#can cait handle all that? absolutely not. that's why she should do it

[rotisseries]

my main thoughts about ambessa manipulating cait are that maybe they should fuck about it. the people want me dead for this

[aveadore]

Tumblr, hear out my Arcane thoughts. Some of it is slander, though, so don’t read if it’ll bum you out. In the end, I decided to go with one topic mostly, because I had too much to say.

Spoilers, obviously

Tw: suicide

The way the show handles suicide is SO irresponsible. Call it heroic sacrifice, if you must, but I won’t. The same song that played before, during Jinx’s attempts, played again, during her sacrifice, so the intention is clear.

Do they not realize that so many people that relate to Jinx in some ways are watching it? It’s like they are trying to say: “yes, your intrusive thoughts are right, you are better off not being there. It’s best for your loved ones, if you disappear.” So weird. And, fine, she’s probably not dead. But why hide it? Why not make her end be, openly: “sometimes, you can only heal if you cut everyone off and start anew” Fine. That would be way better. I just can’t believe that such a high profile show, in year 2024, uses suicide in such an irresponsible way. Makes it “cool” looking, gives vulnerable people a playlist, actually. Says “wait a minute, not yet”, and later LETS HER FINISH IT? Wft. Like it’s okay? Like it’s a good end for her?

Isha’s story is also part of this problem. I can’t believe her earlier end was not mentioned later. What was the point of it? Was it a good thing for a seven year old to sacrifice herself? You would think so, they way the show sidesteps the whole thing. The way Jinx is repeating what Isha had done, with no reflection on it. I also have no idea WHY Isha has done it. Was it a consequence of something someone else did, or said? Didn’t seem so. Jinx didn’t really fuck that one up, I think. I thought Isha was jinx’s foil, but it ended up not meaning anything. Was it going to show Jinx her own actions as a child, so she could find some empathy towards Vi? But Isha was not mentioned, so who knows what they were trying to say.

Summary of my other opinions, with no details as it’s too long already:

-I liked Victor and Jayce’s ending. Their relationship had enough time/buildup throughout the whole series to pull of the weight of it. It was a little bit rushed at times, but not as much as the rest of S2.

-I absolutely hated how they handled Cait, and she definitely ended up as my most disliked character.

-Mel was one of my favourites, but her story was the most rushed one is S2. I also wasn’t crazy happy that she also ended up mostly fighting at the end. I have no idea what the Black Rose lady was talking about with the whole empathy thing.

-I really liked episode 7, it was the best one from S2. Because they focused only on Ekko and Jayce, the story had time to breathe. The whiplash between their parts was crazy, but in a good way.

-The way they introduced the third faction, just so all main characters could unite was such a cop-out. The systemic problems were much too big to just be fixed by that, and the show just brushes it all under the rug. And the end is just fighting. Ugh.

-Well, it was obviously very pretty. Every frame a perfect picture and all that. Weird complaint, but some designs were “too good”. Too polished. Too much like a high-end commercial for a new skin that costs 200$. It was so distracting for me :P Especially with some Victor “outfits”

-The biggest, most pervasive problem was the time. So much stuff, so little time. It should have been three seasons. There was no time to breathe, no time to understand what’s going on. Characters running from one massive scene to next, with no build-up in between. Just so everyone can end up similar enough to their LoL variant. A bit disappointing.

[zalrb]

y'know I've been seeing the phrase 'chemistry' thrown around a lot lately. like it happened with rob and Zoe with the batman (2022) which you already talked about, it happened with the little mermaid live action (which you also commented on), and now with that new hunger games movie -> everyone is raving about the 'chemistry' between the leads (I haven't seen so I can't really comment). but it just makes me think: is it 'chemistry'? or is it just two hot people on screen breathing the same air?

I think that the word 'chemistry' is overused, do the general audience even know what 'chemsitry' really looks like anymore? I mean yes casting directors still have their actors do 'chemistry reads' but...? I say this because I think back to the posts you made about both rob and Zoe, Halle and Jonah, and now tom and Rachel (from the new hunger games movie, not sure if you will watch). all those actors performed chemistry reads with another for their respective movies, and you would think since the directors saw that chemistry then they must have it right, but after going through your blog, I've been more confused. do directors really look for chemistry, or do they just say "these two look good together, that should be enough to sell the movie"? cause they kinda have a point if that's the case.

I'm sorry I know this ask is like all over the place, but your blog really helped open my eyes, I guess I'm just tired of seeing the word 'chemistry' be thrown around at every 'hot ' couple that graces our screens. guess I would just like to know your thoughts on how the definition of 'chemistry' has changed since the early 2000s media?

sidenote: idk if you're going to watch the new hunger games but, I personally don't think the 2 leads have chemistry. I've only seen clips but from what I've seen they're just mostly 'longing' gazes between them and heavy breathing? I will say that the guy that plays snow is doing the more heavy lifting in scenes with Rachel. for Rachel, this probably just me but I feel like she was miscast for the role (according to sources she did not have to audition, it was just offered to her). in some scenes it does look like she was trying too hard, like she was struggling with some of the emotional beats. its almost as if she was 'insecure' in this role, and that her acting ability was not strong enough to handle the emotional weight of this film, if that makes sense? I would like to know your opinions/thoughts if see the film or watch some clips

OK. So.

First of all, I would like to see the actual chemistry tests and wish they were available because when I watch Sam and Cait's chemistry read, for instance, I'm like, it's obvious that they were going to be lightning in a bottle. LOOK at them.

This makes absolute sense.

So, I wanted to find another chemistry read soI literally just typed it in on youtube and saw TSITP and how they did it over Zoom and then before I watched it, to make sure that that actually happened, I looked it up and the author was like,

"It was the first chemistry read I had done over Zoom and I was like, 'I don't know if this is going to work?'" Han exclusively told E!. "Obviously, it's more enlightening to be in a room with people and see how they connect and see how they look together and what the energy is. But when Han saw Tung and Briney together for the first time, she knew she had found her Belly and Conrad. It really felt like it was popping off the screen right away," she raved, "honestly."

and then I watched it and was like, OK if you think these people are your characters then who am I to tell you they aren't, you wrote them, but were they popping onscreen, though? Were they really? And watching this and then watching the show had me like, no wonder why they frustrated the hell out of me, there's nothing here.

