Altered Tundra

Legends of Carnation Island (SHELVED)

_{Location: Party Cabana ♦ Interactions: Jade @NeoAJ}

For it being her vacation away from everyone back home, Andrea didn’t feel like partying.

Standing at a point on the boat as it made its way to the pier, the tiny blonde stared blankly at the ocean, the motions of a rocking boat coming second place to the World War-scale battle she had with her mother just hours ago. She didn’t understand what her mother had against her coming here. They usually saw eye to eye on a lot of things. Whether it was shopping, choices of schools, her sexuality -- everything she chose to disclose to her mother, she knew Viola Banks was always accepting. They were more like sisters than they were mother and daughter.

“So why did she make a big deal about me coming here?” She asked herself that very same question for hours. Ever since she got on the boat, the fight had been lingering in her mind and nothing else.

_{1 hour before leaving for the airport}

”Are you seriously doing this right now? I have to go to the airport!” Drea screamed into her phone.

“You’re actually going?!” She heard her mom scream back to her. “I thought you were going to intern at the family company this summer?”

Drea rolled her eyes. Between hearing her mother’s constant rants about that dumb internship, she was making sure she had her passport, id, and that all of her summer outfits were packed. And in the back of her mind, she was also wondering why she had been entertaining her insane mother for so long. Why was it so important for her that she take that stupid internship? Andrea didn’t understand it. Or maybe she didn’t want to. Honestly, at this point, she didn’t know and quite frankly, she didn’t care.

“I’ll tell you what I said months ago.” Andrea cleared her voice with a cough, taking a small moment to inhale deeply. As she would exhale, she continued, “I’m not taking that internship. I have zero interest in working for your real estate company. I have my own aspirations and they don’t include being referred to ‘Viola’s daughter’. I need my own identity!” Andrea felt like a weight was lifted off her shoulder. “Now, if you don’t mind, I have a lot of double-checking to do before I take my Uber to JFK, and fly to the Ashford Island for my summer getaway. So, goodbye mother, I’ll call you when I’m back in the states!”

And the more she thought about it, maybe she was too harsh. In retrospect, she knew her mother was doing what she did, no matter how crazy or irrational it was, from a place of love. And it wasn’t like how she and Sonny were a couple of years ago. She has never nor will she ever hate her mother. Maybe the reason she blew up at her like she did was since the two of them are more alike than either realizes. Or maybe she knew just how alike they were and that was part of the problem. Maybe the distance between them for the next couple of weeks was just what the doctor ordered.

Or, more like what Rachel Ashford ordered. And speaking of the hostess with the mostest, her beautiful, clear face appeared in 4K upon two LCD monitors, welcoming everyone to the island. After a few minutes of her rambling on about the resort they would be staying in, much like everyone else, Andrea followed them and she soon settled into the cabin that she was sharing with a few others, particularly the always energetic Zayden Aspen.

“Great now I’ll be thinking about his ugly mug for a few hours.” Not that Drea minded it one bit. He was quite ...handsome.

Drea tossed her things into her room in what was dubbed "The Party Cabana". It was one of the larger cabanas available and honestly, she underestimated the size. Rachel really liked to go all out, it seemed, but she underestimated just what all out entailed. Even by the standards of someone originally from Crown Heights, a place where over-luxurious asshats (like the Castillos), but even she had to admit this was a little surprising. Still, even she had to take a moment so she could take it all in before she claimed the room with "D" written on it.

She took in a breath and started to unpack. As she was in the middle of it, she heard someone from the room next to hers and couldn't help but be a little nosey. So as she waltzed her way over to the room, she saw someone laying on the bed and Andrea being her usual self took a few extra moments to admire the sight in front of her. Only after she had her fill, she knocked on the door. "Pretty amazing set up these rooms have, huh?" She remarked, leaning against the door, trying her best to keep her eyes on the girl's and not letting them venture elsewhere, but she was having a bad time.

Apparently, Andrea truly was her mother's daughter, after all.

