#Ayame Ikeda

[cachamata]

"I'm so done at this point." - Calderon, possibly.

(A quick chibi art for the whole crew; drawn this in my longer lunch break today 💜)

[arcanadreams]

the newest a6 newsletter has the CUTEST guest art of Cal and Aya playing video games together I’m gonna SOBBBBB

https://x.com/wanderlustgame_/status/1841746479507177745

LIKE??? LOOK HOW CUTE THAT ISSSSS

[thelikesoffinn]

Is there even a single person who chooses to side with Nerissa? Like, honestly not just for story telling? Because I can't. Even in playthrough's where my traveller isn't angry or feels betrayed, I just can not agree with her on anything - the Cursa matter or anything regarding the future of the system.

[thecosmicsleep]

👋🏻

[juan-nonetheway]

A little meme

[crystalsandbubbletea]

Things that (one of) my friends say about my favorite characters that make me sob internally and/or die inside:

(Part 1: Ayame Ikeda)

Me: *Shows a picture of Ayame*

My friend: She looks like a "I'm not like other girls" type of girl. She also looks very homophobic and likely commits arson just for the fun of it.

Me internally:

*Dies inside because I'm a die-hard Ayame lover*

[ldthegreen]

Ok so lately I've been like

Obsessed

with Andromeda Six by Wanderlust Games and I was thinking

@andromedasix

[wisepainterperson]

I've been working diligently on this, I recently reread the Andromeda six visual novel and wanted to make a self insert fan fiction my goal is to get 100k words. It's different from the original plot of the game but has all the characters interacting with reader, traveler is mentioned in past tense. Please let me know what you think 🤔

Multidimensional babe (androme six fanfic)

you find yourself in the andromeda six crew by pure accident after your attempted murder. now trying to find a way back to your dimension will you even want to go back when its time to go home

https://www.quotev.com/story/15477278/Multidimensional-babe-androme-six-fanfic

https://archiveofourown.org/works/44374645

[of-tea-and-crumpets]

Hello! I’ve never really used tumblr for something like this before so you’ll have to excuse my awkwardness.

I do have some rules

-I ask that you are kind and respectful. We’re all supposed to be adults here because (cough cough, 18+ blog because children scare me)

- I am over 18, so yes you may speak about adult topics.

-Don’t be afraid to ask me anything! Or just come over to talk about A6!

-If you would like me to talk or read your work, I don’t mind you asking! I love reading new fanfic and I would be happy to read yours!

Alright. If I need to add anything in the future, I will, but for now, here it is!

[courtesanofdeath]

"These women have come to topple a nation!"

happy international women's day ♡

[cachamata]

-

Requested by @juan-nonetheway

[tierradenod]

hola, ¿vengo a preguntar si me pueden dar ideas de fc japoneses? ojalá femeninos (aunque también leo si son masc)

¡Hola por ahí! Sin problema, por aquí te dejo un par de recomendaciones de faceclaims femeninos: Kita Kana, Nana Komatsu, Haruna Kawaguchi, Sakamoto Mashiro, Ayame Misaki, Yuri Tsunematsu, Baba Fumika, Sakura Miyawaki, Aya Asahina, Yuka Mannami, Yoshikawa Ai, Elaiza Ikeda. Y, por qué no, un par de caritas masculinas también: Kentaro Sakaguchi, Kento Yamazaki, Sota Fukushi, Yusei Yagi, Makoto Hasegawa, Nakamoto Yuta, Dori Sakurada, Kamiya Kenta, Meguro Ren. ¡Espero que alguna sea de tu agrado!

🗡 CAÍN.

[ciaossu-imagines]

Hello there! For the mini event may you please do gintama with the au avatar the last airbender, thank you!

Hello there, my lovely anon! I definitely can do that - I really couldn't come up with solid ideas, so I admit to taking the lazy way out, so have a pretty comprehensive list on what type of Benders everyone would be in this AU! And guys, there are so many characters in Gintama so I swear it wasn't as easy and lazy as it looks! Thanks for sending in a request and I hope you'll enjoy!

Okay, so we're going into this AU with there being the four major bending types - Earth, Air, Fire and Water. Each bending type is as it is portrayed in Avatar: The Last Airbender, with people possessing different degrees of bending and different skills being present within each bending type.

