#bc no one else treats him that way. like. even like... howdy keeps up an amicable pretense

[carnivalcarriondiscarded]

What’s up with the ties between Sally & Eddie?

There are quite a few - to the point where I’m starting to suspect that they may be foils, or at least inherently tied together in the story.

First let's bring things back to the clocks. The “day” side has an obvious resemblance to Sally, like how the “night” side resembles Eddie. There’s not really much I can say here since we don’t know much more yet, and who knows if this has changed behind the scenes. But just think about that, the rarity of the color purple, night vs day, and the “monster”. Keep it in your head, I think it may be important. 

Also the fact that Eddie is the only one with a watch, but Sally’s face has an incredibly similar face on her door.

Obviously Sally has some sort of beef with Eddie, despite him being nothing but friendly and (to our knowledge) being undeserving of it. One thought I entertained was “maybe Sally is dismissive of him because he’s a worker,” but that holds zero water when you consider how perfectly friendly Sally was with Howdy (karen Sally debunked <3). The second thought I had was “maybe Sally senses the queer in Eddie and it intimidates her” - which would make sense if Sally is a lesbian like I suspect. Internalized homophobia, anyone? This holds up if Eddie is going to turn out to be - not open about himself, but comfortable in his skin in a way that, say, Frank isn’t. Which I have a feeling that will be the case, which would likely make Sally put on airs even more so than usual. 

Anyone else seeing a continuous trend of (social) masks and performances unfolding in the Neighborhood? I sure am.

But let’s talk about why I think they might be foils. They balance each other out in an interesting way, despite their only solid similarity being that Both will work/perform no matter the weather. They have a lot of closely related differences:

Eddie has been mentioned (and implied within the story so far) to have a deeper well of knowledge than he lets on, but acts humble about it. Sally has been mentioned (and implied) to know less than she portrays, but acts like a bit of a know-it-all - she pretends to know things that she doesn’t. 

Eddie’s role is about helping others at his own expense, while Sally’s is using others to reach fame. 

Eddie strives to connect with his Neighbors and is all about accuracy/precision. Sally is in her own little world and has proved to be more than willing to improvise / not think things through before acting.

Eddie is slow to anger, and Sally is easily irritated. 

Selfless vs Selfish.

Night vs Day. 

And to put them in the Johari Window - i believe that Sally resides in the Blind Spot (known to others, not known to self), and Eddie resides in either the Facade (not known to others, known to self) OR the Unknown (not known to others, not known to self). Personally I’m starting to believe that Eddie may reside in both. 

It’s far too early to draw any real conclusions, and theorizing on all of this is difficult. I feel as though - as usual - we have puzzle pieces but no frame of reference for the way they fit together, what picture they build. And who knows, tomorrow’s update may shred this to ribbons, but I doubt it. 

One thought I had was that they’re in cahoots about something - it doesn’t have to be something malicious or some sort of secret plot, it could simply be something they both know and are trying to keep quiet about. Eddie is trying to connect with Sally since they have this in common, but Sally is actively putting distance between them to preserve their secret / plausible deniability. Do I actually believe this? Meh. I’m just throwing spaghetti at the wall to see what sticks.

So current base thoughts: Sally is dismissive of Eddie either because he intimidates/scares her on an internalized level, or she’s actively trying to put distance between them for a currently unknown reason. There’s probably a secret third option I haven’t even considered!

[ragecndybars]

Keeping the sees train rolling; what kind of video games is each member's favorite you think?

ohohoho >:3 thank you for asking because i have Opinions on this matter

minato: hm once again a slight cop out answer because of the hermit social link, but i do think he's an MMO player. despite having fully convinced himself that he's antisocial, he in fact loves playing with other people, but like, for long periods of time not just in short online matches yknow? though he would run his party like he runs his team in tartarus and would probably scare off some players who are a little less intense than he is ahsflkjhsdf, but once he found his People they would love this funky little guy who treats the game like its a real life fight to the death

kotone: open world adventure games!! particularly the ones that have lots going on in their worlds, rather than just, yknow. large maps without much going on. i think she'd love running around just collecting sidequests and weird items and getting super attached to various unimportant side characters who have like 5 lines of dialogue total and 3 of them are just "howdy there", "what's up?" and "until next time."

yukari: i don't see her as one to sit down and play for a really long period of time or play religiously every day, so i think more ""casual"" games that she can play with friends are her faves. not just party games but games like minecraft that she can just hang out and mess around in with her buddies (disclaimer i havent played minecraft for more than like an hour sorry if its actually super hard and i just dont know)

junpei: i think he plays pretty widely but has a particular fondness for RPGs. he definitely likes a game that's not too hard or demanding, but makes him feel super cool and gives him a big dopamine hit. probably not a huge fan of most multiplayer games because he's a bit of a sore loser? but he likes super casual party-type games like mario kart and stuff bc its hard to get mad playing them.