The most I can say is that Chris seems to be a marginally better actor when he's not actually physically interacting with Lola and it actually seems like what was popping onscreen was that they were both exactly who she thought her characters would be like as individuals, but alas, that's just my interpretation of what happened there.

And then there's the chemistry read for To All The Boys I've Loved Before and I watched it like, Noah is charming in it and he's natural and Lana is... keeping up, they're comfortable enough but I wouldn't say there's vibing, it's pretty forgettable, which is what I said about their chemistry in the movies

so I was like, yeah this chemistry read makes sense for what I saw onscreen because it was fine but i wasn't great, it still felt staged and I forgot about them and the movie(s) right after I finished watching it.

So, when directors talk about the chemistry reads I'm like, I want to know what they looked like. Are they Outlander or TSITP?

but it just makes me think: is it 'chemistry'? or is it just two hot people on screen breathing the same air?

And this has always been something I've posed to anons when I used to argue about chemistry.

Do you just like the dynamic?

Are they just attractive?

Does she just have big eyes?

Those seem to be the three questions I asked a lot and I'm inclined to believe that now, directors look for the people who they think look good together and will sell their show/movie based on that because the internet's going to do the rest. Like, initium kept sending me these tweets about the AMAZING. INTENSE. HOT. chemistry between the Bridgerton leads

and I was like ... oh yeah, that fist bump screams sexual tension. Please be serious. Like, Tony and Kerry didn't have chemistry reads and they kind of just hoped for the best but when Shonda talks about how she literally had to leave the stage watching them film something

it's earned in what I'm actually watching onscreen.

I also feel like now, if one person has the intent, and if one person is carrying the dynamic, then that's considered chemistry and it's sufficient.

In terms of seeing the Hunger Games, I know my mom really wants to see it because Viola Davis is in it and I was like, you know she's probably going to be in it for like 3 minutes "I don't care!" so it's probably going to happen sooner or later. I can't find any clips of them just edits and I have a rule about edits.

[imagine-silk]

companions with an absolute 1 int nate... low intelligence specimen like 1 int courier

》Sorry I've been distracted. Veilguard got me in a choke hold.

》I also ripped into Nate and I kind of feel bad but I got it done ദ്ദി(˚ ˃̣̣̥⌓˂̣̣̥ )

【Cait】 "That's the dumbest fuckin' thing I've ever heard."

The first time they ever met he asked her what planet she was from. She always thought Nate was trying to pick a fight. Eventually she just started treating him like he's stupid but it takes a while before she actually thinks he's not doing it on purpose. After that she's just done with Nate half of the time. But the second someone calls him dumb she brings down hell. How fucking dare they?! Only she can say that.

【Curie】 "Fascinating! You seem to have no lack of brain functions."

She is so enamored with him. She studied Nate in hopes of figuring out how to combat brain damage but found there was nothing wrong with his brain chemically or biologically. And she finds that absolutely interesting. It must be a psychological issue then. She's not equip to handle that so it will be a learning experience for everyone involved.

【Codsworth】 "That's right, sir!"

He figured Nate had some sort of learning disability before the bombs so he was refashioned with a program that would let him better serve, not a teacher but not offensive. When Nate fails to understand the most basic thing Codsworth will explain in small words what it is. On the off chance Nate figures out something he hasn't encountered before he'll be very enthusiastic about it and show his pride.

【Danse】 "I'm not sure how you came to that conclusion, soldier."

At first Danse thinks Nate is wasting his time on purpose by in essence poking fun at everything to the absurd. I mean, Nate literally asked why he wasn't shooting lasers out of his eyes. Then when he realizes he was just dumb he kind of hated that they needed him. With all the resources the Brotherhood had they needed a dumbass like this to help them. After BB though Danse has a huge change of heart because this dumbass successfully convinced him killing himself was stupid. So even if Nate wasn't smart Danse vowed to stay with him so Nate wouldn't have any trouble.

【Deacon】 "That's absolutely genius."

He knows immediately this isn't a prank or an act. Still he plays along to not only keep the air light but to also keep moving. Sometimes he'll say things on purpose to make Nate say something dumb but most times he doesn't need to. Whenever they go to a new place and the person they're talking to look to him for help he just smiles.

【Hancock】 "You tell it how it is, brother."

He likes how free Nate is, not restrained even if it is the weirdest shit he's ever heard come out of someone's mouth. Nate asked him where his nose went and Hancock said he didn't know either. He likes the lack of shame even if he knows it's because Nate doesn't know better. When people try to give him shit Hancock will spin it so the whole conversation is absurd to the point they also say stupid things.

【MacCready】 "Ha, that's funny."

He thinks Nate is joking and finds it funny in a very juvenile way. To him the crudeness and ironic things felt familiar so it was very welcomed. It takes a very very very long time until he realizes Nate is actually just astoundingly dumb. At first it makes him uncomfortable because he was laughing but he realized he was always laughing at the thing not at Nate so he figured it was fine.

【Nick】 "I know we didn't meet before. Would've remembered someone like you."

When Nate found out Nick was technically from the past he incessantly asked about it. Why did they never see each other? Was he always a robot? How did he know? A lot of questions that should have been answered in a first glance. Somehow Nick ended up a babysitter to a goblin man more than a detective. If he had the capacity he knew he'd be so fucking tired all the time.

【Preston】 "..."

He's actually not sure if he's gone crazy. He doesn't think so but Nate makes absolutely no sense and that's on top of being from a different time. Preston half thinks he came from the stone age because there is no way people from before the war were that stupid. Then again they caused an apocalypse so what did he know?

