#trust me. send long rambling gushing asks to your faves. it's good for them and for you. I promise.

[morrigan-sims]

Guys, I have one piece of advice for you that will seriously improve your time on simblr: If you love someone's story, let them know. Leave a comment, send an ask, whatever. Do it on anon if you're scared. And don't worry about coming off as unhinged. Honestly, the more details and rambling you put in, the better. There is literally nothing that makes an artist feel better than having someone tell them that they love their work.

So if someone's latest story post made you cry, tell them! Or if their edit gave you chills, tell them!!! And let me tell you a secret. Nothing motivates people to work on their stories more than knowing that other people love them and want to see more.

Nothing feels better than seeing someone answer your ask or reply to your comment, and seeing how happy they are. Trust me on this. It feels amazing. You'll make their day, and make your own day better too. And maybe, just maybe, you'll be the push they need to open their game and work on the next post.

Oh, and if you want them to love you forever, include details! Say what specific lines made you feel so strongly, or offer theories on what's going to happen next. Tell them who your favorite character is, or what antagonist is making your teeth grind. Storytellers put so much effort into their posts and their writing, and having someone pick up on the details is so immensely gratifying.

[forkanna]

[AO3 Link]

See also: @pankite

Anna Saunders wasn't the most religious person out there. Sure, when she still lived with Mama she went to church and Sunday school alongside her sister, and never questioned a single thing they taught her. That had been easy. After all, the phrase "the faith of a child" is a phrase for a reason.

It was a good deal harder for her to hold onto complete faith in a God who would allow Anna's beloved family to split apart when she was just a little girl, and to keep her entirely separated from her sister and best friend, Elsa, from grade eight onward. Not impossible, but harder. While she still believed in God and the Bible, when her Papa took her with him away from their home in Toronto to the smaller, far-away city of Winnipeg, she no longer had the unshakable faith she held as a girl.

Therefore, Anna surprised even herself when she signed up to be a counselor at Peterhouse Bible Camp, well over six hours away from home. She needed the money, the job paid enough to make it worth her time, and she liked kids. But she was dreading all the religious indoctrination she had been able to avoid for the past five years. Especially given how much her beliefs had changed.

But her father had a secret smile in his eyes when he first handed her the pamphlet, promising that if she went, she would not be disappointed.

So there she was, a duffel bag slung over her shoulder as she followed after another eager counselor named Rapunzel. She was guiding her towards the dorms that she would call home for the next few months.

"You're really gonna love it here," Rapunzel gushed, cheeks bunched and eyes alight with excitement. "These kids really need to be fostered to Jesus, and like, where else is a better place than here?! And there's so many fun games, and activities — and wait until you see the lake! It's gorgeous!"

"It sounds wonderful!" Anna gave the other girl a warm grin. Her cheer was infectious and the more Rapunzel spoke, the more pleased and excited Anna became about taking this opportunity. She beamed and hoisted her bag a little higher. "Me and my sister used to go camping at a lake with our parents all the time when we were little. I've always wanted to go back again! Is there canoeing or kayaking in the event plans?"

"Is there ever!"

The two chatted on as they walked. She was practically buzzing by the time they reached the cabins that housed the campers, eager to meet her dorm mate and the group of kids they were supposed to keep an eye on.

"...and lanyards, of course," the other girl was still rambling. "I mean, how is it even camping if there's no lanyards?! But my fave is macrame." Then she brightened and hopped up and down. "Oh look - it's Aurora! She's the head counselor and she's- well, look at her!"

Anna glanced over in the direction Rapunzel was looking and felt her cheeks heat up in response. The woman was stunning! With long blonde hair and warm, honey brown eyes. She was kneeling in front of a small girl, speaking softly to her, but she looked up and smiled at the two younger counselors briefly.

"Wow," Anna breathed. "She's… really pretty! And she seems nice. I mean, n-not that I can tell from all the way over here."