akihiko: soulsborne-like games. i know many many games get compared to soulsborne games but what i mean here is: games with a very high skill ceiling that reward your practice and composure by making you feel like the bossest bitch alive when you finally succeed. i think he'd get really sucked into them. but i think he would prefer singleplayer games like dark souls over, say, fighting games

mitsuru: the game needs to have some kind of tangible measure of success because she is going to fucking Succeed in it. she is going to get One Million Billion points. she is going to rack up All The Gold. she is going to get Every Item. i actually think she likes "casual" style games like yukari does, but she does not play them in a casual manner At Fucking All. if she's playing minecraft she has fifty chests full of diamonds while everyone else is still building dirt houses

fuuka: rhythm game fan spotted. someone walks in while she's about to full combo a hard song on sadistic difficulty and she makes the absolute most angry sound anyone has ever heard her make (an insistent "SHHHH!") and then ten seconds later after she's won the song she doesn't even apologize, she was so in the zone she didn't even realize she was acting in a way that would usually mortify her. its the autism btw

aigis: i wanna say she likes visual novels and strategy games. i think she would be absolutely enraptured by a good enough visual novel (although she would be a bit perplexed by them at first), and a strategy game i think would tickle her brain in the right way to make her feel satisfied without becoming monotonous or a slog (which i think would be her experience with action games--they would be very rote and unfun to her because fighting is like Baked Into Her Code so they don't really feel like recreation).

ken: call of duty player. KIDDING i see him as a fan of older arcade style games. he probably unironically says he was born in the wrong generation bc he prefers galaga to cod or whatever. he likes games where you can rack up a big high score. kind of similar to mitsuru in that regard.

shinjiro: probably not a huge player but kotone introduces him to simulation games (farming sims and animal crossing in particular) and he gets obsessed with them. but he absolutely refuses to admit it to most people because he has a reputation to uphold dammit. the only people who get to know are the protags (they're nosy af), akihiko (also nosy and also they're kind of attached at the hip so it was inevitable), ken (shinji can't lie to him), and aigis (koromaru is a snitch)

[indulgnces]

hi howdy hello!! i go by jess and this is my first time playing my sweet bb girl, so i’m pumped! more about my girl audrey below the cut!

❛  ( SARAH JEFFERY )  ◈  dude, shut up ! AUDREY ROSE from DESCENDANTS is on screen. their fans swear they’re just DETERMINED & OUTGOING, but we’ve all seen their JEALOUS & STUBBORN side ! according to TRUMAN WIKIA, they’re TWENTY-ONE years old, BISEXUAL, & identify as CISFEMALE ( SHE/HER ). they’re currently a STUDENT & are RELIEVED about life in truman. luckily they have HER DIARY & HER SONGBIRD NECKLACE with them & can visit THE FAIRY COTTAGE whenever they want. penned by JESS.

sooooooooo confession: i’ve never watched a descendants movie from start to finish 😬 I know! crazy considering I’m playing a character from the movies, but like, have you guys ever seen a character and just be like wOW, that is My Type of character? cause that’s what happened with audrey. descendants 3 came out and was trending, and I checked the tag and like was 👀👀👀 to audrey to the point that I watched queen of mean and got HOOKED. caught a replay of the movie and watched all the audrey parts while skipping over the rest. since then I’ve been in love with my girl and she’s been on my mind so much that I’m returning to rp after a small break to play my girl. In preparation I skimmed through descendants 1 & 3, and adurey’s youtube short story so I’m good to GO. 

CANON LIFE

“A lifetime of plans, gone. Our family status, gone. Audrey, you were supposed to be his Queen, and you let him slip through your fingers. Your mother could hold onto a prince in her sleep.” 

daughter of sleeping beauty and prince phillip, princess audrey has been groomed since she was a child by her grandmother to become the queen of auradon. she’d been friends with prince ben since she was a child, and was expected to marry him when she got older.

grew up used to the finer things of life, and as such, audrey was a bit self-absorbed and spoiled. became the most popular girl in school due to her status and beauty. was cheer captain. finally became romantically involved with ben at some point in high school. life was going exactly as planned. 

then ben decided to invite 4 villain kids (vks) from the isle of the lost to auradon, and everything went to shit. the stark black and white, good vs. evil mentality was deeply ingrained in audrey’s psyche, so she was very much AGAINST the idea of any isle kids coming over. convinced the vks were up to no good, she never warmed up to the them, and bullied them (mostly mal) at times. and you know what? she was RIGHT

mal used a love potion to steal her boyfriend, who then humiliated audrey by serenading mal during a tourney match, where audrey was cheering at. no one gave two shits though?? or suspected foul play at all?? they just cheered and were like “ah, cool! our soon-to-be-king has suddenly declared his love for this new vk who’s only been here for a few days! how awesome and totally natural !! “

audrey was still plenty popular by the end of the movie, but her fairy godmothers decided to treat adurey to a spa trip, which turned into an extended trip that required her needing summer school bc she missed so much school (aka why she was absent for descendants 2)

by the time audrey came back in descendants 3, everyone was ALL up mal’s ass crack. ben proposed to mal in front of everyone, serenading her with the SAME song he did in the first movie when he ceremoniously proclaimed his love for mal while simultaneously dumping audrey, and everyone cheered AGAIN for their union. damn thing broke audrey’s whole ass heart. on top of that, her grandmother chastised audrey for her failures in securing ben and basically failing the family. 

she also lost her status come d3??? like, at the end of d1, she was still cool as fuck. but come d3 girl is not even being invited to her friend’s birthday parties anymore?? she has no friends?? no one gives two shits about how she must be dealing with everything? and wow does that not help things at all.

