#this is the most in-depth thing I've written about my characters since I first came up with them lol-

[sombra7567]

... Sona lore? I guess?

[[Okay so- this is going to make little to no sense but- *yeets Nyx lore at your head*This is also going to be an introduction to my main cast of OCs! And I have art of them thankfully-]]- 🖤🐈‍⬛

[Background] There are these people in the world called Storytellers. And they can be anyone, they can be artists, what we call Creos; actors, or Vox; writers, or Vella. Each Storyteller has a Headspace, which can contain a Realm or multiple Realms. Basically the Headspace is a person's source of imagination or creativity… a Realm is the result of that creativity.  The tricky thing is that depending on the Storyteller, a stranger doesn't know where they'll end up. You can get into a person's Realm but never see how it was built, how it was thought up, what inspired the person to make that idea. Or you can get into the Headspace but never see the Realm- the person describes their ideas and what goes on with them, but there's no visual concept for you outside of that, either because they don't want you to see, or they just can't make anything to show it. If you're lucky you're able to see both the Headspace and visit the Realm. So you can see the idea and understand what went into the creative thinking and any lore associated with it.

[Nyx's place in all this] Nyx's Realm is known as Khaos, but specifically she lives in Khaos City. Mostly people know her as "the stray" or "the thief", and her reputation is that of a mischief-maker. What they don't know is that as a Sona, she's actually the one responsible for the creation and stability of the Realm. She'd rather keep that fact hidden, however... she's never been one to be a leader or be responsible for the lives of others. As a Sona, she's also able to leave her Realm and Headspace of her own volition. Each Storyteller's Headspace has a different way in- hers is something she calls "The Realm Tree". She doesn't know how or when it got there, but she knows that it's the source of her powers. By drawing a circle around the tree and making a sigil for a particular Storyteller, she's able to create a portal and travel to other worlds outside her own.

[[I promise that one of these days I will attempt to draw what Khaos City actually looks like- ]]

[The Characters]

🔹 Jass Bezique and the Cards ♠️♥️♦️♣️🃏 The heart of Khaos City is the Masquerade Casino, owned and operated by Jass Bezique. She's a very charming, very cunning woman, and much about her past is a mystery. Jass is widely regarded as the leader of Khaos, and it's highly recommended to stay on her good side. Her crew of employees is known as the Cards, all with their own special talents:

Club♣️: The bouncer. His other job is to gather intelligence on the casino's patrons and keep tabs on anyone of high interest.

Spade♠️: The bartender. Good at small talk, but has a sharp tongue if you cross her. Moonlights as an assassin for Jass, preferred weapon is a katana.

Diamond♦️: The dealer. You have fun when Diamond's at your table. Studies the patrons and alerts Jass or Club if there's someone in particular they need to be keeping an eye on.

Heart♥️: The hostess. Absolute sweetheart, everyone loves her. Usually the one who makes any deals or negotiations with outside parties.

Joker🃏: The manager. Jass's second-in-command and ABSOLUTELY the charmer of the group. He'll also help out any of the other Cards with their jobs, both in and outside of the casino. One of Jass's most trusted confidants, though he does get on her nerves often.

[[Yes currently cringing at my old art this is from like... a year or two ago AAAAAAAAAAAAGH-]]

🔹 Rinth🐀 Along with Jass, he's the other main character in Khaos City. He's kind of a vigilante in the city and works closely with Jass to investigate any mysterious happenings. Also somewhat of a rival for Nyx, but they tend to get along pretty well for the most part. He's also the only one that recognizes she's the creator of the Realm and understands the power that comes along with it. Jass is also aware of this to some extent, but doesn't fully recognize it and is willing to play her part as the city's leader. Rinth is also a shifter- his other form is a large dark-blue rat; he can partially shift while in his human form (i.e. he suddenly smacks you with a giant tail while the two of you are fighting). Very calm, quiet personality; he doesn't get angry easily, but when he does it's the terrifying, ice-cold anger that can last for a while.

[[Okay, so to be completely honest- the only reason he exists is because my brain decided to be a simp and dreamed him up one night- soon as I told my bestie the next day she immediately started plotting to draw him (this is her art btw, I freaking love how she brought him to life-)]]

🔹 Angel 💙🪽 Probably the oldest of my characters, Angel is the law of Khaos City. She's the one that makes sure people don't get too crazy. There are rumors that she's at least over 100 years old and that she made a contract with a devil for certain powers, but she won't confirm either of those. She's a frequent patron of the casino and is generally okay with turning a blind eye to Jass's activity in the city- "So long as no one gets killed, Jass!" She sees Rinth as a younger brother or cousin and will often team up with him.

[[Mm more old art yes- also she is DEFINITELY a cowgirl- think "The Harder They Fall"]]

🔹 Mala🐍 and Leiurus🦂 The "villains" of Khaos City. Mala's the one in charge and Leiurus is her partner. Their goal is to find a way to break out of the Realm and travel to others to cause chaos. So far they're unaware of the Realm Tree's existence, but they have attempted their own experiments. One of them was somewhat successful, as it opened a portal- unfortunately it was a way into the Realm, not a way out. The two inadvertently unleashed a horde of wraith-like monsters the citizens have dubbed "Nocturnae". They prey on your fears and the inner thoughts you don't want anyone to find out about. Luckily they're relatively easy to manage, and they don't affect the people too much. All except for Nyx at least-

[[most recent Mala art I could find, Leiurus was drawn by bestie because I cannot draw men to save my life-]]

[Random Nyx details]

The Realm Tree is the source of her powers. Excessive use will drain them so she has to visit the tree at least once a month to recharge. The energy she gains is stored in the ruby pendant around her neck.

Negative energy has a BIG effect on her; her triggers are feelings of anxiety, self-deprecation, and fear, which can be worsened by the presence of the Nocturnae. Her pendant can easily be corrupted by outside forces which can cause her to lose control of her powers. She has somewhat of a "dark form"- the sclera of her eyes will turn completely black, leaving only her irises a glowing blue. She also gains the ability to create fire with her hands, blue flames tinged with a purple aura. Purple is never a good color to see with Nyx, it's a sign that she's been corrupted. When it's truly bad, her hair turns completely black; her irises change from blue to purple; long black scars/scratches/cracks appear in her skin. If this form is given enough power, it can split from Nyx to become its own being... which would mean very bad things for Khaos. For the most part though, the corruption can usually be seen as "hands"- either holding Nyx back or muzzling her.

Like Rinth, she's also a shifter and can change into a cat, but she can only fully shift, not partially (i.e. she can only be fully human or fully cat, no in-between).

[[And yee, I think that's it lore-wise for now- tried writing a oneshot but decided it'd be easier to present the lore in a more factual way XD]]

[popcultureoverdosed]

Reverse 1999- The Avant-Garde Rpg

R1999 is in many regards an Avant-Garde take on the gacha game genre. Everything from it's presentation to story telling is in stark contrast to its comptemporaries. Like many other fans, my first introduction to the game was the iconic trailer that came out prior to the global release. I was watching a random YouTube video when suddenly an ad pops up. I normally skip ads as soon as possible, but this one caught my attention immediately. All the R1999 trailers have a bombastic cinematic style that makes viewers feel like they're watching movie. Hearing Vertin talk cryptically about " the storm" while dramatic music played in the background made me curious just what exactly this game was about. Interlaced with all of that were images of a little girl in a tattered red dress sadistically shooting people and... a talking red apple? I knew right then that this game was something else.

When first playing the game, players slowly start to learn about an apocalyptic event refered to as the storm which erases entire eras of history. Those caught in the storm are wiped from existence. Humanity's only hope is the St Pavlov Foundation and their Arcanist agents. Opposing them is a group of Arcanist terrorists called Manus Vindictae who wish to use the Storm to serve their agenda. It takes a while for the story to build up steam.

The beginning of the story is hard to follow due to how vague and cryptically it's told.  A lot of terminology is used that players won't understand until later. Once the plot begins the thicken, players are presented with a surealist supernatural mystery conspiracy thriller unlike anything you've seen before. The story is intricately written and brings up a lot of historical and scientific concepts along the way. It's not the kind of story you can just speedrun through to get to the gameplay. Each chapter segment is fairly long and dense with information. It's honestly like playing a visual novel rather than an rpg. I'm not complaining though. I've been gripped by the lore since day one and I never know what these writers are cooking up next.

The best part of the game for me is the character roster. It's can't be exaggerated just how unique the characters are. What other game has living scarecrows, a mini UFO, a girl who hiccups balloons and a sapient piece of glass as playable characters? Its clear that just about anything can be an Arcanist in this world. I thought having inanimate objects be characters was weird at first, but I soon grew to love the idea. It was just too ludicrous not to enjoy. I also love how tastefully the female characters are drawn. Everyone either wears time period appropriate casual clothes or the most ornate pimped out dresses you've ever seen. The character designs are conservative yet stylish, creating incredibly rememberable units. These beautiful appearances are complimented by eccentric personalities. All Arcanists have their little quirks that make them endearing. They're strange people living in an even stranger world.

The true cherry on top on all of this is the stellar voice acting. The cast is composed of characters from all over the world and the voice cast reflects this. Most of the voice actors share the same nationality/ethnicity as their character which gives their performance an authentic edge. The large variety of accents makes the world feel alive with personality. In a market where usually only the most high profile gacha games bother with English dubs, it's refreshing to see the producers put so much passion into the voice overs.

In terms of art and presentation, R1999 knocks it out of the park once again. The insight 2 character portraits are immaculately drawn and bursting with details. The background art for the story section is also drawn with enough depth to get players immersed in the setting. The live 2d models help spice things up a bit instead of having to look at a still image the entire time.

Reverse 1999 isn't just some game to pass the time with. it's a clear labor of love for everyone who worked on it. It's always a pleasure to play a game where the devs are passionate about their creation.

[kamari333]

A 2025 Recap of Kam's Fanfics

This took me all day to put together, for some reason XD But now I've got it and I can share it!

I hope if you read through all this, and click into a fic, you find something you like! Let me know with a comment (or two) if you do!

The very first fic I every posted on AO3 was "Resonance".

I had never actually played Undertale before, but I had watched someone else play it. I stumbled into the UTMV on complete accident, and was greatly inspired by the fanon at the time (early 2017). I decided to just.... go for it. Try writing a story where all the AUs I liked and thought were cool got to come together. I got to experiment with characterization, motivations (and the logic behind them), prose, dialogue, and of course narrative. From May 3rd 2017 (i only posted on May 5th because that's when my account activation was approved -- this was back when you needed an invitation and there was a waiting list) to June 30th, 2018, I wrote this story with no plan and (if i remember correctly) no betas.

"Resonance" is an action-adventure story. It's initial premise is to compare and contrast various AUs by pulling them all together in one place. If you've ever seen "Into the Spiderverse", it is a lot like that, but with Sans Undertale, and written before "Into the Spiderverse" was even a thing. It takes the '6 Skeletons' trope that was pioneered in the xReader subgenre of UTMV and puts it in the context of Fontcest and Sanscest (as well as other ships like Soriel, Papyrus/Chara, Frans, and Papdyne). It gives some passing exploration to heavy narrative tropes like incest, self-harm, major character death, rape, torture, the yandere, drug and alcohol abuse, and sacrifice for the greater good, making it a Dead Dove if I've ever written one.

"Resonance"'s greatest strength, I think, is its character depth. I think I put a lot of good work into fleshing out the 6 main characters throughout the story, justifying the choices I made for their deviance from canon and their purpose in the narrative. It's other strength is its emotional impact: I think, for a first try, I did fairly well with the big emotional setups.

Where "Resonance" falls a little weak, admittedly, is its narrative drive. This is the most obvious in the ending, which drags on a bit without really giving a solid conclusion. While the story serves the purpose I intended for it, the open ending lacks a concrete satisfaction that i cannot articulate. Even so, it is an ending that leaves no room for doubt about what the status quo going forward will be, and at the time of writing it, that was enough for me.

I consider "Resonance" to be my Magnum Opus, proof that I can finish what I start.

💙❤️💜💛🩵🧡

The next big work (skipping over a few smaller things) is my "Ebott is a Multiverse" series.

"Ebott is a Multiverse", or "EMV" is a series of fics which lend focus to various ships, all taking place in the same continuity (and tristate area).

The first installment in EMV is "The Last Laugh".

"The Last Laugh" is a 5 chapter story detailing key events for its focal relationship that take place over 9 months. From February to November of the 4th year since Monsters came to the Surface, we follow a Classic Sans and an Underswap Sans as they figure out how much they're in love.

This first fic was originally intended to be a sort of 'revenge', inspired by both a fic and a prompt left by another rather talented writer in the Fandom (if you're still around, hi again CrushingOnRazz!) I worked hard to build up to the climax of the fic, so that everything would fall into place for the most emotional impact. I think the ending ended up being one of the most impactful of any ending I've ever written.

That being said, I ended up feeling like it still needed more to the story, a continuation as it were, so I planned out the 'skeleton' and rough path for the direct sequel "Happily Ever Laughter".

"Happily Ever Laughter" is still ongoing, however, because before I could even start it properly, I had already been sucked into another fic in EMV.

The true monster of EMV is "Burlesque". For certain reasons, "Burlesque" has both a "Censored" and an "Uncensored" version. The Censored version has all onscreen erotica removed, with fade-to-black cuts and some references changed. At the current chapter count of 57 (still unfinished), the wordcount difference between Censored:Uncensored is 224,949:254,502 words (so ~30k).

"Burlesque" is a another ship fic, this time following the relationship events of an Underfell Sans, Dancetale Sans, and Underlust Sans, all navigating their polyamory, personal issues, trauma, and the subtle pressures of late stage capitalism in fantasy U.S.A.. Together, they overcome their self deprecation, the price of rent, invasive honey badgers, sexual harassment, and the strength of their own horny, all so they can say "I love you." The story begins in February of the 4th year of Monsters coming to the Surface, and extends into December as of Chapter 57 (a work in progress).

EMV also features two other ships as focus ships (with at least two more planned). One of those ships is Outertale Papyrus/Underfell Papyrus/Underpatch Sans, which has enough content in "The EMV Anthology" that I am already planning to transplant it into its own sidefic. The other ship is Dancetale Papyrus/Fellswap Sans, which has comparatively less screentime but is no less delightful for it.

Having had so much fun writing erotica, I ended up participating in Kinktober 2017 in October 2017. This was the beginning of an annual holiday (of sorts) for me, as I have participated in Kinktober every year since (2017-2024).

My complete Kinktober Archive is currently in a series. In it, I get to explore different relationship dynamics, ships, kinks, and possible story elements. I alpha-test a lot of stuff that sometimes gets refined and filtered into more serious fics. Included in (but certainly not limited to) my experiments are: Doggo/Burgerpants, Vegetoid/Reader, RottenCherryBerry (which has become a Kinktober tradition), Mafiafell/Outertale Sanscest, the closest thing to Bad Sans Poly I will ever tag, and Stretch/Nightmare (which will be mentioned again later). The series currently has over 500,000 words of kinkplay in it, with a Table of Contents at the beginning of every fic so you can find the exact tags for every chapter quickly.

I also began an xReader in November of 2017. "Welcome To The Underground" started as an experiment to see if I could write 50,000 words in a month (in an event known as NaNoWriMo). I ended up meeting the 50k goal by the end of the month, but the story was still not completed to my satisfaction. I would continue to chip at this fic until 2020, when I finished it at just over 102,000 words.

"Welcome To The Underground" is an Isekai xReader Songfic where you, the Reader character, are a young adult (in your 20s) who is dropped into Undertale's Underground. In it, you resign yourself to the fate of every other fallen human who isn't Frisk (re: to die), and only make the effort necessary to make your remaining time as worthwhile and comfortable as possible. Throughout the story, you make friends, sing songs, get hurt, get back up again, and discover that you can do things you didn't think you could do, even if it sucks to do them.