"You have no idea! When I first started here last year, she was the one who took me under her wing, and… I mean, I just can't say enough good things about her. A true Christian, and she's so good with the smalls! And nice to pretty much all the other counselors!" In a quieter voice, she added, almost to herself, "Not like that other girl…"

Anna looked over at Aurora again, watching as she patted the girl's head gently before sending her off. For a second, she pondered on what Rapunzel said about the woman being a true Christian and wondered if any advances she made would be met with disdain. In the end, she dismissed the thought; it would be too much of a potential problem to ask her directly.

"What other girl?" Anna asked instead, having just barely caught the whisper. She furrowed her brow slightly. "Is it someone I should watch out for?"

Blinking, Rapunzel looked over with a vaguely-embarrassed smile. "O-oh, nobody! Gossiping is a sin, right? I'll let you meet people on your own, maybe you'll feel different if I don't tell you a bunch of stuff first." Then she glanced down at Anna's paperwork. "Counselor cabin four, huh? This way."

So Anna trailed after her, deciding to change the subject if it made the other girl uncomfortable. "Hey, Rapunzel… you're a pretty devoted Christian, right? How do you feel about… certain things? Like dating and stuff? Do you have a boyfriend?"

"Well… I do have a promise ring Flynn gave me," she said with a slight blush, flashing it at Anna. "We're still not sure we're like, ready for all that, or interested, or anything… but, um…" Obviously, this was a hard thing for Rapunzel to talk about; she seemed to want to say a lot more but thought it would either be burdensome for Anna, or that it wasn't "Christian" to keep talking about her almost-boyfriend.

"That's a really pretty ring, " Anna praised awkwardly, noting the discomfort still gracing her new friend's face. She nervously brushed a strand of hair behind her ear and scrambled to pick another topic before she spotted a sign with a large black "4" and she let out a silent sigh of relief. "Well I guess this is my cabin; I'll see you around!"

"Right!" she called back as she turned down the landing, most likely to find her own cabin. Her cheeks were positively aglow with excitement. "See you around, new friend! Ohhh, this is gonna be so much fun!"

Anna waved as she watched the other girl walk away. "See you tomorrow!" she called after her and giggled as she turned to the door and pulled out her key.

"She's nice," she commented happily to herself. She was enjoying herself so far and was very excited to meet her new roommate, especially if she was half as nice as Rapunzel was. Without further delay, she pushed the door open…

Only to halt in the doorway, her face draining of all colour as she leaned against the door to support her suddenly weak knees.

Her roommate's shirtless back was facing her; smooth expanses of snowy skin that was only slightly covered dark blue straps of a bra. A bra that she got a full view of when her roommate turned and revealed her perfect breasts and flat stomach that Anna just couldn't look away from.

"Oh… my God."

"What? Who's there?!" The voice was muffled from being on the other side of thick cotton, of course.

"I'm so sorry! Oh my god, I'm sorry! I-I didn't think!" Anna quickly covered her reddening face in her hands while turning her back to the other before she could get a proper look at her face. Her own face felt like it was in an oven as she kept rambling apologies. The memory of the boobs was so fresh, she couldn't think straight!

Which made sense, because she wasn't straight. She had several crushes on both boys and girls over the years, and had even dated a lovely French exchange student named Esmeralda, who still took Anna's breath away when she thought about her. Most of the time, she embraced her sexuality, but once in awhile, it presented a problem such as this.

After another moment of struggling, the stranger was able to pull the shirt the rest of the way over her head. "You really ought to knock before you… burst in on someone when they're… oh."

As Anna's face continued burning, she finally uncovered her it and risked a glance over her shoulder. Only to be knocked off her feet a second time.

"E-Elsa?"

At odds with the order of things, the taller, blonder girl chose that moment to cover her bare chest with her arms, blinking her long lashes in complete shock. Her plump, pink bottom lip quivered a few times before she managed to croak, "What the- Anna? Wh-what are…?"