【X6-88】 "How you have survived is a wonder to science."

His expectations of Nate were much higher considering how intelligent Shaun is. So when this fully grown adult asks him why he looks real he knows he's not quite right. He doesn't say it out loud but he so desperately want Nate to get shot in the head so he'll get reassigned. However after the Institute is gone and he's stuck on the surface he figures he might as well listen to the dumbest things alive instead of waiting around.

[slocumjoe]

If you were to rate the Fo4 companions from most to least favourite how would you rate them?

I can't list them in order, because I have too many feelings on them....and also, I love them all! It's just...there's such a Rollercoaster of quality of writing, of character concept, of VA performance, of actual attention and care given to the meat-and-potatoes aspects...

Like, I can say I have a favorite (Danse) and a least favorite (Piper) and a dude in the middle who I give not a crap about (Deacon), but I still like these characters??? They're fun! Its just, I like my idea of them more than what's actually there.

So, uhhhh

RORY TALKS ABOUT THE COMPANIONS 2 ELECTRIC BOOGALOO

this is basically a long-post of a bunch of mini-essays, so grab a snack or nice bev and get cozy

Cait, to me, is a prime example of "this character sounds better on paper". I've already complained about her three greatest flaws; being bloated, being mishandled, and being a very confused character. If I were to describe Cait, it would be that she's a troubled young woman who was traumatized all her life, but understands that it's effected her heavily and wants to work past it and better herself.

In game, she's...an Irish Girl. She talks about drinking and fucking and fighting. If not that, she's detailing her absolutely horrific life. It gives me tonal whiplash. I feel like they were too busy adding things on rather than fleshing her out. I mean, really...what is the significance of the Tough Irish Girl type in the wasteland, where everyone acts that way? Is Cait an example of your average wastelander, someone whos supposed to show the daily life in this world? Well...no, that can't be it, she's put away from others, an outsider who doesn't fit in whatever circumstances she finds herself in. She doesn't belong with raiders, she doesn't fit into the average civilian life. So, is she about ostracization and how even after being nuked, there still is a society to ostracize people? That is brought up in text, but that's not at all Cait's thing, that concept is with Hancock.

I travel with Cait to quickly get her affinity up to speedrun her "recovery" (see the Cait breakdown to learn my thoughts on That Fucking Chair) because I want her to get better...but I don't like traveling with her that much. It's not just that she often disagrees with my usual choices, she's just rather flat. I don't get the impression that the writers really considered her psychology, what she stood for, what someone should or could take away from her.

But I like her conceptually. There's a lot of fun and emotional catharsis to be had with a traumatized character like her, someone who has to navigate life after escaping her bad situations, and not knowing what to do with the survival instincts she had to cultivate, but no longer needs.

Codsworth is inoffensive to me, and I like sassy but polite characters. I find them refreshing in settings like Fallout. I had more fun imagining his lines as thinly-veiled bitching than sincerity, though. I think he's fine, just simple. Simple is best, sometimes. I wouldn't trust Beth to give the indentured servitude robot an even remotely palatable story, given how they handled the synths and their whole thing...

But Codsworth, I like having him around. He's the lemon water to the black coffee, sugary soda, whiskey, and occasional cups of tar. He's needed at a palette cleanser.

Curie should have been a main plot companion, argue with the wall. She's a Ms. Nanny who becomes a synth, which are functionally human beings. She has a lot of narrative potential, being an example and counterargument for many different things.

Unfortunately, she's kept mostly a secret, being the most hidden companion, and she's left as a simple French maid fantasy. I'm not even sure why they bothered to make her a doctor. It has nothing to do with how she's actually handled and presented. Curie's more often blushing than meaningfully interacting with the world. She talks to Amari, she becomes a synth, and the rest of her story is just her going KYAA~ at the SS. I wish they gave her some edge, some weirdness. I like my version where she's this slightly pretentious, condescending, incredibly old-seeming entity that clearly doesnt come from around here.

Danse...my boy. My boy. I adore him. You don't need me to explain why. And you don't need me to explain why his incomplete writing infuriates me.

I've said before he's very similar to Hancock, and since I have something else I want to discuss about with Johnny down in this, I'll use Danse's slot to discuss it, very quickly.

Danse and Hancock are remarkably similar people and characters, even there is parts that drift or parallel in their differences.

Substance dependency (Hancock does chems, Danse is a canonical alcoholic)

They both struggled to find their footing and place in the world, and hate the people they were in their act 1's (Hancock's takes place during his founding of Goodneighbor, Danse's after BB)

They're fiercely loyal and protective of 'their people', even if it can take a LOT for them to consider someone 'their people'

Both are suicidal and identity plays a huge part (Hancock pretends to be someone he isn't, Danse is desperate to be the person he thought he was this whole time/hates that he isn't who he thought he was)

Both of these characters are two sides of the same coin. It's just that Danse's upbringing led him to believe in authority and control being the best way to help and take care of the wasteland, Hancock's upbringing (filled with corrupt authority and control) led him to believe in an egalitarian, we-all-lift mindset where the people have the power, he's just the guy who people talk to about any issues. It's somewhat implied that Cutler was similar to Hancock, judging by Danse's few lines about Cutler.

So uuuhhh Todd where the fuck is the last 2 arcs for danse and last arc for hancock? todd? todd where the fu

As said above, Deacon is nothing to me. I like him. I don't care about him much. I think he's fun to play with, but the moment you start getting into his backstory/angst, I slide right the fuck off.

Okay, the Barb thing. Dead wife. Fucking boring story, done to death. At the point I met Deacon, I had already met Mac, Nick, knew of Longfellow and his deal. So it was like "JESUS they really dont know any other reason for a dude to be sad, do they." But the thing that keeps me from caring about Deacon is that no one can agree if Barb is real. If that actually happened.

