's shapes, and less detail. He doesn't do that when it comes to Robin. He sees them duck away, but they don't leave.

And then someone makes the mistake to say Dusk isn't actually a good agent, and just got the promotion because he's an animatronic.

Imagine you're Dusk, in that moment. (Ironic, maybe, given that Robin is the reader insert, but shh). The closest person to a friend "breaks up" with you just a few short weeks ago for being too good of an agent. They avoid you. You see them when they run into you and some other agents in the middle of insulting you, and they lock up. They don't interact, but they also don't leave - and then one insult makes them snap back up and just yeet their snack at the offender. That split second of widened eyes as they realize what they've done. Instinct. They did that on instinct, for you. And then they double down. There's the prickly star agent that no one likes. But they channel all that venom into your defense.

Dusk, of course, is still pissed. And he's well within his right for that! They lashed out, they haven't apologized, and they also don't really do that, not explicitly. He asked an innocuous question (as he thought) and got that in return.

But he stays, to ask. Tries to make sense of things. He gets that explanation, but it doesn't have much hope for him in that moment. For those few seconds he feels like he'll just have to accept that being promoted was the end of that friendship. But Robin doesn't want to lose that, either. They're the one who pushed him away, and now they're the one trying to reach out - and with everything he knows about them, he sees them withdraw, back into that hardened shell they hide behind, and he wants to reach out and stop them, but the hurt is too fresh and they're not that close - he doesn't know how he could.

This is the moment that future Moon looks back to with the thought that he should have stopped them from leaving. It worked out fine for them all, sure, but he now realizes just how scared they were, and wishes he would have held them back and reassured them then and there. It wouldn't have worked! They wouldn't have accepted it! But it's something on his mind, when he gets to know them better.

But it does work out for them. Dusk goes back to what he knows best, and what kept them entertained for so long. Before, it may have been a somewhat mentorship flavored friendship, but they're both star agents now, the same rank, and now it's a full fledged rivalry. He gets them by surprise, gets to be smooth about it, and he gets his friend back <3

[cowboydisaster]

The Fire In Your Eyes

part VII: horshoe overlook iii

pairing: Arthur Morgan x fem!reader

word count: 15.2k

summary: You and Arthur take Lenny to drown his anxieties at the saloon, and it ends up bring more trouble than you would have imagined. The gang finally deals with that O'driscoll, and Arthur opens up more about his past when Abigail asks you both to take Jack out. You meet a couple of threatening strangers.

a/n: highly recommended playing 'a quiet time soundtrack' when you get to the bar scene. This chapter was so fun to write omg. Lots of set up in this chapter, along with plenty of fluff, angst and more talking about our feelings. You're still in denial, Arthur is opening up, its a whole thing. P.S. if you aren't sure who Nils is, just google him on yt. Please please check the warnings before you read! beta read by @margowritesthings <3

warnings: Violence, gore, blood, attempted/implied mention of SA, its very brief and we kill him hehe, wanted to add the tag just in case)

hotlinks: TFIYE on AO3 & official series playlist

SERIES MASTERPOST

taglist: @margofiore @mrsarthurmorgan7 @woman-with-no-name @tillith @luvliewriting @pine4pple-b0i @photo1030 @dudsparrow

series taglist: @catnotbread @chxosangxl @globetrotter28 @justalittlerayofpitchblack @fruittiest-of-loops @randomidk-123 @heyworld-whatsup @btsiguess-kpop

“Okay, pick a color. We have pink, red, orange or white.” Marybeth asks, excitedly weaving her fingers through your hair, neatly braiding it. You smile, glancing over to her basket of wildflowers. 

“How about white?” You suggest, looking at the assortment of flowers in her basket, eyes honing in on the pale white jasmines and baby’s breath.

It's a warm evening, with golden light peeking over the mountains as the sun begins to set. You had ventured down the hill towards the Dakota River with Marybeth earlier, and she had picked from a patch of wildflowers, bringing home only the most beautiful specimen. Tilly and Karen sit around on the ground next to you, and you chuckle as the three girls giggle and gossip. 

“Marybeth, you oughta do me next. I can’t be goin’ out on the town with hair like this.” Karen jokes, and Marybeth lights up, excited to share the time with you girls.

You bite into an apple, crunching and savoring the sweet flavor as Marybeth braids your hair down your back. You glance into the mirror, the one Marybeth stole from Arthur’s shaving station, noticing how much your hair has grown since you’ve joined the Van der Lindes. She ties the bottom of the braid with a little white knot, smiling as she plucks some white flowers from her basket. 

“You’re gonna love it.” Marybeth sighs, eyes sparkling as she begins to tuck the stems into the creases of your braid, leaving little white flowers embedded in your hair. She’s missed a few tiny pieces around your face, and they fall down, framing your cheekbones. From across camp, sitting outside his tent like an overseer, Dutch keeps his eyes on you. You ignore it, purposefully refusing to meet his glance. 

You glance around, people watching as Marybeth finishes up her work. On the other side of camp, Uncle is wasted, Strauss is scribbling away in a journal, and Abigail is having a hushed argument with John. It's all so normal. 

"I heard Abigail and John yellin' again this morning." Tilly tsks, shaking her head with a sigh, glancing to their tent. 

"What about?" You ask, eyebrows pulled together. Marybeth releases your braid for a moment, allowing you to turn towards the girls. 

"The usual." Karen bites, irritated by their bickering, and Tilly elaborates. 

"Well John ain't exactly been… a great father to Jack." 

"John's an ass. Jack only wants his daddy, but he knows his daddy wants nothin' to do with him." Karen explains, scowling in the scar-faced outlaw across camp. 

"Poor Jack…" You frown, familiar with the feeling of being unwanted. 

"How does Abigail do it all?" Marybeth asks, pulling and perfecting your braid and the flowers lined in it. 

"No idea." Tilly mumbles. It grows quiet for a while as you all get lost in thought. You think about what Arthur had said, just a few weeks ago, about his son, and you sigh. 

"Done!" Marybeth chimes and you smile at her as she holds Arthur's mirror up, letting you see. She's done a beautiful job, leaving the braid tight enough so it won't fall out, but loose enough for it to be beautifully messy and comfortable. The little white flowers are an intricate touch, just enough of them to add dimension to your hair without overpowering it. 

"Marybeth, it's beautiful!" You say, smiling sweetly at her before reaching into your satchel. 

"For your troubles." You whisper, winking as you slide her a candy bar. Marybeth's eyebrows pop up in surprise as she takes the little sweet, tucking it into her skirt. 

"Thank you, Marybeth." You say, standing up and stretching your knees. You address the other girls then, nodding to them. 

"I'll return this to Mr. Morgan, thank you for your good company." You say, taking his stand mirror from the ground and walking away from their wagon. Arthur's tent isn't far, and within a few moments you stand outside his covered wagon, placing his mirror back down on his designated shaving barrel with a hum. 

A throat clears behind you, startling you as you whip around to find the source. 

"Stole my mirror, huh?" Arthur jokes. He's standing in front of his wardrobe, wearing only a pair of jeans as he digs through the clothes in search of a shirt. He's looking down in the chest, and you swallow thickly, watching the muscles flex as you blush.  

"Yeah uh, well Marybeth took it to do my hair. I'm just bringin' it back." You mumble, running your finger along the barrel lid to distract yourself. 

At the mention of your hair, Arthur looks over at you. His eyes wrinkle with crows feet as he smiles, a little warm grin. The white flowers frame your face, and you look up at him with those eyes. He's sure you've fallen from heaven, looking as innocent as a lamb. How deceiving, because your temper is anything but. 

He comes toward you, still shirtless, though he holds a deep blue patterned shirt in his hand. 

"You uh," Arthur nods to the white flowers that crown your hair like a halo. "Your hair looks real pretty." Arthur says, pulling the shirt over his arms before buttoning it up. 

You huff, pulling one of the flowers out and dropping it to the ground.

"Marybeth." You explain, just as hooves sound out like war drums from the outskirts of camp. Without a second thought,  your hand rests on your holster, prepared for the worst. You jog towards the camp entrance with Arthur just as Lenny gallops through the trees on Maggie, both out of breath. Lenny practically throws himself out of the saddle in a panic, and Maggie rears up. 

“They-! They got Micah!” Lenny hollers, running towards the two of you. 

“Arthur! Star, Dutch! They got Micah, they got him in Strawberry. They nearly lynched me!” Lenny yells, hands resting on his knees.

You rest your hand on his shoulder, making sure he's okay, as you all try to catch up. 

“What is going on?” Dutch asks, striding out of his tent and straight up to the three of you. Your braid flips over your shoulder as you make sure Lenny is steady before letting him go. He takes a breath, calming down before continuing as Dutch joins. 

“It’s okay, son, breathe.” Dutch pats the younger man on the back.

“They got Micah at the sheriff’s in Strawberry, and there’s talk of hangin’ him.” Lenny explains, and you raise an eyebrow, unsure of what the problem is then. Arthur seems to be sharing a similar train of thought as he mumbles under his breath. 

“Here’s hoping.” Arthur bites, and Dutch looks at him with a comically shocked face. 

“Arthur.” He scolds, as if disciplining a dog, and you snort. 

“Micah deserves to sit in that jail for a while. Let him get nervous, let him rot a little more, it’ll do him good.” You point out, leaning down to strike a match of the bottom of your boot. 

“She’s right. You know my feelings’ bout him Dutch.” Arthur warns, voice low and you nod, lighting a cigarette. 

“He is a fine man. But she’s right. He’s brought this on himself. Go get him in a few weeks, Me and the lady’s faces are plastered all over Blackwater, it’ll have to be you, Arthur.” Dutch explains, and Arthur groans with a sigh. They continue their bickering, and you leave them to it, walking over to where Lenny sits at the wooden table. 

“You okay?” You ask, sitting on the table, placing your boots onto the seat of the chair next to Lenny.

“Yeah, just shaken up. I hate ridin’ with Micah, it’s like he loses his mind.” Lenny whispers, eyes far away as he shakes his head. 

“Yeah… I seen it too.” You mumble, scowling. Arthur and Dutch wrap up their conversation, and then Dutch walks over to the two of you. 

“C’mon kid. We’re gettin’ a drink, Dutch’s orders.” Arthur chuckles, and you slide down from the table, tucking a piece of hair behind your ear. 

“I’m comin’ too.” You chime, following the two boys to the hitching posts. 

“Maybe just one or two will calm my nerves.” Lenny sighs, climbing back up into Maggie’s saddle.

You pet Athena, giving her a mint as a peace offering for taking her from the hay before mounting up. 

“We even allowed to go in the saloon after all that ruckus you caused?” You ask, raising an eyebrow at Arthur. Lenny turns in his saddle to look at you for a moment before spurring Maggie further into the evening. 

“What trouble have you boys been causing now?” Lenny directs at Arthur, hollering over the sound of cantering hooves. 

“Nothin’ much just some good n fair bar fightin.” Arthur says, downplaying the situation. 

“Ha! Yeah, Arthur, just some friendly punches. How much you wanna bet that the windows’ still broken from your ass flyin through it?” You holler, and Arthur laughs, crossing over the railroad tracks into town. 

“It’s all done with now, and at least nobody died.” Arthur points out to which you nod. Good point.

You trot up the main road, pulling your horses in front of the new Blacksmith building. Typically you would just hitch in front of the saloon, but the bar must be packed tonight because horses line the street in front of Smithfields. You jump down from Athena, petting her neck while looking at the new building in front of you. There's some light inside, a candle or two, and an ‘open’ sign on the front door. Outside two men talk, one wasted. 

“Y-You open mis-” he hiccups, “Mister?” The one man asks, a plain looking feller. But the man he is talking to, presumably the shop owner, is a small man with small features and a big white beard. He wears a red beanie hat on his head, and his face is bright red. 

“Okay…” The peculiar man says with a strong accent. Your eyebrows draw together, and you chuckle. Maybe he doesn’t speak english. 

“I need a hammer… you see I'm building’ a house, buildin’ a house down the road..” The drunk man slurs, barely able to keep steady as the smaller, foreign man grabs the drunkard's arm, pushing him inside the shop. 

“Okay!” The small man says, and you laugh at his oddity. You remember Hosea telling you about this shop owner, and the strange little things he sells in his shop. 

“Star? You comin’?” Arthur asks, and you turn around, realizing you’d been eavesdropping on the strangers. You turn back to the shop for a moment, eyeing its peculiarity before sheepishly turning back to Arthur.

“I'm gonna go check this place out for a minute. I’ll be over shortly.” You smile, looking towards the shop excitedly, remembering that you have a little cash from your box on you. Lenny rests against a beam under the porch of the general store, out of earshot from you and Arthur’s conversation. He only knows that you’re both doing a whole lot of talking and not a lot of drinking. 

“You two comin, or what?” Lenny hollers, and Arthur gestures towards you. 

“We’ll catch up, just give us a minute.” Arthur yells back, following after you towards the shop entrance. 

“I’ll start a tab.” Lenny chuckles, walking up the sidewalk towards the bar. 

“You need somethin’ from the blacksmith?” Arthur asks, holding the door open for you as you step inside. 

“No, just wanted to look is all. Hosea said there was some more stuff in here than tools, the man likes to work metal into all kinds of things.” You say at a volume so that only Arthur can hear you. He nods, and you take in the shop. The little building is split into two sections. On the right, the bigger section, all sorts of home made tools hang from nails in the wall, for sale. There's hammers, screwdrivers, bits, and all sorts of other things that you don’t care about. You glance to the left side of the shop, and your eyes light up. Shelves line the wall, and the little foreign shop owner sits on the checkout counter beside them, swinging his legs. The shelves are lined with hand crafted metal cups, decorations and jewelry, anything one can think of. He has little metal spoons, crafted and twisted beautifully. There are necklaces, belt buckles and rings, none of them resembling another, all unique. Your eyes light up, and Arthur watches you with a sweet smile as you run your hand down the expanse of one of the shelves, taking everything in. A few other people mill around, looking as well.

“Arthur, look at all this.” You gasp, bewildered by the handcrafted, intricate things that this odd man has made. Arthur walks with you, falling into pace as his spurs click against the floor. He’s mesmerized, alright. But the trinkets on the shelf have little to do with it. The flowers in your hair, the excitement on your face from such a small pleasure, the stars in your eyes that shine brighter than any night he’s ever seen. 

Arthur steps away, walking towards the other side of the shop as you come up to the accessory section. Particularly what catches your attention is the hat accessories, and you pick a few up, wondering what they might look like on your own hat, back at camp. Then it catches your eye. A smaller hat accessory rests closer to the back of the shelf, and with your eyebrows pulled together in concentration, you pick it up. It's a piece to be added on the side of a hat, a small bundle of feathers, bound with twine and wrapped in beautiful, coiled metal. But what catches your eye is the teal agate, embedded into the metal that wraps around the bundle. It’s a color you've seen time and again. A throat clears behind you, and you turn, meeting eyes of the same teal. 

“Ready?” Arthur asks, not noticing the little gift that you’re hiding behind your back. You nod, glancing at the older shop owner for a moment. 

“Yeah I’ll be right over, but first could you… could you give me a minute?” You ask, and Arthur nods, looking a little confused or worried. 

“Sure. Everythin’ alright?” Arthur asks, and you nod. He steps back, tipping his hat to you lightly before walking out of the shop. With a breath, you pull the accessory back in front of you.

The agate is the same color as Arthur’s eyes, and you look over the gift with great fondness. No because of the accessory itself per se, but because of the man you’re going to gift it to. Holding the feathered accessory up to the light, you gasp, seeing almost unnoticeable stars stamped into the fine metal. You want to give Arthur something new for his hat, something that he can use to make it his own. Damn his father, and the fear that Arthur feels every day, wondering if he’s turning into the bastard. You want Arthur’s hat to be his, something he can pass down to his children or whomever one day with good memories, not bad ones.

With your mind made, you walk up to the shopkeeper. 

“How much for this?” You ask, placing it on the counter where the man sits. He hops down, not saying a word as he walks around the other side of the counter. He takes a piece of paper from under the register, writing some things down in a language you can't understand. Then, he opens the cash register and looks up to you. 

“Ja, Okay.” He says, holding his hand out for you to place cash into and you chuckle, sighing. 

“You?- Alright mister.” You chuckle, reaching into your pocket and pulling out a five dollar bill. A man, leaning against the wall laughs, filling you in. 

“Yeah, that there is Nils. He don’t really talk much, he understands though. A Norwegian fella, not even sure he speaks English, but he’s a damn good smith.” The man says, picking up a belt buckle and looking it over.

“That he is.” You hum as Nils hands you back a few odd cents.

“Names’ David Geddes.” The informant smiles, reaching to shake your hand. “I work with Nils here. He’s helpin’ me to build a ranch up in West Elizabeth.” Mr. Geddes says, releasing your hand. You smile, hearing that northern West Elizbeth is beautiful territory.

“If you’re ever in the market for tools or land, you know where to find us.” Mr. Geddes smiles, and you nod, knowing that you’re never going to need either of those things. You keep it in mind, though.

“Thank you Mr. Geddes, pleasure to meet you. You as well, Mr. Nils!” You smile at both men, giggling as Nils says ‘okay!’ when you walk out the door. Proudly, you place the little gift in your satchel. You want to wait until the perfect time to give it to him. Smiling, you walk past the few shops towards the saloon. You can hear the music from outside, a pianist enjoying himself on the keys, probably drunk as a skunk. You were right earlier, the window is still smashed out from Arthur being thrown out of it. 

You push the saloon doors open, walking in just as a man was walking out. Your shoulders hit off each other, and you scowl deeply at him before moving towards the bar. A loud game of poker is being played at the table, with drunk, laughing players. Working women linger about, draped over chairs and men, waiting to be taken upstairs for the night. You squeeze past the people, slipping onto the bar beside Arthur and Lenny, with Arthur in the middle. 

“Boys.” You greet, waving down the bartender. The saloon is loud, and you have to yell over the music to hear each other, even with the close proximity. 

“Now just one or two. Right, Arthur?” Lenny asks as he clinks his bottle against Arthur’s.

“Course, just a drink.” Arthur responds, tapping his glass against the counter before taking a long swig. 

“Hey!” You yell to the bartender, irritated. He doesn’t pay you any mind, and you huff. 

Jumping up onto the bar so that your stomach is on the counter, you grab a bottle of whiskey from behind the counter. It’s nearly empty, and you groan. Arthur shakes his head as you slide back down to the ground. 

“I don’t plan on staying too long.” Lenny reiterates, and you nod, tapping your fingers against the bottle to the rhythm of the funk music. 

“Me neither.” You say, swallowing the little bit of drink left over before tossing it over the counter.

Another man slides onto the open space of the bar beside you. He’s already been done in by the drink, eyes glazed over with red cheeks. Arthur keeps an eye on him, not too comfortable with the way this man is looking at you. 

“Hey- Hey miss?” He asks, and you turn to him. Arthur watches it unfold as you bat your eyelashes, and at first he’s confused as you look up to the sleazebag with doe-like eyes.

“Yes, mister?” You ask, twirling your finger around your hair. 

“Can I buy you a beer?” He asks, smiling like an idiot. You smile, resting your hand on the man’s chest. Ah, a pocket watch,right in his vest pocket. You feel the outline of the fine metal through his shirt, and you smirk.

“She likes whiskey.” Arthur bites, not seeing your scheme playing out. You elbow him lightly, and his eyebrows pull together. 

“Hey, Hey a beer for this fine woman!” The drunk man calls out, and as he leans over the bar to pay the tender, you sneak your fingers between him and the bar, gently pulling the chain until the pocket watch emerges from his pocket. Very content, you slide it into your pocket, smirking up at Arthur. He looks bewildered, amazed, as he laughs, elbowing Lenny and filling him in. 

“For you, m- m’lady.” The drunkard says, handing you a beer. You take it, no trace of a smile on your lips as you slide it down the bar to Lenny. The drunk man scowls angrily, slamming his fist down on the counter.

“What the hell?” He asks, face turning red with anger. You smile, leaning against the bar, acting as if he doesn't exist.

“This what a feller gets for bein’ nice?” He huffs, and you bite your tongue, slipping your eyes closed to quell your rage. Arthur orders a whiskey, and places the glass in front of you. 

“Tried to tell you partner, this lady likes her liquor.” Arthur chuckles, toasting another glass with Lenny. You swirl the glass in your hand, sipping from it while putting all your attention into not killing this man. 

“You owe me!” He yells, spittle flying. Even Arthur tenses at your side, pointing a threatening finger to the drunk. 

“Shut your mouth, buddy.” Arthur warns, and the music grows louder, more intense, as does your grip on your drink. 

“Or what?” The man laughs maniacally, sizing you up and down and concluding that you wouldn't hurt a fly.

“Leave this idiot alone, he ain’t worth it.” Lenny interjects, always the voice of reason. The man laughs at that, turning to you three like he's an old friend. 

“Leave me alone? Well people been leavin me alone for nearly ten years! I say that's their loss, I’m a great guy, bought this bitch a drink-” The man rambles on, and your shoulders set, eyes glazing over as a rage fills you. You slam your drink against the counter, spilling most of it before grabbing that damn idiot by the back of his collar. You slam his head down onto the bar in one swift motion, and it cracks. Sparing him no time to recuperate, you tear him away from the bar, dragging him towards the door where you literally kick him through the saloon doors.

Lenny whistles under his breath as you come back, wiping your hands on your jeans before picking your glass back up. 

“Where were we, boys?” You ask, turning to the men. 

— AN HOUR (OR TWO?) LATER —

‘Clink, clink, clink’ is all you hear as bottles and glasses continuously toast against each other. You’ve lost count of the amount of drinks you've been handed, or stolen off the bar. Arthur laughs loudly over the music, a contagious sound that has you and Lenny giggling like fools. You feel good and warm, a buzz running through your veins and filling your head with a fuzzy cloud.

“You want another one, Arthur? Star?” Lenny asks, laughter dying down as he waves to the bartender. 

“Sure, we’re already here!” Arthur hollers, words slurred as you nod your head.

“Yeah but first, I- I gotta go play that piano!” You holler, picking up your glass and dancing your way down to the pianist. 

— A WHILE LAETR—

You sit up on top of the bar, laughing so hard that you can barely breath. You don’t remember what was so funny, but it sure was. You slap your knee, cackling at something with Arthur. Lenny’s laughing too, leaning down against the bar to stop from falling over. 

“You! You are a hilarious feller, Arthur Morgan!” You snort, taking a big long swig from your bottle. You think it's whiskey, but you're not sure. It doesn’t even burn anymore, just going straight down.

“Arthur!” You call, grabbing his biceps to shake his attention. He jumps, startled, and then laughs. Being on the bar has you sitting a little taller than him, and he looks up at you with a dumb expression. 

“You ever-” You hiccup, “-had a dog?” You ask. It's a very serious inquiry, and you need to know. Arthur’s brows pull together as he thinks, and it looks kind of painful. 

“One time… bout a million years ago.” Arthur squints, dead serious, staring at the wall behind you. You erupt into a fit of laughter, smacking the outlaw on the shoulder. 

“What the hell is a million years?” You ask in between chuckles. The music is loud, the mood is good. The sun has set, and more patrons have joined the saloon.

“I don’t know, but I bet it's at least a thousand.” 

You nod, concluding that he’s probably correct on that account. You turn to your right, right where Lenny was sitting, to ask him his opinions on the matter. 