So, when considering which type of Bender each character would be, I kind of broke it down into personality types and traits and qualities to look for, based on what I figure the 'stereotypical' Bender is for each of the four.

Earth Benders are a little rough around the edges, slow to anger, slow to decide on things, but stubborn once their mind is made up. They can be sensitive and they are often very patient.

Air Benders are gentle souls, respectful and adaptable, changeable. They're fast, both in their movements and in their thoughts.

Water Benders are typically calm and easy-going, flexible enough to adapt to their companions or situations. They're often quite easy to talk to and rather content with their lives.

Fire Benders are often prideful and confident individuals who are loyal, determined and ambitious. They can be very playful and fun but they often also have very short fuses on their tempers, which can be very volatile and explosive.

Keeping that in mind, this is what I figure the characters would be for Benders.

Earth Benders

Shimura Shinpachi

Shimura Tae

Shimura Ken

Chin Pirako/Doromizu Pirako

Kanemaru

Otose

Hanako

Saigou Tokumori

Saigou Teruhiko

Doromizu Jirochou

Hiraga Gengai

Hiraga Saburou

Haji

Terada Tatsugorou

Otaki

Jigsaw

Ofusa

Kirara

Urara

Rokkaku Kirie

Hongou Hisashi

Terakado Tsuu

Terakado Ichi

Hachibei Takaya/Takachin

Takatin

Rotten Maizou

Hijikata Toushirou

Sasaki Tetsunosuke

Kumanaku Seizou

Saitou Shimaru

Sasaki Isaburo

Oboro

Katsura Kotarou

Dragon Leader

Fat Dragon

Nakamura Kyoujirou

Shachi

Kameyama Duuke

Onijishi

Hijikata Tamegorou

Tsukuyo

Mutsu

Daraku

Abuto

Shijaku

Blu-Rayko

Prince Dai

Princess Bubbles

Otakai Sayaka

Water Benders

Sataka Gintoki

Kanemaru

Hasegawa Taizou

Hachirou

Tatsumi

Obi Hajime

Ketsuno Crystel

Ketsuno Seimei

Kuzunoha

Uchino

Hashida Kantarou

Hashida Kanschichirou

Hashida Kahei

Daigo

Kitaooji Daigorou

Izumi

Kawakami Bansai

Yamazaki Sagaru

Kamiyama

Harada Unosuke

16th Ikeda Yaemon

Hattori Zenzou

Wakikaoru

Momochi Rappa

Kurokono Tasuke

Takechi Henpeita

Kidomaru

Ebina

Seita

Suzuran

Hinowa

Kamenashi

Neptune Shokaku

Umibouzu

Shiramizu Pinko

Anigasaki Momo

Air Benders

Ikesawa

Tama

Oryou

Azumi Agonoske

Musashi

Kozenigata Heiji

Honjou Kyoushirou

Juurouta

Murata Tetsuko

Murata Tetsuya

Murata Jintetsu

Hedoro

Nishiki Ikumatsu

Hasegawa Hatsu

Hayashi Ryuuzan

Hayashi Fuyou

Sakurajima Chiharu

Okuni

Isao Kondou

Tokugawa Shige Shige

Tokugawa Soyo

Tokugawa Mori Mori

Tokugawa Sada Sada

Sarutobi Ayame

Elizabeth

Sakamoto Tatsuma

Yoshida Shouyou

Chougorou

Urashima

Oiwa

Rei

Enshou

Daishikyou

Mahha Noriko

Fumiko

Megami

Sorachi Hideaki

Fire Benders

Kagura

Kamui

Sakata Kintoki

Catherine

Ane

Kurogama Katsuo

Kujaku Hime Kada

Madame Yagami

Kanbei

Yagyuu Kyuubei

Yagyuu Binbokusai

Yagyuu Koshinori

Toujou Ayumu

Kitaooji Itsuki

Nishino Tsukamu

Minamito Sui

Shirino Douman

Gedoumaru

Antenmaru

Mone

Professor Meguro

No.305

No.502

Death Cancer

Ochi-san

Ben

Haga Kenji

Yocchan

Kimiko

Matsudaira Katakuriko

Matsudaira Kuriko

Hanano Saki

Goemon

Bichie

Sougo Okita

Hitotsubashi Nobu Nobu

Itou Kamotarou

Shinohara Shinnoshin

Imai Nobume

Ikeda Asaemon

18th Ikeda Yaemon

Utsuro

Jiraia

Banzou

Takasugi Shinsuke

Kajima Matako

Okada Nizou

Tendou Soutatsu

Mashiroi Kaguzou

Mashiroi Utsuzou

Inoue

Tasuke

Kuraba Touma

Eromes

Kurikan

Okita Mitsuba

Housen

Otohime

Admiral Abou

Ougai

Soutatsu

Kouka

Suitsu

