I used to be able to screenshot in Shelter and not have to use their photo system which is spotty at best. But here’s a couple of shots of a project I’ve been working on in my bigger vault.
On the left is one Ms June Deckard ( @nukamelon ) working in the hydroponics lab. On the right you can see Marshall working on his Luck by shooting some pool with fellow dwellers~
I’ve also got Charlotte Sullivan ( @solas-you-nerd ) guarding the door, Kivs ( @britterschu ) working in one of the diners, and Beatrice (with a ghoul face) helping out in the hospital. (not pictured cuz the shots were terrible)
Matty acts as overseer and just wanders around on coffee breaks until I send him out on quests as he is currently. Dean ( @hakbot ) is out with him right now. (also both not pictured, I’ll try when they get back OTL )
There’s still others I want to include but it takes a little time, of course. Maybe once I’ve finally got everyone done up I’ll take a group shot or two.
(So, I’m choosing to ignore the canon 6 year age difference between June and Stephanie. @basementfestival I hope you enjoyyy <3)
Stephanie has memories of green.
She has memories of flowers and leaves, of great walls of glass warmed with sunshine, of a fleeting summer and a pretty girl.
It was a place she’d nearly forgotten until the ground was once again beneath her feet.
Steph was starting to lose track of where Preston was sending her; the settlements under her care were starting to blur together. Thank goodness for MacCready at her side to keep her grounded. The couple turned their feet east; Croup Manor was their destination at Garvey’s request. How Stephanie hadn't noticed the rusted frame of a greenhouse before then was beyond her.
She'd nearly forgotten until she was standing in the middle of it and it came back to her in waves.
The summer after she turned sixteen was spent far from the hustle and heat of New York City, far from the traffic and the noise. Summer was a time to relax, her father always said, a time to enjoy one’s family and the sunshine. There were several weeks in a house at the seaside, crossing the narrow bridge to the sleepy almost-island of Nahant. It was an easy place to explore and safe enough that Mister and Missus Adams let their daughter walk the streets unattended.
Stephanie remembered wandering into a greenhouse and being greeted by a warm older woman and the damp smell of freshly watered flowers. The nursery was a feast for the eyes; even in the heat of August the blooms thrived. Dahlias, daisies, salvia, geraniums, sunflowers, and the early signs of fall-loving mums, asters and goldenrod were in abundance. Stephanie did not expect to round the corner to find a girl about her age hidden among the greenery. Upon first glace, Steph thought everything about June Deckards’ face was big. Her eyes were wide (and very blue), her lips round and full, and her ears stuck out at the most charming angles. The initial meeting between the teenagers left Stephanie giddy, dizzy with the excitement of a new friend.
She remembered afternoons spent talking and giggling, lunches spent on the patio of the Nahant Bar and Restaurant, relishing in the breeze. She remembered staying out far longer than her curfew allowed to be at the garden center and in June’s company. She remembered pebbles tossed at her window, and long, humid nights curled beneath a worn blanket on the porch swing, stargazing. Stephanie remembered summer rainstorms, thunder and lightening and racing raindrops down the great glass walls. There were days when June went on and on about the flowers, things she’d learned from her grandmother, and Stephanie found it hard to concentrate about anything but the grin on June’s face.
August, inevitably, drew to a close and the Adamses packed their bags for the long return drive home. School would return to session in a week's time, and parents needed to return to work. Soon their vacation to Nahant, Massachusetts would be a memory.
Just before noon a bright Friday, Stephanie made a final visit to the Salt and Sage Garden Center. She found June in a corner of the greenhouse, watering can in hand, surrounded by plants. Nerves bubbled in her stomach; she didn’t want to do this. Nerves settled into the pit of her stomach. Stephanie was reluctant to leave this place, to leave her new friends and this new home.
“Hey, June.”
It was enough to catch June’s attention, a bright grin across red lips. “Hey!”
The smile was contagious; Stephanie found herself unable to resist smiling herself. “Hey. I just...I came to say goodbye. We’re headin’ home first thing tomorrow morning.”
June’s face fell, lips twisting into a frown. “Oh. I didn’t think it was so soon. Do you want to hang out tonight, then? Before you go?”
“I’ve gotta pack the rest of my things tonight. Help my parents load up the car. I just wanted to see you before it was too late.” She chewed on her lower lip, intent to look anything but June. Fingers brushed against her hair; June tucked a daisy behind her ear.
“There. Pretty, the white against your hair. Press it when you get home so you’ll have something to remember me by, okay?” A smile again, and an embrace.
Steph slid her arms around June’s waist, content to be hugged tight to taller girl. Her nose found a safe place against the curve of her neck; she wanted to remember her perfume as her. She was warm, feeling rather safe in that moment. That safe feeling urged her further and Stephanie cupped June’s face in her hands.
A kiss. A kiss, soft and sweet and terrifying. A kiss, all too brief, and for a moment after every inch of her buzzed.
“I should go.” Had her voice ever been so soft? Was that a crack underneath the words? Fingertips brushed the daisy again; she felt like she wanted to cry...
“Steph! Hey.” Mac murmured, settling one hand on his girlfriends’ shoulder. “You were someplace else. Somethin’ on your mind?”
“Nothing! Nothing...” Steph cleared her throat, a small shake of her head drawing her from her thoughts. “I just realized...I know this place. Pre-war stuff.” His brow furrowed; Stephanie felt the urge to explain further. “Someone I knew…”
He seemed satisfied with that answer, content to give her a smile full of ruined teeth and receive a kiss in return.
@basementfestival commissioned me to draw her sole survivior, June Deckard, and her boyfriend Sturges having some good time after a long, long day in Commonwealth :3
Thank you for commissioning me, I really liked working on this art!
This is a “proto-commission”, and of course it’s @basementfestival‘s wonderful June. Mercy has been extraordinarily patient with me (and very thorough with everything), and I’m so glad I had the chance to paint June again (it’s no mystery that I love her). I had a blast with this!