“What about you Lenny? You ever-” You stop, dumbfounded when you realize he’s not there. Surely he was just a second ago. 

“Lenny?” You ask, turning your head around to find him. 

“Oh no.” Arthur mumbles, looking around as well. 

“Arthur, he's disappeared!” You yell, panicked, but Arthur grabs your waist, pulling you down to the ground. Once you're down from the bar, Arthur keeps grip on your hips for just a moment longer. 

“We’ll find him, don't you worry. If anybody can come back from disappearin’ it's Lenny.” Arthur explains, and you nod. That makes sense. 

“Should we split up?” You ask as Arthur leads you to the center of the saloon. Arthur nods, stumbling lightly as he pulls you through the crowd. 

“Yeah, youse smart. We can cover-” Arthur burps, chuckling deeply for a moment, “We can cover more ground if we split up. I’ll go upstairs.” Arthur explains, and you nod, pushing past people. 

“Smart thinkin. I’ll go upstairs too.” You say, following him up. 

“Good plan.” Arthur approves, stumbling up the staircase while pulling you behind him. 

“LENNY!!?” Arthur yells, looking around for your lost friend. You see lots of people, but you don’t see Lenny, least you don't think you do.

“Lenny!?” You mimic Arthur, chuckling as he pulls you around the fenced in overhand that overlooks the bar downstairs. 

“There you is!” Arthur calls, and you look around until you see him. Lenny is leaning on the little fence, trying to balance a glass on his nose. 

“Whatcha doing?” You ask, both confused and amazed. Lenny laughs, swaying so as to not drop it from his nose. 

“I- I don’t know!” 

The glass falls, and Lenny tries to catch it but his delayed reflexes do him in and the glass falls down the overlook, shattering onto the saloon floor downstairs. You all laugh like it’s the funniest thing in the world, doubling over as you try to breathe from cackling. 

Then somehow you all have more drinks in your hand, and you’re toasting them together, cheering loudly. You don’t even know what you’re drinking, but it sure goes down nice. Lenny hooks his arm under yours, and you do-si-do, tripping and stumbling and laughing like you’ve never laughed before. Arthur switches spots with Lenny then, hooking his arm under yours and dancing around. But Arthur lacks Lenny’s grace, or maybe he’s just more drunk, and halfway around the circle he accidentally trips you, sending you straight to the floor. Your drink smashes against the ground, and you lay on the floor for a while, arms and legs spread out as you chuckle. 

Arthur pulls you up, nearly falling over himself, and then you all lean against the railing with more drinks. 

“Arthur why ain’t you never married?” Lenny asks, and Arthur’s mouth hangs open as he thinks. 

“No one would have me.” Arthur sighs, a pathetic, sad little noise. You slap him on the back, trying to encourage him. 

“Whaddya mean no one would have you, Arthur everyone wants you! Hell I’m sure you had ladies lined up round the block back in the day.” You say, and he nods, thinking it over.  

“Well maybe, but I did not see them!” He responds, toasting his drink to yours. 

— LAETR?—

Arthur jumps up and down, stomping against the floor with his arms flailing. 

“I’m doin’ it!” He screams, earning multiple annoyed glances from other patrons. 

“You sure are! I- I don’t know what you’re doin’ but it’s somethin!” You yell back, laughing. 

Then suddenly you’re sitting on the poker table, legs swinging over the side. You’re not even sure how you’ve gotten here, but your head is so fuzzy and relaxed you don’t care. Arthur stands on the ground, in between your knees looking up at you. 

“Why ain’t you never sweet on no one?” You ask, fingers tracing stars on his right shoulder. Arthur’s hand rests on your thigh, and he looks up at you, confused. 

“Huh?”

“Karen said you- you didn't like girls. I mean- Karen said you didn't like any of the girls in camp. They're all beautiful, young n kind, why haven't you gone sweet on em?" You ask, drunkenness loosening your lips and releasing some of the questions you've been holding back for ages. 

"Well I am sweet on someone, dumbass." He says, laughing and you slap his shoulder lightly. 

"Who?!" You holler, eyebrows pulled together in confusion. He's not sweet on anyone that you can think of, but you can't really think right now. Arthur's hand gently squeezes your leg before he backs away, downing the last of his beer. 

"You're funny, y'know. Askin all kinds of questions, but I can't even think right now." Arthur's lips form a little confused pout, "least I don't think I can…"

"Yeah, you're right that's a lot of thinkin'." You say, nodding your head. Arthur comes back forward, placing his hands on the table on either side of your legs.

"It's easy thinkin' bout you though. That's somethin' that don't make my head hurt." Arthur whispers, fuzzy eyes transfixed on the pout of your lips before they trail up to your sparkling eyes. A blush creeps over your cheeks, and you slide down from the table, sneaking under his arm towards the bar. 

"Buy me another drink Mr. Morgan!" 

— LNENY?—

You cackle, leaning over the bar sometime later. The sun has long since set, but you have no idea what time it is. Arthur's on one side of you, and you look over to where Lenny- 

You look over to where Lenny used to be. 

"Wait, where'd Lenny go?!" You slur your words as the room spins, flashing all sorts of different colors. 

"DAMMIT LENNY WHERE YOU AT BOYYY-" Arthur yells, slamming his drink down on the counter.

"We gotta find him, he's probably lost." You conclude, looking around the room. 

"Yeah or maybe he's stuck someplace." 

You wander around, losing Arthur as you yell for Lenny at the top of your lungs. You can hear Arthur yelling too, and you giggle. Lennt must have vanished, like those magic shows in the city. 

"Leave the kid alone, you goddamn animals." Arthur growls, and you turn to see him walking down the stairs. Lenny is standing up on the bar, yelling at a group of men in front of the bar. The man in front of the bar, who Arthur was yelling at, turns towards Arthur. 

"And who might you be?" The man hisses, growing irritated with you all. Arthur looks mighty confused for a moment, and you stumble towards the scene playing out. 

"They call me Arthur, n' people who don't call me Arthur? Well I guess they do not know my name." Arthur whispers, chuckling. 

"What-?" The other man asks, and you stride right up to him, punching him straight in the nose. 

—SUME TYME LTAER—

You line kick, arms intertwined with Arthur's and Lenny's, hoisting your legs up in the air with a bunch of other people, you laugh carelessly, dancing away. 

Then you're not dancing- you're laying on the staircase next to Lenny and Arthur, drinks in hand. 

"I gotta piss." Arthur says, tapping your knee before standing up. 

"You should probably do that. You can't drink more if you ain't peed." You explain, and Arthur frowns, thinking. 

"Really?" He asks, and you nod. 

"It's true Arthur! I read that once. I- I think I did anyhow." Lenny chimes in, and Arthur runs outside. 

You sit with lenny for a while, feeling light as ever, drinking your fill and then some.

— ??? —

"I got a quesstionn…" You say, pressed up against the wall by Arthur's hands. 

"Hmm?" Arthur asks, eyes heavy as he tries not to fall over, arms bracing themselves on either side of your head against the saloon wall. You're outside, and the walls buzz from music and banter. 

"I probably don't know an answer but… but I'll try." Arthur says. 

"Back in Colter, in Horseshoe durin' that storm, up in the hills in your tent… why’d you do all that?" You ask, a sense of clarity overcoming you even though you're drunk beyond help. Arthurs' trying to think back, but his head hurts. 

"Huh?" 

"You- you laid with me, held my hand till I fell asleep. Why'd you do that?" You ask as Arthur's hands slide away from the wall, down to his belt. It hits Arthur then, all the things he'd done, things he knows he shouldn't have done, but couldn't stop himself from doing. 

"I- I don't know. Guess… you was sad. I wanted to make you feel better." Arthur mumbles, eyes downcast. You smile, buzzing. 

"Did it work? Do I make you feel better?" Arthur whispers. His voice is low and deep, that familiar, gravelly tone. You smile up at him as one of his hands comes back up to the wall beside your head, trapping you in. 

"You make me feel great, Arthur. Real great." You breathe out, veins pumping with adrenaline as Arthur leans closer in towards your face. His eyes are dark, pupils blown and you can smell the whiskey on his breath with the proximity.

"I bet I could make you feel even better, Star. I could make you feel lots a' things." He growls, eyes trailing from each of your eyes to your lips. You laugh, pushing him away from you lightly. 

"Well maybe! But you can’t beat me at poker for shit!" You laugh, pushing the saloon doors open and walking back inside. Arthur follows behind you, laughing all the same. 

"You seen Lenny?" He asks, looking around. 

"Dammit!" You curse, pushing through the patrons of the saloon towards the steps. You grab onto Arthur's hand, dragging him along with you. 

You see a few doors there, and thinking Lenny might be hiding in a room, you push one open. You gasp, laughing loudly as you open the door on a man and a woman having intimate relations. You laugh, apologizing as you swing the door shut, but Arthur screams.

You turn to him, chuckling and confused. 

"You n-never saw a naked woman before, Arthur?" You ask. He looks like he's just seen something traumatic as he points a finger towards the door, rubbing his eyes with his other hand. 

"That weren't a woman." Arthur bites, the image of Lenny riding Lenny burned into his mind forever. But you're clueless as to what he's just seen.

— …..?—

You laugh uncontrollably as Arthur pushes that man from earlier into the pig's water trough. He dunks the man's head under one more time before tossing him to the ground. You leave the pig pen, oinking and wheezing with laughter. 

"I'm a- a police!" Arthur laughs, slipping in the mud as he jogs after you, down the main street. 

"I'm gonnaa get'cha!" He yells as you run down the road, sliding and laughing. 

"YOU CAN'T! You can't get me, HA-" You scream, running towards the stables, jumping over a fence, tripping and falling into the mud.

"Fuck!" You yell, unusually colorful language for you as the sheriff and a deputy approach you from the road. 

"Hey! You two, come here!" Sheriff Malloy hollers, jogging after you. Arthur picks you up from the mud and slings you over his shoulder. 

"Arthur! They're- they're gonna get us, we gotta run!" You yell from his shoulder as he bolts, slipping and sliding. 

"WE'RE AMERICANS! YOU'LL NEVER CATCH US ALIVE!" Arthur screams into the night, approaching a mighty high fence. 

"Yeah, we got RIGHTS!" You yell. 

Arthur tries to jump the fence, but he's so drunk, and with you on his shoulder he doesn't even come close to clearing it. The fence breaks as Arthur lands down on it awkwardly, and you both land in the mud.

— — — —

The light hurts your eyes as they flutter open, and you squint, head throbbing. Everything hurts, your head feels like it's been filled with lead and if you move too quickly you know you'll throw up. You finally come to, and realize you're laying on a wooden bench. Arthur is laying on the floor next to the bench, awake but not moving. Then you realize where you are. 

You spot the unmistakable metal bars, and you groan. 

"Arthur, what did we do?" You ask, not remembering an ounce of the previous night. From outside of your shared cell, Sheriff Malloy stands up, grabbing a cup of coffee from a percolator. 

"Well the typical stuff for folks such as yourselves: harassin people, causin trouble, bein loud and breaking shit. But you also waterboarded a fella within an inch of his life, and stole a pig, this man here carried it around half the town oinkin and causing a ruckus. Although it sure was something to see, I don't appreciate being pulled outta bed with the wife at five in the damn morning." He says, taking a sip from his coffee before sitting down in his seat, propping his feet up on his desk. You look around, wincing from the movement. 

"Well where's Lenny?" You ask as Arthur groans loudly, holding his stomach as he sits up on the bench beside you. 

"Only brought in the pair of ya." The sheriff shakes his head. 

“However you two managed to drink that much without passin’ out or dyin’ is beyond me.” Sheriff Malloy whistles, shaking his head.

Arthur stands up, slowly walking over towards the front of the cell. He reaches into his pocket, pulling out a bill fold before handing it through the bars. 

“Should be enough to cover our bounties, and some extra for your troubles.” 

Sheriff Malloy takes the cash and stuffs it into his pocket, silently grabbing the keys off of his desk.

“Go on. Get. And how about layin’ off the hooch for a while?” The sheriff asks, and you nod. He doesn’t need to tell you twice. You and Arthur walk out of the jail scot free. As soon as you’re out of the building, you lean against the wooden support beam, heaving. 

“Shit, I’m sorry.” Arthur winces, pulling your now very messy braid behind your shoulder as you throw up. You cough, wishing you were dead as the sunlight burns your eyes, killing your already throbbing head. 

“Here.” Arthur hands a rag from his satchel down to you, leaning on your knees as you clean yourself up. 

“Just one or two, huh? Jesus-” You take slow, deep breaths, trying not to puke again. 

“You even remember what the hell we did last night?” He asks, and you shake your head. 

“Nothin. I remember nothin.” You admit, standing up from the beam. Arthur hums, he remembers it all.

“Come on, let's get you home, you need a lie down.” Arthur groans, feeling like shit as he whistles. Luckily somehow, the horses stuck around and they trot up the main street.

The ride back to camp is very quiet, and very slow. Neither of you push your horses past a walk, not wanting to sicken yourselves even more. The silence is comfortable, a mutual understanding that opening your mouth to speak right now would be too much, and you just need to lie down and feel sorry for yourselves. Upon arriving at camp, you find Lenny is there, passed out in the grass next to his bedroll. You dismount Athena, groaning as your feet touch the ground. 

“Here, take this. It’ll make you feel better. I’ll go make sure Grimshaw doesn’t give you any trouble.” Arthur mumbles, handing you a glass bottle of tonic. 

You take it, quietly thanking him before dragging your heels to your tent. You’ve never been this hungover in your life, you’ve never had reason to drink so much. After closing the tent flap to prevent any extra light from coming in, you drink the whole tonic and flop down in your bed, groaning. 

— — — —

You wake up, about twelve hours later, to the sounds of maniacal laughing and screaming. You groan, sighing and covering your ear with your pillow to drown out the noise. It proves futile as the screaming and crying continue, and you figure you should probably go check it out. You get up from bed, mood sour as ever,  but you’re feeling a little better. Pushing the flaps open to your tent, you’re met with the pros and cons of living with twenty people.

“Mornin” Arthur chuckles, eyebrows raised at the state of your hair. Your braid is half fallen out, and the few flowers that have managed to stay in your hair are wilted. You groan, rolling your eyes before pulling the band out from the bottom of your braid and finger brushing the flowers out. 

“What's got you so sour?” Arthur asks, looking fresh and cleaned up. He's washed up, taken a bath and trimmed his beard. He looks good, and you look like you just barely escaped a natural disaster.

"How the hell are you even awake right now, let alone bathed and cleaned up? I'm pretty sure I still got puke on my shirt." You sigh, re-braiding your hair neatly, but loosely. Arthur takes a sip of his coffee. 

"I can actually handle my whiskey." Arthur jokes, "Go back to Valentine, buy a bath." 

"Firstly, I don't think you can, considerin'  what happened last night. And on account of the bath, I can't. I don't have enough cash." You sigh.

"A bath is only a dollar, thought you had some cash on you?" Arthur raises an eyebrow as you roll back on your heels. 

"I did. I spent it." 

"On what?" Arthur asks, sure that he'd paid for the drinks last night, except for the ones you stole.

"Just a little present, it ain't much." You smile, sighing and gripping his hand to pull him into your tent. You lead him through the tent flap, pulling him along by his hand.

"What're you doin, woman?" Arthur chuckles as you pluck his hat from his head. 

"Don't make fun of me. I saw this yesterday, n' it reminded me of you." You whisper, pulling out the hat ornament and attaching it to the rope band on his hat, on the left side. 

Arthur watches on fondly as you attach the little accessory. A warm feeling spreads through his chest, knowing that you'd thought of him. After you've finished, you hold his hat back out to him. He takes the hat back with a shocked expression on his face, and you're worried he doesn't like it, so you rush to reassure him.

"If you don't like it, or think it's dumb- maybe this was stupid I just, it reminded me of you, and-" You ramble, stopping to prevent further embarrassing yourself. 

"It's perfect." Arthur smiles, looking down to the agate, feathered ornament, dappled with little stars that remind him of you. He means it. The little decoration is perfect. The teal agate matches his eyes, the imprinted metal ensures that you're with him all the time, as if you don't already linger in his mind 24/7. He couldn't have picked out something more perfect if he tried. The accessory is fashionable, a fancy and intricate piece to add to his hat, and he's excited to wear it.

You blush, smiling happily as Arthur fondly runs his finger over the accessory before placing his hat back on his head. You lean up, adjusting it correctly while on your tiptoes. 

"You carry a lot of bad memories with this hat," You whisper, thinking of Arthur's father, "Figure it's about time you make it yours, start makin' some good memories with it." You explain. 

"It's perfect, Star." Arthur all but whispers, and you sheepishly nod, blushing. You’re proud of the little gift, and Arthur is shocked by the thought you’d put into it. 

“Looks real nice. You needed somethin’ to match those eyes.” You nod up to his hat as he leads you out of your tent. He opens his mouth to speak, but much to your growing annoyance, he is cut off by another yelp from across camp.

“Goddamnit, what is happening?” You groan, nodding for Arthur to follow you to the source. You’re ready to beat the hell out of someone, irritated and hungover. You stomp towards the scout fire where the screaming and yelping comes from, with Arthur following behind you.

The scene in front of you is nothing short of insane. That O’Driscoll from Colter is tied up to a tree. His pants have been pulled down to his knees and you make a point to avert your eyes from his… nether region. His bare quads scrape painfully across the treebark as he fights to get away from Dutch. Your eyes boggle when you see Bill come around the corner of Dutch’s tent with a steaming red pair of gelding tongs. 

“What are you idiots doin’ to this poor feller?” You gesture to the O’Driscoll, wincing at the way he shoves himself further into the tree to avoid Bill’s eager tongs.

“We’re takin’ his balls!” Bill laughs maniacally, looking all too pleased at the idea. He snaps the tongs a few times for good measure. Your jaw drops a little, and your eyebrows draw together in a mixture of shock and confusion. 

“They’re only balls, boy! You probably weren't using them anyway!” Dutch chuckles, slapping Bill on the back.

“You’re- You’re ‘taking his balls’? Really, Bill? What the hell is this, a farm? Get out of my way. Someone please pull his goddamn pants up.” You sigh, ordering the men around. Bill just looks at you for a moment, but you glare at him, and remembering how hard you can hit, he obliges. You sigh, bracing your hand against your nose as Bill drops the tongs and fixes Kieran’s jeans. Then you push past Bill, shoving him out of the way to take his spot in front of Kieran. The O’driscoll is terrified, shaking like a leaf on the tree as if you’re about to torture him. You eye him over curiously before turning on your heels and looking at the men before you.

“What exactly do y'all want outta this feller?” You question, making a plan to get some answers that doesn’t involve castration. Your hands rest on your gun belt, tapping the grip of your revolver in thought. Dutch’s eyes grow dark as he spits something onto the grass. 

“We want Colm.”

Turning back to Kieran, you eye the boy up and down.. He’s a weaker looking fella, the kind you would have stolen off of back in Tumbleweed. He’s terrified, and you know he’ll do anything to avoid a beating, including giving up his old pal, Colm. He’s surely hungry and thirsty. They’ve only been giving him enough water to stay alive, and you don’t know if he’s eaten. 

“You hungry mister? Thirsty?” You ask, watching as tears fall down the O’driscolls mud-caked face. He frantically nods his head up and down. 

“Oh yes! Yes please, please. I'm so hungry, I- I’m so thirsty, miss.” Kieran whimpers, and you nod. Without another word you push past Arthur, Dutch and Bill, straight to Pearson’s wagon. Arthur looks at Dutch, tossing his hands up lightly before following you. He comes up to your side, watching as you dip a metal cup into the barrel of water. Arthur lightly grabs your elbow to get your attention.

“You sure about this? He could be playin’ you.” Arthur warns. 

“Yes, I'm sure. You wanna help? Get me your map.” You say, leaning over the table to grab a piece of salted venison from the table. Arthur isn’t sure about this plan, but he trusts you. He nods, taking his map out of his satchel before following you back to the tree. 

“You.” You nod to the O’Driscoll, and he nods frantically, terrified of you, but glad that you’re not approaching him with some torture device. 

“Y-yes ma'am?” Kieran whimpers, and you hold the deer and water up. 

“You want this?” 

Kieran nods, and you raise an eyebrow. 

“Good. Point me to Colm n’ you can have it.” You give him an ultimatum, knowing that he would rather deal with you than the boys any day. Kieran nods, flinching as you pull your knife from its sheath. You hold it up in front of him for him to see. 

“Try anything, and this’ll be lodged in you, okay?” You warn, moving behind him before cutting him free from the tree. Kieran winces, rubbing at his wrists once he’s free. Dutch and Bill look irritated with you, but you pay them no mind as they file away. Arthur has laid his map out on Pearson’s table, just as you’d asked him to, and Kieran rushes towards it. The O’Driscoll eagerly leans over the map, following the roads with the tip of Arthur’s pencil before stopping and circling a small area north of Valentine. 

“They’re holed up here. It- It's called Six Point Cabin, and Colm will be there. It should be easy, they’ll all be drunk and asleep if you go now.” Kieran offers, looking past the horizon where the sun is starting to set. You look at the circle on the map, then up to Kieran. He has many reasons to lie, but you dont think he's loyal to Colm. You don’t think he’s dumb enough to lie to you either. But… just for good measure, you grip onto the collar of his shirt, threateningly. 

“If this is a lie, or you’re leading me into a trap, I will let this sick bastard take your manhood. You hear me? All. of. It.” You threaten, pointing to Bill behind you. The O’Driscoll frantically nods his head, audibly gulping at your promise. Quickly, you release him from your grip, dusting his shirt off a little from where your iron grip has left wrinkles.Once he’s been thoroughly threatened, you turn to Arthur, trying to ignore the sickness in your stomach as you hear the starved man gulp down all of the water, and tear into the venison..

“Good! Now that that's settled, John, Arthur, you’re with me. The three of us should be able to get this done quickly.” You tell the men, who are standing in a crowd behind you. John is wide eyed, shocked, but of course, Arthur isn’t. With a smirk, you pace through the wet grass towards Athena. Everyone mounts up and rides out pretty quickly, not wanting to waste another ounce of the limited daylight. 

“When we get here, we should do it quietly. Arrows, knives. There’s no reason to start shooting if we can take them out quietly, one at a time.” Arthur yells over the pounding of Balius’ hooves. He’s right, doing this quietly will give you the best chance of getting to Colm before he can run.  

“I agree. John, you know how to use a bow?” You ask.

“Ha! Little Johnny Marston over here can’t shoot a bow. Not that I should be surprised, he can’t do much of anything. Can’t even swim.” Arthur pokes, chuckling in his saddle at his own stab. 

“Oh shut the hell up you big bastard.” John counters, irritated as usual. It's quiet for a bit as the three of you enter Cumberland Forest, moving into a single file line to fit on the narrow trails. 

“How’s your leg holdin’ up?” John yells up to you. Instinctually you trace the scar that's hidden under your jeans.

“It’s fine now, healed up nice for the most part.” You chuckle, hollering back, “How’s your face?” 

“Ugly as always.” John chuckles.

“Hey, quiet, I think we’re close.” Arthur says back to you both, slowing Balius down to a trot. You all grow quiet, trotting the horses into the woods and hitching them off of the trail a ways. After dismounting, you offer Athena an oatcake for her work. The boys wait as she finishes it, and then you grab your bow from her saddle. Arthur and John crouch behind a fallen log, and you get down, coming between them.

