#zspeaksjoy

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Ok, I just started Ollie's act, and the FIRST FUCKING CUTSCENE shows why I find Arthur a hilarious character

LOOK AT THIS MAN

HES SO SILLY. SO STRESSED.

Don't get me wrong. He's kinda an asshole. Kinda (he's repressed, it's even in his skill tree lmao). But damn is he dramatic as hell.

Also, slightly unrelated but still bout Arthur. Homie is so self pitying in Sally's act. Like holy shit.

He's just sulking. Bout to tell me it's Self Preservation and shit XD

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Y'all help. We Happy Few has me in a damn choke hold now. Apparently my list of favorite genres now includes "WDYM there's something wrong? Nuh-uh, take your happy pills" and i-

Idk what that says about me.

Just something about it scratches my brain so good. Like the aesthetic is so fucking good. Genuinely thinking about a society like that is fascinating to me. Like, people being almost forced to forget everything negative. I Utopian Dystopia. I am such a sucker for stories where everyone is happy (like really fluff heavy), and I am a sucker for angst and characters being put in tough situations. So like. Thinking about it I'm not surprised this is as exciting as it is to me.

It is a horror that isn't gore and super dark. Like, don't get me wrong, the game is plenty dark, but not in the way horror usually is. It's dark partially BECAUSE of everyone being "happy". It literally gives me the dark aspects I crave in the fluffy casing I need in order to be able to fully connect with it. And it's so fucking refreshing.

Also, I really want to make something about if Arthur took his Joy in the beginning of the game (so like he isn't a downer, at least not fully. Idk it's just interesting to me) and he and Sally reconnect. Like, it's just and Every Man being just a normal cog in the machine, and then this woman who he used to be closer comes back into his life. Maybe by that point he barely remembers Percy, because of his Joy use, and the moment that he would have remembered him by is denied (since he takes the pill instead). Then, once he has to choose to either turn Sally in or keep her secret, ESPECIALLY with her having a baby, I think that would also be enough to nudge him off of Joy. Even if it's purely becuase of the moral delema of a long lost friend taking a different path, so now he has to examine his own thoughts.

Like I find the world so fricken cool that they built in this game, but I really want to know what it's like as someone who's IN civilization. Downers are outcasts. That's just how they are. But what about the Wellies who take their Joy every hour on the hour and live in relative bliss.

I think it's just I really like angst, and the best way for this particular flavor of angst to hit best imo is to show just HOW good things are as a "normal person" for a decent length of time, then getting hit with the complete opposite of what you've been hearing and realizing you've been lied to for the past,,, 10 or 20 years??

Idk man. I've been hyperfixating hard. I just started playing the game like 3 days ago because I randomly remembered it existed like last week and now it's all I can think about.

And I'm loving it. I'm Snug like a Bug on a Drug.

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I've had a thought - shocking I know. Sally, Percy, and Arthur grew up around each other, right? Even if they weren't like best buddies, they still were neighborhood friends. Ollie was Arthurs neighbor, Jack and Margret lived in the same area, Percy and Eddie were friends.

Meaning they all could've been friends as kids. Not like in a meaningful way, but like when your parents go "hey go outside, come back when it's dark" and they just happen to be the other kids outside.

Now I want random stuff for them as kids running around. Arthur refusing to be around Sally cuz he has a crush on her but doesn't want to admit it. Percy and Sally finding something cool and they both focus on only that, which annoys Arthur to know end cuz he finds it dumb. Margret being the actual mom friend of the group even though she would rather not be there - she has full custody of the braincell. Eddie and Percy wander off while Arthur and Margret argue about who the parent friend is, only for her to ask where Percy is. The group randomly deciding the thing to do is try to sneak into Ollie's house and take something fucking dumb, and him just kinda playing along cuz he's watched these kids grow up. Margret acting like she doesn't care about them at all but she enjoys being around them at times.

Idk I just think it would be cute. I want them to have some fun stuff before the trauma lol

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Imogen and Eugene

Eugene Ridgewell-Turner and Imogen Nightingale were always aware of each other. Their families both owned shops in Hamelin, and had a healthy friendly rivalry between them, leading to the two being around each other a decent amount in childhood despite being four years apart. When she needed a third party for a school research project to interview, he was there to give her not so helpful answers to lighten the mood of her paper. When he needed a "test subject" for his science projects, she was quick to volunteer. She and her family were at his graduation, cheering for him.

Eugene and Imogen had both helped out their respective families businesses since as soon as they were able to pick up a box. It came as no surprise that they were both involved in the businesses the older they got, or that they would inherit them in the future. What was a shock was when Imogens father told her when she was 17 that he was going to help out with the war. It had always been only Imogen, her brother, and her father - he had come from overseas and was a single father. This meant he was leaving the store and her brother in her hands. He promised he would come back. 