...his backstory is supposed to inform his character. Why is Deacon doing this? Because of his backstory. If his backstory isn't real, we know nothing about Deacon, and he is, functionally, not a character. Why does Deacon lie if Barb didnt happen? Dunno. He just...does. Why is Deacon helping synths? Uhh...we needed an RR companion? Deacon's character rides or dies on Barb. If she's real, then the rest of him makes sense. She's the windex and towel to the cloudy glass house that is the rest of him. If she isn't, Deacon...doesn't matter, in any meaningful way. He's a guy in the RR who lies about everything, which means you can't care about him. Because there is nothing to care about, because it's all bullshit.

So, that's my thoughts on Deacon, in-canon. I don't know what his deal is or if his proposed deal is genuine, so I can't click with him. But in my own canon, Barb is real, so my Deacon ken-doll does appeal to me. But in Fallout 4, in text, I regard him the same as I do Tom Bombadil. To give you an idea of how flimsy Deacon is in text, a prevailing fan theory from around 2017-18 was that Deacon was Mrs. Rosa's son. Mrs. Rosa was a pre-war neighbor. Her son was a kid. The fact that Deacon is so weird and fluid and almost omniscient isn't a plus for me, it isn't a point of fascination. It's a puzzle that I know doesn't have a finished product, so I leave and go hang out with Danse, who can't speak if he isn't being absurdly blunt.

Gage is a character that deserved a better DLC. The more I think about Nuka World the more I kinda wish it was just Gage and the handmade rifle, instead the map...but that's about Nuka World. Gage himself could have easily been a swing and a miss and fall face-first into the dirt, but he's a surprisingly well-written character? There are layers of psychology with him. You can look at an action or opinion he has, and map it to something that happened to him. You can literally unravel why he does what he does, is who he is. His writers had a concept for him, and they worked backwards to understand why he would become that way.

What really sells him is his VA. Rolston put his whole pussy into that performance. Gage has so many lines that would be utter cringe if not full-assed. The "That vault suit makes your ass look great" line comes to mind...i've seen modded followers with similar lines, and jesus christ i want to pepper spray some of them. It helps that Gage has multiple faucets to his personality. It also helps that he is intentionally distinct from the other raiders, and occasionally doesn't associate with them, himself. It gives him standards and principles, which help give him shape and dimension. Good character. He isn't my favorite, that's Danse, but he's up there.

Hancock is such a waste of a character and it boggles me no one else seems to think so.

He starts on a bad note because his core reason for existing, is Beth wanted a historical figure reference. There's a reason he gives you a history lesson about John Hancock, it's so everyone knows exaclty what Johnny Ghoulie is a reference to. It's not even so much a reference, because it is a direct mimicking. I cannot stand the moments in 4 where something exists because the team learned a fun historical trivia fact, and wanted to pepper in that they did research. I've already bitched about their love of this with the Railroad at some point on this blog.

I genuinely wouldn't mind Hancock if he wasn't pulling so limp-dickedly. It's specifically the contrivance of explaining why this dude is called John Hancock, in John Hancock's clothing. It's okay if they pull from history and allude to it, But Hancock is just...some history stuff tacked on, with no real thought or care. The clothing, the name, the catchphrase. I feel like this is Disney's Hamilton on Ice.

But moving away from that...what is the point of Hancock?

Is his character about drug use and addiction? NOPE, only Cait's addiction is noteworthy. Okay...idenity issues, since he's larping? Not really. It could be, but that's not at all of interest to the story/writing itself. The Hancock thing is an aesthetic, not a trait. So, don't have that either. Is his character about leadership, in any capacity? Kinda, I guess. He briefly mentions insecurities and guilt about it a few times. But if I said "Hancock's story is about leadership", most people would raise an eyebrow and ask why. Not because it's...wrong, it's just not prominent enough to say that's his story, definitively.

So...what is the point of him? What should I take away from Hancock? Duty to the people? Preston does that, and does it better/more explicitly. Regret about past actions? Mac does that. Protecting the people from political corruption? Piper's thing (AND WE'LL GET TO FUCKING PIPER.) What is there to Hancock that isn't done by another companion? It isn't his depression because ALL these bitches be suicidal. What is unique to Hancock? Pretending to be someone else? Deacon. Drugs? Cait. Trying to figure out who you are, removed from the expections that come with having been someone else? Nick. Leadership, and the failures of it? Danse. Struggling to navigate the world in a new, different body, as a new person, functionally? Curie.

The only thing I can think of is mentioned only twice, and is immediately brushed off; the questionable nature of your leader being buddy-buddy with you, and acting like 'one of the bros' even as they hold power over you and have resources you don't. Parasocial government, if you will. It's brought up by Finn and Bobby No-Nose and is shut down/forgotten.

So...the only thing unique to Hancock, and it's regulated to, like, 3 individual throw-away lines. 2 of which you can miss.

Great.

Again, I like him. I just like him when I'm writing him, and can actually have him work through his shit and concepts. But as he stands, he's just...hey, y'know John Hancock? New Vegas also pulled from history, but New Vegas had shit to say about it. There was debating. There was actual philosophy and politics. There wasn't some dude named Caesar who was just...hanging out. What does Fallout 4 say about John Hancock?

Here's something you can say about Hancock; Hancock owned slaves. He inherited them from his uncle, Thomas Hancock. He later freed them due to terms in Thomas' will. But the guy Fallout 4 meagerly puts up as a figure of freedom and independence, and duty to fellow man, was a slave owner, and had slave owning family.

So, what does that mean for our Hancock? Who looked up to this guy, mantled him, and this guy is, in some way, a perversion of his own ideals.

And our Hancock's favorite quote is from Lincoln. Who started the Civil War. Did Lincoln own slaves? Contested, i couldn't find any clear answers. But Hancock mantles a slave owner, using a quote from the president that would try to outlaw slavery, while pushing for freedom and independence and anarchist rhetoric.

Is that the best you can do with Hancock? No. But it's an example.