“That bastard weren’t lyin’.” Arthur whispers to himself, shocked. 

The camp has one large cabin surrounded by various tents and wagons. Campfires scatter the place alongside a decent number of drunken idiots. Most of the O’Driscolls have retired for the night, snuffed out their lanterns and hit the hay. Some of them voluntarily went to bed, others passed out, completely wasted. A few O’driscolls with greasy hair and green bandanas sit around a campfire, not far from where you’re all perched. 

“Arthur?” You ask, waiting for some instruction. You and John both look to him as he formulates a plan, getting a headcount of the O’Driscolls and peeking around for other vantage points. 

“Okay we take out the ones at the fire from here. I count four. I'm good with knives, so I'll take two and you each take one.” Arthur grumbles, pulling out two throwing knives from his satchel. You’re curious if he has the skill to take down two so in such quick succession. If he’s just a split second late, the O’Driscoll will alert others. Glad that your job is easy, you grab your bow from your shoulder, steadying it in your hand as you squint to aim for one of the awake O’Driscolls. You exhale, releasing your hand just before the arrow lodges into the man’s chest. Within two seconds the other three men fall, thanks to John and Arthur. 

“Good job with the bow.” Arthur whispers, and your breath hitches in your throat when his hand squeezes your elbow with a small, proud smile. He doesn’t miss the hitch of your breath, and unbeknownst to you, he blushes, removing his hand from you and shaking his head. John looks over to Arthur with a raised eyebrow and a chuckle. Oh, he's gonna chastise Arthur for that later. Rolling your eyes, you glare back at the boys.

“Stop foolin’ around,” You hiss, “We sneak in and look for Colm. I'll take the cabin. John, go see what's worth stealin’ from their tents, but don’t wake anyone up. Arthur, cover me if I need it, please.” 

With that you stay crouched, jogging off in the direction of the cabin. You have to step over the sleeping men, and be extra careful not to wake them as you go. Colm better be here. If he’s not, you'll hand that O’Driscoll straight over to Bill tied with a ribbon. You gave him a second chance, and by god, he’d be a fool not to take it. 

Approaching the cabin, you take a quick glance through the windows. The glass is very dirty, and even squinting through the dirty glass, you can't see much. There's no light emitting from the cabin, so you assume its empty or everyone is asleep. 

You quietly step around to the front porch, hoping that this isn’t one big waste of time. Your spurs click ever so quietly with every step as you approach the front door. You lean down a little, readying your bow in case someone jumps out.  Just as you reach out for the door handle, you hear a sharp, quiet whistle, one that you’d recognize anywhere. Your head snaps around and you spot Arthur down a ways in the middle of the camp. He leans his head down a little, warning you to be safe before he gestures to your bow and then to his knife. Despite the fact that hes signaling you without speaking, you know exactly what he’s saying. 

He's telling you to put your bow away and pull out your knife instead, you curse yourself, realizing that you’d neglected to use your head. You need two hands to pull the bow, and opening the door leaves you vulnerable. The knife is a better option. You nod to Arthur in thanks, and swing your bow back over your shoulder before grabbing your hunting knife. You pull it out of its sheath, readying it as you grip the door handle.  You hear a loud grunt from the camp, and as you snap your head over you see that one of the O’Driscolls had woken up, and Arthur knocked him out. You need to hurry.

 With one hand gripping your blade, the other turns the door knob. You push it open quickly, holding up your knife in defense. It's pitch dark inside the cabin, and it takes a few moments for your eyes to adjust as you step inside. The cabin is pretty standard, across from you is a fireplace, a large table and some bedrolls laid out. You step further into the cabin and find two half-empty bowls on the table. They’re filled with some sort of mushy, brown looking stew, and they’re still steaming… 

You connect the dots too late. By the time you whip around, the men who were hiding in the shadows of the cabin slam the door shut so you can’t escape. Your eyes grow dark, and you back up as they step towards you until your back hits the far wooden wall. The two O’Driscolls are tall. They could be twins, black hair hidden away by bowler’s hats, green scarves around their thick necks. They repulse you. 

“Get back you bastards, ‘less you wanna end up like your sorry friends.” You threaten, holding your knife up in warning. The bigger one chuckles while the smaller one slides a chair under the handle of the door.

“Oh, Gabe, she’s a fiery little thing.” He says with a sickening, greedy grin on his lips. You hear Arthur try the door knob, cursing that it’s locked. 

“Anyone touches a hair on her goddamn head I’ll kill the whole lot of ya!” Arthur yells from behind the door. You can hear him dropping his weapons, and you know he’s going to try to kick the door down, but he won't be able to with the chair. You’re on your own.

“She’s a little one. She’ll be easy to handle,” The other man says before directing his attention to you, bringing up his knife and running it along the jut of your cheekbone. Your knife is in your hand, hidden behind your back as you come up with a plan to take them both down. You know his threat isn’t empty. You know what the O’driscolls have done to women, proudly, with no shame. You’ll be damned if you go down without a fight.

 “Hey, sweet thing, is that your man out there? Cause I want him to hear what we're gonna do to y-” You take a deep breath before plunging your knife into the man’s throat with a roar. Blood shoots out from his jugular, spraying all over you. Just as quickly as you had inserted it, you tear it out, and he falls to the floor, clinging to his neck. The sound of flesh tearing sounds through the room as you aim for the second man. Just as you bring the knife down towards his chest he catches your hands. You can hear the loud, angry thumps and screams of Arthur trying to beat the door down, along with his string of threats and curses towards the O’Driscolls. Shots ring out from around you, presumably you’ve woken up the entire O’Driscoll camp and now John is dealing with them. You struggle against the man for a while, as you try to push the knife down into him, and he tries to turn it around. Arthur gives up on the door, instead running around the side of the building to smash in one of the windows. He doesn’t know what's happening, he can't see who’s winning this fight, or what's happening to you, all he knows is that you’re struggling and yelling. As the glass shatters, you hesitate, letting your guard down. A painful sting slices along your abdomen, and you glance down to see that the man has cut your stomach through your shirt. It’s not very deep, but it could have been.

“You goddamn bastard!” You hiss as the O’Driscoll backs away. He smirks, watching you struggle. Arthur wastes no time jumping through the shattered window before running and tackling the O’Driscoll to the ground. Arthur starts beating the O’Driscoll, knocking chairs and items down, and after he gets a few punches in, Arthur smashes the mans head against the wall, killing or knocking him out.

“Colm aint even here!” You seethe, holding a hand against your stomach to ease the sting. Arthur looks up, seeing you covered in a spatter of blood. Immediately, he rushes over to you. 

“How much of this blood is yours?” He asks, running his eyes down your shirt until he sees the tear in it. 

“Not much of it, I’m fine Arthur, just a scratch.” You sigh, looking down at your destroyed shirt, “Shit.” 

It was a good shirt, and now it’ll be joining the burn pile when you get back to camp. You groan,  realizing you’ll have to ride back to camp like this. 

“Is John okay? And where the hell is Colm?” You ask, pulling up your shirt a bit to look over the cut. It’s just over the lip of your jeans, not deep, but a few inches wide. You won’t need stitches, thankfully. 

“Johns fine, lootin the camp now, and who knows where the hell Colm is.” Arthur says, eyes fixated on the bleeding patch of skin in between your jeans and shirt. 

“You think that boy Kieran set us up?” Arthur asks, making a mental note to buy you some poultice, considering how much you use it. 

“No. He’s not that stupid, or that brave. Don’t think he wants to lose his balls just yet.” Arthur chuckles. He motions for you to follow him out, but you raise your finger up signaling him to wait. 

“All this, and we ain’t gonna rob the place?” You ask, and Arthur watches as you climb over the scattered items and corpses. As if you knew exactly where it was going to be, you walk up to the chimney, reach into it and pull out a wad of cash. Quickly, you run your fingers through the folds, counting six hundred dollars. Arthur huffs, forever amused by you, especially as you walk towards him and then stop. You turn on your heels, looking up to the double barrelled shotgun resting on the mantle, and with a satisfied hum, you strut right over and pluck it from the wall. 

“Okay now we can go.” You say, walking past Arthur with a smile, soaked in blood. 

“Whatever you say, boss.” Arthur mumbles, whispering the last part before you glare at him .

— — — —

You’d stopped in Valentine on the way back, breaking off from Arthur and John to take a bath at the hotel. You’d taken your time, using almost every bath soap and oil just to try them out. Each one smelled so good, it was well into the night before you’d finished. It was a refresher that you needed, and deserved. With a new hundred dollar bill in your pocket from the job, you’d rented a room for the rest of the night, and then bought yourself some new clothes in the morning. You picked out a nicer outfit than usual, a dark burgundy shirt, over the shoulder styled with ruffles on your arms. It’s beautiful, and fancy, something you’re not used to. You tucked the shirt into a new pair of black jeans, and smiled contentedly in the mirror before braiding your hair down your back and heading back to camp. 

Much to your surprise, Arthur convinced the boys to let Kieran live, and to keep his manhood. Now as you peel potatoes next to Sadie at Pearson’s table, you watch him talk to and pet Athena with a small smile. Sadie follows your gaze, scoffing. 

“You should have just killed him. Can’t trust any of those damn O’Driscolls.” She hisses, garing daggers at the man, causing him to tremble lightly as he feeds Athena a mint. 

“He ain’t hurtin’ nothing. Sides, same thing could be said about us.” You point out, and Sadie doesn’t argue back, but she shakes her head in disapproval. You haven’t seen much of her since meeting in Colter. She’s kept to herself, hid amongst the shadows and cried herself to sleep most nights. You can see her bottling up, hardening. She’s turning into you 

“Star?” 

You look up, drawn out of your thoughts to see Abigail smiling down at you. There is a subtle redness to her eyes that indicates she’s been crying, and your eyebrows draw together in worry. 

“Everything okay?” You ask, standing from your seat and dropping your knife to the table. 

“Could we talk for a minute?” She asks, a hand sheepishly toying with a piece of her hair. 

“Course… What’s goin’ on?” You ask, smiling back to Sadie in an apology before following Abigail towards her tent. 

“Well, it's the boy.” Abigail says, biting on her nails as she leads you into her A-frame. Before the flap falls closed, you glance out of the tent to see Jack playing with a toy horse. He seems fine, just playing as children his age do. You look at her, confused, as she sits down on the corner of his tent. 

“He’s real sad, Star.” Abigail exhales, tears forming in her eyes that she pushes back, “John don’t- John don’t really care about him like a father should.” Abigail sighs, and you move to sit on the open space beside her.

“Arthur’s always been there for Jack, even when John left…” Abigail says, and you make a note to ask Arthur about it, you don’t recall hearing of John leaving.

“I'm sorry to ask, and I know it’s unfair to, but could you or Arthur take him somewhere, or do somethin’ with him? He looks up to you both so much.” Abigail explains, and you place your hand over hers, nodding. You can’t imagine how she does it all. This life is an unkind one, and raising a child amidst it? You’re sure it's tough. Your heart aches for Jack, and you understand the pain of wanting to be loved by a father that chooses his life over his kids.

“Of course, Abigail, I’d be happy to. I miss Jack, haven’t gotten to chat with him in a while.” You explain, and Abigail smiles bittersweet. 

“Thank you so much, I’ll owe you.” 

“Nonsense, you don't owe me nothin, this’ll be fun. Let me find Arthur, we still have some time before dark.” You respond, pushing the tent flaps open before walking out. The sun is just beginning to set over the mountains, and you reckon that you have a few hours yet. You manage to find Arthur carrying a bale of hay across the camp, and he drops it to the ground in front of the horses. 

“Ride with me?” You call to him, and he looks over at you, pausing for a moment to take in your new shirt, and the neat braid running down your back. 

“Course, always.”Arthur says, entranced by the way you look in the dark red blouse. He debates telling you that you look beautiful, but decides that it would sound odd, so he coughs awkwardly and follows you. 

“Where we goin’?” He asks, dusting some hay splinters off of his hands. 

“That's up to you, mister. We’re takin’ Jack out.” You say excitedly, leading him towards the boulder where the boy sits. Arthur watches as you sort of skip along, smiling to himself. 

“How about fishin’?” Arthur asks, and you stop dead in your tracks, turning around to squint at him. 

“You gotta take a lady and a child out for fun and you wanna fish?” You ask, lost on his decision. But Arthur looks pretty excited, and you can’t help but laugh. 

“Well sure, fishin’ is fun.” Arthur defends, covering his heart in mock pain. 

“Yeah and so is dysentery, are you serious?” You huff, chuckling with a shocked expression. Arthur looks at you like he can’t fathom why anybody would think fishing to be boring. 

“Fine, we’ll go fishing, but you gotta do something that's actually fun with me later.” You chuckle, approaching Jack. He’s playing with a wooden horse, a sad little frown on his face. 

“Hey buddy, do you like fishin’?” You ask him immediately, kneeling down to his level. He looks up to you almost offended.

“Aunt Star, fish are smelly! I hate fishing!” He says, looking up to you with drawn together eyebrows. 

“Well we’re goin’ fishin, so go get your pole off of Uncle Hosea.” Arthur says, and Jack sighs, stomping off towards Hosea’s tent. 

“Arthur Morgan.” You chastise, looking at him with an open jaw. 

“What? It’ll be good for him, he’s practically the man of the house now, considerin’ John’s contributions-” Arthur starts, sarcastically and you swat his chest to shut him up.

“Go get on your horse with your damn pole, I’ll meet you over there.” You sigh, waiting for Jack to come back with his little pole. You smile sweetly at him as he jogs back towards you, a grumpy little frown on his face. 

“I don’t even know how to fish that good, but at least I get to stay up past my bedtime!” Jack says, handing his pole out to you, “Can I ride with you? Uncle Arthur’s horse looks scary…” Jack mumbles, looking at the huge black stallion with trepidation. You chuckle, thinking that Athena is definitely more of a force to be reckoned with, but you trust her. 

“Sure buddy, c’mon.” You nudge him towards the horses with your hand. Arthur has the horses all tacked up, and is tightening the last cinch on Athena’s saddle when you approach him. You climb up into the saddle first, sliding back as far as you can against the seat, and then Arthur lifts Jack up with a groan, placing him down right in front of you. 

“You got a spot picked out?” You ask, turning Athena towards the trail out of camp while Arthur mounts up. 

“Yeah, head down to the Dakota, there's a nice spot down by the bank.” 

Per Jack’s request, you lope down the slope towards the river. You make sure to keep Athena at a very slow, steady pace so that Jack doesn’t lose his balance. Athena seems to be aware of the fragile life on her back, and takes extra soft steps. Jack giggles the whole time, a belly aching laughter as he hangs on to the horn in front of you for dear life. He’s upset when you have to slow down, but grateful for the fun that it was. 

“Here should do.” Arthur says, pulling Balius off the road. He’s chosen a spot in the river with a deep pool off the bank, a nice spot. The grass comes down almost to the water, and wildflowers and big rocks scatter around the area, creating a perfectly peaceful resting spot. It’s a perfect place to read or chat, but of course you’re here to catch fish. Arthur dismounts, coming over and lifting Jack down from the saddle onto the grass. You follow, and both of the horses step aside to munch on the sweet grass. 

“Either of you know how to fish?” Arthur asks, hands resting on his gun belt. You and Jack both shake your heads and Arthur nods, moving firstly to Jack. You stay quiet, watching on as Arthur adds a worm to Jack’s hook. He shows Jack how to do it, and then gets him cast out into the water. Despite his predisposition to fishing, Jack seems rather proud of himself 

“Real good, Jack!” Arthur smiles, patting Jack on the shoulder. You conclude that he must have been an incredible father, it all comes so naturally to him. Jack looks up to Arthur, so proud of himself, and your heart aches for the whole situation. 

“Now, when you got a bite, let me know. We can reel it in together.” Arthur says, nodding to Jack before coming towards you.

“I think I’m gonna sit this one out, Arthur” You chuckle, and Arthur nods. 

“Fair enough.”

Jack waits for a long while next to Arthur, and both have their backs faced to you as you sit in the grass behind them. You pluck some pieces of grass from the dirt, and then bored, you grab your little journal. Arthur and Jack talk about nothing and everything at the same time, waiting for something to bite. Eventually, Arthur gets a catch, and he shows Jack how to gut and store it, and then they’re back to waiting. The whole process is a bit mind numbing for you, and your attention is focused solely on the pages of your journal as you update it. 

New horses, new blacksmith, and a newfound sobriety after the other night. Lots of things are changing, and yet lots remain the same. It's a confusing thing, and I find myself so caught up in between what I should do and what I want that I fear it’s breaking me in two. Honestly, its getting harder to tell the two apart any-

Your pen stills, as you look up to where Arthur and Jack stand. You’re sure you heard what he’s just said, but still you find yourself analyszing it. 

“Y’know I taught another boy to fish once.” Arthur says quietly, head turning towards Jack. Jack looks up at Arthur with his eyebrows drawn together, mirroring exactly your expression. 

“Lenny?” The boy asks, and Arthur chuckles, recasting his line. 

“No, not Lenny. This was long before I even met Lenny. Hell, before you was born too.” Arthur sighs, recounting just how many years it's been. Sometimes he’s grateful that his life doesn’t require the modern calendar. The passing of time would be far too painful if he was more aware of it. Jack’s confusion turns to excitement, as he once again misinterprets Arthur’s words. 

“Oh! What is his name? Could I meet him? I’d like to have a friend…” Jack says, not quite old enough to understand the passing of time, and the growth of children to adults. He’s never been around other children before, and you can’t blame him for his naivete. Arthur’s head dips down, and a bittersweet smile tugs at his lips. You watch on, connecting the dots with an ache in your heart. 

“Nah, don’t think you’ll be able to meet him, buddy. He woulda liked you though, was only a few years older than you.” Arthur whispers, swallowing thickly as a fish tugs on his line. He doesn’t even bother to reel it, staring blankly across the river, lost in thought. 

“Oh. What happened to him, Uncle Arthur?” Jack asks innocently, pulling on his rod too quickly while trying to attract a fish. 

“He passed away.” Arthur mumbles, and the night grows silent save for the buzzing of frogs and the quiet splashes of water. Arthur gives Jack a few more pointers, but after a bit, Jack is tired of fishing, and he sets his pole down, yawning as he walks over towards you. 

“I’m bored now.” Jack states, sitting beside you while plucking a few wildflowers from the grass, “Maybe I’ll make a flower necklace for momma.”

Smiling at the kid, soothed by the sounds of Arthur’s pole splashing in the river, you lean back against a boulder, looking up at the night sky. It’s still early, and streaks of orange and red paint the sky alongside dark blue. It’s a beautiful night, and even though its early, you can still point out a few weak constellations. 

“What are you looking at, Aunt Star?” Jack asks, curiously tiptoeing towards you with a bundle of flowers in his hand. He plops down right beside you, sitting against your waist as he starts to weave the flower stems together. Now Arthur is the one eavesdropping, pole dipping into the water as he listens to you and Jack’s conversation. 

“Oh, the stars, I guess.” You chuckle, thinking that you find yourself answering that question with the same answer frequently. But you just can’t help but eye them, they’re so beautiful, so free. Jack yawns, leaning his head against you as his fingers slow down on his little project. 

“You like looking at stars, don't you?” Jack asks, eyes never leaving his flower necklace. Arthur chuckles, asking you the same question in his head. They seem to follow you like a trail, leaving star-shaped kisses on your heart. 

“Yeah, I do. I think they’re fun to watch. Aren’t they just beautiful?” You ask, watching as the whole sky twinkles and flickers. Jack nods, yawning again. 

“They sure are.” 

You watch them for a while, occasionally glancing ahead to watch the slopes of Arthur’s back as he packs up his fishing pole, retiring for the night. After everything is all packed, he starts to make his way towards the two of you. Jack snores lightly against you, and surprised, you look down to find him asleep. Arthur smiles at this before sitting down against the rock at your side with a groan. He rests against your side opposite of Jack, and as he takes his hat off, dropping it to the ground, your hand reaches out to rest over his knee. 

“Y’okay?” You ask, turning your head to gauge his eyes. Arthur’s eyebrows draw together, and he nods. 

“Sure, why?” 

“That must have been hard to talk about.” You nod towards the bank, recalling Arthur’s memory to the conversation about Isaac. Arthur sighs deeply, removing the weight of the world off his shoulders as his hand covers your own on his knee. 

“It’s gettin’ easier.” He admits, but his eyes are far away, lost somewhere decades ago. 

“Tell me about him.” You invite, leaving the decision up to him. You won’t be upset if he chooses not to talk about it, you understand isolation better than most. But if he chooses to open up, you’ll be there. A supporter, a friend, an ear, whatever he needs. 

“There’s a lot to tell…” Arthur huffs, squeezing your hand lightly. 

“We got time, if you’re comfortable.” You whisper, hand instinctively running up and down Jack’s sleeping back. Arthur nods, tongue darting out over his lips for a moment. He’s never told anyone the full story before, but as he looks into your warm, familiar eyes, he knows he can trust you. 

“About fifteen years ago we was stayin’ in this town, we were there for a while,” Arthur toys with your hands, avoiding your eyes, “Got to know this waitress, god- she was just a kid, only eighteen at the time… Eliza was her name. We had- well it was nothin’ special, just someone to spend the night with. First time it happened we were both drunk, both hurtin’. Then everytime I was in town I’d stop by her place.” Arthur shakes his head, disappointed in his actions, “It was wrong, but we were young and stupid and lookin’ to feel somethin’ other than hurt I guess.” Arthur whispers, a crease in his forehead from the way his eyebrows are drawing together in pain. You squeeze his hand gently, letting him know you’re still present and listening before he continues. 

“One day, after we’ve been doin’ this a while, I rode up and I just knew somethin’ was wrong… Said she was pregnant, said it was mine.” Arthur brings his knee up, resting his arm on it as he recalls memories that he has spent years shoving down, “I knew it was. I didn’t know what to do, I was so lost, Star. I knew I wanted to do right by her, so I made sure she had enough money so she wouldn’t have to work no more…” 

You lean your head against Arthur’s shoulder as he runs his thumb over your knuckles. You’re terrified of the end of this story, and you wish there were something you could do to ease his pain.

“I wasn’t ready to be a dad- not in the least. I had no role model worth a damn, and I was so afraid of turnin’ into my daddy…” He whispers, and your eyes glance to his hat on the ground, and the new accessory adorning it. 

“But then he was born.” Arthur chuckles, a little huff at some good memory in his head, “He looked just like me, and he was growin’ so fast.” Arthur has a joyful smile on his lips, but it dies out the longer he stays silent, thinking about the next chapter to Isaac’s life. 

“I stopped by when I could, always brought him somethin’ from my travels… He’d get so excited when I rode up, Eliza was always hollerin’ after him for runnin’ out the house.” Arthur whispers, an ache in his red eyes.

“I taught him how to write, how to draw, even how to fish and ride. My lord, did that kid love horses.” Arthur huffs a chuckle, “Boadicea especially, she was just under saddle then, a handful of years… He named her- named her after a queen from one of the books I read him. He liked history too. He was such a good kid, Isaac. Smart like his momma and stubborn as all hell like his daddy.”

The smile from fond memories fade away, and are replaced by an old pain. One so deep that you know you could never attempt to reach the bottom. His hand shakes lightly, encased over your own, and he swallows thickly, looking down at his lap. 