that night, in her loneliness and anger, audrey decided to steal the queen’s crown from the artifacts museum. it was a petty thing. she was hurt, and just did NOT want to see the crown she’d envisioned as her own for all her life be placed on mal’s head. she didn’t have a goal beyond taking the crown. however, when she went to the museum, maleficent’s scepter sensed audrey’s emotions and desires for revenge, and revealed itself to her. it’s glow lured audrey to it, fed into her emotions, and bing bang boom, audrey became the ultra fabulous QUEEN OF MEAN 

under the scepter's influence, she put half of auradon under a sleeping spell, the other half she turned to stone, then she made ben a beast after he rejected her, and made mal an ugly old hag. she was foiled at the end by mal, and ended up falling under a sleeping curse as a result. with no True Love’s Kiss to awaken her (rip), the heroes ended up getting Hades to use his magic to wake her up.

at the end, she apologizes for her crimes & her emotions were finally acknowledged when mal and ben stepped up and apologized for their inconsiderate past actions to audrey (wELL, they never actually apologize?? they say ‘I owe you an apology” but both don’t like actually say sorry, and that’s 100% something audrey has noticed for sure). she celebrates at the end with everyone else when the barrier is brought down and is last seen dancing with harry hook 

POST CANON

totally headcanon that she’s still not 100% happy as she’s shown in the end while dancing around okay

she’s STILL lonely!! she STILL wants those apologies!! she’s STILL lost about what to do with her future now that her whole life plan has blown up in smokes. she’s HURT okay. her friends? abandoned her! ben? abandoned her! that one hurts the most bc after spotting that pic of audrey/ben as children together, I 100% hc that they have been best buds for years before falling into a relationship. and while it’s clear ben was not really ~in love~ with audrey ( i image they ended up getting together bc it was just Expected yknow?), audrey still had feelings for ben. even if it wasn’t true love (she def wasn’t In Love tho she thought she was), she did still love ben. he was her best friend, and the fact that he never came around to apologize to her for humiliating her the way he did after the love spell broke HURT. 

also hc that she had to take a remedial goodness class following her stunt 

the ending given to her is life a brief showing of her and harry hook smiling at each other all soft like before dancing, which like, i’m game for, but in terms of her actual future, audrey was trying to figure out just how to do life moving forward following everything

TRUMAN

“Tell me it was all a bad dream.”

yeah so I said audrey was relieved about her life in truman? 100000% true!

her life was incredibly sad and lonely before, so convincing her that all that shit was all just a bad dream was an incredibly easy thing to do for the descendants actors okay (im sad for her bc of this tbh)

her life as she knows it: she still comes from a family of high status and money. not technically a princess, but she sure does act like one. believes she was born and raised in truman, but was sent to boarding school at auradon prep since she was a child, where she thrived and grew into a typical Popular Girl (head of cheer team/one of the most beautiful girls), before returning to truman after graduating. basically she believes she had the same perfect life she had before in canon, minus the vks, ben, and the whole fairy tale/royalty stuff (basically everything that ruined that perfect life).

all that other extra stuff, including going all queen of mean and losing ben and being drop kicked by literally everyone, is just POOF, fuzzy memories, bad vivid horror story nightmares! every now and then she’ll witness an engagement, or spot a serenade, and it’ll trigger an overwhelming sense of sadness, but for the most part, she’s content putting her life behind her. her new life is a much happier one. that could totally change once she starts encountering people from her past life again.

only really recognizes her family members as family members, and maybe recognizes some past auradon friends (maybe chad charming as her ex since he’s the only one who didn’t totally abandon her rip)

since “returning” to truman, she’s entered university on the island. she wasn’t sure where she was going with life, but she knew she’s always been really good at drawing and really good at event planning. so in uni, she decided to keep her artistic talents as a hobby and pursue a career in event planning. in pursuit of this, she’s a senior at college, majoring in hospitality management.

PERSONALITY

positive: determined, headstrong, outgoing, self-assured, polite, moral, dedicated 

negative: jealous, stubborn, demanding, bossy, petty, close-minded, seemingly mean (tho she doesn’t consider herself mean, okay? she just can come off as mean/rude)

CANON CONNECTIONS

ben & mal: need them both bc they are the ones who hurt her the most so i’d loooooove to play out these dynamics in truman!! they’d be the most Triggering faces for her 

jay & harry & chad & uma: underrated audrey ships i’d love to play out bc literally crumbs are given to the majority of these dynamics, and so I want to just...explore them?? three of these 4 are vks and 2 of those 3 are people audrey actively pursued in some sort of ~connection~ at the end of the movies when the Couples got together, and she did that even tho she is very Moral and has confusing feelings about vks, and i just wanna know more!! 

TRUMAN CONNECTIONS

yeah this is getting long, so I’m planning on posting a whole separate post in the truman plot tag for these wanted connections! 

and yeah! that’s everything on my girl! if you’ve made it this far, you’re the best my dudes!! I’m gonna be on mobile for a good portion of the day before coming on at night, but if you’d like to do any kind of plotting with my girl, just go ahead and hit that like button, and I’ll slide in y’alls dms! ♥

[moony-balloons]

Oh hey yeah I was gonna make a “what is up with me lately” post so here it finally is! Under a cut bc I don’t know how long it’s gonna be.