MacCready, I've compared to a can of Campbell's soup. He's simple, he's decently-done. He's not Codsworth's lemon water but he isn't Cait's tar. I often struggle to write MacCready because he's so simple. There's not much there, he isn't a complex character. He's not even a complex person. And I like that! I like that the grumpy mercenary is a normal guy, who's just going through the motions and has simple desires. His type is often tar and I'm happy to see that subverted.

Its just that his lack of complexity means there's not much to say about him that you don't already know. He's accessible, which is a good thing. Most people don't want to drink tar, but if you're reaching for a fun beverage, you're not often reaching for water, either.

I think the best thing about MacCready is how excellent he is as a romance option. I think he's the strongest romantic choice in the game, period, largely due to him being a simple guy. I would go for MacCready IRL, because he's a good dad, he has good work ethic, and he's emotionally available and isn't afraid to talk feelings, without being a clusterfuck of issues. I love Danse, but you have to talk him out of suicide before you do anything, and he himself will admit that there's going to be a lot of issues simply because he doesn't know what he's doing or what he wants out of his new life.

You don't get that with MacCready. He knows what he wants and who he is and what he cares about. He's such a solid romantic interest, and there's incredible fic potential with the Sole Survivor and MacCready both as soon-to-be grieving parents.

On the flipside, I can't understand people who romance Nick and think its all sunshine and roses. Mini-rant, but /rad-roche (i think thats their user?) has the right idea, with Nick being a hot mess of unresolved issues who is never not projecting or in denial. Nick is not fit for a romantic relationship, not in the state you see him in game. Especially not before Far Harbor. Especially if you don't get the good ending of Far Harbor. I know, bisexual women, I'm sorry. He's got more shit than Danse and Hancock combined. I write romantic Nick prompts as if this isn't the case, but make no mistake. Me giving yall what you want is not me under the impression that this is a good idea.

Anyway. Nick himself.

Dead wife. Booo. I've already complained about his dumbass quest, which i really dislike for all its contrivances. Also, I find him mismatched with the world around him, and I wish there was more attention paid to that. He's a stock character playing out in real life (in Fallout 4's real life, that is). He's a 40's noir flick detective. This character does not belong in a post-apocalypse. This is an urban setting character. Fallout is not urban.

But that doesn't mean he can't exist! I just wish they went more ham with it. I mean, how does a detective function in a lawless wasteland, full of secrets simply because there's so few people see shit happening, know what goes down? It's an information blackout, out there, and a detective is all about information. Nick deserved to be let loose and go full camp on it all. Instead, we got 2 piddly little piss stains of "mystery" side quests. With someone as clashing as Nick, you really need to either sand down the edges to make him fit, or make the fact he's so weird part of the Thing. Nick is played incredibly straight, and given that that man is clearly lgbtq+, i find that almost a waste. Let this man be deranged. This is why Far Harbor is best Nick. He's holding together in the base game, but i don't want him holding together. I want him to suffer. I want him to monolog like Hamlet before driving a cane into someone's forehead.

Now, as for Piper...

Oh, Piper.

You were doomed.

You were so fucking doomed.

I've written about Piper and her shitty paper multiple times, so if you want a refresher, go to my blog > pinned post > meta section, and find the Piper posts. My peer review of The Synthetic Truth will be your best look into what I think of Piper.

The thing is, if you removed her awfully done journalism aspect, I'd like her base form! When she isn't going on and on about shit that's either wrong, baseless, or presumptuous, she's sassy, she's community-orianted, she's mischievous, she's kinda sardonic. She has a sugar problem. She's a burnt out 20 year old with a parentification issue. There's a lot to like here! The problem is they set up the journalism, fuck it up, and then veer hard-right and crash into the "I'm raising a kid when I'm not even an adult either" thing, where it had no build up or time to unfold naturally.

In my own little world, Piper's journalism fuckups are addressed and have consequences. I don't want her smoothed out and perfect, I want her glaring flaws to be intentional and acknowledged. And that just doesn't happen in text.

Ive also got a ramble on my thoughts on Preston. I've said before I don't like his voice acting most of the time, and I actually got a lot of pushback?? But the people who disagreed didnt...disagree...they just pointed out that John Gentry had a gnarly recording circumstance. I think it was that his first takes weren't supposed to be the final product, because he wasn't really intended to be the VA? Something like that, I forget. Point is, I said John Gentry obviously had a rough time in the booth, and wasn't given a fair shot, and people went "No, his voice acting is good! John Gentry just had a rough time with his line recording and wasn't given a fair shot!"

M-ma'am. Thats...what I said.

If it makes anyone feel better, I don't like the majority of the voice acting in this game...a lot of it is very 'modded skyrim character.' Remember the Skyrim Romance Mod? Thats what most of it sounds like to me. Remember Mrs. Peabody? Holy shit. Do not let anyone involved in that cook ever again. I also have personal beef with Nate. The male VA for the SS...someone, somewhere, made a bunch of choices. It was the wrong one, frequently. (The only good male SS line i can think of is the one romancing Danse. Has some texture to it. It's shy and cute, very good)

As for Preston himself, love him, love my paragon good-guy characters. He's such a sweetheart but he's down for bloodshed. I adore those kinds of characters, those "do no harm, take no shit" types. He's treated as a fluffball by fanon (when not suffering racist ass takes or absolute disregard), but Preston has got some lovely edges to him. If you go through his dialogue page and his approvals, you'll find he can be hard at times. There are moments he approves of 'asshole' choices, which is very fun. I love this dude.

Anyway hot take. IF HE WAS WHITE, ALL OF THESE BITCHES WOULD LIKE HIM. YEAH. I SAID IT. He'd be a depressed white man who's buff and kind and snarky, and you Danse girlies, you Nick girlies, you Deacon girlies, all of them would love him too. He is tailor made for standom but nooo, he isn't #FFFFFF so I guess he's doomed to stupid ass settlement jokes.

Yall lack taste. Hawk puhtoo.