Prince Hata

Jii

[namedafterflowerstournament]

Iris

Excellent choice ! (Examples under the cut)

A bunch of Irises have been submitted so far :

- Iris from Greek Mythology

- Iris from Pokémon

- Iris Clops from Monster High

- Iris Sparks from Sparks and Bainbridge Mystery series

- Iris Black from the Web comic Countdown to Countdown

- Iris of Hazakura Temple from Ace Attorney

- Iris Wilson from The Great Ace Attorney

- Iris West from DC / The Flash

A few others may deserve your attention too:

- Mikuri Ayame from Magia Record

- Ikeda Ayame from Andromeda 6

- Hatano Ayame from Danganronpa

- Sohma Ayame from Fruits Basket

- Sarutobi Ayame from Gintama

- Iris Sagan from AI : The Somnium Files

- Iris Amicitia from Final Fantasy XV

- Iris Simpkins from The Holiday

- Iris from Taxi Driver

- Iris Crowe from Carnivale

- Iris from Lolirock

- Iris Blake from 9-1-1 Lone Star

- Iris from the Riordanverse

- Iris Cygnet from Red Queen

[arcanadreams]

in the ultimate form of mlm wlw solidarity, finding and reading through the entirety of @junipersimp’s blog today finally got me off my ass to FINISH THESE!! they have been partially written, sitting in my drafts for LIKE MONTHS AT THIS POINT. SO THANK YOU FOR GIVING ME A6 INSPIRATION I LOVE YOUR WORK <3

anyway these are hcs for the a6 love interests in the scenario of “kissing a friend to get a creep to leave them alone and there’s a SPARK” (yes i know damon and cal basically already did this in-game but i’m adding ✨KITH✨) i haven’t played every route so sorry if anyone is ooc ahgskfks also pls excuse grammar mistakes it is midnight

:D have fun!! also feel free to send in a6 requests/ideas, tho considering how long these babies took i make no promises about getting to them in a timely manner

June:

What’s that? Oh you need literally anything? Anything at all? Yeah, sure thing, Traveler.

Translation: Yes he’s absolutely down to kiss you to get a creep off your back should you ask.

The second the words “Kiss me, please?” leave your lips June is obliging. If it weren’t for the alarm in your eyes and the urgent grip you had on his shirt, he probably would’ve asked more questions. But what Traveler wants, Traveler gets; at least, that’s the philosophy June subscribes to.

The kiss is short, but very tender. One of his hands gently curls around your side, the other holding your cheek. The sweetness of it makes your face heat up. You hadn’t expected to feel fireworks, but there they were. When the two of you separate, his shifts his hands to rest on your hips but doesn’t move away from you. 

“I’m not complaining, but...can I ask what that was about? You looked worried.” You explain quickly, noticing a few flecks of green shine in his eyes as he learns of the person following you. He looks around the two of you, his grip on your waist tightening ever so slightly. Is he attempting to ground you or himself? Both, to be honest (but himself a bit moreso).

You can physically feel his relief when he doesn’t see the creeper anywhere. He lets out a sigh, turning to you with a small smile. His shoulders lower ever so slightly, almost as if he feels self-conscious for his protective actions.

“Why don’t you stick by my side while we’re here? I’d feel better with you near me after that.” You agree happily, wondering whether the “after that” is referring to the creep situation or the kiss. You hope it’s the kiss. (It’s both.)

Damon:

Literally is so down for this. There is nothing he would like more than to smooch you out of trouble.

