Reading through your Mega OC Template of Taylor Rook, I won’t deny that your AU, specifically where/how the deputy saves John after the aerial fight and hides him, has heavily influenced how my own deputy decides not to kill John, but I can’t help but find a bit of humour at the tonal difference.
In your AU, Taylor saves John because she didn’t intend on killing him and doesn’t like/want to commit more violence, incapacitating him with a bliss bullet and as soon as she can she’s patching him up and taking him to a safe place away from Resistance eyes that he likely won’t initially appreciate when he wakes up but eventually they grow to appreciate (and love) each other while in the bunker, leading to the planned truce/hostage exchange. (Probably more complicated than that but that’s the gist of what I understand).
Meanwhile in my WIP, after crashing her plane into John’s (she was out of ammo), my deputy Silva was deadset on killing John after his final attack on Fall’s End (which included harming her deputy partner Hudson again) and all that’s running through her thoughts is “I’m gonna get him. I’m gonna get that little cabrón!” and John is like limping for his bunker because obviously he comes to realise that the deputy he’s been harassing for the past month hasn’t been too fond of his latest attempt to save her soul (and also the fact that she’s insane enough to crash her plane into his - WHO DOES THAT-?!)! And when she does catch him (after landing a well placed shot at his bad leg), she does not give John the courtesy of any final speeches, and while pummelling him, gives him a “the reason you suck” speech (which he only hears half of because at some point he went unconscious so he missed some shards of Silva lore).
The reason he manages to survive this is because (1) by that point in the Reaping (having secured half of Holland Valley, saved Hudson after Confession, visited the Whitetails [bad idea], then the Henbane [even worse idea] and returning to face John’s Atonement for her) Silva had become so physically and emotionally exhausted that finally getting to inflict some form of punitive justice onto John for the pain he’s inflicted onto her and the county, only managed to run that adrenaline dry and round that loathing she held for him back onto herself, and (2) even though she initially planned to just leave him in the woods for the Resistance to find/deal with (or let him succumb to his wounds) and just taking his key to deal with his bunker, she discovers that the “key” he has on him… is a duplicated dud (and for context, the real one was given to Nadi, a peggie OC of mine who John really came to trust), and the only person who knows where the real one is located is… John, whose either dying or will die if she leaves him to the Resistance. So in a split second decision of rational reasoning, she takes John to a safe enough prepper bunker (NOT HERS… that’s in the Whitetails) where she tends to his wounds. And imagine the shock John would have to waking up (for one, because he’s alive!) and seeing the deputy had spared him… not out of the good of Silva’s heart of course, but still, considering the immensity of her wrath and how deadset she was on killing him, it’s an impressive feat that she managed to hold herself back on finishing the job. And their time spent together in a bunker is a slowburn of… not exactly friendship, I don’t think that’s possible for these two here, but certainly an opportunity of understanding and empathy towards the other that leads to peace (no romance here because John is not Silva’s type, and she’s meant for his sister anyhow, which he’d probably find absurd if he figured that out LOL).
Also Taylor’s got more of an impressive fortitude in keeping John’s saved life hidden from her fellow Resistance members than Silva “can’t lie for shit” Omar who relies on deflection and lets the Resistance agree on the consensus that John is dead without outright confirming it, and immediately folds to Kim (post-Carmina’s birth wanting to just congratulate Silva) and confesses to her that John is alive locked in a bunker somewhere only Silva knows because the bunker key he had is a dud and he only knows where the real one is located and she has no idea how nor what she’s gonna do next (especially with John, who’s been very uncooperative with Silva by that point). Like Silva should take some notes from Taylor LOL.
Haha, thanks for sharing :D
I like the idea of John’s bunker key not being the real one! I get that it makes sense for him, who’s described as a conceited control freak by several NPCs, to ostentatiously wear the only key to John’s Gate around his neck, but when you think about it… it really is a terrible idea. That reminds me of that line Sharky says:
You ever just think, man I just accomplished a very sizeable feat, I mean – I freed my deputy friend out of John's bunker, then I freed the rest of the hostages, and blew the whole place to hell. And all of it was possible, because John… Like a fuckin' idiot… Kept the bunker key on him. I mean that's how fresh he thought he was. Like nothing would go wrong. Well, sorry John.
