"MAKE SURE YOU GET THE cheese dip. it's like, liquid saturated fats, and it's delicious. it's gotta be six times your daily sodium limits or something. i dream about it." and because he can't resist, because he hasn't seen her in a few days, and he missed her, he throws his arm over jessica's shoulders. casually. "i miss cheese. i mean, i know we have cheese, but i miss the really gross kind that came on a mcdonalds burger. it wasn't actually cheese, it was some kind of melted plastic, and i miss it."
'i wouldn't have broken it more." actually, he might've. "anyways, i'll let someone with an engineering brain fix it. yeah, a drink sounds good. the rainstorm?" he asks, as if there's anywhere else.
" you dream about it ? " she laughs, her first proper one in days. " well, if it's really that good then i guess i have to. " jess accepts like she doesn't really have a choice anymore, unable to soften her smile as he puts his arm around her and continues to go on about cheese, her own arm slinging around him. " me too. " even the thought of it being melted plastic has her salivating. she never thought she'd be here, missing fake cheese. " i feel like i didn't eat enough cheese when i had the chance, you know ? it's one of my biggest regrets actually. it's hard to live with myself. " she says through a sigh, though her smile's unmoving.
" course not. " she grins teasingly. " oh, my fave. besides, i think everywhere else is booked out tonight, so... " jess shrugs, finger pointing to the general direction of the rainstorm. " so, how've you been ? did i miss anything ? "
There was one big breath taken as Danny wiped some of the tears away that formed in the corners of his eyes, making a strangely high-pitched noise there before he spoke again. "Ya sure? I got like... three more in me, ready to go, anytime, anywhere." His eyes had a knowing twinkle in them, however, when he was offered not one but two drinks. "Alright now hold on, this is a big decision..." He put his elbows up on the counter of the bar, voice almost hoarse after all that laughter. "...tequila shots with some OJ ain't sound bad now, do they? Call it the miserable mimosa."
oh, fuck. that noise. " what was thaa— " jace can't even get the words out before he's wheezing, a similar high-pitch noise escaping from his throat. " bro. you'll take me out, i can't. " he tries to compose himself, feeling serious now before he groans, wiping his eyes. it's not that big of a decision but jace will allow danny to think so, nodding thoughtfully as he watches the other decide. what he comes up with doesn't sound too bad. " fitting name. " jace smiles, already reaching for two glasses and the bottle of tequila, pouring out the two shots. he picks up the oj. " how much do you wanna taste the tequila ? " he wonders, not pouring yet.
she's fully frowning now at the attention over something stupid like a joke instead of, you know, showing off how much weight she can lift or how good her aim has gotten over the last several years of practice. noor's pause is less for dramatic intrigue, the building up of the joke, and more because she can't believe she's actually doing this. it's not that big a deal, but she feels silly anyway, and so the tone that she delivers the punchline in is less than amused, maybe making it more funny than it should have been depending on someone else's sense of humor. "because if they flew over the bay, we'd call them bagels." and there it is. she tries not to wince or scowl.
whatever is making noor hesitate is building up his intrigue, excitement and amusement all at once. he hasn't figured out the punchline for himself, far too interested in noor completely, so when it lands— and in her complete void-of-any-joy tone— he can't stop the cackle that comes howling from his mouth, a couple heads turning to look at him as he stays beaming. " oh, that was good, noor. well done. " he's still grinning, shaking his head as he remembers the joke, or more her delivery of it. " come on, then, what's your poison ? " jace asks, trying to fufil his half of the deal.
"They're always on you!" Aurora exclaimed with a laugh. Jace never let her pay once for a drink, despite how many times she insisted. Of course she did her best to leave a tip of some sense and do favors for him, but it was easier said than done. "You're putting me under pressure here." The woman tapped her fingers on the bar top in thought, not minding the small puddles of her previous drink that had spilled out a bit. "Okay, okay," she started. "This is one of Hasen's favourites; why can't you hear the pterodactyl go to the bathroom?''
" shhh... shh.. that's not true. i don't know what you're talking about. " he chuckles awkwardly, pretending like it'd be the end of the world that anyone find out he's giving away free drinks. really he thinks she just deserves a little extra when she's got a kid to look after during this hell. " it's just a joke, i believe in you. " jace nods, and he means that despite poking fun about it. the mention of hasen has him smiling, excited to hear the joke even more now if it has his approval. " i have no idea... why can't you ? "
HE WATCHED HER LOOK AROUND, and after a second, laughed and passed her the wrench in his hand. he really just wanted to see what she would do with it.