I think this story was something I needed, a sort of symbolic rite of passage into adulthood for me (since at the time of writing, I was strugging with my identity as an adult, and lacked the confidence I needed to take control of many aspects of my life that I should have already). It certainly wasn't a solution to all my problems, but I think writing this story was the start of some kind of personal growth which I have worked hard to cultivate since. Whether it has any similar meaning to my readers, I don't think I'll ever know, but hopefully a little bit of that 'just-keep-going' vibe gets rubbed off on you guys if you come on this journey with me.

One of my favorite parts of writing this story was picking the songs. About halfway through I also started writing Parody lyrics to some of them, adjusting words here and there to fit better with what the Reader character needed. The most satisfying of all parodies, however, was the true, complete parody I wrote of a Weird Al song. I am still very proud of "Sans Pick Up Your Fucking Sock" (the song).

I became a big fan of Nilchance's "ain't this the life" series, which is about the relationship between a classic Sans and the incestuous Underfell skelebros. It's a fantastic read if you're a fan of Kustard and Kedgeup and Fellcest. I mention this, because I ended up starting not one, but two fanworks that spin off from ATTL.

The first ATTL spinoff I wrote is "Ain't this a Lamia". In it, the Undefell bros find a lamia in their livingroom, and gay shit ensues.

I dunno why, i just thought that the poly would be even cuter if they had a horny snake with trauma and sass. I adore Slinky very much and hope he gets everything he wants <3

The second ATTL spinoff I wrote is "Ain't this more than Lust" In it, Red and Sans discover an Underlust Sans confidently selling himself for lunchmoney in a back alley, and gay shit tries to ensue but gets tripped up by trauma and sincerity (as of now -- I hope to add another installment to increase the percentage of gay).

I'm actually really excited to develop this story more, because i love the way these characters foil each other. ATTL Red just FITS next to an Underlust guy and it fills my heart with fluffies.

Both of these are the start of a series of the same names. The fics in them have an accumulated wordcount of ~30k each.

Kinktober 2019, Day 12, (Oct 12th 2019) is the inciting moment of my "Dr33mtal3" AU. (which is loosely, loosely inspired by, but is decidedly not Dreamtale). It's the first bit of writing where I tried to take my own idea and give it some life. Although technically i wouldn't start work in earnest until April 2020, when the first designs were made. That's why I consider April 7th to be Dr33mtal3's Birthday.

[Post 1] [Post 2] [Post 3] (These are all very ugly art compared to what I can do now lol)

After getting the designs started, i went into the fics!

The "Dr33mtal3" fic series on AO3 has substantially more multiverse content than content focusing on the isolated AU at this time, but isolated AU content is being worked on.

To delve into more of the isolated AU, I started taking Character Asks on the "Dr33mtal3" AU Blog in April 2022. Doing these asks really helps with improving my art. I have so much fun with them! I especially love when I get asks for other characters, like MadMewMew and Burgerpants !! But I do still also love the asks for the skelebros!

As for the Multiverse content, you will find plenty, both on the blog and on AO3!

Some of my finest work can actually be found in the 'Anthology' fics, specifically "An Anthology of Nightmares", which turned out to be of the gothic horror genre, and "An Anthology of Dreams", which was written with the intention of cerebral horror. They're both a little lovecraftian too, if you squint, although I was aiming for something else.

In An Anthology of Nightmares, you see what it's like to get picked up by Nightmare from many different peoples' point of view. You also see some of Nightmare's Castle, and what living there is like.

In An Anthology of Dreams, you follow along viewing Dream's life from the point of view of those around him. You start with the PoV of a Science!Sans (Sci), and eventually see Dream from several thoughtful angles!

You can also find my 3-Longpost long super-essay about Dream's house in these fics here on tumblr!

[Dream's House Post 1] [Dream's House Post 2] [Dream's House Post 3]

These desolate and unsettling anthologies are, however, only backstory for the Romance I am cultivating in what I plan as the main fic of this series: "Poignance". Although this story is only 14 chapters and 30k words in at this time (clearly unfinished), you can still follow an Underswap Papyrus into what will eventually be the slow burn epic romance he doesn't see coming.

This list is not comprehensive: there are numerous oneshots as well as unfinished works which have been pushed down my list of priorities. A few I want to make brief mention of because I like them:

"The Body Snatchers" Where an Underlust Sans starts a queerplatonic relationship with Fresh.

"A Night of Guns and Feathers" A thinkpiece about a relationship between a Mafiatale Sans (specifically the one detailed by my friend Catsitta, whom is called 'Karma') and D3!Nightmare.

"My Best Wingman" An Underlust fic I wrote for the To The Bone zine. Focuses on the brotherly relationship between Sans and Papyrus.

"Site Skin Ideas for UTMV Readers" A meta-fic to help make AU Disambiguating Freeform Tags easier to read and identify in the UTMV fandom.

"Bitty Magnitism" On of the fics I wrote when I was on a Bittybones kick, writing for the EMV spinoff series "EMV Bittybones Event" . Its about a Fellswap Sans going to a Bittybones adoption center, and the consequences that ensue.

Thanks for reading this far! I hope you found something you like!

[incorrect-green-lantern-quotes]

I've come to realize from going through your blog that I know very little about the Green Lanterns (curse of being an arrowverse into a batfam fan apparently) and I really wanna know more. From both a writing perspective, because I don't want to do them dirty when using the JL for something, and also because they seem like really interesting characters?? And I've never heard most of their stories.

So what would you recommend as the entry point to getting into them?

Ough that's a difficult one to answer because with seven (eight including Alan and nine if you count Keli) Green Lanterns from Earth alone, there's a lot of different places you can start. Like I personally started reading comics just before the New 52 reboot in 2011, so everything before that I've picked up via collected TPBs or wiki summaries or sheer osmosis from the Internet lol

I'll go in reverse order, because the more recent additions have the clearest starting points. They're pretty easy to catch up on since they don't have as much history as the others.

For Jo Mullein, Far Sector (2019) serves as both introduction and solo run, and it's essential for establishing her character before tossing her into the mix with the other Green Lanterns in Geoffrey Thorne's 2021 run and Jeremy Adam's current run.

Keli Quintela (aka Teen Lantern) debuted the same year as Jo in Brian Michael Bendis's Young Justice run, but unfortunately got lost in the shuffle of juggling an ensemble cast, most of whom were already established fan favorites. So her origin story is honestly half-baked. Keli played a small part in the Thorne run but was dropped into a coma and has only just woken up. Poor girl desperately needs a good writer to give her some depth.

Simon Baz came in with the New 52 in 2011 and Jessica Cruz arrived a few years later in the Forever Evil storyline of Justice League. Core aspects of both characters were established in those comics, like Simon's cynicism and Jessica's anxiety. Personally however, I consider Sam Humphries's Green Lanterns (2016) to be where the two of them actually got character development and focus, which is why I've put the two of them together.

Kyle Rayner is where things start to get complicated, because he and the older Green Lanterns have a lot of history that predates Geoff Johns's work that, for better or worse, basically is the start of the "modern era" of GL comics. While Johns's Emotional Spectrum saga does effectively become the new foundation for the characters going forward, the first story in it is Green Lantern: Rebirth (2004). Which was written for an audience who's already familiar with the GL mythos, so it's not an ideal place to start with if you don't already know the characters.

Rather, I think the most efficient* starting point is the Emerald Twilight storyline, which begins in issue #48 of Green Lantern Volume 3 (1990). It's Kyle Rayner's origin story, so it's not hard to find collected TPBs of it, and he starts out knowing basically nothing about Green Lanterns so it's a good jumping on point for new readers.

However, Kyle's origin is inseparably tied with the fall of Hal Jordan and the Corps, so if you prefer to have more context for those characters, you might want to read Emerald Dawn I (1989) and II (1990) beforehand. A lot of the stuff from them get retconned in Johns's retelling of Hal's origins, but they're still worth a read.

With John Stewart and Guy Gardner, a lot of their characterization from the 20th century is notably different from how it is today. Part of it is the way that Geoff Johns rewrote them, part of it is how popular the JL/JLU cartoon was. This is a large reason why I'd suggest the Emotional Spectrum saga as a starting point for understanding the modern versions of these characters before going back to their older stuff from the 80s and 90s.

Hal Jordan's history makes me want to beat my head against a wall. He's been around since 1959 but so much of his early stuff is still a blur to me. Someone's probably gonna scream at me if I don't mention Hard Traveling Heroes and his friendship with Oliver Queen. A lot of his Parallax and Spectre era material doesn't take place in actual GL comics but I don't know where to read it other than Zero Hour and Final Night because those were the only TPBs available to me.

Alan Scott, being a Golden Age hero, is largely a supporting character in the JSA, though he does sometimes show up in GL stuff. He did get a miniseries recently, Alan Scott: The Green Lantern (2023), that rewrites his past as a gay man in the Cold War era.

*I say efficient because I could list a bunch of miniseries and debut issues that are historically important for each of the characters but that would make this already lengthy post at least twice as long.

Alternatively, get the 80th anniversary special from a few years back and chug that shit

[allfrogsmatter]

Story Questionnaire 𓆏

thanks for tagging me @historybunnny ♡ I apologize in advance because this is going to be obscenely long...

1) How did you come up with such unique & fascinating characters?

I first got the ideas for my characters almost five years ago now and it's kind of an insane progression. So if we all remember my Life in Pictures post that sort of got me started on Simblr, it followed my character Peggy through life growing up in the 40s and 50s and through adulthood. Peggy was a figment of my imagination who I inserted into a very real setting involving very real people. It started with me researching my genealogy, specifically the life of my late grandfather, and ended with me becoming deeply obsessed with this little bubble in time: his high school years. So naturally I created this character and warped this story to be able to weave all these different characters in - characters who were real people, but had taken on identities of their own in my mind! The original Reed and Jerry were friends of my grandpa (messages they left in his yearbook are below the cut!) Because I am not sane in the slightest, to continue my story I made it my absolute mission to learn as many real life details about these people as I could in order to help shape the personalities I was developing in my story. And the more I learned about Reed, the more he grew on me as a character. He turned from this popular, jock, asshole into one of the most complex characters I've ever written. I could go on and on about this but I'll save the more in-depth explanation for a later date. Anyway, Jerry came into the picture as Reed's best friend. It really felt natural to bring him in even though I already had a character named Jerry because he was always with Reed. Every class picture they're in together? They are next to each other, behind each other, or otherwise very close to each other. There's even one where they're sharing a chair. Naturally in the four and a half years since I got attached to Reed and Jerry their characters have developed a lot, and even the dynamics of their relationship has changed. Most of my characters, at least right now, were pulled from that original story. Reed's entire family, Jerry's family, Lauren, Lin, Connor, Ray... even Jen, who was initially just a townie, ends up filling the role of one of those early characters. It's one of my favorite parts of writing a story - using a real life reference to create the circumstance of a character, then filling in the gaps with my imagination and letting reality inform their personality.

2) When you started writing your story, what did you take into consideration?

The first thing I took into consideration when I decided to bring this to Simblr was the fact that these characters are based on real people. I didn't want to be doxing IRL 80 year olds on tumblr, so I changed their names. (I won't lie I was already extremely attached to Reed and Jerry's original names so I didn't change them much, and only the last names). Characters like Lauren and Conner got new names entirely, others got new last names. The other big consideration (and the one that actually spurred the idea) was that these characters initially existed in the 50s. Their lives were so completely different back then - so I had to think a lot about what growing up in the early 2000s instead of the 1940s would change them? In the OG story, Reed's mom never left, for one. She's still the same character, still not the best mother, but in the 1950s she didn't have the means to leave her husband. She was trapped in that marriage. So as hard as it was for me to create a storyline where one of my favorite characters leaves her children, it was also liberating. We haven't seen much of Delia yet, but we will and I love the character she gets to be when she isn't bound to Bruce.

3) How did you shape each character’s background/family?

Yeahhhh this one is pretty self-explanatory given my previous responses, but the short answer is research. Research. Research. Research. I started out in the yearbooks to get a gather on the characters - what their interests were, what circles they ran in, who their friends were. Then I moved on to ancestry and familysearch (familysearch is free, but limited. ancestry library edition is available at most public libraries! i live and die by ancestry library edition). Census data was everything to me, I kid you not I had a countdown for the release of the 1950 US census in 2022! From the censuses I was able to find out so much, not just about Reed and his immediate family, but also their family history by tracing it back (ancestry is perfect for this). To me I loved getting this picture of a family life and background that could help me inform why my characters are the way they are! For example, if you line up Reed and his siblings (both in real life and in sims) Reed has noticeably darker skin- they are all 1/4 Chickasaw on their mother's side, but Reed is the sibling who physically characterizes this the most. Of course it's not a bad thing that his skin is darker and he doesn't think of it that way, but I think it does contribute to this feeling of 'otherness' within his family. It's just another little thing that sets him apart from his siblings (and this detail I really did pull straight from real life but obviously I can't show the photos).

4) Do you plan everything before starting, or are you more spontaneous?

I tried so hard to be spontaneous and let sims kind of guide some of the story. The major plot I've had outlined in my head for a few years, and even switching to a modern AU I knew I still wanted to follow a similar trajectory, but I did want sims to decide some of the extraneous stuff! Like Jen- for what it's worth, Jen is in the story because she autonomously flirted with Reed. And the entire Chiquita/Ray storyline is because Chiquita developed the crush sentiment towards Ray almost immediately. There are also some minor plot points that came about autonomously within the game - like the fight between Reed and Bruce the night before school started and the conversation with Chiquita after. But going forward I have a lot more posts very specifically planned to move the plot along with less gameplay driven story (since I don't really do gameplay in this save at all anymore). I think the idea just gets too big and then I'm really particular about how I want things to go, so if the game throws a curveball I get annoyed.

5) Does reality inspire you, or do you rely more on your imagination?

Hahahahhaha uhhh yeah I think I've established pretty solidly that reality inspires me a lot. I really do try to make my story feel representative of reality even in ways that have me sometimes going 😒 But a lot of this is for a very specific reason. Right now, Wasteland Babes centers around Copperdale, not necessarily a conservative town, but still a kind of sheltered one. That's why so many townies are white and straight. I really want to show the characters' horizons broadening as their world expands beyond Copperdale and to do that I have to start them in a place with relatively little diversity compared to, say, a college town like Britechester, or Chestnut Ridge which lies on Tribal Land.

6) When did you KNOW you were going to make this story?

Well, the original story was one of a few variations of projects and ended up being the one I stuck with. I had been writing Peggy's story in the form of a TV show and Reed's character just kept growing and growing until I came to a realization and knew I had to give him his own story - so in December 2022 I got to work on a screenplay for a movie version. It spent about a year as a screenplay (eventually a finished one!) then last spring the thought suddenly struck me that it needed to be a book. I got started right away (March 2024) and I finished it in August 2024 with a grand total of 223,000 words. Some parts of it are actually surprisingly good and I was really proud of the end result, but it's not something I made to share (or plan to).

As for Wasteland Babes on Simblr, my decision to share this story was sparked entirely by @alxandergoth ! I mentioned before that Rachel's occult legacy has been a huge inspiration for my sims and my story, but it was genuinely reading the tumultuous relationship between Charlie and Eli in high school/college that first gave me that spark - what if I imagined Reed and Jerry in a modern AU? What if I finally use the High School Years pack I downloaded and play with a modern Reed and Jerry? What if I post it to Simblr since I want so badly to get back to it? And so I did! (And if you look at my earlier posts that are actually the worst quality ever you can see I was using a lot of PSD overlays and trying to emulate Rachel's style!)

7) What has shaped your story into being the way it is?

Starting in screenplay form, it took me a long time to actually get far with my story because I really wasn't sure exactly how I wanted it to go. I had several google docs with a variety of different plots, but always the same central arc. What helped me solidify it - and gave the story a name - and got me so invested I didn't abandon it within a month - was discovering this obscure Canadian indie film from the 1960s called Winter Kept Us Warm. From the start the main character, Doug, reminded me of Reed (coincidentally, Reed's given name is and always was Douglas) and the other main character, Peter, reminded me of Jerry. The friendship between Doug and Peter, though under different circumstances, is so reminiscent of Reed and Jerry's and it really motivated me to keep writing. The title, Winter Kept Us Warm, was pulled from The Waste Land by T. S. Eliot, and that spurred me to delve into that poem. It ended up completely shaping the novel version of my story that I started writing in March 2024.