I mean, he’s not wrong…
Taylor didn’t really confirm or deny that John was dead either, partly because no one clearly asked her if he was and just assumed he hadn’t survived the plane crash (and the fire, and the explosion). It takes a toll on her to lie by omission, though, because she knows those people trust her, and that the more she waits, the harder it will be to tell them the truth. She’s more and more stressed, spends less and less time with the Resistance, and starts drinking a little too much a little too often, which John notices. In fact, if she eventually reveals he’s alive, it’s partly because he saw how heavy that secret was for her and suggested she should tell everyone what actually happened. He can’t stay in that bunker forever, after all…
She knows he’s right, but she’s ashamed and afraid of her allies’ reaction. John believes confessing is always a good thing, though, and he’s convinced it will make her feel better. He promises that, even if her friends decide to let her down, he won’t. And he doesn’t.
I was tagged (a while ago) by @the-silver-chronicles! Thank you :)
The original template by @fc6 is here. I didn’t answer all the questions because I wanted to focus on my own AU instead of the official timeline, so the events of New Dawn don’t happen.
BASICS
Name: Taylor Jessica Rook.
Age: 26 in 2018.
Gender: Female.
Sexuality: Heterosexual.
Faceclaim: Just her in-game model.
Personality/Myers–Briggs Type: ESFP-T.
Hometown: I’m not sure exactly, but I imagine a medium-sized town in Montana.
Family: She doesn’t know her father, and her mother passed away when she was 18, so her closest family now is her aunt (her mom’s sister), her uncle, and her young cousin, Emma.
Did anyone in their family survive into New Dawn (if applicable)?: In the official timeline, my Security Captain is Emma, so yes :) Her remaining family survives the Collapse in my story too.
Relationship status: She came to Hope County as a single woman and basically spent the rest of her life married to John Seed.
Did their partner survive into New Dawn (if applicable)?: He survives the Collapse in my AU, yes.
Reason for joining law enforcement in Hope County: She thought she could put her strength and energy in the service of the community and fight for justice. Even though she realized her idea of the job was a bit romanticized, she still enjoyed it as it made her feel useful.
RELATIONSHIPS, FAR CRY 5
Relationship with Adelaide: The same as it is in the game at first, so mostly friendly. When Taylor finally confesses that John is alive, Adelaide doesn’t reject her. She teases Taylor about the reasons she kept John in her bunker, thinking they already are in a relationship (they aren’t), and jokes she wishes he were her “prisoner” too. After she sees him and the Deputy interact, though, she understands she wasn’t completely wrong, and she helps Taylor realize John is attracted to her, and that the feeling is mutual. When they finally become a couple, Addie is the only person she’s willing to share a few secrets with. She remains quite vague and doesn’t talk about her relationship as crudely as Adelaide would, but her friend’s enthusiastic (and playfully envious) reactions to even the vaguest allusions greatly amuse her.
Relationship with Burke: Similar to what it is in the game, except she doesn’t get him out of the Bliss. Even when Faith’s influence over him isn’t as strong, Taylor can see the Marshal is a changed man, and his epiphany about the meaning of life isn’t just the result of too much Bliss. She decides not to “save” him, thinking he genuinely doesn’t want to and that bad things could happen if she did.
Relationship with Eli: Almost nonexistent since she doesn’t meet the Whitetails, and the fact she didn’t kill John doesn’t encourage him to want to interact with her.
Relationship with Faith: She’s wary because she met her several times and saw what she’s capable of. John also told Taylor she couldn’t win against Faith, and she sees that he isn’t as relaxed in his sister’s presence as he is around his brothers, so that doesn’t help… Things eventually change because Faith has no reason to want to stop or hurt her once she stops being a threat to the Project. When they meet again after spending seven years in different bunkers after the Collapse, Taylor is impressed with her strength and the fact she handled everything in her Gate for years, but is still cautious since she can’t tell who Faith really is or what she thinks. Things definitively change when Faith assists her in a very intense Bliss trip during the difficult birth of her twins. After that, although Faith remains a little “mysterious”, she is part of her family, and Taylor is convinced that they can count on each other.
Relationship with Grace: Taylor finds her a little intimidating and has a lot of respect for her, but she also feels sorry for Grace since she’s very melancholic. She definitely deserves better than to have to take part in another war... The Deputy looks up to her too, so when Grace painfully turns away from her when she learns John is alive, Taylor feels terrible. She doesn’t resent her at all because she understands and expected her reaction, but she’s still sad.
Relationship with Deputy Hudson: She trusts her and even thinks of her as a friend, and the feeling seems mutual. Taylor gets her out of John’s bunker the day she’s captured for her Confession, and although she can’t leave the county, Hudson is at least free. Taylor’s unexpected but irrepressible feelings for John make her feel very guilty because of her colleague and what she went through, so when they come face to face after it was revealed he wasn’t dead, she is mortified. She doesn’t expect Joey to forgive her, and even though her tone is cold and she’s practically shaking with anger, Hudson remains calm when she tells Taylor she never wants to see her again. The Junior Deputy doesn’t object. Her colleague has every right to be upset, so she ashamedly accepts her rejection.