"shit, a target?" he bought into her joke so easily, happy to go along with anything she said on the off chance that something might make her smile. "i hope they have a starbucks inside, and that little cafe with the pretzels. i love those things."
sighing, he looked away from the machine and back at her, a frown on his face. it was quickly broken with a smile. "yeah, i got no clue. fuck it. let's get out of here."
" i'll get you some the next time i'm out. " she promises with a smile, not feeling too bad about being unable to keep it when he knows that just the same. jess could name a billion and one different things she misses from when things were normal, but almost all of them were food related. maybe she's just been hungry.
her lips part to offer to try something herself, like she could be naturally gifted in machinery if she just gave it a go, clutching the wrench in hand like it could do something... but as soon as he's given up and ready to leave, it's all jess really cares about.
" you'd have just broken it more, " she offers amicably, like they need some sort of justification to ditch. " it's safer for everyone this way. " jess nods, her grin bordering on mischievous since clearly she's also embracing a personal gain here. she shrugs. " besides, i don't know about you but i could really use a drink. "
WILL WASN'T PARTICULARLY ADEPT MECHANICALLY, but he could make do. so when the combine started making some kind of ridiculous clanking noise, he figured he could give it a go. or at least, get very in over his head before eventually resigning it over to someone from the technical school or maintenance. he was about halfway to giving up, growing increasingly irritated with the task, when jessica appeared.
his frustration disappeared. she gave him a bright grin and a terrible impression, making his eyes widen, but he couldn't help but smile back.
"hey! yeah, for sure. i mean, no. i mean, you can hold something and look pretty, i guess." oh, excellent communication. panic, reverse. he looked away, staring at the machine like he could fix it just by looking at it if he tried hard enough. "did you just get back? how's the outside world?"
for a mere moment he has her hopes high and bright, only for them to fall just as quick. a sigh leaves her lips, glancing around for something she can hold— looking pretty was all about all she was going to offer anyways.
" yeah, not too long ago. " jess decides it looks pathetic to say just how soon she'd come to find him, that nothing else really took much thought before her legs got moving. " oh, amazing. a target just opened up on main street, it's really gonna bring a boom to town. " jessica smirks, though it's embarrassing how badly she wishes that were true.
she walks closer to him by the machine, noting how he's just kind of staring at it. " do you even know what you're doing ? " she really doesn't think so.
"oh, shit for real?" santiago asks, looking around like to check and see if he's in the middle of a joke. he's maybe a little inebriated already, but also a bit gullible at times. "alright, alright." he rubs his hands together and grins. "what are mario's favorite type of pants?"
" do i look like i'm jokin' around ? " he says completely deadpan, as if not the one to bring up the discussion of jokes in the first place. watching santiago warm himself up for it brings a laugh to jace's lips. the set up has his grin growing wider, he loves this one. " go on, tell me. "
This was a challenge. And Danny had an arsenal up his sleeve. Whether they were funny or not... well, at least he was going to have a lot of fun. "Some helium floats into a bar. The bartender says 'Sorry, we ain't servin' noble gases here.' The helium doesn't react." He burst out laughing before he could even finish the punchline, waving in front of Jace while he willed himself to breathe. "Wait, wait, I got more! A superconductor walks into a bar. The bartender says they ain't servin' its kind there. The superconductor leaves without any resistance. Okay, okay, no, I got one more! Schrödinger's cat walks into a bar--"
danny's inability to tell his own joke before breaking down with laughter is what initially gets jace to laugh, finding it contagious, especially when danny just doesn't stop. jace shakes his head, palms up in some pathetic surrender despite his face still beaming, chuckles escaping at every other of danny's words. " okay, all right, all right. you're only getting one—fine, two for effort. i enjoyed that. " jace laughs again. " what'll it be ? "
"oh, god..." she groans aloud, tapping her nails on the bar. obviously, noor isn't going to back down from a free drink, courtesy of the bartender. but coming up with a joke on the spot? she's more likely to do a handstand for five minutes than achieve something lighthearted and silly like that. squinting at the bottles behind jace, she huffs out, a scowl crossing her face despite the desperate need to be funny right now. "i'm thinking, i'm thinking." take too long, and he'll probably pull back the offer as fast as he can, the cynical part of noor thinks, too. "alright. how about this. i remember it from when i was a kid. why do seagulls fly over the ocean?"
