~I'm a member of a something, and also wink
HEY WANT SOME SKETCHES
Sudden reappearance of an AU we haven't seen in a while! As well as Mousey GET A JOB MOUSEY
Actual violence, threats of violence, the usual. DISEMBOWELING ho hum. Also kisses. Those two things go together sure
I remember talking with knackster about this idea a million years ago and finally got around to it. SURROUNDED BY ZOMBIES MIGHT NOT BE THE BEST PLACE TO GO THROUGH NICOTINE WITHDRAWAL
Jockey and Charger have no idea how serious Hunter's warning is, haha. She's seen Smoker trying to quit before.
Ugh the stupid page bent near the bottom, bleh.
SMOKER IS TERRIBLE TO EVERYONE: THE MOVIE
She still can't quite bring herself to be explicitly terrible to Charger but is still generally rude/annoying/unhelpful. SHE'S VERY UNHAPPY
Surely Hunter's found a solution
Turns out slapping Smoker to calm her down actually just makes her angrier OOPS
Very close to not listening to Charger but eventually backs down and decides to take it out on some chairs instead. STUPID CHAIRS THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT
The best tasting cigarette in the world.
Smoker does feel bad about being such a jerk though. They don't immediately forgive her in spite of accepting her apology but after a while things go back to normal, haha.
When she calms down she goes back to her normal speech patterns with the old slang and such - when she gets too angry/her head hurts too much to think straight, she can't focus long enough to remember any of it. IT'S A CONSCIOUS AFFECTATION
A ROLLERCOASTER OF EMOTIONS
I could have done Everyone's a Little Bit Racist at first but technically that comes after If You Were Gay and i have to be CHRONOLOGICAL DARN IT
Either way Hunter not exactly happy about Christmas Eve, something that just completely slipped Smoker's mind when she took her to see it. OOPS
delcat was messing with the ukagaka and got all ;_; about them fighting and wanted to help them AND SO
Charger stacking stuff again, though it looks like this time she's got some dominos along with the cups.
Anyway I guess the vampire antics from the last time were lingering around BECAUSE
Completely making all of this up. I GUESS THEY'RE FIGHTING ZOMBIES AT NIGHT shhh
Charger's pretty quick to come up with a plan/remember she's a vampire, although Hunter just shuts down completely, haha. AAAAGH NOOOOO
I love how Smoker's this immortal vampire with all these powers and she still ends up having to be saved by her teammates all the time. SOME THINGS DON'T CHANGE I GUESS
i have no idea how vampires work
not even my own vampires
I'LL JUST MAKE UP A BUNCH OF STUFF I DON'T KNOW I GUESS THEY CAN HEAL WHAT???? WHO KNOWS
Of course a vampire goes nyum nyum while sucking blood what other noise would they make
Charger spends her time researching old vampire myths I guess
Hunter does not like being reminded of her own mortality. NO I WILL LIVE FOREVER, FOREVER
doesn't even consider also becoming a vampire, that's for chumps
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO THE GROUND
WHY WOULD OUR MYSTERIOUS BENEFACTOR INVITE US HERE, TO THIS STRANGE MANSION ON THE OUTSKIRTS OF TOWN IN THE MIDDLE OF SUCH A STORM??
The guy who got stabbed is Psychopro actually, haha. You can't really tell from that angle though.
Smoker's too short because I can't plan out anything and didn't draw the others low enough on the page durrr
ALL I COULD THINK OF FOR HUNTER WAS A KEATON MASK FOR SOME REASON
random tiny chibis on the side of each in dress/suit, why not
BUT WHY LEAVE IT AT THAT
There was this episode of Slayers TRY where they had to get some shrine on the top of some mountain or something, whatever. But they had to go up in pairs to go get it, and the pairs were randomly assigned by some weird ball machine. There are basically canon pairs (Lina/Gourry, Amelia/Zelgadis), but the ball machine instead did counter pairs (Lina/Zelgadis, Amelia/Gourry, Xellos/Filia I think) and then wacky antics ensued.
AND THAT IS THE ENTIRE REASON THIS EXISTS
i have no idea why the guy is asking. Although as a sidenote, that guy is the same guy that kicked Hunter out for not being a dude for that Parkour couch thing. I guess he came back??
ugh not DATING anyone stupid typos
I also realized at this point that Hunter should have a catmask DURRR. I also thought about giving Jockey a (space)pony mask but eh I couldn't get it to look right.