SPEAKING OF AWFUL FUCKING TASTE, LEAVE MY BABY X6-88 ALONE.

X6-88 is so unappreciated. Grotesquely so, by both Bethesda and fans.

X6-88, I've said many times, is a spoiled rich man's cat who sits all poised and hisses if you so much as look at it if you're below a certain tax bracket. He's fussy and egotistical and snippy and dislikes bugs, children, water, heights, and generally anything above ground. He gushes over Danse and thinks he's the coolest. He'll let you kill the Institute if you're Railroad or Minutemen and have high affinity with him. He'll brag about getting to travel with you with his courser buddies. He's a fucking dork.

X6-88 is a nerd/prep who could be goth if left in a Hot Topic to run wild, but until then, he's in a suit for his private school and he's going to sit on HIS bench at recess and snipe at the rival school children with his friends and then he goes home and complains that his english eacher failed him on his Roman history test for writing it in perfect Latin. That is X6-88.

If you don't like X6-88 we cannot be friends. Fuckiung look at him. He's such a little shit. He's perfect.

[space-blue]

I wish episode 8 hadn't dropped the ball with Vi. So many things in that episode that she should've been grappling with just do not get touched on. In episode 7, Ekko tells Cait that the enforcers are all in Silco's pocket. She tells him he's wrong and convinces him to go along with her plan to take the gem to topside. Except Marcus proves Ekko right by shooting him and snatching the gemstone. If Marcus had aimed for Ekko's head, he would be dead, and Vi would've lost even more of her family. You'd think Vi would be furious at Cait for this - it was her denial that Marcus could be working for Silco and her plan to walk the bridge back to topside, that got Ekko almost murdered. But none of this is brought up in episode 8.

Vi also discovers that Cait is a Councillor's daughter. For all Vi knows, Caitlyn's mother could have been on the Council during Vander's rebellion. She could have been one of the people who gave the order to massacre the rebels, including Vi's parents. Again, Vi does not grapple with this revelation at all. We get one comedic scene of her stunned face in the bedroom when Cait's parents enter and the realization hits her, but nothing deeper. It's not like it would be out of place or out of character for Vi to lash out at Caitlyn about all this either. By the time Cait returns to the bedroom, Vi has had plenty of time to let all of this stew - that Caitlyn has not only been hiding the fact that she's a daughter of a Councillor (again, possibly one of the people who sanctioned the murder of Vi's parents), but also unintentionally got Ekko shot, and was a big reason Vi had to leave Jinx and Ekko on the bridge and now doesn't know if either of them are alive.

And that's another thing. We don't get an inkling about what Vi thinks happened to Jinx or Ekko. Is she just crossing her fingers and hoping either of them didn't get blown to bits? She should be SICK with worry. So much good material to depict the fraughtness of Caitvi's relationship and plant the seeds for Vi furiously abandoning Caitlyn later. Their dramatic breakup scene would've hit a lot harder if it not only stemmed from Vi's anger at the Council's actions, but towards Cait's actions as well. Yet all we get is the "real monster showed up" scene where Vi opens up her heart to the girl who got Little Man shot and Pow Pow left behind. Will never not be disappointed by Vi getting butchered for Caitvi to happen. Sorry for leaving this long ask in your inbox, but you are one of the few people critical of Caitvi on here so I thought I'd vent ✌

But none of this is brought up in episode 8.

Vi also choses Cait over Jinx once she attacks them, which always struck me as strange, as Ekko is the one who wants to go to the Council, and Vi is the one Jinx wouldn't hurt. That's fine as a choice, but the way it is never addressed either—that Vi choses to stay for Jinx and immediately reneges on that decision—sort of makes her sound very hypocritical at the diner scene. If you wouldn't stay for Jinx then, why should she believe you'd stay for her now? It makes Silco sound absolutely right when he says Vi would abandon her as soon as she realises she isn't Powder. Silco is the one who never let her go even when she screwed his plans over and fucked with his underlings and consistently made his life harder. He knows what she's like and still loves her, something that Vi has never proven she can do. IMO Vi misses Powder and Jinx is really correct in the way she sets up the table. She feels it too.

My issue with the way this is handled and the examples you brought up is that the show doesn't seem to be self aware. It's backpedaling a lot and letting Vi coast on her stream of strange decision, refusing to give her an actually consistent drive.

One minute she's sacrificing it all for Jinx, the next she's throwing her under the bus to ZERO benefit in front of the entire council. Then she promises she'll save Powder, but instead goes to pick up a fight with Sevika? For no clear purpose than revenge. And after that she still has the guts to say they can run away and be all right?

I like hypocrite Vi. It's my canon reading of her. But I dislike that the show doesn't make it obvious this is what they're going for. She feels aimless in her character development. If the romance with Cait had been removed in favour of showing how unhinged and fucked in the head prison time had made her, Vi would be infinitely more enjoyable imo in these last two arcs.

Vi also discovers that Cait is a Councillor's daughter.

Yeah, I've covered that in my 'Why I don't really like Cait' ask that turned into a 'how to make a more compelling caitvi' meta. I recommend reading this version if you don't mind lengthy discourse, since my friend Coyote made some really interesting points

The relevant excerpt here is :

This ties into another aspect of Cait which I dislike, which is again completely involuntary and an artefact of the show's strict timetable. She doesn't share anything about herself. Not even to Vi. We virtually know nothing about her except that she likes to shoot guns and looks up to chief-ACAB Grayson (my beloved). Even on the bed scene with Vi, it's only ever Vi opening up and sharing. And you may say, "yeah but we only see a glimpse, I'm sure Cait shared stuff too". And yes, sure... But Vi is making a comment about the place when they break in... That reveals she has NO idea it's Cait's home! That's one of the thing I'd suggest editing out to give the impression that Cait has explained things and that Vi doesn't learn she's a Councillor's daughter until after breaking her into her own home. Cait learns about Vi's past, again and again, and shares nothing about herself. Even when faced with the Firelights, she "knows a friend on the Council" but fails to mention her mom is there too. In front of Ekko, I get, but... What does Vi know about Cait? Canonically???