her reaction brings an amused scoff from him, he's so excited for this. you gotta enjoy the little things in times like these, like watching the desperate attempt to scramble and find something funny. " i'm sure you are. " jace teases, grin lighting up their face as they lean against the bar, giving noor his full attention which is clearly what she wants right now. “ hmmm, " he's not sure he knows this one. jace examines her a moment, as if it'll better help him decipher the punchline. " i don't know, why do seagulls fly over the ocean ? “
it felt like a LONG twenty-four hours, but as soon as she's done with quarantining, jess makes her way over to the farm. she doesn’t mind the place, she likes most of the people, definitely likes the animals, less the cleaning up after them part, but . . it’s always where will is so she rarely has much of a choice.
her right wrist is bandaged up, spots of pink blood seeping through the cotton as she keeps it purposely hidden beneath her leather jacket. it isn't a big deal, just some glass scraped her and she's pathetically a bleeder — plus she really isn't in the mood for a lecture from him, not when she's not seen in him what feels like forever, so she just wants to hang out for a bit and leave all seriousness for later.
“ howdy, stranger, ” jessica grins at him, her best but somehow still worst southern accent creeping from her lips. it's not like it's been weeks ( or even really a couple of days ) but will is the only person she actually misses when she's away on scouting trips, so she can't help but be excited to finally see him. the farm has got to be one of the most important jobs around campus, but all she wants is to ask him to ditch it all so they can go off somewhere. “ if i help with whatever you're doing, can we get out of here quicker ? "
" first one's on me IF you can tell me a joke. " jace proposes, drying the last few sets of glasses behind the bar. " so obviously it has to be funny, if you can handle that. " he grins, thinking he's hilarious. " you know what, i'll settle on amusing, just for you. "
( REINA HARDESTY. CIS WOMAN. SHE/HER. ) ⸺ Ꮺ ⋆ greetings, buffalos ! walking around campus, sporting her DEAD SISTER’S LOCKET we’ve spotted JESSICA ONO, a twenty eight year old who contributes to our thriving community as a SCOUT. according to our intel, they’ve been around the sanctuary for ONE YEAR and what we know about her, aside from the fact that they DO agree with the decision to close the gates, is that she was a dancer before the outbreak but she's never danced since ; she keeps a journal with her at all times but writes in it sparingly, only the most important things are ever added ; is incredibly hot-tempered and finds it impossible to fully trust people, but will still risk her life for anyone. doesn’t that make them fantastic ? we think it does, and that’s why we appreciate her so much, grateful for what they give to our community.
STATISTICS.
name: jessica morgana ono
dob: nov 7th 1995
age: 28
height: 5'5
hometown: malibu, california
role: scout
sexuality: bisexual
star chart: scorpio sun, taurus moon, leo rising, sagittarius venus
personality stats: black widow (marvel), clarke griffin (the 100), lana kane (archer), robin scherbatsky (himym), rosa diaz (b99)
types: intj, choleric
family: ryuji ono (father, deceased), catherine ono (mother, deceased), grace ono (sister, deceased)
HISTORY.
tw death, minimal gore, alcohol
the outbreak started when she was 16, never a chance for her to even experiment with what felt like new-found womanhood, no longer just a kid. she'd give anything now to still be that kid, instead of so violently forced into becoming a survivor.
she lost her youngest sister just when she thought she was succeeding in keeping her safe from everything. it was just them left, their parents gone years before so early into the outbreak. jess and her sister grace floated around groups, trying their best to stay in numbers if they had any chance of surviving and doing what they needed to do to stay safe.
they saw almost every group crumble, always human error, always greed. if there wasn't some betrayal or bid for power that caused its ruin, jess would take grace in the night and sneak away instead, convinced she got a bad feeling about the people they were entrusting their lives with. she doesn't think the outbreak changed people, just allowed them the freedom to be who they've always been.
when it was just them on their own, the rain forcing them to find shelter, they'd broken into a drugstore to try and find something useful. it hadn't been looted yet, so the pair were in high spirits. before they knew it, their exit was blocked, and any other attempt to find one was met with the same fate. eventually jess found a broken sky light and started to climb through, her hand extended to pull up her sister. next thing she knew, the infected were just beneath grace, swiping at the younger girl. jessica couldn't hold on or pull her up no matter how hard she tried, the rain was coming down hard and she just kept slipping. it went too quick, jess didn't have a chance to react as their hands finally broke free. jess swiped one final try to catch her sister, but only tore away her necklace instead. jess stayed sobbing on the rooftop for a while after grace's screams finally quietened. she had her sister's skin beneath her nails from holding on so tightly, tighter each time she felt her slipping. she still gets nightmares of that slipping sensation, her being so close but just a smidge out of reach, with her sister’s screams echoing over and over. after that, she lost her way.