Man if Charger's the only person at the masquerade with dark skin then her mask won't really help hide her identity much (not that it's a big mask to begin with).
WHAT KIND OF MYSTERY IS THERE? WHO INVITED THEM? WHO KNOWS
Let's take a detour into zombieverse
SurvivorDavid! I think Jaz mentioned at some point that David's a researcher in general, so his knowhow about this kind of thing might come in handy during the aftermath or while they're developing a cure.
Those of you who knew Kaggie from before might be wondering if she's still a sociopath. LET'S FIND OUT.
THE ANSWER IS YES oh Kaggie you really just don't care about anyone
I actually mostly spent time trying to think of how they'd restrain a Charger so they could do whatever it was they wanted without getting murdered. The easiest thought was that they'd hobble them so they wouldn't be able to charge (from the game, a Charger can charge from a dead standstill, so it's not a matter of room really), so that'd stop them from being able to run. However they still have that giant arm to think of, which is sort of hard to tie down. Why wouldn't they just punch their way through a window? Here I've got a sort of chain but that doesn't quite work, cause why wouldn't they just try and yank the chain out of the wall? Even if it was a choke chain, if the Charger turned around and grabbed the chain to pull it, then they wouldn't be choking themselves. If they have the awareness to do that anyway, again they don't understand how doors work. Maybe something elastic? I dunno it's hard to pin down something.
BUT ANYWAY her feet are hobbled together and she's got something keeping her from reaching the windows to try and break them. I'm not sure how they sedate her to give her food or do stuff to her, probably via dart guns. I DUNNO THIS PROBABLY ISN'T THE IMPORTANT PART OF THE ENTIRE THING
Poor David just completely at a loss for what to do about this. The scientists have total control over the zombies and they're just zombies, they don't have rights anymore and it's not like anyone's going to check, it's the end of the world. The army has bigger problems since this is before the cure is found and the zombies are still running rampant. Even if he could break her out, what would he do then? She'd just murder him and run off. His best option is just to leave her there and hope they find a cure for her... but they won't even let her work with her to try and keep her safe. All he can do is visit and feel powerless. IT IS A TOUGH SITUATION
I could have inverted this with them catching a zombie David or whatever but eh this is off the Cured branch I feel like so the ladies would be zombies in general. IF DAVID SURVIVED THE WHOLE THING INTO THE CUREDVERSE BOY THAT'D MAKE THINGS COMPLICATED WOULDN'T IT in general I don't think he did though
I tried like every phrasing I could think of but I just couldn't see Kaggie referring to him by his first name, it just sounded weird. But nobody has any last names (most of them don't have FIRST names) so whatever, Mr Blank, sure.
Speaking of Cured zombies
Inspired by some Mousey behavior I saw on Tumblr recently. WHAT WAS IT THAT HUNTER SAID? YOU DECIDE
Mousey just wandering around sniffling loudly waiting for someone to ask her what's wrong.
Charger knows what's going on here.
Way to go Mousey.
Surprised Smoker hasn't gotten more notes like this in the past, or maybe she has and that's why she assumes it's Mousey's, haha. Just leaves them around her desk and Smoker just throws them away without reading them.
I had to redo the little stick figures because they didn't scan right arrgh. HER FANTASIES ARE SO REALISTIC
Mousey did legitimately get so caught up in the idea of Hunter hearing/reading it and also doesn't actually want to be there when Hunter reads it that it slipped her mind that Hunter was blind. OOPS.
Mousey so embarrassed about being forced to talk about it that she just takes the first apology Hunter offers and runs off, even though later she realizes that it's not good enough and she still feels kind of hurt and resentful. But she can't ask for ANOTHER apology, that'd be ridiculous. WHY IS SHE SO BAD AT THIS
Jockey's expert comforting skills.
Hunter promptly forgets about it while Mousey dwells on it obsessively for months.
NEVERMIND
Charger as usual shooting people down as bluntly as possible.
That'd be kind of a hilarious mental image though. Smoker just >:( the entire time, hahahaha. Tho she wouldn't be able to really say anything since she'd have her hands full and wouldn't be able to type on her phone. JUST SCOWL AT HER UNTIL MOUSEY JUST FEELS TOO UNCOMFORTABLE AND SAYS SHE'S FINE EVEN THOUGH SHE'S STILL HUNGRY
everyone is so well adjusted here
BUT WHY LEAVE THE FAILINESS THERE
Expertly done Mousey
I like that I do a comic where Charger can't feed someone because her hand is too clumsy then IMMEDIATELY do one right after where she's brushing her hair and teeth without a problem. CONSISTENCY
Mousey's image of Charger pre-infection must be very strange.