(Nothing. Vi seems to know nothing about Cait, which means we have nothing but looks to go by as to why she'd feel attracted to her, a cop and a 1%ter).

For all Vi knows, Caitlyn's mother could have been on the Council during Vander's rebellion. She could have been one of the people who gave the order to massacre the rebels, including Vi's parents.

She's certainly among those who order Grayson to "squeeze harder" in search of Vi herself.

Again, Vi does not grapple with this revelation at all. (...) Caitlyn has not only been hiding the fact that she's a daughter of a Councillor (again, possibly one of the people who sanctioned the murder of Vi's parents), but also unintentionally got Ekko shot, and was a big reason Vi had to leave Jinx and Ekko on the bridge and now doesn't know if either of them are alive.

Hear Hear!!

Vi just completely ceases to have character development. She's angry, she punches, she betrays, and it's all mostly irrelevant and happens because the plot has to move forward. She doesn't question Cait's naivety even when following her massively backfires. She says things and then does the opposite. She uses her one opportunity to speak to the Council to entirely betray her sister despite Cait wanting to help, despite her entire character hinging on wanting to give a better future for her sister...

And the issue is that none of it feels like it's done consciously or voluntarily.

She should be SICK with worry.

But instead she is napping with a councillor-enforcer in her bed telling her stories of her childhood while apparently never minding not knowing the first thing about this girl in front of her besides 'she's pretty and utterly naive and her trust in Marcus nearly got us all killed 30min ago'. Yeah.

So much good material to depict the fraughtness of Caitvi's relationship and plant the seeds for Vi furiously abandoning Caitlyn later. Their dramatic breakup scene would've hit a lot harder if it not only stemmed from Vi's anger at the Council's actions, but towards Cait's actions as well.

What is there even to break up though?? I feel like the show would have greatly benefited from a different, much slower dynamic between them, with a dark Vi refusing and repelling a more just and shrewd Cait. If Vi spent 4 episodes building basic trust, it would be a lot more interesting if she realised she's grown to like Cait as a person when Jinx is demanding she kill her to get Powder back.

She could have her epiphany at a moment where her darker side should have rejoiced : one less enforcer in the world. Her family wronged me at every turn! Without the Kiramman, Vander might still be alive... And yet... And yet this girl has been nothing but principled, helpful, dedicated, and helped her, even if it helped her own goals of solving her investigation too. She broke her own society's rules to find out the truth (a flaw in Piltover pov but a compliment from a Zaunite, perhaps).

Leading Vi to realise with some complex feelings that yeah, she can't harm her, she likes her, which could prompt a touch more disgust on Jinx's part. Jinx hoping she might have read too much into it, that Vi wouldn't actually like an enforcer... A way of addressing that outrageous preference in a Zaunite as fucked and destitute as Vi.

They could have had Vi learn early that Cait is a Kiramman and resent her. They could have discussed that, instead of monsters on the wall.

They could have shown Cait be confronted not only for being a Piltie, but for being a Kiramman. Realising that her family inheritance isn't just one of wealth and tedious politics, but of death and enslavement, to others. That her lack of involvement, her escapism, just perpetuates the status quo in which all of Zaun suffers and people like Silco become their only hope.

But neither Cait nor Vi do much self reflection.

Will never not be disappointed by Vi getting butchered for Caitvi to happen.

Same, precisely because, as I started to show just above, I think a really juicy and compelling Caitvi dynamic exists, where they both change a lot through getting to know each other. It's just sad that the rushed romance ended up making them both weaker and the show left with Cop/Traitor as their main queer representation, and everyone guzzled it happily. Which is why idk how to feel about them ultimately. Is every representation good representation? Did we need more cop lesbians? How would the fandom have reacted if Cait was straight? If Vi flirted aggressively with Sevika instead?

Just thinking of this post constantly when Cait comes up :

Don't worry I gotchu for venting... Arcane season 1 is near perfect, and some character arcs just straight up are. But I feel like there's a real ball dropped in the last act, mostly around them bailing on their own politics. I think we all tend to be more nitpicky about criticism when a show flies so close to the sun and perfection.

We gush and gush and deconstruct it to atoms, only to realise then that there were better ways to do it once you get to rebuilding it yourself.

As per my other linked asked above, I think the team did their absolute best considering the density of characters, themes and storylines involved. It was also their first season, and it seems like a lot of learning was done in the process.

I have hope for season 2, but I'm not certain the enforcer issue will be addressed to our liking. I'll be going in there to see my other blorbos. Neither Cait nor Vi are a compelling drive to me, but it's fine.

[antiyourwokehomophobia2]

Your anger is so valid actually. I like Maddie x Cait actually but it does cheapen CaitVi which sucks for sure. Not to mention that it feels as if Maddie is just there to fill a void of some sorts. Like why is everyone hating Maddie for sleeping with Caitlyn when they should be angry at Caitlyn for doing that? Because isn't Maddie like 18 or something and Cait is around 23 - 24? It's a little odd and icky.. idk, can't get myself to hate Cait because she's another complex female character in my opinion (like princess bubblegum too for example) and people cannot handle that for some reason but yeah, it's pretty confusing, I don't blame you if it completely ruined the show for you

I'd be all for Maddie x Cait if they were the endgame ship instead of Vi x Cait. Like, if Maddie was in Vi's place and Vi didn't exist, I'd be so game. But this isn't it lmao. Also, you're completely right that Maddie is just there to fill a void. Cait is using her only as a distraction.

Oh wait. I was reading and responding to your ask in chunks. I didn't know they had that type of age gap. Is Maddie really only 18? Yikes. I know there were some "this is why we have HR" jokes floating around. I, for one, don't hate Maddie. I'm completely disgusted with Cait tbh. She was already on thin ice for hitting Vi but this really just sealed the deal. I can handle an asshole but I can't handle one that's disloyal.

