#thecoolkidsbasement

[thecoolkidsbasement]

WIP Wednesday (Saturday)

Another tag from the ever lovely @hellektr0 which I am hilariously late for, but figured better late than never in any case! Since the WIP I posted of Lover’s Lament seemed to go well on my last post here, I thought I’d post another little fun tidbit from the same chapter :3c Enjoy under the cut! :D a bit spoiler-y I guess but hopefully not too much LOL ~Faerie, signing out (and I, as always, tag anyone and everyone who’d like to partake in the fun challenge!! please tag me if you do so I can read whatever you’ve written!)

Emptying his pockets of the spoils of one standard vault vending machine’s entire stock of snack cakes—save for one, to bring to Winona immediately—Butch’s jacket was next, left shucked off his shoulders to drape over the back of the dining table chair he claimed to be his. Boots were pried off with the help of the opposing foot, and the Tunnel Snake finally made his impatient entrance into Winona’s back bedroom, following the idle flutter of her humming. It wasn’t accompanied, as it usually was, by the racket of her tinkering (read as, hammering) loudly away on her latest project, like expected. Peering around the doorway to her workbench in the corner, Butch was immediately rooted to the spot by the visage which graced him.

Winona sat perched on a stool, a leg threaded lazily through the foot ring with her hips drawn back on the seat, causing a delicious curve to her bare back as her forearms held her weight on the edge of her work station counter, wearing the bottom half of a tattered jumpsuit with that God damn halter top that was going to be the death of him one day. Her hair fell in rebellious alabaster curls over her shoulder despite her best efforts to keep it contained under a printed kerchief, and a hand came to thoughtlessly brush them away, a blackened eraser pinned between graphite-smudged fingers, so they went spilling down her bare back instead in twisting tendrils.

She continued with her sketching on a huge furl of graph paper, and he watched her, quite silent and nearly admiring, until she took notice of his presence in the doorway with the lifting of her gaze. The moment her eyes caught his, his heart thrummed in response—but it wasn’t until she smiled, honest and tender like she was genuinely happy to see him—did it stop dead in his chest, like it was holding its breath in anticipation of something.

Or maybe that was all just him, because he felt a sharp breath leave him in that second before he remembered to breathe.

[thecoolkidsbasement]

“If ‘ya wanna get closer t’me, that’s all you gotta say, girl.” Handsome snake Butch DeLoria give me strength 🙏

You got something to say to the Butch-man?

[hellektr0]

WIP Wednesday

I’ve been in a bit of writing funk the last two weeks, but here’s another snippet of my Outer Worlds fic: the crew have something to say about the Vicar and their Captain.

Thank you so much for the tag @pchberrytea! You’re wonderful and I love your updates.

“No way! Captain wouldn’t do that.” Felix said, shaking his head.

“Why not?” Ellie asked casually, pulling a mug from the cabinet.

“Because he’s, like… old! And they’re always fighting.” His tone was defensive. “I can’t count how many times she’s complained to me about him.”

“I wouldn’t have believed it myself if I hadn’t caught them canoodling in the cargo bay last night.” Ellie retorted, dropping into her chair and resting her boots on the table. “Must be what that ruckus was all about the day they returned from Fallbrook.”

“You mean when he was bangin’ on the captain’s door and yelling?” Parvati spoke up, eyes wide.

“Trouble in paradise.”

“Gross.” Felix’s face pulled into a grimace.

“Sorry, puppy. I know this must be hard for you to accept.” Ellie patted his shoulder. “You were always fond of the Captain.”

At this, Felix groaned and buried his face. “Shut up, Ellie.”

“You have to admit,” Parvati started, tapping the table idly with her index finger. “They’re a lot alike, behavior-wise.”

Ellie grunted in confirmation. “Yeah, they both like to punch things. A lot. I saw the smile Captain had when Vicky broke that dude’s kneecap for grabbing her.”

“Oh, yeah. I’d never seen her grin like that afore,” Parvati hummed.