“One day I was goin’ back like always, but this time I had a real big surprise for him. Saved up for a long while n’ got him his first pony, a chestnut like Bo, his favorite… I rode up the trail, it had been about a month, soon as I got up the path I saw two crosses out front and I just knew.” 

Tears trail down your cheeks, and you squeeze Arthur’s hand. It’s all you can do to let him know you're here, feeling this with him. He knows. You’re here, and that's more than enough. Jack is still blissfully asleep in your arms as Arthur finds the strength to continue, unshed tears in his eyes that he won’t allow to fall.

“Found her daddy, he said some gang had come through. Robbed n’ killed them for ten goddamn dollars,” Arthur inhales deeply, and that tear finally falls as he whispers, “And Star- his grave plot was so small. He was there and then he wasn’t, and poor Eliza. She deserved so much better than that, than what I provided, they both did…” Arthur regains his composure, hiding his face from you as he sniffs and wipes the tear away. 

“I fell hard into the bottle after that, didn’t come back up for a long while.” 

Arthur looks over at you then, and at the sleeping boy in the crook of your arm. You’re shocked, speechless, and hurting for a loss that you never had to grieve. The trauma that Arthur’s gone through, the loss, and he still gives so much, he has such a big heart and yours aches for his.

“Arthur I- I’m so sorry.” You breathe out, tear tracks running down your cheeks, “I’m so sorry you’ve had to carry that alone.” 

Sitting in silence for a few moments, offering eachother little glances and touches of support, a question pops into your head. 

“You a religious man, Arthur?” You ask, looking up to him from against his shoulder. His eyebrows pull together, not expecting this question as he shakes his head. 

“I don’t know, not really.” He explains, having heard a lot about church and god, but never having actually listened, “Why, you believe in all that?” he asks. 

“I believe that some way or another, we all get what we deserve in the end, whether that be redemption or mercy or suffering. And kids? They gotta be granted somethin’ good.”  You mumble, thinking about it all. Arthur purses his lips, placing his hat back on his head as he looks down at you. 

“N’ what about folks like us? What do we deserve?” Arthur asks, looking at your intertwined hands. You could have pulled away by now, but you haven’t. You sigh, contemplating his loaded question before coming up empty handed. 

“I don’t know.”

Arthur nods, holding your hand up to exaggerate the fact that you’re holding his hand, pressed into his side. 

“What are we doin’ here, Star?” Arthur finally asks, a question that has been on his lips for a while. You bite your lip nervously, looking at your intertwined hands before pulling yours back, and placing it over Jack’s sleeping form. 

“It’s nothing, Arthur.” You say plainly, anxiety panging in your chest at his directness, and he sighs. 

“Is it?”

“Arthur, stop.” You warn, wanting the conversation to be over. You don’t want to talk about this, not now, not here. 

“Why do you keep closin’ up on me?” Arthur begs, having just poured his heart out to you, and you can’t manage to speak to him about anything. You don't speak, eyes purposely avoiding Arthur as your cheeks burn red. You want to cry, to scream, to tell him everything, but you can’t. You can’t because people you love get hurt, and people you love hurt you. Arthur sighs, watching as tears pool in your eyes. He’ll wait. 

You’re about to wake up Jack, to take him back home. Just as you start to move, a pair of horses trots down the road, pulling off the bank where you sit. Arthur is up in a second, confronting the people riding up in the night. It happens so shockingly quickly that you don’t even have time to ask questions. Jack stirs awake, confused and sleepy as you shove him behind you. 

“Good evening! I’m Agent Milton, this is Agent Ross.” A man calls out, climbing down from his branded chestnut morgan. His uniform is identical to his partner’s, stamped with a damning Pinkerton Detective Agency seal, and you gasp. 

“Mr. Morgan, and you,” The bald man, Milton, looks to you then, scowling, “I hear they call you Star now, right? Though it’s not the name on the bounty poster, is it?” He chuckles, humorless. Then, he gestures to Jack hiding behind your legs. 

“I’d ask if he’s the both of yours, but you ain’t been riding with these degenerates long enough.” The agent nods to you, as you fume.

“Tell me, Mr. Morgan. Did you coax this poor woman into joining you? Did you tell her all about your philosophy? Your code? Or was that all old Dutch?”

“What do you want?” You hiss, ready to kill these men. Your hand has flickered to your holster more than once, but you hesitate, not wanting Jack to see. 

“We want Dutch. You give us him and we'll clear your names. You know what they say about a king-less monarchy, hmm?” Ross says. Arthur steps forward then, feigning innocence. 

“We ain’t seen Dutch, not in a long while.” Arthur explains, but Milton chuckles, shaking his head. 

“Yeah that’s what Mac Callander said too, before I shot him, it was really more of a mercy kill.” Milton hisses, and your jaw falls. Arthur is filled with rage, hands clenched tightly as he holds back for Jack’s sake. 

“He didn’t talk though, don’t worry.” Ross chuckles, walking back towards his horse. 

“You best think over our offer, you’re running out of time.” Ross hisses, climbing back onto his horse. 

“Have a good night, kid. You don’t got many more of them.” Milton addresses Jack, and you shove the boy behind you as they gallop off. 

“Arthur-” You exhale, shocked and terrified. The Pinkertons have caught up, and if they’ve chased you this far, you doubt they’ll ever stop.

“This ain’t good. We better get the boy home, talk with Dutch. He ain’t gonna be happy about this.” Arthur says, low with a dark edge. Nervously, you watch them ride off. 

“You think we’re gonna have to move again? We just got here.” You exhale, emotional at the thought of leaving. This is one of the first places you’ve felt at home in a long time. 

“I don’t know. C’mon, we’ll get Jack back and see.”

— — — — 

Dutch isn’t worried about the Pinkertons. No, he's furious. He sees it as some personal stab at his ego. Your eyes roll, sitting beside Arthur outside of Dutch’s tent. 

“I don’t think you understand, Dutch, they know where we are. They killed Mac.” Arthur growls, trying to get Dutch to see reason. But Dutch’s mind is clouded by delusions of grandeur. He believes he can win the fight against the agency, and you think he’s a fool. 

“They’re testing us, son. They’re pushing us. They think they can herd us? Me? They’re wrong. We are NOT abiding by the rules to their twisted games. We are staying here!” Dutch yells, and Arthur sighs, begging  Dutch to cut his loses, but the man is insistent. Arthur tries to speak, but Dutch cuts him off, placing a hand on his shoulder. 

“Son, in the morning I need you to go get Sean. We are not losing anyone else.” Dutch orders, then he moves towards the fire where John is. You and Arthur share a worried glance before following him. 

“John! Gather what you need, we are HITTING THAT TRAIN!” Dutch calls out, smiling brightly as if his master plan is falling together, “Watch them try to control this crew. We’ll hit their bounty hunters, hit their train in the same goddamn day. This is going to be beautiful.”

Your stomach turns as you recall Dutch’s orders about needing your level head on the robbery. You have a bad feeling about this train, a real bad one. But as John and Arthur start packing to head in separate directions tomorrow, you realize that there’s no way out of it. You’re a van der Linde now, and you follow his orders.

[insideous-beez]

Twst and Magic at NRC

I went down a rabbit hole trying to figure out what the hell the "mathematics" classes at NRC would be like in a way that is fun and interesting. This led to a breakdown of how magic in general works in the Twisted Wonderland universe, so in case anyone is interested in my insanity, here's a breakdown:

What we know about Magic in Twst

In Chapter 1, we learn that magic is done through visualization. The better one's focus, the better the execution of the spell. Personally, I love this because it's very similar to how artists expand their ability to draw without using references by practicing with references of an object at different angles to build their mental library!

However, this isn't the ONLY way magic is used.

Riddle's SSR card also shows him helping Cater study a cleaning spell that, rather than visualization, requires steps in a process.

Additionally, there is an NRC class called "Changes and Comparisons of Abbreviated Spells in Ancient and Modern Magic History," implying there are also spells with a verbal component! (Also, this is a highly specific class compared to the other courses... Was "Linguistics of Magic" already taken by RSA?)

So my challenge is this: how do you reconcile all these "methods" of casting... and add MATH?

Ultimately, I decided that spells can be cast using multiple methods, but the method chosen impacts these factors:

- The efficiency of the spell (amount of magical energy required to perform it)

- Standardization of the spell's outcome

- Whether you must maintain focus the entire time or can leave a spell to run autonomously

- The spell's ability to be generated using the magical input of one or more people

What does math have to do with this? Well, a large inspiration of these above points is real-life scientific method. Let's elaborate:

- Efficiency

If you have a ton of magical power up your sleeves like Malleus, I imagine you don't need to understand the science behind a tornado's formation; you can just brute-force a tornado! However, there's definitely ways to do it without using nearly as much magical input. One can either stick with the visualization method, but would need to understand the precise conditions necessary- "wind moving at different speeds, in different directions, at different altitudes." However, this still has room for error, as it is difficult to visualize a force like speed. How do you visualize wind moving at 100 mph and know that it's 100 mph?

This is why one might chose a different spell method, such as a ritual. Let's assume you're not summoning a tornado on the spot and have a few tools at your disposal to grab scientific measurements of the conditions in which you'd like to summon your tornado... then you sit down and plug those values into a neat ritual spell that essentially runs the calculations of "how to make a tornado based on these conditions" for you and spits one out! It takes the most amount of prep work and time, but it requires the least amount of magical input from the caster and allows for very precise and exact results.

So basically... magic mathematics would be used in order to create said ritual spell. Yes, we eventually got back to magic math.

-Standardization

This is largely inspired by Malleus's Lab Card. Deuce asks Malleus to cast a "light breeze," and Malleus casts what he thinks is a light breeze- but to Deuce it is a gust! This is another issue with visualization magic: it is highly relative. Coordinating with another person, unless you've practiced a lot prior, can be ineffective at best and dangerous at worst. Furthermore, if you're looking for results that are precise, you need a solid concept (like "red roses"). Think back to the 100 mph wind example- do YOU think you can visualize what 100mph wind feels like? Probably not, unless you've practiced with a wind measurement tool a million times and have it down to a science. Even then, 100mph probably doesn't feel any different than 100.05 mph, so if you want precision, just stick with a ritual spell.

- Focus / automation

I don't have much to say on this one, I feel it's pretty self-explanatory with the example from Riddle's SSR card. I imagine you don't need precise calculations just to leave a mop cleaning the floors autonomously, but you also may run into the issue of said brainless mop trying to wipe your dorm mascot off the floor.

- Input from multiple spell casters

When you combine an efficient spell-casting method with this, you reduce the risk of Overblot! Yay! Again, not much to say, but I imagine there are spells that allow for multiple people to input energy. Again, these would NOT be visualization spells, they would be spells that have a pre-existing structure (such as a ritual, or instructions via runes, or verbal components) that allow multiple "inputs" to channel into one "output."

So! What else does math have to do with magic?

- Translating one form of magic into another

Personally, I love the idea that a spell built by runes/symbols (like a magic circle) can also follow mathematics principles to be translated into music that performs a spell when played to completion.

- Making a spell more precise

ie- if you want your mop to NOT mop up Grim, you may need to do a bit of math to figure out what additional "steps" to the casting process will help, or you may have to instead create a spell that dictates "mop this surface area, avoid anything bigger than this specific size"

Now, you may ask... if there are all of these cool effective methods of spell casting, why do our favorite boys just yeet visualized ammo at each other?

To be blunt: because they're all rowdy little punks. They are engaging in the magic equivalent of a street brawl.

(Deuling at RSA is probably a lot more clean, but not nearly as fun. They probably also have fancy honor-based rules, like "only one spell is to be cast and whoever pushes the other caster back furthest from their starting point wins." See? No fun.)

If you'd like to add to these ideas- whether it be for math and magic or for how magic functions- please please PLEASE DO!

A lot of it is inspired by a comment my boyfriend made; "fantasy stories make magic this big, vague thing that isn't well understood, but if magic were real, humans would have it down to a science." One of the amazing things about humanity is how incredible the accumulation of scientific discovery has been! We are able to be extremely precise in calculations on a whole variety of matters. So I wanted my "magic system" to work similarly to real-world science, with some exceptions to remain consistent with in-world cannon. I also like to imagine that, like some things in science, there are phenomenon or spells that are possible in mathematical terms, but not in execution, whether it be because there's not enough input in the whole universe, or because magic- like some aspects of science (like weather) is subject to chaos theory (aka, it can be calculated very precicely, but if ONE factor changes, the results are DRAMATICALLY different, and that one factor may not be within your control at all). My boyfriend gave the example of trying to solve a problem on a global scale and accidentally taking a chunk out of the planet instead because of a slight variation in expected conditions. Yikes!

I'll leave one last note; yes, I considered arithmancy. I think it's stupid. So I am not including it in my personal headcannons for NRC coursework.

Anyways, I accidentally tapped the poll option and I DONT KNOW HOW TO GET RID OF IT!!! So have fun with the below:

[mariyekos]

FFVII Rebirth and Gameplay at the Cost of Atmosphere

This is probably going to be part 1 of a series of posts/mini-essays so I'll write more on it later, but while doing one of the Chapter 12 Sidequests in Rebirth, I finally figured out how to phrase one of my biggest issues with this game:

There are several places in Rebirth where they include special gameplay at the cost of good atmosphere. This often, but not always, accompanies either a change or new addition to the plot.

I've put some elaboration on what I mean below. For now, it's only looking at that one sidequest in Chapter 12, though it happens all over the game. But the tl;dr is that sometimes game shoots itself in the foot/misses completely when trying to create a certain atmosphere because it prioritizes a certain type of gameplay that is antithetical to that atmosphere.

The Monsters Aren't Real, and How That Hurts the Atmosphere

The sidequest in question is Lament of the Damned, the sidequest in Shinra Manor where you go with Vincent to explore reports of a crying woman. The thing that got me about this one was the combat trials.

What's in the Game

When you go explore under the manor, both Vincent and Hojo mention deadly combat trials, which is a great setup for some horror and an overall creepy atmosphere. Because wow! If Hojo has no qualms about putting his own experiments to death if they don't prove worthy, that means he's really messed up! (And that Vincent in particular has had an even more disturbing past than we thought). The manor was definitely creepy in the original with all of the monsters roaming the halls and the pop up Ying Yang in particular. There are no more battles in the Shinra Manor (besides Cait Sith's section), so maybe this is their way of making up for that.

Except... in the Remake, the combat trials are just simulations. You don't have to face any real monsters. It's all fake. There are no monsters roaming the halls unchecked anymore, nor are there caged monsters, created for the sole purpose of testing your strength. And this lack of real monsters totally kills the deranged/creepy haunted house atmosphere the original Shinra Manor had.

(Which, to be fair, is already changed by the under-manor laboratory being a huge complex rather than a couple of rooms, which is part of the larger shift in atmosphere done for the entirety of Nibelheim. I won't go into to detail in this post, but while I thought the Cait Sith gameplay segment was actually a lot of fun, I was disappointed by how it killed the vibe too).

Room for Improvement

I personally believe the combat trial aspect would be much creepier and much more effective if you were trapped in a room and real monsters were suddenly let loose on you. Then it would feel like a real fight for your life, and make Vincent's comments about how subjects were disposed of via combat trial all the more impactful. Because simulations can't kill you (or at least, don't seem like they should be able to), so in the simulation verse, there should be no direct consequences to losing. It seems a lot dumber to be killed by a simulation than ripped apart by real monsters. Less scary, though I suppose there's a certain appeal to being killed by the unreal. Still, I don't think they leaned into that hard enough. Maybe they meant to imply that creatures which lost to the simulation would be disposed of either by real monsters or just euthanasia afterwards, but meh. I still think that's less disturbing than throwing test subjects into a room where they either defeat the monsters that have been loosed on them, or die a grisly death. And even if they do somehow die to the simulations, something about it just doesn't hit the same.

Having the monsters only be simulations also loses the disturbing aspect of the basement being inhabited by monsters of Hojo's creation that exist for the sole purpose of testing other experiments of his. Because isn't that messed up? For Hojo to create beings whose sole purpose is to, ideally, be killed by his more successful test subjects? To have to face creatures which may have once been normal animals or innocent civilians who have been twisted to fight but can never be saved, so you must either kill them or die yourself? When the monsters you fight are just simulations, you lose that thought/fear of "oh no, look what he's done to these real living creatures, not only mutating them but sending them to their deaths for his amusement."

When the monsters are fake/just simulations, it means Hojo isn't hurting as many real people, and you don't have to face the disturbing idea of having to put down real beings who probably once had real thoughts and feelings. (Which would've been SO GOOD with the line Vincent has after the combat trials, where he DOES talk about Monsters having feelings. But the monsters you fight aren't real. Not until the very last one. So it doesn't hit the same).

So tl;dr of this section: the fact that the simulations are just that- only simulations, i.e. not real- both reduces the threat level in terms of danger to the character, and eliminates the disturbing realization that Hojo has created creatures who are (if his experiments are successful) are meant to die. Both the atmosphere of the manor and Hojo's character lose out there, imo.

Why the Monsters Aren't Real, or the Gameplay Reason

After beating the combat trials, I came to realize (the likely reason) why they made the combat trials simulations rather than real battles: so they could include combat objectives and so you can take the trials at your own pace (i.e. leave and come back).

Repeating the Trials/Combat Objectives

First, the combat objectives.

There are two types: timers and stagger. If you were fighting against real enemies, having a stagger requirement wouldn't make as much sense, since a real battle should really just be about surviving. Why would you need to stagger them? What would happen if you didn't? Would a monster be more likely to kill you if you didn't stagger it? That's not how it works in gameplay. As for the timer, I could see there still being a timer requirement in the form of these enemies doing some sort of enrage move after a set amount of time, but the stagger one doesn't make as much sense. (For people who don't know what enrage is, it's the idea that an enemy will use an unlivable attack against you. An unavoidable OHKO.)

By making the fights simulations rather than real battles, it then makes sense for Hojo (cough cough the devs) to implement certain specific requirements to progress. It also gives them a better excuse for why you might need to repeat the trials- you didn't meet the combat objectives, so now you have to do it again. Because the trials don't auto-fail if you don't meet the combat objectives, you just don't get to go forward.

But I think it loses sight of the creepy scientist and horror basement thing if what you're fighting isn't real. There is no penalty for not doing the trial "right." If there was an actual enrage at the end of the timer (i.e. if you just straight up lost/died), then that would be terrifying! Because wow, Hojo is willing to kill his subject if they're not fast enough! But no, he just doesn't pass them and has them try again. Which makes him less creepy/insane seeming, because now he's kinder because he's willing to give things a second chance. It's less impactful.

In my opinion, being able to implement combat objectives isn't worth that loss of impact. Because combat objectives don't have to be in this part of the game. Chadley has combat objectives in his simulator. If they want us to do combat simulator stuff, have us do it with Chadley. Don't hurt the atmosphere in the manor to include this dumb requirement, which not only means there's less threat in the form of the monsters not being real, but also kills any sense of urgency because you can repeat the trials as many times as you want, or even come back later if you don't have the time. It's a loss of atmosphere for the sake of gameplay in a bad way. They didn't have to write it like this, but they did. And it happens several times through this game.

Backing Out/Limited Creature Game Logic

Speaking of which...I think it's okay to have the occasional unskippable battle, or occasional battle arena where you have to beat them all to progress/do them all over if you run, but the devs sure don't. If the battles weren't simulations, it would make a lot of sense for them to be one after the other. Battles where you've got to do them all to make it through.

Since they're not real battles and are simulations you have to execute, it makes sense that you can come and go. But I don't think that's the order that concept was conceived in; instead I think the devs went "in order to allow the player to come and go at any time, we should make it so you only have to do the battles one by one, and a simulation would be great for that!" And the game really hand holds you with that. Most of Chadley's simulations have multiple battles in a row where you have to beat them all to proceed, but the ones in this sidequests are all individual battles with individual goals.

Now, I am all for accessibility and quality of life in gaming, and I really like that, for example, you can save basically everywhere now instead of needing a save point. But it's fine to remove a little bit of Quality of Life/Accessibility for a single sidequest where you face a battle gauntlet! I mean, the game already has points where it limits your access to Fast Travel so you have to progress the plot. And like I mentioned before, most of the Chadley battle simulations have multiple rounds too! Why not do that here, where you have to do the battles (at least the 4 simulation ones, I would be fine with stopping before the boss) before moving on? You can save right then and there! You're healed between battles too! It's okay to make things slightly less convenient sometimes for the sake of atmosphere! How cool/exciting would it be if Hojo set 4 rounds of monsters on you in a row, where you had to beat them all or game over? I'd love it. That would raise the stakes. And, it would make for a more unique atmosphere. But this isn't something that seems to be a high priority for Rebirth, which I find unfortunate.

(Sidenote, this happens with both gameplay and visuals. At least in the Cave of the Gi they had runestones instead of Jukeboxes... but they didn't bother to change the Jukebox in Vincent's room for some reason. Or to put it somewhere else if they didn't want to change the model. The jukebox and potion bench are so weird man. They kill the vibe made by the rest of the creepy basement full of coffins and candles. It's supposed to feel old and out of time, but the jukebox and bench ruin it.)

I could also see the argument that the devs made this a simulation rather than a real battle based on the logic that having an infinite number of monsters (for infinite tries to complete the objectives) makes less sense when they're real monsters rather than simulations, but I don't think that matters. This is a video game. There are already infinite monsters in the overworld. There can be infinite monsters here.

Finally, going back to the idea of stagger and time objectives from above...you could technically do those with real enemies too. Have it so Hojo will just send more monsters at you if you fail. Make it real Hojo instead of hologram AI Hojo. Or have the AI be able to detect that the enemies weren't staggered/killed in time! Now that I think about it, there are combat objectives against real enemies in the overworld, so they technically didn't need to make these battles part of a simulation for combat objectives. But I still feel strongly that these battles were made to be simulations instead of real battles for the sake of combat objectives.

Last Thoughts (for now!)

FFVII Rebirth has leaned very strongly into AI, simulation, and advanced technology that had not been conceived/wasn't in the public consciousness when the original was released. At times, the game wants to lean very hard into this new technology at the cost of the atmosphere that made the original so great. It's a different type of horror. A different type of creepy.

Being trapped in a virtual world can be terrifying, but it's a different type of terror to being trapped in the real world. Being killed by simulations sounds disturbing, but it's a different type of disturbing than being killed by real creatures. The writers may have done this because they felt it was an equivalent exchange (hehe), but for me at least, I find what the original did so much more striking.

Full disclaimer, I am not, and have never been, big into sci-fi. Remake and Rebirth lean into high tech sci-fi more than the OG did (which 100% had its own sci-fi aspects! I mean, the villain is an alien for starters, and the evil scientists' actions are central to the plot!), at the cost of some of the more down-to earth horror/other aspects of the original. I find this disappointing. It's a different choice that is sometimes really cool (ex. with so much technology it becomes much more obvious that Shinra has constant global surveillance, which is very distopian), but sometimes worse (ex. President Shinra only being a hologram rather than the real guy in Reactor No. 5 makes him seem a lot less cocky since he doesn't show up in person).

I think Shinra Manor as a whole has absolutely lost the atmosphere that made me love it so much in the original. It went from a grimy mansion to a sterile lab. Both are good settings for horror, but they just don't hit the same. This sidequest suffered from wanting to be part of that sterile high tech lab, instead of the low-tech horror of the original where people/Hojo seem(ed) to be playing god in much more material ways. Which is...a different point better left for another essay.

