Something something the Huntress and her hound idea with Pooks where the Huntress was originally a survivor in her own game of hide and seek against a group of Aristocrats that ended up with her killing the may lead and taking over only to find out it was the wife that perpetuated it and forcing her to join the hunt.
They're a PA/ ex-pop duo where the PA very rarely actually makes sight in the trial floor, because she makes her dog do the work. While she remains just out of pounds to sharp shoot, her hound runs around to guide you into her areas with the cue in of a dog whistle in the distance to finish the job the Huntress has started.
In game the hound responds like a relentless chaser, able to vault walls and jump across two person areas, not specifically to harm you, but to try and desperately get you into one of the Huntress hunting spots. If the dog succeeds, they will immediately make a b-line for another reagent once the Huntress has the first in sight until their time runs out, or if she fails she will eventually time out of her chase on her own. She's obnoxious and annoying but not the biggest threat.
As for the Huntress she can just barely be located through her voicelines in the distance and the gleam of her rifle from afar, with her only being visible in very specific spots (such as the wide open balcony of the Courthouse.) If you can see that gleam you are in danger, as due to her being up above in Hunting coops, she can hit you no matter what unless you are actively hiding or make it into an enclosed area. It is only safe to move when the scopes gleam is gone as she actively cannot see well without it, though how well she can see you without changes depending on the difficulties, as on standard you would be able to maybe walk through or crouch jump before she's able to draw, but with Psychosurgery anything but a slow crouch walk is an immediate shot on sight.
Their main trial would likely be a giant Mansion similar to the one the initial hunting games took place in, with a grand outdoor space and similar interior areas but Oomf and I didn't actually get to making the trial itself so uhhhhhh nothing there yet lol but their PA trap would be those large metal beartraps that snap shut around the ankle that you would have to break free from, but can also be used to catch the hound and other ex-pop to slow them down for a bit if they run over them.
Okay. I was kinda on the point that Coyle was writing jank cause he was rushing and on drugs...
He's literally writing everything phonetically. The words are written exactly how he speaks them, they are written phonetically with a southern accent. He is just spelling everything out how he says it. I genuinely do not believe he can spell at this point-
Anyways. Oomf actually realized this while we were reading it out I'm just a bitch who deserves the credit cause I'm cool.
Given the stink I've seen around this topic I would like to preface that nowhere in this post do I call or claim Coyle to be stupid.
I said he can't spell. Nothing more.
Coyle canonically goes to a camp (or whatever it was) at a young age for being troubled. He was sent away as a troubled youth to a place he was likely never properly sat down and taught how to spell. This in no way implies he's stupid.
If your first instinct to someone spelling poorly or phonetically is that they are unintelligent or stupid, you need to sit and think about why because in my opinion that's mildly ableist. There are countless different reasons one may not be able to spell that has nothing to do with intellect. Coyle is shown to be incredibly intelligent and if he truly cannot spell well it doesn't diminish that.
Ferris' position after becoming an aid is a very strict, by the book, no ifs, ands, or buts type of position set in place to keep her isolated and in a more steady hold. She has shown she can go beyond the therapy, that she is capable of doing worse by Easterman than even he had initially planned, so delegating her to aid was done specifically to keep her from stepping outside of his bounds again.
Relationship with reagents:
As an aid, Ferris naturally is forced to interact and guide both new reagents, and old. She has been put in place in an attempt to raise the average grade seen upon newcomers, as well as to encourage more seasoned reagents to try and attempt the harder therapy levels, as in Easterman's words, they give more promising feedback due to the added stimulants and threats. She is that extra pair of hands, or the easy bait needed to allow the others to get through without entirely babying them through the trials.
Relationship with Ex-pop and Assets:
One of the main tasks Ferris has been prompted to take care of is to keep enemy attention on herself as to keep them from overwhelming her team. She is to bait and trail the different enemy factions away from major objectives and to allow her team ample time to actually figure out a task, or offer them time to simply get it done without being bombarded by attacks on harder settings. She is to take the hit instead of letting another be downed because of her.
Relationship with tools and tasks:
Despite being the guide, Ferris is not actually allowed to help with the main tasks of the trials. She is to teach, and nothing more. She may not complete objectives, and must hand over major tools. Anything that may sway the team's actual score, she is not allowed to influence. Because of this, her loadout has also been greatly restricted as to not allow her any chance to overstep her boundaries.
What she is not permitted to use are shown below.
Rigs: Stun, Blind, Jammer.
Amps: Cacophony, Lock Breaker, Hide and Breath, Hide and Heal, Hide and Restore, Invisible, Strong arm, Surplus, Boosted, Self revive.