“Wait, did that happen in The Lost Hope?” Felix rubbed his stubble with the back of his hand, eyes squinting. “That night was kinda a blur.”

“No… yes? Maybe. Ol’ Vicky likes to do that often, so…” Ellie looked up, deep in thought. “Nah, it was in Roseway, when that outlaw snuck up on us and pulled Captain down by her hair.”

“Wait!” Parvati sat up a little straighter. “Vicar Max accosted someone in Lost Hope too. Right?”

“Yeah, but Captain wasn’t happy about that one. She got in his face about his weird fixation on her honor and feeling like he needs to defend it or whatever.” Ellie snorted. “That was funny as hell, though.”

“I just don’t get it.” The table shook as Felix stood, fingers flushed against the table top. “Why him? She’s a revolutionary, ya know? And he’s--”

“A cog in the machine of oppression, we know.” Felix opened his mouth and Ellie effectively cut him off once more. “He’s also an instrument that serves to further corporate supremacy. We’ve heard it all, Felix. Chill.”

“They’re just too different.” Felix groused, dropping into his chair again. “They don’t stand for the same things. Captain knows what a threat the Board and the OSI are to our personal freedoms.”

“And Vicky perpetuates OSI rhetoric, yeah.”

“How romantic,” Parvati sighed dreamily. “It’s like an aetherwave serial.”

“What…?” Ellie quirked a brow.

“Yeah, like… two people on opposin’ sides managing to find love.” Another sigh. “All that tension and desire to be together in spite of it all.”

“I’d hardly call it love.” Ellie laughed dryly. “More like the occasional rough and tumble. Can’t picture our dear vicar being one for sentimentality and romance.”

“You don’t know. He’s not as bad as y’all make him out to be.”

“Parvati, he’s the worst.”

“I’m gonna agree with Ellie on this one.”

I’m gonna tag @bluegrasskitty @juniper-tree @thecoolkidsbasement and anyone else who wants to post some of their WIP!

[roystory4]

@thecoolkidsbasement mfw my partner is trying to reason w an infant

[bayrad]

It’s a fresh personal wound, but it’ll heal over time so all I can do is to move forward and stay positive c: TBH I miss the chilly fall weather when I lived in Michigan, gave me an excuse to wear layers. It was very sunny and bright out today, but sometimes it rains so it’s a lovely combination of weather!

[undeadcourier]

@ your raider OC question: GOT ONE OF 'EM BOYS! His name's Glasgow, coined from him putting Glasgow smiles on his victims while he tortures them. He's a smooth-talking, mentally skewed son of a bitch with a crooked smile that enjoys big knives, bigger guns, tattoos and debauchery c: he's technically an 'ex' raider turned Talon Merc, buuuut no one trusts/believes the 'ex' part because he's still a huge sadistic piece of shit lmao

lmao i'm imagining him getting a bunk mate at the talon company barracks and that guy's just like well :) i don't really need to sleep ever again this is fine

[immortalism]

thecoolkidsbasement replied to your photoset: Lots of traditional media lately !!!! Sort of...

YOOO this is really cute!! I love how her clothes drape over her body, the little detailing with the beading and jewelry and that little hip peek c:

HFDJDSH thank you so much for the kind words!!

[thecoolkidsbasement]

Nancy Drew - Midnight in Salem ‘Fix it Fic’

So because I wanted to take a little writing break from my Inventor’s Absolution fic (so I wouldn’t suffer from the burnout of writing exclusively in one universe for so long), I got somewhat invested in writing a ‘fix-it fic’ for Nancy Drew’s Midnight in Salem game because it was Terribad(TM), and then got un-invested by the time I finished the scene LMAO I don’t think I’ll ever seriously put more time into it (maybe I’ll post it on AO3 + FF.net since it’s a completed scene and to get more eyes on it), so I thought I’d just leave it here for the Clue Crew to enjoy if they so wished. Basically I wanted a rewrite of the game in ‘novel form’ to fix dialogue, plot holes, puzzles, and other various things that I felt needed improvement in the story and plot. This starts at the beginning of the game, shortly after the Book of Apologies thief escapes, and before the opening talk between Nancy Drew and Deirdre Shannon.