she acted riskier, careless in her attempt at survival. she just didn't know what exactly she was doing anymore, who she was fighting for or why she was still alive. it was in her lowest moments she found someone who looked just as beat up as her, low on everything, and not sure where to go; the injured william barlowe. it was her fault he fell, spooking him by accident when investigating what all the noise was... still, she wasn't sure if she should've helped, her own needs were desperate and he was a stranger, but ultimately jessica stayed with him and fixed him up. she didn't fully trust him at first but eventually she could tell that they were the same, and he looked out for her, too.
now at boulder, jess finds herself on the outside more than others. being a scout suits her for so many reasons: she likes to be in the know, would rather put herself in danger than anyone else risk it, and if all things go tit’s up, at least she's in top form. she even appreciates the quarantine, a way to debrief and set herself straight without people around her.
PERSONALITY.
she likes her solitude, likes having as minimal people to worry about as possible. despite this, jess deeply cares for people, and she doesn't wish harm on anyone— but she will do anything to keep those she cares for safe, and that means anything.
she finds it incredibly hard to trust people fully, even if she really likes you she will always have her guard up and expect the worst. it really does take a lot for her to get to the trust completely point as a lot of people have broken it for her in the past — when she does trust you, she is the most loyal person
can be extremely stubborn, sarcastic and blunt at times, often because she doesn't want to reveal or talk about something but it really depends on the day
a hot-head xxx i feel like she's learnt to just shut up most of the time because she always says something she regrets. very very easy to piss off x
MISC THINGS.
preferred weapon is a bow and arrow or crossbow, likes that it's more or less silent in the grand scheme of things but always has a knife on her too
she's very flexible, nimble, light on her feet and agile from her dancing background and she uses these techniques when scouting, helping her reach tougher spots. if the world ever goes back to normal she'd have a parkour channel for sure
always wears her sister's locket around her neck, it has a photo of jess and grace when they were younger
speaks english, japanese & french fluently
WANTED CONNECTIONS.
if she's not with will then she's definitely with fellow scouts /scavengers /trainers/trainees ! basically at the training yards working out a lot of the time… so sparring or general working out partners would be lovely pls…
if she's not at the training yard then she's at the bar drinking her sorrows away... drinking buds... yes... maybe instead of talking about their feelings aka being healthy, jess got your muse incredibly drunk
random, stupid hookups, accidental one night stands, when kissing your face was a better alternative to you seeing me cry.... um... she would just like to feel something, but she will refuse to give anyone anything real or emotional, that shit is locked up.. and she's in a little bit in love with will
someone she's potentially clashed with... maybe still does... girly is not smart with her big mouth
( AVAN JOGIA. CISMAN. HE/THEY ) ⸺ Ꮺ ⋆ greetings, buffalos ! walking around campus, sporting his DARK UNDER-EYE CIRCLES. we’ve spotted JACE DESAI, a thirty year old who contributes to our thriving community as a BARTENDER. according to our intel, they’ve been around the sanctuary for SIX YEARS and what we know about him, aside from the fact that they DON’T agree with the decision to close the gates, is that he’s accidentally become something of an unofficial handyman around boulder simply because he doesn’t know how to say no to anybody ; he’s a huge metalhead and rock lover, if he’s not singing aloud to himself, he’s tapping his foot or humming along to something in his head ; one of jace’s many passions is art and they had a slight graffiti habit before the outbreak and loved painting murals around their city. now he’s a bit more limited in what he can play with, but he tries to get creative with different things when he can. doesn’t that make them fantastic ? we think it does, and that’s why we appreciate them so much, grateful for what they give to our community.
STATISTICS.
name: jace desai
dob: may 3rd 1993
age: 30
height: 5'9
hometown: regina, saskatchewan
role: bartender
sexuality: pansexual
star chart: taurus sun, libra moon, cancer rising, aries venus
personality stats: aang (avatar the last airbender), will turner (priates of the caribbean), jack dawson (titanic), debora (baby driver), nick miller (new girl)
types: enfp, sanguine
family: henry desai (father, deceased), annie desai (mother, deceased), mark desai (brother, deceased), lily desai (sister, deceased), lia desai (sister)
HISTORY.