Items: Bricks, Bottles, Boosters, Syringes.
Other: Hiding spots, Confidential rooms.
Protocol set in place:
Given her past transgressions and her apparent resilience towards the therapy, Ferris' grading and trial necessities have also been greatly altered to better facilitate her towards obedience.
Death is not an option within her guidance, as death is an immediate fail for everyone on the team, and a forceful return to the sleep rooms with a permanent F on their sheets. To ask of her for aid, is to depend on her for aid, and if she fails, everyone fails with her.
She is to be thoroughly watched throughout her trials, to make sure she does not become physical with the Ex-population and any other enemy by extension, or the trial is to be immediately wiped with everyone getting a permanent F grade on their sheets. She has shown the capacity to take a life and gravely injure another, and should not be trusted to not do so again.
It is also imperative that she not push the boundaries of what she is allowed to actually aid with. She may carry heavy items like chemicals, or boxes, but she cannot actually pour their materials or grind them herself. She is not to complete any objectives period, or it is also an immediate fail, and a permanent F for everyone. She is to guide and teach her disciples, not to hold hands and complete the trials for them.
As long as she follows the parameters of her position and her team completes their objectives, she will always receive an A+ grade, regardless of her performance within the trial itself, because to be graded is no longer of importance to her, nor Easterman's studies.
Given that within a team, you can have up to four people, and there are only four doors and four seats on the train, Ferris wouldn't follow like a regular reagent if aid is requested of her, not that Easterman would permit her to even touch the train system after her involvement with the Escape event.
When her aid is requested by a fellow reagent or group, Ferris would be escorted from the sleep room by Murkoff guards to be moved to the Ex-pop doorways where other NPCS as well as revived/ reconnected Reagents are able to return back into the trial.
In game mechanics:
Within an actual game setting, Ferris would not be a permanent solution within the trials, given I feel her AI would overtake the game in a way that would ruin the fun of it. So, like the Ex-pop, Ferris would only spawn into the game when called upon.
If you requested her within a trial, you'd get two new prompts to converse with, one that would allow you to call for her and another to dismiss her. When you call for Ferris, and what exactly you're doing, would alter what response her AI would take up upon spawning into the trial. I do believe along with this she would have a mild cool down to when you could call her again as well as a timed despawn if she spends too long without a task.
No active progression - She'll lead to the closest, or next objective.
In the middle of an objective - She'll help carry objective items or cover you while you move to the objective point.
In the middle of a chase - Will become the target of the enemy in order to give you time to escape.
Other aid - Will offer items based on what you need, as well as will point out secondary objectives upon passing. Will also immediately deflect to team prompts if you need a boost, to open double doors, or to jump across a space.
Now because of her setbacks, Ferris naturally would be more helpful in certain trials compared to others. Whereas she could help carry vials of chemicals in Poison the Cattle, or be the bait in the tiny areas of Pleasure the prosecutor, for trials like Empty the Vault, or Sentence the Prosecuted, her aid would be much better left to support, as she cannot use the Decoder, nor can she put in the codes.
Again she's not meant to be a clutch or to baby you through the trials, but an extra pair of hands in time of need.
With the type of powerhouse she is and her knowledge of the trials due to having been here since day 1, Ferris is impossible to portray 100% and therefore she is impossible to mimic. The differences are night and day even with the best trained invaders, as it's still far too obvious which is the real Ferris and which isn't, so her implementation is removed long before it's even attempted.
Following this, it also makes Ferris' role as an aid within invasion entirely overpowered. With only one Ferris, she's obviously always a safe bet, and given Ferris takes the lead in attacks when enemies spawn in, she'd always end up the first target of spawned invaders. Using Ferris within invasion would almost be akin to a get out of jail free card, and because of this, Ferris is removed entirely as an option within invasion alongside the other easy cheats and amps.
Another commission I did recently for the absolutely wonderful @coryphaeus-of-god !!! Thank you so much again for you continued support I absolutely adore every chance I get to work with you!!!
Knowing I also have to redesign Ferris for Trials despite having used the exact same concept for almost 2 years now is ten times more daunting than changing her for zombies every two weeks
Another AF piece and it's for my bestest @//buggiiguts because I have actually just stopped participating to draw friends OCS and do commission work ♥️✨
After like a year of nothing the new trailer actually had me excited for Trials for once and who knows, maybe it'll give me the energy to actually redo the Ferris stuff I've needed to cause she has a whole new outfit and everything but hnnnnnn
I'm upset it's not an actual Panopticon, Oomfs upset it's not an actual Prison Farm, Red Barrels how did you fuck up not one but TWO different types of containment Google is right there.