Relationship with Hurk: Always friendly, even after he learns the truth about John. He’s a little confused about the situation, but they’re buddies, so he doesn’t want to let her down.
Relationship with Jacob: She doesn’t get to meet him in the context of the game, which means he never conditions her and “Only You” doesn’t affect her. When they are (re)introduced, it’s in the cult’s compound to discuss a truce. He seems to be suspicious of her, but John is very relaxed in his presence, so Taylor isn’t as uncomfortable as she would have been had she had to meet him alone. As time goes by and they get to know each other, Jacob understands she isn’t a threat to his family, so they have a “normal” relationship. He will be the first to know about her second pregnancy, but because his and his men’s health was affected by the time they spent outside of his Armory before it was fully safe to come out of the bunkers after the Collapse, he will, sadly, never get to meet the twins…
Relationship with Jerome: Taylor respects him and admires his leadership skills, so when he learns about John, she’s afraid he will be upset. He clearly is, but he doesn’t get angry or completely reject her. She’s ashamed that she disappointed him, though, so she keeps a low profile and lets him come to her if and when he wishes.
Relationship with Jess: Taylor got her out of her cage, but Jess isn’t a very social person, so they didn’t spend a lot of time together before it was revealed that John was alive. She didn’t take the news well, of course, and just like Hudson, chose to cut ties with Taylor. However, she was far from being as polite and restrained as Joey managed to be…
Relationship with John: I feel like I’ve already talked about this a lot… but I can do it again! So, to summarize, the aerial fight still happens and is the last fully canonical event that happens in my AU when it comes to their relationship. Taylor is starting to get tired of the violence, and she doesn’t want to kill him. Not knowing what to do, she decides to temporarily take him to “her” bunker (McClean Residence) and stitch him up before going to John’s Gate and getting all the remaining hostages out without destroying the bunker, as she knows there are entire families living inside. Since he’s nowhere to be found and his plane exploded, people immediately assume he’s dead, and Taylor doesn’t dare to tell the truth when they all congratulate her. The Baptist is now her roommate and technically her prisoner, unbeknownst to everyone else. They slowly learn to tolerate and appreciate each other, and even rely on one another, until Taylor can’t stand hiding this secret anymore and has to inform the Resistance. He promises he will support her, and he does. The cult quickly learns the truth as well, and while she loses some of her friends, the fact she spared John allows her to negotiate a truce. But at this time, as she will soon realize, not only are her feelings for him not just friendly anymore, but they may also be mutual… The aerial fight marks the end of John’s life in Far Cry 5, but in my AU, it’s the beginning of the one they will spend together :)
Relationship with Joseph: She doesn’t know what to think of Joseph because, for someone who has that much power and influence, he seems weirdly unassuming. Is this a facade or is he genuine? John seems terrified at the idea of disappointing him, but does this have anything to do with Joseph and what he could do, or is his little brother just very insecure? It takes a while for Taylor to be relaxed in his presence and figure him out, but when she does, she comes to trust him and his advice.
Relationship with Kim Rye: Of course, the relationship they have in the game changes in my AU when she learns the truth about John, but she doesn’t want to cut Taylor out of the Ryes’ life, as the Deputy seems to still genuinely care about them. She doesn’t understand why anyone would want to be with John, but Kim knows what it’s like to see your loved ones disapprove of your choices and your partner, so she can at least relate to Taylor in that regard. Also, it’s thanks to her godmother that Carmina was safely born, and Kim will never forget that.
Relationship with Mary May: Identical to the canonical one at first, but Mary May becomes a lot less friendly once she knows about John. Visibly and understandably bitter, she makes unkind comments and assumptions about Taylor, even in her presence. The Deputy is a little hurt and wants to set the record straight, but she also understands and accepts Mary May’s reaction. If she never wants to see her in the Spread Eagle again, so be it.
Relationship with Nick Rye: We all know Nick is a fan of the Deputy, so what happens when the coolest person you know falls in love with the man you hate the most? Anger, sadness, and confusion. He’s so upset that he tells her to stay away from him and his family, despite Taylor’s attempts to convince him she’s still the same person and won’t betray them. Too late, according to Nick. Years later, they will reconcile a little, but he will never forgive or trust John.
Relationship with Deputy Pratt: He’s the same with Taylor as he is in the game: a little snarky and less friendly than Hudson. When they meet again, it’s when Jacob agrees to let him go, and she barely recognizes him. Not really physically, but his personality seems so… different. He’s jumpy, mumbles things about “sacrifice”, and stopped making jokes. She’s told that people in the Whitetails can help him, so he will stay with them.
