#i'd say a good 99% of the time they're talking about 'tourists' they're talking about specifically white ppl

[isekyaaa]

I really hope that when people read articles that are like, "People of this minority group are telling you not to [insert something pertaining to said minority group]," please use your brain and take it with a grain of salt and don't accept everything you read as truth.

[roxaeri]

Lemme tell you a little known fact about the Black Hills: there ain't much shit to do here.

Unless it's outdoorsy stuff like hiking or camping or swimming. Or going to Mt. Rushmore or Crazy Horse. (Here's a secret, lotta people who live here can go forever without going to any tourist attractions like that.) Wind Cave. Any number of caves, come on there's hills. Cosmos Mystery Area. Deadwood--that's like an old Midwest Gambling Town. Sturgis, just a small town except for like a few weeks in August where it has the biggest population in the US. (Bikers. Bikers everwhere. Just skulls, leather, and motorcycles.)

((I say Middle of Nowhere but even I gotta admit we're a fucking varied Middle of Nowhere))

Allergies and/or Sensitive Skin? Good fucking luck, my dudes. The Force be with you.

What does one do when you can't do any of that because you're eleven, sick, and bored??

Convince someone to take you on a drive around the hills

Is it the longest drive?? No. Depends on how fast you go, which turns you take, and how many stops you make if any. Longer than an hour tho

Aloy I-Volunteer-As-Tribute taking the chance to drive Deimos' sweet ass rental car. It's nice and newer than 2016, so a lot newer than her '99 Toyota Corolla (ha)

"I can see it anytime I want, you enjoy yourself."

Atreus in the backseat talking to them until he dozes on and off before he's fuckin Out (One of Kratos' solutions to Boy's insomnia is going for a drive around the hills because it's actually really soothing if somewhat simultaneously ominous so they just find it gREAT)

Fenrir wary of drives through the hills and being in cars but his Boy has not done him wrong yet so just keeps an eye out while Atreus sleeps

Y'all wanted Calliope and Kratos to chat after her drunken ranting???

BOOM

Now they're stuck in the truck together, just the two of them.

(And Jörmungandr who wants to soul-stare out the window but he is a pUPPY and tOo ShOrt so he's tucked himself behind Kratos' head because he likes to feel tall and freak out anyone who notices him)

"Calliope, do you remember all you said to me the other night?"

". . . I was hoping you forgot, actually. That was embarrassing."

"Would you have said anything otherwise?"

"I wouldn't have. That part was true."

"I'm sorry I didn't try harder to be your father after what happened. I truly believed you and your mother were better off without me in your lives after what happened."

"As an adult, I get that. I mean, I don't remember much of why mother divorced you. But we all left Greece a mess. Then your life here happened."

"You felt unimportant when you shouldn't have. Your mother and I failed you in that respect. We let our issues affect you to the point you didn't tell Deimos when you moved to France."

"True."

". . . Do you have a good life there?"

"The best. I never doubt that my friends love me. I love my job, my apartment, my roommate. I don't believe I'd have come if she hadn't convinced me to. My best friend."

Shenanigans? In this calm family drive?? It's more likely than you think. Such as:

Aloy, at the last possible second, swerving right to Deadwood instead of left because goddamn, she forgot about the construction of the road through the lakes

"What are they doing there?"

"Widening it. No longer feels like your car is about to go over the edge anymore."

". . . It was like what before?"

Kratos and Calliope struggling to stop Jörmungandr from jumping at the window because of another dog in the car passing them that looked at him wrong

"Pup pup pup--no!"

Kratos just doesn't know what Calliope's even muttering as she has descended into a mess of English, Greek, and French as she plays with and coos at the dachshund puppy in her lap

Atreus walking up from a dead sleep shouting in Faroese as he shoots up like a zombie from a grave and scaring Aloy so bad that Deimos is left scrambling for the wheel as she tries to keep her heart in her chest

Stopping in Deadwood because maybe it's time for Aloy and Deimos to switch but Calliope spots a thing and

"Old time photos?"

"You dress like they did here during the gold rush and take pictures like that."

"I've never actually done that. You?"

"Once with mom, but I was little."

"No time like the present, huh?"

Kratos looking like a bald and bearded Wild Bill Hickok

Oh my god, the fucking fringed smoked leather jackets and feather boas and corsets that Calliope is all too used to while Aloy kinda hates it until bio sibs simultaneously assure that she looks amazing and Atreus wraps a feather boa around himself, too

Atreus looking like a little old west lawman and set between his sisters while his dad and uncle look like they're ready for gun fight in an old west bar somewhere down the street

Calliope amazed by the history of the town because these people sound like characters in a story but it's all too real

"I think it's like that because that's how they treated it. I mean, Buffalo Bill Cody had this entire show that made it all seem like some sort of adventure tale; when really the gold rush broke the treaties with the tribes. Io:nhiòte has a lot more insight on that than I do."

And the rest of the drive is spent in a spotty conference call between cars talking about the American Old West

That night, Calliope follows Atreus because he has a book from Mimir about the history of the Black Hills that he thinks she should read

Calliope noticing the picture of her on her graduation day in France that Deimos took after she contacted him for the first time in years so she could have someone to celebrate her graduation with

"You have this?"

"Uh, yeah . . . Uncle Deimos sent it to me because he wanted me to see you wearing the flower crown I made. I didn't--know what else to do because I didn't know you and didn't have a lot of time. But he said you liked flowers, and my mom and the nurses taught me how to make them so I did and sent it. I, uh--"

Atreus nearly losing his shit because his sister just hugged him and kissed his head and it's the most affection he's gotten from the sister he nearly idolized since he found out about her

Calliope wanting to cry because my god he is too precious, too pure, and she very nearly fucked this up

And she loves that crown and now she gets why Deimos said it was from a fan of hers. She never would have worn it if she knew it was from Atreus because she was so bitter and angry--

"I used that crown on stage during my first professional performance."

"You did?"

"As Princess Cinderella. I still do whenever I'm asked to perform my solo."

"I didn't know you were Cinderella. I wanna see! I've seen Io:nhiòte dance but she says how you dance is different than how she dances."

"She is a traditional and contemporary dancer while I am trained in ballet and ballroom. I will have my roommate send me the performance video so you can see."

Calliope watching as their new family photo joins Atreus' wall of family, between her grad photo and one of him and Aloy dressed as Mario and Luigi

Just, a drive through the hills that makes everyone just a little bit closer each time

@ladymaliwan