We'll see if I ever get to writing it, lol. For now I uh. Haven't actually finished the game. I have 91 hours and am only about an hour slash two sidequests into Chapter 12, but I haven't had much free time to continue. Hopefully this weekend I'll be able to push through some more!

[graciousdragon]

The time I wrote gay fanfiction for an English project and got an A

I saw a video earlier today that reminded me of something that happened to me a few years ago, and I figured now was as good a time as any to share it. I know this is the fake story website but please trust me when I say that this is an entirely true story. This title is also 100% accurate, surprisingly, so let me elaborate

This happened when I was in 8th grade, which for context was about 4 years ago when I’m writing this. One of the books we were assigned to read in my English class that year was The Call of the Wild by Jack London. For a brief summary if you weren’t forced to read it (or you were and you forgot what it was about, which is understandable), the book is about this Saint Bernard named Buck who lives a cushy life with his wealthy owner until he is kidnapped and sold off to be a sled dog during the gold rush, where he learns to obey the humans and follow his primal instincts, eventually becoming the leader of the sled dog pack and then becoming fully wild. From what I remember, our class was assigned three projects pertaining to the book; one somewhere in the middle of the book where we had to design a poster for the fight between Buck and Spitz, one at the very end that was just your standard essay about the theme of the book or something like that, and one in-between those that I will be talking about here.

The Call of the Wild is a relatively short book at only 7 chapters. Leading up to this project, we read through every chapter except for the last one. Instead of reading the last chapter right away, we were given a project where we all had to individually write our own conclusion to the book without reading the actual last chapter. I was mildly peeved, because I just wanted to finish the book, but I figured it might be fun. If i remember correctly, there weren’t really any restrictions for what we could or couldn’t do, aside from it obviously needing to be a continuation of the book using the same characters. In the document we were given that explained the project there were some suggestions for things we could include in our chapter, one of which was bringing back previous characters who had died. My favorite character in the book was Sol-leks, a husky on Buck’s sled team with only one eye, and he got killed at the end of chapter 5 when his new incompetent owners lead him over frozen water that breaks under them and causes them to drown. I decided to bring back Sol-leks for my chapter.

Now is where that title comes in. I truly wish I could go back to my 8th grade self and figure out what the hell caused me to take this route with my chapter, because on reflection I cannot figure it out. For whatever reason, likely just for shits and giggles, I decided it would be fun to imply romantic feelings between Buck and Sol-leks. That’s right everyone, in 8th grade I wrote a gay romance subplot between two of the dogs in The Call of the Wild for a graded English assignment. It wasn’t a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it thing either, I had an entire paragraph in there dedicated to how the two spent a lot of time together and got to know each other well and had a special bond that I flat-out said was more than friendship. And I submitted it like that. Where I live, its kind of a roulette of guessing whether someone is homophobic or not, so I wasn’t sure if I might get in trouble for my gay dog story, but I knew if any teacher or faculty member tried to give me shit for it then I would 100% be going to bat for my little Buck x Sol-leks fanfic. Fortunately, I never got in any trouble, and my teacher gave me an A. (if i remember correctly it was a 96 or 97% out of 100) I believe the teacher may have also left comments on it when she graded it, but I don’t remember what they were if there were any. Which leads me to the sad part of this story.

I can’t find the original writing.

I don’t have it saved anywhere, and my school email account I wrote it with is long gone now. Even when I still had access to it, for some reason I was unable to find it in my Google Drive. I couldn’t even find the instruction document or the grading rubric. Not having access to this writing piece is truly one of the worst regrets of my life. I would give almost anything to have it back. I’m genuinely sad I don’t have it anymore. Fortunately, I still remember how it went, so I’ll give you all an abridged version of it here.

For context, in the chapter before this, Buck’s new owner John Thornton had made a bet with a man named Matthewson in a bar that Buck could pull a 1,000 pound sled for 100 yards. Buck succeeded and Thornton won the bet, but Matthewson offered a large sum to buy Buck that Thornton refused.

My chapter began with Buck, Thornton, and Thornton’s other dogs traveling through a wooded area when Buck heard a familiar whimpering. Buck followed the sound to find Sol-leks, cold and alone in the forest. My explanation for how he survived was that he was able to get out of the water and got lost in the woods. Thornton took Sol-leks in to nurse him back to health like he had with Buck, noticing that Sol-leks was one of the other dogs on Buck’s team when Thornton first found him. Over this time when Sol-leks was recovering he and Buck became very close, which is where that previously mentioned paragraph insinuating that they were falling in love comes in. When Sol-leks was healthy again, he joined Thornton’s sled dog team and they continued traveling. However, one night while they were camped outside, Matthewson tracked them down and, still bitter about losing the bet and not being able to buy Buck, planned to steal Buck instead. Buck was captured by Matthewson, but before he could get away, Sol-leks realized he was there trying to steal Buck and attacked him. Buck got free and watched for a moment, thankful that Sol-leks cared so much for him that he would put himself in harm’s way to save him, before Buck joined in on the fight. I don’t remember if they killed Matthewson or just drove him away, but they were able to continue their journey together.

And that’s how it ended. For the most part this story really only exists in my memories, but there are fortunately two things to prove this thing was real and not just a weird fever dream I had that got confused with reality. First is the memories from my friends who also went to middle school with me and remember doing the project themselves. The other one is this page in my sketchbook from 8th grade, in which I drew my own designs of Buck and Sol-leks. The drawing on the bottom was directly based on a scene in my story.

(For some reason its not letting me put the picture in this post, I’m going to post this as-is and reblog it with the picture)

Will I ever revisit this idea again? Maybe. If I have the time someday and the urge strikes me I won’t rule out the potential of me doing something with it. Do I think Buck x Sol-leks is a good ship? I don’t know. I haven’t read the original book in years, so maybe if I went back and read it with fresh eyes I would think differently. Sorry if there are any die-hard The Call of the Wild fans out there who were just scarred by my potentially horrid misinterpretations of these characters.

Also, the song I associated with the ship was The Sharpest Lives by My Chemical Romance.

[popcultureoverdosed]

Jojolands Chapter 1 Review- The Mechanism

If someone had told me a few months ago that part 9 would be GTA with stands, I'm not sure if I would laugh or just dance with joy. Probably both. Jojolands  is already off to a strong start with probably the best first chapter out of any part. Readers quickly get introduced to Jodio and their sibling Dragona getting accosted by police that then delves into sexual assault. Jodio doesn't tolerate this at all and he breaks out his stand to wreck some havoc. November Rain is the name of the stand and it appears that he can manipulate water to create crushing raindrops. That's a cool ability but seems way too cut and dry for a protagonist stand. It's probably just an application of its true ability. 

Jodio is without a doubt the most amoral Joestar thus far. He has no issue with severely beating cops(potentially killing them), stealing cars, and selling drugs to teens. All of this establishes him as a weird alternate universe counterpart to Giorno. Jodio's ruthlessness will take some getting used to so I'm hoping he eventually gets character development that makes him more noble. He's a cool guy but very punchable at the same time. Kinda like how Johnny was at the beginning of part 7. He also seems to be very hedonistic since he wants to get rich simply for the sake of it. He's a true gangster at heart. I also want to talk about Dragona who's easily the biggest highlight of the chapter. Despite their feminine appearance, Jodio calls them his brother. Jodio monologues how Dragona has always been into women's fashion and even got injections to expand their breaststroke. This implies Dragona could possibly be trans or nonbinary. The original Japanese version doesn't even use gendered pronouns to address them but all three translations( you know a manga is hyper when three different people translate it) uses male pronouns. I feel that using gender neutral pronouns for now is the wisest decision. I'm curious to see where Dragona's gender identity will lead but then again, Araki is infamous for never elaborating on important plot points. Here's to hoping he doesn't screw them over.

Near the middle to end of the chapter we are introduced to the primary objective: stealing a 24 carat blue diamond from a Japanese tourist. To assist in this mission they are joined by Paco, a kleptomaniac with some seriously sticky fingers and an unnamed character in a wetsuit who buys drugs from Jodio. Yeah, this part has a lot going on for it. It fills me with excitement just imagining how this heist will play out. The narration implies things will go horribly wrong and piques my interest even more. It's important to not that all the stands seen thus far are non-humanoid and only Jodio was one suited for combat. This makes me believe there'll be an even lesser focus on battles than in Jojolion and will focus more on tactical espionage. It's a fun change of pace but I'm seriously missing  the powerhouse stand battles we used to get. Overall, Jojolands is destined to be a captivating new installment of JoJo.

[trickstarbrave]

Hey there, I hope you're having a nice day! This is for the Fanfic Writer's Directors Cut thing. I would like to request anything you have for Alduin's Bane. It's one of the best fics I've ever read (and is by far my favorite AlduinxDragonborn fic.) and I would love to know more about anything you'd like to share/commentate on from it!

If you'd like something more specific, maybe the first few paragraphs of chapter 35? Where they discuss Alduin's ability to eat souls and such.

Thank you!

thank you for the ask i was hoping to get some because i like to talk about my fics so much my roommates are sick of it

i have Much in the way of director's cut commentary on the fic to the point i could fill like several essays with real life mythological inspiration and other plans i had to scrap but this one i can talk a normal amount about (i hope)

a lot in the way of elder scrolls mythology isn't explained in full or is directly contradictory or unexplained, but unlike in real world mythology where you can simply say its only a reflection of the culture if you wanted to analyze it, the gods are real life sentient beings who at times have a very proactive role in people currently alive. so stories about random stuff alduin does or how he is just supposed to sit and wait for the end of the world didn't make sense in the larger plan of the gods to me, especially as an aedric being. in canon it's implied all dragons can eat souls (at least based on what odahviing says when he explains alduin's hunting grounds he 'selfishly guards' implying he doesn't let the others eat souls), but i think it was supposed to be a core function of alduin and the other dragons as gods and aedric beings. if you go the war hypothesis it could have been used in combat, but really the idea i was going for was:

people die and want to go to sovngarde, a particular realm of aetherius. if they are deemed unworthy, which seems like it could happen fairly often, i see many not wanting to take the consolation prize of wandering around some other afterlife. so what probably happened was alduin was tasked with devouring the souls of those who were unworthy but refused to stop bumming around sovngarde crowding up the fields. however, as his appetite and rebellious nature grew, he started to eat any souls he wanted, including those who are worthy and simply battling for eternity in the fields. which is a problem.

i also imagine it would also not be that hard to simply kill someone and eat their soul on the spot. they would be dead dead after that. super dead in fact. and given this is kind of an op power (so long as alduin is hungry) it probably has pissed off more than a few daedra who have to see their loyal followers get killed and eaten immediately by the aedric twilight god. i do whoever think a daedra would be far too big for him to eat so that is at least off the table.

i am planning on elaborating on this further in the fic with some of the daedra stuff to come in the form of molag bal and hermaeus mora stuff, but i dont think this is a spoiler to talk about or anything. i've hinted at it enough times and implied it i think the commentary

also im really glad you like it it means a lot to me. this started as a fun little idea (the first like 3 chapters were just gonna be a little one shot) and has blown up into a very complex story i never intended to tell but im really loving. to know other people also rly love and appreciate it makes me

anyways let me know if you have any other questions or things you want me to talk about. writing has been hard atm with everything in my life being nonsense but i am constantly thinking about this story and the world building and lore ideas i have for it i think i could talk about it for like 5 hours

[suspicious-pools-of-blood]

Hi there buddy, my name is Athena. I'm coming to say hi, see how you're doing and this is a chance to ramble about your wips. How many ocs do you have, how many have been through a lot and do you keep everything tracked and organised with tables and stuff?

Hi Athena!!

I've finally finished the first draft of 1 billion years of a plate tectonic simulation for my world, so I'm doing great!

How many OCs: depending on which ones count, I think somewhere in the general vicinity of 40, though plenty of them aren't really developed (and some are unnamed though I have a decent mental idea of them). Actually, y'know what, just for fun I'm gonna see if I can name them all without checking my notes:

Elvan of Aileron (main character), Hakan/Emir (Elvan's little brother), Asenath (Elvan's lover, initially a slave in the palace), Tyros (Elvan's son with Theos), Theos of Orontes (Elvan's husband and next in line for the throne of Korsan), Calyx/Esir (Elvan's slave), Xayanat (Calyx's friend), Khadagan (Elvan's servant), Nazorat (master of the slaves in the Orontes palace), Khiana (pirate captain of The Promise), Amenset (Khiana's best friend and second in command), Amarsin (also on the crew), Leovin (crew), İpek (crew), Enitan (crew), Leyla (Khiana's protege and Amarsin's best friend), Lucian (Leyla's first master), Aletheia (Lucian's wife), Tanis (cook in Lucian and Aletheia's household), Hadrian (Leyla's second master), Vojan (Hadrian's foreman), Demir (healer in the palace), Daxe (Theos' body slave), Petros (Theos' father), Valide (Theos' mother), Pallas/Voris (Asenath's child), Sinan (gladiator and Elvan's childhood friend/frenemy), Ahmet (Emir's childhood bully), Hekate (courtesan and Calyx's mother), Hekate's madam, Kuvvet (captain of the guard), Calvio (one of Elvan's Shadows), Hafiye (Shadow), Casus (Shadow and Hafiye's twin), Katil (Shadow), Namir (gladiator), Taymiir (khagan of Saldırgan), Ruxşet (distant cousin of Theos and potential successor to the throne of Ganimet), Quintus (captain of The Promise before he was overthrown by Khiana and co.), Elvan's mother (the khagan of Atalar), father, and aunt (who essentially raised Elvan and Emir). Just checked my notes and I only forgot Melis (Theos' cousin) and İsyan (another member of Khiana's crew). So I think that's 44, not counting all the other unnamed side characters. 45 if we count Jupiter, who is Amarsin's cat.

How many have been through a lot: all the ones I like lmao. Basically any character that I develop a backstory for has been through a lot, save for those who are purely there to put other characters through a lot (looking at you, Theos and Ruxşet). There are plenty who haven't been through a lot solely because I haven't gotten to them yet. Khiana's whole crew falls into this category; Leyla's the only exception because the rest of them actually started out as side characters in her story (which is almost entirely Leyla Going Through A Lot).

Organization: boy do I! I use Notion for most of my writing stuff (I modified an existing template). I'm gonna explain using screenshots, so you get to see my notes for free :P

The bulk of the actual writing happens in this kanban board:

Idea dump, as the name would imply, is where I put ideas that I intend to turn into a full scene, chapter, etc. When I don't feel like working on any existing WIPs I usually go to the idea dump column and pick one to start elaborating. Once I've got more than a few sentences, it goes into the in progress column, and that's where it stays the longest. To be honest I rarely actually edit before posting, because otherwise I get caught up in perfectionism, so the editing column is more for pieces that I don't quite love yet and that I know I could improve, but it's not a prerequisite to pass through editing before going to the completed column. Sometimes I'll edit a piece after posting, and sometimes I don't want to post a piece at all, so rather than having a separate column for that I've got it as a checkbox property.

As for individual pieces/cards, this is how I've got it set up:

Status just indicates which column of the kanban board this piece is in.

The story property currently has five different options, but three main ones: Child of Korsan, Tribes of Atalar, and A Promise of Change. CoK is my main story with Elvan, starting when she goes to Korsan as an adolescent. (Fun fact, when I first came up with the name, the child in question was Tyros, but it has since evolved to metaphorically refer to how Elvan essentially became a new person because of that place.) ToA is everything before that; it covers Elvan and Emir's childhoods (currently the earliest event I've written anything for in ToA is Elvan's birth), but anything set in Atalar before that would go here. APoC is the (currently somewhat secondary) storyline that covers Leyla's life and everything with the pirates; this overlaps with ToA once Emir meets Khiana, and later on overlaps with CoK when Hakan gets arrested. These all fall under Legends of Kainat, my overarching WIP, but separating the storylines makes it much easier to handle parallel plots.

Next up is the year; in universe I'm probably going to have a more localized calendar system (leaning towards a "year x of y's reign" type of system), but I just wanted a way to keep track of timelines for myself so I picked a random event (Elvan and Theos' wedding) and assigned that to year 500 and based everything around that.

Setting and characters are pretty self-explanatory. I actually only have Korsan, Ganimet, and at sea as settings currently since all the ToA scenes I've written are via flashbacks.

These properties in combination are super useful for keeping everything organized. The story property I mostly use just for filtering views, so I can look at just Child of Korsan pieces, for example. Having year (or time period/date/whatever), setting, and characters together is fantastic for avoiding plot holes, especially with multiple storylines that overlap characters, because I can keep track of where each character is at a certain time, so I don't accidentally have a person from one scene showing up in another scene hundreds of miles away without giving them enough time (and narrative cause) for travelling there.

I have a sticky notes board/page that is just for jotting down individual ideas that may not be formed enough to warrant putting in the idea dump column on the kanban board. This is also where I put a lot of more general worldbuilding ideas/notes that wouldn't have an actual scene associated with them.

Here I have a timeline page, although I don't use this as much as I probably should. It's a more centralized place to keep the who/what/when/where information. This is also nice because I can filter to a variety of different views, such as only looking at one or two of the stories, only seeing what events a certain character is involved in, or only seeing stuff that happens in a specific location. It's off-screen in the image, but this is also where I've noted down each character's birth as an event. This was actually one of the main reasons I started keeping a timeline; these stories are set over the course of characters' entire lifetimes, and I never had a good sense of how old they were relative to one another. With this I can quickly check the birth year of a given character and compare it to the year a certain event took place to get an idea of their age without needing to root through my character notes.

And on the topic of character notes, I've got some of those too. I use a pretty standard character sheet type of setup here; this is mostly for keeping track of details that I won't necessarily remember but might want to refer back to, as well as keeping track of side characters who I don't spend as much time thinking about. Here's Elvan's character sheet:

And that's about it! I also have another page for notes about the conlang I'm making for this world, but I'm not going to open that can of worms right now lmao, I have put conlanging into a box on a shelf for now and need to not open it until I finish geographical worldbuilding.

[oh-hush-its-perfect]

Alex Fierro's Introduction Full Breakdown

Okokok so. This is going to go full English-professor mode, where I'm drawing conclusions that are gonna seem a little far-fetched. That's what's fun about media analysis! I can say something is a symbol, and even if I don't have enough faith in RR's competency to know if he meant for it to be a symbol, it's still true! That being said, a lot of these choices I'm sure are intentional, either at a literal or subliminal level. Page numbers are going to be used not to assert a kind of authority or whatever— this is a Tumblr post, not an essay— but to help readers find the pages I'm referencing in case they'd like to do some digging of their own. Also, this is going to be really long. Really sorry to anyone with ADHD; I might make an audiofile of this so you can get the information without having to read the whole thing. With all that, let's get into it!

To kick off, let's talk about Alex being in the form of a cheetah when she first meets Magnus. Of course, there's the obvious impact of him seeing her but only so breifly, as well as introducing the conflict between her and the rest of Hall 19. But that could have easily been accomplished by almost any animal. The choice of a cheetah being implicated implies two qualities of Alex that will be recurrent throughout the two books she's in: 1. She has a tendency to run away, as we'll later learn when she describes how she became homeless, and 2. To Magnus, she's elusive. She can't be caught or held down. The event that shows this so transparently is how Alex refuses to define their relationship at the end of the series, despite it clearly surpassing the normal bounds of friendship.

But the cheetah isn't the animal Alex is in the form of when Magnus first gets a good look at her; she's a weasel. Weasel's bring up all kinds of connotations: ferocity, slickness, a lack of charm. When we want to describe someone as an untrustworthy person, we call them a weasel. RR had Alex take this form to play up her comrades' feeling of distrust towards her. She could be a double-crosser. But paradoxically, the up-front and vicious mannerisms of a weasel also have a transperency. She does not try appealing to her Hallmate's sense of goodwill because she doesn't have anything to gain from it. So even though there is the implication that she might be an antagonist, there's also evidence from her actions and mannerisms that she isn't. The weasel's long and skinny frame also allow for a smooth transition into Alex's actual body, which is convenient.

As Alex transforms into her usual human form, Magnus describes her as "a regular human teen, long and lanky, with a swirl of dyed green hair, black at the roots, like a plug of weeds pulled out of a lawn" (pg. 50). That simile at the end is of particular interest. Let's compare it to another time Magnus describes Alex's hair, in Ship of the Dead: "Her hair had started to grow out, the black roots making her look even more imposing, like a lion with a healthy mane" (pg. 136). By contrasting these two different examples, we can see the development of Magnus and Alex's relationship. The first time he sees her, he thinks of her hair as something nasty— note the word choice "weeds." Later on, though, he becomes more affectionate towards her, more complentary. The immedient negative reaction is less his actual impression, though, and more the reaction he expected to have based on everyone else's reaction to Alex.

Her clothes are equally as interesting; as Magnus describes it, Alex wears "battered rose high-tops, skinny lime green corduroy pants, a pink-and-green argyle sweater-vest over a white tee, and another pink cashmere sweather wrapped around the waist like a kilt" (pg. 50). Aside from the obvious fact that this outfit is a) bizzare, b) fire, and c) Alex's signature colors, which add a layer of style to what can otherwise be a somewhat boring series fashion-wise (excuse me, Blitz), the outfit reveals a crucial facet of Alex's backstory in a kind of subtle way. These are expensive clothes, like the Stella McCartney dress in Alex's room. Note the mention of fabrics (corduroy, cashmere) and patterns (argyle). These indicate wealth and status. Even the high-tops; shoes like that don't come cheap. But I'd like to return to the very first word of the section: "battered." Alex's wardrobe show-cases a proximity to wealth, but also shows that that proximity has been strained and lengthened, maybe for an extended period of time. Alex dresses like a rich person, but she isn't one. Least, not anymore.

The last word of that outfit-introduction is also of interest: "kilt." At the current moment, Magnus thinks that Alex is male. No one has indicated otherwise to him. Everyone has been referring to Alex with he/him pronouns. Samirah called Alex her "brother" (pg. 29). His first thought in seeing what he at first perceives as a guy with a jacket wrapped around the waist is That looks like a kilt. This thought tells us about Magnus: despite being open and accepting, he still has some lingering notions of gender conformity from his years in wider American society.

Magnus also indicates that the outfit "reminded me of a jester's motley, or the coloration of a venomous animal warning the whole world" (pg. 50). This is rather self-explanatory, but it's still worth noting that Magnus sees the outfit as something bizzare, strange, and even perhaps comical. This places Alex at odds with the other people Magnus has met. It also reveals that Magnus has zero fashion sense. But we already knew that.

After finishing up staring at the ensemble, Magnus finally gets around to actually looking Alex in the face. First Magnus says that he "forgot how to breathe" (pg. 50), which, yeah, relatable. This is justifed by saying that Alex has the same face as Loki, but the very same sentence that asserts that that's the case also suggests an alternative reason: Alex has "the same unearthly beauty" as her father. Here we can see the beginnings of Magnus's attraction to Alex, though at this point, he still has a lot of internalized homophobia. Though there's certainly some truth in that Magnus was unnerved by Alex's resemblance to Loki, the idea that Magnus pointed out that Alex was pretty without elaborating on that thought until about a chapter later— after he was informed that Alex was presently a girl— can tell us a lot about how Magnus perceives sex and beauty.