When the time came, she stepped up and took charge with little complaint. Eugene was aware of what had happened, as was the rest of the Ridgewell-Turners, so he did what he could to help. He made sure to prioritize her shop so that they would get as much traction as possible, whether it be putting up ads or recommending products. She was thankful for the assistance. He would stop by regularly to help with maintenance, or to help watch over her brother, or simply to make sure she had eaten that day. He'd frequently stop by their house to help her take care of her brother so she would have time to herself. During the next four years, they grew close. They weren't just family friends anymore, but actual genuine friends. 

Imogens brother had been born in '35, meaning he was on the logs to go to Germany in 1947 with the children under 13. She wanted to keep him, to not let him go - they could just keep him in the attic, tell him to stay quiet. Or he could stay in the back of the shop, away from people. Eugene was there to help comfort her, knowing there wasn't much they could do. He'd most likely have a safer chance going on the train than staying. So, when the time came, her brother went. Her, and Eugene, and the Ridgewell-Turners, all went to the station to see him off.

From that day Eugene moved in with her. She had lost the only biological family she had, he wasn't going to leave her alone to fester in the house she had shared with them. He knew that wouldn't be good for her. Over the next few years, the two watched as the sleepy town of Wellington Wells began eating itself from the inside. The news of the children not coming back sent ripples throughout the town, and their home. They both found themselves mourning the loss of her brother. 

He continued getting more and more deals around the village, helping to advertise the local brands, as usual. With the growth of the television, he changed his brand from just newspaper ads to televised ones. He continued to bolster the local shops as well as a new project when one Miss Victoria Byng approached him about it. 

He began to advertise the Happy Masks, and Joy while it was still in production. He had the peoples trust, at least a decent amount of the working class in Hamlyn, so having him try to get them on board was logical in Byngs head. And it worked like a charm. 

Throughout this time, Imogen began to slowly get more and more reclusive. It was nice having Eugene stay with her, but it didn't change that she no longer had any family. Her father never came back, neither did her brother - and her mother had always been out of the picture. Even with Eugene being there, she was still reminded of the empty space in the house. After a while, she was only seen going from her store, to her house - occasionally she was seen in the gardens, tending to them, but it was rare. 

With the invention of Joy, she was skeptical. As good as it sounded, she didn't trust it - no way was there a drug that would make her just... forget. That, as Eugene had reassured her, would make the house barrable again. That would make the emptying streets inviting again. She didn't trust it in the slightest. However, Eugene managed to convince her. He was open with her about the side effects, about it causing forgetfulness and the terrible withdrawals, about the potential for there to be hallucinations in a few cases - though they had been a fairly small amount at the time, since this was before strawberry. He told her the good too. She relented, mainly thanks to his openness, and that had been the freest she had felt in a long time.

She was all smiles, actively leaving the house to go to parties and enjoying herself. Eugene was glad to see his lifelong friend happy again. He hadn't seen it in a while. As more people went on holiday, they started getting more business at Imogens store, meaning they were focusing more and more on their personal endeavors. She started looking more into botany, something she had always had a small interest in - might as well, she was feeling motivated to do so. He gladly helped wherever he could. 

While she was opening up more, Eugene was shutting himself off slowly. He wasn't sure who he was outside of his business, since that had been a major part of his life since he was younger. Now that he was on television, he had appearances to keep - meaning the mask always stayed on. And, he couldn't help but feel responsible for Hamlyn having less business. Imogen saw it as a blessing, since they were getting more traction, but he knew the reasoning. He knew the other store owners weren't on holiday. He was friends with most of them, if they were leaving they would've told him. 

Eventually Eugene was given a deal he couldn't pass up - once again from Byng. There was a new program opening up, Joy Doctors as she called them. With Joy picking up steam, getting used more widely, and there being a new one on the way, there needed to be people to make sure everyone was on Joy, to make sure everyone was happy. And she wanted to offer him a spot. The people trusted him, and what better way to get people on board with this new program than someone trusted being a part of them, and one good with marketing, at that. He agreed, why wouldn't he? He had already helped this much. 

Despite not being a full doctor, he was trained how to tell if people were on Joy or not. And he personally began looking into psychology, figuring that could be a way to actually help. He had never been one for medicine, but he knew people. 

When Strawberry Joy came out, Imogen tried it. She liked it, though Vanilla was her flavor of choice. She had been a social butterfly now that Joy had given her the space to be free of everything. At a party, they had been passing out Joy as a party favor, and who was she to say no? It was normal to pass them out, and it was all anyone was talking about, so she took one. 

Almost immediately she felt terrible. Feelings she didn't have the words for since she hadn't had to name them in years came flooding through her. It felt like everyone was staring, watching her, judging her for her past actions, no matter how small. She held herself together and made it home. The next day she held herself in her room, Eugene coming to check on her several times. 

The eyes wouldn't go away, even with no eyes in the room. She couldn't escape the feeling of being watched. This went on for a few weeks before Eugene picked up on what was happening. He had been told by those higher than him that if someone has a negative response to Joy, they should spend some time in the Garden District, and when they are ready they go through the rehabilitation center to rejoin society. 

He, again, convinced her to go to the Garden District, saying there were people there who would help her. She agreed without much fuss. They together went to the District, and he returned home alone that day. The next several weeks the store was closed - the owner went away on holiday, after all - and after his rounds as Doctor Ridgewell-Turner he would wait on the bridge for her to come back. 

Imogen knew she should go through the center, rejoin society and her best friend. He was probably worried sick about her. The first day, she had tried, but she again had a bad reaction to the Joy. The next day, she didn't try. Or the next. Or the next. And for once, she actually allowed herself to think about stuff she shoved aside. The eyes never left her, but they were with her as she tried to process her brother and father not being there anymore.

After three months, he was tired of waiting. The guilt of it was eating at him as each day passed, and finally he was going to actually help. He went in one night to find her. She had found a house on the outskirts that no one seemed to have claimed. She was skeptical of him, now having been off Joy for a while and still having minor effects from the bad batch, but went with him. She didn't trust him the way she had for the past years, since he seemed to be going along with anything Byng and the Committee was saying without question in her eyes. But she wanted to go home.

He snuck her through the town that night, and she returned to her bed. But her reclusiveness came back, now not wanting to leave at all. She refused to go outside, since it would bring back her hallucinations. He would bring her whatever she needed whenever she wanted - it was the least he could do for her. He blamed himself for what happened to Imogen, for not being there for her. He was harsher on himself than she was about it.

They found themselves working on rebuilding their relationship. The store was open again, but he hired someone to run the storefront so that Imogen wouldn't have to be around people - she and Eugene could restock at night. She turned their backyard into a greenhouse, sending Eugene to find plants for her to populate it with, a lot of them from the Garden District. He continued his work as Doctor, and she continued staying out of the public and tending to her garden. They managed to fall into a routine they both enjoyed, sharing meals together and spending time together when he was home. 

Even if they weren't taking Joy, and they both had problems needing to be addressed, they were happy again.

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I want to formally apologize for this in advance. This is a mess.

I just want y'all to know. There is now a Hastingsverse. This is what happens when I get high with a friend and we bs our way through brainstorming AUs for We Happy Few. Mainly centered around Arthur and Percy.

(also, I wanna say, Child Gang is always the same in all of these. Child Gang is before the train, and these all diverge off of the train)

The AUs in question:

Act 4: Arthur leaves Wellington like base game, Percy and his wife Evelyn goes to find Arthur in Wellington at the same time as him leaving. Percy escapes with Evelyn, Sally, and Gwen, Arthur finds them outside Wellington. The brothers reconnect, they all move into Evelyn and Percys house, now they're one big happy family with their daughters Gwen and Maevis living on the French countryside. In my head this is canon. No one can convince me otherwise. This is the main one I post about honestly. Can thank @fall0utboi12 for this au being engraved in my brain.

Arthur2: Percy left Arthur on the train. After he starts taking Joy, he basically convinced himself that he is Arthur. By the time the game happens, he's gaslit everyone enough - including himself - that he is actually Arthur. The game plays out like normal, but by the end you learn you're actually playing as Percy, not Arthur. (Also, sidenote, Arthur2 and Sally still kiss. She thinks he's actually Arthur until after he leaves cuz of 'self preservation', then she realizes that he can't be Arthur, realizes she just kissed Percy, and has a minor breakdown. Fun). When Percy leaves Wellington, he finds Arthur, who's now a higher up on some big company. And also a stoner. He lives in a normal apartment even tho he has hella money, and Evelyn lives literally across from Arthur. Arthur/Sally and Percy/Evelyn still happens. They still have their daughters. Can also thank @fall0utboi12 for this.

The Lone Brothers: Technically this is two separate AUs, but basically it's either Arthur or Percy try to leave Wellington after their brother left, and when they leave they do find their brother, but he's dead. These two are easily the saddest in this group. They must be protected. Ok really you can thank @fall0utboi12 for all of these.

The Wellington Brothers: Percy and Arthur both managed to not go on the train. They lived out their lives in Wellington, perfectly content. And they only leave because of the stuff Victoria was doing and Wellington becoming dangerous due to it. They fully drank the koolaid honestly.

The Train Brothers: They both got on the train and went to Germany together. Probably the most normal out of the group honestly, since there isn't any Joy involved.

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The Bully Busters but it's Percy, Arthur, and Sally when they were like 11 and 12 as Chester, Wayne, and Jamie respectively.

And Ollie is just watching these dumbass kids doing what dumbass kids do.

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