I was actually torn between her running away or just bursting into tears so why not do both
ugh typo
You're the most presumin dog that a human could know
Man it'd be weird to kiss someone when they have no tongue
Another kiss I sorta liked
ANYWAY I MENTIONED THAT AU UP THERE
WHICH ONE COULD IT BE
GANGSTER AU WHEEEEE
I actually have no idea what Smoker's card scam entails, something something diamonds who knows.
I feel like at this point the two of them have been workin for Charger for long enough to feel some loyalty to her, and she treats em well enough so they like her, but they aren't really super tied to her just yet. Spent too much time living on the streets to trust anyone easily, haha. Smoker in particular is a bit worried since she's the one who screwed up and got caught, even though Hunter punched some people anyway.
DRAMA dun dun dunnn
Jockey has absolute faith that Charger can do anything, haha. I'm guessing she's been with them for a while. Smoker's got a bad feeling about all of this.
Charger actually calls Jockey away with her to give Smoker and Hunter a few minutes of privacy, since she knows how close they are (how close exactly idk but close enough). Hunter's a little worried but trying to hide it. As a sidenote it's hard not to have her go dude all the time, haha.
Smoker's not entirely sure she's going to come back. SHE CAN'T TRUST ANYONE IN THIS TOWN, SHE'S BEEN DOUBLECROSSED BEFORE
GangsterCharger is even more serious business than her other iterations, haha. YOU GOTTA BE TOUGH TO SURVIVE IN THIS TOWN
Charger means it but Smoker is not quite convinced yet.
I figured that once Charger picked the two of them up, Hunter might have put in a word for some of her friends, so Jordan and Ray are probably lurking around in Charger's gang somewhere.
ugh i can never draw griffin right
PSYCHOPRO RETURNS AGAIN he's the only one not wearing a hat, the cad
well except Charger
Griffin assumes that David's in charge of the gang cause duh. I'd guess that Charger and David would mostly downplay their relationship while dealing with the underground to try and protect each other.
I feel like Griffin has some kind of specific grudge against Smoker for some reason, thus why he asked for her specifically instead of both of them, but I'm not sure what it would be. I don't think she ever worked with/for him and I don't think she really knows him or even talked to him before at all. Just some echo from their animousity in the main universe that I can't quite place the source of I guess. Maybe it'll come to me later.
Smoker pretty irritated at being called a man/a whore but doesn't say anything. SHE THOUGHT THEY'D ASK CHARGER TO GIVE HER UP AND SHE WAS RIGHT ALL ALONG OH NO
She's very scared at the thought of it but tries really hard not to show it. Psychopro can tell she's scared though and enjoys it quite a bit. I get the feeling he's sort of Griffin's pet psycho in this where he's sort of uncontrollable and weird A LOOSE CANNON haha
He's not actually cutting himself, he's just drawing the knife around his eye to freak Smoker out.
Jordan was standing right beside the table while everyone was talking, so flips it when he has the chance. THEN THERE'S A BUNCH OF CHAOS AND SMOKE BOMBS OR SOMETHING I DUNNO THEY ALL ESCAPE OR SOMETHING I DON'T KNOW HOW
It's sort of hard to tell but in that one shot with Jockey sitting next to her, Charger is very carefully putting a piece of cheese on a cracker, haha.
None of them are really happy about the idea of belonging to someone, but hey, if you gotta belong to someone you might as well belong to someone that'll take care of you. I feel like this whole thing, where Charger refused to give Smoker up to another gang to settle a score, is what really cements their loyalty to her. Smoker of course is grateful that she saved her life, essentially, and Hunter likewise is glad that Charger didn't just let Smoker get killed. At this point they decide that Charger's really the one they want to stick with, no matter what happens. Then later when Griffin kidnaps David or something they're more than willing to go to bat to help her out PLOT AND INTRIGUE who knows if I'll ever get to it, haha
It's also a way to sort of mirror how Charger usually leads them and tries to keep them alive in other scenarios, with a more business-y spin.
Dang I had an epilogue planned for this with Charger and David but I didn't have time to get to it, maybe next time.
I also posted this at dreamwidth with reluctant ambivalence. Comment here or there, don't matter to me!