Of course, Alex's eyes are given special attention. She has cool eyes; what can I say? But I'd like to focus in on how Magnus here depicts Alex's heterochromia as "completely unnerving" (pg. 50). Again, let's contrast this with how he describes them after getting to know Alex a little better in Ship of the Dead. In Chapter 3, Magnus describes "[Alex's] dark brown eye and his amber eye like mismatched moons cresting the horizon" (pg. 25). Once again, this shows the development of their relationship— but this time, it's in a much more personal way. Eyes are the windows to the soul; they are culturally important and biologically important in inter-personal connections. In you look into someone's eyes, you're giving them your full attention, and you're implying a kind of closeness. The way that Magnus describes Alex's eyes in the second passage is downright intimate. At this point, he is in love with Alex, and it is clear when contrasting the two descriptions.

As my last point, I'd like to discuss Alex's first words on page: "'Point that rifle somewhere else, or I will wrap it around your neck like a bow tie'" (pg. 51). First of all, Alex saying this with a "perfect white smile" (pg. 51) on his face implies that she is used to being threatened. She is not afraid of being shot; she counters the promise of an attack with a promise of her own. This pleads the question: why is Alex accustomed to violence? What events of her past or qualities of her life have brought her to this point? The threat itself reveals Alex's trauma from being genderfluid in a society with rigid gender norms, as well as her antagonistic relationship with her father. Magnus makes a comment that Alex "might actually know how to tie a bow tie, which was kind scary arcane knowledge" (pg. 51). Like Alex's wardrobe, the idea that she may have experience in high-class fashion also implies her former status as a rich kid.

I could go on. I could break apart Alex saying "'Pleased to meet you all, I guess'" (pg. 51). There is a wealth of information in this short page span that tells us things about Alex Fierro in the present moment, quietly demonstrates things about her past, and characterizes the narrator Magnus Chase. This passage is also effective in hindsight in marking the progress of Magnus and Alex's relationship.

But I'd like to take a step back and look at not the pieces, but the whole picture. Alex Fierro gets a full page of pure description— her outfit, her face— and about a chapter of introduction. This comes after several chapters of build-up. Alex Fierro is an important character you need to keep your eyes on. Alex Fierro is emotionally significant to the main character, Magnus Chase. Alex Fierro is one of the most developed and well-rounded characters that Rick Riordan has ever written— heck, she's one of the best characters in middle-grade books period. The extended emphasis on her and her alone tells us exactly what role she's going to play in this story: she's the star.

[fullsupersoniccircle]

okay so, i’m closing in on finishing my current sonadow fanfic!! here it is in case anyone’s interested, i tag as thoroughly as i can so hopefully that’ll be enough for y’all to come to your own conclusions about going through with reading!

this post isn’t about the chapter that got linked above, that will be the first chapter, it’s about the most recent one i posted in which a baby shower occurs!! i rly wanted to elaborate on the gifts and that’ll all be below the readmore!

so for starters: i did NOT think the Babylon Rogues would appear at this point, i was more planning for the final chapter but i needed just a little more to happen in this one and here we are lmao. for those who may not be familiar this is what Wave gave to Sonic

i had nothing i was really going off of for the stroller Tails created other than him engineering the wazoo out of it, but shout out to Napstashook for bringing up the idea of a mobile in a comment! while it may not have been created by Eggman since i’ve had what he actually gifts planned since the beginning, your comment absolutely inspired me to have Tails gifting it bcs the idea of it was so cute!

a headcanon i have for Knuckles is that he has a couple different hobbies to pass the time while guarding the ME, and wood whittling is one that i see him doing a lot! also my family gifted blocks in this style to my cousin’s kid and they’re super fun, i figured Knuckles would do something a little more geometric rather than basic shapes!

i tried to imply it as best as i could, but Amy just literally bought any and everything that was cute to her. dino shirt? bought. frilly dress? in the basket. socks that come in a rainbow spectrum of colors? that shit is going to her adorable lil niece or nephew so they can be dressed in everything possible and have all sorts of fun baby photos to look back on later when they’re older. bonus: if their assigned gender at birth changes, they can pick the baby photos that they feel best about! that was the thought process i was going for with her

i was a little unsure for a while what the Chaotix would give, but then thought of how adorable it would be for Charmy to want to give the drumset he has in Heroes! (he absolutely has a more elaborate drum set at this point that is way louder lmao) Vector and Espio having practically raised the lil guy i figure they would value the memories they’ve created with him and would encourage Sonic and Shadow to do the same with their child

I was a lil stumped with Rouge, before applying the same sort of hobby headcanon for her except she absolutely has a collection of crocheted fashion that she rocks whenever she can, all of that cool bikini shit!!! also absolutely has her own custom blanket if she feels like hanging upside down to sleep. Shadow knew of the hobby and maybe even secretly hoped that she would make a baby blanket, but didn’t pressure Rouge. also my own dad has done the same multiple times for friends and family over the years having babies, idk how often other writers do it but i love just. taking tiny things like this from my own life and inserting it where i can. idk it just makes me feel warm and happy :) also a pic for reference for the blanket!

back at it again with the irl influences: i didn’t specifically want to name it but the book series Vanilla gives are absolutely these guys or some Sonic-World equivalent

this series and author is the S H I T. so fucking good. it’s my mom’s favorite and she gifted all the ones she had to the same kid who got the blocks! and i loved the idea of Cream wanting to create a plush, kind of like something her mom had made for her when she was a baby, to give to the new youngest member of this mashed together found family. also i feel like every Sonic fan at some point looked up making a custom plush version of their Chao on their SA1 or SA2 Chao garden saves

from the beginning i knew Omega’s gift would be something to the point like diapers, but only recently came up with them also vowing they would be the one to upkeep the diaper supply. this absolutely means that once or twice they receive a frantic message from Shadow in the middle of the night asking for more bcs both he and Sonic completely forgot to grab some bcs they are Just Tired. Omega dutifully follows through and accidentally intimidates the poor employee who’s running the 24/7 store alone that the robot had to go to for the specific brand of diapers that the organics insist on using

Blaze was easy to figure out from the start what she would gift, Silver was a little more tricky until i went with the mindset of what he would’ve wanted in his childhood. it definitely wouldn’t have been a magic cure all, but even regular white noise i’m sure would be preferable to the sound of exploding lava or whatever the fuck was happening in Crisis City. for those not entirely sure what kind of sling Blaze gifts it’s this sort of thing

with Eggman’s gift it was pretty set from the beginning, the Project Shadow files and some sort of toy which eventually i landed on the choice of a rattle! i just love the idea of him finding irony in giving the offspring of his worst enemy a toy with his own face on it that will inevitably be smacked against any and every surface or face possible, and idk if there is any actual rattles with a silencing option, but i thought that would be a neat engineering thing. also the panicked reaction of everyone hearing an audible click from something that Eggman created was too funny, and Sonic just casually okay with giving the toy to his child. super excited to explore more of the relationship between this mad genius and blue hedgehog kajfjf

so, i went searching for frames that honor babies lost via miscarriage, it was hard personally looking at them. not that i’ve had a miscarriage, but any loss of life is horrible. a lot of them were very religious-focused or morbid for my own taste, that’s great it’s helped so many others! i’m trying not to discount that, but so many of them just felt too much like a gravestone or didn’t match with how i’ve characterized Sonic and Shadow in this fic. i feel that neither would be all for something that felt so grief-ridden or weighed down by sadness, and would want something that helps to celebrate and remember Dusk and Dawn in a less flowery-poetry or religious sort of way. writing this whole part with the frame and how it resonated with Sonic is one of the few times my own writing made me tear up, most likely because of how it lines up with my own beliefs, and instead of thinking about how terrifying the nature of death is, to try viewing it in a more positive way

uhhhhh that’s it! hope this helped with visualizing the gifts if anyone was having trouble with them, or were just curious about the thought process!

[cerastes]

I just remembered his monologue over Doctor and now feel pain. Him lamenting how a crucible if war was born and wishing that person instead was never forced again into strife again and lived on as teacher and also on what they were fighting for. ... i suspect he was unloading his sorrows on doctor since doctor was not yet warcrimes but like, he continued doing this apparently when doc was like, almost bereft of emotion that was not hunger for victory and goal achieved and that's impressive.

“i suspect he was unloading his sorrows on doctor since doctor was not yet warcrimes”

This is what I personally think, and the whole monologue Scout gives, I think, serves as pretty solid evidence that Scout is one of the longest lived veterans and most decorated elites Babel had. In other words, Scout probably befriended Doctor back when they were still an academic and held many an interesting conversation with them. It’s very likely that it wasn’t just Scout that confided in Doctor, but that Doc reciprocated as well.

And this leads to the perfect opportunity to address something I think we’ve been doing wrong: We’ve been considering Warcrimes!Doctor as two dimensional, I believe. We focus too much on them being a war machine.

Allow me to elaborate.

It is fact that they would eventually become a Beast Of Logic, so to speak, a creature that focuses only on winning battles, no matter the cost, but that’s very likely not all they were, even after the change Scout so sorrowfully describes.

Take Amiya, for example: She has the utmost intimacy and trust with Doctor, and makes many offhand references to past events that Doctor doesn’t remember but that she treasures. Doctor, even as a Beast Of Logic, did have some connection with others, likely select few people and only with those they knew before the switch with few exceptions: For example, W and Doctor never bonded, and we know W met Doctor after they already had changed, but the likes of Ace and Scout, veteran Elites, are very clearly enamored with Doctor. This likely was the case with Kal’tsit, Theresa, Closure (who is friendly with Doctor) and Amiya as well. Scout mentioning that W could confide with Doctor if she so wanted wasn’t an empty gesture: Despite knowing as much as he does about Doctor and what they had become, Scout still chose to see them as a friend and as someone apt to help others. Perhaps he saw in Doctor and W a chemistry that would allow them to be friends, had either ever taken the first step (neither did). Despite how cruel they had become, Doctor still apparently had their funny moments, such as their habit of eating weird things or eating things in weird ways, banter with Kal’tsit, bonding with Amiya, and whatever it is they had with Theresa, implied to be close enough that Doctor could apparently be in Theresa’s quarters and this would be seen as normal. As much of a bloodthirsty Beast Of Logic as they had become, terrifying enough for W to refer to them as “The Evil Spirit of Babel”, they still had a semblance of humanity outside the chessboard, with those they were close with.

And I think that’s what makes this even more painful, what makes Scout’s monologue even more painful, and what makes Kal’tsit’s interactions with Doctor in Chapter 7 even more painful.

It is easy to reject a monster.

Pariahs are pariahs because we don’t want them near us. No matter how effective and skilled and, dare I say, necessary someone is, the reality is, they won’t last if they have but burnt bridges around them. The reality of it all is, Doctor was probably still likable, if unsettling. It is not even subtext that Kal’tsit was having fun for a second with Doctor during some points of banter during Chapter 7, it is text, Actual Empath Amiya very much says “oh, wow, Doctor Kal’tsit, you are smiling right now!”, unintentionally shanking Kal’tsit in the heart with the agonic stake of nostalgia because, yeah, Kal’tsit and Doctor were probably very close in the past, and their seamless banter showed it. No matter however it is you wish to read their dynamic, either as that of colleagues, friends, or ex-lovers, it is rather painfully apparent that they used to be close, and Kal’tsit even has to take a stand and say: “No, I have to say this, I will not let this person close to me ever again, this is simply work”, even if she painfully misses this rapport, even if she aches at the thought of never having what they had again, because she knows, she knows something so terrible that it has irredeemably burned this bridge.

“Kal’tsit is being unreasonable. She’s a medical professional, she should understand the duress that comes with amnesia, the burden, and that Doctor can’t be blamed for it, she should understand she shouldn’t act that way towards someone amnesiac and blame them for things they did before they lost their memories,” you may say, and I can’t blame you for it, but hear me out:

Even if Doctor’s memories reawakened, even if Doctor was presented with the chance to reassess their choices, even if they repented, or looking at it the other way, even if Doctor truly forgot everything forever, you cannot change how Kal’tsit sees Doctor. She made clear she won’t let the hate buried deep inside of her bloom, but she has the right to keep it. She has the right to remain angry forever.

The thing with amnesiac narratives is that they focus a lot on the amnesiac, and so, we sympathize with our amnesiac protagonist and obviously defend them from people blaming them for things you could argue they never did, but we never really think about the victims of their past acts, and how they are entitled to all the anger they have, because whatever it is that happened that sowed it, it still happened, even if the guilty party doesn’t remember it. It isn’t as simple as tabula raza, the person currently standing in front of Kal’tsit might not have done the terrible thing she remembers, but they absolutely have the potential for that cruelty. And she has every right to hold onto her emotions, be they anger or wariness. Nothing you say can change that.

Nothing.

And so it becomes all the more painful to think that Scout probably had a drink with Doctor every Thursday, they’d talk about whatever, and all the time, Scout would see glimpses of this charismatic, kind educator he once knew, now replaced in part but never in their entirety by this Beast Of Logic. Consider that, and Scout’s monologue feels like something he’s telling himself more than something he’s telling to Guard before he goes off to his death.

Scout held a little eulogy for a remarkable friend he once knew before heading to his own funeral.

Because it’d be easy to reject and pile bile and blame on Doctor if they had become complete monsters.

But the painful and probably reality is, they likely didn’t.

Which only made it all the more painful to bear for those that knew the old educator.

[mewmewchann]

Danganronpa tier listttttt

Idk if people know how I feel about these characters, so here ya go! This is my opinion, please don’t attack me for this (also I only did this for the mainline games and Komaru + the Warriors of Hope)

...Also I wanted to go into detail on some of these so yeah Warning: it does get pretty rambly

S tier

...I don’t really feel like I need to explain any of these. MOVING ON

A tier

Chiaki Nanami Please don’t kill me for not putting her in S. I can explain, I promise Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely adore her and love her relationship with Hajime, but I didn’t really get as attached to her as I did with other characters. I still love her though

Fuyuhiko Kuzuryu He has one of the best character arcs in the series, only JUST being outranked by Shuichi. Seriously, best SDR2 survivor, hands DOWN.

Ultimate Imposter Yep. Fake Togami outranks actual Togami by miles. YEAH I SAID IT! Idk, I found them a lot more interesting and likeable than Togami and it was a real shame they got killed off so early. They were pretty fun.

Ryoma Hoshi ...Do I even need to explain why he ranked so high? Like, come ON! He’s one of the most underrated characters in the franchise!

Hajime Hinata 3rd best protag for me (yes I’m counting Kaede shut up), but I still love his arc. 

Kiyotaka Ishimaru He was my fave from the first game for a while, but the Kiyondo stuff kinda brought him down for me. And ngl, at times it feels like people only judge him based on his friendship with Mondo. I still love him though.

Mondo Owada Chapter 2. Need I say more. He’s a pretty cool character outside of that, too.

Komaru Naegi Just copy-paste my reason for Ryoma, it’s practically the same.

Nagisa Shingetsu Best Warrior of Hope. Hands down. I will die on this hill.

Kotoko Utsugi Despite being beaten out by Nagisa, I still adore her. She deserves the best.

B tier

Maki Harukawa Okay don’t get me wrong, I like her as a character, but the main problem I had was that her crush on Kaito kinda came out of left field for me. Like, she was a stoic unfeeling assassin and she suddenly fell head over heels for some astronaut that knocked on her door a few times. It feels pretty rushed (though knowing Tsumugi it probably was) and kinda brings her down a few pegs for me.

Korekiyo Shinguji “Why is he ranked so high!? He’s the freaky incest guy-” SHUT UP. Yes, his character was absolutely obliterated by the incest twist, but outside of that he is actually a pretty compelling character. (also if you look into his writing it’s pretty heavily implied that his sister used and abused him so judging him based on the incest thing alone is kinda odd ngl)

Ibuki Mioda She’s pretty fun. I’m not as head-over-heels for her as other people, but she’s pretty fun.

Celestia Ludenberg See, Ouma stans? THIS is how you do a compelling liar character!

Peko Pekoyama Please don’t kill me. It’s just that outside of Fuyuhiko she kinda felt......Eh? Like don’t get me wrong, I like her, but something always felt missing for me.

Nagito Komaeda My favourite antag didn’t even make A tier whoops- Yeah, Nagito is the best rival for me, but I’m not as head-over-heels for him as the rest of the fandom is.

Leon Kuwata PLAY HIS FREE TIME EVENTS.

Kiibo The “that’s robophobic!” joke kinda got old after the billionth time, but other than that he’s fun.

Aoi Asahina Her development is cool, but I don’t really have much to say on her honestly.

Sonia Nevermind Same reason as Aoi, but her relationship with Gundham is pretty cute.

Jataro Kemuri This kid deserves better and needs protection. ...I don’t have much other than that, though.

Monaca Towa This is gonna be controversial, but Monaca is the best villain of the franchise for me. Sure, she’s far from being one of my favourite characters, but she’s menacing and enough of a threat to be a great antagonist.

C tier

Kyoko Kirigiri Please don’t kill me. Like...She’s okay, but for a while I found her kinda......Dull? Idk what to say here.

Makoto Naegi He’s alright, but he’s the weakest protagonist for me.

Tsumugi Shirogane I think people are gonna agree with me the most on this. She’s a decent villain, but the "plainy plainy plain” stuff got REALLY old. (which is partially why I rewrote her entirely in DFTH oops) She’s better than Junko by a long shot, so at least she has that.

Kirumi Tojo She was okay until the nonsensical prime minister twist. Seriously, I detest that twist.

Angie Yonaga ...I don’t really have much to say on her. Like the Atua stuff got pretty old and I found her kinda annoying, but she has enough to put her above the characters I don’t like.

Mahiru Koizumi She kinda felt like a better Tenko, but...Uh...

Teruteru Hanamura Yeah, I don’t outright dislike Teruteru. Shocking, I know. His backstory and the stuff with his mom is charming enough, but the perverted stuff still kinda icks me out. It’s not as bad as Miu’s, though.

Genocider Syo She’s more interesting than Toko, but still not really that much there other than “serial killer that somehow got accepted into this academy but don’t think about that look how quirky she is!!”

Tenko Chabashira Similar to Angie. But the way she drooled over and chased after Himiko was kinda eeeh for me. Not as bad as Souda though, thank god

D tier

Byakuya Togami God, he’s such an asshole. Sure his development and the stuff he does is interesting, but GOD HE’S SUCH AN ASSHOLE.

Akane Owari She’s the most “why the hell are you still here” out of the survivors for me. Like, I don’t outright hate her, but a lot of the time it kinda feels to me like she’s only there for fanservice. (seriously, in one of her sprites she’s literally flashing you. Do I need to say anything else?)

Himiko Yumeno Yeah, she’s also pretty weak for me. Her development post chapter 3 was okay I guess, but it kinda felt too little too late.

Toko Fukawa Ugh. Sure, I don’t really like Togami, but the way she drools over him is gross. Sure she’s somewhat redeemed by her development in UDG, but other than that she doesn’t really offer much.

Yasuhiro Hagakure Didn’t really felt like he offered much other than “blatant comic relief who’s probably a stoner”.

Masaru Daimon The weakest out of the Warriors of Hope by a long shot. Sure, his backstory’s pretty sad, but his personality kinda grated on me, ngl.

Kokichi Ouma PLEASE DON’T KILL ME. Like, everyone hails him as the best written character of the series, but if you look closer into his writing it’s actually pretty bad. Not to mention the stans constantly excusing his actions because “uwu liar boy who’s gay for Shuichi” REALLY brings him down.

E tier

Kazuichi Souda He’s literally all the things people hate about Teruteru, but the fandom barely calls him out for it! Hooray!

Miu Iruma She’s basically just there for NSFW jokes. Need I say more. Also, why is no-one else talking about how problematic the maintenance scene was?

Nekomaru Nidai He’s basically just there for shit jokes. And that really got old for me.

Sayaka Maizono OKAY PLEASE PUT YOUR PITCHFORKS DOWN AND HEAR ME OUT! Look, I’m not gonna deny she was kinda cute, but what she pulled in chapter 1 was honestly really fucking snakey. “But she didn’t know about the class trial stuff!” So what? She was willing to use practically the only person in the academy she was close to as a fall guy so she could get away with murder and didn’t even bat an eye! Even if the trial stuff didn’t happen and she DID get away with killing Leon, did she really think everyone would be okay with it? Hell, did she even CONSIDER how Makoto felt!? Sayaka is a fucking snake! She literally USED Makoto!!! WHY IS NO-ONE CALLING HER OUT!?!?

F tier

Junko Enoshima ...Do I even need to explain this.

Mikan Tsumiki I really didn’t like her, even BEFORE chapter 3. Yeah, I said it. She kinda got on my nerves and the fact that they were playing her up for fanservice despite her backstory was really gross, and chapter 3 just made everything so much worse. Like, her getting her memories back and killing someone could’ve worked, JUST MAKE HER PLAN MAKE SENSE!

Hiyoko Saionji She’s just a fucking bully. Do I really need to elaborate?

Hifumi Yamada ...Again. Do I REALLY NEED TO EXPLAIN THIS!?

[wisehq]

Mission Debrief: Chapter 43

...IT’S HAPPENING! IT’S HAPPENING! IT’S HAPPENING-!

Alright, before we get into it- full disclosure; the hivemind is in full swing at the Operation Strix discord server, so pretty much anything I write here is going to be an amalgamation of all the conspiracy theories and reactions we vomited out as soon as the chapter dropped. On that same note, I think writing these the day after will start to be the norm. Just so I have the chance to calm myself before going on a twenty-page tangent about everything Endo may or may not be planning.

Okay [deep breath] let’s get into it.

First, let’s start off with Franky, before we get into the juicy stuff.

When the chapter first started, I thought we were going to get backstory on Franky. Endo seemed to be alluding to this on his twitter page, and I was actually interested in possibly seeing more about his and Twilight’s relationship. Of course that didn’t end up happening; instead we got another side story about Franky trying to get some action by finding a lady’s lost cat, but seeing as how it’s Franky we’re talking about it seemed appropriate. Also, how can I be upset when-

The princess herself arrives! I gotta say, I loved the lightheartedness of most of this chapter. Yor’s always a delight, and pairing her together with Franky was a smart move on Endo’s part. They built off each other’s wackiness and I love this moment with the two of them. Just like with Twilight, we see that Franky genuinely wants to make the world a better place (and also get rich along the way) and Yor’s so impressed with him. I also liked that moment where Franky is surprised to find Yor still playing Loid’s wife even when he isn’t there- much like how he was with Anya while he was babysitting her. Just another little nod to the fact that he sees the Forger girls as being more than players in a game of elaborate house.

Then- just a quick thing before we get into what I know we all want to talk about- it’s interesting to me that Franky isn’t a one-man operation. He has a whole network of informants that he works with, and it makes sense that someone in his line of work has a many ears on the wall as possible. It’s a surefire way to stay plugged into the goings-on of the Ostanian underworld, unless of course...

...They get taken out by Garden.

AGHGHGHGHGH ALRIGHT, OK LET’S GO-

Garden. We finally have a name for Yor’s group now; we thought it was The Shop for the longest time, but apparently that’s only part of it. Yor alluded to this briefly back in ch. 29 when she described The Shop was being in charge of information gathering, and once their job was done it was Yor’s turn to come in and do the actual assassination. In this sense we see The Shop was being more of a support role in the same way that Franky is, though it’s still safe to assume the Shopkeeper is still in charge of both The Shop and Garden. At least for now- until we get more information to say otherwise, anyway.