So! Firstly, I have a job. I work full time as a cashier at a grocery store, a major chain one BUT it’s part of a smallish franchise owned by a dude who is very nice and community focused, and we’re treated very well so no complaints on that front. I didn’t -actually- want full time for “I have no energy as it is and will not get anything done towards finding a Degree Relevant job if I am spending literally all of my energy at my current job” but my parents were not real receptive to that? So when I was interviewing and the manager asked me if I wanted full time or part time I said I’d take whatever and they put me on as full time bc boy howdy do they need people. Also honestly tbh I don’t mind making that full-time dough, could use the money to build my savings back up and start paying down my student loans faster / buy myself some of the things I’ve been putting off for forever and a day bc “well it’s not ESSENTIAL and I don’t have a job so lol”. I’ve been there for around..... 6 weeks? 2 months? Somewhere in there, and the Exhaustion from working on my feet 8 hours a day every day is reducing as my body gets used to it so I may be able to start getting things done again, aside from the small organizational irl things I’ve been picking away at bc those just make my life and my brain and everything feel cleaner. Clean is good yknow? And my mom’s house is pretty cluttered (less cluttered than her parents admittedly so step in the right direction, but lordy) so wanting my room to at least be neat is nice.

But yeah, on the topic of getting things done for job searching? The troubles I’ve been having, as always, are that I feel like 1) I need to do Everything Right Now bc I want to get a job that utilizes my degree, but that is overwhelming, so I feel like 2) I should take things a bit at a time bc that is the solution to things being overwhelming but that is Not Good Enough Or Fast Enough bc I should be there Now so as a result of those two things clashing I often just end up doing nothing? Which is even worse than moving too slowly, but? With the fact that I don’t have a clearly quantifiable end point in mind with my “I gotta learn x, y and z languages/skills well enough to be able to get a job” goal, I always feel like I am wasting time when I chip away at it bc, oh, maybe THIS skill isn’t important and my time would be better spent learning THIS instead, or maybe no one even does things THIS way anymore and it’s dumb to even learn it bc I will have to learn a different way anyway. Or other such nonsense and basically what I am getting is that my attempts to learn these things keep failing in part bc I am too damn vague and I can’t feel like I am making progress towards my goal if I can’t quantify what my goal IS, or at what pace I “should” be moving towards it. So I plan to try and.... set things up more like as if I was in school? Like give myself deadlines and homework and reading assignments and shit lmao, and see if that works. I also have to remember what the therapist said when I was speaking to him a while ago when I was first starting medication, which was.... I was having this same issue, and he asks me why I feel like I’m not moving fast enough and it’s because I feel like more is expected of me, by both my family and by society in general, and he’s like well basically fuck what they think, you move at whatever pace you can (in much nicer terms obv lmao). And I gotta like, write that on my forehead in sharpie bc that is the thing to remember, getting there more slowly than someone else is fine if that is what I am capable of and it sure as shit beats giving up and never getting there at all.

But I did have a mental health slump recently bc, well, it doesn’t feel great to have a bachelor’s degree and still be doing retail stuff, and getting turned down by countless actual tech jobs in the meantime. Being rejected by the most recent one hurt the most because it was one of those “oh we’re looking for more of a personality fit than a skills fit!” type positions, and it was an internship (a new position they were still in the process of working out even what that entailed, but even so) and they liked my personality and invited me to take a skills test...... and I didn’t complete it in time, and they were basically like uh yeah we’re gonna pass. Like, not looking as much for a skills match but my skills disqualified me anyway. And then on top of that! The weekend before last I went to help my grandpa put in his new air conditioner (he still uses the kind you have to mount in a window) and he had a nice snide comment about “6 years at [school] and all you can say is, do you want fries with that” which, A, 4 and a half years, thanks, but also B, can you not??? He’s very much of the opinion that college is a waste of time and computers are on their way out and have overstayed their welcome and I should learn a SKILL (anything that doesn’t result in physically building something with your hands is not a skill in his book) bc only people with SKILLS are useful/valuable/etc. I know that he’s wrong about that and that his “if it wouldn’t help you in the apocalypse then it’s dumb and not worth knowing” attitude is not anywhere near the norm, but the fact that it echoes the insecurities I already have about myself re: being dumb and useless just made it REALLY hit home. Bc like...... idk. I can combat my own bad things I think about myself with, well yeah, you have depression and are definitely not as bad as you think you are, you’re just looking at yourself with poop-tinted glasses bc mental illness. But if someone ELSE says it, well, clearly they must be right! Which is dumb af but that’s what my brain does. BUT after spending time with my very pissy grandpa I went over to my dad’s house and got to pet my dog a lot and Dad made burgers on the grill which was excellent (my stepdad considers himself a grillmaster but honestly tbh keep this a goddamn secret but I like my dad’s burgers better) and they showed me the house they bought, which has 4 bedrooms and would theoretically have space for me to stay with them should I ever need it, unlike their current house which is small af and causes some inconveniences if I end up having to stay the night lol. Also the new house has a fireplace and a loft area above the living room which I am SO sure their cats are gonna love.

Artwise I’m in a similar spot to where I am career-wise, which is “I would love to do a fancy finished detailed thing but I definitely won’t have the energy to actually do it to my satisfaction so I should work on just practicing little things but that is not good enough and I have to be able to do awesome cool things right now” and the fact that I don’t have a good, comfortable drawing space doesn’t help. I keep meaning to work on it and I do believe that in bits and pieces, I will, it’s just one of those things where I want to draw and then if I do start, I immediately hate it and want to stop, and lately haven’t had the energy to push through it. XD Just weh.

