It's gonna hurt when the sky falls.

My schedule changes haven’t turned into something as promising as I would like just yet, it’s likely I will still be trucking on at full-time for at least another month, though I’m sure I’ll eventually get more free time once that happens. 

More importantly, my husband is going to be deployed for several months in a few weeks time to god knows where, so I’m definitely distracted even more so lately as I’m trying to spend some time with him before he goes. 

It’ll try to be more active when I can, but it may not be for a few weeks until he’s left and I can properly focus on writing again. Right now, it’s rather difficult.

So, yeah, apologies for returning to Tumblr only to have to dial back my activity again. I wish my situation was a little more favorable right now. I’ll be reachable on Discord for those who would still like to chat and such, of course. 

@sugardollcrash

@pixiecruiser

@crookedcrossroads

@timelessremedy

-Matthieu's affinity for collecting dog tags, namely Marine specific ones, along with other sorts of military memorabilia.

-Petra's faith as a 200+ year old former nun; where it stands now and how being a ghoul has influenced her beliefs.

-Skye's health, hygiene, and fashion choices; what behavior has been integrated artificially, raider-based influences (bodily neglect, narcotic habits, etc), and how those around her have changed how she takes care of herself currently.

A laugh leaped out of Skye’s mouth as she watched several bullets burst from the muzzle of Sam’s gun and slam into their targets, which were empty beer bottles lined up on an old picket fence. Skye had suggested the pair of them get out of town for the day, mostly to unwind from their work, distance themselves from civilization, and blow off steam together. 

There were a few abandoned buildings near the Nordhagen Beach that Skye liked to frequent when she wanted to be alone, so that had been their destination. Normally, she never took anyone to her little seaside retreat, it was a personal, private place for her to visit when she felt uneasy, but she had come to trust and enjoy Sam’s company enough to share the location with her.

‘Shake, Rattle and Roll' by Bill Haley played on a small holotape device between the crack of gunfire and their voices, a little something Skye brought along for the sake of extra entertainment. She pushed some hair from her face and grinned at the other woman’s comment, then squinted so she could properly see the damage done to the innocent bottles that had been destroyed. 

[originally posted by ofwolfism, but reposted for easier access since their blog’s theme hides most of the original post]

“So, new business model. We team up with a mortuary. You see where I’m going with this, right?”

“Where does all this dust come from anyways? The dust faeries?”

“This is the part where you’re supposed to die.”

“The trick to this is don’t die.”

“You’re going down. Grrr. That’s menacing, right?”

“And you are just one big, beautiful distraction.”

“I knew there was a reason I’m traveling with you.”

“Since we’re a team, you think we should use a code name? Red Orchard? Or… Code Violet? Or… the Death Bunnies. That’ll confuse them.”

“I call dibs on any hats! …I love a good hat.”

“Plenty of opportunities to learn secrets moving around in your shadow.”

“Maybe I’m just another human who has people back home he/she wants to protect.”

“If you wanted me any closer…that’d make me nervous.”

“Did I have you going? Don’t take it personally, I lie to everyone.”

“I’m a liar. Everyone knows it. I make no secret of it. Because the truth is: I’m a fraud. To my core.”

“I know I can be a hard read, but, I’ve really enjoyed traveling with you. No bullshit.”

“You might want to cover up. Or not.”

“We’re great! We’re freaking fantastic! Songs will be written about our sheer awesome awesomenicity!”

“Your wish is my…. strong recommendation.”

“I’m like a bad penny, I’ll keep turning up.”

“Before I met you, I’d go whole days without massacring a bunch of things. Honest!”

“If you believe anything, believe this: I’m in your corner. Always have been.”

“All this sunlight. I feel exposed.”

“Choo! Choo! …That’s what they sounded like, right?”

“Insert something Shakespearean involving death and your inevitable doom here.”

“You know, running away is always an option! I won’t shoot you. Promise.”