---

_{Location: Everywhere but eventually the Bonfire Party ♦ Interactions: Farah @Hero}

If there was one thing Michel Russo had zero interest in partaking in, it was joining those at the bar or wherever the most people seemed to be converging towards. Now don’t get him confused for some weird antisocial weirdo. He had all the social grace as a royal but he lacked the interest in caring what other people thought of him. Plus, this wasn’t the first time he had been to the Ashford private island.

About a year ago when the Ashford clan was hosting some extravagant party that he couldn’t be bothered to remember, he came with his father and kid sister. As one could expect, it was over the top and had way too many white people in the same room. Now, granted Michel himself looks white, but in his blood flows that of the great Italians. So, if he reminds you of Henry Hill, then that’s probably why. As for the part itself, it was as generic as it got and he was forced to endure every moment of it because his father demanded he does so.

Those were fond memories that Michel would cherish right next to the shit he took just before he freshened up after dumping all that he had with him. The only thing that remained was a sense of freedom, a fashionable summer outfit, and the confidence of someone ready to party. And as Rachel promised, it was quite the setup. No matter where he let his eyes fall, Michel saw hotness all around: men, women, bonfires, cabanas. It was full of eager people ready to let loose. Either they were free from the constraints of uptight parents, stress from college, celebrating recent graduations, or just wanted to kick it on a private-fucking-island.

As for Michel, he fell into a couple of those categories. He just graduated college but also, why not come to this island? At least now he could enjoy the ...sights. “Wow. Rachel’s got a lot of attractive friends,” he muttered to himself. Both sides of the spectrum were represented and hell be damned if Michel wasn’t going to indulge in the foreign cuisine.

He briefly sighed, knowing he had to avoid the bar at all costs. It was way too crowded for his comfort and he needed to start slow. Only fools eat their dessert before trying some free samples.

The only problem with that was hardly anyone he recognized was around, especially his two favorite people. ”I guess I’ll have to frequent the bar.” He rolled his eyes but Michel was, if nothing else, a trooper. He could place himself in situations he didn’t like for the long term enjoyment he saw beyond the horizon.

Soon the German native took a seat, though it was a few seats away from where he spotted Theodore Wallenberg and a few others. “Yeah, just give me whatever is on tap,” Michel said without even looking at who was tending the bar. Only when he had enough interest to do so did he come to a welcomed sight. “Farah? No, that can’t be Farah Ladonna. She was working at the bar when I was here last. Surely she would have found a better gig by now!” Michel tended to let his sarcasm live where genuine surprise should, but she was away for the weekend.

Sum up your week in roleplaying in just 3 words

Recharging the battery.

What Are You Listening To?

May the Power Protect You

_{Outfit of the Day ♥ Elle's Bug ♥ Interacting With: Tony @Hey Im Jordan}

The day had started as normal as any other day in the life of Penelope Quinn. First, she would wake up nearly at the crack of dawn. Her alarm had always been set for that time of day. It didn’t matter if it was a holiday or if she had school that same day, she was up before her parents, before her three younger siblings, and before anyone else in the neighborhood would be up. Her new criminal status didn’t change the fact that she wanted to do her part to help, so when she got dressed and showered, she was out the door before even five, her bag over her shoulder, an outfit fitting of the surprisingly cool weather that hit this Sunday of Angel Grove, and a smile on her face as she made it a mission to get to the high school early.

As she drove her 2015 Volkswagen Beetle through the streets of Angel Grove, Elle couldn’t help but keep her head held high. Despite being in the position she was in of having to go to detention for the next six months, despite her now knowing that the person who asked her to hold a package for them wasn’t her friend, Elle kept her eyes on the prize. She always looked toward the lighter side of any situation. Now, whether that was her wanting to pass a test, meet deadlines she was given at the community center, or, as she was doing right now, looking forward to the day the ankle bracelet that the Angel Grove PD put on her as an agreement her father had with the DA’s office. Six months she had to endure and six months she shall!