[beeapocalypse]

whats up lads this is long as hell and its abt if lucky (dumbass ncr courier not really courier) was a fo:nv companion under the cut bc i dont want 2 clutter dashes :^)

Affiliation: NCR (May not agree w all of their ideal but hes been treated well enough with them that hes got a loyalty)

Role: NCR sergeant, companion

Location: Around and about the Mojave outpost, typically near knight

Base SPECIAL: S- 5 P- 8 E- 6 C- 7 I- 5 A- 8 L- 2

Tagged skills: Guns, repair, and lockpick

Perks: Confirmed Bachelor (ghhhjsjhdh), Friendly Disposition, (OPTIONAL) Buckeye Brilliance, (OPTIONAL) Hollister History

Lucky can be met at the Mojave outpost in three different locations (the bar sitting near Lucy, patrolling outside near the car scrap, or in the headquarters leaning on Knight’s desk). Where he is encountered will impact the initial dialogue you have with him. 

When in the bar, he’ll remark that he’s got nothing else to do and asks if the courier would be interested in a game of caravan. If refused, he’ll politely wave them off and go back to his drink. This renders it impossible to get him as a companion until he either changes places or a full 24 hours passes. It doesn’t matter if the courier wins or loses the caravan game, it will bring him into the universal dialogue for recruiting him. 

When patrolling, Lucky will cheerfully greet the courier and ask for their help in getting a bit of an engine torn out of a broken up car. This requires passing a repair check of 25, and afterwards he will explain that he’s working on a motorcycle prototype after the last one suffered a ‘tragic accident’ (one of his responses to a further question when asking about himself, Lucky will explain that he accidentally crashed the last prototype into a small Legion patrol, earning him a promotion). If the repair check is failed, it will be rendered impossible to get him as a companion until he either changes places or a full 24 hours passes. If the check is passed, it will bring him into the universal dialogue for recruiting him.

When hanging out with Major Knight, the courier must first speak with Knight (only if they haven’t at all before, if initial dialogue with him is completed Lucky will be available for conversation). Afterwards, Lucky will greet the courier and ask for a favor. Giving them 80 caps and a weathered service rifle, he claims that he accidentally dropped a hunk of metal on it and Knight’s banned him from repairs after he almost blew himself up with a jury rigged engine. If the courier refuses to do the favor, Lucky will claim that he’ll get the ‘pissed looking redhead at the bar’ to do it for him, rendering it impossible to get him as a companion until he either changes places or a full 24 hours passes. If the favor is done,  it will bring him into the universal dialogue for recruiting him.

After any of the three things above are completed, Lucky will be able to be initiated with the dialogue for recruiting him. The courier has a chance to ask him about the slow conditions at the Outpost and his boredom around the place, eventually recommending getting out and about the place. Lucky mentions how he’s been wracking up days off since he’s always at work, and that a word with Ranger Jackson might be able to get a word in for him. Lucky expresses that he would be fine with travelling around with the courier since they seem like the adventuresome sort and has already helped him out. If a speech check of 35 is passed or a barter check of 25 and 100 caps are paid to Ranger Jackson, Lucky will be allowed to leave and accompany the courier.

Companion Perk: Friendly Disposition- Lucky has a smile and a ‘howdy’ for anyone, willing to listen or not. While Lucky is a companion, the player receives a bonus to speech and barter checks.

Companion Perk after Personal Quest (if made sure of violence being a solution): Sergeant Shoot First, Ask Never- Lucky’s seen the value in violence, even if it doesn’t calm the doubt in his heart. Lucky gains a higher damage threshold and deals 20% more damage.

Companion Perk after Personal Quest (if made to see that questioning his faction is fine): Hollister History- Lucky has some tricks of the past that he’s putting to use again, qualms be damned. While Lucky is a companion, the player receives a bonus in V.A.T.S accuracy and limb crippling.

Companion Comments:

Use Melee: “I might have some meat on my bones from workin’, but I don’t think that’s gonna do any good.” “You sure ‘bout that? I’m a mighty good shot, would hate to waste it.”

Use Ranged: “Time to put ol’ Betsy to work then!” “Right, was hopin’ for some target practice.”

Open inventory: “Just keep your hands off of my caravan deck and we’re all good, partner.” [if male courier] “{teasing} Sure hope you ain’t ‘bout to ask me to hold your hand.”

Stay close: “Getting awfully cozy, partner.” [if male courier] “You trying to tell me something here partner? Not that I mind, ‘course.”

Keep distance: “Aw, don’t wanna hear me yap anymore?” “If you wanted me to shut my trap you could’ve just asked.” 

Be Passive: “Hope you know this never lasts long in the Mojave, partner.” “Sure then, gives me time to clean up ol’ Betsy.”

Be Aggressive: “Won’t find me complainin’ ‘bout this!” “I’ve got your back if you’re lookin’ to start trouble.”

Wait here: “Righty-o, I’ll hold this place down tight.” [if male courier] “As long as you make sure to watch your own back, sweetheart.”

Follow me: “I was just about to finish working out some problem in my head and now you come calling?”

Sneaking: “Clever thought. Look where you’re stepping.”

“Let’s travel together”: “Its been getting dull ‘round here, I was missing the life you brought!” [if male courier] “Aw, we headed out for a date? Next you’ll be bringing me broc flowers.”

