not your agent

“BOOYAH.”

ALIGNMENT - CHAOS

Red’s entire existence has always been around subverting expectations. After all, just because she’s an Octoling doesn’t mean that she has elite battle skills, amazing brains, or even her own brother’s loyalty.

She is who she is, and she’s not gonna change that to please. Yes, she’s going to state some ugly truths, but she is never one to manipulate, to slander.

“I still can’t believe someone did that. Like, seriously, what is wrong with people?” Uh oh. 

“Yeah, trying to interact with the public isn’t easy! Especially if they start, like scrutinizing everything you do. Sometimes they do that if they’re upset. I mean, I think you have two options. You could try to look friendlier, or you could really lean into the ass-kicking thing. Annaki’s kinda good for either, since their clothes are cute but also totally punk. If you wanna look friendly, you could maybe go for the Evolution Tee or Drive Tee with the Habaneros or Tigers? And if you’re going for a cooler look, maybe the Rockin’ Leather Jacket and Arachno Boots.”

“It felt hurtful at the time, but some Inklings aren’t as willing to understand what they consider...the lower masses. I’m just a commoner to them, so my opinion is not of importance to them.”

“It’s not all of their entourage that’s like that, so eventually, I hope that contact with people with a more open-mind is going to make them understand that...their point of view isn’t the only one that matters! Like their girlfriend - I met her a couple times! Very fresh, very open-minded, the kind of girl I’d willing be chillin’ with, you know the drill. If we had a skeleton, I’d say she’s bad to the bone!”

Red, please.

“Usually, when I’m tag-teaming with Meenah, we’re playing on that....good cop bad cop kind of vibe, so I like the idea of a Leather Jacket! Rockenberg makes some gnarly ones too. Might have to go and put some more pins and patches on it, but that’s totally radical! Thanks so much for your help!”

“Yeah, I know what you mean. I’m pretty sure my looks are at least half of the reason I draw as much attention as I do. It’s unfortunate, but we can work on changing it! And I don’t think it makes you a hypocrite at all. In the meantime, I’ve got ideas.”

“It’s all about confidence. You can be rocking pretty much any look you want as long as you’re showing it proudly. Walking around like ‘yeah, I know I look great’ really gets people to notice you. You wanna go for a consistent aesthetic too. I wouldn’t look great if I was wearing my cardigan and a robot helmet and that new bracelet thing, right? I’d look horrible. But with the earrings and shoes I’ve got, I look like a refined schoolgirl, and that’s the look I wanna capture. Do you have any ideas for the look you’re going for?”

“I mean, I ain’t dressing like a hobo, but I don’t want another asshole telling me that if I’m not happy, I can just go back to my hole in the dirt.”

Yups, she still isn’t over that, despite that happening months ago.

“Confidence isn’t the issue, after all of the time I’ve been yelling around - I got quite the thick skin - most of the time, anyway.”

“It’s just...This public relations thing is a lot more complicated and requires more calculation than I thought!”

“You could always make a utilitarian town! And you might like the new one, there’s lots of material gathering and crafting.” She grins, striking a bit of a confident pose as Red talks about fashion. That…wasn’t what Metry expected from her, but she’s gonna roll with it. “Sure, I’d love to teach you! Where do you wanna start?”

“I hate to admit it, but it seems like our message is having a easier time getting across when the ones saying it looks....at least conventionally attractive. So...I thought - maybe I do need a slight relooking, nothing radical!”

“But...honestly, I don’t really know what I should start with, and since your fashion is always top-notch, I was hoping you could give me some pointers.” 

“An equal future, with good opportunities for everyone. With no dumb discrimination and other bullshittery” 

Despite not living under pressure in Octo Valley, nor undergoing the trials of the Deepsea Metro, Red isn’t much different in the IF timeline than she is in the main timeline.

She is still a knight errant, willing to do everything for what she sees as justice. Inkopolis might be a united society when you look at it quickly, but there are still issues underlying below.

Her association with the Nobody movement is absolutely still a thing - the only difference is that she didn’t completely burn bridges with her elder brother, a renowned sociologist that she loves to bother about social justice and other problems.