Before long, Elle found a seat somewhat close to the stairs. She looked around and saw some familiar faces. Sure, they were usually the types who she avoided for obvious reasons, but she couldn’t exactly judge them now since she was now one of them. Not that there was anything wrong with being one of them. Elle hated it when others judged her or kind of just teased her for no reason It happened, so it wasn’t like when she looked at them she was judging them...

“Or am I?”

As Elle’s panic started to overwhelm her, almost to the point where she started to freak out internally, she was surprisingly calmed by the sudden interruption by the Angel Grove High staff member who was overseeing detention ...only for him to leave not a moment after demanding their attention. On the note of demanding attention, someone she recognized. Tony. Tony ...Bastion? No, that wasn’t right. She knew it started with a B, but she couldn’t be sure. She had seen him around in a few of her classes. Either way, he started talking about how he was gonna head to the Angel Grove Mines and blow things up.

Do people do that? She thought to herself, uncertain about what this entailed.

Was it slang for something else? Did she want to go? Elle wasn’t the type to intentionally harm anything. She wanted to decline, but she didn’t want to seem rude. Tony seemed genuine and kind in how he was reaching out to everyone. She knew first hand how difficult it was doing that because you never knew how it was going to end up. The person could decline, call your idea stupid, or be rude about it while doing both of those things. The more she thought about it, the more it showed on her face.

She coughed, raising her hand out of habit. “Sounds like fun! You can count me in!” What did Elle just sign herself up for?

Stranger danger?

Momma always warned me about stranger danger

*hugs new person*

Welcome!

Men vs. Women Race to 1000: Version 2.0

321

Pariah Online III

_{City of Thorinn (various locations)
@ComradeMaxx @Kuro @HokumPocus @Stern Algorithm}

Since first answering the call in the world of Pariah Online, Verglas Zero (as it is seen on his profile ID), had a bit of a rough start. First, it was being alone in the game, though it wasn’t due to him being a bad player. Once he got used to the mechanics and roamed around in the safe areas, Verglas was able to adapt rather well to the world itself. It’s when he started to party up with fellow new players as well as those who gave him a hand here and there that he started to have difficulties, but not because of his skill. It was due to his reputation and high energy personality that soon got him blacklisted from some of the local groups.

So, finding a friend was becoming more trouble than it was worth. At some point, Zero just figured going solo was in his best interests. He stayed away from the tougher dungeons, didn’t stray too far off from the main roads, and just enjoyed the sights.

There came a point in the game where Zero, and by some measure, a lot of other people too, found out that death in-game would equate to death in the real world as well. Now, Zero -- or as he was known in the real world, Sebastian Blake -- wasn’t sure what to do with this information. He was so uncertain that he sat on it for a while. He pretended he didn’t hear about it. Sebastian or Zero, whatever he wanted to call himself right now, always had the tendency to ignore the larger picture and instead focus on what was going to happen to him in the next five minutes.

And in Verglas Zero’s case, the entire week.

As he sat in his room of one of the many inns in the City of Thorinn, the usually positive man was doing everything that he could to not have a mental breakdown. One, it wasn’t in-character but to hell with that, right? He wasn’t Zero right now -- not mentally, at least. Verglas Zero has switched places with Sebastian Blake and Sebastian Blake was a worry-wort. He tried not to be, but could anyone blame him? He didn’t want to die. He may not have had a bright future in the real world but it was his future and he didn’t want to die, damn it!

So heading out of his room, he rushed downstairs and looked at the Innkeeper. The Innkeeper was an NPC, so of course, he had to remain in-character. “Good Innkeeper!” Verglas Zero said smiling, “where would I find this city’s nearest tavern?”

“Look no further than the Laughing Worg!”

He hit the streets, searching high and low for the tavern.

During his search, Zero was bumped into by a short redhead with a spear. By the time he was going to respond to her rudeness, she was out of sight. That or she was so short that her height was hidden among the traveling NPCs around him. Soon he would return to the search.