“Let’s travel together” (already have a companion): “Partner, as much as I love running ‘round with you, its getting a little crowded.”

Leaving companion at the Lucky 38: “You’re going to leave me here? Creepy robot lair with a grudge against the NCR?” 

“I wanted to ask you some questions”: “Alright, I’ve been itching for some chatter.” “Oh, we playing 20 questions?” “Ask away, nothing better than a little conversation to kill the time.”

“Tell me about yourself”: “Who, me? Sergeant Lucky Hollister, spent most of my real life dicking ‘round with broke down car parts at the Outpost. I don’t got any interesting stories, was a caravan kid and wasted time ‘til i enlisted in the NCR.”

“Tell me about yourself” post buckeye brilliance: “I just about spilled all of my guts to you already, partner. A dumb caravan kid who got caught up in some bad shit and enlisted as a last ditch effort for a future. Same old Mojave sob story as any other private.” 

“What do you think of the NCR?”: “Me? The NCR sergeant? Hell, I think they’re great, and that ain’t just the propaganda gettin’ to me. They took me in as a kid and gave me a purpose. Though I suppose they’re wrong on some standings...”

“What do you think of the Legion?”: “I didn’t just enlist to get a new life, I’ll tell you that much. Buncha reeking pigs thinkin’ that they know best, since they’ve got some baldy with a few burnt up books on their side. You know what we’ve got? Actual civilization. None of that football gear and crucifixion horseshit.”

“What do you think of the Legion?” post buckeye brilliance: “I’ve seen how they work, you know that. That shit ain’t pretty, the cult they’ve got for that Caesar. Strips away any humanity that might’ve been in those legionaries at some point. The shit they do to the kids... I’ll be the first to spit on that Caesar fuck’s grave, I’ll tell you that.”

“What do you think of Mister House?”: “A monument of the past that thinks he’s got kickin’ power in the present. The man’s got to learn that this ain’t the pre-war world that he loved and cherished if he wants to help out the Mojave in any way.”

.“What do you know about Benny?”: “Impractical as hell and just as cocky, from what I’ve heard. I’d watch my caps ‘round him if I were you.”

“What do you know about the platinum chip?”: “Pretty as hell, I’ll give it that. I don’t know a damn about what you’re supposed to do with it though. Not play poker?”

Death: “Not... Yet...” “Oh hell, is that... Blood..?”

Trivia and additional information:

Refers to a male courier with terms of endearment such as ‘sweetheart’ and ‘buttercup’ whether or not they’ve got the confirmed bachelor perk. Can be flirted with using confirmed bachelor, making Lucky suddenly bashful at the reciprocation. 

Can have either confirmed bachelor or cherchez la femme used to console him w solidarity when prodded deeper to see what his misgivings w the NCR are (beyond the political corruption, he’ll talk abt how its not all that accepting and him+one of his buddies at the mojave outpost (knight, although he wont out the major) dont agree w it)

Will comment on Boone’s presence if near him as a companion or not (”Well damn! Its a fine pleasure seeing a 1st Recon out here!” “Thank you kindly for all you’ve done, sir. Always got an eye in the sky on our boys because of you.”)

Comments on too high of a reputation with the legion w concern, warning the courier to not get too pulled into things and that its like quicksand (hinting at his buckeye brilliance quest, afterwards he will express more outwards disapproval). 

Will make comments when entering NCR areas such as McCarran or Forlorn hope specific to those areas.

Will warn the courier if he sees them killing NCR soldiers that he won’t stand for it. If the courier continues or gets a low enough reputation with the NCR, Lucky will become hostile.

Wears NCR mantle armor and a rawhide cowboy hat for armor (can wear armor besides his NCR uniform, but not other faction uniforms).

Wields a service rifle and combat knife as his weapons.

Unmarked Quest: Lonely Mojave Knights

This unmarked quest starts when a courier uses Confirmed Bachelor on any character besides Major Knight while Lucky is a companion, or Cherchez La Femme. When dialogue is initiated with him, he makes a joke of them sharing at least one thing besides cooking under the sun in common and then sobers up to mention how he wishes the NCR was as accepting as the rest of the wasteland. When he says that him and one of his friends at the Outpost feel the same, the courier can guess who it is (narrowing it down to Knight with a comment of ‘We always flock together’, if they had seen Lucky with Knight before recruited without the need for any other guessing), until they have to pass a speech check of 20 to tell he is lying when he says it isn’t Knight. 

Lucky mentions how Knight deserves something for his hard work at the Outpost, leaving the courier to offer the suggestion of seeing if they could get him stationed at Vegas for a little bit. If this is taken, the courier must speak with Ranger Jackson and pass a speech check of 25 to get him to agree to Knight’s stationing before they got to speak to him. Knight, surprised by this, thanks the courier and Lucky and will be stationed at Vegas (often standing around with Billy Knight or in the Tops) for a full seven days. As thanks, Lucky will grant the courier the permanent Desert Solidarity perk, increasing the nerve and damage (10% more) of companions of the same gender.

Personal Quest- Buckeye Brilliance

Quest Triggers: Similar to Boone’s own personal quest, there’s actions that can be taken to earn points with Lucky that will go towards triggering his personal quest. Three of these need to be amassed. 

Convince Corporal Betsy to seek the help she needs. +1 point, Lucky will initiate dialogue where he praises the courier’s caring nature and willingness to help out someone they didn’t know much about.