“And here I thought I was getting out of one more blood bath…”

“Moments like this, I know all that karma stuff is bull. Because no one like me should be this lucky.”

“Of the people, for the people.”

“Lean back and enjoy the ride.”

“Betcha that’s seen some fun in its day.”

“You’ve got some nimble fingers.“

“Wouldn’t wanna get any stains on that fine outfit you’re wearing, would ya?”

“Take it aaaall in.”

“You get I’m here on a volunteer basis, right?”

“Well ain’t you a sight for sore eyes.”

“What’s our next move, love?”

“Ugh it’s in my eyes.”

“Don’t think a leg’s supposed to bend that way…”

“This beats mayoral duties ANY day of the week.”

“Looks like my dazzling personality got another one.”

“That is one mad bug.”

“Plenty of folks wanna make life hard for people just tryin’ to survive. I’m not willing to stand for that kinda shit.”

“You feel as bad as you look?”

“You ain’t lookin’ so great. How about you try cutting back?”

“Hey, you should slow down. And that’s ME saying that.”

“If I have to listen to you butter this guy/girl up any more I’m going to shoot myself…then him/her.”

“Let’s get out of here as soon as we can. Don’t fancy being buried alive.”

“If they cared about it, they wouldn’t have left it lying around.”

“Man it’s quiet. Too quiet. *laughs* Oh man, I always wanted to say that.”

“Is it normal for the hairs on the back of my neck to be standing straight up like this?”

“I’m getting bad vibes from this place. We shouldn’t be here.”

“Hey, I…uh, think you’ve got a little brain caught in your teeth.”

“You picked the WRONG day to piss me off.”

“I SO prefer a gun.”

“So, you impressed yet? I told you I was a damn good shot.”

“This is a little cLOSE FOR COMFORT!”

“Even if it takes me the rest of my life…I’ll repay this debt to you, I swear it.”

“Hope this little thing we have going lasts forever. Don’t want to go back to the way things were.”

“It’ll be a cold day in hell before I let anything bad happen to you.”

“Everything’s going to be alright, as long as we stick together.”

“You already know that things are the best they’ve ever been between us.”

“With you at my side, I feel I can take on the world. There’s no stronger bond than that.”

“I plan on walking this earth with you until the day I die.”

Welcome Home

Among the sea of strangers Valen immediately caught sight of one who welcomed him with a gesture. He waved back but paused with a finger, just a moment, then he bee lined to the cafeteria to get a plated meal. He figured it would be awkward and impolite to first meet at the tables only to leave for food later.

He was held up for a moment as an older woman behind the fiber glass sneeze guards named off the various colored gelatin cubes to Valen and spooned them into the sectioned compartments of his metal mess tray. With a despondent expression, the newcomer navigated his way through the mess hall benches to find the one where Thalia was seated. He lowered his tray and then eased onto the bench to sit across from her.

Valen seemed to clean up nicely after a radiation scrub, physical exam, and a hot shower, but there were some things that couldn’t be washed away. While his eyes were bright and his smile came easy, his skin wasn’t as smooth and flawless as many of the natural vault dwellers that had been isolated from the harsh world above. His skin was tanned from the sun, weathered from wind and sand, and framed with soft creases by hard expressions.

Still, he appeared to be no mutant of radiation or a savage from the wastelands. Just a peppy fellow who cracked weird jokes at inappropriate times.

“So,” he murmured, looking down at his plate with a slight frown, “This is the kinda shit y’all eat?” Then his eyes shot up at Thalia, widening, as if realizing his transgression. “Oh, uh- n-no offense or anything. I just, uh, I ain’t seen this kinda feed before.”

Accepting newcomers into the Vault didn't happen often, so getting to stare one down that wanted to sit across from her was certainly interesting. There had been many times Thalia had looked over outsiders on trading days, she took up as much time as she could spare to study their weathered, blemished faces, dust-ridden clothes, and weary eyes. 