“Huzzah!” He cheered to himself, spotting the tavern.

The words ‘Laughing Worg’ spread boldly on the sign attached to a pole. His newly-discovered hope of finding answers seemed to be delayed when a group of what he thought were NPCs brushed past him just like that redhead and rudely didn’t apologize.

“Seriously, it’s not that hard to show some manners.”

Zero didn’t get annoyed easily, but enough was enough. He couldn’t approach the redhead because she was long gone, but the two who had bumped into him weren’t. So he approached them as they seemed to be in conversation with a pair. He first thought they were NPCs, but upon the mention of a redhead that seemed to fit the description of the one he encountered, perhaps this encounter was not meant to remind those who did not grow up like he did that manners exist but some higher power pulling their threads of fate together.

Zero made his presence known with a cough. “Excuse me, I couldn’t help but overhear.” He spoke clear and concise. “This redhead friend of yours sounds like someone who rudely bumped into me as I left an inn not far from here.” He told them. As he felt he had done a good deed, Zero forgot the most important thing. “Oh, where are my manners! I am Verglas Zero, but you may call me Zero!”

And the blonde man gave them a polite, yet confident, smile.

Nailed it!

Men vs. Women Race to 1000: Version 2.0

316

Palm Beach Royals: Senior Year

_{An @Altered Tundra & @HaleyTheRandom Collaboration featuring Stella Lambert & Oliver Grayson}

“A lot has happened.”

Stella only spoke a number of times since Georgie and Mac had left her with Oliver. The two had stayed together, talked a few times, but for the most part, both of them have been silent. The only times that either of them said a single word was when either Stella or Oliver would say something and they’d respond shortly, but then it was back to the awkward silence. She didn’t have any answer as to why she couldn’t just talk to him. It should have been easy. She had always been able to talk to Oliver. That’s what was so amazing about their friendship. Because they were always so open and honest, she felt like there wasn’t anything she couldn’t say to him. But now…

“Now I don’t know…” She spoke softly, watching scene after scene unfolding before their very eyes. From Kavi and April being near the DJ booth and watching April Foster announce to the world she was pregnant to Kavi asking Ariel to meet him by the hot tub. “Let’s go there.”

Stella pulled on Oliver’s hand, almost dragging him as they joined the crowd of people. The two talked and then they went silent. Kavi looked sad for some reason and then Ariel suddenly pushed him into the hot tub. Stella was so out of the loop that she wasn’t sure what prompted that. Then, as Ariel brushed past them, she and Kavi had a short conversation and they left for inside the house. Throughout the next five or so minutes, she ran the possibilities of everything through her mind only to ponder about something.

“I really do hope they don’t break up, Oli,” Stella said around him, looking down at the ground. “I mean, Kavi has been really happy. I know a lot of people give him a lot of grief for being a player. I know it’s well-deserved, but lately..” Her head raised up, smiling at Oliver, “he’s been acting like how Kavi before the chip on his shoulder became an entire potato, ya know?”

She felt like she was rambling, but truth be told, if Kavi and Ariel stood a chance, maybe there was something to be said for her. She had no clue how to bring it up to him, but god, if she couldn’t at least talk to Oliver about her feelings, then why was she even here?

“Oliver…” Her voice was again low. “Can we talk? I mean, go someplace quiet and talk?” She asked him, her hand squeezing his as if to siphon the excess emotions coursing through her body right now. Her heart was beating incredibly fast and she had no way of stopping it.

It seemed like every time Stella and Oliver got together, someone said something that left Oliver in a state of silent thinking. Were they together? Were they not together? Was he supposed to just assume what Stella felt and make the decisions for both of them? No. That seemed like a dick move, and while Oliver had the tendency to be a bit of an ass at times, he wasn’t a dick. Just like any other time, he followed Stella around like a lost puppy - this time outside to the hot tub area.