Let’s be real: he’s too into it. Don’t ask him to help in this scenario unless you’re ready for some of his usual antics dialed up to 11 in the name of “just doing what you asked.”

“Could you please kiss me? For safety reasons?” Damon can’t help chuckling a little; he knows the situation already and yet the way you phrase your plea surprises him. He had figured out what was happening before you even approached him; he’d been keeping an eye on you. 

“For safety reasons, eh?” He teases, figuring he has a little time to mess with you before the creep figures out where you ran off to. But he doesn’t; they're sharper than he’d given them credit for. He narrows his eyes when he notices they are back to being hot on your trail.

“Look, Damon, I know it’s a weird request but-” “I’ve got it covered, sweetheart,” he interrupts you, saying the pet name with emphasis so the people around you, problem one included, can hear it clearly.

The assassin reaches forward and places his hands on your sides, pulling you close to him. He whispers a quick “Just follow my lead” into your ear, which you respond to with a nod. He shoots you a grin before moving one hand to the small of your back and tugging you into a kiss. It is fiery and passionate and has you feeling butterflies in your stomach...a feeling that only gets stronger when his right hand slides down to your thigh and lifts your leg slightly. 

“Think we fooled them?” He asks, rather cheekily, when the two of you finally pull apart. Turning and looking around the area, you see your pursuer is long gone. Never missing an opportunity to tease, Damon whispers in your ear yet again: “I’m not sure we were convincing...think it’d sell it more if we walk around with my hand in your back pocket the rest of the night?”

Calderon:

Mmm depends, to be quite honest with you. If you’re just plain friends, he won’t kiss you. He just puts his hand on his blaster and gives the creep a death glare. 

But if you’re friends with tension, and there’s been flirting going on between you two? Then yeah, yeah he will. Not on the lips, though. 

“I know this is weird but please kiss me; this guy will not take a hint.” Calderon knows something has to be wrong when you grab onto his arm so suddenly. Looking behind you, he can already see a half-bionic man making a beeline for where the two of you stand.

“This happens every time I leave you alone,” he groans. You open your mouth to retort but he bends down to place a firm kiss to your forehead before you have the chance. His hand finds the small of your back, tugging you closer to him. You can’t see it, but Cal is giving the guy a glare while his lips are pressed to your skin. The creep is phased and stops in his tracks; a death glare from Calderon Lynch will do that, yeah.

Meanwhile, you are having an inner crisis over the fact that a simple kiss on the forehead from Cal is making you feel things. The kiss is protective; you can tell from his rigid posture how mad he is on your behalf. However, you can feel none of that anger where his lips touch your skin and that has your stomach filling with unexpected butterflies. 

Calderon pulls away when the guy slinks off. His expression slips into a satisfied grin when he sees the creep flee the area completely. You thank the captain. He answers you with a huff and acknowledging nod, but not before you catch a glimpse of a light blush on his cheeks.

“We need to get you a bodyguard,” he taps your chin briefly. “For tonight, stay by me. And don’t wander off again.”

Ayame:

Oh hell yeah. She’ll just as soon punch the guy for you, but...

...when you put it that way, how could she even have considered any other possible solutions?

Ayame spots the distressed look on your face from across the room as she spins in circles on a pole. She stops her dance immediately, squinting to assess your situation properly. She watches as you awkwardly laugh, clearly trying to get away from the half-bionic man speaking to you. He doesn’t get the hint. She, however, does, and slides off the stage without hesitation, ready to break her hand again. 

“Babe, who is this?” she sidles up next to you right as the guy is asking you to leave with him for the third time that night. You feel her arm on your back, her hand landing on your hip and resting there. She tugs you a little closer as she continues. “Is this asshole bothering you?” Aaaand she’s instigating. Aya may be ready to shatter her bones again, but you certainly aren’t keen on that happening. The robotic man doesn’t get a chance to respond because you’re already blurting out your own in an attempt to diffuse this bar fight before it starts.

“You forgot my kiss,” your slightly alarmed voice does not sound convincing at all, so you quickly add a “babe” of your own on to the end. Aya stifles a laugh at your acting, but grins nonetheless. 