Relationship with Sharky: One of the few people who never lets her down, even when he knows John is actually alive. For this reason, and because of everything he already says and does in canon, Taylor would probably say Sharky is one of her best friends.
Relationship with Tracey: They only briefly meet at the jail and don’t really have time to talk. After it’s common knowledge that John survived, though, Taylor knows it would probably be hard for them to become friends…
Relationship with Wheaty: They never meet, at least not before the Collapse.
Relationship with Whitehorse: The Sheriff is her mentor, and like Jerome, she respects and looks up to him. For this reason, she also hates the idea of disappointing him, which happens anyway, of course… He admits he doesn’t understand her choices, but Hope County isn’t at war anymore thanks to her, so he’s grateful for that. Things will never be the same between them, but he doesn’t completely reject her and seems to still have some faith in her, so at least, there’s that.
RELATIONSHIPS, FAR CRY NEW DAWN
(non-applicable, see original post for the questions)
FAR CRY 5 INFO
Feelings on the Project at Eden's Gate in general: Negative at first, of course, but even though she could never fully approve of their actions, she eventually realizes a lot of the cult’s members, mostly those who stayed safely hidden, are normal people and families who just hope for a better life. She finds it hard not to have empathy for them, and they welcome her when many people in the Resistance reject her.
How did they feel about being seen as a savior to Hope County?: It was initially flattering and she did hope she could make a difference, but it also became overwhelming and stressful.
Peggie radio station, normal radio station, or no music?: It depends, but generally no music so she can focus on her environment.
In what order were the Heralds taken down?: This doesn’t really apply but she met them face to face in this order: John, Faith, and Jacob.
Say YES in Fall’s End church?: No, but she opened Jerome’s bible sooner.
Say YES in John’s bunker?: No.
Did they believe Joseph in the end?: Since she couldn’t find a rational explanation, she thought he was most likely telling the truth about the Voice and that, somehow, It had to be real.
Reaction to Burke and Virgil’s deaths: - (they live)
Reaction to killing Eli: - (he lives)
Feelings when killing Jacob: - (he lives)
Feelings when killing John: - (he lives)
Feelings when killing Faith: - (she lives)
Feelings when fighting Joseph: -
Most used weapon(s): Sniper rifle and other silenced guns.
Stealth or guns blazing?: Stealth.
Gun-for-hire(s) or fang-for-hire(s) most traveled with: Boomer.
FAR CRY NEW DAWN INFO
(non-applicable, see original post for the questions)
I’m tagging, but only if you feel like doing this too, @cheshire-cat-talks, @glowwormsmith, @strafethesesinners, @cassiemuldon, and my current Tumblr “biggest fans” @itsyogirlaustralia, @zombieunicornmasquerade, @lee-by-thy-side, and @la-grosse-patate :)
Colors challenge: choose an album for each color without repeating artists.
🖤 Born This Way - Lady Gaga
🤍 Songs from Final Fantasy XV - Florence + The Machine
💚 Sucker Punch Original Motion Picture Soundtrack - Various artists
💙 A Change of Seasons - Dream Theater
💜 Turbulences - L5
🩷 Rainbow - Kesha
❤️ Mulan (Bande originale française du film) - Various artists
I love having a question about farcry5 lore and immediately going to @lulu2992 's blog to scour up info, they always have it, it's like having a fairy godmother who brings you the exact answers you were looking for
There are so many things both real and implied by farcry5s lore it's difficult to remember everything, not to mention the things that were removed from the game before release
I want to make a little fake Bible (like we do in design work) of policies or implications of policies the cult had that I can play around with
I wrote a Seed Brothers x Reader fic ages ago and I have just picked it up again and my God, you're blog has helped me write so much. In about one day I've written 10,000 words.
Anyway, just telling you I really appreciate your work. Back to writing lmao x
Faith’s creepy disconnected ghost phones are one of my favorite things in FC5.
(Video and locations)
I only became more versed in Henbane after my first playthrough where I was visiting all the landmarks in the game, and now this reblog that included a non-implemented ghost phone jumped out to me strongly:
“Death doesn't frighten me. I'm free of my tethers now. Unbound by the judgment of others. Even as Faith, I was under the consuming eyes of the world. Child, whore, Madonna... I am so much more than all of that now. You could never grasp it. And you'll die before you get the chance.”
(Deleted dialogue)
We see in another ghost phone dialogue she discarded the persona of Rachel intentionally and with disdain, and now she is discarding the persona of Faith to become… what?