Enjoy! Fic under the cut, thanks for reading (and apologies if Nancy seems a bit OOC, I tried doing a mix of ‘new Nan’ with ‘old Nan’. Happy reading, happy writing!

Amongst the verdant firs of the Salzburg forest, our young detective, Nancy Drew, navigates her way back to Moosham Castle after a book thief apprehension gone awry. Through the crowning tops of the wavering trees where they split amongst the drear sky are the towering eaves of the historical estate—the only guide she has in returning to the castle’s footbridge. She surmised the hike back would be a strenuous one, and furthermore considered herself lucky to not have rolled her ankle, or worse, broken a leg, from the way she launched herself over the bridge’s edge as carelessly as she did.

Not a story for Ned, that’s for sure, she decided while rummaging through her shoulder bag to examine the few pieces of evidence her book thief had dropped in their escape; an expelled home-made smoke bomb; a key with an usual blade, the teeth spelling ‘AW’, left abandoned in the cage lock that the Book of Apologies was bound with; and a torn plane ticket to Boston, Massachusetts.

Which was boarding at 3:40 PM.

Tomorrow.

I’ve got to find them before they get back to the states, or else I could lose their trail! Nancy lamented as she pulled her phone from her pocket to check the time, while also seeing several missed calls from a River Heights number — proven earlier to be that of Deirdre Shannon’s. Tucking her phone away, she decided she’d respond later with a lingering thought of how odd it was that Deirdre was calling her. Repeatedly. But right now she had other things to worry about, like how she would apprehend her book thief!

The Vienna International Airport is about a 4-hour drive away. With this ticket I at least know what flight my thief will be on and what seat they’re in! I’ll have to get past airport security first... I wonder if there're any open seats left on this flight?… Nancy puzzled as she climbed up a steep hill, using the rocks protruding from the earthen ridge as makeshift foot holds for a quick return back up to the main road. Brushing dirt off her hands and clothes, she took notice of a tear clean through her pants leg—most likely snagged on a sharp rock or thorny bush while she was running.

Definitely not a story for Ned, the detective sighed to herself as her phone buzzed once more in her jacket pocket. It was Deirdre, again.

The two hadn’t seen each other since the old town hall fire in River Heights last year, and they certainly weren’t on friendly terms once the truth and Nancy’s innocence had come to light… not that they were friendly beforehand, but reveling in Nancy’s short stint in prison certainly didn’t do their tense acquaintanceship any favors.

"Okay, Deirdre, you now have my undivided attention.” Nancy remarked once she answered the call. “What is it?”

“You know, when someone calls you in a panic and tells you not to hang up, it’s probably pretty important that you not hang up!” She snapped from the other side of the line with a huff.

“I’m sorry, but I told you I was in the middle of something. I said I’d call you back later, didn’t I?” She reasoned as she began walking the road back to the castle, lined on either side by dense trees, and examined the tear in her pants again as she walked.

“This isn’t something that can wait! I—…” All the ire in her tone died to a tense silence, in a pause so long Nancy removed her phone from her ear to check if the call dropped. The phone service out amongst the forest wasn’t the best, but her phone confirmed they hadn’t disconnected.

She put her cell back to her ear. “Deirdre? Are you still there?”

“I need your help, Drew.” Deirdre admitted quietly, her voice reluctant and almost ego-bruised, as if she were thinking better of having called the detective in the first place. “My cousin’s gotten into some trouble, and I thought I could help her, but—… but it’s a lot more complicated than what she told me over the phone. It’s worse than I thought it’d be.”

“What kind of trouble?”

"Like I said, it’s complicated.”

Gauging the distance of the road ahead, the peaking towers and the outer curtain walls of Moosham Castle cut through the trees. Nancy hadn’t realized how far she strayed until now. “Well, it looks like I just came into a bit of free time… if you’d like to talk about it?”