tw death, injuries, blood, guns
jace has been at boulder for six years, ever since he arrived with his younger sister. they were in canada when the outbreak began, originally a family of five: him, his mom and his three siblings. they lost their mom first, shot by some asshole looting the store. it felt worse that way, that she was taken by a human, not some monster or rabid disease. the four siblings mostly hid out for the start of it, unsure what to do or where to go and it was safer that way. but soon their stomachs were screaming, they were cold and fatigued, and they needed a plan. slowly making their way south, to anywhere that was safe or anywhere with food and warmth, they did quite well at staying out of conflict or danger for the most of it. the brothers sacrificed most of their meals for their sisters, waited up all night while they slept to ensure their protection, but they couldn't do it forever. they were getting weaker by the day, unsure just how far any help was, and verging on hopeless. until they started finding markings painted on walls for lost souls like them to stumble upon and direct to safety, hearing tales about a campus in colorado that's secure and alive. of course they had to go.
it didn't take long before a dozen or so of the infected had swarmed them. with a sister flung on both boy’s back, the siblings tried to rush to safety, only for jace to slip on some rubble and tumble down when a canid tried to swipe at him. his leg takes most of the damage, torn up by shattered glass in the dirt. a stupid mistake, one that would surely have cost both his and his sister's life had his brother not shoved in front of the infected trying to latch on to jace. they promised they'd never leave each other, but mark was demanding it, already scratched up by the monster, bite marks sunk into his skin as he fights with the rest of his life to keep the beast back, but others are coming quick. jace doesn't remember exactly what his brother said, he just sees his face, mouth opening and closing with words that he doesn't register, then suddenly they echo. ‘ take them and run ! ’
jace was struggling to move quickly, his leg throbbing in pain with his sisters either side, trying to help drag his weight. eventually they found a small hole in a wall, covered with wooden planks and stained sheets, for them to hide in while jace recovered. the recovery was slow, the wounds were open and unclean, eventually becoming infected in a matter of days and jace catching a fever. the sisters were adamant they needed to leave him to find supplies. they were smaller and could fit through spaces he couldn't, but jace didn't want to send them out to their deaths for him, he'd be content to die if it meant they didn't risk it, especially with what happened to their brother. despite this, the girls secretly decided to sneak out one day while jace was knocked out, in too much pain to fight his fatigue. the girls got back, but barely. lily had been grabbed, scratched up and bitten by a canid in her attempt to get out. it didn't take long for his sister's cries to wake him, confused how the girl he had last seen peacefully sleeping was now screaming in fear for what the next few days meant for her and what she'd become. they were going to figure it out, cross that bridge when it came to it— but the next morning she was gone. jace and lia waited it out there for a few more days, he was still recovering and they didn't want to leave in case lily came back. they never saw her again.
two final two desai siblings eventually made it to boulder, almost giving up more times than they could count. it took them a while to settle on being settled, so used to needing to move and stay on the go to survive, but soon they realised they had found a new family.
jace dabbled in a number of different roles around campus before settling in as a bartender. he still does dabble a bit, helping out where he can and unable to say no, but the bar is practically his home.
PERSONALITY.
jace has lost almost everyone in his life, but he does still have his sister and she's honestly his last piece of hope in this big mess. so he does tend to stay strong for her and keep a bright light somewhere within him. he's as active as he can be in the community, always offering his help and lacking the ability to say no when people ask. if he had nothing, he'd still find a way to help someone else.
that being said, he can be a sarcastic little pain in the ass when he wants to be, and is forever annoyed he never got to go to college and party it up.
MISC THINGS.
carves little wood sculptures, sketches with ash and dirt, makes wreaths and bouquets from any spare sticks with plants and flowers - gifts them for ppls bdays !
tries to see the beauty in things and if he can't, he'll try to make it
very convinced he can communicate with birds
the type to be overly self critical and pessimistic but as soon as someone else says anything negative about themselves, he's suddenly a self help coach. same with dumb decisions, he will make a thousand but try to prevent anyone else doing anything stupid ever
has only ever killed out of necessity but it still feels too much, thinks his soul is stained
your personal 3am advice giver (don't take it)
his favourite drink is an espresso martini but he'll always lie about it
WANTED CONNECTIONS.
ngl.. no idea. everything.
regulars at the rainstorm who have confided in him, maybe too much, maybe he got just as personal... maybe they disagreed, maybe they kissed, who kNoWS!
he's been here six years so i feel like he should definitely have a best friend, someone who's possibly been there just as long or longer ?? if longer, maybe they were a big part of him settling in at boulder or like a first friend !
failed relationships / ex hook ups 🤭 listen.. anything messy, angsty, toxic, wrong timings... i will take everything !!
people he does not get along with... for whatever reason... idk... i think jace is very much against the gates closing bc he feels like no one would obviously be here if they were shut, so it feels hypocritical even though he gets the precaution and concerns. so maybe someone he clashes with on that, or something else... big or small, im so open !!
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