Sudden reappearance of an AU we haven't seen in a while! As well as Mousey GET A JOB MOUSEY
Actual violence, threats of violence, the usual. DISEMBOWELING ho hum. Also kisses. Those two things go together sure
I remember talking with knackster about this idea a million years ago and finally got around to it. SURROUNDED BY ZOMBIES MIGHT NOT BE THE BEST PLACE TO GO THROUGH NICOTINE WITHDRAWAL
Jockey and Charger have no idea how serious Hunter's warning is, haha. She's seen Smoker trying to quit before.
Ugh the stupid page bent near the bottom, bleh.
SMOKER IS TERRIBLE TO EVERYONE: THE MOVIE
She still can't quite bring herself to be explicitly terrible to Charger but is still generally rude/annoying/unhelpful. SHE'S VERY UNHAPPY
Surely Hunter's found a solution
Turns out slapping Smoker to calm her down actually just makes her angrier OOPS
Very close to not listening to Charger but eventually backs down and decides to take it out on some chairs instead. STUPID CHAIRS THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT
The best tasting cigarette in the world.
Smoker does feel bad about being such a jerk though. They don't immediately forgive her in spite of accepting her apology but after a while things go back to normal, haha.
When she calms down she goes back to her normal speech patterns with the old slang and such - when she gets too angry/her head hurts too much to think straight, she can't focus long enough to remember any of it. IT'S A CONSCIOUS AFFECTATION
A ROLLERCOASTER OF EMOTIONS
I could have done Everyone's a Little Bit Racist at first but technically that comes after If You Were Gay and i have to be CHRONOLOGICAL DARN IT
Either way Hunter not exactly happy about Christmas Eve, something that just completely slipped Smoker's mind when she took her to see it. OOPS
delcat was messing with the ukagaka and got all ;_; about them fighting and wanted to help them AND SO
Charger stacking stuff again, though it looks like this time she's got some dominos along with the cups.
Anyway I guess the vampire antics from the last time were lingering around BECAUSE
Completely making all of this up. I GUESS THEY'RE FIGHTING ZOMBIES AT NIGHT shhh
Charger's pretty quick to come up with a plan/remember she's a vampire, although Hunter just shuts down completely, haha. AAAAGH NOOOOO
I love how Smoker's this immortal vampire with all these powers and she still ends up having to be saved by her teammates all the time. SOME THINGS DON'T CHANGE I GUESS
i have no idea how vampires work
not even my own vampires
I'LL JUST MAKE UP A BUNCH OF STUFF I DON'T KNOW I GUESS THEY CAN HEAL WHAT???? WHO KNOWS
Of course a vampire goes nyum nyum while sucking blood what other noise would they make
Charger spends her time researching old vampire myths I guess
Hunter does not like being reminded of her own mortality. NO I WILL LIVE FOREVER, FOREVER
doesn't even consider also becoming a vampire, that's for chumps
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO THE GROUND
WHY WOULD OUR MYSTERIOUS BENEFACTOR INVITE US HERE, TO THIS STRANGE MANSION ON THE OUTSKIRTS OF TOWN IN THE MIDDLE OF SUCH A STORM??
The guy who got stabbed is Psychopro actually, haha. You can't really tell from that angle though.
Smoker's too short because I can't plan out anything and didn't draw the others low enough on the page durrr
ALL I COULD THINK OF FOR HUNTER WAS A KEATON MASK FOR SOME REASON
random tiny chibis on the side of each in dress/suit, why not
BUT WHY LEAVE IT AT THAT
There was this episode of Slayers TRY where they had to get some shrine on the top of some mountain or something, whatever. But they had to go up in pairs to go get it, and the pairs were randomly assigned by some weird ball machine. There are basically canon pairs (Lina/Gourry, Amelia/Zelgadis), but the ball machine instead did counter pairs (Lina/Zelgadis, Amelia/Gourry, Xellos/Filia I think) and then wacky antics ensued.
AND THAT IS THE ENTIRE REASON THIS EXISTS
i have no idea why the guy is asking. Although as a sidenote, that guy is the same guy that kicked Hunter out for not being a dude for that Parkour couch thing. I guess he came back??
ugh not DATING anyone stupid typos
I also realized at this point that Hunter should have a catmask DURRR. I also thought about giving Jockey a (space)pony mask but eh I couldn't get it to look right.