“I thought you said you were in the middle of something?”

“I was. I was literally chasing down a suspect when you called and got a little lost on my way back to the castle.”

“…A castle? Where in the world are you, Nancy Drew?”

“Austria, at this place called Moosham Castle. I was trying to locate an artifact for my dad on behalf of a judge friend of his, and—it was the craziest thing!— When I had my back turned, someone dressed all in black appeared out of nowhere and stole the artifact, disappeared in a puff of weird blue smoke, and jumped out the window!”

"Are you saying this guy got away? And here I thought Miss Nancy Drew always got her perp,” Deirdre said with blatant smugness in her voice.

You didn’t see them—they must’ve scaled up the outer wall somehow to come through the window… and they were quick. If they hadn’t stopped when they did to open up the book, I never would’ve caught up to them, Nancy realized glumly. Whoever this person is is crazy athletic, and they knew what they were doing. They knew that the book was here, and they had the key to get it open. This was no random robbery.

“I didn’t think anyone used the word 'perp’ anymore, Deirdre,” Nancy replied with a soft teasing, which granted her a scoff from the other end of the line. Possibly an eye roll, too. “Anyway, back to your cousin. What kind of trouble is she in?”

"Right. Well—… to make a long story short, my cousin, Mei, lives in the infamous Salem, Massachusetts. About a week ago one of Salem’s most historical mansions was nearly burnt to the ground, and now the entire town believes she was the one who caused the fire! They don’t have any evidence she did it, which is unbelievable, but any idiot can see she wouldn’t do something like that—!”

“Deir—Deirdre—Deirdre!” Nancy finally had to yell just to make herself heard over her incensed rambling. “Why would the town believe your cousin Mei would do such a thing if there’s no evidence? What evidence did they find? Did she provide a strong alibi? One that someone, or multiple people, can confirm? Are there any other suspects?”

"God, I forgot about that annoying thing you do where you ask a million questions a second,” Deirdre huffed exasperatedly. "I don’t know what evidence the police have. When I tried reaching out to them, they just laughed at me when they found out I was Mei’s cousin—like they thought it was funny I was trying to prove her innocence! Like it was so obvious Mei would do this and I just couldn’t see it! I had to leave before I gave them the smart-ass piece of my mind… it would’ve only made the situation worse for her.”

“I’m so, so sorry to hear that happened to you, Deirdre… really, I am.” Nancy offered genuinely, just as the footbridge was coming into sight, and she quickened her pace to meet it. “It sounds like your cousin is being falsely accused, or at least he police don’t seem interested in looking into other suspects.”

"Mei hasn’t been accused.” She clarified before sighing defeatedly, grumbling with a tight jaw. "…Not yet, at least, on official record… but everyone in Salem thinks she did it and we both can see where this train is heading. The only people here who see the truth are me and Mei’s older sister, my other cousin, Teegan. Nancy, Mei didn’t do this, and like I said, the situation’s really complicated… more complicated than I can explain over the phone. It’d be easier in person.”

“Are—Are you asking me to come to Salem?” Nancy inquired dubiously. She expected their exchange to be more of a mentoring; for Deirdre to ask for her advice on how to pursue the matter and that would be the end of it, so for her to imply—no, outright admit she needed Nancy to come to Salem—it became clear just how ‘complicated’ this problem really was.

And how desperate Deirdre was to save her cousin.

"You’re really going to twist my arm, aren’t you?” Deirdre groaned. "Yes, that’s exactly what I’m asking, Drew. I’m not going to beg.” There was an abrupt pause. "…I might say please, though, if that’ll convince you, but you can never breathe a word of that to anyone!”

As Nancy stopped on the footbridge to lean over the railing, the open window of the north-tower marked where the thief had jumped from the ledge to a sheer drop below; it was almost too high up to jump from without breaking your neck, and the exterior walls were built with smooth stone weather-worn from the years. How could the thief otherwise get up there, let alone get back down as quick as they did without injuring themselves? Perhaps a hook and rope? Climbing tools? Pure agility, athletics, and clever leverage? Perhaps through some other tools or means unknown to her? It seemed clean, professional, planned, and most importantly, puzzling.