“You’re right; I completely forgot. Let me make it up to you,” she’s practically purring, cupping your cheek and turning your face until you make eye contact with her and oh god she’s looking at you like she wants to devour you- 

And then she’s kissing you. Her lips taste like a fruity cocktail and you kiss back as the hand on your cheek slides down to your neck. You hear a gruff robotic voice mumble something about ‘I get it, I get it,’ but you don’t pull away. The smooching only stops when Ayame laughs. 

“You know, I was just going to punch that guy, but I think your solution worked just as well. Let me know when you need my services again.~”

Ryona:

Is like Calderon in that you get a kiss from her, just not one on the lips. 

She’s honestly just as likely to sidestep you entirely and put you behind her while verbally tearing the creep a new one, rather than deter them with a kiss. 

Ryona gives your hand a welcoming squeeze when she feels you slide your hand into hers suddenly. She turns around with a smile, but it fades into a concerned frown quickly at your slightly panicked expression.

“There’s this guy who has been following me so could you maybe-” you don’t even get to finish your sentence. Ryona looks behind you and sees the guy approaching, quickly giving your hand another squeeze before she steps in front of you. She pushes you slightly behind her, putting herself between you and your harasser.

“Is there a problem here?” She sneers at him. The guy says that there wasn’t until she got involved, and she openly scoffs. Completely unafraid, she steps forward and points a finger in his face. “Leave them alone. Is this how all your romantic pursuits go? You chase someone down until they have to look for help from someone they actually are interested in?” The small crowd of people who until that point had tried to hide their eavesdropping let out a chorus of ‘ooo’s and gasps.

“You know what? Fuck this. They ain’t worth it anyway,” the creep retreats quickly. He can’t handle the heat of Ryona. And neither can you, to be honest; she turns back to you, taking your face in her hands gently and looking you over, and you nearly combust on the spot. First she protects you without even thinking about it, and now she’s looking at you with so much affection and worry?? You’re gonna die.

“I was going to ask if you could kiss me to make him get the hint but that worked. Also you’re really hot. Also thank you.” In your Ryona-induced haze, you rambled out praises. The woman in question laughed, covering her mouth with her hand briefly before moving it aside to give you a peck on the cheek.

“If there is a next time, we can try your plan, Traveler.” 

Vexx:

Sounds fun, sure. He’s a lot like Damon about it. Takes the opportunity to tease you.

Traveler? Begging him for a kiss? Literally why would be ever turn you down? 

“Vexx!” The red-head turns around immediately at the sound of your voice calling his name. He raises a half confused, half worried eyebrow at the fact you seemingly ran to him just now. 

“Everything ok?” He unabashedly looks you up and down in search of any injury. 

“Do you remember when people would hit on me sometimes back when we snuck out of the palace? And how you’d pretend to be my boyfriend to get them off my back?” Yes, of course he does; he doesn’t want to ever forget those times again. “Think you could do that again? This person will not take a hint.” Vexx looks behind you and sees the approaching culprit, narrowing his eyes for a second. But then he looks back at you and a giant grin grows on his face. He gently takes a hold of your wrist, tugging you toward him. Your hands rest on his chest as the two of you collide.

“How could I disobey the wishes of royalty?” He whispers in your ear, pausing for a second after the joke. His second whispers sound far more sincere: “Do you trust me? I want to try something.” You snort and blush before nodding and telling him that of course you trust him; he’s your best friend. His eyes soften at your remark before he leans in and gives you a brief kiss. He pulls back to test your response but when you chase after his lips he smiles and dives back in. When you finally part, you’re both left breathless.

“You know,” his shit-eating grin is back. “The boyfriend act always was my favorite part of the guard job.” 

Bash:

Asks you to repeat yourself, both flustered by the suddenness and needing to be sure you mean it.

You mean it? Well damn, in that case hell yes it’s kiss time.

“Come again? And if you really did say what I think you said...are you sure?” Bash blinks, a blush lighting up his cheeks. Had he just heard you right? Had you really asked him to kiss you? With a pretty please on top and everything? You assure him that yes, you did just ask him to kiss you to help you get rid of a persistent creep. At your reassurance, his stance stops being stiff as a board and he looks far more comfortable.