This feels a related to what Holmes said he intended for the character as lead writer, yet another Faith that Joseph made his sister-wife but who he was now coming to fear:
“Like most cult leaders, Joseph took advantage of all his followers. His relationship with the Faith you meet in the game was very similar to the others. This Faith was probably more fanatical and loyal to him… Though I think he was probably frightened of her and saw her as someone with the potential to take over the cult from him.”
(Source ; see also discussion with u/lulu2992 about the final cut of the game which made some alterations to Joseph’s characterization and left his exact relationship to Faith unexplored.)
I in fact doubt this new persona would have as much need for Joseph as the lost-child-now-fanatic-and-sadistic-woman who had been living for years as his new Faith.
I can see why it would be removed. There’s a line you always see in academics saying such and such is “beyond the scope of this paper.”
Faith and Joseph’s relationship was beyond the scope of 5, which seems from all the deleted content I've read in total to have been pared down to developing a relationship between the player and each of the Seeds.
But then this is why I love Henbane so much, because despite John and Jacob getting winnowed down Henbane remains about Faith and Tracey. She alone bested the narrative.
John and Mary May’s plotline was chopped away. What do you mean there was a mission called “FIND John and Mary May’s secrets”?
(Changes and Deleted Content Part 2)
Hey! Mary May matters a LOT more to me than a no-dialogue-murder-machine PC after I read a whole novel developing those two’s twisted relationship that wasn’t paid off!
In Jacob’s zone Staci’s dialogue portraying him as a converted lieutenant was cut as well as a greater role for Eli, etc
But then the Collapse writers utterly dropped the ball on Faith and wrote an unrelated character partly based on the then-incorrect wiki while doing an alright job with Jacob and John, I feel like I’m in purgatory about this character.
In the end her awesome and lost potential is haunting me the longest after my late discovery of the game.
I was tagged by @laindtt to recreate some of my ships using this picrew! Thank you :D
I don’t know who to tag because I’m not sure who has ships they would like to talk about (and hasn’t already been tagged), so if you see this post and are interested, consider yourself tagged :)
Anyway, I chose three of my favorite ships for this, none of them being canon:
The first is composed of two people from the same game but whose relationship isn’t canonically romantic. Even though some details had to be different in the three images (especially the tattoos in this one), I’m sure you’ll recognize this first couple ;)
The second pairing includes characters who are from the same franchise, but not from the same title. That said, they also both appeared in a spinoff, even though they don’t interact much. I wouldn’t say I ship them super hard or that I typically get very emotional about them, but I still really like the idea of them sort of being together. It’s fun to me :)
The third couple, however, is quite dear to my heart. It’s totally a crackship since those two characters are from completely different fictional universes, and they’ve been with me for about 13 years now, I think. I said almost two years ago that I wanted to talk about them, and I even have “new” drawings of them from April and August 2024, but… yeah, I still have to find the courage to do that :’) I doubt anyone else ships them too, but for now, just know that they’re very special to me 🖤
Actually, I’m curious; who do you think those six characters are? Drop your guesses in the notes or my inbox if you want :D
Hello.I'm learning the art of tattooing, and I've become interested in the meaning of John's tattoos.John has a star on his left arm, and as far as I can tell, he wanted to join the army(I have no idea what diamonds means like his luxury life style or something ) Also i noticed he have so many tattoos with birds and it confusing me with meaning.I think birds meaning are freedom for him or his obsession with them(I mean mission in the Church) There are a couple of tattoos that indicate his past as a lawyer.I have no idea what goat means but i think it means something biblical.What does that dagger mean?Does this mean that he was betrayed, or is it just his urges to hurt people?Also he sickle with arrows or man figure and i can't explain what it is.I don't think he got some of his tattoos out of boredom; I think he put meaning into every one of them.
Hello!
I talked a bit about his tattoos in the first and second posts in my “From the Inquisitor to the Baptist” series here and here :)
I don’t know if he wanted to join the army because that’s not mentioned anywhere, but it’s possible that birds represent freedom to him since they can fly, and that could be the reason he likes them. Maybe that’s why he loves planes too, actually!
Most of his tattoos definitely have religious meaning or something to do with the seven deadly sins. The goat, for example, symbolizes Lust, while the snake is for Envy and the peacock (feather) is for Pride. I’m not sure about the dagger, but it could just be a reference to the fact he cuts sins from people.
To me, the sickle may symbolize his role as the Reaper of Eden’s Gate, but we don’t know for sure and that’s open to interpretation.
I absolutely agree that John must have chosen his tattoos for a reason and that they’re not simply there to look cool. I don’t know if the dev(s) who designed them had a precise idea of their meaning, but theoretically, if we could ask John, I think he would be able to explain in detail what each of them is about.