Man if Charger's the only person at the masquerade with dark skin then her mask won't really help hide her identity much (not that it's a big mask to begin with).
WHAT KIND OF MYSTERY IS THERE? WHO INVITED THEM? WHO KNOWS
Let's take a detour into zombieverse
SurvivorDavid! I think Jaz mentioned at some point that David's a researcher in general, so his knowhow about this kind of thing might come in handy during the aftermath or while they're developing a cure.
Those of you who knew Kaggie from before might be wondering if she's still a sociopath. LET'S FIND OUT.
THE ANSWER IS YES oh Kaggie you really just don't care about anyone
I actually mostly spent time trying to think of how they'd restrain a Charger so they could do whatever it was they wanted without getting murdered. The easiest thought was that they'd hobble them so they wouldn't be able to charge (from the game, a Charger can charge from a dead standstill, so it's not a matter of room really), so that'd stop them from being able to run. However they still have that giant arm to think of, which is sort of hard to tie down. Why wouldn't they just punch their way through a window? Here I've got a sort of chain but that doesn't quite work, cause why wouldn't they just try and yank the chain out of the wall? Even if it was a choke chain, if the Charger turned around and grabbed the chain to pull it, then they wouldn't be choking themselves. If they have the awareness to do that anyway, again they don't understand how doors work. Maybe something elastic? I dunno it's hard to pin down something.
BUT ANYWAY her feet are hobbled together and she's got something keeping her from reaching the windows to try and break them. I'm not sure how they sedate her to give her food or do stuff to her, probably via dart guns. I DUNNO THIS PROBABLY ISN'T THE IMPORTANT PART OF THE ENTIRE THING
Poor David just completely at a loss for what to do about this. The scientists have total control over the zombies and they're just zombies, they don't have rights anymore and it's not like anyone's going to check, it's the end of the world. The army has bigger problems since this is before the cure is found and the zombies are still running rampant. Even if he could break her out, what would he do then? She'd just murder him and run off. His best option is just to leave her there and hope they find a cure for her... but they won't even let her work with her to try and keep her safe. All he can do is visit and feel powerless. IT IS A TOUGH SITUATION
I could have inverted this with them catching a zombie David or whatever but eh this is off the Cured branch I feel like so the ladies would be zombies in general. IF DAVID SURVIVED THE WHOLE THING INTO THE CUREDVERSE BOY THAT'D MAKE THINGS COMPLICATED WOULDN'T IT in general I don't think he did though
I tried like every phrasing I could think of but I just couldn't see Kaggie referring to him by his first name, it just sounded weird. But nobody has any last names (most of them don't have FIRST names) so whatever, Mr Blank, sure.
Speaking of Cured zombies
Inspired by some Mousey behavior I saw on Tumblr recently. WHAT WAS IT THAT HUNTER SAID? YOU DECIDE
Mousey just wandering around sniffling loudly waiting for someone to ask her what's wrong.
Charger knows what's going on here.
Way to go Mousey.
Surprised Smoker hasn't gotten more notes like this in the past, or maybe she has and that's why she assumes it's Mousey's, haha. Just leaves them around her desk and Smoker just throws them away without reading them.
I had to redo the little stick figures because they didn't scan right arrgh. HER FANTASIES ARE SO REALISTIC
Mousey did legitimately get so caught up in the idea of Hunter hearing/reading it and also doesn't actually want to be there when Hunter reads it that it slipped her mind that Hunter was blind. OOPS.
Mousey so embarrassed about being forced to talk about it that she just takes the first apology Hunter offers and runs off, even though later she realizes that it's not good enough and she still feels kind of hurt and resentful. But she can't ask for ANOTHER apology, that'd be ridiculous. WHY IS SHE SO BAD AT THIS
Jockey's expert comforting skills.
Hunter promptly forgets about it while Mousey dwells on it obsessively for months.
NEVERMIND
Charger as usual shooting people down as bluntly as possible.
That'd be kind of a hilarious mental image though. Smoker just >:( the entire time, hahahaha. Tho she wouldn't be able to really say anything since she'd have her hands full and wouldn't be able to type on her phone. JUST SCOWL AT HER UNTIL MOUSEY JUST FEELS TOO UNCOMFORTABLE AND SAYS SHE'S FINE EVEN THOUGH SHE'S STILL HUNGRY
everyone is so well adjusted here
BUT WHY LEAVE THE FAILINESS THERE
Expertly done Mousey
I like that I do a comic where Charger can't feed someone because her hand is too clumsy then IMMEDIATELY do one right after where she's brushing her hair and teeth without a problem. CONSISTENCY
Mousey's image of Charger pre-infection must be very strange.