“Well, if it’s for such a good cause,~” he wiggles his eyebrows and outstretches a hand, offering it to you. You laugh and take it, allowing him to pull you in closer. He smiles at you before looking to the direction you came from. He clicks his teeth and frowns upon spotting a figure making a beeline for the two of you.

“That them?” At your nod, he glares back over at them and raises his voice. “Damn, I’m so sorry, honey! People really don’t know how to take a hint around here!” He is purposefully loud and obvious, and you can’t help but snicker at him. 

Bash looks at you, his eyes asking for silent permission. Another ‘are you sure about this?’ You respond by closing your eyes and his heart jumps in his chest. You trust him so much and it warms his whole being to see. He leans in, wrapping his arms around you. The kiss is gentle and happy, both of you smiling the whole way through it. When you separate, he wears a goofy grin on his face. He looks to where the creep used to be and finds no one.

“Hey, we did it!” He gives you a light squeeze. “Teamwork makes the dream work. We make a great team, don’t you think?” You reply with a resounding yes.

[burntheupholstery]

on characters

just played andromeda six’s episode 6, i see what the fuss was all about now. i’m not gonna say anything on that matter because i’ll wait for the full story (4 more episodes) before critiquing the frankly somewhat badly handled depiction of grief in episodes 1-5, but i do have something i want to say.

does anyone think the chemistry between the crew is ... lacking? feel free to discuss it with me, i bring it up because i’m trying to figure it out for fic, and i can’t seem to find in-text explanations for why they stick together, except possibly an anti-k’merii sentiment. that’s all well and good, spite can carry a person a long way, but this crew have supposedly been running together for several years now, so where’s the emotional connective tissue between them?

but burn, you ask, this is a romance vn, why is this important? shouldn’t the devs prioritize the relationship between LI and MC?

you’d be correct, imaginary audience! but what happens, i ask, to the LIs who you don’t romance? what happens to their plot, and what happens to them when their arc is over? i know i dislike a character who becomes a hanger-on. i especially dislike it when there are potentially rich inter-crew interactions to be had but they’re just left hanging. it’s nice to read about a group of friends who like each other anyway, isn’t it?

let me state before we go into the weeds that the aim of this post is for discussion and engagement (and my own analysis). pull up a carpet square, friends, we’re going down the character list by alphabet.

Ayame:

we know her relationship with Bash to be friendly, almost bestie-level, because they work together very often (such as on Cursa) and have similar interests (mecha). this is good! me like. i’d love to see more of their shenanigans! i’ll probably write a fic of them sparring or something, that’ll be fun.

we know her relationship with Calderon to be that of superior-subordinate, but also of friends, but we see very little of it aside from being told. i also wanna write a fic of the time Aya broke him out of jail, because you know Cal is gonna be pissed off she’s breaking the law, even if she’s breaking the law to help him.

we know she and June seem to have a Responsible-Older-Brother and Misbehaving-Little-Sister thing going on, which is alright, but still rather shallow. furthermore, do they bond over the loss of a sibling? do they know the other has experienced the same loss? that seems like a big oversight to me, maybe the devs will expand on that in the future?

we know she likes Damon enough to have slept with him (i don’t personally believe sex = a relationship; i’m more in the sex = lust camp, so just telling me ‘they slept together’ isn’t relationship shorthand in my book) and anyways it was a drunken thing, iirc. also, we see very little of them having a substantial conversation (the spar doesn’t count and i shouldn’t have to explain why) outside of work. i want to know what ayame thinks of their stabby assassin!! i wanna know if she likes cats as much as he does!!

we know next to nothing about her relationship with Ryona. I may be mistaken (i haven’t played the game exhaustively) but Ayame doesn’t have a scene in Ryona’s lab, nor do they interact a lot on-screen, and very little is said about what they think of each other aside from civilities.

finally, and perhaps most damningly, we have never seen Ayame react on-screen to Vexx, who has so much potential with Ayame. they’re both kitalphan, but Aya is first-gen and Vexx is second-gen, which is a perfect set up for conflict! (i go into this in my fic, come read?) but we see nothing on-screen. devs, is there a reason? you gave us the delicious hook of vexx’s parents being dead - why not expand on his kitalphan parentage a little, since Kitalpha imploding should’ve impacted his life as well. (i go into this in my fic ... come read?)