“Do you know how far the Boston International airport is from Salem?” Nancy inquired while digging into her shoulder bag to produce the thief’s torn plane ticket, upon remembering it’s destination out. The detective wondered, was it merely coincidence that the Book of Apologies was stolen in the same week a fire vandalized a Salem landmark? Since Moosham Castle and the book itself both had a connection to the witch trials, it couldn’t be completely improbable that there was some deeper relation between the pieces, and her thief’s flight out to Boston only solidified her gut instinct.

“Boston Logan? Uh—it’s like an hour drive from Salem, I guess?” Deirdre said quizzically. “Does that mean you’re coming?”

“I’m definitely coming. In my book thief’s escape, they left behind a torn plane ticket. They were going to the Boston International Airport. The destruction of a Salem monument, the theft of an important artifact involving the witch trials, and the thief’s flight coming into Boston can’t be coincidence. I don’t know if my thief will be in Salem, but I’d bet they’re still linked to the town somehow.”

“That sounds pretty far-fetched, if you ask me.”

“I guess I’ll find out when I get to Salem. I’m going to see about taking an afternoon flight out of Austria tomorrow—think you can hang tight until I get there?”

“As if I have a choice,” Deirdre bit sardonically, before a softened sigh allowed her to continue in a kinder tone. “I’ll pick you up from the airport. Just text me your flight details, and try not to get in at, like, 2 in the morning or something. I’m not afraid to leave you at the mercy of a taxi driver.”

“I hear you. We’ll figure this out, Deirdre… I promise.” Nancy declared, and despite the silence from the other end, she knew Deirdre was still there—listening and careful.

“…Thanks,” She replied, before quickly hanging up as if it would hopefully diminish the tender gratitude in her reply.

[thecoolkidsbasement]

How did Winona not get caught rubbing her feet at the dance?

I’m super confused by this question LOL??? it makes it sound like she can’t rub her own feet x,D she was wearing shoes a smidge too small for her and was getting blisters, is there something I’m not understanding here??

[thecoolkidsbasement]

About a week ago I received a nice comment on Inventor’s Absolution by a reader who told me she made fanart of my main character, Winona Parker!! ;A; it always floors me when someone loves the story and characters enough to create something for it/from it, and with her permission, I wanted to post the fanart she made here on tumblr as well as link to her instagram for anyone interested in checking out the rest of her work! j4d33_art Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/j4d33_art/ I thought her art style was really cute, and I loved how she did Winona’s eyes :3c Thank you SO MUCH to her for the fanart and for taking the time to read Inventor’s Absolution--and thank you as well to everyone’s support, comments, likes, and messages about the story as well! I never thought I’d have very many people interested in Winona’s story, and you guys make me want to work even harder to bring out her story. Fanfiction or not, Winona is a very dear character to me--while I see some of myself in her, I also see in her as person I hope to be and can be one day. Thank you and have a lovely day! <3

[thecoolkidsbasement]

Six Sentence Sunday

call me a liar twice over because it isn’t Sunday and this tid bit isn’t six sentences LMAO

so I was tagged by the ever lovely @hellektr0 (also known as er0sennin) to participate in this and thought it’d be fun!! Sorry for the late reply (two days late) I was working and didn’t know what to post :c I finally made up my mind and thought I’d share the intro of the latest chapter I’ve worked on for my Fallout 3 fic Inventor’s Absolution--this would be chapter 47, a Butch centered chapter.

Enjoy!

“Amata?”

The name echoed off the walls of the vault hallway when Butch DeLoria called out, unnatural and deep when it bounced back to him in thinning volume as if it had to travel some ways to return. He couldn’t recall how he got there, or when, or why, only recognizing that when he looked down at either end, the corridor stretched on so far in both directions that any possible end disappeared into a distant haze.

He wasn’t somewhere familiar.