Complete the quest ‘No, Not Much’. +2 points, Lucky will initiate dialogue where he compliments the courier on their willingness to help the camp despite the bad history that has gone down there.

Complete ‘I Forgot to Remember to Forget’, Lucky does not need to be an active companion. +2 points, the next time Lucky is chosen to be an active companion he will initiate dialogue thanking the courier for their actions and that, despite not knowing Boone real well himself, he’s glad they did that for the sniper. +3 points if the courier convinces Boone to make amends with his past. 

Complete any Mojave Outpost quest. +1 point, Lucky will initiate dialogue thanking the courier for looking out for where he was stationed.

After these three points are earned, Lucky will wait a full 24 hours before initiating dialogue with the courier (neutral or good karma is required as well, he will not initiate the dialogue with an evil courier and instead remain silent until a higher karma is achieved). He compliments them on their caring nature that he’s seen while travelling with them, as well as their willingness to look past the bad to see the good in people. 

Quest Description: Lucky requests that the courier comes with him to an outpost in the middle of nowhere, not specifying who’s there or for what reason besides that he wants to talk to them about his past there. The courier can refuse to do so on the grounds of being busy, causing Lucky to not mention it until another full 24 hours later. If the quest is put off three times, Lucky will comment on how it seems the courier doesn’t have time for much of anything and drop the subject. This will result in the quest being failed. 

If the courier agrees to listen to Lucky, he will mark the outpost, titled ‘Lucky’s Lookout’, on their map and admit that isn’t the real name of the outpost. The quest maker itself leads to a hill a small distance away from Lucky’s Lookout, not the outpost itself, and the courier must go there to further the quest.

Built in a defensive position covered by the nearby hills (sort of like the gully where there’s a bunch of radscorpions, cannot remember the name of it), it is impossible to clearly distinguish what type of outpost it is until the courier crests the hill that the quest marker is on. Lucky allows the courier a few moments of looking upon the legion camp, complete with a few crucifixes and a bonfire (he gives them binoculars wordlessly, adding them to the courier’s inventory), before starting to speak without initiating dialogue. 

Lucky: “Not the place you were expectin’, is it? It ain’t pretty. Brings up a whole lot of bad memories, I’ll tell you that.”

(Here, he will initiate dialogue with the courier)

Lucky: “I told you I enlisted with the NCR to get a new start, didn’t I? The wording might not be right, but the statement is. You’re looking at the old start right now.”

The courier is given options to question what Lucky means, leading to him revealing that, as a teenager, he ran from his family because of his shitty father and ended up stumbling directly into a legion patrol. Because of his attitude and determination (pointing the pistol he had managed to smuggle with him at one of the patrol without backing down when threatened), he was taken in. Lucky tells of how this all happened near where he was born, Buckeye, Arizona, and that he would’ve stayed there most likely if the conflict between the NCR and the Legion hadn’t started. 

He was trained how to be a legionnaire and sent off to the outpost he had led the courier to with a few conflicts already under his belt. Despite his older than typical age those stationed there saw a chance to use him as they would a child (like the child used against Ranger Andy). Lucky was sent, dressed in scavenger clothing, to where it was known there was a small patrol of NCR soldiers and tasked with leading them into an ambush through deceit and lying. Instead, he spilled out the truth to the first soldier he came across, one Captain Wallace (who can be found at the NCR checkpoint near Nelson and will comment on the presence of Lucky if he is a companion), and was taken in for questioning. 

Because of Captain Wallace standing up for him, Lucky was let off of an execution after telling all he could about the Legion. It was Wallace who extended the offer of enlistment and a new future to Lucky (while not mentioned by Lucky, speaking with Wallace shows that he acted much like a father figure to the young man as he settled into the NCR and his comments to Lucky when encountered show that).

After telling his story, Lucky will remain silent for a moment before saying that he’s been wanting to tell someone that for a while now and that he appreciates the courier’s listening. More questions can be asked to clarify parts of the story (such as his age, what he had done before being sent away from Buckeye, what it was like as a caravan kid), before the end of dialogue is met with a choice. Lucky will state that he feels as if he isn’t truly worthy of his rank or position in the NCR since he was Legion for a little whiles. While he wants to believe in the NCR, there are things that he disagrees with and that makes him think that the Legion had a bigger impact on him than he thought. 

Outcomes: The courier can either suggest that, since they’re already there, that the two of them might as well get some good old fashioned revenge. They brush off his concerns with stating that all he really needs is to kill off the bad of his past. Or, they can instead console him on his past and tell him that the NCR and the Legion isn’t a black and white issue, and that he’s just seeing the grey of what he’s aligned himself with. 

If the choice to lead to the slaughter of the outpost is made, Lucky will afterwards thank the courier for listening to him and his story. Although, he will comment that the blood and death didn’t make him feel that much better. The courier can either assure him that enough of it will, or brush it off. Either choice will lead to the same end of him becoming resolute in violence being the solution to complicated troubles and will earn the Sergeant Shoot First, Ask Never perk for himself.

If the choice to console him is made, Lucky will agree with the courier and say that he’s got a lot of thinking to do. This makes him more introspective of his past and his current alignments, earning him the Hollister History perk.