The most we’ve read about Ayame’s apparent distance from the team is revealed in Ep6, where she reveals some spoiler-ish facts about her attitude towards the crew, her brother Akira, and family. I eagerly await more news on her relationships for future episodes.

Bash:

i’ve covered his relationship with Ayame, and i’ll preface this section with the admission that his arc hasn’t come yet, so perhaps it explains the apparent lack of focus on Bash in the main plot.

see, Bash occupies the unique position as the one guy on the crew who’s connection with the two Pillars of Plot (Zovack and Peg’asi) to be extremely tenuous. everyone else has a big fat bone to pick with both Pillars, driving the plot forwards, but Bash ... i’ll wait and see.

back to his inter-crew relationships. we have nothing on him and Calderon. who recruited him? Oppo? how did the recruitment interview go? how did he switch careers from arena fighter to engineer? what was he doing before being a fighter?

we have nothing on him and Damon, except the odd line here and there about Bash’s hand-to-hand skills. give me something here, devs, both are skilled fighters and one has a metal arm, there’s so much potential here!

we have very little on him and June. presumably the crew knows about June’s history, and clearly there is some familiarity with June’s orionite-rages, but beyond that? ...

we know about his you-saved-my-life crush on Ryona. i’m hoping his arc in the future episodes will feature the resolution of this little thread

and finally, absolutely nothing about Vexx except the usual anti-k’merii sentiment. what does our resident engineer think about one rehabilitated k’merii on their ship? no one knows. as a Vexxmancer i’m a little disappointed. i still want Bash in my traveller’s life, y’know?

i’m not the most Bash-inclined player, so if anything i said in this section is false, do point it out to me!

i’ve been plugging the lack of Ayame and Bash interactions by coming up with wild hesdcanons in my fic. the most recent example is a shopping trip they took together, come read! and pass judgement

Calderon:

we’ve covered Aya and Bash, so i’ll start with Damon.

there’s a substantial amount here - we gather from context clues that Cal is the one to recruit Damon, and Damon knows quite a bit about Cal, but we’re not sure exactly about the when, how, and why of both the recruitment and the depth of their relationship. (how do they know each other? i bet there’s a juicy story there.) we also haven’t seen them do anything other than talk shop since the bar on Nos Vega. even the mission scene on Orion was rushed and devoid of detail. now, focusing writing efforts on the MC was the correct decision for the devs, but i want to see the crew fight back-to-back!! there could be so much to write about — the trust between them, where did it come from? Damon is flighty, as Alisa’s scenes demonstrated, so how come Calderon trusts him so much?

we know very little about Cal and June. the scene they share on Cursa - their only time on-screen together - doesn’t have much on their relationship at all, only that June looks up to Calderon for his compassion. this doesn’t help much, because we don’t know what Cal thinks of June in response. again, if i have missed a line or two here and there, do point me in their direction, but my point is we know very little about the dynamics of this crew, even though we’re now 6 episodes in.

Calderon and Ryona is also a mystery. we have vague hints that they’re close in a we-killed-people-together sort of way (cal is aware of ryona’s aversion to killing, but nothing is said on this matter during the Orion mission) and we know Ryona is aware and slightly disapproving of Calderon’s quick temper, but what else?

Calderon and Vexx ... erm ... hostility??

Damon:

we’re covered Ayame, Bash, and Calderon, so we’ll start with June.

i ... don’t know what to say for him and June. i can’t recall any notable moment where he and June have exchanged a meaningful conversation. if i am misremembering, do let me know. what concerns me about this duo is that based on the views each have expressed in game, i don’t think they like each other all that much? i mean, Damon has his views about death, and June is torn up about his creation as a tool of violence and the death of Jules. that? that’s perfect conflict! another exciting angle of conflict between them is their fighting styles — Damon is, to use video game terms, a close-range DPS, and June is a tank/sniper hybrid, which should place them as the ultimate unbeatable tag team, but despite all these rich story threads, they don’t appear on-screen together for any substantial amount of time.