Of course, the interesting thing is our silhouetted figures standing in this panel- not to mention the fact that Franky states that all the members are capable of taking on a whole troop of soldiers (for reference, a troop ranges between 9 and 100 men, though it usually hovers around 50). We know Yor is capable of doing this, but now that we also know the other assassins of Garden are as well, it begs the question; is Yor’s strength truly a unique thing in this world? And if it isn’t, what could be the source of it?

OSO-R, the drug used during the Tennis arc, was described as being in its trial stages. I originally chalked up it’s fast development time as just being part of manga logic, although I’m now starting to question that theory. It’s possible the roadmap for OSO-R has been around for much longer than first thought, and may find its traces back to when the war had just ended. Loid describes Garden as having been around for some time. We also know that Yor was just a child when she started up her assassination gig, so it’s possible that she and others like her may be have been exposed to a serum similar to OSO-R a decade or so before. Given Ostania’s track record of human experimentation, the scenario is possible.

Also going back to what Franky describes as “the shadow government”; it’s interesting that we’re hearing rumblings of a government operating outside the public’s view literally one chapter after we were just introduced to the concept of a royal class at some point in Ostania’s past. There’s a lot of things that cab be construed from this (such as Garden serving an authority that doesn’t necessarily align with Donovan and the government) but listing everything would just turn this review into one long-winded mess. So instead, we’re gonna entertain a fun theory- one that may or may not be true, but if it *does* end up being confirmed later on down that road, you heard it here first.

*ahem*

Mr. Green is a part of Garden.

Allow me to state my case.

When ch. 39 came out, I found it very unusual that a brand new character we haven’t seen before got a majority of the panel-time alongside Damian and the boys. It wasn’t very suspicious at the time, given that we’d just been introduced to Becky’s maid Martha, so we all just assumed Endo was building up his side characters a bit. For all intents and purposes, that may very well be the case.

However.

I know one person in particular who latched onto this panel right here, and for good reason; why would a security guard stationed at a school nowhere close to the border know about code words being used by people trying to cross over illegally? Yes, he was supposedly in the navy, but the way he phrases it here heavily implies that these code words are a recent affair, or at the very least are still being used currently. Why would he know that? Even if he was in the military, it’s information that has absolutely nothing to do with being in the navy.

Mr. Green is also very strong; strong enough to make the boys think they were going down rapids when in actuality it was just him rowing so fast. Now, I don’t know if you’ve ever paddled a boat before, but it’s hard work- and it’s certainly difficult to the get that boat going at cruising speed, let alone fast enough to cause rapids. Yor’s the only one we’ve seen with strength like that and- yes, Green was supposedly in the navy, but at this point in time we don’t know anything else about him. We don’t know what he did after the war, nor do we know how he wound up in Eden Academy in the first place.

This is where we start going deep down the rabbit hole. Hang on.

This gentleman who we’ve never seen before is clearly aware that Garden exists, or at the very least is privy to Yor’s actual job. Much like how WISE has plants within Loid’s hospital, this man likely works to support Yor in some way. If such is the case, we can likely assume that- because the shadow government is supporting Garden- they would have their assassins posted in key areas for various reasons, likely to keep an eye out for traitors or to keep them spread out to cover a wide area should the need ever arise to deploy them.

We’ve only ever see Yor target traitorous politicians and outright terrorists (I realize this one is just a daydream, but you get my point). It would make sense, seeing as how she works at city hall and it would likely put her in an advantageous position when hunting them down. Of course, politicians aren’t the only people who might catch Garden’s attention. Given the amount of political and economic unrest that is currently going on in the country, there likely would be some people who would be fed up with the state of things. Such people may not be like Franklin Perkin- someone who would take direct action against the government- but instead would rather try to steer others towards a mindset that stands in opposition to Ostania. Such a person may try to target more impressionable people- people who are likely to listen and learn from an authority figure in their lives. People like...small children.

Eden students.

Garden. Eden. I see what you’re doing there, Endo.

Traitorous professors? Renegade academics? It would make sense to have a Garden assassin stationed at the most prestigious school in the country; the amount of information and contacts that are positioned around there are second to none, and what better way to suppress insurrection than at the source, at the very foundations of knowledge itself? Also, for kicks and giggles, let’s not forget that the name Mr. Green certainly fits with the plant motif Endo is going for with his assassin group (Garden. Thorn Princess. Briar. You catch my drift?)

Am I grasping at straws? Probably lol. I’d also like to reiterate that this is in no way all my thinking- a lot of crazy people put their brains together for this one, good or bad. But hey, it’s about all we can do until the next chapter! And at the very least, it’s a lot of fun to wonder what-if!

Also, BONUS

...She’s coming.

[makeste]

BnHA Chapter 278: MOMO IN CHARGE

Previously on BnHA: Deku and Kacchan were all “SIR, THAT’S OUR EMOTIONAL SUPPORT SENSEI” and got really ferocious and made a very passionate attempt to blow Tomura up and it was great. It basically did nothing, but it was still great. AFO was all “COME HERE LIL BRO”, and Tomura was all “silly Sensei, you can’t just take over my mind and body just like that”, and he was very confident of this despite there really being no evidence to back it up, but okay! Gran was all “time to make the fandom mad at me” and grabbed Tomura by the collar and yelled at him about Nana a bit, and then Bakugou and Endeavor made an even MORE passionate attempt to blow up Tomura, which may or may not have done some actual damage. The chapter ended with Gigantomachia battling Mt. Lady, just kinda out of the blue, which is FINE, but she had better be all right, though!

Today on BnHA: Everyone is all “WAUGHH IT’S GIGANTOMACHIA” and running around freaking out about it. The U.A. alums all kick some ass, and pretty much everyone else not from U.A. does jack fucking shit. Mt. Lady, who I plan on naming all of my future children after, does her best to stop Machia but he keeps flinging her aside. Kamui Woods is all “here I come with Midnight to put Gigantomachia to sleep!” and is PROMPTLY FUCKING MURDERED!? by Dabi because he’s a flammable tree man, and so Midnight falls all the way to the ground and is badly injured. So then she’s all “well I better call the most competent person I can think of to fix this mess” and dials up YAOYOROZU FUCKING MOMO, who proceeds to take charge LIKE THE BOSS SHE IS, and mobilizes the rest of the kids. And honestly I have more faith in them than in any of the adults at this point, so yeah, you know what? Let’s do this.

so I am possibly a bit spoiled on this chapter because I did a “top five predictions” post earlier this week, and someone replied to that yesterday on Thursday saying that they were mostly correct. I don’t know exactly how close to the mark I was though, and in any case most of the predictions were just “so-and-so shows up, probably”, so it’s not too bad. we’ll see how it goes!

OH THANK GOD MY BABIES ARE SAFE

I mean, CLEARLY they’re all about to be in horrible danger, seeing as Jirou is about to inform them of the whole “THE BIG GUY EVERYONE WAS AFRAID ABOUT WAKING UP WOKE UP” thing, but in the meantime at least Kami and Toadette and Honenuki made it back to the group safely

also Kaminari’s use of “Jirou-Jack” here is fucking inspired and I want him to teach a class on nicknames. isn’t he the one who coined “Yaomomo” as well? this boy has a gift and it needs to be appreciated

so Jirou is all “SOMETHING REALLY BIG IS COMING”, and actually she says “INSANELY HUGE”, which if anything is still an understatement, hard as it is to believe

WOW

“A BAD GUY IS HEADING THIS WAY?? SOUNDS LIKE IT’S TIME TO ABANDON THE CHILDREN IN THE WOODS” kjlfakh okay you know what?? fine!! you weren’t even going to do anything anyway so let’s not pretend!!

holy shit it’s like Mt. Lady isn’t even there

look at those speed lines!! goddamn. I just felt this huge rush of empathy for Mt. Lady though. like can you imagine growing up with this super-destructive quirk, and managing to become a hero with it against all odds, and having to put up with the manga making fun of you all the time just because sometimes you have a tendency to DESTROY A LOT OF STUFF, but it’s not like you can help it!! but the upside has always been that when your quirk is on, you are fucking UNSTOPPABLE though. so even though it’s been a hell of a rough ride for you, it’s worth it because you’re a complete badass and the number of people who can beat you out in terms of sheer physical strength is probably in the single digits. and you’re working really hard too, and lately you’ve been moving up through the ranks and actually becoming a damn fine hero if I do say so myself (and I do), and it’s like, about time though?? like finally, finally it is all starting to come together for you. and then this snarling trashrock person suddenly comes stampeding along and you put your all into trying to stop him, and it doesn’t even do a damn thing. like, holy shit. that’s just not fucking fair and YOU DESERVE BETTER, MT. LADY

anyway so she’s still hanging in there for now though so let’s check in with our villain squad riding on his back

lmaooo they’re all “I don’t even understand what is going on here”

YOU GUYS, THIS IMPLIES THAT THEY WERE ALL PLUCKED OFF THE GROUND BY THE SCRUFFS OF THEIR NECKS AND THEY HAD ABSOLUTELY NO SAY IN THE MATTER OMG. like I’m picturing Spinner being held by his cape pinched in between Machia’s thumb and forefinger, and awkwardly trying to lecture him like a mom with his hands on his hips all, “BAD GIGANTOMACHIA! NO! NOOOUAGH -- !” and cutting off with a yelp as he’s dropped onto his back

and I am glad they got Toga some clothes! I like to think Gigantomachia grabbed those for her as well. so thoughtful

wow Skeptic actually wants to go back to Re-Destro??

color me legit impressed. I underestimated your loyalty my dude. and let me also just take this moment to extend my gratitude toward Horikoshi for leaving the rest of the MLA out of it because good fucking riddance to them, goodbye forever hopefully!!

I guess they’ll be needing Skeptic’s quirk down the line for some reason? maybe he is meant to be like a new, less out-of-control Twice. smdh y’all out here trying to replace your dead buddy like a pet goldfish

who is this “they” Dabi is referring to

do you mean the heroes? lol yeah I guess they’re pretty distracted by the literal fucking kaijuu you’re currently piggybacking on

SIGH

“the Jakku team must’ve made a mistake” BOY, I’LL SAY. you know what, don’t even talk to me about that yet. it’s still too fresh. suffice it to say that your suspicions are correct and things in Jakku are not very daijobu right about now

anyway here’s a closeup of this bubble person just cuz

they are everything and I want them to be my friend. also there’s a squid person a few paces behind them who can probably do anything a squid can do. or they might actually be a shark person, actually. I don’t know. either way I love them

GETEN PLEASE GO AWAY

WE ARE PHASING OUT THE MLA!! MOVING FORWARD IT’S ORIGINAL LOV ONLY!! I’M SORRY BUT YOU DIDN’T MAKE THE CUT. we already have an ice character so shoo

OH DAMN MY MAN CEMENTOSS HAS HAD ENOUGH OF HIS NONSENSE TOO AHHHH YESS

1) hey so Cementoss is legit terrifying who’d’ve thought

and 2), did Cementoss always have a mouthful of gigantic perfect teeth each the size of a slice of bread, or is this just something I’m only noticing now because I’m behind the curve. either way, let me just say sincerely, DKJDLKFJLSKJG

RE-DESTRO YOU GO AWAY TOO!!

@waywardfacegarden​ you asked the other day which are the characters I actually dislike, and this is one of them lol. he’s just a big ol’ prick, and on top of that has the audacity to not even be interesting in any way so as to balance it out. anyway so apologies to any Re-Destro stans out there but I basically spend every panel he’s in hoping that someone will punch him in the face hard enough to finally make him shut up

anyway so my man Edgeshot is here though, finally!! but of all the people for him to fight! this is a real predicament for me. the most soothing character in the series contrasted with the character who grates my nerves the most. Edgeshot’s sexy ASMR voice is gonna be drowned out by all of RD’s punching and self-important ranting in the anime and I’m lowkey devastated but I’m gonna pull myself together and read on

SPEAKING OF SELF-IMPORTANT RANTING

Edge, if you can liberate us from having to put up with his insufferable ass once and for all I will be so grateful to you. can you do this. please. for me

and it looks like some other boring MLA villains are following along behind Machia so I’m gonna need someone to kick their asses as well. please

-- YESSSSSS

okay so now I see what that comment on my prediction post was referring to lol. I did indeed have my fingers crossed that these two would show up again, and sure enough! THE GANG’S ALL HERE YAY

and Mt. Lady is being sumoed aside!

anyone want tonight’s lotto numbers. during this brief fleeting moment of having my predictions be actually credible, I would just like to say that Hagakure is the U.A. traitor. thank you and goodnight

OH NO KAMUI IS WORRIED

HE LOOKS SO PANICKED?? OUT OF THE BLUE I SHIP IT SO MUCH?? I keep forgetting they’re on the same team and stuff and wow, I need to calm down

LOL MIDNIGHT IS ALL “NO TIME FOR SHIPS!!”

I wonder if her quirk will actually be enough to take him down? this is something I’ve been itching to see for a long time, actually. just how powerful is she? we know her quirk is more effective on males than females, but is anyone actually capable of resisting it? imagine if she really did just knock Gigantomachia out after all of this buildup. that would be some god-tier shit omg, DO IT

(ETA: I am just going to assume that since Horikoshi had to go to elaborate lengths to take her out of the fight, this means that her quirk really was capable of knocking them all out. another tragic case of Too Badass For The Plot. y’all better respect Midnight.)

YESSSSSSSS

is she stripping. you know what -- don’t think about it. I won’t let you ruin this for me Horikoshi. Midnight’s gonna be a badass because the ladies are fucking ruling this arc and that’s all there is to it

NOOOOOO

DABI GET BACK HERE I JUST WANT TO TALK!!

oh thank god, she’s all right. BUT KAMUI ISN’T THOUGH DLKJSFLKSJDG??!

did Kamui Woods just... die

(ETA: okay but for real, is there an actual curse in effect on the Billboard Top Ten right now, though?? did one of them accidentally disturb the tomb of some ancient king??)

...

( ･ั﹏･ั)

oH MY GOD!?!

NOOOOOOO WHY ARE YOU SO QUICK TO SLEEP ON MAJESTIC, LET’S SEE IF THEY CAN DO IT!! GIVE US MAJESTIC GOD DAMMIT

(ETA: Horikoshi is seriously just yanking our chain at this point. when Majestic finally does show up, he or she better have the coolest fucking quirk of all time, that’s all I’m saying.)

okay how badly injured is Midnight here, though?? she just fell all that way?? DO I NEED TO BE REALLY MAD. I CAN WORK MY WAY UP TO IT PRETTY QUICKLY, JUST SAY THE WORD. I’M ALREADY HALFWAY THERE HONESTLY. WHERE’S KAMUI WOODS

!!!!!!!!!!!

AND JUST LIKE THAT MY ANGER EVAPORATES INTO THE NIGHT, YESSSSSSSSS!! MOMOOOOO

holy shit. “a quirk that can stop that thing,” she says. and goes and calls YAOYOROZU FUCKING MOMO y’all I am barely holding myself back from SCREAMING right now I...

you guys

you guys. if Midnight and Yaomomo team up to take down Gigantofuckingmachia using some sort of MOMO MADE A MACHINE TO SPREAD MIDNIGHT’S QUIRK strategy, or whatnot?? I will fucking die on the spot. you can end the manga right there. Kacchan you can keep your quirk I don’t even care

“IT MIGHT BE AGAINST THE LAW” lmaooooo insert John Mulaney “WE’RE WELL PAST THAT” gif here. holy shit. listen, that is fine. if anything it’s even better

WHAT THE FUCK

DO I NEED TO START GETTING REALLY MAD AGAIN!?!?! FUCKING WHIPLASH, IS WHAT THIS IS, BUT YOU JUST TELL ME WHAT SORT OF OVER-THE-TOP REACTION IS NEEDED HERE AND I’LL GO FOR IT

(((( ;°Д°))))

[GRABS HORIKOSHI BY THE COLLAR] listen, you. if you only just now, for the first time ever, gave us a lady hero actually mentoring another lady hero, which we have somehow NEVER HAD BEFORE in almost three hundred chapters, only for you to then KILL OFF THE MENTOR IN THE MIDDLE OF HER GODDAMN SPEECH TO THE MENTOREE, I will... there’s... I’ll... okay, listen. DON’T. THERE WILL BE A RECKONING. CAPSLOCK SUCH AS THIS WORLD HAS NEVER WITNESSED!!

ヽ(#ﾟДﾟ)ﾉ┌┛

I DON’T EVEN KNOW HOW TO REACT TO ANYTHING IN THIS CHAPTER AND I’M LOSING MY MIND OVER IT

so the other kids are all “what the fuck” and “so Momo’s in charge??” which, YES!!! IT’S THE ONE GOOD PART ABOUT ALL THIS SO DON’T YOU DARE QUESTION IT

MOMO NOW IS NOT THE TIME TO BE CRIPPLED BY YOUR ANXIETY, YOU CAN DO THIS GIRL I BELIEVE IN YOU

hell, it’s not even just an “I believe in you” thing, because it’s not just belief, it’s fact. you motherfucking can do this, you are the most capable and brilliant student in 1-A, you just gotta have faith and let yourself shine!!

so now there are some more panels of Machia running and the villains and heroes fighting, blah blah blah. and Momo screwing up her face as she makes her decision...

YESSSSSSSSS

my baby girl is all grown up and TAKING THESE MOTHERFUCKIN REINS and MOMO I WILL LAY DOWN MY LIFE FOR YOU JUST SAY THE WORD!!

lol she’s all “Jirou use your ears and scientifically calculate how long it’ll take him to get here”, and Jirou is all “I can literally fucking see him, he’s gonna be on top of us in like two seconds” WELL OKAY THEN

thank god there are no adult pros left to fuck this up. is that weird that this is a real and honest and completely sincere thought that just ran through my head? like, at this point if any of the adults were around I’d just be afraid of them dying honestly. but with the kids I actually feel real hope that they’re somehow gonna do this. of course it helps that unlike the adults they’re pretty safe from being killed off

also! way to represent the entirety of class 1-B there Honenuki lulz. sorry, The Rest of Class 1-B

OH MY GOD

MT. LADY I WILL LAY DOWN MY LIFE FOR YOU AS WELL!! YOU HAVE MY LOVE AND FEALTY!!

I’M STANNING HER SO HARD I’M GONNA EXPLODE SOMEBODY HELP!?!

JIROU SAYS THAT MACHIA HAS SLOWED DOWN!! YOU GUYS I’M ABOUT TO GET “MT. LADY FOR PRESIDENT” TATTOOED ACROSS MY FOREHEAD

lmao at Shouji using his power of “putting some extra eyeballs on my arms” to inform everyone that Gigantomachia is Right Over There and Very Big

good job Shouji

oh my glob I have so much love for Momo right now that it can’t even fucking be contained. brb wildly flailing my hands around a little to try and release some of this excess excitement

maybe Momo can be president instead and Mt. Lady can be the vice president

NO THE CHAPTER IS ENDING I’M NOT READY

AND JUMP IS ON BREAK AGAIN NEXT WEEK TOO, FML!!

okay!!

Kaminari is so fucking brave right now I just want to crush him in a hug?! we know he’s still scared!! look at his eyes!! and he was freaking the hell out earlier too, and now the situation is much worse! but he doesn’t give a fuck because his friends need him! he is ready to be a hero, my little baby boy is all grown up and I’m so proud??

Mineta’s face in the bottom right corner is everything. I know, I know, boooo Mineta, but that’s still the best face anyone has made in the entirety of this manga

Tetsutetsu’s out here all “I humbly request to also represent class 1-B” and Momo is all “okay fine I guess we can have two of you guys”

can we all just stop for a moment to appreciate how KamiJirouMomo is alive and well. like, we had interactions between all three of them in this chapter, in all possible permutations? do you know how happy this makes me?? I am vibrating with joy??!

I really can’t stress this enough -- I have no clue at all what these little soda can things are (anesthetic, I guess??? you know, like how you sometimes buy cans of anesthetic at the supermarket?? what do you mean you don’t do that??), or what they’re gonna do with them. I have like negative clues. but DAMNED IF I GIVE ONE SINGLE FUCK. the next chapter can be them all fucking hurling them at his face for all I care. THE DETAILS OF HOW SHE KICKS HIS ASS DO NOT MATTER!! GOOD MORNING TO YAOMOMO AND YAOMOMO ONLY!! MY MOMO ACADEMIA

[mcu-fan-fics-blog]

The Helping Hand

Summary: Y/N Krast Illegitimate Daughter of Tony Stark. Product of an unwanted teen pregnancy. What would Howard Stark be capable of doing to assure his sons future? What will happen when Tony meets our Beautiful, young, genius, rich philanthropist.

Word Count: 3000 approx

A/N: Sorry for the wait I've been a little busy the last couple of weeks. I hope you enjoy this chapter. Next chapter will be Civil war I hope to upload again soon. In the mean time if you have some ideas or thoughts send them my way.

Tw: Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Drug use, Drug addiction, Teen Pregnancy. (If there are any I missed please tell me.)

Ch.7

Chapter 8: Time and Irony Walk Hand in Hand

Ch.9

"Well this is nice…" You say as Natasha drags you along. You see currently you and Natasha are quote on quote shaking a tail. Whatever that means… "Shut up and keep moving." You stop moving and pull your arm away. "Stop Nat we've gone far enough. It was probably just a coincidence we didn't really get that far from the food truck." Finally taking the time to catch your breath. "I think we should get back to the compound. Tony and Bruce must be waiting for me." You say looking around for a cab lucky for you one stopped right before you and you got in.

The ride back to the Compound was quiet. When she's about to make her way in, you stop her. "Nat… I know that didn't go the way either of us wanted it to go but I still had fun. And again what I'm trying to say is that I would like to do things your way, candlelit, waiters, and wine. If you want to of course." You fidget with your fingers waiting for her response. "Y/n I would love to… but I like the way you do things. You're not the Wine and Dine type... I like that." She mentions as she walks back in. You quickly follow suit after she makes a comment about your blatant staring.

Once you stop on the elevator FRIDAY greets you. Telling you that Tony and Bruce are waiting for you in the lab. "Well Nat this is goodbye for now, see you around." You say stepping off of the elevator. Suddenly this weight comes crashing down on you. Remembering what Bruce told you the worry in his eyes. Dread fills your body when you're walking towards the lab. "Guys I'm back… anything good for me?" You state casually trying your hardest not to sound hopeful. "Well yes and no…" Tony states putting the tablet down. "I'm going to be honest with you… your heart is trashed, absolute garbage."

"Way to make a girl feel special." You say with a dry laugh. "But I think we can build something. And with my arc reactor technology we can make it work." He states tapping at his chest. This is where Bruce jumps in "with the help of Dr. Cho we could try and make a new cradle… and use it for its intended purpose this time around. Making a heart powered by the arc reactor." You nod taking all the information in. "Well this is good right? How long would this take." This is where both Tony and Bruce go quiet. "Y/n the process is relatively easy, what's difficult is getting our hands on the Vibranium."

"Which is basically a non existent problem at this point… Bruce is just paranoid, my contact will pan out you'll see." Tony jumps back in clearly annoyed that Bruce was disclosing such trivial issues. "Even if we do get the Vibranium Y/n there's something we don't know… If you'll even survive the transplant." Your eyes meet his and he elaborates. "Your body might not be strong enough to handle it." Suddenly the inevitability of the situation dawns upon you. "Well I'm still doing it… I'm dying anyways. What difference does it make if it's a month from now or five. I'm doing it." 

