#undeadcourierocs

[undeadcourier]

marty robbins: here's a song about a young, exceedingly competent and notorious outlaw finally being bested by a lawman

me: i made a character in homage to your outlaw

me: he's got the same name, the same incredible marksmanship, and he's part of a feared gang

me: also, he wears roller skate cowboy boots and thinks geckos can read his mind

[undeadcourier]

arcade being excited to read don quixote was an inspired choice, alex. idk if i told you before, but i came across this post again and was struck by how perfect it is. of course the anarchist doctor whose grindr bio includes that he enjoys studying failed pre-war economic policies and whose midlife crisis is about forging his own path vs living up to his father's legacy would be thrilled to read and discuss "self-invention, class identity, and social change, the novel"

@undeadcourier

The Best Wasteland Book Club isn’t what Arcade hoping for.

But Cal and Remington are having fun.

[wolfsskull]

me: how about we focus on developing the ocs we already have?

also me: fallout hades and persephone but make it gay

[undeadcourier]

picking at this between comms

[undeadcourier]

been pickin at this. still gotta draw updated tats

[undeadcourier]

love how i created atena specifically to do an ncr run and now she's one of the red hands (she just won't admit it)

[undeadcourier]

my vault now

[undeadcourier]

So where was the Red Hands raiding territory? And how did they interact with the Fiends, Khans, Vipers and Jackals?

For some background: Cal is from San Antonio, Texas, originally. I imagine sea levels would rise along the coastal prairies, possibly submerging Houston (or parts of it—city on stilts kinda thing), and Cal spent his youth as a pirate in the gulf and raiding along the gulf coastal plains following the I35 and I10. He'd meet Jovita, and they'd strike out on their own, establishing the Red Hands as they moved west, following the I10 to El Paso. They'd raid smaller settlements and caravans or do some brahmin rustling on drives closer to major cities where the markets would be.

As the gang grew and as they approached/entered Legion territory, their notoriety swelled since raiding (well, from non-legionnaires, anyway) was virtually unheard of in Caesar's Empire, and they were obliged to push west into the Mojave where pickings were easier. They raided in the northwest San Bernardino county area until Lanius caught up with them, and we know how that went....

After Lanius, Cal intends to rebuild the gang and recruits any Jackals, Vipers, and Powder Gangers who are willing to join him. He learns about the Platinum Chip from some of his contacts in Vegas and sees it as an opportunity to gain a foothold in the north, in Fiend territory.

I had the idea of him usurping the position & taking the base of another raider leader around Vegas, and originally was going to have that be another oc gang, but Motor-Runner/Vault 3 fit in nicely with what I had in mind. Haven't worked out all the details yet, but basically, Motor-Runner dies, and any Fiends willing to accept the change in management can join the Red Hands.

Once he deals with Benny and discovers the true value of the Chip, Cal himself uses the Lucky 38 as a secondary base with the Red Hands operating out of Vault 3.

Cal would want to work with the Khans as well, and since the Red Hands don't involve themselves in any significant capacity in the chem trade, they won't end up stepping on each other's toes too much. Cal convinces Papa Khan to ally with him rather than the Legion, and post Hoover Dam, they can send the NCR packing.

[undeadcourier]

i don't think i've actually made a post yet about why callinan is unkillable; in short, his father sent him to essentially vault-tec™ conversion therapy, which backfired spectacularly and resulted in a child that was still queer and now functionally immortal

[undeadcourier]

3, 12, 13 for atena and jovita? (also hi, been a while, welcome back :3)

thank you so much! it's good to be back, i missed y'all ♡

3. what was the moment that first made their heart soft for the other person?

for jovita, it was when atena gave some water and fixer to some addicts in freeside. until then, she was mostly trying to keep atena from hurting cal and figured atena was like the ncr troopers who couldn't care less about the citizens of the mojave. that compassion on atena's part meant a lot to jovita.

for atena, it was a time jovita saved her from a fiend who had attacked her. atena had fully expected that jovita would let her die if it was convenient, especially if the choice was between atena, a ranger, and a raider.

not really classic romance i suppose, but those are pivotal moments where they each realize how they hadn't really appreciated the nuances of one another's motivations and values. they have these opportunities for humility and growth that help them have a better understanding of one another.

12. how much independence do they prefer in a relationship—do they want to share their lives as much as possible with their partner, or do they prefer to mostly do their own thing and let their partner do their own thing?

jovita is famously reticent and reserved. between losing the red hands and meeting atena, she had been traveling alone, having pragmatically decided that it's better to keep to herself and not get attached to anyone or anything ever again. so learning to be vulnerable with someone and open herself to love again is a journey.

atena, by contrast, has always relied heavily on her connections to her loved ones and community and is astounded that jovita would try to shut everyone out. they have conflicting goals for awhile there so they're not working together initially, but especially as they grow closer and identify common goals, atena goes out of her way to include jovita.

13. what is their go-to for making a partner feel loved?

acts of service is one of jovita's major love languages, and that's something atena becomes aware of and uses to keep jovita from isolating herself as a maladaptive coping mechanism. atena would ask jovita for little favors—help with cooking or cleaning tack—to sort of invite her back into community and this position of emotional vulnerability in baby steps. trading chores or errands becomes a prominent sign of affection between them, these little, everyday ways of showing that they care.

[undeadcourier]

sexy

[undeadcourier]

my boys ♡♡♡

You didn’t specify a pose so i picked the one that let me make Arcade the one with knife cat face for once (callinan is @undeadcourier‘s oc and he has knife cat face disease. it’s terminal but dw he’s got lives in him)

[undeadcourier]

hi julian!! 10, 20, 30 for arcade and cal please 💖

tysm peri!!

10. what scares them about entering a relationship?

for cal, having something to lose. he's just lost nearly everyone he loved, and so he's hesitant to get into anything serious and have that happen again. he doesn't have the kind of temperament to try to isolate himself like jovita does, but that fear is always in the back of his mind that if he gets attached, that means he'll be vulnerable.

arcade is more concerned about potential rejection. he's really confident in himself and his ideals, but he's learned from past experience that his secrets should be closely guarded. he longs for a partner that will accept him and the remnants without condemning him for the sins of the enclave, but he's obviously wary of opening up about that and trusting someone again.

20. when would they say “i love you?” who says it first? do they say it often, or is it reserved for special moments?

cal says it first, and sooner than arcade expected. cal is more inclined to show love in other ways than verbally expressing it often, though, and saves the te amos for special moments. i think once arcade feels really secure in their relationship that he'd say it pretty often, casually, as a greeting/farewell, as a thank you, etc.

30. what petty topic (music taste, favorite food) do they find themselves completely at odds with their partner about? 

cal likes his steaks just shy of runnin' off and arcade thinks people harnessed the power of fire and cooking for a fucking reason.

[undeadcourier]

ask me about my ocs

[undeadcourier]

figuring out more of the particulars of cal & atena's paths crossing in goodsprings and outlining atena's grand mojave adventure

> cal is shot & it's not, y'know, great—but he doesn't fully lose consciousness on account of vault-experiment mutant powers + Spite

> atena is out for a few days, per canon. she suffers migraines and some hearing loss as a lasting result of her injuries

> cal is long gone by the time atena revives, and he’s picked up benny's cigarette butts/lighter/etc. he knows benny and knows where he needs to go, but he still has some stops to make along the way, including securing the allyship of the powder gangers at the ncrcf

> atena sticks around goodsprings awhile longer as she continues to recover, befriends sunny smiles and the townsfolk, and helps ringo/goodsprings with the powder gangers

[undeadcourier]

he gets his own post