“Amata?” Butch cupped his hands around his mouth, calling in either direction. His own voice was the only thing that returned to him.

He wasn’t somewhere that was Vault 101… only meant to look like it.

“How’s your mother doing, by the way?”

The question seemed to come from the walls themselves, the acidic whisper so close—too close—it tightened his throat, startling him in the looming silence.

“Is she down there with the roaches like the rest of you,” The voice moved around him, shifting, slithering, twisting shape like a forbidden shadow trying to find somewhere to hide as it taunted him. “Or did you turn your back on her like you did everyone else?”

Butch grimaced back at Wally’s tone, thought of covering his ears if it actually would’ve done anything but make him look like a sorry sap, and so marched away instead to escape it and find somewhere familiar. His ex-best friend’s voice didn’t follow him, lingering only on the fringes of his hearing until it dissipated into nothing—

A phantom boot pressed down on the back of his head. His hand lingered there, feeling nothing.

Nothing but a memory, anyway.

thank you for the fun tag, it was fun! I’ll also tag @corvegaassemblyplant and @imperialistbullshit, as well as @ any of my mutuals/friends/followers on here who’d like to participate! If you do, please tag me so I can read it :3c

[thecoolkidsbasement]

WIP Wednesday/Teaser Thursday Tag

I was tagged by @hellektr0 for this fun little exercise (which I appreciate ‘cause I’ve been dead on tumblr LOL) and so thought I’d post a little teaser of the next chapter of Inventor’s Absolution! I always seem to post teasers or bits and bobs from Winona chapters but never from Butch chapters, so here y’all go!

“How’s it looking out there?”

Looking back to the voice behind him, he found his mom lingering in the clinic, seeming well-rested despite her exhausted smile. She came to stand beside him, also watching the people eating and rustling themselves under blankets to sleep.

“S’alright, I guess. Got more people in today.” He shrugged vaguely in reply.

“That’s good. We should stick together in a time like this and look out for one another.” She said with her eyes panning across the floor, momentarily taking on a look of sorrow when she spotted the Kellan family. “I thought I heard Mike and his family was here… poor Jessica… we should make sure Wendy gets an extra blanket. Goodness, I can’t remember the last time I saw a child since all this started… poor little Wendy, she must be so lonely.”

“M’Sure she ain’t the only one.” So many people had died already, and he didn’t want to think about the same happening to a kid... but his mom was right, wasn’t she? When was the last time he saw a kid since all this started?

Frankly, Butch didn’t want to think about that, either.

“You eat dinner yet, Butchie? I see you working hard around here for Amata, I worry you’re not eating enough.”

“Not like there’s much t’go around,” He said with a feeble snort that made her shoot a scrutinizing look.

“How about I grab us some dinner?” She inquired hopefully as the look faded into a small smile. “We can sit together and eat... like we use to.”

Thanks again for tagging me love! I also wish to tag @corvegaassemblyplant, @imperialistbullshit, and any of my other writer mutuals who’d like to take a stab at it as well! :)

Happy reading, happy writing everyone!

~Faerie

[thecoolkidsbasement]

Hey! I'm that anon that said I'd be here to 'eat that shit up' whenever you got around to posting, and I did in fact eat, and it was amazing :D

welcome back, mysterious stranger!! Thank you so much for your encouragement and for coming back to read the latest chapter ;A; I super appreciate it, and I’m so happy to hear you enjoyed it!! Fun things are still in store for Vault 101 as well as Winona~

[thecoolkidsbasement]

are we gonna see more of a friendship between harriet and winona? i think theyd make a good team

We definitely will be!! Those two are good (and sometimes bad) for each other. In the ways that they're different they're also weirdly alike! I like to imagine that Harriet is who Winona WOULD have been if she was raised in the Wasteland--angry and kickass x,D

[thecoolkidsbasement]

Amata: What do you first notice when Butch tries to talk to you?

Winona: The audacity.

[thecoolkidsbasement]

me, reading Good Omens fluff and smut fic at 2 AM:

my brain: 

me, slowly closing laptop: