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katealpha · 6 months ago

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Art by RandomGirl1265

While many of the underground facilities built by Vault-Tec have been uncovered over the two centuries that went by after the bombs fell over America. However, one of Los Angeles’ deepest secrets lie just underneath the decimated (and formerly named before the war) Chinese Theater.…

————-

Christina Kirby was just your average movie and TV actress in her late 20s. Born into money and practically raised by Hollywood, she had a promising career ahead of her. The Great War hadn’t affected her life all that much, though one day, she was brought to one of those vaults that were being created in case the worst happened. The plan was outlined to her as she was given a tour around the place. That when the bombs started to fall, she‘d be notified the second any bombs were detected headed towards the country, minutes before any nuclear sirens started going off, and she and other Hollywood names would live underground until the all clear.

It was a neat little place. It was furnished comfortably with many of the decorations based on the Hollywood esthetic. Movie posters, a walk of fame in the hallways, everything looking shiny. Her room was practically a smaller version of what she had in her mansion, but still comfortable and private.

When she was driven home after the tour, she was getting ready to walk through her front door, when she felt herself being grabbed from behind and a wet cloth pressed against her nose and mouth. Christina passed out within seconds, hardly able to struggle.….

————280 Years Later———-

A hydraulic hiss woke Christina up suddenly. Everything was blurry and misty as a glass door opened before her into a dim hallway. She felt horrible. Sweaty, sore, and most of all, severely bloated. As she stepped out of the cylindrical pod, she felt slow and heavy to boot. When her vision cleared, Christina looked down to see that her belly was disgustingly swollen. A gasp left her lips as her hands moved to feel herself. It didn’t take long for her to feel something moving inside of her. That she was pregnant. Very pregnant. Her heart sank and Christina imm began to waddle down one way, searching for anything that could help her, or give her answers.

As she made her way down, she passed by more of those pods like the one she was in. Inside she saw more women. All of them sporting baby bumps of various size. Some looking less than 9 months with one, some looking like they were carrying quadruplets. They all stood still, sleeping. Some were subconsciously caressing their bellies as they shifted and jostled with whatever lie within. Christina looked up and gasped again, seeing their faces and seeing their names on the tops of the pods. All of them were other actresses. Many having much more recognizable names than her. A List stars to lesser known actresses like herself. All Christina could do as she wandered through this place was wonder what was happening to them and why.

———-—

After finding a shower chamber and rinsing off, Christina managed to fit a blue and yellow jumpsuit on and began exploring, hoping to find food and water. She found water cans first, then some food stores with cereal and canned goods. Then, she found various terminals. All of them revealing more and more about what was really going on here.

Apparently, this was part of some horrendous experiment to preserve pre war Hollywood. By kidnapping nearly every prominent actress in the industry, stick them down in this lab, and inseminate them with the seed of multiple sports stars. To combine the genes of the most physically fit men in America with who many considered to be the most beautiful and influential women in entertainment. That by doing this, a new generation of potential entertainers could populate the wasteland. It all made Christina want to throw up, especially with the knowledge that the outside world was a nuclear hellhole, and that over two centuries had gone by, the pods preserving the actresses perfectly, as well as their unborn children.

After Christina gained ahold of her bearings, she ventured to an elevator and arrived in the living quarters upstairs. The place she remembered touring through what felt like yesterday. It was still in decent condition. The vault hadn't been discovered by the outside world, and everything was as it was left by the science staff. A trek up to the Overseer’s office revealed that not only was he dead, but killed by the scientists, who collectively agreed not to participate before their pregnancies reached full term. They left the vault together after over a decade, shutting it behind the. Only the robotic staff and the test subjects remained.

Now, Christina had a choice. One that had her stumped. From that terminal, she could override the pods, and release every woman in the lower levels. Let all those actresses wake up to the same horror Christina had. She couldn’t know what reactions would happen as a result, but she wouldn’t be alone, and the truth would prevail. However, she could also let them rest with their children still inside, and leave this place behind to start a new life. It was a tough choice…one that she hadn’t too much time to make, as one more question popped into her already overwhelmed mind.

When am I giving to give birth?..

#pregnant #pregnancy #pregnant kink #fallout #fallout 4 #fallout new vegas #video games #fanart #fallout fanart

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paper-mario-wiki · 8 months ago

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one of the things that appeals to me the most about the idea of a reaction video is the chance it allows me to break out from the opinions of not only people who are already aware of something i like, but also from people who might already have a significant amount of context for the thing they're engaging with. when watching a lets play of someone playing the new final fantasy, i will not be as entertained by their reactions because, to some extent, they already know what to expect broadly from the game. beyond that, even if it's a streamer who HASN'T played final fantasy, but is nonetheless connected to the greater sphere of gaming knowledge that would have passively instilled in them basic knowledge of things like chocobos and sephiroth and the buster sword and whatnot, there is still diminished impact in their opinions, because their opinions had at some point already been tempered by foreknowledge of some kind.

i have been enjoying the fallout show a great deal. i think that the quality of it is undeniable (pirate it, by the way), which means that the people watching the show are getting an accurate sampling of not just the setting and atmosphere of the games, but also the writing, the depth of the world design which has been built up over decades, and even to some extent the GAMEPLAY, as the story of the show matches the pace of a main story in the games in their sidetrackability (the golden rule of the wasteland "thou shall get sidetracked by bullshit every time"). that quality (and the positive reviews that come with it) leads to a much broader spectrum of reaction videos coming from it.

what i mean to say with all of this is that i find it incredibly enjoyable to watch, like, some 40 year old piano teacher (this is a random description, i havent actually seen any musician-type reactors watching fallout) who doesn't play video games form sincere and thorough theories about what vault-tec is up to, and critiquing the guiding principles of the brotherhood of steel, and commenting on the nature of discrimination against mutants, is VERY enjoyable to me. i think that observations which are not based in preconceived notions of what you already may know about the media can be so much richer to take in.

#text #random thought #fallout show

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gothamite-rambler · 10 days ago

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"I hurt people like you to make him love me," Harley admitted.

Context: This idea ties into my headcanon that Harley Quinn is especially kind to Jason Todd and is eager to redeem herself in his eyes. Now that she's been accepted into the Outlaws, I think this connection helps her engage with the Batfamily more, especially since Jason is part of that world. I never liked that Harley often appeared with the Batfamily in fan art, while Jason was left out. If Batman can offer Harley a third chance, I believe Jason deserves that opportunity too. I love both of these characters immensely!

Harley Quinn and Jason Todd wind up stuck in an elevator that malfunctioned while the other search for the crook they're after.

Harley (pressing the intercom button): Hey lady, is the elevator gonna be working soon?

Intercom lady (bored): The repairman arrived ten minutes ago, he said to give it five or ten.

Harley and Jason waited for a response.

Harley (talking to the lady): Minutes, hours?

I.L. (checked out mentally): Maybe twenty.

Jason (muffling as he rests his head on his knees): Makes sense to me.

Harley (voice trembling with aggravation): You said that an hour ago!

I.L.: The guy got held up. He's here now, give him it time while I eat my salad.

Harley (sarcastically): Oh okay, great. Enjoy the salad!

Harley removed her finger from the button, fuming.

Harley (grumbling): Hope ya choke on it.

Harley glanced at Jason, who sat on the floor with his knees drawn to his chest, resting his head against them while clutching his gun in one hand. With a frown, she settled down next to him.

Harley: Ya okay, Jacey?

Jason (lifting his head up and rubbing his tired eyes): I'm fine, just tired. Stayed up late preparing for this mission.

Harley: Hey, if anything is wrong I am here to listen. No clipboard or pen, but I can still listen. I imagine being stuck in a confined space like this ain't the best feelin'. If ya worried, I will keep ya entertained. I can make animal sounds.

Jason (reassuringly): A space like this isn't what I would hate. I can move around in here. I'm not scared if you were you worried I was?

Harley: Eh, more concerned. I had a patient who was a big germaphobe, every time he would come in for a visit he'd come prepared with a can of Lysol, gloves, and a face mask.

Jason (chuckling): He'd spray everything?

Harley: Bingo. He'd rub hand sanitizer on his hands while wearing gloves, but he was nice. I never got help him so I make sure trauma victims are calm in stressful situations.

Jason: Why didn't you?

Harley (hugging her body): I got a job transfer to Arkham.

Jason (serious): Oh... Crap.

Harley: Mm, enough about me. I take the blame for falling for Joker's manipulation tactics for the last couple of decades-

Jason (sincere): Harley? Are you sure you're okay?

Harley (strained smile): I'm fine, Jacey. I've been stuck in confined dark spaces like this numerous times. Most times it was Joker using me as a pawn for Batman... other times it was because I made him mad. But... I'm not freaked out.

Jason: Yeah, well if you were freaked out, what would you as a former psychiatrist or therapist recommend?

Harley: Hm... chewing somethin' can distract your mind from stress. I have some...

Harley dug in her pocket and pulled out a pack of foil wrapped sticks of gum and some mints.

Harley: Bubble gum and wintergreen mints. They're safe. I bought them at the 7/11 last week.

Jason (smiling): Thanks.

He grabbed a stick of gum, and Harley followed suit, taking one for herself before placing the rest back in her pocket.

Jason (chewing gum): I'm not afraid of the dark anymore either, it's comforting sitting in the dark at times. I'll light a little candle and read when there's a blackout in town.

Harley: That's so old-timey, I like it. Bane said something about the dark, but he can be weird when talkin' about it. I always saw that when ya born in the darkness, awaken in it, ya more used to it... When ya woke back up does that count?

Jason (shrugging): Technically. All I remember is waking up in a strange liquid and it was pretty dark and being around Ra's... yeah that was dark, and some of the trainers I had were messed up... one locked me in a coffin one time to test if I could withstand it. Not fun.

Jason let out a dry chuckle. Harley scooted closer and gently patted his shoulder.

Jason (cont'd): If you don't mind me asking, you and the Joker aren't ever going to... You won't fall for his bullshit again will you?

Harley (plaintive smile): You know four years ago I would've debated on that question. Sayin' lies to myself like 'Puddin' might change someday.' I would shank someone to get him to love me... I hate to admit it but I loved this image of him I had in my rewired brain, but would I return to him? Not even if he shoved me in that joker toxin again. I'm tryin' to make some type of amends and cuttin' a man who never gave two shits about me was a start.

Jason: Hm, that's actually reassuring to hear. Seems you thought about it a lot.

Harley: I stay thinkin' about that and while I can't go back in time to fix my bad decisions that doesn't mean I have to stay there. Neither of us did.

Harley smiled softly at Jason who nodded while chewing his gum.

Harley (cont'd): Sorry I'm therapizing ya, can't turn it off and I know my opinion doesn't matter to ya... I'm glad that even with the years lost you became a better man. Ya aren't insane like me, that does come in handy when men try to flirt with me. I've got foaming at the mouth locked down. I mean this though, ya doin' well for yaself and that smile of yours could light up a room.

Jason smiled surprised.

Harley: There's the smile, not the cocky one.

Jason stifled a chuckle, covering his mouth with his hand.

Jason: You're not too bad at the whole therapy talk, sorry for... saying you slept with teachers to pass.

Harley: It's not a problem, ya realized it was a lie at least. I'm smart and insane and I kind of still like helpin' people. It's how I got Ivy and it's how I'll be friends with you.

Jason: Teammates.

Harley: Best friends.

Jason: Colleagues.

Harley (laughing): I'll take it!

Jason: Because it's one step closer to friends in your brain?

Harley: Exactly. Hey, want to see a trick?

Jason shrugged.

Harley popped the foil-wrapped piece of gum in her mouth and chewed for a few seconds. She stuck out her tongue eagerly.

Harley: Ta-da, the foil stuff is gone.

Jason shook his head while laughing.

Jason: All you did was chew the foil with the gum, that can't taste good.

Harley: Joker Toxin seeping through your veins changes ya tastebuds as well. This just feels like gum with glitter in it.

Jason: I want to disagree, but I do enjoy salt water now.

Harley (joking): Green goop is not something to fall into is it?

Jason rolled his eyes with a smile just as the lights in the elevator turned on and it worked again.

Harley: All right! Ready?

Jason: Yup, I'm glad you decided to hijack this mission.

Harley: Because we had a heart to heart?

Jason: That and you can wield a mallet.

Harley (smirked grabbing her weapon): You damn right.

The elevator door opened, Jason and Harley ran out, ready to fight.

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deacons-wig · 8 months ago

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I'd prefer if we never got to see the origin of Vault Boy and Vault Tec's branding in the same way I'd rather not get a canon answer of who started the War or how. That's the point of War Never Changes.

Vault Boy is a sinister figure in his cheerful embrace of Armageddon. Giving the Vault Tec brand a face and a name and a backstory feels so unimportant to what is actually interesting about Fallout. What's important to me is the big picture pre war, and the details of what comes after.

What is interesting to me is exploring how propaganda is designed to convince people how close they are to annihilation--or homelessness, unemployment, obscurity, or being The Other and therefore destined to suffer--in hell, in oppressions, being ostracized. Honestly insert any sort of marginalization or suffering here. Crony capitalism uses propaganda to market products designed to manipulate people into buying distance between themselves and that annihilation. Putting themselves "behind the thumb" of Vault Boy, so to speak. Buying a lifestyle. Vault Boy does it with a wink and a smile, inviting those who can afford it to buy their way to safety while using capital and fear to perpetuate the cycle. I don't need the specifics to understand this.

Some ghoulnaysis below the cut:

I'll admit, my initial reaction to pre-war Ghoulgins being the inspiration for Vault Boy was funny! Mr. Cooper Howard, washed up actor experiencing an existential crisis being shoehorned into corporate propaganda that then haunts him for the next 200+ years? Selling manifest destiny, racism, the Rugged Individual, the revisionist history that cowboys were a) white and b) more than a brief footnote in the history of the colonization of North America's west. The commodification of entertainers/creatives/public figures. Selling identities to be packaged into a product that will outlive them? Only to have that person live alongside that role they regret (?) playing... kinda tasty, if we have to give Vault Boy a backstory, though I didn't get a clear sense of his actual feelings about being used as a propaganda guy which I think is a failure of the show to commit to the narrative they set up, which happens with a lot of the show's (lack of) engagement with Fallout's larger themes anyway.

But The Ghoul (stupid name!!! weird and boring choice!!!) is just such an uncompelling and repellent character to me. I love a good bad guy or even anti-hero, but honestly he lacks any interiority. He's an evil karma character (eats people, waterboards and mutilates people, sells people to organ harvesters...like? that literally makes you evil in the games...) but the narrative pushes him as an antihero or someone with gray morality because he what..."likes" dogs? And isn't as decayed or unsettling looking as other ghouls (implying handsome=good or interesting). People aren't afraid of him because he is a ghoul, they're afraid of him because he's evil and will hurt them! Sometimes for no reason! I see the callback to the director telling him to shoot his co-star and Cooper saying he's "the good guy," but is that why he becomes so fucking evil post war? Really?

I don't know why he does what he does other than...the world sucked before and sucks now so he might as well represent the basest of human behavior? That seems to be the thesis of the show--unless kindness and community is engendered (by the vaults, by Management, by a civic government, by corporations) people will descend into chaos.

So why have this poorly executed anti-hero be the origin of Vault Boy? What are the narrative choices being made here? Is it just Rule of Cool?

Personally I would like a pathetic, rotting wet cat of a ghoul, some sort of carved out husk of a washed up movie star either trying to relive his glory days, or avoid them--having given up hope of finding his family after 200 years--being dragged into Lucy's orbit and being constantly reminded of his Vault Boy fame, that she is a walking Vault Girl with her Okey Dokey's and Golden Rule. He'd be a joke, a footnote of the old world. He'd be mean and snarky, even unpredictable and uncooperative--have a public persona of friendly curiosity and a private, cynical one.

Pathetic Ghoulgins would remind audiences of the cost of capitalism and imperialism without resorting to the thesis that war never changes means that people are inherently cruel and will resort to violence, rather than existent corporate and political power structures intentionally create the conditions in which people accept perpetual cycles of exploitation and harm for the sake of their own safety and comfort, despite knowing the cost of maintaining the status quo, and not seeing or believing that distance between the status quo and total annihilation is measured by the smiling thumbs up of a cartoon mascot.

I'm sure there are other ways The Ghoul could have been a successful character as well but.... That's satire. That's interesting. That's Fallout.

#fallout #fallout tv #fallout prime #fallout tv show #the ghoul #cooper howard #vault tec #“let people enjoy things” well i enjoy critical analysis #i dislike the big picture of the show but i love fallout enough to dig through the mess #fotv critical #fallout critical

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dailycass-cain · 11 months ago

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2023 was another big stepping stone with Cass. The character was featured in A LOT of stuff this year amongst a few negative antics.

But unlike prior years the good really outweighed the bad. BY A LOT.

So let's take a look back one final time #CAINAISSANCE2023...

The year started STRONG with the release of Batgirls #14 aka the BEST solo story that involved the character this year.

I've gone in LENGTH on how AMAZING this tale was. If you haven't read it DO SO. You don't need any context but to just take in the masterpiece given.

Writers Becky Cloonan and Michael Conrad gave artist Jonathan Case just this canvas of an issue to tell AN EPIC mostly silent issue.

If there's a tale Batgirls will be remembered for it'll BE THIS ISSUE.

I've lost count to just taking in the gorgeous art Case delivers here and just letting the actions and emotions tell the tale.

The only regret is well no full payoff to what is fully learned within this issue.

It just hits EVERY mark and is something any Cass fan CRAVED, but never got in Batgirl Vol. 1. Batgirls #14 was a worthy issue that should be talked about amongst fans of Cass for quite some time.

February gave us Cass's grand entrance to Ram V's Detective Comics run (#1069) and what an entrance it was! Literally, I can't let it go of how AMAZING it was.

And the run itself? It just keeps delivering as THE Batman book out currently.

It's a slow burn and when the run lays the payoffs IT HITS THOSE PAYOFFS. The series just ended an exceptional bi-weekly event that featured Cass and well, I'm extremely curious where this run goes with the character.

If anything, I just want MOAR from Ram V or a smaller secondary story involving Cass. But given the various characters he's been rotating and given next year is 2024 (more on that later) I'm keeping my fingers crossed for ALL OF THIS.

This run does work in trade but I digress you'd be missing the GORGEOUS covers this series has been shelling out. If anything BUY the single issues and read the run this way until you get to the present.

Or reread them like I've been doing. 😋

The early half of 2023 marked Cass's surprise return to an actual role in mega crossovers. She took part in the final issue of Batman vs. Robin being one of the random factors to stall the possessed Batman until ALL of DC's magical users came to cast it out of him.

The weakest of the crossovers the character was involved in I have to say was Gotham War. It was a nothing burger that made me swear off the Chip Zdarsky run of Batman completely.

Honestly, I feel more rewarded reading Tec more. Unless Chip pulls off a miracle turnaround in 2024.

But I digress Zdarsky was only half of the problems with the other being Tini Howard and yeah, if you were a Bat Family member who wasn't Jason Todd (how did that mini turn out to be more entertaining then the ENTIRE event?!)?

This story SUUUUUUUUCKED. Quite possibly the worst Batman event story since War Games/Crimes for me.

Sadly, the most disappointing stories I'd have to say are on equal ground in Beast World and Knight Terrors. As there was interesting concepts with Cass involving them, and both stories just go NOWHERE.

I feel more so robbed with Knight Terrors as the design for Cass within it went hard. It's just that you give us THIS design and tease us with this little nugget and give us NOTHING?

COME ON!

Beast World was a whole nothing burger as well, save the pretty art and a full confirmation that Cass's old NML is now canonically her defacto one again.

Even if we had it mentioned earlier last year and again in the best crossover event involving Cass...

WHICH WAS IN LAZARUS PLANET: DARK FATE #1. It gave us Alyssa Wong returning for a THIRD time to write Cass and they were joined by Haining on art which introduced us to the world of Xanthe.

That in itself led to a spinoff mini-series that had Cass in it with SPIRIT WORLD. It did more with the new character Xanthe and laid out their origins and powerset nicely while also laying some seeds for MAYBE future Cass stories.

Again, I feel like a repeating record on how GOOD this series was. Like, I can't wait for the trade next year to take it all in again. But besides the creative team delivering it gave us Dustin Nguyen AND Marcio Takara drawing Cass again OFFICIALLY AS BATGIRL!!

Even when this series ended, I STILL WANT MOAR!! Like what memories did Cass lose? What the heck happened with Spirit World twisting her memories of Batgirl Vol. 1 #72?! How will Xanthe be with the Jade Court?

SO MANY QUESTIONS!!

Something else that left me with MANY questions was DCeased universe as even though the story ended back in April.

I still crave more starring Cass, because let's face it STEPH/TALIA DESERVE CLOSURE!! Cass could be the gateway to that.

Doing so would tie up the final loose ends as well. Let's see how Rose is raising her kid with Jason. Silent Olsen. Harley/Ivy. Ollie/Dinah. Jim Gordon.

But I digress. It gives us more Cazzam. We need more Cazzam.

But an alternate universe Cass just didn't pop up there we had a Cass show up in various other comics. Knights of Steel which also had me hankering for MOAR and Harley Quinn & the Legion of Bats.

I know some didn't like it, but me? I think it was LEAPS and BOUNDS better than what we got in the actual season of HQ.

Let us never talk about that season again…

Now something we SHOULD talk about more is the first actual appearance of Cass in a DC ANIMATED MOVIE!! Yes, Kai Li Cain from Batman: The Doom that Came to Gotham.

I was blown away at the extended role they gave the character in the film (to the, "Oh right Tim is here and alive." role in the books).

Kai Li voiced perfectly by Tati Gabrielle gave a balance of innocence and reason with the batshit craziness this film throws at us.

Like, I really REALLY want a sequel. Just to see what she'd do now given full access to Bruce's fortune? Will she follow his path? I mean yeah we want steampunk Bat!

Speaking of which artists we need designs for this stat still!

It just adds that anchor where you want to see more of this universe and the characters that inhabit it. I mean that's the sign of a REALLY good Elseworlds. Where you want more and sometimes you get just that.

But with all this good came the sad, and that was the canceling of Batgirls. I know many were against the series (especially after #7-8), but the series found its footing with #9 and ran into something I hope more positively can be talked about it.

It's true failing wasn't the creators behind the series, more just elements outside that just slotted it's end (Batgirl movie getting canned making #7-8 more wasteful), Evil Oracle #4 aka the pitch, and just being something it couldn't be).

I'm grateful for each and every creator who worked on this book because it was a GIFT that I'll always be appreciative of.

I'll say it again, THANK YOU TO ALL! 🙏

And its spirit lived on in the Nightwing back up a few months ago. It was something that was TRULY needed after the garbage fire that was Gotham War. It gave us this Cass/Dick sibling stuff and GIVE ME MOAR!!!

Unlike the past where we'd be done, DC brought us back up giving us the current BIRDS OF PREY ongoing which has Cass in it.

Really the series is a revelation of giving us things I always wanted that I'd never thought we get. Cass with Dinah? CHECK.

Cass meeting Big Barda and the two having a bond? HELLS YEAH CHECK! Anytime that bond grows I squee even more.

Just give writer Kelly Thompson ALL the time and ideas she has to churn this out to the proper conclusion she has envisioned. Just give me fifty-plus issues of her, Leonardo Romero, and Jordie Bellaire.

Finally of course there was Batman: Wayne Family Adventures which gave us THREE banger Cass stories. One where she and Steph are a MENANCE (as they should), Cass scaring the crapbaskets out of EVERYONE and of course...

Season 2 gave us A LOT of things I wanted in general (her interacting with Damian) and just showing the world why I really really love this character. Why I talk about her daily.

Really as 2023 closes and 2024 is about to begin... Well, it's the character's TWENTIETH-FIFTH ANNIVERSARY. 25 years of kicking ass and ripping our hearts out.

It's been a journey for sure.

really REALLY hope DC honors this anniversary and continues to mend the bridges burned all those years ago.

Give us that Omnibus. Give us a mini or SOMETHING to celebrate this character. If not, I'll take whatever Ram V and Thompson give us.

#CAINAISSANCE2023 may be over, but #CAINAISSANCE2024 will be the most important year yet.

25 YEARS OF CASS!! LET THE CELEBRATION BEGIN ON JANUARY 1st!

#cassandra cain #dc comics #cainaissance2023 #my thoughts #CAINAISSANCE2024 v

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not-neverland06 · 5 months ago

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Ultraviolence

Previous part / Next part

Cooper Howard x fem!reader, The Ghoul x fem!reader A/N: Canon timeline? We don’t know her Summary: He’s not the man you remember. Maybe you’d never actually known who that man was. It doesn’t matter, you need to get away from him before he kills you or does worse.

Bud sits at the head of the table. You don’t know how he managed to get this room for your meeting. Most of the time it’s only used for potential investors or the higher ups. But you know he likes to use it because it makes him feel powerful to sit in the big chair.

You sit beside him, Hank’s on the other side of him, all of the higher ranking Buds are. It ranges from junior execs to lower ranking administrative assistants. He wants to create the next few generations of super managers and this is who he’s starting with.

You met him when you were working with his company creating the power suits. You were the one that brought the concerns about the defects to him. And because you’d saved him from years of lawsuits and dropping stocks by getting him the hell out of there, he’d taken you on as his personal assistant. A better pay, but not a better job.

When Vault-Tec had agreed to this plan of his for his triple set of vaults, he’d kept you as his personal right hand. But that doesn’t matter to the rest of the little corporate worker bees. They don’t think you earned your place here. And they think you’re a threat to their positions.

You’d been under the misguided belief that it was common knowledge that Bud wasn’t truly grooming you to take over the vaults. He likes you and enjoys working with you. Squeezing you into this program was a favor and a way to keep you safe in the fallout. He only drags you to these meetings to keep a good cover as to why you’re supposedly a valuable asset. None of its real.

These people don’t respect you. They’re all buying into a baseless rumor that you slept your way here. Not true, ever. If you weren’t so inclined to saving your own ass you might even say that you would prefer the nuclear war zone to Bud’s bed. But honestly, those thirty seconds with him would probably be worth it to have a place in the promised land.

At the very least, he’s not letting you go into this unprepared. He’s got you in the same training regime as the rest. The same classes on leadership during tumultuous and trying times. If you are one of the lucky few who gets to see the surface, you won’t be unprepared.

The meeting has devolved from lessons on proper management to discussions on other vaults. “I heard in vault eleven they’re doing self elected sacrifices.”

You scoff, spinning a pen idly on the table before you and reclining lazily in your seat. “That’s ridiculous,” you object, “what’s the point?”

Steph shrugs and shakes her head, blonde curls idly bobbing by her ears. “I don’t know. I think a lot of the experiments are just for the sick satisfaction of the investors.” Everyone turns to Bud, wanting to see if he would divulge any information.

He entertained you guys by letting you speculate on what the vaults might be, but he was pretty adamant on not sharing investor secrets. Instead of answering he smiles, “A hypothetical for you.” You have to resist the urge to roll your eyes. He might be kinder to you, but you had to show him the same respect everyone else did. You didn’t want to risk undermining him just because he didn’t have as strong a backbone when it came to you.

Besides, you know he doesn’t like talking about the darker side of the vaults. He always tenses up when anyone mentions a particularly grisly experiment. It’s clear that what Vault-Tec is doing is evil. But what the investors are planning is even worse. At least Bud just wants to breed a bunch of corporate workers, some of these people are talking about killing kids and only letting the smartest reach adulthood. Sometimes, Bud doesn’t like to face the harsh reality of the company he endorses so eagerly.

“Betty,” his eyes scan the table and everyone perks up, hoping for an opportunity to prove themself. His eyes land on you and his face lights up. You try to shake your head subtly at him but he’s already speaking your name with a smile.

These hypotheticals are tests, see who has the better solution to a vault conflict. It’s an unspoken rule that whoever has the right answer is more likely to be put in a position of power rather than just be a breeder. With Betty it’s lose-lose. You let her win and everyone here just further confirms that you don’t have what it takes. You win and the divide between you both just gets larger.

You feel the eyes of everyone on you and try to ignore them by continuing to roll the pen against the table, blocking out their stares.

“One of us gets off on the wrong foot with their new partner from the breeding vaults. What do you do?”

Betty speaks up quickly, “We reassign,” she blurts out, all confidence and smugness as she looks over at you. “If they don’t get along, they can’t facilitate the proper environment for a child. It’s best to just reassign them to another partner.”

Bud hums, jotting something down on his notepad and looks at you. He says your name, prompting you to speak. “Once a partner’s assigned, there’s no going back. It’s up to the overseer to facilitate conversation between the two and find the root of the problem. It’s up to us,” you look at your peers and grin, “to be better than them. If we can’t get along with our partner it’s a poor reflection on us and Bud. Ultimately, it’s our job to fix the issue with conversation and if that doesn’t work, well,” you smile at Bud, “a little extra Calmex in their Sugar Bombs never hurts.”

Betty’s face falls as Bud smiles at you in return and you know you’ve won. “Correct! We’re meant to be raising the best of the best for our future. That means that petty squabbles get left behind. And I need strong leaders.”

Bud grows serious, staring down the table at you all. “One’s who aren’t afraid of compromising their principles.”

He yanks her to her feet, fisting his hand in the collar of her blue suit dragging her up harshly. Her eyes widen with shock, looking him up and down. “Cooper?” She shakes her head like she’s trying to reset it and his mouth turns down into a frown. Her mouth flops open and closed obnoxiously. “I thought when I saw you that I was going insane. That I’d finally had a heat stroke. But it’s really you isn’t it?”

She reaches forward like she’s going to touch him and he steps back with a harsh scoff. There’s a distant sort of wonder to her voice that has him gritting his teeth. Few things have kept him going these past two hundred odd years. Two of the main motivators; spite and hate. And he holds a hell of a lot for her.

“In the flesh,” he grins, only getting angrier when she looks at his yellowed teeth with disgust. Not everyone had the luxury of hiding out in the vaults like a fucking coward.

“What the fuck happened to you?” The question is blunt, no class or grace about it. She’s clearly caught off guard by the sight of him. He’s sure it's jarring to see the man who she’d left for dead still alive. Frankly, he’s only getting more pissed off by her reaction.

He honestly thought that she was dead. He figured after she’d screwed the pooch with him that they’d gotten rid of her. And at one point, the thought of her death had saddened him slightly. They’d been close, about to breach something that would have ruined him as a married man and compromised his morals. But she’d lied to him and he was long past sadness, the only thing he felt now was a stark disappointment that she was still fucking breathing.

“Nuclear fallout happened.” He growled, grabbing her by the rope looped around her waist and yanking her forward. She yelped, stumbling into his chest and trying to tug herself back from him. “Don’t you remember? It was your people who pushed the button.”

She smirks, a cruel tilt to her lips that makes him want to beat her to the ground. “If I remember correctly, it was your wife who pushed the button.”

He looks her up and down. There’s a burning rage building in him, this overwhelming desire to just take out his gun and riddle her pretty body with bullets. He’s damn near desperate to see what her blood looks like painting the forest floor. But he has to have patience, he’s got use for her yet.

He lifts the rope up, smiling at the relieved look on her face, before drawing it around her neck and tightening it. She wheezes, hands shooting up to try and loosen it. He tuts, patronizing, grabbing her wrists harshly and yanking her forward so he can tie those too. She tries to say something, he doesn’t care what, but all that comes out is a strangled gasp for air.

He tugs on the rope a few times, smiling at the way she winces at the pull, before dragging her through the forest. He’d love to just get this over with here and be done with her. But he needs to get away from Filly before the Knight calls for backup from the brotherhood. They’re not exactly big fans of him and he doesn’t need any more trouble than he’s already got.

With her in his grasp, he forgets all about the bounty left behind in Filly. And the girl who’d been with her.

“Is it true?” Hank runs in front of you, stopping you from going any further. You let out a rough sigh, glaring at him.

“Is what?” You snap, moving around him and continuing towards the elevator. You’re going to be late meeting Bud at the studio if Hank decides he feels like being chatty today. You don’t want to make a bad first impression with your new boss.

You don’t resent the idea of being an assistant as much as you thought you would. You were Bud’s assistant, but he didn’t really count. He wasn’t much of a boss and the tasks he had for you were menial. Most of your time was taken up by your training anyway. The only part bothering you about all this was the worry that your new boss might not be very agreeable.

He catches up with you, looking incredibly excited. “Bud’s really assigning you to Cooper Howard?” You huff out a laugh, nearly forgetting that Hank is just as smitten with Cooper as Bud is. Your heels clack against the tile as he keeps stride with you. You stop in front of the elevator, glancing over at him while you click the button.

It opens quickly and you both step inside, even though you know he doesn’t need to actually use it. He fiddles with his tie, doing more damage than good. You roll your eyes and step forward, straightening it out for him. “Yes,” you mutter, fixing the knot. “I’m working with Mr. Howard from now on. Barbara thinks I’m expendable enough to be assigned to him.”

Hank glances down at you, patting your hand as you step back. “You’re not expendable,” he tries to reassure.

You give him a grateful smile and shrug. “That’s sweet, Hank, but we both know I am. I don’t have any qualms about it. I’m just hoping he’s not one of those Hollywood assholes who thinks everyone needs to worship the ground he walks on.”

Hank shakes his head, expression in vehement disagreement. “No way, he’s my idol. Have you seen him in A Man and His Dog? Oh, and that line of his ‘feo, fuerte y formal.’” You blow out a long breath, idly clicking the first level button again, hoping it might speed this up. Hank chuckles, “Sorry, I’ve been talking Betty’s ear off about this all week. I almost wish Bud had assigned me to him.”

You don’t bother with telling him that he’s sorely lacking the assets that make you so well suited for the job. The elevator stops, doors slowly sliding open and you all but leap out of it. “You’ve got more important things to do here, Hank. I’ll try and get you an autograph,” he lights up at this.

“Trust me,” you turn to look at him, giving him a slight smile. “Never meet your heroes.”

You’re tied up to a tree, the rope around your neck still wrapped around his fist. You eye it warily, waiting for him to yank on it again. He keeps doing that, randomly tugging on it and causing the burns around your neck to worsen. “I’ve got ways of making you speak, darling. You’re only making this worse for yourself.”

You glare at him, undeterred by his ‘torture.’ “You know another way of making someone talk?” His head tilts in question and you scoff, “Fucking asking a question.” He’s had you here for you don’t even know how long. Blood is steadily starting to form around the burns on your neck. Everytime you inhale it feels like you’re brushing an exposed nerve. And through all of this, he hasn’t asked you one damn thing.

He just keeps tugging that goddamn rope and giving you this expectant look like you’re meant to read his mind. He’s already rifled through your bag, stolen your guns, and dropped all of your supplies onto the forest floor. You don’t know what he’s looking for but clearly it wasn’t in there. Or he’s just being a dick.

This was not at all how you thought your reunion with him was going to go. One, because you’d never thought there would be a reunion. And, two, you don’t remember him being such a sadistic asshole. Then again, if he’s been out here as long as you think he has, you’re lucky he’s not worse.

You still can’t believe it, that he’s alive. Even if he is a ghoul now, it’s a miracle your paths ever crossed. Well, maybe a curse, karmic justice on your part. He leans forward, elbows propped up on his knees and you find yourself leaning in to meet him. He grins, the curl of his lips cruel and lacking any sort of warmth. It’s enough to have you pressing your back against the trunk of the tree again.

He doesn’t appreciate that, though, and tugs you forward once more. You don’t want to give him the satisfaction of a reaction, but you can’t help it. You hiss in pain, burning tears building up on the rim of your eyelids as you glare at him. “How’s this, sweetheart, where’s my fucking family?” The last two words are bordering on a shout, full of an anger you’ve never heard from him before.

It’s enough to cause you to flinch back in surprise. Then, you laugh. “Family?” You question, tone sarcastic and bordering on cruel, “What fucking family?” The noise grates further on his nerves and the look on his face causes you to laugh harder. He darts forward, fast as a whip, and grabs your throat, shoving you back against the tree.

You grin up at him, ignoring how much the leather of his glove hurts the raw skin on your neck. “I don’t know. How would I?”

He grins, “You were Buck’s favorite little cocksucker weren’t you?”

You scoff, lips curling down in disgust. “Bud,” you spit out, not helping your case. “And that was above my fucking pay grade jackass.”

God, didn’t you used to love him? Wasn’t that the whole reason your relationship never worked with your husband? You’re really not feeling any of the love right now. Apparently, neither is he, his hand tightens to the point your vision turns black. Shadows start to crawl into the corners of your eyes and you can feel them starting to roll. Your limbs flail out in a discoordinated panic as air becomes harder to come by.

After a minute he finally releases you, backing off and sitting back down on the log across from you. You fall forward, hands clawing at your throat as you take in deep gasping breaths. Your heart beats so violently inside your throat that you worry it’s going to rip through the skin.

You struggle to get upright again, still panting when you finally look at him again. He’s no longer smiling, just staring blankly at you while he waits for you to get it together. “So,” you start, voice a rough croak that has you gritting your teeth at the sound. “Still pining after Barb, huh?” His eye twitches briefly at her name but he doesn’t react otherwise. “You know,” your hands lower towards your boots but he doesn’t catch the movement. “From what I remember she was a fucking bitch. Maybe you should just move on, I heard she did, real quick.”

You’re goading him, trying to get him angry again. You’re not sure it works until he lunges at you. Your lips pull up in a cruel grin, hands shooting out before he can catch onto what you’re doing. Your knife, the one you keep strapped to your boot, is buried in his throat. You jerk the rope out of his hand as blood dribbles over his lips. His eyes are wide with shock as you smile up at him. You rip the knife out, mouth closed against the arterial spray that follows.

You don’t have time to grab your bag or untie your wrists. Ghouls heal fast, faster than you’d like. You leap off the log, over his body, and take off through the forest. You’re careful not to trip, you’ve still got your knife in your hand and you don’t heal nearly as fast as him. All you hear is the gurgle of death as he chokes on his own blood, but the sound quickly fades the further you go.

You risk a glance at your wrist, trying to get a better look at the map on your Pip-Boy but there’s no point. You won’t be able to find Lucy or a way out of this right now. The best you can do is run and hope you manage to stumble across her.

You should have planned this out better. You should have done this in a way where you could have taken your supplies with you. As it was, you don’t think he was going to present many chances to you. You genuinely know nothing about where Barb was. It truly was above your pay grade and it was information she never wanted to share with you. You have a feeling she’d caught on to how you felt about her husband and wanted you as far from him as possible.

Without this information to offer him, you were useless. There was clearly no love lost with him and you doubted he would keep you around much longer. You just needed to get out before he decided he really did believe that you had nothing to offer.

“How do you like it?”

You glance up at Bud and give him a terse smile, he eagerly waits for your answer. You finish chewing and force down the driest piece of chicken you’ve ever had the misfortune of eating. “It’s good, Bud. Did you,” you hesitate to finish, worry it will come out bitchier than you mean it to. “Did you make it?” You stumble over the words, voice rising in pitch to try and keep the dislike out of your voice.

He nods, sawing so hard into his own piece that the table shakes slightly. “Yep,” he pops the ‘P’ with a proud smile directed at you. He dips the chicken into some ketchup and you watch in awe as he pops it in his mouth. He seems completely unbothered by the lack of flavor and juices. This man should never be allowed in the kitchen again.

Bud clears his throat and you brace yourself. It’s not uncommon for you to be at his place for dinner. Normally, the food has been cooked by a professional, but he never invites you over without a reason. You’ve been wondering why you’re here since you arrived.

He placed his fork down on his plate and leaned back in his chair. He gives you a smile that’s meant to be disarming but only puts you further on your guard. Bud might be able to hide behind his goofy grin and facade of incompetence, but you see what really lurks under the surface.

He’s just as greedy as everyone else in Vault-Tec. For fuck’s sake, he’s planning to have two vaults of people that are just there to be bred. He wants to create an army of micro-managers to efficiently rule the world. He would do anything to carve out a place for himself in the future. To make a name for himself. And just like any other man he wants his name to have weight, meaning, power.

It’s what this whole experiment of his comes down to. A hierarchy of power that all leads back to him. The people in the two vaults, the cattle as Bud’s Buds have come to call them, answer to their overseers. The overseers appear to have final say in all decisions, but it truly all loops back to Bud. He’s created a world for himself where he is almighty, a practical god to those in the vaults. They’ll never even know that every decision they make, every happiness or low point they experience, has all been orchestrated by him.

Him being Bud, the man with the least intimidating persona you’ve ever met. Maybe that’s how he’s made it so far. Everyone underestimates an idiot.

“How has it been going with Cooper?” Even now there’s a pitch to his voice that betrays his excitement every time he mentions Mr. Howard. You know Mr. Howard wants you to call him Cooper, or, as he’s insisted, Coop. You can’t do it, though, everytime you call him by his first name you fall deeper into your crush.

You can’t be blamed for it. You spend everyday with him, you’re by his side more often than you’re on your own. Anyone in close proximity to him that often would start to fall for him too. You’ve been trying to convince yourself it’s just guilt presenting in odd ways but you know that’s bullshit. You’re slowly falling for him and you feel awful about it.

Everyday you’re getting closer to just blurting out the truth. But you know the consequences of that. Not only will Barb get rid of you, most likely kill you to keep Vault-Tec’s secrets, you’ll be screwing over Mr. Howard. If he learns about what his wife is up to, the sickness that lurks behind that pearly smile, he’ll never forgive her. He can kiss his place in the vaults goodbye. You’d be condemning the both of you to death.

You need to rid yourself of this unfortunate crush. There are at least one hundred and twenty two vaults, and those are only the ones you know about. Who knows how many the higher ups are keeping from the rest of you? You’ll never see him again after this and you need to come to terms with that.

“He hasn’t been asking me much about the company. I think he’s assuaged for now, I’m not sure how much longer I can keep this up, though.”

Bud sets you with a stern glare and you straighten up, face falling into a mask of indifference. “Why’s that?” The tone of his voice tells you he knows exactly why you’re struggling. But he wants you to deny it, to prove him wrong. You know Bud likes to look out for you, but he isn’t just flippantly providing you with a place in the world.

This whole thing with Cooper is one big test. He only wants those who aren’t afraid of getting their hands dirty. Leadership requires sacrifice and sometimes doing things you don’t want to do.

You shrug, “He’s a bit of a wildcard. Not as easily malleable as Barb made him out to be. I think she underestimates him.” You reach to take another bite of the chicken but change your mind at the last second and sip some water instead. It’s a weak attempt at stalling but Bud lets you have it.

“I have faith in you.” You glance down at your hands and Bud calls out your name, forcing you to meet his gaze again. “If anyone can do this, it’s you. I’ve never met someone more inclined to self preservation.”

There’s a glint in his eyes, an underlying threat to his words. You swallow harshly, grip tightening around the glass until you feel like it might shatter. If you mess this up there’s not going to be a second chance.

You nod your head, “I’ll keep him under control. It’s not hard to leash a man when you’ve got something he wants,” the insinuation isn’t lost on him. He nods, picking up his fork and beginning to eat again.

You can’t do the same, you’ve lost your appetite and it’s not because of his cooking. You’re not sure what Cooper will do to you if he ever finds out the truth but you know it won’t be pretty.

He rolls over onto his side, hand peeling away from his throat and eyes widening at the glossy sheen of blood over the leather. “Fuck,” he hisses, testing out the damage done to him. Nothing too bad, just a hoarse voice that would probably work itself out within the hour.

It’s not her stabbing him that has his blood boiling with rage. It’s the audacity she has to even attempt hurting him. He can’t know for sure whether or not she knew he would survive that. He has to assume she wouldn’t, there’s no way she’s met a ghoul before.

Leaving him for dead once wasn’t good enough, she needed to kill him herself this time. Spiteful fucking bitch. She’d always been like that, it had just taken him too long to see it. Seems like he has a type, women who only ever look out for themselves.

There was a look in her eyes, one he’s seen a million times before. She’s got a fight

in her, the same selfish spirit that kept her alive for so long. God help anyone who gets in her way, she would always pick herself first.

He rubs at the skin of his neck, wiping off the rest of the blood and laughing humorlessly. He wants to see that light go out. He wants to watch as she loses her fight. He wants to be the one that does it. Break her so thourhougly that she gives up all hope. And when she does, when there’s nothing left for her, he’ll set her loose in the world and let it have its turn ripping her apart.

#cooper howard x reader #Cooper Howard x you #cooper Howard x fem!reader #the ghoul x reader #the ghoul x you #the ghoul x fem!reader #fallout x reader #fallout x you #the ghoul #cooper howard #fallout tv series #fallout prime

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spaceclefairy · 5 months ago

Text

lonely for you only (pt. 1)

Summary: Mayfair and Mayfair Law Group, attorneys to the stars. Only the Best, and Forget the Rest!, the cheesy plaque on the front of the building reads. You, Miss Mayfair, are the best and brightest in Tinseltown, and, unfortunately, if Cooper’s going to make it through this divorce with his reputation intact, you’re his only option.

Don’t screw it up! You know, by falling in love with Cooper Howard. (You're gonna screw it up.)

Ao3

“I need a divorce.”

You pause, unsure that you’ve heard your client correctly. “A divorce?”

The man sitting across from you, your client, is none other than Cooper Howard. Movie star of the minute, renowned family man, image as pretty and clean-cut as Hollywood gets - minus the recent accusations of being un-American, a la the Vault-Tec advertisements. He looks, well, unwell. It’s not in the way he’s dressed - he’s immaculately coiffed and perfectly pressed as always. It’s the dark circles under his eyes and the lack of spark that usually makes the hazel so striking.

He looks… defeated.

But what strikes you as odd isn’t that Cooper is asking you to handle his divorce - you’ve been his attorney for years. What’s odd is that he needs a divorce. He loves Barb, and that’s not even just part of his public image. The man would do anything for his wife. (Like damn near ruining his career over those Vault-Tec ads…)

“Cooper, I don’t handle divorces,” you reply. “I’m in entertainment.”

“I know.” Cooper sighs, grimacing. The slightest bit of drawl slips through his voice, peppering his words with that Southern accent you’re used to seeing on screen. Funny enough, that’s his real accent, you’ve come to learn, not the carefully enunciated cadence he uses in public. “But I need someone I can trust.”

Divorce is a dirty business in Hollywood, so you understand where Cooper’s coming from. Plenty of other big names in the industry have had their secrets sold for hard cash, lives and reputations ruined for an under-the-table payout. And as squeaky-clean as Cooper Howard is, you’re sure there are plenty of people out there who would pay top dollar to find something scandalous about him. You wouldn’t trust a career divorce attorney in this town as far as you could throw them, not knowing how many of them have thrown their clients under the media bus in the interest of the almighty dollar.

“I understand that, Coop,” you start, “and I understand why you want me to do it, but you’re gonna have to level with me here. Why do you want a divorce?”

Cooper’s answer is simple. “Irreconcilable differences.”

The problem is, Cooper’s simple answer is born out of an incredibly complicated question. You want to bite your tongue, but if you do this, you’re going to have to know everything. You know Cooper well, but if you’re going to handle his divorce, you’re going to learn things as his attorney and friend you’ve never wanted to know.

“You’re going to have to give me more than that,” you say, searching his face. He’s long since bothered to keep up his public facade when he walks into your office. You’ve never seen him so despondent - not even when he lost out on his last movie role over those damn advertisements. “Do you really want to do this?”

“I have to,” he replies, clasping his well-manicured hands in his lap.

It breaks your heart. You like Cooper. You’ve been friends for years, attorney and client even longer. You’ve been to his wrap parties. You went to his wedding to Barb ten years ago - he was part of the bridal party at your second wedding. You’re in his will as Janey's legal guardian if Cooper dies, for God’s sake.

You rub your temples. This is why you don’t handle divorces. “Have you asked Barb yet?”

Cooper shakes his head. “No, not yet. I’ve been trying to decide how to ask.”

“Okay, so, Barb doesn’t know yet,” you reply. It’s not a question. You’re trying to get your thoughts organized - that’s what Cooper Howard pays you good money to do. “Alright, game plan, we’re going to call Stacey and loop her in, and then once you tell Barb, you and I are going to go over assets, money management, contracts… everything.”

Cooper’s nose wrinkles when he hears Stacey. “Do we have to call in Stacey?”

Stacey is your law firm’s in-house publicist. Stacey is not well-liked, but she’s the Hollywood publicist. She’s worked for Mayfair and Mayfair longer than you have, longer than even your father. Your law firm has been the family-run Hollywood entertainment firm for the better part of a century, and you’re convinced Stacey was probably lurking around in the basement of the building when your grandfather founded the firm. And she certainly doesn’t mind being the boogeyman when she needs to be.

“Divorces can get nasty. I can play nasty just as well as any other Hollywood attorney, but divorce nasty is something else entirely,” you say. “You’re the man of the hour in Hollywood, Cooper. We want to keep your image as clean as we can, and we need Stacey for that.”

“It just seems a little much…”

“Look, Coop, I know there’s no love lost between Barb and I, and this isn’t meant to be disparaging against her,” you reply, “but the fact of the matter is, the Barb you know in marriage is not going to be the Barb you know in divorce. That’s just the nature of these things. Trust me, I’ve been divorced twice.”

You can see the wheels turning in his head. “I don’t want this to be some wild, drawn-out legal battle.”

“You may not want that, but there’s nothing to say that Barb won’t try,” you reply, “That’s why we’re calling Stacey.”

“What-”

You like Cooper, you really, really do (sometimes a little more than you should), but sometimes he’s too good. “I’m guessing she’s going to want to frame this as you not wanting to do the Vault-Tec adverts anymore and Barb pushing you to do it, which means admitting they’ve hurt your career… Anyway, Stacey will handle that - that’s not your concern. You and I have a lot of work to do.”

“I-I don’t even know where to start,” Cooper says. He shifts in your plush office chair like he’s thinking about walking out. “Maybe this is a bad idea…”

“At the end of the day, it’s your choice,” you reply, studying him from your desk. “But clearly whatever’s going on is enough for you to be here.”

Cooper knows you’re right. You can see it in his eyes, the way he searches your face for any hint of doubt. He doesn’t want you to be right, but that’s why he pays you the big bucks.

He rubs his temples. “This doesn’t leave this room.”

“Nothing you’ve ever said to me has left this room,” you assure him, “and nothing ever will.”

(Besides, if you ever thought about losing your moral compass, whatever any tabloid or paparazzo could offer you to spill Cooper Howard’s secrets couldn’t touch what he and his agency pay to retain you anyway.)

Cooper seems to be chewing on his words, contemplating how he wants to phrase things. That’s not a good sign. He’s a straight-shooter - he’s never had trouble telling you exactly what’s on his mind or what he thinks of something.

“I overheard Barb in a meeting at work,” he says finally. “I did not like what I heard.”

You raise an eyebrow, thinking the worst. The unthinkable, really. “She’s not… having an affair, is she?”

“No, it was a work meeting,” Cooper responds, waving his hand. “She proposed some ideas that I don’t agree with.”

Right, right, not an affair… Boy, that got your hopes up a little bit, for all the wrong reasons. Now’s not the time for that - you have to be sympathetic.

You wait expectantly for him to expound. “Okay.”

“Like dropping bombs.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah.”

“I see.”

Barb talking about dropping bombs at a Vault-Tec work meeting is decidedly, incredibly, very not good. Especially when she has the resources to do it.

You take a breath because that's a lot to process. “Well, I’ll get the paperwork drawn up tonight so you can have it when you’re ready to start this show. Once Barb signs the paperwork, we’ll work on a proposal for division of assets.”

Cooper nods. “Thanks.”

“I can’t make this completely painless, Coop, but I’ll do what I can.”

“You always do,” he says softly.

You hate it when he does that - when he speaks to you softly like that. His vulnerability makes your heart ache, and it always has. You know better than to fall in love with a client (even if that client is also your friend), but that ship sailed a long time ago.

“I’ll call you when the paperwork is ready.”

Cooper leaves, shutting your office door gently behind him. You watch him go, rubbing your temples. You can't handle his fucking divorce. You should have referred him to someone else, maybe your dad, but you know he wouldn't have gone forward with this if you had. Cooper's only ever let you deal with his legal business, and he's too stubborn to trust anyone else. God, this is such a bad idea.

From outside your closed door, you hear a hearty laugh and what sounds like someone being clapped on the shoulder. That laugh is unmistakable - you know it's your grandfather outside. Camden Mayfair is a force of his own caliber, and his laugh has always reflected it. Despite his advanced age, he's never quite managed to officially retire from the firm he'd founded with his own father. Be it a sense of duty or just a love of meddling, he spends his days doddering around the office rubbing elbows with the clientele who roam in and out. He never misses a chance to hobnob with the Hollywood elite (it's part of what's kept him in business so long), and he very well may be Cooper Howard's biggest fan (something about always wanting to be a cowboy). In fact, he made you a partner long before you earned that honor the moment he found out Cooper retained you fifteen years ago at the beginning of his (and your) career.

And God, it's like he can sense when Cooper's in the building. He's done his damnedest for years to try to set you up with him.

Camden hustles into your office with his usual swagger and shuts the door behind you, plopping himself down in one of your expensive office chairs. He's still a handsome old man, all sharp angles, well-taken care of his entire life and unwilling to let age set in. He somehow still has a full head of hair (even if it's snow white) and a full beard. You can tell by the look in his dark eyes - the same dark eyes you have - he's guessed what's going on. Clever old bastard.

"That Cooper Howard," he starts, and you fight the instinct to roll your eyes, "he's a great actor, isn't he?"

"Best of the best, Pops."

"Shame those acting skills can't hide a broken heart," Camden comments carefully. "Pain is in the eyes, you know. Hard to hide if you know what you're looking at. I assume you'll be handling the divorce?"

You huff. "Do you have my office bugged?"

"No, sweet pea, I have fifty years of experience with clients, four ex-wives, and one current wife who I intend to spend my final years with," Camden replies with an easy grin. "All men have that same look in their eyes during that first divorce. Has he asked Barb yet?"

"No, he hasn't," you reply. "I'm drafting the paperwork tonight."

"Well, I'm sure you'll have this whole business over and done with in no time," he says. "He's a handsome man. Won't take long to get a twinkle back in his eyes, especially not when you come in and save the day."

This again. He never gives up. The man never called either of your former partners by their names, not even when you were married - it was always "that soft-brained man" and "that bimbo woman." Oh, but Cooper Howard - now, he would always have a name to Camden Mayfair.

"Whatever you're planning, stop it," you say. "I'll tell Grandma you're not minding your own business if you don't."

Your grandmother, Camden's fifth wife, is not your biological grandmother, but she's the one you claim to be yours. A formidable woman in her own right, she'd been an attorney for forty-odd years and only finally retired when she could no longer walk up the steps to her office. Coincidentally, she's lasted the longest of the five wives and somehow is the only person to have ever gotten your grandfather's meddling somewhat under control.

"Oh, posh," he waves his hand dismissively at you. "I never meddle. I assume you'll let Stacey handle the PR?"

"Obviously."

Camden gets up to leave, "Well, I'm sure Stacey will come up with something."

You shake your head as he blusters out of your office. This is a terrible fucking idea.

#cooper howard x reader #the ghoul x reader #fallout the ghoul #cooper howard #fallout amazon #fallout prime #the ghoul #cooper howard x fem!reader

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lipstickghoulie · 6 months ago

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Can’t take my eyes off of you

•Cooper Howard/Lucy MacLean. 4k+ works, explicit smut (praise kink, possessive and dirty talk, p in v sex)

Lucy has a tattoo and Cooper is taken aback (by how horny it makes him)

☢️Fic under the cut☢️

The night that the ghoul told Lucy his real name didn’t go as he expected at all.

It was a dry, dusty night at a makeshift camp they made together in silence, the ruins of some dilapidated and gutted old water tower casting cool shadows over them before the sun started to set. Lucy drove tent stakes into the ground and Cooper worked at making a small fire roar to life over splintery wooden planks scavenged from the forgotten structure. He wouldn’t normally chance a fire but they hadn’t seen any signs of life besides the two of them in days, not even a stray mongrel dog or mutated creature.

More than anything, Cooper was bored. He wasn’t a man that handled his boredom well, it made him itchy, impatient and prone to doing something impulsive. He needed something to shoot or inhale, as soon as fucking possible. He had enough whiskey they salvaged out of some long-dead prepper’s stash a week ago to get a buzz going as he sat back and stared at the fire licking at the air but hell, he needed something to entertain him.

Maybe that was why he humored the vaultie’s question this time instead of giving some sarcastic quip or grunting and ignoring her like he had been recently. Lucy never seemed put-out by not getting direct answers to her personal questions but she certainly seemed to like to keep asking them anyways in between her yammering about the vault she grew up in and novels she had read and anything else that crossed her mind. In truth, he rather liked listening to her yap away, even if he wasn’t directly engaging with the stream of babble. It was nearly comforting, like the low drone of a ceiling fan in the trailer he’d use in between takes during more complicated times, pre-bomb drop. Even now, she sat on the dirt about a foot away from him, prattling on as if they were old friends.

Either way, this time she turned to him, cheerfully asked him what his actual name was anyways and Cooper answered honestly. He knew there was a chance that Lucy may have seen his movies but he wasn’t expecting her to squeal and start rambling on about wow, she couldn’t believe that he was THE Cooper Howard. How she had seen every film he had ever starred in, how she was the biggest fan of his back in her vault, how she had irritated her family for a streak of months in her teens when she insisted on only watching his films-

He shouldn’t have been that surprised by this, Cooper mused with a long, resigned sigh as he watched Lucy talk animatedly. Barb was the closest thing he had to an agent back in the halcyon movie star days and he wouldn’t be shocked if she had made some sort of deal that included his whole damn filmography getting thrown into the vaults when he signed on to endorse Vault-Tec in the first place. Maybe most vault-rats were growing up as huge Cooper Howard fans, indoctrinated on his flicks as well as their idealistic ways of life and he had no idea until now.

Suddenly, he felt very grateful for his face looking so different these days so he wouldn’t have to worry about getting recognized and fawned over by any possible Vault-dweller turned surfacer in the future. It seemed like the sort of thing that would be more grating than helpful for survival out here in the wastes.

His thoughts were interrupted by Lucy suddenly pausing mid-sentence to scrabble at the zipper on her patched and battered vault suit, yanking it down even past the lines of her undershirt as she jumped up to stand. Cooper yelped before he could stop himself, eyes going wide at the unexpected move, “What in the hell do you think you’re doing, woman?”

Lucy blinked those big old peepers at him as if he was the one acting crazy, continuing to shuck off her vault jumpsuit until it hung down around her hips. Slowly, she explained in a way that didn’t explain anything whatsoever, “I wanted to show you something that proved I was a big fan of your movies?”

Her petite fingers pulled up her grimy tank top and Cooper started sputtering in horror, sure that somehow she had arrived at the awful idea to flash him or get her tits out like some kind of crazed groupie. Yes, okay, she was a looker and who wouldn’t fuck their hand while thinking about her on long nights during their turn at watching out for errant deathclaws and other hazards? But he sure as shit didn’t want any moves made to be on account of his celebrity status from two hundred odd years ago.

However, his momentary panic was for nothing as her yanking up of the fabric ended at her ribs. Then, her pants were pulled slightly down and… what was that on her side?

“There!” Lucy crowed triumphantly, as if she was settling a one-sided argument that Cooper wasn’t even aware that they were having. “I told you that I loved your films!”

Almost against his better judgment, Cooper scooted closer to look at what she was showing him more clearly. Fuck, was that a tattoo?

Emblazoned against the creamy expanse of skin above her hip, there was the gun that his character wielded in “A Man and his Dog”. It was a pretty damn good likeness actually, impressive in the details right down to the tiny, nearly imperceptible star on the grip. Painstakingly careful detail poured into every line of ink. It stood out in what felt like dozens or more shades of grey and black. Unmistakably his revolver, right there, permanently affixed to her until the end of time.

“Fuckin’ A, where the hell did you even get something like this done? I’d think this would be frowned upon in your cult,” Cooper breathed out, not able to resist reaching out and skating his hands over the tattoo in a manner that some might call reverent. Lucy didn’t seem to mind, her face expression still victorious and her soft flesh unflinching under his own rough fingers.

It felt as smooth as the rest of her surprisingly but he didn’t know enough about tattoos to know if that was how it was normally. Back in the day, you’d only see fellas that had done serious time with tattoos. It was very uncommon to see them at all, even in the military. And nowadays? Most tattoos seemed to be shitty, half-infected stick and poke jobs and he didn’t let anyone get close enough to him to find out how they’d feel texturally under his touch.

At least she had impeccable taste even if she didn’t have a lick of sense in her head half of the time. “A Man and his Dog” had been one of the few flicks he did that he actually enjoyed, especially since the director had allowed him to use his own dog.

God, he missed Roosevelt. One hell of a fine dog. He had been way better trained than Dogmeat, who kept running off and worrying them sick (even if Cooper never voiced it aloud besides declaring he hoped the mongrel didn’t fall into a well somewhere). Even now, they only knew the dog was alright since he dashed on ahead of them since they kept seeing his paw prints alongside the path as they kept trekking to the New Vegas strip.

Lucy was proudly talking on and on while he reminisced, elaborating about her brother finding some old book about the Great Khans hidden amongst their mother’s old things and how there had been a section on their tattoo techniques and she had always been a dab hand at art anyways-

Two things occurred to Cooper very quickly.

One of those thoughts being that him and Lucy were both permanently marked by the other in ways that they couldn’t easily erase. She had jabbed this likeness of his gun into this vulnerable spot above her hip, giving him ownership over this patch of her like someone laying foundation at a freshly purchased homestead, and it was all before she even knew him. He was as much a part of her as her pretty finger was woven into him now. Something more intimate feeling than anything he had ever known. Any man that had ever bedded her had likely seen this gun inked into her and had no idea that they’d never penetrate her, her sweet mind, so deeply that Lucy would sit there for what was likely hours and work a sharp needle into herself all for some kind of homage. It had to have hurt badly and yet she persevered until her tribute to him was done and done well.

The second thing that he realized was that he was harder than he could remember being in years. Here, on his knees before her in the dirt while their fire dully crackled behind his back, Cooper’s erect cock was dripping pre-cum against the front of his pants. His fingers were doing more than just investigating the tattoo now, massaging tender circles down and at her hips themselves.

Lucy was still obliviously talking on about proper tattoo care and about why a “Man and her Dog” was her favorite movie so Cooper patiently waited until she took a breath to chime in, even if he had only been half-listening through the lurid fantasies flashing through his brain about shoving her into the dirt and railing her like there was no tomorrow.

He murmured lowly, “I’m mighty surprised that a goody-two shoes like yourself would even do something like this. Seems a bit naughty for you, sweetheart.”

If Lucy had been paying attention, she might have noticed the molasses-slow and sweet way that Cooper drawled out ‘sweetheart’ was decidedly different from the more condescending way he usually said it to her. Or that he had started to pull down where her jumpsuit was folded over at her waist himself, centimeter by centimeter, until the elastic of her plain cotton panties was visible.

“Everyone has their own form of rebellion that they do to act out when they’re younger,” Lucy replied sheepishly, cheeks reddening at the memory as if embarrassed. “Still, I made sure that my dad never found out or saw it since I was so afraid he would be disappointed in me.”

Oh ho, if that wasn’t a delicious morsel of information on top of an already spectacular heap of new information about his companion. Cooper couldn’t help the grin that crept across his chapped lips as he leaned forward slightly and dragged his tongue against the inked symbol of the man he used to be. Her skin tasted like salt but based on how she twitched, gasping… He would lap away every drop of sweat off of her body if it meant she would keep reacting like that.

“Cooper? What are you doing?” The vaultie asked carefully, her eyes wide and luminous even now. Even with her doe-like appearance, she didn’t seem ready to bolt though. There was a shaky need in the way that she held herself that matched the lust running through his system hotter than a hit of Jet.

And fuck, didn’t his name sound right rolling off of her tongue like that?

Cooper hummed as if considering his answer, undoing her clothing further so her silly uniform fell down past her knees. Deftly, he helped work off her boots and followed it up with letting the jumpsuit fall into the dirt. Lucy lifted her leg to help him each time he needed her to, showing her willingness with each step even as she waited for him to speak. Even standing there in just her tank top and simple underwear, she looked good enough to eat.

He rasped out, “Well, you see, sweetie… you tell a man that you have a whole fuckin’ tattoo for him and he might want to fuck you so full of him that you drip his cum for days afterwards. You got a problem with that?”

She didn’t react with shock or outrage the way that some people might assume sweet little bunnies like her might but Cooper knew her better than that. He knew there would be a flare of hot interest in her eyes before he even glanced up and met them. Lucy didn’t seem to shy away from sex or sexual topics and besides, hadn’t the two of them been dancing around each other for long enough?

Lucy shook her head emphatically, assuring him, “No, I don’t have a problem with it. I have been wanting to have sex with you for weeks! I only didn’t ask because you didn’t seem to show any interest!”

The ghoul could argue that he had shown plenty of interest, in his own way. He didn’t moon after her but he listened to her talk, he didn’t threaten her any more… hell, the fact that he had asked Lucy to come along with him on this journey to hunt down her father and get some answers together was sign enough that maybe he liked her more than merely platonically. He wouldn’t split hairs though and debate the issue now.

Instead, he impatiently pulled Lucy forward until her knees hit the ground with a puff of dust and an exclamation of surprise. Cooper rolled her underneath him and slammed his mouth against hers, all hungry ferocity and nipping teeth and his tongue seeking entrance against her lips. Lucy met his fervor in kind and then some, grinding herself against his thigh.

Cooper pulled back to regard her and catch his breath. With her laying back like this, her hair spread out behind her in dark waves, her lips pink and kiss-swollen, he wondered if he had ever seen anything as breathtakingly beautiful before. He hadn’t since the world went to hell, anyways.

“Does that spell out enough interest for you, Lucy MacLean?” He asked dryly, his fingers pausing her slow grind so he could pull off that flimsy cloth barrier between him and her waiting cunt. He didn’t miss the way that it seemed to cling to her core for a second before pulling free, strands of her clear arousal stretching between her flesh and panties for one shining moment before snapping.

Fuck, he needed to get a taste of that.

Lucy was responding in some fashion but Cooper was only half-listening again, shucking off his duster and haphazardly folding it into a squarish shape. He tucked the mass of leather underneath her shapely ass to angle her hips slightly upwards. It had been a long while since he had last eaten pussy, which was a crying shame since he did enjoy doing it back when he was a married man. Cooper remembered the mechanics of it though and besides, he really wanted to devour this cute vaultie cunt while he had the opportunity.

He dipped his head forward and his tongue made a wide sweep against her pussy lips, gathering up her arousal against his tongue. Lucy tasted better than he had imagined all of those times that he had jerked off thinking about her, spilling his seed onto the ground a few feet away from where she slept at night. Her tang coating his mouth and making a home there more sweetly than the aftertaste of a Nuka-cola cherry. Lucy was flailing a lot already so Cooper grabbed her thighs more firmly, holding them open so he could get his fill of her better.

Cooper worked his tongue into her sodden hole, increasing his ferocity when one of his hands slipped from her thigh and brushed near her hip. He was reminded of the tattoo. Her love letter to the man he was (but Cooper was never one to look a gift horse in the mouth these days and he’d still take it as a tribute to himself either way). The bony ridge by where his nose used to sit nudged against where her clit was hidden and that was enough for the poor girl to go over the edge, shrieking his name so loudly that he could hear it even over her soft thighs earmuffing his head. She must have been wound tighter than a stressed rubber band to cum so fast and so much, her release dripping down Cooper’s chin in a way that stoked his ego and made him want to make it happen again and again and again-

Lucy apparently had other ideas though because she clutched at his head hard enough to knock his hat clear off, pulling him up her body ferociously while her insistent fingers pulled at his belt, unbuckling it with a snap that nearly made him flinch.

“I want us to have sex right now,” She panted out, her eyes huge and pupils ready to swallow him up completely with how dilated they were. Lucy looked right at him, not turning away, truly seeing him under the startling headlights of her gaze. Cooper felt something pang in his chest and knew that he was truly and irrevocably fucked in how much of a hold this woman had on him already.

Still, he would have time for worrying about that later. Right now, he helped her in divesting him of his pants even as Cooper taunted her as if he wasn’t as desperate as she was in this moment, “Aw, sweet pea, someone’s impatient.”

“You love the sound of your own voice, don’t you, mister?” Lucy snarked back, making Cooper chuckle at the heat behind it. She fascinated him, there was no doubt about it. The way she could be the most naive and idealistic thing he had ever seen in his entire cursed existence one moment and removing someone’s head the next if it was necessary. Her spine was stronger than steel underneath all of that fluff and god alive, he loved to poke at it.

“I think you love the sound of my voice,” Cooper drawled as he pushed down his trousers, his cock bouncing free since he hadn’t worn underwear in some fifty-odd or more years. It was just as radiation roughened as the rest of him but still in perfect working condition, thank god. “You probably touched yourself every night back in your vault thinking about those dumbfuck movies I was in, if you liked them so damn much.”

Cooper didn’t give her time to respond before he was reaching out and rolling the frills of her clit underneath his fingertips, making her keen loudly and scrabble her nails at the dirt underneath her. She looked so fuckin’ good like this; cheeks pink and even pinker pussy flooding his hand. He should have had her like this weeks ago when they first started looking for that damn head.

He pushed up that undershirt of hers until it lay above her collarbones, admiring her soft and pert tits. Funny that he had balked away at the thought of her flashing him earlier. What an idiot that he had been, Cooper thought with amusement to himself as he ran his thumbs over her rosy nipples lightly. Lucy squirmed and gave him a warning look that seemed to demand that he get on with the main event so he relented with a chuckle, moving his hands away reluctantly.

He notched the thick tip of his cock head at her cunt, leisurely rubbing it between her cunt and watching his precum and her arousal mix together in a viscous combination that he wouldn’t mind licking off of her next time.

There had to be a next time, right? If not, Cooper would have to pull out all the stops to make sure there was. He wasn’t stupid enough to think that he’d get his fill of Lucy after only one time.

In any case, he started to push his cock into her, both of them groaning at how tight the fit was even as Cooper carefully took her inch by inch. Lucy’s hands moved to his shoulders instead of the ground as if trying to spur him on, clawing at him in a way that he could feel even through the layers of his coat and button-up shirt. When he finally sank into her down to the root, Lucy whined his name and it sent an electric thrill up his spine in a way that the ghoul hadn’t felt in years. It was the hottest noise he had ever heard and he would do whatever it took to have her make it over and over.

“Feel like you’re made for me,” Cooper murmured, eyes trained on how his dick slid into her, how the veins on his shaft came away shiny and dripping with every slip out of her. “But you’ve always been mine, ain’t that right? Running around your vault all those years and you had yourself marked as mine all that fuckin’ time.”

That line of thinking was still lodged deep in Cooper’s mind; even while she was fooling around with boys in that glorified underground bunker, she had been Cooper’s girl and just didn’t understand it yet. No one else had the same claim to her. She’d never fully be able to get rid of him or scrub him from her skin. Cooper was as much a part of Lucy as she was a part of him now, both figuratively and literally. The notion seemed to please him based on his cock being more erect and painfully hard than he had any right being.

“Cooper, please,” Lucy pleaded softly, making his eyes flick up to meet hers instead of continuing to watch his cock make her pussy flutter around him. There was something needy in her gaze and with the way her hot cunt kept clenching around his dick, Cooper realized with a jolt that she liked the possessive talk. That she was riding the same damn kink train that he was and that she wanted more. Maybe she liked the idea of belonging to anyone, not specifically him, but he was definitely going to take advantage of it either way.

Cooper started pistoning into her, his balls colliding with the cushion of her ass on every snap of his hips. Her inner walls pulled greedily at him like they didn’t want to let go and he found himself having to grit his teeth to make sure he didn’t cum too fast. Lucy’s gorgeous tits bounced on every plunge of his dick and he longed to capture one in his mouth to worry at her nipples until they were puffy and aching but he knew he’d orgasm the second he did so they’d have to remain neglected for now.

“You’re all mine, my girl, huh?” Cooper growled out, grabbing at her hips to yank her to meet him on every thrust. “Come on, sweetheart, show me how much you’ve wanted me. Be a good girl-“

Oh, that did it. Lucy’s pussy seized around his cock in a strangling vice grip as she whimpered, her release flooding over both of their thighs and his balls the next time that they swung close. Cooper knew he wasn’t far behind and while he badly wanted to cum inside of that pretty pussy so much that it would spill out of her, they only had a few pouches of Radaway with no idea when they’d find another trader that might have some on their person.

Besides, he had a better idea of where to cum right now.

A few more sloppy thrusts on his end to enjoy the lingering flutters of her cunt and then he pulled out, his hand closing around his soaked shaft with a tight fist. It was only a few jerky passes of his fingers before he was following her to orgasm, spurts of his translucent spend flowing out and landing exactly where he intended them to; painting the tattoo that Lucy had gotten in his honor all of those years before she had even met him. Cooper admired his handiwork for a long moment, at the effect of his cum dotting over the lines of ink, before he flopped down on the ground beside her and stared up at the night sky. His mind was blank with contentment for once.

You could see more stars nowadays than he could when he was younger.

Apparently Lucy wasn’t quite as quiet and relaxed as he was in this moment since her cheerful voice chirped up next to him, “So, you like the tattoo then?”

…At least he wasn’t bored any more and Cooper doubted that he would be for a long time after this.

#ghoulcy smut #vaultghoul #vaultghoul smut #ghoulcy #cooper x lucy #my writing #my fics #fallout tv smut #cooper howard smut #cooper howard x lucy maclean #cooper Howard x Lucy Maclean smut

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zahri-melitor · 7 days ago

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Recent Reads:

Barda (2024): I am always interested in judging what they do and don't put into the young adult stories. I thought this was a solid adaption of Barda's backstory and the Furies, to my mind. I'm not across all the versions, but it felt true to what I was hoping to see in the story, which included Barda's positioning both in terms of what it's like to grow up in Apokolips but also the harm she has done as leader of the Female Furies and complicity in torture.

I enjoyed it! It's worth seeking out.

Batman: One Bad Day - The Riddler: well this sure was a comic written by Tom King and drawn by Mitch Gerads. Even if I had not looked at the title page I could have told you that from the specific way their collaboration lays out a comic.

It's a very Tom King prestige comic, with all that that implies. This one isn't openly hung up on the military. (His prestige work tends to be his best work. Don't fight me on this)

This is not even near my favourite conception of Eddie, though it's also not at the bottom either. Definitely trying to lean into him as a threat. It doesn't, however, show him having fun with his puzzles, and I think at the heart of all the best Riddler depictions he needs to be both cocksure and personally entertained by what he's doing. Even (especially) when it's particularly dark.

(if you want favourite characterisations, Cliff Chiang's Catwoman: The Lonely City and the way Paul Dini writes him, particularly in 'Tec #845 are highlights)

Batman: One Bad Day - Two-Face: Mariko Tamaki did a good job here. I particularly think she has a solid grasp on Steph's character, because she had Steph argue with Bruce over Harvey and whether he's worth redemption and second chances.

"I hate it when villains aren't just villains. Maybe it's not fair to the Dents of the world, but I like to think it protects me from the creeps."

Steph's whole thesis here is that they shouldn't be making an extra effort for Harvey, just because he was Bruce's friend, because villains are villains and they can't and won't change, and even when they do, they'll ultimately backslide. It's a very conservative view of criminalisation, and it's one Steph's had since her creation by Dixon, and which makes a lot of sense given her background and her problems with her father.

Bruce and Steph then have a fight over "Harvey isn't Arthur". What makes the fight particularly interesting to me is that Steph's arguing that if Harvey was committed to changing we would see it, and she hasn't, while Bruce still believes that Harvey can change and is trying to, because he's seen Harvey work on it. While Steph has absolutely no trust or belief in her father. And they're talking past each other here while having a conversation.

It's some great character work. Because Bruce at his core is fundamentally committed to rehabilitation and hoping that everyone can be saved. While Steph, for extremely good canonical reasons, thinks that criminals remain criminals, and that if they want to stop being criminals they have to show the work for people to trust them; because she was betrayed while growing up.

(The actual plot of this story was good too. But people like to say that Steph doesn't have any good characterisation post Flashpoint, and I'm here to point wildly at things like this and Tynion's 'Tec run and ask what their issues are, because this is another extremely solid congruent-with-pre-War Games-Steph story)

Batman: One Bad Day - The Penguin: I could definitely tell this was a John Ridley story. I think part of my discomfort with this was that it wanted to be canonical and non-canonical at the same time. It's very clearly set in approximately the 2022 present for Bat comics (Renee Montoya is Commissioner, Oswald has recently been kicked out of Gotham)...but it's also very much an alternate history, where instead of pretending to be dead, he's been replaced by "The Umbrella Man" who has stolen Ozzie's life. It's rather like a rerun of the Emperor Penguin plot except for the fact that The Umbrella Man is a random black man (yes, thanks Ridley) who points out a bunch of class disparity issues to Penguin.

