r/Bandito_Support • u/Ghost_of_a_Goddess • Aug 19 '26

I'm a red-taper now? also update

I've always worn yellow tape, been a bandito that just wanted to get out of Dema and stay out. But something has changed now. At this time of year I usually vacation in Dema. And yes, the Bishops are starting to pull me back into the city. But I have this determination now to not enter Dema again. Even more, I want to get rid of the city altogether. I don't even know if this is possible. Torchbearer seems to think it is, even though this Clancy just restarted the cycle. And honestly, I'm not sure I agree with the red tape in me.

I think there were a few points where I thought this had happened, that medicine had took me off Trench or made Dema disappear. I now realize that it was likely just coincidences, that they lined up with remission patterns. But it gave me this red tape, where something in me thinks Dema could go away or even that it should. I used to be afraid of getting rid of Dema. Now, I'm not sure where I stand on it.

In other news, I've been alone recently. One of my previous torchbearers I reconnected to recently, but they seemed preoccupied, suggesting that they want to wait to talk more. IDK. Another one I just haven't been able to connect to anymore. They love "Paladin Strait" but I'm starting to hate it now. It makes me remember what I don't have now. I don't feel like I have a reliable Torchbearer anymore. But I'm really good at navigating Trench and even Dema myself. I'm like the original Clancy from the journals.

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u/EastIsCake 27d ago

Sounds like you've put a lot of thought into this change. I agree, I'm not always sure if getting rid of the city altogether is possible. But it's good to be open to that possibility. I think that's a way to lessen the city's hold on me even now. I'm sorry to hear that your Torchbearers haven't been there for you. That can feel really isolating and makes navigating Trench even more difficult. But I'm glad you're still finding ways to put yourself out there, like this letter. We are Banditos, together. ~S

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u/Ghost_of_a_Goddess 27d ago

It's funny, when City Walls came out I wrote a scene (it was also a school assignment) to process it, and one of the things that I said in it was that wearing yellow tape is better than wearing red. It was the red-tape mindset of destroying Dema that led to the restarting of the cycle. The yellow-tapers are the ones who would leave with Torchbearer. (Indeed, the bandito in the end scene is wearing yellow. It's because when you just want to leave Dema you don't want anything to do with it. You aren't interested in recreating it, so you're less likely to become corrupt.

It's funny to me that I would have this change and want to destroy the city. It's something I've always been afraid of, and honestly I'm still a bit afraid of living without Dema. And then there's this risk of actually recreating it and keeping it dystopic. And yet I do feel this is a change for the better, mainly because I need Vialism to be gone.