They were different, and different was appealing, but what exchanges she made with any wastelander never lasted long. Only enough time was spared to bring in, inspect, and sanitize their goods before sending the traders on their way. Now, she actually had an opportunity to pick one's brain, seeing as he wouldn't be going anywhere for the foreseeable future. She had a lot of questions about the world beyond, just like she imagined he would have his own about vault life.

With a look of surprise at the sudden crassness of his question, she couldn't help but crack an amused grin. Normally, a fair amount of denizens were polite around her, seeing as they didn't want to get in trouble with the security team, so any crude vocabulary or straightforwardness on their behalf was often suppressed. Thalia was pleased to see someone willing to act like themselves in front of her.

The Mysterious Pipboy

Sam was alone in the engineering sector, the few other technicians who worked alongside her and called it a day and returned to their living quarters. She was an exception and often spent late hours tinkering with terminals and other gadgets that had malfunctioned or reinstalling software that had corrupted over the years.

The reason for her late stay today was a mysterious Pipboy that had come with the wastelander, the new visitor to the vault. Not only was the Pipboy locked by a password but cracking Pipboys was not the most favored task among the other technicians and Sam gladly accepted the work, relieved to find something new instead of mundane system checks and circuit testing.

There was also the mystery of what information was hidden within the Pipboy’s memory files and Sam was eager to be the first person to find out exactly what that information might yield. Sitting alone, hunched toward the glowing green screen of a terminal, Sam was reading and slowly scrolling through a wall of text. It was must have been very captivating because her gaze was fixed to the screen, glued to her stool with her attention undivided.

Sitting by herself in the cold silent room, the Pipboy on the table was plugged into the terminal by a 3 foot cable. It occasionally beeped and the terminal emitted a low hum from it’s exhaust fans within it’s plastic hood. Sam sat with her dark hair tied in a messy bun and her vault suit zipped down to her hips, a gray tshirt underneath with the jumpsuit’s sleeves wrapped around her waist.

Her attention engrossed on the terminal until she heard the sliding door to the office unlock and the metal slide along its track. She quickly sat up and made a small scramble at the keyboard to switch to another screen. There was an attempt made to safe face as she looked over her shoulder and greeted the familiar face with a smile.

“Oh hey,” she chuckled, “You here to find out about the Pipboy? I wasn’t sure who was going to come in for it.”

@radioactivehearts

Turning in for the night would have been the sensible thing to do. The next batch officers had turned up to relieve the day watch, but Thalia wasn’t one to take a break, especially when there was work she could still tackle. If anything, she could nip down to the engineering quarter and see if they’ve made any progress on extracting information out of the new arrival’s Pip-Boy. She wasn’t exactly up to speed on the ways of technology, but she had been told that hacking a Pip-Boy was no easy feat, so it was likely she’d pop in and be told to come back later. 

But it wouldn’t hurt to check.

Her approach was marked by the heavy fall of her boots, folowed by the quiet grinding of metal as the workshop door slid open. Stepping inside, Thalia wasn’t exactly surprised to find the area practically devoid of life. What with the Pip-Boy having come into the engineering team’s possession in the early morning, on top of having to complete their other daily tasks, it made sense if they had left by now. She had been anticipating turning back around, but the sight of a lone figure hunkered over a terminal stopped her. 

Considering her job was mentally taxing and she kept odd hours, Thalia didn’t have a lot of time or energy to socialize with most denizens, but she was familiar with the maintenance workers. Much like the security unit, they patrolled the vaults and kept everything operational, so it was in her best interest to always stay in close communications. 

The woman in front of her was a face she was familiar with. Sam always seemed to get caught up in her work, much like she did, so bumping into each other still on the job after their scheduled hours weren’t uncommon occurrences at this point. She smirked when Sam scrambled at her keyboard, obviously surprised by her arrival, and Thalia bobbed her head in greeting before she wandered closer.