Her previous embarrassment and brief arousal was completely forgotten as Anna flung herself towards the older sister she hadn't seen in years, grabbing her into a tight embrace and pressing her face into Elsa's shoulder.

"Elsa! It's really you! I haven't seen you in forever! I-" She felt so overwhelmed in her pure elation at seeing her sister again that all she could really do was snuggle into the older girl and try desperately to hold back happy tears. "I missed you so much!"

"You missed- how did you get-" For a few more seconds, Elsa sputtered and stood there, not quite embracing her back but neither pushing her away. One hand did fall to the crest of her red head, caressing it for just a moment.

Then she gently pushed Anna backward by her upper arms, gazing down at her with bewildered blue eyes. "Wait, wait. Anna, what do you mean that you've missed me? I thought... you didn't want to see me anymore."

Anna stared at Elsa in disbelief, her eyes misty with unshed tears. "Wh-What?" She frowned at her sister. "What made you think I didn't want to see you? I tried calling every week up until last year! Mom always said you were too busy to talk to me… so I stopped calling, but I still wrote letters and you never replied to them! I even tried going to visit once but you were out of town! Why would you think I no longer wanted to see you?! If anything, I honestly thought it was the other way around…"

Pale eyebrows drew together on the elder sister's forehead. "What are you saying? I never got… Mom never told me about a single letter or call, not for the past few years. She said…" Her eyes went flatter, and she took a step backward away from Anna. "She told me that you and Father weren't… that neither of us could trust 'sinners' like you. I didn't want to believe her, but when the calls stopped coming, and you never visited anymore…"

Anna's lower lip trembled. "Why did...Why wouldn't Mom pass my messages on?" She whimpered, feeling dread and hurt like a punch in the gut. "Why would she say that about us? Papa said he only stopped visiting because Mom told him to… and I wanted to visit, but Papa only had enough extra to send me the one time and you weren't there, anyway!" She glanced at the wall, all of her previous elation having evaporated. "Why didn't you try calling us instead? Why wouldn't you get the story from us first before believing that me and Papa are horrible people so easily?"

"And you think I had any reason not to trust my own mother? The one who stood by my side, raised me and provided for me? Was my entire family after you two ran off to the west?!" Her chest was heaving, and after a moment she glanced down at herself before turning back to the suitcase that stood open on one of the two beds in the small room, catching up an official camp polo shirt. "You… I can't believe that. Right about now, I think you would say anything to convince me you and Father didn't completely abandon us."

"You honestly think I wanted to leave?!" Anna demanded. "I was five, Elsa! All I knew at the time was that Papa was going away and I didn't want him going alone! I didn't want to leave you or Mama but if I didn't, Papa would have been all alone! And it got even worse when the visits stopped completely five years back!" She shook her head. "I just don't understand why Mama wouldn't tell you about all the times I tried to talk to you! Besides, why would you pin all this 'abandonment' stuff on us when you and Mama never made any effort to come and see us either?! That isn't fair, Elsa!"

"Enough!" The shout was sharper than her voice had been before, but once the shirt was down over her head again, she took in a long breath and let it out slowly. "Enough. Listen, we… I don't know what you're doing here, or why, but… let's just try not to get in each other's way for the next month. Alright? I… I don't want to end up resenting you any more than I already do."

Anna stiffened at the cold words but she simply straightened her back and moved to pick up the bag she had dropped at the entrance.

"F-Fine," she managed to choke out, taking a deep breath to steady herself. She moved over to her own bed, placing it down roughly before digging through it in a vain attempt to keep herself from looking over at Elsa. She felt tired, sad and hurt and she knew she would break if she saw her sister's chilling eyes again.

'At least we don't have to start working with the kids until tomorrow,' she thought bitterly when Elsa swept from the room without another word. What once looked like a fun few months had now soured from a single conversation.

                                                  To Be Continued...