On Simblr I started out very gameplay oriented and tried to emulate @alxandergoth in editing style, but it didn't take long for me to remember that nothing about how I play sims or tell stories is casual and even posting as though it is wasn't fitting my story the way I wanted it to. So more dialogue started creeping in, less PSD's were used, and then I finally came out from under the rock I was hiding beneath and read all of Tessellate by @elderwisp in one single morning. I was absolutely enamored by their editing style and attention to detail and the complexity of their characters and I realized that formatting my story like that not only suited it a lot better, but gave me a lot more room to develop my characters and dynamics with the amount of nuance I want. I basically gave up on gameplay after the events of the Fair Day post, I watched a ton of photoshop tutorials, learned how to make poses, and put a lot more into outlining my story. I'm still coming out of the whole 'take screenshots during gameplay then find a way to fit them into the story' era, but what I have planned for after my hiatus really excites me!

If you read all that you're a trooper! Honestly I just always have so much to say about this story and these characters and I love peeling back the layers a bit to dive into where it started and why I am where I am!

Anyways I tag @alxandergoth @elderwisp @cupofcarolina @swiftviolets and @simswoon

also as promised, irl reed and jerry’s signatures in my grandpa’s yearbook! i feel like even just the handwriting shows such distinct personalities

[invisibleintrovertartist]

I feel like that with nsr being extremely evil, the lore for the characters should be a lot deeper and in depth for them to flesh it out a bit more. In my opinion, I feel like it would help to have them have at least some psychological reason as to why they're doing it, because personally, I feel that trauma is a reason as to why someone did something bad, not a 'get out of jail' card.

I'm glad you brought this up, since I was in fact contemplating on making a whole post about this exact thing. I'll admit the term "Evil" is very one-dimensional and can feel misleading and shallow in this case. However, the decision I made when naming the AU "Evil NSR AU" was not due to a lack of nuance within it, but rather that it came from the intention of wanting to sort of simplify/summarize it — to put it in a nutshell, really.

The first post I made about the AU (the one with Neonnova fanart) was only supposed to be a short introduction to it with some vague and elementary concepts and ideas, allowing me to see, whether people are actually interested or not, and if I should continue building upon the idea and branch it out more. I'll have to confess I was utterly unprepared for how much attention this AU has already gained... Not until this point, the Evil NSR AU has kind of only existed in my head as this some sort of shabby cardboard box with a barely legible sharpie-written label, that I occasionally throw random stuff into and then put it back on a shelf, along with the rest of the "work in progress forever" projects.

As it goes, some of the characters in the AU have actively malicious intents or are just deeply self-centered and are very much aware of it and continue their objective anyway, whereas some of them do have more nuanced motivations, but still keep inflicting harm upon society and its individuals — the road to hell is paved with good intentions, or whatever. It was from this idea, that I derived the "Evil" part of the name (I definitely did not come up with it just to be able to somehow tag it separatedly from the main NSR tag, yeah nope, why are you still looking at me? — and I was most definitely not just craving for some toxic yaoi to balance out all the fluff, when I came up with this AU in the first place). In fact, so far only Nova's character concept fits this "traditionally evil" type, as he is very egotistical, superficial, callous and overall a scheming little bastard riddled with a massive god-complex — this may be the result of a personality disorder developed in early childhood, but I'll probably get back to it later.

For example, some of the characters that I've tried fleshing out more in regards to the nuance/internal conflicts, are Neon J and Yinu's mother. Neon J obviously has some sort of a war trauma — there's really no way of getting around that — which has in a way twisted into this very relentless hero-complex or "the end justifies the means" and "there's no victory without sacrifice" way of thinking. He is extremely paranoid to a point where he constantly expects an invasion or some sneak attack and practically sees enemies everywhere -> he is high-strung, hypervigilant, anxious and irritable. In his obsessive pursuit towards a more stable and peaceful society, he has become blind to the suffering of the very people he once swore to protect at all cost, and ruthlessly marches over the weak and the helpless. Like Tatiana, he believes that peace and harmony are obtained through extreme order and constrain — if you don't follow orders in the field of battle, you die. Neon J is still very much stuck on that mentality, and adamantly refuses any other type of a world view, perceiving it as "letting down his guard" and ultimately leading into his demise and the collapse of society.

Yinu's mother on the other hand has been profoundly and permanently impacted by her husband's death. She has struggled with being a widow and a single mother, enduring the financial instability of a one-income household and lack of a proper social network. Motherhood in itself can be a very rough experience, what with the all sacrifices and women often losing (or being pressured to lose) their entire identity existing outside of their family. And imagine doing all of this alone, with a deep sorrow gnawing at your heart and the face of your daughter a constant reminder of the love that you've recently lost. I imagine she would feel stuck, betrayed and resentful for the way that life has treated her. Bringing Yinu into the spotlight of the musical world might've been a selfless act at first: a chance for her to pursue her interests and ensure that she slowly learns to be self-sufficient and independent. However, due to her age, she requires constant monitoring and chaperoning, which gives a tantalizing window of opportunity for her mother to seize the reins and start conducting everything the way she sees most benefical and fitting. This led to her eventually trying to sort of re-establish herself through the success of her daughter, and the internalized guilt born out of her own perceived short-comings drove her to seek out affirmations from the general public, that paint her as the perfect caring mother.

[azuregold]

OKAY OKAY here i go. 8) what part of FMA (+extras) is your favorite? 11) if you were to rewrite FMA with luffy & zoro's roles switched, how do you think it might change? 12) what's a song or two you associate with Dissonant Echoes? 15) if you wrote a fic called Seriously Scurrilous with the cast of One Piece, what do you think it might be about? 16) If you wrote a fic called Up to Here, what character/fandom would you want to write it for? 20) Would you ever write a Twisted Wonderland fic (ᨀ❛ᴗ❛ᨀ)

Going to answer this one first~

8) Hmmm. That's hard. The first thing to spring to mind was the museum heist. It has the first real introduction to Travis, and the combined horror/coolness of Zoro possessing the guard and fighting him (also the comedy of Zoro's attempts to shut down the security system ). I rewrote most of that chapter, and I'm still pretty pleased with how it came out compared to the original.

But I also really like Zoro's confrontation with Travis on the plane, and the Straw Hats finding him afterward and caring for him. Zoro had been the strong, powerful protector most of the time until then, and that was the first time their positions were reversed and he was really vulnerable and needed their help. ♡

And then there's the big reveal at the end, where Luffy finds out what happened to his fruit. That was one of the first scenes I came up with for FMaA, so it's very vivid in my head, and wanting to get to that scene helped me push through a lot of places in the fic where I started to feel stuck or overwhelmed.

11) Oh boy, that's…that's hard. The ghost secret definitely would have been revealed to the world way sooner, for a start (and there would probably be a lot more ghost mischief, because I can imagine Luffy having a blast with being able to go invisible, move things with his mind, possess people, etc). But in terms of how the overall story and plot beats would change…maybe it's just because my creative muscles are so rusty, but I'm having trouble picturing how things would go.

The end would probably be really different, since they wouldn't technically need Luffy's fruit. Sven would probably still find some way to force a confrontation, and he'd probably have a bit more developed in terms of anti-ghost tech, depending on when he found out about Luffy. At least one of the others might not have gotten their fruit back until later, too, if Sven took steps to have one brought to him sooner in order to force said confrontation. Most likely Robin, since hers was the one he already had and was just on loan to the museum.

Also Zoro would probably half-kill himself training/fighting multiple times in an effort to get back to his old strength as fast as possible. ^_^;

12) I…don't really have any ^_^; I never write to music with vocals, it's too distracting, and I don't remember any instrumental pieces that I used specifically for DE (as opposed to my general writing music). And I don't often look up lyrics for the songs I listen to otherwise (and most of them are from anime or games, so they already have an association with something else for me).

15) Hmmmm. First thing to come to mind was an outsider perspective fic, with a reporter trying to get a big scoop on the Straw Hats. They keep hearing stories from Marines and certain pirates about how evil and horrible and dangerous the SH are, and stories from people who've been helped by the SH that make them seem like heroes, angels, saviors! So the reporter is determined to find out the real truth is. They probably get caught up in an adventure or two and maybe nearly die a few times, and come away absolutely sure no one, including them, actually knows what the SHs are like. They're like the ocean—they shift and change and go where they want, and no one will ever see all their depths.

16) Hmm. That sounds like it could be a good title for an angsty fic about Jamil and Kalim from Twisted Wonderland

20) I definitely want to! I've only ever written for One Piece and the idea of jumping into a new (writing-wise) fandom is kinda scary, but the world and the characters and the story have my entire heart and I really really want to make something for them. I would especially like to do something before the anime comes out, so that it's there waiting for the flood of new fans that (hopefully) will come, but the odds of getting my writing muscles working again in the next two months feels…slim (and I would feel a bit bad starting a new fic for an entirely different fandom before finishing Dissonant Echoes, though if I'm lucky enough to be hit with a burst of inspiration, I'll follow it regardless).

If/when I do write something, there's a decent chance I'd post the first few chapters anonymously, until I felt a bit more confident in my characterization and knew I had at least a few people who liked what I was doing. Just to help my nerves a bit. ^_^;

[practically-an-x-man]

Alright, writer's deep dive- What made you think of Eris as a character? What's your favorite thing you've written for them? What's some facts about her that you haven't shared before?

Ooooh thank you so much!!

First things first... I'm not sure what originally made me think of Eris. I first created them as a character right after watching The Suicide Squad in theaters, so it's been close to 4 years - and a lot of redesigns! The original Eris was a much more basic character (cis female, with a much more heroic moral code and simpler backstory), and I'm not really sure where they originally popped up.

But I can say with the redesign and the Eris we now know and love, I really wanted to go a different direction from my other OCs: the others are all in the general "hero" range, with the furthest branches out being Ophelia's antihero leanings. With both Eris and Nikoletta (since I introduced them at roughly the same time), I wanted to explore some more villainous leanings and more complex moral codes. So I gave Eris a revamp, took those risks that I wasn't comfortable with when I first created them, and decided on a darker and more historical-focused view on Themyscira and the Amazons.

As for my favorite thing I've written.... oooh, that's a tough one. I think Vestalia probably has the most dynamic emotions, and I'm proud of how that one came together - especially with how it relates to Eris in those quieter moments, and the depth to their character there. I also really love Broken Pieces as a whump/body horror piece, I think that's got some of my most evocative language and I reread it regularly.

As a whole, though... I think Let Us Prey is my top favorite. I poured my heart and soul into that one, it's the story I've wanted to tell for Eris since I first created the character (even before the redesign), and I think it's just such a dynamic piece. Even the scenes that follow the movie feel unique to me, and it's just SUCH a good piece for Eris' character, their relationship with Rick, and my writing style as a whole. I really wish that one got more traction honestly, I tried pushing it hard when I first wrote it but still barely anyone ended up reading it.

And as for facts about her... hm...

Eris' sense for conflict is actually more closely inspired by the Roman goddess Bellona than the mythological Eris/Discordia herself - they're similar gods, and it was said that Discordia would travel with Bellona to her battles, but Bellona was the one more attributed to outright war and bloodshed.

I also view Eris' sense for conflict as sort of a nebulous, magical thing rather than strictly an emotion or ability. Of course it affects their strength in battle (making them stronger, faster, and more regenerative when they're surrounded by extreme conflict), but it also plays a role on their emotions. Eris can definitely be understanding and empathetic at times, but that is much harder when they're around conflict- even if Eris doesn't engage with it or personally feel any strong emotions towards it. That conflict doesn't exactly make Eris angry or combative of their own right, but it does make those combative emotions more intense and muffles the gentler ones. This is why Eris gets a spike of jealousy in A Fool's Errand, in the crowded bar, and why they're able to have a calm heart-to-heart in Vestalia (if Rick had been caught off-guard by the breakup or reacted with anger, the conversation would not have gone NEARLY as smoothly, and that's part of why it's such an important piece for them)

And as another note on that: in This Phantom Life, where Eris is locked in Arkham with power-dampening tech lining the cell, they're not just lacking motivation because of grief - with the power dampening tech, his sense for conflict is also dampened, so they're less combative than they've felt in centuries.

Eris' sense for conflict is a bit of a tricky thing to write, because I really do want it to feel like this separate entity to their emotions: sometimes something they lean into until it almost seems like their nature, other times a force that they end up fighting against instead, and something that threads along in the background regardless of their emotions or the situation.

Thank you again for the ask!!

[howdy-folks-its-showtime]

It's Showtime! - June 2024 Devlog

Howdy! Cobalt here, for another devlog over It's Showtime. This month was actually really swell, especially since I got more of my adhd meds recently. So I should be getting way more done in the coming months, yippee!

Programming wise, not a lot was done this month I've mostly spent it changing a few things about the way the map is built. Particularly I'm gonna need to rebuild most of the first floor. However in the long run it should be for the better, for stuff like performance and making it easier to add more to it. I also just needed a break after all I did last month. I have created things like the base for the main menu, a proper testing room and a lot of coding for the cut scene system though!

Writing wise, a ton of progress was made. Most of the major writing for Chapter 1 is done! Or at least on a great first draft. So very soon Chapter 1 will be done writing wise. [For the record currently the in depth writing for Chapter 1 is 7,122 words long] Chapter 2 also had a significant amount of its in depth writing done, almost all of the 'intro' is written out but obviously I'm trying to focus more on Chapter 1 right now. Speaking of the other chapters and such. Chapter 2's summary is almost done, with some things just needing some elaborating or bridging with other parts of it. Chapter 3 has 3 thousand words written in its summary currently, so a lot of what goes on in that chapter has been written out. I recently had a ton of revelations about what is going to happen in Chapter 4 and Chapter 5 has also had a lot added to its summary. Sadly, writing wise, I simply cannot reveal much more without getting into spoilers.

I've also been learning Blender a lot lately. I'm working on a few models, none of them for It's Showtime quite yet. [well besides the walls and floors for the first floor] However soon I'm gonna be trying to make Henry's first model and animations for the game. Probably won't be the final one used for the project, or even the one you'll see upon chapter 1's release, but we'll see. Sadly, a lot of this process is simply tutorials and looking things up, then double checking those things to make sure they can be used in Unity, aren't performance heavy and will work with the systems I've already got in place. Art wise, me and my partner have gotten a lot of fun concept art done.

We've also started a sketchbook purely for Encore! related drawings. We've got so much fun stuff to show you guys when more is done, but for now, I'd love to show off a proper look at Henry's design.

Here we have Henry's reference, specifically for his in-game appearance.

The sketchy reference made for modeling him out. Yes, he is tastefully nude in this appearance. That's just the way it has to be.

Then finally a rough run cycle I animated to show off his character and as practice for when the proper 3D gets made. I'm really proud of how this came out and I hope it gives you guys a good idea for what to expect from him character-wise. As always, feel free to ask any questions about this project and its story if you'd like. I'll do my best to answer them without giving too much away! See you next month!

[aeonphantasia]

Warning: I'm going to let off some steam and talk about heavy topics and private stuff in here since I feel this is the only safe space I have left.

So I've been working on my fic for the akuroku BB event in the past few days. It's all very exciting, I love the plot I picked and I'm looking forward the main event. I don't feel like I'm great at community, especially when there are many people involved but I'm trying to focus on my work and keep my space safe.

However, it seems like I've hit a wall. Creatively and emotionally. My fic is going to lean heavily on the fluff side because it's what I'm comfortable with. I planned to insert a couple of smutty scenes because I feel they could be good for the fic and they can flesh out the narrative and character's development. All in all i feel very proud of my fic's plot.

Often, especially for longer projects, it happens that I can't write in a chronological, linear way and instead I start by focusing on a scene that could be in the middle or at the end of the fic. This time, I decided to start working on the smut first because I know I struggle a lot with those scenes. Today I spent all day, since 10am to 5 pm writing the scene. In seven hours of work, barely 800 words came out of it. My goal was 2k.

Now I know already that I struggle with writing in English since it's not my main language and that slows things down quite a bit. This however is a new low. I realized that the smut was the culprit. I have struggled all day trying to find the right emotional tone, the right words.

I've been reading a lot of explicit fics especially in the last twelve months. I used to write it and I have a couple of explicit fics in my collection from 2023. It's not been that long. Still, today was a disaster. I kept reading the text over and over and the more i looked at it, the more disgusted I started to feel as if everything was wrong: the tone, the words, the depth. I had a breakdown. I've been crying for an hour and my clinical depression hit again. To the point where now I feel completely useless, I'm mad that I wasted my time over something that I will probably delete and won't be putting in my fic. I'll probably be forced to remove the explicit content from my fic since I'm so terrible at it.

Again, I used to write explicit things without any concern. I've tried to understand why is it so difficult now. Might be because of a job that's mentally draining. But the great sense of disgust I feel, I fear it might stem from other reasons. Than it hit me, the reason why. Because I'm a neurodivergent aromantic.

The previous times I've written smut, there were no emotions involved. I just wrote pwp fics. Rhe emotional side wasn't important to explore for me. The characters were already in an established relationship. I didn't feel the need to explore their emotional connection.

With this fic is different. The characters are falling in love, they have strong emotions for each other. Emotions that I feel the need to highlight in writing.

And I started thinking about my life, about my lack of positive emotions growing up because of the bad situation I was born in. I don’t know positive emotions. In my 35 years, I've never fallen in love once. I've never experienced the nice feelings that most people usually go through. I've never experience parental affection or love growing up in that shitty place. For me, life has always been only hurt and sadness. I'm incapable of feeling anything else. My intimate experiences have never been linked to positive feelings. Everything has always been mechanical and nobody had ever sticked long enough to allow me to discover a different side of things.

Of course I can't write emotional intimacy. I can't write something I know nothing about. And I'm even incapable of faking it.

This is devastating for me and it's killing me inside even more. It's discouraging on a painful level. I'm doubting myself, my skills. Now I don't even know if I can keep going with this fic.

I feel helpless and hurt. I feel weird and out of place. I always knew I didn't belong in this world as a person. Now I feel like even my creativity has no place in it. Not if it's so void of emotions. So empty.

I feel like, no matter what, I'll always be just an empty shell. A ghost passing by, waiting for all the pain to end.

[koorinokujira]

Yakuza 0 is a SPECTACULAR game and I'll shove my love for it in everyone's faces now

Alright, I'll take a bit of a break from regularly scheduled Basara-posting (don't worry, the next batch of imagines is getting worked on), because boy, am I full of emotions right now. This will most likely turn into a mini-series of posts, I don't know yet.

TLDR: Background of me getting into it all and me gushing about my appreciation for the game since I finally finished it. Some (at least vague) spoilers will definitely be involved, so if you haven't played the game yet, here's your warning! Also, I ramble a lot, sorry.

So, I am still fairly new to the Yakuza fandom, all things considered. While I first discovered the Yakuza/Like a Dragon series a few years ago (through a Majima meme, lol), I wasn't that into it at the start. I had other hyperfixations at the time, and it was just sort of at the background. I watched some gameplays, saw some memes, and after watching a full playthrough of Yakuza Kiwami (and a bit of Y0), I eventually decided to get Y0 and play it myself. Bought it and played for a few chapters, but then it got buried again beneath other games, even if I liked it a lot. But this year, it all just came back to me, and I decided to throw myself into it fully this time, restarting my Y0 playthrough (and engaging with the fandom a bit more).

And I'm incredibly glad I did.

At the time of writing this, I finished the game like 30 minutes ago, give or take, and I feel like I'm feeling everything right now. There aren't many games that hit me so hard. Every single second of this game just kept my eyes glued to the screen, and even when I was not playing, the feelings from the story lingered.

You know, I've been sort of living through other people's experiences with the series lately, especially here on Tumblr. Even if I don't know half of the characters everyone talks about yet, I still appreciate the funky stuff everyone here creates. I love the ridiculous memes, the sweet Minedai and Kazumaji fanarts, the kick-ass cosplays, and all the other stuff! You guys made me love it even more and keep going, so I could enjoy it even more! But I have to say, experiencing at least Yakuza 0 for myself hits so much harder than just watching a gameplay.

I got to play as a buff, scary looking man that races toy cars with kids as if his life depends on it, and constantly gets tangled up in ridiculous situations and helps people around town, all the while he's putting his life on the line to protect those he loves the most. I got to hire a chicken as a real estate manager, enjoy some karaoke with my best pal Nishiki, and save some poor ladies from terrible guys who harassed them on the street. And there was also so, so many heart-wrenching things that made me stop what I was doing, because I just hated to see Kiryu's kind, gentle heart get torn apart by the world he willingly stepped into.

I also got to play as a man that went through hell and clinged onto life through sheer determination. A man that was lost, but slowly found what was important to him through the course of the story. But even with him, I got to experience a ton of hilarious weirdness, which may or may not include things like pretending to be a desperate girl's boyfriend, beating up a cult leader or accidentally raising the taxes for all of Japan. Majima, I love you too, you crazy bastard!

All the characters are written so well, and felt very real to me the whole time. Nothing was really black and white, and even the simpler looking characters ended up being very complex most of the time. Honestly, I could ramble on and on about how it broke me to see Tachibana cry, or how much I adore Kashiwagi, even with the limited screentime. I will probably make a few more in-depth posts about certain characters and how I view their themes in the future.

But all this is to say, I'm glad that I finally took the plunge, and I am looking forward to what I have yet to experience! I even have a few OCs that I may share in the future (if I finally learn how to draw properly, that is), and maybe some fanfics, too!

After I finally 100% Ghost of Tsushima, I am definitely buying Kiwami, too! Glad to finally count myself a "proper" member of the RGG fandom ＼(￣▽￣)／

Thank you for reading my excited ramblings, and as I always say...

Have an amazing day!

[meluiloth]

Interesting Questions for MUNS (and writers):

I was tagged by @saephrond to answer these fun questions about writing - or roleplaying, which I've now learned more about thanks to them - and even though I'm very late, I've finally had time to get around to it!! I'm going to answer these questions from the writing perspective, using Culfin as my muse!

1. Would you say that ever since you started writing for your muse you have become more similar to your muse? In what ways?

Quite the opposite, actually - in many ways, Culfin's personality and experiences are referenced loosely on my own. His story has elements of mine in it, which I think adds a lot of depth; after all, they say to 'write what you know', and I find doing that is very helpful.

2. Do you self-project yourself into your muse? If so, then how?

As mentioned above, I definitely do - not to a degree where Culfin is a self-insert, but there are elements of myself in him: his awkwardness in social situations, his eagerness to find a direction in life, his tendency to form strong opinions on people based on first interactions, his determination to look on the bright side - those are all traits familiar to me.

3. Do you regret writing any of your past muses?

In some cases, yes; there are characters who essentially 'haunt' me just because I know I'll never have the inspiration / motivation to write for them, and characters I have written for that I've since lost interest in. I don't regret the experience developing them gave me, but I do regret the character.

4. Would you like to become more like your muse some day?

In some ways, yes; Culfin is a very active character who knows what he wants (even if it might not be what he needs in the long run) and stubbornly chases after it, so I would love his sense of direction. However, he also completely lacks self-esteem and tends to be on the naive side, which aren't traits I would like to exemplify.

5. Do you agree with your muse's decisions? Why or why not?

As the writer of his story, I know exactly where most of Culfin's decisions will lead him; some of them I strongly disagree with, even though they are integral to his story, but others I fully agree with. The ones I disagree with are the ones he makes out of the desire to please others rather than himself, or that he makes despite some major red flags that he chooses not to see. The best choices, though, are those that he makes with his own heart in mind; choices that are neither selfish or self-sacrificing, but where he truly takes into account his own worth.

6. If your muse came to life, do you think you would get along with them?

That's a good question; in some ways, we would get along well, but there would be a lot of factors that could make being friends with Culfin difficult. We're both very intense people who feel things very deeply, so there could be a lot of butting heads there. That and he doesn't really have a filter, so he says and does a lot of things that come across as rude or embarrassing. (Actually, this question is fun because I did write a self-insert character into Misfit who does interact with Culfin for a bit! You'll probably know her right away if you read it!)

7. Would you say that your attitude changes when you get 'into the zone' of writing your muse? (ex: when you write for your muse do you begin to sort of talk like them? do you find yourself feeling grumpy after? etc)

Culfin's mannerisms are quite different than mine, including his way of speech, so when I write I kind of have to deliberate over what he would say or do in any given situation, and how he would do it. It's not hard to write him, per se, but I do have to think about it a bit: writing Culfin involves a lot of trial and error.

8. Do you like to tell people that you like to RP on tumblr? If not, then do you think you'll tell anybody?

I don't have a lot of experience with roleplaying; there are a very few people I've roleplayed with (on Quotev) which has been awesome, but I tend to be careful with that element of connection in general, since I always prioritize internet safety. It's really fun, though, and I might find a way to get into it in the future!

9. Has your muse taught you anything about yourself and/or the world?

Writing Culfin has taught me that patience is key. This isn't a lesson I've learned through his story, but through the actual writing process - I've been working on Misfit for about three years now, and progress is slow, but I'm very proud of what I've done and where the story is going, and I always need to keep in mind that rushing is not the solution. There is no time limit on creativity.

10. After a writing slump, how do you manage to get your muse back?

I engage with my story in ways that aren't exactly writing - whether that's making art based on it, adding to or looking at the story's moodboard, listening to the playlists (I have two: one for the actual storyline and one for writing ambience), or talking about it with my friends! Sometimes inspiration comes naturally to me, other times I have to hype it up by drawing energy from other sources.

Thanks so much for challenging me with this questionnaire, @saephrond - it was so fun, and I definitely had to stretch my mind to answer these!!

[ashirisu]

Hi ashirisu, happy Storyteller Saturday.

Have you ever written something that’s been so emotional that you’ve almost (or actually) cried, yelled out loud, or even just felt emotional while writing it?

@aquadestinyswriting Happy STS to you as well! <3

I have, and it's my favorite writing-related story to tell bc it's atrociously corny and also the itty-bitty personal achievement that I'm proudest of.

So I've had this fantasy story rattling around in my head since I was about eleven, though I've only ever actually written a couple of scenes down. I have entire notebooks full of worldbuilding details, though, including a whole marriage tradition based around flower language and crafting flower crowns for the couple to exchange on their wedding day.

I went hard on this, too. I was really into flower language at the time, so I had meanings for all the different real and fictional flowers and which ones were most frequently paired with each other, but I also got uncharacteristically into the history and culture of the thing. I went into how the tradition has changed over time, how it differs based on class and region, what marriages in different seasons are meant to symbolize based on the flowers that are available, which flowers were most commonly associated with brides vs. grooms and why couples may choose to deviate from it, what to do with the crowns after the wedding, etc. etc. It's hands-down the most in-depth worldbuilding I've ever done, all for a story that has maybe seven written scenes, tops.

Out of those handful of scenes, my favorite one involves the engagement and subsequent elopement of the main character and his love interest (pretty much the whole story revolves around their childhood-friends-to-lovers romance arc). It's the dorkiest thing in the world and so far from actually good, but writing it was an act of completely self-indulgent glee and reading it is a joy and a delight every time. It's important to note here that these two are the OCs, the original blorbos from my brain, and no matter how many times I change their names and appearances, a silly scene in which they decide to marry each other and go exchange marriage crowns in a field full of flowers gets me so fuckin giddy that I can't stop grinning for an hour.

But the other big reason that this whole scene means so much to me is that I've had this piece of worldbuilding in my heart and mind for so long that it's practically become synonymous with marriage for me. I'm in love with this idea so much that, when my now-husband proposed and we started planning our wedding, one of the very first things I asked was if we could dedicate part of our extremely small budget toward real flowers so that we could have flower crowns, very timidly explaining where the idea came from and why it was important to me.

He's like, "Obviously we're going to do that??"

I realize, of course, that I'm not the only one to ever have flower crowns at my wedding, but the fact that I did and that the whole reason was based on this silly thing I wrote makes me so happy. Every time I look at those notes or at my wedding photos, I'm reminded that I wrote this romantic little tradition that made its way into my actual real life in at least some small way and I just feel so proud of myself. It's a good feeling.

[mini-and-mighty]

🎁💕🦋📚🔮🎨 for the writer ask game

Bailey! You're always so sweet, seriously makes me smile every time I see one of your messages.

🎁 Have a piece of a WIP you want to share?

So this is actually from my 2023 NaNoWriMo project; our protag Hadley has accidentally summoned a demon and decides to introduce it to her best friend, Beth.

Hadley rubbed the back of her neck anxiously. “No, but it’s…” She wracked her brain for something to say but there was no way to explain it without sounding like a crazy person. “Just, don’t say I didn’t warn you.” 

“Alright then. You can show her.”

“Show me– achk!” The choked off shriek that came from Beth was about what Hadley expected, although she was grateful that the girl hadn’t screamed outright.

She turned back to her roommate and held up both hands in a placating gesture. “Okay, okay, so I can sort of explain but the most important thing is that it’s not going to hurt us.” 

“Probably not.” Avorsael said. 

“Oh how is that helpful?” she demanded, watching the panic and mixed emotions play out across Beth’s face. 

“Who said I was trying to be helpful?”  

💕 What is your favorite fic that you’ve written?

Omg this one is basically impossible. I think my favorite would have to be 'Gentle Repose', since that one started out as a very short scene idea and turned out into a really sweet, fully formed fic. But it's hard to pick one favorite, even the cringey ones I posted at 12 y/o have a special place in my heart.

🦋 Which character is your favorite to write?

Really Bailey? I'll give you three guesses and the first two don't count. 😂

Of course it's Ahsoka Tano.  I've always said that I basically grew up alongside the character, but looking back at my writing, I can see that the version of her in my fics "grew up" too. I'm able to convey a lot more nuance and depth of detail (I think) that was really challenging as a young writer. 

📚 Is there a fanfic or fanfic writer you recommend?

Gods, there are so many amazing writers out there and I am continually blown away by the talent and passion, people writing entire novels simply because they love it.

Limiting myself to just five, as hard as that is: @dells-bells , @anxiety-banana , @lynnpaper , @webtrinsic1122 and @jedimasterbailey

🔮 Any advice for writers working through burnout or writer’s block?

Write badly. Be self indulgent, be cliche, dig out your OCs from middle school that were really just thinly veiled self-inserts. Write absolute utter nonsense and then rewrite. Writing is just dragging the ideas out of your head kicking and screaming, rewriting is where the real magic happens to turn them into a story.

🎨 If someone were to make fanart of your work, what fic or scene would you hope to see?

Well if someone made fanart of any of the fics I've written for my D&D character, Maggie Marigold, I'd probably lose my mind and frame the damn thing.

I would love to see anything from 'The Forging' or specifically the scene of Ahsoka and Barriss sharing a cot in 'That joins the Sky and Earth' because I put as much sapphic energy into that as humanely possible.

.

Ask me anything or reblog the original game so I can ask you questions too!

[turtlemagnum]

so, just beat pokemon white. here's my thoughts!

so, first of all, the music fucking slapped. part of me wants to say "it's a pokemon game, good music is a given", but i think credit needs to be given when credit is due. the spriteworks is probably some of the best in the series, the anime styled stuff is very high quality and i like how all of the pokemon have an idle animation. i liked the minimal use of HMs, and i liked how TMs are all reusable, i liked how you could use multiple of the same item without being booted back into the menu, there's just quite a few of those good little quality of life things. in terms of the pokemon designs, i came out the other end with a greater appreciation of this generation's little gamers, i must admit... i still think most of them look fucking stupid though. i only ever use pokemon i like, and by the end of the game i only had four pokemon in my party for a reason lol. and yes, one of my elite 4 team was in fact emolga, because i love that little guy. mine's name was dawn!!! anyways, i have some thoughts on the story...

so, pokemon games have never really had Great writing, right? they tend to be charming but clumsy, and about as complicated and subtle as a brick. characters are typically likeable on the writing side but the vast majority of the characterization comes from character design and their choice in pokemon, which is completely fine for a kids game. to be clear, there's nothing wrong with a simple, unsubtle story in my opinion, Especially if it's at something directed at kids. all that being said, i get the feeling that gen 5's writers saw criticism of their previous games being juvenile and overly simple and thought they'd fix that by adding, for want of a better term, JRPG bullshit. the writing isn't really any better than previous games. in fact, it's arguably worse since they focus on it more despite it not getting better. they tried to add more complexity, yes, but complexity requires a certain degree of subtlety and finesse that the writers very obviously did not achieve. the quality of the writing is the same as it ever was, but they tried to make it about something and added a lot more dialogue than there really needed to be. let's compare it to something like gen 1, right?

so like, gen 1's story wasn't good on a purely technical level, right? i'm reminded of a quote from i believe one of the new vegas devs where they said something to the effect of "the vast majority of an RPG's story takes place inside the player's head", and i think that applies to pokemon red and blue. the story of the actual written prose isn't all that substantive because you're expected to fill in the blanks with your own gameplay experiences, what choices you make, what makes it truly your own pokemon journey. the anime filled in a lot of the blanks too, of course, but in terms of what's in the actual text itself there's just not a lot of story because i'd argue you're meant to imagine what you'd personally be like in these situations. pokemon black and white kinda takes the opposite approach, in my opinion

the story is rather text heavy. that would be fine if it was competently written, but it's not. it's got the same lack of depth and nuance as the stuff that came before, but now there's more of it and from what i can tell they're trying for there to be complex, interwoven themes. the whole truth vs ideals thing comes off as someone who's not particularly well read trying to come up with a deep, philosophical conflict but not really understanding the kind of cerebral bullshit you need to explore in order to do such a thing. i've heard some define the word pretentious as affecting a greater meaning than one truly possesses, and i'd argue that's what pokemon black and white are. they are, at their core, an uncomplicated children's story with a pretense of something grander than they really are. and again, there's nothing wrong with an uncomplicated children's story, but there is something wrong with a story trying to be something it just isn't.

now, is the overdone story a complete waste of time? no, i liked the little arcs cheren and bianca went through, even if they weren't very complex i still appreciated that they had an arc that you actually saw over the course of the game. the same goes for N, and i appreciate that he genuinely reads as an intense weirdo raised by inhuman creatures and then groomed by an abusive piece of trash into a radical cult-like worldview. i appreciate that the gym leaders tend to be at least a bit more than one-note caricatures, they usually have at least two notes now and seem to have hobbies aside from things directly related to their pokemon; and i also like how they seem to have some kind of law enforcement role since yeah, it'd make sense that in a world where everything revolves around these magical creatures that live alongside humans and with our help can grow to impossibly strong heights, the people who dedicate their lives to having The Strongest of these creatures would probably have some kind of systemic power. i'm not sure if that'd necessarily be a good thing realistically, but i think it's a logical way for a world like that to exist & also it's a pokemon game, a world where most people are just fundamentally good in no small part due to how much they love the little guys that give them power. i liked all of these things about the story, and you could definitely argue that the game has a better story than the previous entries on the back of all of this alone and i wouldn't fault you for that. that being said,

the story of pokemon black and white stops you So Fucking Much. you cannot finish a gym or finish going down a route without Something story related happening. and like, to be honest it didn't bother me that much since i expected it going in having seen reviews where this was mentioned. but holy shit does it bog down the story to an intense degree, even if i personally didn't mind it that much. this game is the story equivalent of all the random encounters you get walking through a fucking cave, just stopping one after the other after the other. and again, i wouldn't mind the heavy focus on dialogue and story if it was better written, right? but this isn't fallout: new vegas, and it sure as shit isn't disco elysium, the story is Not good enough to slow you down this much. honestly, i think i'd love a pokemon game with like, An Actual RPG Plot, y'know? maybe one of the later games pulls it off, i dunno.

i will say that, all in all, i had fun with pokemon white. i don't think i'm gonna wanna replay it, at least not anytime soon, but i can definitely see why it's as beloved as it is. i'm surprised to say it, but i think i like it? i don't think it's really much better than the previous games in most of the ways that matter, and it's worse in a few ways that matter a lot to me, but at it's core i think they're very good, solid games.

[devnmon]

Long, Long Time.

'Cause I've done everything I know To try and make you mine And I think I'm gonna love you For a long, long time

Summary: Irrevocably in love with the woman you can’t have, a wine drunk night over classical reading and a fireplace aids in decision making.

Ao3 version | tess masterlist

prequel fic

Warnings: smut [a tiny bit], reader hopelessly in love with Tess, use of y/n (a couple times); based on ep 3 of TLOU

wc: 13k

A/n: Okay ummm first of all don’t blame me for writing this much on one character that i’ve never written before, but this fic is literally my baby. It’s my favorite thing i’ve written. I thought it was my turn to take a spin with writing for Tess. Since tlou came out i’ve been obsessed with her and… well you can tell by how much I wrote. Here it is, my perfect Tess fic. Enjoy <3

Today was the day.

A warm morning in September, 20 years after the Cordyceps infection sunk into the deepest depths of society, crumbling down its once high, strong walls, to a brittle, cracked dictatorship of community. The Boston Quarantine Zone was one of your least favorite places in the world, but from what you heard about other cities' QZ's, it was a walk in the park.

As a smuggler, you handled runs for more than 75% of the place, with the help of a few desperate FEDRA officers that offered to look the other way for a price.

If risking your life for bottles of pills and useful supplies was the most dangerous thing to do, then so be it; you were the unlucky one.

Most runs, you were accompanied by one of your two partners, Tess Servopolous or Joel Miller. They were older, skilled, smart, and resourceful, and they knew how to kill. Especially Tess. She could handle her own like it was nobody's business. Hard headed and courageous, Tess became a good partner and soon enough, a close friend.

Although, there was another part of you that found her alluring, captivating and so, so gorgeous. She was confident in herself no matter what, which only drew you towards her more.

Ever since the early days of the outbreak, you three had each other's backs, and nothing could come between you. To you, they were the only thing you'd known after being found by the older woman and taken in. The day she found you, beat up and bloody with several injuries, was the day she had quite genuinely saved your life.

Now a part of Joel and Tess's smuggling business, you were off to a town called Lincoln, a five hour hike from the walls of the QZ.

The hot sun glared down on your skin, a chill September breeze flowing in gusts that kept you cooled off enough throughout your journey.

A majority of the trip was spent in silence, lost in your enamor for Tess, eyes trailing over the back of her figure. She had glanced back once or twice at you, like she could feel your eyes burning into her body.

Some nights you lay awake wondering what it would be like to drag your fingers up and down the expanses of her skin, trailing over her back and caressing the soft skin of her figure till you fell asleep.

Time passed as you traveled behind Tess and Joel, and the image of a metal fence coming into view.

"This is it," Joel stated before approaching the gate. You begin to follow the two older individuals before you pause, stopping a minute to remember something that Frank had mentioned about their gate.

"Wait, I thought you said this thing was booby-trapped or something.. How do we know it won't get triggered?" The concern of your safety was imminent, the unknown patiently waiting behind the metal gates.

"Well we don't, but Frank said if we came from the road instead of the forest that it wouldn't get triggered. They'd see us coming that way, too. Trust me, I know Frank. He wouldn't lie, not when he knows we can work together."

Tess was the expert on the two men that lived behind the gates of the completely deserted town; she was the one who arranged their meeting, after all.

"Alright.." You sighed, walking right up to the gate with them.

There was a box attached to the entry gate with a few buttons on it. You watched Joel walk up to the gate and press a button labeled 'Call'.

A loud buzzing sounded out after he'd pushed the red button in, and a moment later, a male voice responded from the intercom.

"Password."

The voice sounded deeper than Frank's, only assuming the speaker was Bill, the other half of the couple that resided in Lincoln.

"Uh- Ahem," Joel cleared his throat, before stating the code word Frank had given you three before coming.

The feedback rang out as Joel spoke, another buzzing sound coming from the gate as you hear it unlock.

"Alright, let's go. Keep an eye out for anything suspicious, since we really don't know what we're walkin' into here."

Tess scoffed at her male partner's words, a smirk on her face saying otherwise from your tense anxiety of meeting new people.

"Tess, hey," you grabbed her arm ever so softly as you trailed behind her, and she looked toward you, "Are you sure we can trust these guys?"

A tiny smile formed on her face as she recognized your nervousness. She thought it was adorable and sweet how you went to her for comfort at any point in time. It warmed her heart and made her feel important to somebody again.

"Yeah, I'm sure. Frank wouldn't hurt a fly. Bill on the other hand.. he might be a bit standoffish at first. From what Frank said, I'm sure he'll warm up to us with time. Don't worry."

Tess rubbed your arm up and down a couple times, hoping it would soothe your worries. As she did, your face broke out into a small smile, nodding before you dropped your grip and continued walking. You could get lost in the hazel of her eyes like it was hypnosis, or something close to that. The way Tess made your world stop by even being in your presence was something entirely familiar to you, and it kept you up at night, pondering about the simplest things.

It seemed the little town of Lincoln, Massachusetts was surrounded by this perfect bubble of safety and security. Like a dream, the familiarity of a place as different from the QZ.. felt a bit unreal. You never thought you'd have the chance to make friends in a world with infected, much less one with access to such a large range of supplies in a deserted town, highly protected by its sole residents.

The feeling surrounding you was oddly similar to how you felt around Tess, her warmth and beauty heart-warming, much like a hug.

Your focus is brought back to reality as you almost bump into Tess's back, her and Joel had abruptly stopped walking.

"Oof- sorry Tess-"

"Y/n.." Joel says abruptly, not realizing they're both holding their hands out to the side, the cocking of what sounded like a gun putting the realization into place.

"Shit.." You whispered, stepping out from behind Tess, arms out in the same fashion as your partners, and you realize there's a man holding a gun out at the three of you.

Then, from the house the man stood in front of, another man came running out. He calls the name of the man who's holding his pistol at you, Bill.

Which means.. that's Frank. You thought to yourself, as the sweater-wearing man approached and tried to beckon the other man to lower his weapon.

"Bill, these are the people I met over the radio. We can trust them.. they aren't going to hurt us. Put the gun down, please? I don't want to scare off people we could potentially be working with.." The man named Frank said with a chuckle, almost having to force the gun down himself. After another moment of brooding stares being passed between Bill and Joel, he lowers the gun and places it in his holster at his thigh.

Your hands drop to your sides after freezing with them out in the air due to fear. It wasn't the first time someone's pointed a gun at you, but it sure as hell was one of the times you thought someone would actually shoot. Relief washed over you as Bill's arms lowered.

"Perfect, thank you," Frank says to Bill, before wrapping his arm around the man's shoulder, "Welcome to our home, I'm Frank, and this is Bill. I'm so glad to finally meet you guys. We have a lot to talk about! Come on, follow me."

Frank had a home-like smile that was warm and welcoming. It was the first time in a long time you'd seen anyone smile like that. So carefree. You guessed it was the effect of not being behind the walls of a QZ for too long. That, or Frank knew how to stay true to himself in such a rugged, rough around the edges world.

The uncomfortable gaze Bill shot your way made you realize that it probably took a lot for him to even agree to let the three of you come into their town, much less want to work with complete strangers.

While being led back to Bill and Frank's home, you can't help but marvel at everything around you. Lincoln was much different than the QZ and open city; a town quite literally frozen in time from when it had been evacuated. A place like this was one you dreamed of settling down in, with a partner before the outbreak; it seemed like the perfect place to do so. Quiet, quaint, and bare of any infected or dangerous militia and resistance groups.

As their home came into view, it was exactly as you thought it'd be: another one of the huge houses a place like suburbia always had. It was one of the biggest you'd ever seen, almost out of a storybook. Except for the leaves blowing through the streets, it was as if the house hadn't aged a day. Everything about their home and its surrounding yard looked as if it had been tended to regularly; a mowed lawn, bushes with budding flowers, and not a single area of chipped paint to be seen.

"This is our place, I do my best to keep it looking its best and Bill... well he's just one hell of a cook. Aren't you, dear?" Frank turned to Bill with a smile, only to look away from his lover and back at you three.

"It's true, one of the many things I'm good at. Including defending my home." Bill's hand went to the gun strapped on his thigh.

"Yes, of course you are. Now, could you whip us up some lunch while I get to know our lovely guests here?" Frank turns his head towards Bill again.

"But-" Bill begins to speak, wanting to name all the reasons he doesn't want to leave his lover alone with strangers. Though, you notice Frank is quick to reassure Bill that everything will be alright.

"I'll be fine, I promise. They aren't going to hurt me, I've been extra careful with who I talk to, you know that. These people aren't dangerous. At least not to us." Frank's smile breaks Bill's resolve, trusting his lover enough to retreat into the house with haste.

Now alone with Frank, he guides the three of you over to the table on their lawn. You sit down next to Tess on your right side and Frank on the left.

"So.. Tess, I assume the lovely man you arrived with is the famous Joel Miller?" Frank turned to Joel with his hand out, receiving a firm handshake and nod from the Texan man.

"And you must be..." He turns to you.

"I'm y/n, the secret.. not-so-secret third partner." You laughed awkwardly, feeling somewhat out of place with the man and woman.

"That's right, I've only heard your name a handful of times, but it is so nice to finally meet you in person." Frank read your nervous state like a book, giving you peace of mind with a warm smile. Your nervous state diminishes when Frank's words set in, easing a smile onto your face and raising your eyebrows in slight surprise.

He's heard of me? I wonder what Tess's told him...

"It's nice to meet you too, Frank."

The four of you conversed with small talk, only butting in here and there to add something in, mostly keeping to yourself and not wanting to make the wrong impression on Frank. Tess and Joel discuss the details of a trading business between you all.

Soon enough, Bill began to come out with plates and silverware, to which Frank jumped up to help with setting the table.

"I can help if-" You started to speak, feeling a little guilty at not doing anything to help out as a guest.

"No, no. Sit, relax. You're our guests here, and I'm sure your trip has been long and tiring. Besides, it's been a while since I've set the table for more people than just me and Bill, and it's something I've always loved doing." Frank's kind smile once again eases your worries. But you swore to yourself you'd find a way to repay them for this.

You nodded as the two men made several trips to set the table, appreciating every little thing they added to it one after another. Spices, napkins, fine china plates and silverware with no scratches or rust on them. It was all a marvelous sight, one that reminded you of the old world and missing little things like this in times like these.

The amount of objects they'd placed on the table made you forget just how many of those material things you realized living without was doable. Even if you wished there were more aspects of the old world in the present one.

Fiddling with your thumbs again, you listened in to Joel and Tess's muttering about whether or not they could convince the two males on agreeing to work together, until you heard an exclamation from Tess.

"Oh my god.."

Your head jolted up towards the woman, about to ask her the reason for her outburst, until you picked up what had caught her attention.

The smell of fresh, hot food surrounded the three of you, hunger scraping at the edges of your stomach, making it even more evident that your last meal hadn't been as much of a hearty one as you'd wished. Dishes with meat and vegetables were all neatly placed in the same portion sizes as Frank and Bill put each plate down.

Before you dug in, you heard a familiar pop of cork from what you could only assume was a wine bottle. Sure enough, as you looked at Frank, the bottle he'd brought out resembled one you'd buy for a nice meal like this.

It wasn't until you heard the same cocking of Bill's pistol that you froze in your place. You watched as he placed it on the table for you all to see, a statement of protection and untrustworthiness he clearly still saw in the three of you.

Maybe not you or Tess specifically, but Joel, most definitely.

You decide to ignore the firearm's presence on the table, and begin eating the food that's so delicately placed on each of your plates. Instead of scarfing it all down like some rabid animal, you savored each bite of the flavorful, nutritious food and sip of wine like it was your last.

It might as well have been, since you had no idea whether or not you would be working together.

You wondered how people even ate on china plates that were as delicate and prettily detailed in the most extravagant ways. The silverware and wine glasses were also detailed and etched in such a beautiful way. It made you appreciate the smallest things before you had to go without them again.

A while passes, and everyone's finishing their food up. Light gusts of wind flow through Tess's hair as you look over to her, holding the glass of wine in her hand.

"Well, this really is just-- it's amazing." A slight smile on her face brings warmth to your chest, heating your body despite the cool air.

"Right?" Frank looks from Tess to Bill, who still has his pistol on the table, "Can you not please?"

He reaches over Tess's glass to fill it with the dark red alcohol, then reaches over to yours to do the same as you smile at him.

"I'm the same way," Joel states, understanding where Bill's actions are coming from. You realized in that moment that Bill and Joel are more alike than you thought.

"Oh, you're a paranoid schizophrenic too?" There's a slight chuckle that sounds out from you and Tess as Frank speaks.

"I'm not schizophrenic." Bill suddenly retorts, knowing the validity behind the methods to his madness.

Tess clears her throat, attempting to break the awkward tension that's so clearly grown between Bill and Joel.

"Well can I just say, gun aside, which I get, by the way, how nice this is to have a civilized meal in such a beautiful place? It's been so long. I mean it, I just- I wanna thank you. Even if we don't end up working together. I really needed this."

Her words seemed genuine, a slight twinge of silent and repressed pain in what she said. You only knew an extent of Tess's emotional wounds, ones she pushed down to do her job better.

As Frank lifts his wine glass to Tess with a small smile, he states, "We are working together."

The two clink their glasses together, making you raise yours to do the same.

"Cheers." Tess and Frank clink their glasses, and then Tess turns to you in the same fashion, quickly lifting your glass to clink together.

You all finish up your meals, occasionally glancing over to Tess with appreciation that you got to share something this special with your best friend.

And then the realization hit you, she was only your best friend, and you'd wanted to be more with her since she'd revealed a different side of her to you throughout the years. It was a kind, warm, caring side of Tess that made her feel like the familiarity of those strawberry candies that were hard on the outside, but soft, sweet and gooey on the inside. Tess was rough around the edges, but when she was alone with you were the times she revealed a softer side of herself.

Frank hadn't glanced anywhere other than Tess and Joel, picking up the way they discussed with one another, as if they were good business partners and friends. He'd been blinded by the fact that you sat furthest from Joel, barely even glancing his way for a split second.

The moment Frank gets a good look at you at the table is when he picks up on the way you look at Tess; it's different than the way you look at Bill and Joel, and by god does it open his eyes a mile wide. He only hides it behind his all-knowing warm persona and recognizes a light in your eyes that he saw similarly in Bill's the minute before he'd kissed him, that one day in 2007. Three years later, he saw that same spark of light in you, whenever your eyes glazed over to the only other woman at the table.

The warm younger man looks to his partner, who's anything but, to reassure you all again.

"We are." A moment passes as he sips from the wine glass and speaks again, "You know what? Let's go inside. Tess and y/n, I wanna show you something."

Frank begins to stand, lifting his wine glass from the table, Tess following next before you stand as well.

"Oh yes, it sounds amazing, I'd love to see inside." Now more sociable with the two glasses of wine in your system, you catch your balance before pushing your chair out from the table.

"Actually, I have been wanting to see inside, thank you."

Your words and Tess's overlap at the same time, chuckling a little at the synchronized movements and words between you and the older woman.

"Bring your wine. There's more inside."

"No, not inside. Frank.. Frank!" Bill's voice echoes from the table, as Frank holds the front door open for you two.

You're looking down at your feet as you walk up the porch and into the house, unaware that Tess was glancing back every few seconds to see if you followed. As you step inside, you wipe your boots off on the mat and Frank shuts the door behind him.

Your eyes finally pull away from the mat you've wiped your boots off on, to the inside of Bill and Frank's home. A deep breath of air fills your lungs to the brim as the sight of it all is a bit overwhelming.

"Wow..." you sigh, Frank stood behind you, Tess a few feet ahead, "I haven't seen anything like this in so.. long..."

You trail off as the sight of it all renders you speechless. There's candelabras with fresh wax from candles and picture frames with black and white photos. The image of inside makes it feel like a home, something you haven't felt in a very long time.

"Come on, it's right over here." Frank speaks out loud to the both of you, only you're still standing a few feet in front of the door, as the two walk into the open room just right of the stairway.

"Oh wow, look at these photo albums! I haven't seen one of these in forever.. Are they all Bill's?" Tess's voice carries to you from the other room, noticing her slight chuckle as you gaze over to where she's flipping through one of the albums.

"Yeah, yeah they are. Just don't tell him I showed you.." The two continue to giggle to themselves over the old pictures.

"Oh my gosh, I didn't even notice the extensive vinyl collection.. You know, I used to have a turntable back in college. I'd play the same old records every day, annoyed the hell out of my roommates.." Tess chuckles as she talks about her past life, something you always enjoyed hearing about when she brought it up.

With you, she could bring up anything from her old life, and you'd listen to every word.

You still had the suspicion that she and Joel had a thing going on, and your not-so-little crush on her was doing more harm for you than good in that aspect.

Tess and Frank are looking through the collections of vinyl and photos while you nonchalantly watch from afar, eyes glazing over to the massive shelves of books. Most of the ones on lower shelves were Bill's books on survival and guns, but the ones resting on the higher shelves were classics.

Before the outbreak, you'd been a sucker for those. There was something about the art of classic literature, the subtext and deeper meanings under every word. The beauty of those stories was unmatched.

I'd love to read one of those over some wine.. Matter of fact-

"Hey Frank? Where's that other bottle of wine?" You call out to him from the doorway, with your glass still in hand. Frank glances over to you from a few feet away.

"It's in the fridge, wine opener is uh- somewhere in there. You'll find it."

"Okay, thanks."

You finally break off from the two, eyes glazing over every single picture Bill and Frank have of themselves in their home, as well as the paintings Frank's done of Bill and himself.

Striding into the other room, the kitchen was in a state of what looked freshly used; pots and pans were everywhere, the scent of once heated oil lingering.

Your curious eyes peel over all the older pictures, then notice one in color that's stuck to the fridge with a rainbow magnet.

A twinge in your chest comes as well as joy for the two men that happened to find each other among a world of infected and dictatorships.

You just wish it would have happened to you already.

Bill must have had some vintage cameras lying around, ones Frank knew how to use, or learned to use for things like this. You crouched closer to look at the picture of the two men, bodies pressed together and hands clasped in each other's like they never wanted to let go.

And in such a world, why would they want to?

You pull the refrigerator door open, spotting the unopened bottle of red wine in the door. Reaching for it, you read the label, Beaujolais.

Huh, fancy name for a wine. It'll get me drunk all the same though.. Now where is that damn cork opener?

You're rummaging around in the kitchen drawers until you finally find it, oblivious to the fact that Tess has walked up behind you in your haste to find the damn thing. Her grey shirt is unbuttoned, with a white tee underneath. She always had the simplest style, but it didn't stop her from looking fucking stunning in anything she wore. Tess makes her presence known to you, arms folded across her chest as she leans against the doorway. Picturesque light chestnut strands of hair frame the soft features of her face.

"Whatcha got there?" your body whips around, wine bottle and opener in each of your hands (and almost slipping from them), to which Tess smirks a little at the sight.

You were surprised to not have heard the sound of her boots on the wooden floor, but Tess always had a way of surprising you like that.

You smile sheepishly, raising the bottle and wine opener in both your hands. Truth was, Tess popped in at the perfect time; you could never get the hang of opening things like this.

Opening bottles of liquor for you was always Tess's thing, since you didn't have the skill or strength for it. Your hands were just naturally smaller than hers as well, which meant it was only a job for a person with bigger hands.

How you wished you could hold them.

"Just in time. Could you open this for me? It's more your thing than mine.. Please? Before I drop it or something.."

Tess strides towards you and grabs both objects from your hands. She inserts the opener into the cork and twists until the similar pop from earlier indicates she'd removed it, the wine's aroma filling the area between you two.

Her strength was so attractive, the way she could make the simplest things such as opening a wine bottle look hot. The veins in her hands protruded when her grip strained, making you wonder what her hands would look like doing different things.

Tess lifts the cork to her nose, smelling the wine more intensely now, looking angelic as she breaths it in. Then, she lifts it to your nose, the gesture so familiar to you, but yet you've never seen Tess in a moment like this before.

The scent of the liquor paired with how Tess looks in the sunlight peering through the window is intoxicating in itself, as she places the bottle on the counter. Glancing outside, the golden light began to fade fast, darkness approaching quicker than you'd like it to.

With a smile, you walk over to the countertop and pour yourself another glass of wine.

"Thanks... you'll have to teach me that sometime." You couldn't tell if the flush on your cheeks was from the wine, or the gesture Tess just did for you.

"Yeah, but then what would you need me for?" Tess cocks her head to the side, a slight smirk on her face again. That damn smirk.

Rolling your eyes, you scoffed.

As if I could ever go without you, Theresa.

"Oh, please. I'll always need you, Tess."

"Right.. So, Frank said we could stay the night, since it's more dangerous to travel when it isn't daytime. Our visit was longer than expected.." Tess's eyes move from you to outside, where Bill and Joel were still sat, discussing in what looked like a more civilized way than earlier.

"They have enough room for us?" You asked, sipping at the red wine.

"Yeah, they've got two extra bedrooms. So, I figure you and I could share one and give Joel the other room for himself. Plus they said we could use their shower," Tess shuffled closer to you and lowered her voice, "I hear they have hot water.."

Your eyes widened at the thought of a hot shower, something you hadn't realized was accessible anymore. Though, before speaking, you cleared your throat to minimize any indication of nervousness in the fact that you and Tess would be sharing a bed tonight.

"You sure you wouldn't rather room with Joel? I.. move around a lot in my sleep."

A confused look displays itself across Tess's face.

"I mean- I wouldn't want you to wake up with me on top of you or.. anything.." A nervous chuckle erupts from your chest as you laugh your awkwardness off.

"I think that second bottle of wine is what I should be worried about, not your restlessness." She smirks again, "But have fun with that. I'm gonna go wash up. Talk later?"

You only nodded, not wanting to embarrass yourself in front of your best friend any more.

As Tess left the room, the strain of your journey finally set in. Soles of your feet began to twinge with pain, carrying you to the next room with the wine bottle and glass in hand.

You saunter into the living room, the amount of wine you've consumed making your cheeks, not to mention your whole body, flush with heat. The weight of your figure flopped down in a corner of the room as you placed the wine bottle down.

You gulped at the rest of the liquid in your glass, putting it on the side table. Gazing around the room at all the vintage items in perfect condition, your eyes meet the tall shelf of classic literature once again.

Pulling yourself from the chair, you pick up the bottle of wine by its neck, instead of pouring yourself another glass.

They're not gonna miss one little bottle... they've got a whole vineyard to themselves.

It's then you hear the front door open finally, Bill and Joel coming in, their discussion a little lighter than the one they were having earlier. You hear a chuckle fall from Joel in his Texan accent and your eyebrows raise.

Wow, they're finally getting along. Maybe we will have new business partners after all..

You stumble over to the bookshelf, about three glasses of wine making your bodily strength diminish with every sip you took. You were in a more tipsy state than usual; not having drank alcohol for years had more of an effect on you than it usually would.

The higher bookshelves are littered with dust, not having been touched since who knows when; you're just tall enough to drag your fingers across the top shelf on your tippy toes, the one below it littered with the many classic stories.

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen, Little Women by Louisa May Alcott, Lady Chatterley's Lover by D.H. Lawrence, Emma by Jane Austen.

You read the titles off in your head, fingers trickling over the necks of each hardcover novel, stopping at Little Women and pulling it from the bookshelf. You also grabbed Pride and Prejudice, planning to ask Frank or Bill in the morning to borrow them till your next visit.

Slumping over in the chair again, you open Little Women, pages crinkling as the smell of the vintage book hits your face. It almost makes you sneeze, but you stifle it and begin reading.

You're mumbling to yourself in the little cozy corner of Frank and Bill's house, perched in a red armchair, and it's the most domestic you've ever seen yourself be in a long time. Granted, you were becoming more intoxicated with each gulp of the bitter alcohol you ingested. It floods your insides with warmth, your train of thought sidetracking from the story in your hand to the thought of the gorgeous woman that was Tess Servopolous.

She felt like home, the sweet smile she revealed to you your favorite thing about her. Her hardened exterior cracked and withered away bit by bit with every day you lay in her apartment healing from your injuries.

You're pulled out of the daydream when footsteps descend down the stairway, until the figure turns the corner. Frank's face comes into the warm lamp light, silently walking into the room and fiddling around with a few things before making his way over nearby where you sat.

Over the edges of the book, you watch him grab a few logs of firewood, placing one in the brick fire pit, before lowering your eyes back to the book. A few more minutes pass of his fidgeting before you realize the fireplace has come alive with flames of light.

Waves of heat flood the room, completely bringing your attention away from the book in your hands.

"No way..." Your voice draws Frank's eyes to you.

"Way. You know, my favorite thing to do in the fall is make fires.. Bonfires, campfires, any kind of natural warmth feels so home-like and safe. Don't you think so?"

"Yeah.. my childhood home had such a nice fireplace like this. It's really nice to see and feel again after so long." The two of you share a smile and look at the fire. Flames crackle and burn high, popping at times, the same way it used to before. Silence is adamant throughout the room, clutching the novel in your arms as the flames continue to burn.

"So.. you gonna tell me what's got you slumped over in a corner reading classic literature? I can't imagine it's that riveting.." Frank's tone tells you that he's joking, but you can't help from being at least a little offended in your drunken state.

"Classic literature is actually my favorite genre of novel, for your information. And you wouldn't get it…" The irony of your words slaps you in the face the minute they manifest themselves because.. Frank does know what it's like to feel the way you do. He’s just still in the dark about it.

"Hey, hey. You can tell me what's going on. I may or... may not have any experience on what you're going through."

Then the realization sets in that he's probably felt the way you do his whole life.

It's at that moment you decide to trust him. You close the book over, and look Frank in the eye.

"Okay, but this stays between us. Promise?"

"Of course."

A sigh leaves your chest and you begin to tell him how you feel about a certain one of your smuggling partners.

"Tess saved me... however many years ago it was... I can't remember how long it's been now. I've just always been around her since then. She's done things for me and- and I've done things for her... But I never knew why I always wanted to be around her.. until one night when I had a really, really rough day and she comforted me. I never wanted to leave her arms, and that's when I realized.. I liked her. She's my best friend, Frank.. What would I do if she doesn't feel the same? I don't think I could live with myself if I ruin our friendship because of some stupid fucking crush."

You finished speaking, letting out another sigh like you'd just thrown up all the thoughts reverberating in your head the second you made it out of the QZ walls.

Frank's silent until he speaks, analyzing and connecting dots in his head about this afternoon and the way you'd been acting.

"All that... doesn't sound just like a little crush to me, hon. You love her.. and you want what's best for her. Protecting yourself from the hypothetical hurt of her not feeling the same is valid.. but you're not gonna know how she feels about you if you don't tell her. Take the night, and think on it. Or... go ahead and keep on reading your classic literature while the love of your life goes to sleep upstairs. I'm just saying, if you don't try, then what's the point?"

The next time you look Frank in the eyes, they're filled with kindness, and you can tell he sees you for who you really are. There's no hiding your true self around him, he reads you the same way he read Bill the day he fell in that hole in the ground.

"You know what, you're right. I'm gonna take the night to think about it, thanks, Frank. I don't know what I'd do if I was alone in this."

Frank places his hand over yours in a compassionate and friendly way. He understood where you'd been coming from, especially with the way you both were.

The rest of your night is spent cuddling up under a blanket Frank had placed over your legs before he headed up to bed for the night. The wine drunk put you in an exhausted state, eyelids as heavy as weights until you ended up falling asleep curled up in the chair, fire dwindling away to nothing but embers.

A nudge to your arm slightly pulls you from your slumber, wine bottle abandoned on the floor from earlier. The next thing you feel is a strong grip lifting your body from the chair. With a groan, your arms flail weightlessly to the side, as you're picked up bridal style, the creaking under the wood indicating you were being carried up the stairs.

It's probably Joel who's lifted you like this with no effort at all, no chance it was Frank or Bill. Tess was already asleep too, and once she rested her head, there was no waking her. She slept like a rock.

You figure you're finally up the stairs as the steps steady, pushing the door open silently to the dark bedroom. Finally, you're placed down onto the soft bed, boots being tugged from your feet and placed on the floor. Rolling over a bit, you groan at the comfortable state of the bed.

Already comforted by the blankets, the heat of your body diminishes in the cool, dark room, as you doze off to sleep for the night.

As morning peeks through the shades of the cool bedroom, a pounding headache rammed behind your skull as your eyes inch open. Fluttering profusely, your pupils adjust to the rays of sunlight slowly, head still spinning.

Groaning at the pain, your eyes shift from the window to the side table, where there'd been a glass of water and two pills of Tylenol placed next to a small piece of paper. You sit upright in the bed, truly unable to recall the events of the previous night. The only thing you remembered vaguely was that second bottle of wine, one you regretted even picking up.

You reached for the note, headache only pounding harder as you attempted to read it.

For your head, since you really thought that second bottle of wine was a good idea. We've got breakfast made when you feel well enough. - Frank

It's at that moment you realize your mouth is bone dry, concluding on the fact that you hadn't drank one drop of water last night. As if a desperate plea for the quenching of your thirst, you drop the note in your lap abruptly, gravitating towards the very full glass of water sitting just a foot away.

The liquid slides down your throat as you desperately gulp it down, only stopping for a moment to pop both Tylenol into your mouth. After finishing the glass of water, you look down at the note again.

Signed Frank, but I've seen this handwriting before. Somewhere.. My hungover brain cannot remember right now for the life of me.

A yawn breaks through your chest, your hand instinctively going up to cover your mouth. When the smell of your breath hit your nose, it became apparent to you that you should probably take advantage of the hot and running water in the home.

Quickly, you threw the covers to the side, glancing down at your legs, body covered in the same clothes as yesterday. You didn't even dare attempt to sniff those articles of clothing, knowing how sweat stained they had become on the hike yesterday.

Yeah, you really needed to shower.

Standing from the bed now, you reach over to grab your bag, when you realize you've left it downstairs. Only when you look around the room is when you see a plain grey t-shirt sitting on the arm of a chair.

Tess's shirt, no doubt.

You pick it up and hold it in your hands, the scent of her sure enough surrounding your head.

As tempting as it would be to head back to sleep, you walk over to the bedroom door, opening it to the hallway. It seemed there was nobody remaining upstairs, evident due to the light conversation coming from downstairs. Your socked feet patter across the hall, peeping around a corner before b-lining straight for the bathroom.

Placing the clothing on the countertop, you reach into the shower and start the running water. As it slowly heats the small room, you stride over to a closet, pulling it open to find an abundance of everything you could've ever needed to bathe in the world before. Shampoos, conditioners, body wash, shaving cream and razors.

Wow, these guys really know how to keep inventory. They won't mind if I make use of some of this stuff, I definitely need it more than they do right now.

Steam fills the bathroom as you pull each article of sweat-stained clothing from your body, landing all together in a pile. As you pull the curtain back and step in, the warm water washes over your work-weathered body, goosebumps rising at the comfortably warm liquid.

It was euphoric, the temperature of clean, filtered water paired with the privacy of the shower.

You can only stand still as the dirt and other liquids patter to the tub floor, bringing you lighter in mood and vibrance as well.

As you scrub your scalp with the shampoo, the events of last night finally return to you.

Reading Little Women, admitting how you felt about Tess to Frank- the decision you told him you'd take the night on and think about.

You caught your head in your hands as embarrassment for yourself washed over you, much like the warm water of the shower.

"Ughh, I can't believe I told Frank that stuff.." Although you didn't regret it, not completely. The chat you had actually made you feel better, getting it off your chest after so long of holding it in.

You just wished it would be that easy to tell the person of your affection.

The spray of water from the shower ceased as you turned it off, stepping out onto the bath mat and wrapping a towel around you.

Regrettably, you had no other clothes to change into, so you pull on everything you'd worn the day before, except for your shirt. You put on the grey one for now.

Yep, it definitely smelled like Tess.

Pulling your cargo pants on, you stride out of the steam-filled bathroom, and your feet lead you into Bill and Frank's room.

Though you feel it's trespassing on an already stepped-over line, you head towards their closet, quickly opening the door and taking in the massive amount of flannel shirts hanging there.

Frank had impeccable taste in clothes, deciding to yank one or two of the darkly colored button ups from their hangers. You took a pair of socks as well, since yours had holes in them from their constant use.

You thought about not telling Frank about your thievery, but it's going to become imminent when you walk down the stairs with his shirts in your arms. So you shove them in your bag once you find it resting next to the bed.

Heading back into the guest bedroom, you pull the fresh pair of socks onto your feet, beginning to reach for your black boots sitting on the floor. Reaching down for one, you hear a knock at the door before you can grab it.

Quickly, you stride over to the door, expecting to see Frank or Bill on the other side with a message from your partners about hurrying to leave or something along those lines.

To your surprise, the face on the other side of the door is Tess.

Shit, Tess. The person you promised Frank you'd confess to last night over a drunken conversation.

She looks well rested, wearing a different shirt than the one from yesterday. It's a dark green, that compliments her eye color and the wisps of her caramel hair framing her face. Her hair is in that half up-half down bun, the rest of it resting behind her shoulders.

She looks fucking perfect, and you look like a wet dog, hair still damp from your shower.

"Hey, morning. How'd you sleep? I uh-" Tess is pulling at her collar awkwardly, standing in the same fashion as your eyes finally trail down to what she'd holding in her hands.

She had a plate in her grip, covered in freshly made, very appetizing breakfast foods. Some so freshly made, there was still steam coming off of it.

You're thankful in this moment to have taken those Tylenol earlier, or else the smell of any food whatsoever would've sent you hurling over the toilet like a hungover sorority girl.

"Oh my god, Tess. What is all this?" Your eyes widened in surprise, the smell catching your attention even before you had seen the plate of food in her hands.

"Well, you need a big breakfast for the journey back to Boston today, and I figured you could use it after last night.." A chuckle breaks through her chest, head dipping downwards before looking at your freshened state.

"Come- come in." You move aside for Tess to enter the bedroom, assuming you'd slept alone in here for the night. As she places the tray down on the bed, you sit down, Tess standing a few feet away.

"Tess, did you make this? What the hell- This looks amazing.. Eggs, sausage, hash browns? These are all my favorites.. Seriously, thank you. Wh-what can I do to make it up to you?"

"Well, first of all, breakfast is the most important meal of the day. And second of all, don't thank me, thank Bill and Frank, it's their food I cooked. Consider it a hangover cure. Once I get so drunk that I fall asleep in an armchair with a classic book in my lap, then you can pay me back. It better be a damn good breakfast." She chuckles again, in that low voice that keeps you up at night when you think about it.

The way it says your name, her low tone when she curses under her breath, the way she sounds in the early mornings when the sun still hasn't risen and she's drowsy enough to not make any sense in her muttering.

Tess went through all the trouble of making everything she knew you favored, the mere thought of her thinking about you as she cooked it all only made your enamor for her grow stronger, a fire of love burning behind your chest for the woman in front of you.

It's then she takes a seat on the bed with you, watching as you poke into the eggs and begin devouring the food on your plate. She wasn't leaving, by the looks of it.

In the middle of chewing your food, you speak again.

"Did Frank tell you I passed out down there?"

Her grin becomes larger now as her eyes move from the plate of food to your face as you consume your breakfast.

I wonder what else he told her. Hopefully nothing I haven't yet...

"No, I'm the one that found you, silly. Carried you up the stairs and put you to bed myself."

You continue chewing as your eyes widen, another realization from last night coming back to mind.

It wasn't Joel carrying you, it was Tess.

"You carried me up the stairs? Wow, I'm gonna have to start lifting weights if I have to do the same for you."

While you speak, you're enjoying every morsel of this delicious food Tess has made you, and you're grateful for her in so many more ways than you could express presently.

"You better," Tess says with a scoff. A couple more minutes pass by as you're finishing up the food on your plate. You notice that she's still sitting in the room with you, taking your silence as a sign of comfortability around her.

"So, what's up, Tess?" You say, shoving another fork full of hash browns into your mouth.

"Well, I came to check on you, since last night Frank told me you were drinking a whole 'nother bottle of wine by yourself.. and reading classic literature? For fun?" She laughs.. "I figured you might be hungover this morning and wanted to bring you something to fill your stomach. I can't have you fainting on me when we hike back to the QZ, now can I? Gotta keep your strength up, hun."

The name melts your heart a little and you smile. It was such a simple thing, one that indicated she cared about your wellbeing and didn't want to see you unwell.

"Yeah, always gotta be nourished and shit. Just human things, I guess. Though, a meal like this never gets old." You said with a smile.

It became more difficult to hold back the thoughts of holding and kissing the woman before you, her green button down shirt just aching to be pulled in order to kiss her. Those perfect hazel eyes of hers that resembled gems when they hit the sun just right, getting effortlessly lost in them every time they locked with yours. Her hands that completed her daily tasks so beautifully, with such care and concern in everything she did making you think she'd hold you the same way, love you the same beautiful way she did everything in her life with.

"I'm guessing you're feeling alright, then? Tylenol helped?" It was cute that Tess was still worrying about how you were feeling from the night before. Putting the fork down finally, you looked up at her.

"Yeah I- Wait, how'd you know I took Tylenol?" You hadn't mentioned anything to her about taking medicine.. so how did she know?

"Well I uh- I just.." She scoffed lightly before continuing, "I asked Frank to leave some by your bedside earlier and I was really worried about you, since yesterday. You don't drink like that unless something's bothering you."

Her eyes focused on you, hair lightly spilling over her shoulder, and she's in the moment with you now more than she had ever been. It's almost like she's reading you when you glance up again, pulling at the collar of your shirt.

"I know, Tess. It's just-" you sigh, thumbs fiddling with each other, palms beginning to prick ever so lightly with sweat.

"You can tell me anything, you know that right?" Her voice was sweet and soft, lowering a bit to hopefully ease your worries. One of her hands grabs yours, and the sensation is enough to make the breath in your lungs hitch.

If there was any perfect moment to confess, this was it.

"Tess, there's something I need to tell you." A slight quiver of your voice tells her that this thing that had been bothering you clearly meant a lot. You keeping things from her wasn't a common occurrence, which only happens when something was beyond frustrating for you to talk about.

"Okay, what is it?"

You're infuriatingly beautiful and I want to kiss you right now.

"It's the fact that I'm over here pining like an idiot for you and you can't even see it.." You mutter, not wanting to look Tess's way for fear of judgment or rejection. She notices, and in that very moment she longs to see the fire in your eyes burn its brightest. "It's the fact that- that I love you, and you probably love someone else.."

"Someone else?" Tess scoffed, "And who do you think that is, huh?"

"I don't know.. Joel, maybe.." Head still hung, your hands shake slightly, chest filled to the brim with uneasiness and anxiety.

Was it just you, or did the temperature in here get hotter?

"Y/n, look at me." You hesitate for a moment, then slowly your eyes move from their locked position on your hands.

Tess's hands are fidgeting in her lap too, you notice.

The second you lift your head, the glossy state of your eyes catches her attention, and her face eases once you're looking directly at her. Tess's bottom lip catches between her teeth for a moment, and she glances down swiftly, then back up at you.

"Joel and I are nothing but friends, you understand? I don't want him, never have." The words hit your ears and it's as if a weight lights off your shoulders.

It's the most clarifying moment that makes you giddy to spill everything onto her lap.

"Tess.." you breathe, closing your eyes for a moment and making a decision, "Please don't shoot me for this..."

You begin to lean in towards her, eyelids hooded as you glance down to her lips, watching intently as she does the same. It feels like an eternity before you're close enough to pick up on her natural scent, consuming your brain and going fuzzy upon the close proximity.

A warm tingling fills your hands as they brush over Tess's thighs and hover just over the dark denim covering them.

Once, twice, three times you glanced down at her lips, pausing to drag your eyes across her flawless face.

"Are you gonna kiss me, or what?" Her snarky tone pulls your eyes back to gaze into her hazel ones, almost getting lost in them before getting the courage to do something you couldn't come back from.

"Shut up," You say, before your hands grab onto her collar, and pull her lips to yours. Her kiss takes your breath away, crawling into her lap, collar of Tess's shirt still in your grip. Sparks flicker in your chest, and they're coming off of Tess's as well, deepening the kiss with another push of your lips against hers.

The weight of you in her lap pulls a groan from the woman opposite you, separating your lips from hers. You almost couldn't pull away, but the thought of hurting her made your worry jump a mile high.

"Shit.. Are-are you okay?" Tess gives you another peck on your lips, before trailing her eyes down your face and neck. The smirk on her face makes the heat from your cheeks travel down your torso.

"Oh, I'm better than ever... you wanna know why?"

Nodding your head fervently, her hands trail up your shirt to your collar, watching as her pupils dilate around the hazel in her eyes. The grasp on your shirt is tight, even tighter when she beckons you impossibly closer to her. The next moment, she's pulling your lips to hers in another passionate kiss. Your lips are pressed together for so long, it feels like you're out of breath by the time she pulls away.

"It's because I love you." The three words fall from her lips like a siren beckoning you with its song. Her voice has never sounded more perfect, and when she says those words to you, it's an indescribable amount of joy that fills your chest.

Her panting is an indication of not being able to breathe, but she doesn't fucking care if she got to kiss you like that.

"You love me, too?" Out of curiosity, you ask again, just to make sure it registers in your brain. Disbelief makes your heart jump, even though you've just kissed her, and you never wanted to stop.

Even though she told you she felt the same way, it was still a dream.

"Of fucking course I do. Ever since I took care of you, those few months you were living in my apartment. How could I not?" One of her hands trails up your face, brushing some stray hairs obstructing her view, so she could look at you fully.

The woman you've pined after for years has loved you all the same, and the realization feels a lot like you've wasted so much time behind a closed door. Sleepless nights went by with you writing about her in your journal, detailing all the ways you would love her if she only loved you back.

Tess adored you, she just hadn't let herself show it or feel any other way than a friend, and she'd been terrified to lose you if she fucked any of that up. The years and years of pining built to this very moment, tension in the room thick as you gazed at her lovingly.

"Tess.. kiss me again..."

It was a desperate plea for that fucking woman to press your lips to hers so you could taste her even stronger than you thought you could handle.

"I don't think I'll be able to stop if I do." Her low voice made your legs tremble, a new kind of desire growing due to her.

"Then don't." Your lips clashed together with hers, tongues exploring each other's mouths in a feverish attempt to taste even more of you than she already had.

The truth was, she had all of you for a long time, and now she couldn't imagine needing anything more.

A soft moan is pulled from your chest as Tess's teeth nip at your bottom lip. The both of you seem breathless as you pull away again, but every time you glance down at her swollen lips is when you want to just press them to yours over and over again.

"God, you're so beautiful, it's hard to look directly at you sometimes." Her words catch you off guard, feeling your eager hands travel up her neck, one resting on her shoulder while the other sneaks your fingers between her soft strands of hair. Twirling a lock of it, the blush on your face makes her smirk.

"Stop it, I mean just look at yourself. You're so hot and intimidating and perfect and-"

"You saying you're not those things?" Her brows furrow in distaste, because how dare you suggest otherwise.