Endings

Convincing Lucky to be critical of the NCR [Eureka!]: As his fellow soldiers celebrated and tossed their covers in the air over the defeat of the Legion, lone sergeant Hollister harbored doubt in his heart and a burning in his gut. As the Republic established a firmer grip in the Mojave, Lucky slipped off from his post unnoticed and unremembered, disappearing into the heart of the desert.

Convincing Lucky that violence is a solution [Eureka!]: The NCR celebrated, and Lucky celebrated right alongside them. He redoubled his efforts to bring something special and new to the Republic that had taken him under his wing, seen by the men of his Outpost with a cheerful smile as he headed out for scrap that wasn’t so readily available. The sergeant was not seen again.

Convincing Lucky to be critical of the NCR [No Gods, No Masters]: The withdrawal of the NCR was a bitter thing to celebrate, but celebrate the ex-sergeant did. He never reported back to his commanding officer after the Battle of Hoover Dam, instead finding an unexpected joy in Freeside as a repairman. His days of soldiering and battle were put behind him.

Convincing Lucky that violence is a solution [No Gods, No Master OR All or Nothing]: Where others were celebrating, sergeant Lucky Hollister was polishing up his gun with a bitter burning. When he had pledged his allegiance to the courier, it was without thought. As the NCR began to trickle away, a new mercenary joined the streets of Freeside. 

Convincing Lucky to be critical of the NCR [Vendi, Vidi, Vici]: More a talker and tinkerer than an actual soldier, Lucky was left without much choice in the ruling state of the Legion than to call upon his past roots within. He remembered the codes of conduct and complexities of Buckeye, using his knowledge to get with a Legion caravan as a guard despite the dislike he carried still.

Convincing Lucky that violence is a solution [Vendi, Vidi, Vici]: While Lucky had reached the rank of sergeant through flukes and luck, he still had the knowledge of how to shoot and maintain a gun. Still wearing the NCR armor that had been his pride and joy, the man took up a short lived yet deadly campaign against the Legion. Striking from shadows with jury rigged silencers and living off of the lands, he eventually pawned off all but one of his bullets to afford as much whiskey as he could, and did the only thing that he thought could free him.

Lucky dies: No number of good natured smiles and polite greetings could keep the Mojave from chewing up and spitting out Lucky. He was quickly forgotten, not even a footnote in the history of the NCR despite the dreams he had carried for it.

[carnivalcarriondiscarded]

no ok @funonion001 you've made me So fucking unwell over this it needs its own post

bc i also used to be like "ah, the neighborhood's a panopticon and Home is the 'warden'" but recent updates & general things ive read changed my outlook entirely. cause like... if Home (the town) was a panopticon, then Home (the house) should be at the 'head' of it all, where they can view everything. but Home can't view everything directly - half the buildings are behind it.

however. i don't think the panopticon thing is entirely wrong, either. there's some truth in it? i'm pretty sure that the neighborhood is Home. it's like Home is the brain/eyes/heart, and everything else are nerve endings. there's this one piece of livestream trivia that i think of, in relation to Housewarming: "...everyone believes their houses are alive in their own special way". what if this is kind of literal? all of the buildings are extensions of Home, or Home is just the core of it all. one big living, breathing neighborhood. Home might not be able to see it all, but he might be able to feel it

and then yeah from the more abstract side of things - your phrasing of "all the other houses circle home" made me put my head in my hands. because there Are a lot of conclusions/interpretations of all of that. also that sentence makes me picture a pack of wolves circling in on a kill, which is. hng.

Home is caged in. Home is surrounded. Home is always being watched. Home is never not alone. everything leads back Home. Home is holding it all together.

and like... it reminds me of Clown once mentioning (loosely, im going off of memory here whose reliability is tenuous on a good day) that part of WH's story relates to the autistic experience / when does a home become a house / will your neighbors treat you differently once they see the authentic you. and that, at least to me and one of my experiences, relates to a feeling of being watched/judged every time i leave my house. or even when i'm by an open window - everywhere i can be Seen, it feels like everyone is keeping one eye on me. existing in public spaces feels like a performance. i'm hyper aware of every single movement i make and it makes me feel so inauthentic and fake and alien and its So So stressful/uncomfortable.

so that pov + Home (and by extension, Wally since they're kinda one in the same) = well! all of the above! can Wally ever relax outside of Home's four walls? they're all looking at him. the entire neighborhood surrounds him - he can't go anywhere without running into them (the buildings and the neighbors). there's no escaping their watch and/or judgement. it's as if Wally and Home are under constant surveillance, or at least it feels like it - which is half the problem. or it's the entire problem? the fear of possibility, not reality.

and then for a different (but also connected for obvi reasons) interpretation - Home and Wally are alone. they are Singular in the neighborhood. everyone else is next to each other, even the stores are paired. but Home stands alone in the middle of it all. which directly relates to Wally and Home being aware - and also together in whatever state the neighborhood is in at the time of the whrp's creation. in a town of neighbors, Home & Wally have none. and that can connect them being at the center of it all, holding their world together - or breaking it apart

also: on the neighborhood map, the path only ends at Home. it's a loop except for the bit leading up to Home's doorstep. where Howdy's Place & Eddie's Post Office are the path widens into one huge circle with no end. Walk the circuit, end up at Home. walk the entire perimeter, and you go nowhere. there isn't a path out, the path doesn't end at any of the buildings except Home. there's something in that, i think.

there's more in my brain but i can't quite reach it...