Just like so many others, he watched the brief squabble between Ariel and Kavi. While Oliver didn’t wish for anyone's relationship to end, it seemed like all Ariel and Kavi could ever do was argue - at least at social events. He had been thinking of something to say when Stella's last sentence finally brought him back down to earth. ”I uh…. I don’t have any idea of any quiet place here… I… maybe upstairs?”

“Yeah, that works.” She responded immediately. “I don’t think it’s a good idea to go through the back patio. Too many people are there,” Stella remarked, “but don’t worry, I’ve been here a lot of times. There’s a staircase through the side entrance of the house that leads upstairs.”

Stella took the lead as she pulled Oliver’s hand, guiding him past the crowds of people who were still talking about April’s announcement and something about Kavi kissing April. It came as a shock to be sure but Stella wasn’t surprised. She was only disappointed in him for potentially ruining a good thing with Ariel. In the time she would spend thinking about Kavi, her and Oliver had sped past the garage, popped back into the house where the staircase was only around the corner.

“It should be here--”

As Stella was about to turn around towards the staircase, she felt a brief gust of air hit against her face softly as a mixture of obscenities, Kavi’s name, and remnants of crying sounds faded with the sound of the music playing. Stella was worried and confused. She only caught a brief glimpse of red hair.

“I think that was Ariel…” She muttered to herself, shaking her head. “Anyway, let’s find a room, I guess,” Stella said, going up the stairs with Oliver.

Following her once more, Oliver turned to see the red-haired figure himself. ”Yeah… I’m pretty sure it was. I really hope they didn’t end up having to big of a fight or anything…”

Soon the two found a free room, but Stella didn’t realize which room it was. “Okay, so of all rooms, I pick Kavi’s parents’ room. Cool!” And cool it was. And big. Holy cow was it a spacious room!

Stepping inside of Mr. and Mrs. Salvadors room, Oliver felt like he was committing a crime. You always heard of kids sneaking into the host of the parties parents bedroom, but Oliver had never had it happen to him. At least not until now. ”I never realized someone could ever need this much room to sleep,” he commented.

“This is nothing,” she laughed, “my room is almost as big as this one is.” Suddenly Stella felt like she just exposed herself to open criticism.

”Hm. Guess I just never gave that much thought to it. I mean, I think everyone has pretty nice sized houses here. Guess I’m just a simple guy. I’ve never really had to have that much room.” Not quite comfortable enough to touch anything in the room, he just stood there sort of awkwardly. ”So what was it you wanted to talk about?”

As she sat on the cushioned platform in front of the bed, Stella just thought about how she wanted to phrase this. Lord knew that she wasn’t a religious person but if there was ever a time she needed the Lord’s strength, right now was that time. She knew she wanted to get it all out there and tell him where her mind was at (or would it be her heart?), but there was that gut-wrenching wall of actually making the decision. And it also had to do with how this was the only thing she couldn’t outright tell him. Her discomfort was obvious in how Stella’s lips puckered and wiggled. She’s been told it was a tell of hers when she was stressed about something.

Her lips opened, but no more than a single sound came out. She gave it another try and still, there was nothing. “Screw it!” That time she spoke and this time it was loud. “Oliver, I..I mean,” she looked up at him. “Can you come sit with me please?” She pleaded with him, a longing gaze lingering at him that was almost desperate on her part.

Whatever she wanted to talk about was obviously bothering her, and the look on her face made him wish he had gotten something strong to drink when he had the chance. Without a word, he walked over and sat down beside her, hands in his lap. ”I - If I did anything wrong or something, I’m sorry,” he blurted out.

Stella shook her head. “No, it wasn’t you. I mean, not really.” When she spoke, she immediately heard herself and looked at him. “No I mean, you didn’t do anything! I just..” She huffed inwardly, taking in deep, albeit short, breaths. “I’m sorry, Oliver. I just can’t seem to say what I want to say.”