"I'm saying you are. Pretty girl." A giggle erupts from your chest, raking your fingers through her hair with appreciation.

"If you don't say you're all of those things right this second, love, I'm just gonna have to prove it to you. And you know I will."

Your eyebrows raise, wanting to pull a little sneaky trick on her.

"Say that I'm what?" The smirk on your face makes Tess blush a little, chuckling to herself because she knows exactly what you're doing.

"Say that you're..." One of her hands goes to the top button of your shirt and unbuttons it as she places a quick peck on your cheek, "Perfect, intimidating, hot, everything I want.. God, fuck. Look at what you do to me.."

Her nimble fingers trail down your shirt, undoing each button carefully, letting the shirt fall open to your sides. Hands rest on the skin of your sides, just under the shirt you're wearing. Her shirt you're wearing.

"Tess.." You sigh breathlessly, still trying to gain back whatever air was pulled out of your lungs just a moment earlier.

"Hmm? Tell me what you want, baby." She tilts her head ever so slightly, the smirk on her face only enlarging when she sees the desire in your lust-blown eyes. Her pet name all but pulls a squeal from your chest, scrunching your nose upon hearing her low words.

"I want you, Tess. God, I want all of you.. But we can't-" Your hands run up and down her sides, shaking ever so slightly at her intimidating smirk.

"We can do anything we want, sweetheart. I've got you, now. No one's gonna take you away from me, ever. And no one's taking me from you. Got it?"

It's so warm, so Tess, such a loving and nurturing side of her that spills those words into your chest like a goddamn golden light, and it brings tears to your eyes. Sniffling, you try to blink them away every second they threaten to fall from your eyes.

The close proximity of her immediately pulls you into a safe hug, tears dropping on the cloth of her shirt, dampening the fabric bit by bit. Her hand rubs up and down your back, comfort surrounding you in the moment like nothing else in the world.

"So-sorry, Tess, I didn't mean to get your shirt all wet," You say, pulling back from her embrace, "I'm just.. so fucking happy because I love you and- and you're finally mine."

The words come out like the easiest thing in the world, like you could tell her your deepest darkest secrets and she'd still love you completely as you are.

"Aw, you look so pretty when you're in love. 'Bout the most perfect thing in the whole world to me, pretty girl."

"Well, yeah. It's all your fault that I'm crying like a sap, dummy." You playfully punch her shoulder and wipe your face, tears finally ceasing their descent from your eyes.

"You love me that much, huh?" This time, Tess's smile is sweet, intimate and all but this time your eyes lock with hers in a deep gaze.

"Love you even more than that, Tess." A giggle erupts from your chest as her lips press ever so lightly to your neck, ghosting feather light kisses across your skin. Before she pulls back, she attaches her lips to your skin and sucks obsessively, in the same spot. A particularly sensitive spot she gets to pulls a whimper from your chest, the sound making her pull away from kissing you, eyebrows raised with curiosity.

"What was that, baby?" You whimper again, embarrassment washing over you while your cheeks are being painted with a blush.

"Need you, Tess. Need you so bad.." The last word comes out rather quickly, hips rolling against hers ever so slightly.

"I'm right here, honey. Tell me what you need from me, and I'll give it to you." Her words come out like a plead, work-worn hands and fingers trailing over the waistband of your pants. "Come on, we don't have much time. Joel wants to get on the road soon.."

Oh God. Joel. Bill. Frank.

Your thoughts freeze and think to the three other men in the house, or probably somewhere nearby, if not lingering just a few feet away down the stairs.

"Shit, should we-"

"Yes, my love, we should. After all this time, we should."

"But the door-"

The bedroom door; it was swung almost completely open.

"Guess you better be quiet then." She mutters, voice low with lust and the need for you to fall apart for her just once before their travels.

"Tess-" You whimper breathlessly, and before you can speak another word, her lips attach to yours again. Her hair smells like lavender, and her lips taste like strawberries.

"Do you trust me?" She asks, wanting to know you're okay with her going further.

"You know I do. I trust you with my life." You reply, almost immediately. Her soft eyes gaze into yours and she nods.

It's the most perfect vision of Tess you've had your entire life, and nothing in this world could tear you away from that.

Once you feel her hands unbuckling your pants successfully, one of her hands slips down under the fabric, bypassing your underwear right down to where she knows you need her.

Her middle and ring finger slide through the arousal between your legs, and the second she feels you throbbing against her, is when her kisses trail from your mouth to your neck.

"Tess, fuck-" You whimper out, as her fingertips swirl around the most sensitive part of you.

"Needy girl, aren't you? So gorgeous..." The smirk on her face turns devious when her eyes meet yours again, catching how your face contorts with pleasure under her doing.

Another mewl leaves your chest, nodding fervently once again.

"Shit, all wet for me? You really know how to make a woman happy.." The slight laughter from her chest makes you clench around nothing. Nothing, until her fingers pursue lower than your sensitive bundle of nerves. Deep breaths of air make your chest heave, and Tess is only relishing in the way you're falling apart completely for her.

Before you feel her fingers prodding at your entrance, your hand grabs her forearm and she halts her movements.

"What about you?" Your eyes seem to beg for her without saying another word more, and she hesitates for a moment, until she speaks.

"You don't have to, love. You feeling good makes me feel good and-"

She pauses her words, because your doe eyes make whatever was left of her resolve break, the instant she looks into them.

"Alright, baby. Go ahead, touch me.. I need you, too." A smile breaks out onto your face, hands gravitating towards her belt, undoing it as fast as she can complete her sentence to satisfy you.

One of your hands slips down between her legs, watching as her eyes close in bliss at the first light drag of your fingers down her heat.

"Fuck.." Her head gets thrown back while her eyes shut at the amount of pleasure and love you have for her in that very moment. Tess curses under her breath as you begin slow circles on her most sensitive part of her body, goosebumps trailing all over her skin.

"Now who's the needy one?" She glances back up to your eyes, and just like that, her intimidating demeanor returns.

You almost yelp aloud when she pushes a finger inside of you, but her lips press against yours before you could do so. The fervent exchange of moans between each swirl of your fingers, and each thrust of Tess's fingers inside of you makes the moment feel infinite.

Everything you've ever wanted, you finally had.

She was yours to touch, to hold, to please. Tess gave you all of her, completely and irrevocably.

"Tess.. fuck, I love you.. I- never wanna be with anyone else but you.." Your tone of voice is pitched higher, submerged in the pleasure she brought. She could tell you were inching closer to release with every swirl of her fingers.

"I love you, baby. With everything inside of me. It's you. Only you.. Now be a good girl and come with me."

"Are you gonna-"

"Yeah, I am. Fuck- keep going, just like that. Cmon, baby." The hand that wasn't inside your pants snuck up to your hair, grabbing a handful and pulling in silent demand.

Sighing dreamily, Tess pulled her fingers out of you and rubbed incessantly at your precious bundle of nerves, triggering your hips to rock against hers.

"Tess.." You moan out loud, almost too loud for the people downstairs to hear, but at the same time, you don't care. Not when Tess is giving you the most pleasure you think you've ever experienced in your life.

"I love it when you moan my name.. Say it again." Her fingers swirl to no end, feeling a jolt of pleasure wash through you as your high began to rush towards you.

"Tess, fuck. Oh my god Tess- baby I'm gonna come.." Your sounds are uncontrollable now as your release is beckoning you further.

"Yeah, hun? Gonna come for me?" Your hand speeds up your movements on her sensitive bud of nerves, another low moan leaving her chest, dripping with desire.

"Oh, baby, I'm-I'm.."

"Me too baby, yeah..." Tess calls out, her movements on your clit pushing you over the edge, her high washing over her intensely.

A few more filthy moans leave your chest, release crashing over you like a wave, running throughout your body with relief, your partner helping you ride it out before you finally look back up at her.

Sweat adorns her skin, chest heaving as she pulls her fingers from your pants. You do the same, only watching as she licks her fingers seductively. Another wave of pleasure threatens to overtake you, just by watching her do that.

"Holy shit... that was amazing. I knew your hands were good for more than just holding a gun and punching people." Your head tilts back the slightest bit as you try to catch your breath after the immense pleasure washed over you only moments ago.

"For our first time, that's nothing compared to what I've been thinking about doing to you for months now.." The smirk on her face threatens the rise of arousal again, though you're too exhausted now to even think about doing that, with what a long journey you've got ahead of you.

"You-" Tess raises an eyebrow at your speechlessness, "are the most beautiful woman in the whole world, and you chose to love me. Isn't that something."

Your words make her blush again, leaving a few small pecks on your cheeks, before pressing one to your lips again. Then, Tess's hands reach to your pants once more, doing the zipper up and buttoning them so she could do the same to hers.

"Well, I don't think we choose who we love. But if it was.. it's because you're the most perfect person in the world. Isn't that something.."

You look to Tess with a soft smile, one that makes both of you appreciate the domesticity of your conversation at hand.

"Yeah, it is," You say, taking her hands in yours and interlocking your fingers together, "So, what does all this make us?"

You catch Tess staring into your eyes again, and it takes a second for her to respond.

"Well, I'm already in love with you, so whatever you want, I want it too. I'm all in, for you. That sound good?"

God, you've waited forever to hear those words.

Attaching your lips with hers, it's a slow, soft kiss, almost stopping time with how you craved more every second that went by. As you pull away, Tess looks radiant in the sunlight that's pouring through the window even more now.

Her words turn you speechless, already knowing you called her 'mine' but hearing it from the velvet voice of your lover made your heart swell ten times bigger.

"It sounds wonderful, Tess." You lean in for another kiss, soft and sweet, until you pull back again, "You'll have to teach me how to open wine bottles, though."

"Nah, I think I'd rather just keep doing it for you." Your lips locked in another kiss, one you wished would last forever.

"Oh, one more thing," Tess goes digging in her back pocket, pulling out a blue tube, "Deodorant. You stink like sex."

"And whose fault is that?" You quip, grabbing the tube from her and rubbing it under your armpits.

Tess shrugged, almost pulling you in for another kiss, until the sound of a male voice from downstairs snapped both of you out of the daydream.

"Shit, Joel. He's gonna be mad that I took so long up here.. that-that we took so long-" You begin to speak, pulling yourself from the bed, reaching down to slip your boots on.

"Joel Miller is not gonna say anything when he sees that hickey." Tess mumbles, standing from the bed as well, adjusting her shirt from where you'd grasped it before.

"What mark? Oh, Tess.. you didn't.." You rush over to the mirror hanging on the wall, and pull your collar to the side abruptly to see the darkening purple bruise on your neck. You scoff, only buttoning up your shirt with haste to get out the door.

"I did. Couldn't help myself, you know. You're all mine now, had to make sure everyone in Boston knows you're spoken for."

She walks up behind you, placing her hands on your hips as you continue buttoning the flannel up. You scoff, flipping your head around to kiss her on the lips again.

"Yeah, well did you have to make it so dark?" You questioned, knowing she could've gone lighter but didn't.

"You already know the answer to that. Now c'mon, let's not keep the man waiting." Tess pulls you by your hand to the door, looking back once more as you exit the room and walk down the stairs with her hand in yours.

Just as you thought he'd be, Joel was pacing downstairs with his pack already on his back.

"There y'all are.. was starting to get worried about- Oh." The tall, Texan man clears his throat when his eyes spot the mark on your neck, eyes immediately avoiding yours.

"Yeah.. I'll grab our packs and meet you outside. Cool?" Tess says, before sharing a look with Joel, not saying anything more as he turns to walk out to the front yard. Her hand slips from yours every so slightly, and you already miss the warmth and love in her contact the second it drops from you.

"Hey, wait- where's Frank?" You call out to Joel, but he's already to the gate of their yard before he can hear you.

"In here!" Frank's voice comes from the living room, and you saunter over to him.

"Hey, morning. Listen, I wanted to thank you for everything. What you said to me last night, and just your hospitality and all you're gonna help us with when we start working together. I mean it- I'm really grateful."

Frank looks up from the vinyl he's sifting through, and meets your eyes with a compassionate smile.

"I take it this morning went... well?" He gestures to the mark on your neck, one of your hands going up to sheepishly cover it, a bit embarrassed that you let her go that far.

"Oh, um. Yeah, very well. I did that thing we talked about." As soon as the words hit his ears, he's grinning from ear to ear and throws his arms around you with a tight embrace, one that caught you off guard, but you hugged back, nonetheless. The smile is still beaming on his face as he pulls away.

"I knew it would go well. You two.." He shakes his head, hands on his hips, "Sparks were basically flying over lunch yesterday, every time one of you looked at each other.. Wait- Is that my shirt? Nevermind, keep it. Looks better on you anyway."

Frank laughs at the realization that you didn't have fresh clothes after showering, so he understood.

"Seriously, thank you. For everything, again."

"Yeah, yeah. I know. I'm such a matchmaker. Now go, run to your lover, and never let her go, okay? She's one special woman."

"Yeah, that she is.." Your gaze shifts from Frank to Tess appearing in the doorway with your pack in her hand.

"Oh, one more thing." Frank hands you the books you'd taken down from their shelves last night, Little Women and Pride and Prejudice. "Don't worry, Bill said it's alright. He doesn't read classics, anyways. You'll come back, and we'll trade."

That's the last thing Frank says before Tess beckons you back to her.

"You ready to go? Joel's gonna lose his marbles if we make him wait any longer, so.." Tess asks you, standing a few feet away, but it felt like miles before you could get back to her.

"Oh, God forbid a man wait on two fine ladies, such as yourselves." Frank says, turning Tess's way as you walk towards her, grabbing your pack from her hand and putting the two books into it, before slinging it onto your back.

"You make a good point, but he's gonna be grouchy the whole hike. He'll be done with our lovesick asses once we get back to the QZ." You say with a giggle, pressing a quick kiss to Tess's lips.

"Well, it's been lovely having you here, I'm not sure where Bill's run off to, but I'm sure he says goodbye as well. I'll walk you to the gate, since there's an idea I have as to how we can communicate back and forth on the radio.. I'll tell you on the way."

Frank follows you both out the door, spotting Bill already at the gate, the same holster with his pistol sticking out from his otherwise plain outfit.

As Joel finally spots the three of you coming from the house, he darts right out of their front yard, b-lining for the gate.

"Guess he's got a new friend..." You mutter to Tess, Joel's steps bringing him towards the gate faster than you three were walking.

"Maybe he just doesn't wanna look at the huge hickey on your neck." She retorts, her reasoning better than anything else you came up with.

Chuckling, you nudge her side, hands falling beside each other's before locking your fingers together again.

Frank catches up, walking alongside Tess as he begins to explain his idea for communication back and forth.

"So, I had this idea that we should use codes for the radio, in case anyone's listening."

"That's a good idea. Like, with what?" Tess tilts her head over to the man in curiosity.

"I was thinking, like, the decades. Like- 80's, trouble, of course." Frank states, as if he's put immense thought into something as simple as this.

"Yeah..?"

"70's- for when we get new stuff to trade with.. and 60's for not having anything new. Sound good?"

"Yeah, Frank. That's actually really clever. I mean, I wouldn't have thought of that. Right, babe?" It's the first use of any pet name around people, and you can tell it puts Tess in a lighter mood just by hearing you say it.

"Right. Well, radio back to me when you guys are ready to start our business together." He reaches out to shake Tess's hand, "Otherwise, it has been lovely having you three here, and I'm so ecstatic to have you back whenever." Frank stood still, watching you all walk ahead.

The sound of Joel's boots on the pavement approaching you all force you to turn your heads towards the third partner in your group.

"What are y'all lookin' at? Let's head out, already. Whenever you lovebirds are done.."

Grumpy exterior, but an ally, all the same.

"What are we gonna do with him..."

"Yeah, he's not nearly as much fun as you." Nudging her shoulder again, your bottom lip catches between your teeth for a slight moment. Tess's hair is blowing in the wind slightly, and you can't help but smile at the beauty of the woman you called the love of your life.

You share a look between Tess's eyes and your own, before tugging her along as you walk ahead, attached by a soul tie at your hands, linked together for a lifetime.