It's just a very odd plot choice to run for an specific oneshot at this point in the storyline, because completely separately we are in the process of doing "Oswald vs his children who have killed all their siblings to inherit the Iceberg" in main continuity. Get a second Penguin plot please.

Mostly this is a parable about accepting who you are and not being a bully, or the Penguin will rip out your throat. Or something. It worked, it was just...really obvious nobody knows what to do with a Penguin plot. Just do mafia and black market stuff!

Batman: One Bad Day - Mr Freeze: I don't recognise Gerry Duggan? He's apparently done about 2000 Marvel comics and a whole 8 DC ones. Oh! But he wrote Arkham Manor! Oh my gosh so many things suddenly make sense, including the fact that the motif of this comic was Victor making snow angels.

I loved Arkham Manor and particularly the way Victor was characterised in it, even though that characterisation wasn't exactly standard Mr Freeze (it was comedy Mr Freeze). What we got this time was hmmmm a very self-absorbed Victor, where the plot specifically removed some of the pathos of Victor's devotion to Nora by showcasing a number of ways he was overly obsessed to the point of harming Nora before she passed away. It wasn't quite the direction of depth into Freeze we've seen other stories go recently, but it definitely committed to him being potentially quite harmless if you frame things around Nora in the right way to get him to focus how you want him to.

I have to say though, I don't think Duggan has a particularly good grasp on Bruce or even Dick. There were a bunch of moments where Bruce calls a completely random street thug an "irredeemable villain" and that "he belongs in the deepest hole we can throw him in". I'm sorry, did I pick up a Bruce Wayne comic or a Jason Todd one? Because uhhhh that's not standard Bruce personality. Alfred was even snarking at Bruce about how "Forgive me gentlemen, I must be suffering from a senior moment. I thought Master Bruce just said he though a criminal could change."

YES! YES HE DOES THINK THAT! THAT'S BATMAN'S WHOLE THING! HE BELIEVES HE CAN SAVE EVERYONE! HE BELIEVES THAT THEY CAN CHANGE! We literally just had the Two-Face story two titles before this be all about how Bruce is overcommitted to believing that Harvey can recover and trying to help him!

Okay poor Bruce characterisation aside, this was a fairly fun Year 4 setting for the story, and it was the requisite Christmas episode, which I did also appreciate as thematic for release date and chosen villain. Tiny Dick is highly amusing in how he thinks he might be about to get to drive the Batmobile for the first time...and then the autopilot engages. He really wants to drive and comments on how he doesn't have his learners yet (and 7ish years down the track he can end up amused and irritated that TIM got his learners at 14)

I assume Duggan got given a slot on the strength of his Marvel work, and that's fine, except...the off characterisation makes it pretty clear he doesn't have a particularly good or current grasp on at least one of the two main characters of the title. Which is just slightly important for a special high profile series on Batman and His Villains. And I'm saying that as someone who liked Arkham Manor, but enjoyed it for being a quirky offbeat, tonally dissonant story in the middle of the unending angst that was Batman Eternal.

Everyone else in this set has big set piece previous stories involving the characters to point to as why they got picked. Duggan seems to have scraped through on "Big in Marvel, has written one of the few focused on Victor Fries stories in the last decade".

#z canon read throughs #recent reads

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laduenadelswing · 10 months ago

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Lovegame

Vox x female reader

Chapter one

Never in her life has she seen a sky, red like velvet, no sun just a pentagram. Where was she… She ran down the hill unsure of where she might stay for the night. Every shop had to do something with hell, it was pretty out of her ordinary life. Could she really be in hell. The last thing she remembered was a car. Everyone looked strange, some demons looked like animals. Other demons looked liked a mixure between human and animal, some demons ate their companions,. She was scared, alone and did not even know how she got there. She decided to go into a club, maybe she could meet someone there to go sleep. If it worked in Hollywood it will work here as well. Some demons stood in front of some screens. They looked like flies, hellhounds, rotten butterflies, everyone had something twisted in them.

“Vox entertainment stock reaches an all time high.”

“Vox tec is shining with new technology to keep you safe.”

“Vox tec keeps you safe”

“Trust us” Those praises and commercials ran trough every television, computer, phone and billboard in hell. Hell it’s funny that she ended here. She never thought that heaven or hell exists. Now she felt really stupid.

She saw how famous this ‘’Vox’’ was and how many people glued in front of his screens, his influence was present. If anybody knew one or two things about influence it must have been her. How she despised the fame. The night was still young, especially in hell there is always something going on. ‘’If I am already in hell I can still make the best of it. Can´t get any worse. Maybe there is a Club or a Bar where I can find a place to sleep otherwise I might and up as an easy meal.’’ She tought.

Amidst the chaos and clamor the consent club is a haven for the most adventurous demons of hell. Of course the Club belonged to one of Valentinos close friends. “Vox what is going on your so stressed, Chico. Always working and stressed. Maybe you should shoot your lowest paying employees too. That helps a lot.” Vox sighed. “I wish to shoot them sometimes but it´s not good for the image of Vox tec, you know.” Vox never could deal with stress like his hot heated friend. It´s not his business. “You know I have whores for every fantasy you could ever have. “Valentino whispered with a mischievous grin. They sat in one of the most exquisite launches drinking Vodka and champagne, smoking cigars ignoring all their future worries while the techno music blasted through the dancefloor. Vox was focused on his drink while Valentino scanned the dancefloor for a quite some time. “Oi Vox, darling look at this beautiful Chika. She seems like your kink! I bet I can make her a Star.” At first Vox scanned the crowed the ocean of drunk and drugged demons, it almost made it hard to single out someone. Certainly, it didn´t help that Val was smoking like a chimney, red smoke blurring the TV demons sight.

There she was. His LEDs led up. He has never been so captivated, intrigued and tempted in his life before. Vox a demon who only cared about money and power was interested in an demon? Val couldn´t believe his eyes. It must be snowing in hell, surely. She didn’t look like a demon at all. His eyes fixed on a woman unlike any he had ever seen. She was shrouded in an air of mystique and allure, her almost angelic beauty as captivating as the flickering lights of the club. She embodied every fantasy Vox has ever harbored. Vox’s friend and frequent patron of the “consent” Club noticed Vox´s gaze with a smile. “Well, well, Vox, what do we have here? Caught in the throes of infatuation?” They watched her dancing. For someone who seems so innocent she danced like the devil. The music pulsing through her veins and stringing her like a puppet.

Vox´s LED cheeks flushed. His wires sparked, uncontrollable, he rebooted and felt like he has been born in this very moment. His big charming smile had a dark, primal note. “She´s… she´s something else, Valentino” he murmured, his voice laced with awe. Valentino chuckled his eyes gleaming with predatory interest. “I know exactly what she is Vox. She is a rare find, a woman who knows what she wants and isn´t afraid to take it.” He leaned a little bit closer “I´ve been watching her for a while now and I believe that she might be the key to a very lucrative deal, indeed.”

Vox´s eyes widened, his fascination momentarily overshadowed by Valentino´s words “A deal?” he asked, intriqued.

“It’s a plan. A plan that could make us very powerful.” As Valentino began to outline his plan, Vox found himself drawn to a web of intrigue and temptation. The promise of riches and influence was intoxicating, Vox could not resist this power. Deep down he couldn´t shake off the image of her smile. This was his ticket to get to the top. Maybe this must be at the cost of something far more precious. His heart.

He kept watching. There was something odd about her. She had the aura, the looks, the smile. Some demons came up to her to ask her for a picture. ‘’Odd’’ Vox thought. If she is famous he should know her, if it is a more sexual kind of fame Valentino definitely knew her by name. ‘’ Vox, honey you know that we are in a sex club, right. Maybe you should go talk to her.’’ Valentino proposed. In this moment he wanted to punch him to the ground. How can Val think that she is up for something like that. ”I bet she is into you Vox. The ladies have a thing for you, your just too busy to notice it.’’ He said with a seductive tone in his voice. “I noticed that, I am not too busy. I am not interested.’’ He stated as Valentino rolled his red eyes. The Party continued and the crowed grew lager every second. There was no universe in which Vox lost her. He smirked, she is really gorgeous and parties like there was no tomorrow. ‘’If you find her, get her pretty ass to my afterparty. It will be in our headquarters.’’

Amidst the cacophony of the opulent party, Vox stood there confused his imposing figure exuding an aura of otherworldly power and mystery. His red eyes glew, like twin orbs of pulsating light, scanned the crowd, searching for a solution to a dilemma that had him on edge.

Valentino, a figure of immense power and volatile temper, had tasked him with finding and convincing her for the night's festivities. The task was simple, yet the stakes were high. Valentino's unpredictable moods were legendary. Sensing his gaze, Isabel turned towards him, her emerald eyes sparkling with intelligence and curiosity. Vox found himself momentarily lost in their depths, drawn to her like a moth to a flame. The flickering lights complimented her body and she looked even hotter than before. With a mix of determination and a hint of trepidation, Vox approached Isabel, his heart pounding in his chest. He had to strike a deal with her, a mutually beneficial arrangement that would appease Valentino's demands while providing Isabel with temporary shelter in the chaotic realm of Hell. Also it would made her stay with him.

"My lady," Vox began, his voice a low, smooth baritone, "I find myself in a rather peculiar predicament. My college, Valentino, has requested my presence at his gathering, but I find myself without a suitable companion." He smiled a hint of nervousness on his face.

Isabel raised an eyebrow, her eyes twinkling with amusement. "And how might I be of assistance, sir?" she inquired, her voice laced with a playful challenge.

Vox paused, his expression turning serious. "I propose a bargain," he declared, his eyes locking with hers. "In exchange for your company at this evening's festivities, I offer you temporary refuge in my humble abode, a sanctuary from the harsh realities of Hell. I mean without protection you are an easy target."

Isabel considered his proposal, her mind racing with the implications. On one hand, the thought of spending an evening with this enigmatic demon intrigued her. On the other, she was wary of entering into an arrangement with someone who, by all accounts, was a powerful and volatile overlord. I mean don’t talk to strangers doesn’t count in hell, does it.

"And what of your college, Valentino?" she asked, her voice laced with caution. "Will he not object to your taking me under your wing?"

Vox smiled, revealing a hint of mischief in his eyes. "Rest assured, my lady," he assured her, "Valentino will not be the least bit surprised by my choice of companion. He has a discerning eye for beauty, and I believe you would meet his standards." Vox said his voice became a bit deeper than usual as he took her and gave it a small kiss.

Isabel couldn't help but smile back, intrigued by Vox's confidence and the hint of playfulness in his demeanor. "Very well," she agreed, her voice laced with a hint of daring. "I accept your offer, demon." He smiled it was very charming almost hypnotizing. ‘’Call me Vox.’’ He insited as Isabel began to giggle. They danced for a little bit and Vox seemed to calm down, almost loosing his guard. He has never felt like this before. They left the party together and went trough hell to his office. She followed him quietly, trying not to steal the spotlight or become the center of attention. One of her special talents in the human world, she never knew how she got into those situation but she hated the fake love and attention. Her childhood dream became a nightmare to live in. Maybe hell isn’t so bad after all.

‘’This is my place.’’ He said as they entered the escalator. This afterparty was one hell of an event. She was used to opulent festivities in Hollywood but this was something no human sould could truly experience or process. In all of the chaos many people complimented Vox and his special guest. They drank quite a lot and took a bit to far. They danced completely wasted and she touched him a little bit. At first she touched his strong arms with her hands. Vox could not believe that she actually touched him. After he melted under her fingers, she stroked his extraordinary face. In this moment he fell head over heals into a pit where only she could get him out. This was the best night he ever had. As the new day began and the night faded away, they climbed onto the roof. She listened to the TV demon as he began to tell her that his life here was far from ordinary. They had a view across hell, which was incredibly calming. “What do you do when Valentino doesn’t want to go into a club?” She asked. ‘’I work, Valentino and Velvet are a bunch of work and the multitude of companies and Ideas are very time consuming. How did you get here’’ He asked. She shook her head, looked very tired and looked defeated into the sky. “I don’t think that I am here just jet. The last thing I remember is my car.”

#hazbin alastor #hazbin vox #hazbin hotel #hazbin angel dust #vox x reader #hazbin hotel vox

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drbatsponge · 7 months ago

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As many of you may not know at the time of writing this, May 18th, which was yesterday, is the day that marks Cassandra Cain's first appearance in DC Comics.

So, to celebrate 25 years of the character, I have decided to review each of Cassandra Cain's quote on quote "first appearance" comics.

Essentially these comics cover her origins and her first outing as Batgirl.

All of these comics take place during the No Man's Land event.