I was actually torn between her running away or just bursting into tears so why not do both
ugh typo
You're the most presumin dog that a human could know
Man it'd be weird to kiss someone when they have no tongue
Another kiss I sorta liked
ANYWAY I MENTIONED THAT AU UP THERE
WHICH ONE COULD IT BE
GANGSTER AU WHEEEEE
I actually have no idea what Smoker's card scam entails, something something diamonds who knows.
I feel like at this point the two of them have been workin for Charger for long enough to feel some loyalty to her, and she treats em well enough so they like her, but they aren't really super tied to her just yet. Spent too much time living on the streets to trust anyone easily, haha. Smoker in particular is a bit worried since she's the one who screwed up and got caught, even though Hunter punched some people anyway.
DRAMA dun dun dunnn
Jockey has absolute faith that Charger can do anything, haha. I'm guessing she's been with them for a while. Smoker's got a bad feeling about all of this.
Charger actually calls Jockey away with her to give Smoker and Hunter a few minutes of privacy, since she knows how close they are (how close exactly idk but close enough). Hunter's a little worried but trying to hide it. As a sidenote it's hard not to have her go dude all the time, haha.
Smoker's not entirely sure she's going to come back. SHE CAN'T TRUST ANYONE IN THIS TOWN, SHE'S BEEN DOUBLECROSSED BEFORE
GangsterCharger is even more serious business than her other iterations, haha. YOU GOTTA BE TOUGH TO SURVIVE IN THIS TOWN
Charger means it but Smoker is not quite convinced yet.
I figured that once Charger picked the two of them up, Hunter might have put in a word for some of her friends, so Jordan and Ray are probably lurking around in Charger's gang somewhere.
ugh i can never draw griffin right
PSYCHOPRO RETURNS AGAIN he's the only one not wearing a hat, the cad
well except Charger
Griffin assumes that David's in charge of the gang cause duh. I'd guess that Charger and David would mostly downplay their relationship while dealing with the underground to try and protect each other.
I feel like Griffin has some kind of specific grudge against Smoker for some reason, thus why he asked for her specifically instead of both of them, but I'm not sure what it would be. I don't think she ever worked with/for him and I don't think she really knows him or even talked to him before at all. Just some echo from their animousity in the main universe that I can't quite place the source of I guess. Maybe it'll come to me later.
Smoker pretty irritated at being called a man/a whore but doesn't say anything. SHE THOUGHT THEY'D ASK CHARGER TO GIVE HER UP AND SHE WAS RIGHT ALL ALONG OH NO
She's very scared at the thought of it but tries really hard not to show it. Psychopro can tell she's scared though and enjoys it quite a bit. I get the feeling he's sort of Griffin's pet psycho in this where he's sort of uncontrollable and weird A LOOSE CANNON haha
He's not actually cutting himself, he's just drawing the knife around his eye to freak Smoker out.
Jordan was standing right beside the table while everyone was talking, so flips it when he has the chance. THEN THERE'S A BUNCH OF CHAOS AND SMOKE BOMBS OR SOMETHING I DUNNO THEY ALL ESCAPE OR SOMETHING I DON'T KNOW HOW
It's sort of hard to tell but in that one shot with Jockey sitting next to her, Charger is very carefully putting a piece of cheese on a cracker, haha.
None of them are really happy about the idea of belonging to someone, but hey, if you gotta belong to someone you might as well belong to someone that'll take care of you. I feel like this whole thing, where Charger refused to give Smoker up to another gang to settle a score, is what really cements their loyalty to her. Smoker of course is grateful that she saved her life, essentially, and Hunter likewise is glad that Charger didn't just let Smoker get killed. At this point they decide that Charger's really the one they want to stick with, no matter what happens. Then later when Griffin kidnaps David or something they're more than willing to go to bat to help her out PLOT AND INTRIGUE who knows if I'll ever get to it, haha
It's also a way to sort of mirror how Charger usually leads them and tries to keep them alive in other scenarios, with a more business-y spin.
Dang I had an epilogue planned for this with Charger and David but I didn't have time to get to it, maybe next time.
I also posted this at dreamwidth with reluctant ambivalence. Comment here or there, don't matter to me!