"Well, let not be hasty alright. We can still look for other alternatives." Bruce tries to argue. "Look, this is Y/n's decision. She's old enough to make her own decisions. Plus the more we work on this the higher survival chances are." Tony argues. You clear your throat when you notice some visitors standing by the door. "How long have they been there?" You ask, trying to mask your anger. Pietro and Steve both give you sheepish smiles that don't quite reach their eyes. "Look Y/n we just wanted to make sure you were okay… and by the looks of it you're not." 

You stand making your way to stand in front of Steve who had just taken a defensive stance. "Well you're right I'm not okay. Now what are you going to do about it Cap… Other than feeling pity every time you look at me." You say pushing your finger on his chest. "This does not leave this room you understand?" You say looking at both Steve and Pietro. "But, My sister…" You nod "Figure it out pretty boy. Now if you could leave the adults have to talk." They both sigh but take their leave. You turn and notice Tony and Bruce staring, not saying anything. You can only laugh at the sight. 

As much as you did want to be mad you couldn't. You were starting to come to terms with the fact that your business was now becoming their business. "I just wanted to watch them squirm." You clarify making Tony laugh. "Well I'd say you achieved that." Bruce mentions. "I'll give them til the end of the day. What do you think?" You say looking at Tony. "How much are you willing to bet, Billionaire to Billionaire?" He asks, challenging you. "50 million dollars." He scoffs. "Don't be a prude, make it Euros." You nod. "Best money there is." You say agreeing with him. "I'll hold you to that Y/n." He says as you leave the lab.

Two days later you were busy. You'd been in contact with Bruce and Pepper. Currently you were looking for someone to mentor. Someone you could leave your legacy with. Logan was an obvious choice but you knew he wouldn't take it. "You wanna give it a break Y/n you're not going to find the perfect candidate in so little time." Logan mentions. When suddenly your secretary enters with more forms. "Ms. Krast these are the applications from Midtown Science High. There's only four. Liz Allan, Ned Leeds, Flash Thompson, and uhh Peter Parker." You sigh with a smile forming on your lips. "They've got to be here my mentee. These kids are geniuses." 

You say as you look through the applications. Slowly crossing off the first two, that Flash kid and Liz. Ned and Peter it was a tough choice until you saw some of yourself in Peter's eyes. "It's him." You say under your breath catching Logan's attention. "Peter Parker… I want him, he will be the future of our company. Make arrangements. I want him to feel welcomed." You say as you start to gather your things. "Send out the acceptance letter today." You say to Logan on your way out. "Will do Boss." He says with a smile growing on his face as he reads the file. Peter didn't have it easy on the contrary he lived through a lot but he still managed to be him.

The next week went by in a blur. Your will and testament were drafted and certified. You were set on that end and now on the other front. You were currently parked outside Midtown High waiting for the bell to ring. When it does a couple of minutes pass when a fresh faced kid is knocking on your window. "Y/n Krast nice to meet you kid." You say rolling down the window. He seems a little nervous. "Come on in Peter. We're going to get to know each other a little before we begin working with the internship." He nods enthusiastically, a small smile forming on his lips. "Tell me about your Peter, I mean outside of what I already know."

"Well I'm what most people would call a nerd. My aunt may always say that's not true but it is." You hum in agreement pulling out of the school parking lot. "Well being popular is overrated anyways." You jump in. "And Ned, my best friend, we're huge fans of you and your work." He says his speed increases as he starts to ramble about how he followed your trajectory as soon as he found out who you were. "Well I'm glad you like what I do Peter but in my eyes were equals. I will teach you my ways and hopefully you'll take over once I'm dead. Keeping my legacy alive long after I'm dead." You say seriously making him settle and quiet down. 

"Ms. Krast you can't be serious." He says giving you an incredulous look. "I was an orphan… I was given a chance. Someone believed in me. I guess what I'm trying to say is that you remind me of me… and I would like to give you that same chance that I was given." You say sincerely. "Y/n that's too generous… Plus I don't think that I'm what you're looking for. I'm clumsy and…" You stop the car making him look at you. "You may not be ready now or tomorrow but if you let me teach you, you will be." You say reassuringly. "Plus I don't plan on dying anytime soon." You say playfully at the end causing Peter to laugh successfully lightening the mood. "Also another plus for you after this year's audit we'll be working hand in hand with Tony Stark."

At the mention of Tony's name he lit up ten times more than you thought possible. It made you laugh a little but you understood him. "That's amazing. Me working for Y/n Krast and Tony Stark, a literal dream come true." You nod at his statement. The day went by incredibly fast. He was a nice kid, respectful and smart, a little naïve but overall sensible. You went to his favorite pizza place and talked, went to Krast Industries and introduced him to Logan. Showed him his dedicated work space. "So here's your badge, don't lose it. Umm… you'll be here every other day after school, and if you have some special dates tell Margaret the secretary and she'll make a schedule around it." You say as you're walking towards the elevator. 

Peter stops abruptly turning to face you. "Thank you really." He then proceeds to rather hastily pull you into a hug. You're shocked initially but hug him back nonetheless. "Don't sweat it kid." You say patting his back. "I'll have one of my drivers give you a lift home alright." He nods. Just before you press the button for the elevator the doors open. Revealing Pepper Potts and Tony Stark. It makes you laugh internally knowing that the young boy beside you just had his world rocked. "Ms. Krast this is real right?" He asks in a high pitched voice. You nod.

"Pepper Tony, I would like you to meet my new mentee Peter Parker." You say nudging him forward. "Hi, you're Tony Stark." He says in a daze. "Yes kid I am Tony stark and you are?" Tony could literally not care less. Until you gave Pepper a look and she nudged Tony. "Alright kid it was nice meeting you." He says overly enthusiastically. Peter takes the compliment either way. "Alright Peter go over to Margaret she'll take you to the driver. We have some urgent business to attend." He nods and waves goodbye shyly and takes his leave. "Right what do you guys need." Pepper clears her throat "Well actually Tony and I wanted to invite you out to lunch." 

"Well, what are we waiting for? Let's get going." You say walking off with Pepper. "You'll be pleased to know that you won our wager. They know..." Tony mentions at the restaurant. You laugh. "Told you!" Pepper gives you a look. "They're worried about you." You sigh. "Pepper, believe me I'm worried too." Tony quickly steps in. "Which you don't need to worry about too much, everything is in place. Everything panned out Dr. Cho was more than willing to help us. So whenever you want." He says again not meeting your gaze. "I was… ummm. Actually thinking we should hold off on that." 

"What… why?" They both ask almost immediately. "I'm okay right now." Tony scoffs. "So you rather wait till you have another episode to undergo the procedure." You hum. "Precisely see you get it." Watching their confusion you continue. "I've got things I have to leave ready. Time that I can't take for granted." Before they could argue with you said. "I need time… I-i drafted my will a couple of days ago." You say burying your head into your hands. "It's funny really… how you get things you're willing to live for. And life just comes along and takes it from you." Your mind drifts off to Viv and David. You wipe your tears and excuse yourself. Just as you're about to leave you remember. 

"Put the money in a college fund for the kid." You grab Peppers shoulder and nod. "We'll keep in touch." You say leaving the restaurant.  

Three weeks later 

Pretty early on you noticed Peter's jumpy behavior. It wasn't long till you found out his little secret. Again smart kid heart of gold even, but too naïve for his own good. You'd had one of your AI robots track him after he'd shown up a little dinged up. Telling him you knew took some time. You didn't know the extent of his capabilities, but you'd seen the kid walk on walls and kick some ass.

As cute as he looked in that makeshift costume you had a better one in mind. "Peter I would like to show you something." You call out from your workstation in the lab. "Ward pull up spider schematics please." You call out. "What do you think?" You say as Peter glances at his new suit. "I-i um… It's awesome but who is at for?" He said quickly. You almost burst out in laughter right then and there but you played along. "Well I was in Queens the other day and there was this mugging and some hero came out of nowhere and stopped the mugging." You say as you deconstruct the specks of the suit. Watching as peter gawks at the hologram. 

"When I noticed his suit wasn't really a suit, I made him one. You think he'll like it?" Peter nods eagerly, you hum in response. "Alright then try it on, see how it fits spider boy." Peter stands there with his mouth hanging open and you could swear saliva came out. "You aren't that good at keeping secrets kid." You say handing him the suit. "I expect you to be careful, kid." Peter starts to ramble trying to explain himself and begs you to not fire him. You physically had to stop him from pacing. "No ones firing anyone. I'm proud of your kid again, just be careful." Emphasizing the last part. "I will" after all that's out of the way you and Peter spent the day testing out the specks in his new suit. Web slingers and all. Yo I didn't leave until he got the hang of it. It took a while but it was well with the wait. 

The next day you wake up to the news seeing a familiar twin on the news. Not good Lagos had gone wrong, the building collapsed and Wanda was to 'blame'. You hurriedly made your way through your morning routine and raced to the compound. As soon as you make it to the common room you can tell something's off. "How is everybody?" You asked Steve who was the first you saw. "I'm assuming you heard about the incident." You don't have the heart to say yes so you just nod. "We're all a little down on morale. Nothing we can't fix." You say, giving you a small smile. You hate that he is down playing this because of your current dilemma. "It wasn't your fault." You say. As you walk off towards Pietro. 

"Are you okay?" You ask this time actually worried Pietro doesn't seem like his usual self. "No...It's Wanda. She hasn't talked to anyone she hasn't eaten she hasn't left her room." He says all in one breath. He finally stopped stirring and slid down to the floor and sat. "Its my fault. I-i could've moved faster, I could've saved them." He says defeatedly. "Maybe… Maybe not" You say bluntly sitting in front of him. "You can't go back now. And I know it's a sour experience. You made the right decision." You sigh. "You made the choice that saved the most lives." He nods letting out a deep breath. "I know… I know but Wanda. If I had saved those people Wanda wouldn't be feeling like this right now." You shake your head. "You fail to realize that if you had done that you would've died along with the other victims. Wanda will come around and let me talk to her." He only nods. "She's in her room."

You knock on her door a couple of times… no answer. So you make yourself comfortable and prepare yourself. Your knock every minute or two and you're constantly yelling in your head. Half an hour goes by and nothing. You go back to mentally yelling, when suddenly you're being dragged by the collar of your shirt into the room with the doors shutting behind you. "You're stubborn like a mule." She says not sparring you a look. "Yeah well I'm dying what are you gonna do about it." You quipped smiling at her. She chuckles. Suddenly the light leaves her face. "I killed people… I put people in danger, I put my own brother I'm danger." You nod. "You also saved hundreds of people. God only knows what that gas would have done. So thank you Wanda. You're my hero." You say sending her a smile.

Right when she's about to say something a certain red friend phases through the wall. "You will never cease to amaze me Vision." You say while looking between him and the wall. "You have very good taste in clothes." You mention as you eye him. He smiles. "Vision. We talked about this, there's a door for a reason." Wanda states. "Yes, well the door was open so I assumed…" He says, explaining himself. "What did you need Vision?" Wanda asks cutting him off. "Well Mr. Stark asked me to come and get both you there is a team meeting. With secretary Ross." 

[thatgamefromthatad]

Mobile Game Review - Helix Waltz (Recommended by @raimi)

🎻 What is this app? Helix Waltz is a dress up game with an elaborate storyline that heavily involves character interactions. On the App Store it’s described as a “thrilling ballroom drama set in Baroque style dress,” which I think accurately reflects the sort of vintage European court-style setting the game takes place in. The setting also has fantasy elements, including characters of different “races” such as elves and people with animal ears and tails called Orens.

The game follows a main storyline as well as various side storylines and has a large cast of characters with their own personalities and preferences, all of whom you can build up your relationship with, which will affect their interactions with you depending on the level of favor you have with them. Rather than playing out in a linear set of stages or chapters, the story progresses as you accept and complete missions and attend balls where you have the chance to encounter other characters attending the same ball. There’s a bit of freedom in that sense where you can attend any of the available balls you want and encounter any of the characters that are there without necessarily following the main storyline, building up favor and getting to know anyone you want.

The dress up part is structured somewhat similarly to other dress up games I’ve played - there are various items in different categories (hairstyles, headwear, dresses, shoes, different types of accessories, etc.) with different attributes and rarities that will affect your “chic” level at any ball or other outing you attend, as well as how other characters perceive you depending on their preferences. You can have “beauty contests” with other characters you encounter at balls that compares your outfit’s chic level to theirs and there are other parts of the game where your outfits can compete with others players��. You can gain new dress up items through completing quests and through a gacha-type mechanic where you draw from different sets of potential items.

📝 Review Summary: The sheer number of different characters you can interact with in this game is very impressive, and it’s definitely entertaining getting to know them all and try to build relationships with them. I definitely found myself getting invested in certain characters and wanting to progress through the storyline so I could learn more. The art in this game is also very beautiful, which includes both the character designs and clothing items.

The follower who recommended this game noted that there is queer representation, including a trans character, which is a positive aspect, but I noticed there was not a lot of BIPOC representation, specifically a lack of characters with dark skin and limited options to have dark for your own character. The default character you play is white with very pale skin, and from my understanding from doing a little research, skin color changes are included as makeup items which definitely seems wrong, not only because you have to get your hands on the right item to have darker skin but because skin color as makeup seems to imply blackface, even if that’s completely unintentional (the makeup items in this game aren’t technically just makeup - they also change the shape of facial features). I definitely think this game should add different base skin tones, as well as characters who aren’t all super pale.

Full review below:

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👍What’s good about this app? The enormous cast of characters in this game and the multi-faceted system involved in gaining favor with them and getting to know them are definitely this game’s biggest assets, in my opinion. Each character has their own unique personality, backstory, style, relationships and role within the in-game society, but what’s really enticing is the fact that the story tends to build up a bit of mystery and intrigue about different characters and families/factions, which motivates you even more to get close with certain NPCs and learn the different secrets they hold. The game is pretty immersive that way in the sense that your goal of building up enough trust and prestige to gain access to the most interesting intel/gossip aligns with the main character’s goal of integrating and positioning herself strategically amidst higher society.

That sense of immersion also comes through in the way the game is structured to allow you to interact pretty freely with the characters rather than following a linear path from one encounter to another. You encounter other characters similarly to how you would if you really were a young noble in this sort of society - by wandering around ballrooms or other settings and seeing who you run into or seeking out those that you already have some level of relationship with. You can even get letters from them! You can choose to follow closely to the main plot, or pick your favorite characters and go out of your way to interact with them, or a mixture of both. This game really focuses around character interactions in a way I’ve never personally seen before, and it’s very impressive - and fun!

Another great aspect of this game is the art, which of course is an important aspect for any dress up game. I’m not very well-versed in fashion in general, but I can say from an average Joe perspective that the clothing items and outfit sets are overall just very pleasing to look at and give me that sort of mouthwatery fashion-p*rn feeling whenever I see some extravagant “look” whether it be from real life, a game or any other sort of media. You could say I’m easily pleased though since I can say that about just about any other dress up game I’ve played or been widely exposed to (Love Nikki, Time Princess etc.). One thing I think is especially cool in this game is the perfume category which I can best describe as creating a kind of animated aura around your character that differs in appearance depending on the perfume. This works well with the fantasy-type setting of the game and gives a little extra magical oomph to the outfits. Other outfit pieces can also be animated, like jewelry that sparkles for example, which is also a nice touch.

The last positive thing I’d like to mention is the theme song of this game that plays in the main menu (and pretty much everywhere else except outings), it’s so beautiful and I love it so much I added it to my Spotify playlist I listen to every day lol. The song is Sans Toi by Sarah Natasha Warne if you’re curious.

In the video below you can see a perfume item in action creating a galaxy-like aura around the character, and hear a short clip of the song as well.

[Video Description: A screen recording showing a fully dressed-up character wearing a luxurious red white and gold robe over an ornate black and white collared top with a red vest and loose-fitting brown pants that have two golden stripes at the end of each pant leg. They are holding a sword, have long blond hair tied in a high-set ponytail that drapes over their left shoulder and have a large, circular golden ornament position behind their head resembling a sun or halo. They are wearing dark stockings and black high heels, and there is a sparkling, swirling aura around them with streams of light changing color from blue to purple flowing toward them. The rest of the character and clothing is still except for jewelry and accessories that sparkle and glow and some golden parts of the clothing that shimmer.]

👎 What’s wrong with this app? There are a few minor flaws with this app such as a glitch(?) I experienced a few times where I was talking with one character and another character suddenly appeared and then disappeared, which I’m pretty sure was a glitch because after it happened for some reason I wasn’t able to complete any of my goals at the ball. Also if you don’t have a great internet connection it can be very frustrating because the game will freeze often, although I can’t criticize this that much since my internet connection just sucks and I’ve experienced this with other games before that are just highly reliant on having a constant internet connection.

Probably my main problem with this game is the lack of diversity in skin tones, both in the cast of characters and in your options for your own character. Like I said there are dozens of characters in this game but from what I’ve seen so far they almost all have pale/light skin. I don’t really think the setting of this game is an excuse considering it’s a fantasy setting and there are definitely characters from different regions or backgrounds but they all just happen to have very light skin. Another reason I think there should definitely be more diversity is that there are definitely themes of racial discrimination in the story - some characters will spout stereotypes and hateful comments about other races, in reference to fantasy races or other social groups in the game, and I’m definitely not saying the targets of those comments should be dark-skinned, I just feel like if you’re going to touch on those subjects but have little to no representation of the people who experience that kind of discrimination in real-life, it seems a bit hypocritical. As a disclaimer I am mixed-race (East Asian and white) and semi-white passing with pale skin so I’m not an authority on the skin tone issue specifically but my opinion as someone reviewing this game is that there’s no reason to not have more diversity in the game, even regardless of whether it involves the themes that I mentioned.

Below is just a handful of the NPCs but as I scrolled through the list pretty much everyone had pale/light skin, Gedanh is the NPC with the darkest skin tone as far as I know:

As far as a lack of diversity in selecting a skin tone for your own character, that didn’t specifically stand out to me at first considering the main character is a pre-established character and not as much of a self-insert as in other games like Time Princess, but the fact that you can change your facial features using “makeup items” and skin tone is also locked to certain makeup items doesn’t seem fair, since it makes whiteness the default and limits darker skin tones to these specific items and corresponding makeup looks. I’m not sure what adding diverse base skin tones would look like from a programming perspective for this game but with everything else this game has going on that is so complex and impressive I feel like there’s not an excuse in this day and age to exclude something as basic as different skin colors.

While the lack of diversity is definitely my biggest criticism of the game, I’ll just add that another flaw is that many aspects of the game can be confusing and despite a pretty lengthy series of tutorial quests that teach you about different parts of the game, I still have some confusion after playing for a while. For example I’m still not even completely sure if winning a beauty contest against a character strengthens your relationship with them, and I had to look at the Helix Waltz wiki to learn how to investigate NPCs’ preferences and exactly how remaking clothes works etc. The wiki and other players are a great resource, but having more guidance in-game, even if it’s in the Help/FAQ section (which I checked and still didn’t have all the info I needed), would be an improvement.

🪞Full list of features (there are a lot but I’ll try to cover them to the best of my ability):

Storyline (main plot, side plots that unlock when you strengthen your relationships with characters and event plots)

Quests (there are quests that go along with the plot or events as well as daily quests. The daily quests are more simple such as “talk to X amount of NPCs” or “attend X amount of balls” while the other quests involve having interactions with specific characters, wearing specific dress up items to certain events, etc.)

Dress up (you dress up for every ball or other outing you attend. Each ball will have a different clothing attribute, such as a certain color or style, that increases your chic points if you wear items with the corresponding tag. Different characters also have style preferences but you need to investigate to find out each character’s preference. In addition to dress up before events, the mirror section of the main interface allows you to make whatever outfit you want with the items you have, which will be the outfit your character wears during scenes outside of outings. There are different categories of items corresponding to different parts of the outfit and for some categories you can wear more than one item from the same category, such as wearing a different bracelet on each wrist)

Balls (this is one of the two main ways you will interact with characters and complete quests. There are a few balls you can choose to attend at any given time, hosted by a specific family or faction, with specific characters attending that you can check before you enter the ball. Once you enter the ball and dress up, you can choose to approach a certain character if that option is available - I think you can only approach characters directly if you’ve already talked to them at the ball or if you are wearing an outfit they like but I’m not sure about that part - or you can choose “wander around” and have the chance to encounter different characters who are attending)

Other outings (in addition to balls there are other places in the game where you can encounter other characters, such as the slum and the tavern, and these outings work similarly to balls in terms of character interactions)

Conversation (for basic conversation you pick from a selection of topics and you can gain favor with a certain character by correctly picking the topic they prefer. There is dialog to read for every conversation although these are stock conversations that repeat so you’ll usually want to just speed through them. When you increase your relationship with a character you can unlock special conversations with them that are more unique and tied to the plot)

Q&A (sometimes a character will ask you a question and depending on if they like your answer it can boost your favor with them)

Beauty contests (while conversing with a character sometimes you can have a beauty contest against them comparing your outfit to theirs, and if you win you get points that I believe go toward earning in-game currency - another thing I’m not 100% sure about. I think you can only have a beauty contest with female characters but there is at least one male character I’ve been able to have a beauty contest with. Sometimes a character will immediately force you into a beauty contest when you encounter them)

Dancing (sometimes when interacting with a character at a ball you’ll have the option to dance with them which opens up a short memory-based minigame. I think completing the minigame correctly yields similar rewards to winning a beauty contest. I think you can only dance with male characters as I’ve never had the option come up with female characters so far)

Gathering intel (intel is a resource in the game that is used to learn more about characters and that can be exchanged with characters for rewards. While wandering around a ball you may have the chance to eavesdrop on characters and gain intel)

Gift Box/gacha mechanic (The Gift Box section of the game is where you can draw from different gacha-type pools for items and resources. Different pools take different currencies and have different sets of items)

Remaking, dyeing and enchanting clothes (you can change the style or color of some clothing items if you collect the right resources, which changes both the item’s outward appearance and attributes that go toward chic points/gaining favor with different characters. You can also enchant clothing items, which changes their appearance and increases their chic points)

Events (there are limited-time events such as events that offer limited-time items/gacha pools and limited-time quests)

Illusion Contests (one way you can compete with other players in the game rather than NPCs. You are given preset clothes items to choose from in order to put together an outfit, and can give the outfit a name. Your outfit is scored based on a voting system where two outfits are shown and players can vote for one or the other. You get rewards based on how many votes you get and you also get rewarded for voting on other outfits)

Championship (another way to compete with others players using your owned items rather than preset items. I have not participated in the championship myself yet but from my understanding you make one outfit to defend against other players challenging you and then make outfits to challenge other players’ defending outfits. The players you have the option to challenge will be the same rank as you so the competition is balanced and I believe this competition is based on the attributes of your items and a theme set for the current championship cycle, a bit more like a NPC beauty contest than the voting-based Illusion Contests.)

⭐️ Overall Rating: 4/5 (this would definitely be a 5/5 game if they fixed the racial diversity issue but it’s unfortunate that a game that’s otherwise so complex and engaging - and has LGBTQ+ representation - drops the ball in this area. I definitely hope they at least add the ability to have different base skin tones in the future.)

I really enjoyed this game so thank you to @raimi for suggesting it! If anyone else has any game review suggestions feel free to send them 🥳