#meanwhile Deadeye is just like *fun phrase* *comforting reassurance* *flexes in a galling display of power to fix a problem* *fun phrase*

[jj-shubert-writes]

Wow I need this WIP to be a popular published series stat so I have other people to talk to about my brainrot.

Look, I knew I was gonna love Deadeye. The automated security system has learned how to care for the station's inhabitants. You can't get any more tailored to my needs than that.

I did not expect to love Valley this much. Mostly because I didn't want xem to be this funny. I was going for the older noir fiction style of smart-alecy and detached rather than the newer trend of "here is a wet kitten of a human being who accidentally solves mysteries along the way" (mostly because xe's not a human being and I wanted to drive that home). And then my hand slipped and xer entire fucking life cycle is just "talk shit" and "get dunked on." But it actually makes sense because they were basically built as the detective equivalent of a crash test dummy (an insulting reference that will come up in later books) whose ENTIRE PREMISE is "fuck around and find out." And the thing that makes it so golden (more enjoyable to me than the likes of Fetch Phillips or Harry Dresden) is xer ironclad sense of self-respect. There are a few times after being thwarted by the cruel whims of real life that xe's like "maybe...I'm not the smartest, coolest, best thing in the universe." And then xe's usually like "Eh. Sure. Still pretty good for what I am/better than anyone else in THIS dump." Xe runs on such an odd mixture of spite, extreme pettiness, pride, and curiosity that I just love watching xem in any situation.

And Rhiannon deserves a huge shoutout. I never usually like my human characters this much when there are other, cooler options. I love her. She is somehow both the snarling dog and the one holding the leash. Her hallmark to me is her self-control. She genuinely just wants people to get along and be alright, and she gets a lot of that done by sharing food and helping out, but underneath her calm is a fury you do not want to see unleashed.

Because I just think it's so funny how actually, both of them just should not be understimulated. Valley gets broody and frustrated, but calm, cool, collected, in-charge Rhiannon, after one (1) day of bed rest at home after nearly getting MURDERED, flies out of her apartment like "I am going to cause problems on purpose! :D" and in a caffeine-induced warpath just goes and solves the entire mystery and stabs the hornet's nest and forces the big bads out of hiding without really consulting ANYONE. She's the epitome of "what doesn't kill you makes you stronger and also very angry" with a relentless energy that's more befitting a slasher villain than a small town sheriff. Especially with her backstory, it's like yeah, she is larger than life, she is the sort of thing you only hear about in legends, and she cannot be fucked with. That is the thesis posed at the very beginning of the story and she spends the rest of the time proving it.

And that makes such a great dynamic between the two as Valley realizes "I thought I hated humans but this one is terrifying and kind of cool" while Rhiannon is unaffected by Valley's shit talk as long as she knows xe's on her side. They're the deadpan duo of "We need a diversion." "Light the couch on fire." "That's stupid. Light the whole ROOM on fire." They both look calm and are bundles of organized chaos underneath and it's SO FUN to WATCH