The comics in order are:

Batman #567

Detective Comics #734

Legends of the Dark Knight #120

Batman #569

Due to Tumblr's image limit you'll only be able to see images for part one of this review, for a review that has more images, please use this link to Amino here:

We'll start with Batman #567 and TEC #734 since both share Cassandra Cain's two-part origin story: Mark of Cain.

Cassandra Cain's origins are very unique in the sense that the character appears first before she ever even dawns the costume, as the costume is currently being worn by someone else, specifically Helena Bertinelli who does have a cameo appearance within this two part story as Batman can be seen confronting her at a cemetery at the beginning of part one.

Cassandra is later shown, and it's established that she's one of Barbara Gordon's couriers that deliver information and supplies throughout the post-earthquake rocked Gotham City, she brings Barbara an apple as a gift for teaching her how to pronounce words.

It's then shown Cass has trouble pronouncing the simplest of words, due to her father depriving her of speech during her developmental stage of life.

Speaking of Cassandra's father, David Cain, Cass eventually runs into him trying to assassinate Commissioner Gordon via sniper rifle, and prevents him from doing so by surprising him and blocking his field of view.

Part one ends with the two having a confrontation where Cassandra finally utters the phrase that Barbara was trying to teach her prior before pushing David out a window.

Throughout the story various little snippets of Cassandra's childhood are shown.

We can see that nothing was wholesome about her childhood, her upbringing was nothing short of cruel, her father having her kill a man at such a young age, which of course left a lasting impact on her.

Overall part one of this story does a very good job at introducing us to Cass and pulling at your heartstrings with her origin.

While part one doesn't have much dialogue, which is obviously intentional because of the character in this story, it has some stunning visuals from the artist Damion Scott and what few bits of speech we do get is enough to serve the story.

I would say Kelley Puckett hit it right out of the park with getting us invested in his at-the-time new character to the Bat Mythos. I would give part one a perfect 10/10.

Moving on to part two, we begin where the first part ended and we have Cass and David continuing to plummet from their dive through the window earlier. Luckily Batman catches David at least, but Cassandra decides to let go of her father last minute, however she still survives, Batman seemingly catching her and bringing her to a cemetery later on. Most likely the same cemetery that he had found Helena at prior.

There, Batman discerns that Cass never learned how to communicate properly and the only language she knows is violence, fighting.

Cassandra and Batman then have a dispute about who should go after David, Batman bringing up the fact he was hired by Two-Face to kill Gordon.

Batman says he can handle both David and Two-Face, but Cassandra disagrees.

Eventually the two go after both separately, Cass taking Two-Face and Batman taking David.

Cass successfully subdues Two-Face by what we later find out is her taking his coin.

Cass even makes it in time to help Batman with David.

The end of the story shows Barbara handing over an old photo of a Batgirl over to Cass, while Batman instructs her to call the other Bat-Family members.

Overall, part 2 is pretty good, I wouldn't say it's as great as the first part of this story, as it does decide to focus more on action instead of any actual fleshing out to Cassandra's backstory, but nonetheless it's still a solid conclusion to the previous story.

As a rating, I would give it a 9/10.

Now moving on to what you could call part three of Mark of Cain but isn't exactly labeled as such is Legends of the Dark Knight #120. I say COULD, because the story itself isn't exactly all that much connected to the prior parts other than beginning where part 2 ended, but it does further Cassandra's story nonetheless as this is the comic where she officially dawns the Batgirl suit. Before that though, she meets the entire Bat-Family, especially hitting it off with Jean Paul Valley, AKA Azrael.

Batman then has a chat with the previous owner of the Batgirl suit, Helena Bertinelli. Essentially Helena kind of has a meltdown before having a falling out with Batman, which I wouldn't say isn't exactly justified, it's implied Batman pushed her too far here and I don't necessarily blame her for wanting to distance herself. Regardless, Batman collects the suit from her and decides instead that it belongs to Cass.

This is not before she's given a lecture on honoring the symbol of the bat, of which Batman already trusts she'll honor, Nightwing on the other hand not being so sure. Oracle makes him second guess his opinions though and then Cass suits up, now Batgirl, and glides out with the Bat-Family into the city.

I'd give this story an 8/10, my only main problem being with it is the art, for some reason the artist here didn't study anatomy, giving Helena and Cass in this story weirdly skinny wastes. 💀 Nonetheless the artist isn't terrible in other areas.

Our final story, Batman #569, or as the official story is called: I Cover the Waterfront, covers Cassandra's first outing as Batgirl.

It starts out with Cass beating up a bunch of thugs who are trying to rob a gas station, for well, gas.

She quickly dispatches the thugs, the gas station owner, Jimmy Sanchez, inviting her into the station to celebrate.

Even trying to offer her a grape soda, but Cass declines as she much prefers to not hear Sanchez constantly ramble on about things, wanting quiet.

We then cut to what we can assume is a scene prior with Batman briefing Nightwing, Oracle, and Cass about a shortage of gas, which they need for generators to power their infirmary unit within the city they call M.A.S.H.

Cassandra is clever and knows where they might find some gas, suggesting there's some in Amusement Mile.

Batman agrees to let her go get the Cass, Barbara remarking how eager Cass is to please the Caped Crusader.

We can assume that Sanchez has the gas, as we cut back to him and Cass, Sanchez yet again going on another long ramble, talking about how the thugs who attacked him earlier used to be good kids.

Cass again, doesn't like the noise and leaves. Later finding out that the thugs have returned and their leader has a rocket launcher. Before Cass can intervene though, Sanchez comes out and threatens the thugs. Cass leaps into action to save Sanchez, fighting the thugs, but to no avail, eventually the leader regains his footing and blows up the gas station.

Cass, thinking she has failed, attempts to kill the gang leader, but is stopped by Sanchez going on another one of his rambles. She listens this time though, as the man reminds her not to give up so easily, so she lets the thug live.

Batman soon arrives and it's revealed that this whole thing was an elaborate distraction from the real stash of gasoline that Sanchez had hidden in a safe location, showing Cass that she hadn't failed at all.

I would say that this story is a decent first outing for Cassandra Cain as Batgirl, and reevaluates what her character is all about, someone who doesn't give up so easily, someone who isn't a killer. I would give this story another perfect 10/10.

Well, that's it, that's all the stories reviewed for my little anniversary special for Cass here.

Probably one of the longer blogs I've written if I'm completely honest. 😅

But as always stay tuned! Same bat-time, same bat-channel!

And Happy 25th Anniversary Cassandra Cain!

#cassandra cain #batgirl #dc comics

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drunkenskunk · 7 months ago

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Welcome to another Drunk Skunk™ rant!

So.

I've had some time to sit and stew on the Fallout show, and I think I've finally figured out exactly what I want to say. Because kids? I got Opinions™ about this fucking series. I sincerely wish I didn't have all these Opinions™, because that would almost certainly cause me significantly less stress.

But here we are.

The Fallout show annoys me, but not for the reasons you think.

Let's get the good out of the way first. And by "good" I mean "damning with faint praise."

The Fallout show, as a piece of entertainment and experienced in a vacuum with no prior knowledge or context of the rest of the series or any of the other video games, is... fine. It's an entertaining television show. It's not great, but it's not terrible. It's okay.

The best part of the show is, unquestionably, Walton Goggins. Which is probably the coldest take here, everyone agrees that he's fantastic in this. And it's true! Granted, he doesn't look nearly as gnarly as he should, as the makeup is really giving Ryan Reynolds Deadpool Hugo Weaving Red Skull vibes, but I can honestly give that a pass. He steals every single scene he's in. He has all the best lines. Plus, all the pre-war flashbacks with him are excellent. That first scene when the bombs drop is fucking harrowing.

SPEAKING OF THE BOMBS!

The big reveal that Vault Tec were the ones to kickstart the apocalypse. My initial gut reaction to that was... Not Great. I didn't like it. In fact, I kinda hated it. I thought it was an answer to a question that nobody asked, because nobody cared, because it was never supposed to matter who shot first. The original point was that the end of the world was the inevitable outcome after so many years of war, so many years of stockpiling nuclear weapons, and so many bad decisions from everyone in positions of power on all sides of the conflict.

But the more I think about Vault Tec being the ones to destroy the world... I dunno, the more I... kinda like it? In a fashion. Sort of. As you can see by the remaining length of this fucking rant, I have Complicated Feelings about this!

See, Fallout has never exactly been subtle with its themes, but the show drops all pretense, and openly embraces a staunchly (and honestly, extremely surprising) anti-capitalist narrative.

The Fallout show pulls a Garth Marenghi unironically, and it honestly... kinda works?

Vault Tec were the ones to drop the bombs because they wanted to recreate the world in their image of a capitalist "paradise" free of any and all government regulation. The inevitable end result of the "great game" of capitalism is the literal end of the world, and the capitalists will do everything they can to destroy any attempts to rebuild any civilization not explicitly under their direct control. Because that's what capitalists do: they pursue an ultimately self-destructive goal that is not, and never was, sustainable, and will destroy everything else in their pursuit of endless, infinite, exponential growth, forever. Nothing else matters except Make Number Line Go Up.

Side note: it is extremely funny to me that Bethesda - a hollow shell of greed and excess who have been releasing the same game with different wallpapers over and over again since Oblivion - and Amazon - which is fucking Amazon - bankrolled a show where the villains are greedy capitalists who explicitly destroyed the world because of fiduciary duty to the shareholders. Like... guys, you do realize you two are Vault Tec in this scenario, right?

Ah well. That's capitalist realism for ya.

Anyway, the more I think about it, the more sense it makes that Vault Tec were the ones to drop the bombs.

HOWEVER.

Maybe this is just me being a cynical, drunken asshole here, but... it feels like this was a decision that was made, not because it was the best way to take the narrative, but instead as a means of enforcing the Status Quo of Bethesda Fallout.

See, the thing I liked about the west coast Fallout games was that it showed a world ravaged by the apocalypse, but it also showed that world beginning to heal. 200 years after The End, and civilization was returning. It was a natural evolution of things, emphasizing the post part of "post-apocalypse." It showed us a world that really sucked a lot of the time... but also gave us a small sliver of hope that, no matter what nightmares existed after The End, things could - and would - get better, so long as we put in the work to make it better. It was a world that showed us that nothing was ever so broken that it couldn't be repaired. We just had to fucking EARN that happy ending.

Bethesda Fallout, on the other hand, is just Wacky Wasteland Adventure Time. They are not interested in showing a world evolving or changing or growing, they just want a blasted hellscape that looks like it was freshly nuked yesterday. Why? Because that's the surface-level Aesthetic of Fallout. That is what is recognizable. And Aesthetic is all they know how to do. That's the mother fucking Brand.

Doing something different would risk changing the Brand, and if that kind of change happens, then it's no longer easily marketable. So they just keep with what's familiar: freshly irradiated hellscapes, caps as currency, makeshift weapons, psychotic raiders with no purpose or goals beyond Fuck You, and more of the fucking Brotherhood of Steel. It's all the stuff we remember, so we can point at the screen and go "I recognize that!" instead of allowing the setting to evolve and creating something new.

And that's what annoys me the most. Because even though Vault Tec destroying the world in 2077 makes a certain amount of sense, it also feels like it only exists as a means of artificially enforcing the status quo of the setting. Which means that nothing will ever matter in Fallout ever again. It doesn't matter what happens, or what changes in the future, or who wins the next ideological conflict between the same factions that keep reappearing over and over again like radroaches. Because whenever something strays too far from the established setting, Vault Tec (or, more accurately, Bethesda) is just going to nuke it again, like what happened to Shady Sands.

And, y'know, Shady Sands getting nuked like that really does rankle. Not because I ever had any attachment to the NCR, but because destroying it in the way that they did just felt so fucking lazy. If they wanted to get rid of the NCR, there were easily half a dozen other things they could've done that would've made far more sense. The NCR was a fantastically corrupt government, making the same mistakes as the same governments that (up until the show) were responsible for destroying the world. California was running out of food and clean drinking water because of gross negligence and mismanagement, public unrest was high because of excessive taxation and the "stop tolls" of corrupt border guards shaking down people, and both the military and bureaucracy of the NCR was spread fucking paper-thin, due to their policies of violent imperialist expansionism trying to take far more territory than they could reasonably hold, far more quickly than they could ever manage.

And did any of that matter? No. Not at all. Pursuing any of those plot threads would've required the writers to actually come up with some new ideas. So, instead, it was destroyed because of a cryogenically frozen Vault Tec middle manager with family problems. It was such a fucking lazy solution to a problem that should never have existed in the first place. It felt like the Fallout equivalent of "Somehow, Palpatine has returned."

That's why this show annoys me so much. Because this show that exists without subtlety or subtext, is telling us, to our face:

Don't hope for a better future, because it will never come. The world of Fallout is a destroyed, irradiated hellscape, entirely devoid of hope, and it will never, ever change, ever again.

Because that's the Fallout Brand, and that's what fucking sells.

#drunk skunk rant #Fallout #fallout show #fallout tv show #fallout show spoilers #it took me three hours to write this #what the hell am I doing with my life

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