Damon and Ryona, though, i really really like. my personal headcanon for the reason for their bond is that the first thing Ryona did with Damon was kill a man, and since Ryona was recruited right after her traumatic run-in with the K’Merii, this act of mutually delivering violence deeply bonded her and Damon despite their vastly differing worldviews. but that’s my headcanon, what’s the devs’ take on this? giving us an unusual friendship is all well and good, but it’ll be even better if an explanation of events happens in-game! am hoping episodes 7-10 will give us more Damon&Ryona content!!

Damon and Vexx, i can also say i genuinely love. they...!! are just...!! i can’t even put it into meta, i just wrote a LOT of it into the fic, so if you want more Damon & Vexx shenanigans, hop on by the fic and witness the love i pour into them!!

June:

we’ve covered Ayame, Bash, Calderon, and Damon, so there’s only Ryona and Vexx to talk about.

we don’t know much about him and Ryona, which is a very big shame, because he is clearly afflicted by a condition that he doesn’t like or want. Ryona, however, is a medic/physician/doctor from a planet renowned for its medicine. do you see what i’m getting at? there is great potential for them! how does ryona react to him being the only successful implementation of biological orionite infusion? does she know? if so, why did June - and under what circumstances - did he tell her? if he didn’t tell her, what has she guessed? how does that affect their relationship?

Vexx ... erm ... ???

Ryona:

there’s not much to say here, because i’ve covered it all already.

we don’t know the details about her and ayame, but presumably they get along. does ryona know about akira? why, why not? i hope this gets brought up in episode 7 and after, it’d be a great place for it.

Bash has a crush on her, but we don’t know what she thinks about it. Episode 7 seems geared towards Ryona, though, so my hopes are up!

we don’t know the details about her and Calderon. there just isn’t much to go on, and this guy’s her captain.

her and Damon, we’ve already covered, they’re fantastic, 10/10, 💯, please continue.

June... :/

Vexx ... :// we have faint beginnings of something in the form of a doctor-patient relationship, but it’s not enough. why is she committed to healing him? is it professional pride? is it out of love for MC? depending on the answer, their dynamic is different, and will be interesting either way.

Vexx (my bias, my love, my one and only):

son, i know NOTHING about you. ayame? nothing.

bash? nothing.

calderon? nothing.

damon? mm, good shit, but 1/6 isn’t much.

june? nothing.

ryona? :/

this lack of relationships is a crucial oversight because i don’t feel that Vexx is connected to any of the crew. except for MC, who else is he living for? who else does he connect with? if MC doesn’t romance this LI, what is he doing in the story with his disproportionate weightage of plot relevance? i love vexx, im a sucker for the princess-and-her-bodyguard, but when i play other routes, im constantly puzzled by him. what are you doing here, buddy, where you have no friends, no past, and no future? i’d go mad, if i were him. or into a depressive funk.

so that’s all the characters. you’ll note that there are gems in there! Ayame and Bash, Damon and Ryona, Calderon and spite/duty/honor, and June and his lizard Jules. but there’s a significant lack of lateral connection. some of it can be pinned down to plot reasons:

the crew has been running from one planet to another since they picked up the traveller and thus has had no time to rest and interact

the crew is dealing with a massive, system-wide upheaval in politics and power, and many of them are personally caught up in it, which makes for heavy dinner table talk, so they don’t talk

this is still a romance VN, so space has to be made for MC/LI interactions

these gaos may well be foreshadowing, and this game still has 4 episodes to go, so i hope that by writing these out ... man, i don’t know. if the devs don’t find time to implement the lore allusions then i guess its ... fanfic time?

i’ve been reading spaceship crew fiction for a very long time and i believe the gaps im seeing isn’t a figment of my imagination, just as much as i believe the devs have it in them to write well. they did a wonderful job with the DLCs, after all!

I’m using headcanons to resolve this in my fic and also using my fic as a platform to play around in the sandbox of the A6 crew (please read it, i love writing it and i love discussing scifi) but if the dev’s read this - you may not, but if you do - this isn’t a put down or a ‘gotcha’, i’d love to see more canon interactions between the crew! this post is meant as character analysis and critique, and in good faith. plus, now that they’re on tilaarin, they can rest, so it’d be a perfect place to put in a relaxing scene like the one in Nos Vega!