Now was one of those awkward moments where Oliver was really starting to think that he had done something wrong - even though Stella had told him otherwise. ”Well regardless of whatever it is, I’d be more than happy to sit here with you until you got the courage to say whatever it is.”

That’s it. If I had, we wouldn’t be here suffering.

That’s what Stella wanted to say and more. So instead the brunette closed her eyes, took in a deep breath, and muttered something to herself. It was only a short moment, but when she finally calmed her center, she turned to face Oliver, eyes and attention on him. Her heart was beating too fast for her comfort, so she took hold of Oliver’s hands. When she felt it became too much, she squeezed them but Stella wasn’t going to back down. Too far now and she needed to get it own.

“Oliver..” She said slowly, the air around her starting to get thick. “We’ve known each other for a while. I mean, we have been going to the same school since third grade. I remember when you were the new student and you stood out like a sore thumb but you never let that stop you from shining on,” Stella laughed with a smile, picturing how adorkable Oliver was with his bowtie back then. “I remember how the kids at school teased you and even though I didn’t stop them, there was always someone nearby who did.”

”Well, I mean, I don’t blame you for that or whatever. Come to think of it, I kinda always admired you. You were always like this ray of freaking sunshine walking around with bows in your hair and crap,” he said smiling. ”But what does any of that have to do with this?”

Right, the point. Stella had a tendency to not get to it. “I just mean we have been near each other for so long and only in the past two months have we gotten to know each other. Like, you know that my favorite colors are lavender and bubblegum pink and that I don’t like jalapenos on my nachos. You know I’m deathly afraid of spiders.” She said, unconsciously moving closer to Oliver. “All of these little things you know about me and you’ve never judged me. Everyone else has cause they’re pretty dumb, but you haven’t.” She was doing it again, so she shook her head. “What this has to do with everything — at least, what I’m trying to say and failing at — is that you’ve been around all this time and it took to our senior year for me to realize just how much I like you, Oliver.”

People that judged you because of your favorite colors, fears and nacho preferences were stupid - and that was something Oliver firmly believed. ”So like…” he took a deep breath, licking his lips. ”Are you saying that you like… like me, or that you like… like like me?”

Part of her wanted to laugh but she was so high on nerves right now, the only thing Stella could do was look at him with a smile. Truth be told, she wasn’t exactly sure what the proper answer to his question was. She knew it was more than simply liking him as a person. She liked Sonny. She liked Kavi. She liked all of her friends. And yes, she liked Oliver, but he was different. The way he speaks so passionately when he’d say basically anything to her whether it was about how much he loves pickles and how not having them on a cheeseburger was a crime always makes her smile, or when he tells her about all the dog breeds he wants to own in his lifetime (cats too) and how they both agree pits are unjustifiably hated.

Everything she and Oliver might talk about just has this effect on her. She might not understand most of it cause they still have different interests, but Stella does like Oliver the person. She loves how he gets whenever there are raw pickles for sale in the cafeteria. She loves their back and forths when they list all the things wrong with President Trump and how Bernie Sanders is the man. There is never a minute that she isn’t smiling when she’s with him. Even for someone who quite frequently misses certain cues people make, she never has missed one when she’s been with Oliver.

“I...think it might be the second one.” She spoke, her face as red as fast her heart had been beating this entire time.

”Thank. Fucking. God.” he said, a smile breaking across his face as he laughed light-heartedly. ”I’m sorry that I made things so awkward for you and like between us and everything but I’m not good with these things at all and I really, really like you. I just didn’t want to make things super awkward for us if you didn’t like me back and I just….” he took a deep breath. ”Yeah.”

He couldn’t help it. Oliver just kept smiling like a complete idiot for a few brief moments before he decided to talk again. ”So does this mean I get to, like, hold your hand in public now?”

Username Context

I was trying to come up with something unique for my Xbox Live gamertag and I went through a few until I came up with alteredtundra. Ever since then I've been using variants of it and adapting nicknames people give to me for my handles across social media. At this point, it's my online identity.