Oh my oh my i love this child so much Everything just works so perfectly, his design is amazing everything is just so aa Ive always wanted to win a dta, and hopefully this little guy will finally win me one Its like that one relatable experience where your taking your first cousins once removed to a playground intended for 7 and 8 year olds bc theyre 7 and 8 and even though you were originally planning on just watching from afar, you see a monkey bar and then force yourself to climb on it just to prove that you can because you never could when you were eight and it was really embarrasing relatable, no? /lh Nah, but enough rambling, heres all the good stuff The backstory is based off of one i did a while ago for another dta but never finished i kinda wanted redemption? I dont really know, but here it is hope yall enjoy ^^ [ BACKSTORY ] Riley had everything he could’ve possibly wanted--a huge, manorly estate with baronial-esque rooms that told tales of a more feudal time, promises of inheriting an extremely successful family business that many would kill for even the smallest share of, endless luxuries and amenities that filled his world to the brim--yet all of it seemed rather lacking. The boy was forbidden from taking even a mere step outside of the expansive property, and although though there were countless available pastimes and activities scattered across his home that were only an utter of a request away from being able to engage in, these couldn’t quench the insatiable thirst for adventure that Riley yearned to appease. Only stepping outside the gate could do that. For three months he pondered about the world outside the menacingly tall golden gates dazzled with pearls and gems that glimmered underneath the sun’s glaring golden light that surrounded the premise, each day theorizing on a new hypothesis as to what truly was out there. Some days, monsters with sharp teeth and even sharper claws roamed in a desolate landscape, and on others, the realm outside was nothing short of paradise with lush flora and shimmering waters that extended as far as the eye could see. These were hopeless fantasies--Riley knew that--but the appeal of a more adventurous society drew him in closer and closer until eventually he made up his mind and decided to leave once and for all. On his sixteenth birthday, he told his parents the news, and although they tried to convince him that there was nothing worth seeing out there, the attempt was futile; alas, he remained adamant about the prospect. Words were beckoned back and forth throughout the room, and ideas and agreements were thrown into gambit after gambit as the intense game of living chess roared on. Despite the competition, Riley still continued with argument after argument, refusing to give in no matter how hopeless the cause seemed to be, and, eventually, his parents reluctantly agreed to his demands, leaving him with nothing but their blessing and a small sum of money as he was escorted outside the towering gates that had been the border of the world for ever so long. Their final words to him that evening were not, ‘I love you,’ or even a mere, 'Goodbye,’ but instead a warning. “The world is an evil place filled with evil things. Keep your head low, and stay out of trouble,” they had exhorted, albeit a bit late. Riley was already bolting out into the unknown, heeding little attention to what his guardians had advised. Some stories start at the beginning. This is where Riley's story began. . .
At first, he did unknowingly follow his progenitors’ directions over the course of a week or so, but one night as he wandered the streets, he came across an eerie sign loosely hanging from a rusty nail on a telephone pole scribbled on with handwritten ink asking for information about an organization called the 'Mutineers' with one thousand dollars as reward. Riley was instantly intrigued. The vagueness of the message, the strange numbers hanging off of the ends that he was certain didn’t belong to the local police station, and, of course, the promise of a hefty sum of money he yearned to own--all of it beckoned him to learn everything that he could about the ever so mysterious Mutineers. He spent days on end searching through the stacks of newspapers that the town’s library had archived, endlessly gazing down the towering bookshelves that taunted him in his quest. Hours upon hours were exhausted scouring for at least one headline, and so much energy was wasted simply stacking books off of shelves. Despite all his effort, it took him several days to at last reach his own fountain of youth with, instead of immortality, flowing waters of knowledge. On just one long ago day had there been but a single mention of the congregation, yet Riley immediately was engrossed in the article. It told the tale of a gang of street urchins banding together to steal from the rich and give to the poor just as ancient fables had dictated. It was a story of compassion, of greed, and, most prominently, rising up against the odds to do what was right. He fell in love with the ideals that the archive described and was determined to find the group and join them. What had started as a quest for money had morphed into an adventure for self-fulfilment, and he was set on doing just that. The Mutineers weren't what Riley imagined them to be. He had found them after a long and tiring pursuit of pickpocketer who had stolen from an elderly lady, for one, and he, too, had quickly discovered the sophisticated and charitable organization he had dreamed about to be nothing more than a gang of angsty teenagers who wanted an excuse to steal things. The scene would have been repulsive to any righteous man. Dirty looks followed him everywhere he went, and dozens of goods likely stolen from the most vulnerable citizens were lain scattered across the floor; it was abhorrent--even the air itself smelt of wickedness. His heart fell. Clearly, these Mutineers were nothing like the heroes he fell in love with at the library, and it was clear to him that the most reasonable decision would be for him to turn them in and reap the bounty. Yet, as he contemplated this, a longing began to churn inside him. It was a longing to join the Mutineers. Riley had no idea as to why he felt this need; logic dictated that he should simply turn his head to such a blasphemous discovery. Reason said to ignore these runaways and common thiefs whose ideals clearly failed to match his own. But despite this--against everything his brain was commanding him to do--the yearning persisted. It was festering like a sore, and it simply refused to leave the boy alone. He knew he had no choice; he knew what he had to do. "I would like to," he boldly declared as the murmurs began to fade, "join the Mutineers." --- Days had passed, yet Riley still failed to feel that he had become an important part of the Mutineers. Sure, the organization had relunctantly accepted, but they also seemed to had agreed to only give the newcomer the most obsolete tasks behind his back. His most salient jobs consisted of merely ordering takeout for after gigs were completed and perhaps taking out the trash if, of course, the contents consisted of nothing important--yes, he felt dismissable, small. It seemed that Riley would never be a true Mutineer. But that was about to change. (To be finished)