I don't mind if you don't hate her. I understand that people have different views on this stuff but it absolutely spoiled the whole show for me. I have a genuine problem with lesbian media that has the couple break up and sleep with other people. It cheapens everything and puts a really bad taste in my mouth.

[cherrybomb107]

Coming back to this post, I was absolutely correct. “Caitlyn hate” is not a thing. I have seen multiple people say Caitlyn did ���nothing wrong” and this was AFTER she hit Vi, called Zaunites animals, almost killed a child just to get to Jinx, and gassed people in Zaun. They are excusing her actions under the guise of “grief” as if that’s a valid defense. Why do Caitlyn’s actions get to be because of “grief” but Jinx is a “monster” for her actions? I think I know why

And no, I don’t care about “nuance” or “complex female character”. I’m not tryna hear that shit. You can’t “but nuance!” your way out of everything. No amount of nuance or character complexity makes objectively horrible acts any less horrible. My dislike of Caitlyn doesn’t mean I “can’t handle complex female characters”. My favorite character not just in Arcane, but in any piece of media I’ve ever come across is Jinx.

It should be okay to dislike or even hate characters who do objectively bad things without having your intelligence questioned. It should be okay to to so without dumbass stans accusing you of “hating on” their fave. I don’t like Caitlyn both because of her obnoxious stans defending her bullshit, and because of the aforementioned bullshit. Nor do I have to in order to understand and enjoy the show. I am also not obligated to change my tune and forgive her once she receives her redemption arc. And no, that is not “hate” by any sense of the word.

At the end of the day, liking characters who do bad things is all well and good! But sitting up here and defending/downplaying their bad actions is a disservice to the character at best, and highly ignorant at worst. Cait stans have crossed that line and then some imo. So yeah, she can be complex. It doesn’t mean I have to like or have sympathy for her. I don’t. At all🤷🏾‍♀️🤷🏾‍♀️🤷🏾‍♀️

My thoughts on “Caitlyn hate”. As per usual, there’s no shortage of drama on arcanetwt(what else is new lmaoo). But this time, it kinda hits different for me. Basically, a lot of Caitlyn fans are arguing with “Caitlyn haters” for, you guessed it…hating on Caitlyn. Honestly though, in my opinion, there hasn’t BEEN any genuine Caitlyn hate.

It’s speculation on where Caitlyn’s character will go in season two, and what kind of path she’ll go down. Now, is it “hate” to say that you think that Caitlyn, an incredibly naive and privileged character who you’ve seen wield her privilege like a weapon time and time again in order to get what she wants will…continue to do so in season two? In my mind, no!

Cause for however kind hearted Caitlyn is, at the end of the day she’s a Piltie. And an Enforcer to boot. Jinx shot at the Council and (presumably) killed Cait’s mom. I don’t think it’s a leap to say that in her quest for justice(revenge) she’ll use her position as an Enforcer to do some unsavory things. It is what it is.

Do I think she’ll be a straight up villain? No. Do I think she’ll be responsible for things like no knock warrants, police raids, unlawful arrests etc of Zaunites during her journey to find Jinx? Absolutely!There’s no doubt in my mind. And no, using the brain God gave me to make an educated guess on how I think this character will act in season two based on what I’ve seen in season one is not “hate” in any sense. Please bffr, if only for a second 🙄🙄🙄

To continue this, I also think that people will defend Caitlyn even if she does the things I mentioned earlier. Which is fine! My favorite character is Jinx after all, and I think she could’ve come harder, so I get it. But I don’t think the mere suggestion that certain Caitlyn stans will literally defend her no matter what should cause any kind of “drama”. You’re allowed to defend your faves! Just like I’m allowed to critique them!

Let’s all just be civil to each other y’all, please😭😭😭

[goodneighborxfallout]

What are the companions reactions to twin soles (so, technically not soles??) who finish each other's sentences and just do Creepy Twin Shit™.

Thank you for the request! Now that I read it again, however, I didn't do what you asked for... your request made me think of the twins on TLC who constantly try to talk in unison but are terribly bad at it, and I went with that, sorry! Still hope you like it because I had so much fun writing this! (Also sorry for taking literal years to write this)

Cait:

Cait will be instantly annoyed at it and is not afraid to let them know.

“Yeah, quit that already, it’s not cute.”

Codsworth:

If this is a new post-war thing, Codsworth will be very concerned, but he’ll just laugh it off awkwardly whenever it happens.

“Yes… haha… that’s right, sirs/mums.”

Curie:

Plain confused: “Why do you do that? Why not just listen to what the other has to say?”

Danse:

Danse will be creeped out, but he’ll try to hide it by sounding annoyed instead. However, he will most likely not offer the twins a spot on his team in Cambridge.

Deacon:

He’s heard tales of the twins, but only good stuff, so you can imagine the disappointment when they come knocking on the Railroad doors only to discover that they are actually weirdly off-putting.

“Ah man, if only you were actually good at speaking in sync, imagine the things we could pull off. Well anyway, welcome to our little freakshow, and I think you, my friend, might just top Tinker Tom.” And he’d silently add a sarcastic "hurray".

Gage:

“Look, we can’t have two Overbosses, that’s not how it works,” Gage says, already full-on annoyed that even the very start of his new Overboss plan didn’t go according to plan.

“We do a- everything together. We’re bas- basically one person.”

“We do everything together. We’re act- basically one person.”

The twins say in semi-unison, constantly looking at each other to make sure they say the same thing but still failing half the time.

“Oh for the love of- cut that shit out! Why the hell did I help ya’ll out against Colter?”

Hancock:

Hancock completely ignores the weird twin stuff, mostly because he thinks he’s so high on jet he’s hallucinating one of the two. The only thing is… if he’s hallucinating a second person, then why are they so bad at talking in unison?

Longfellow:

Longfellow has about enough of the twins the moment they first open their mouths. He won’t want to talk to them after that, but if he happens to cross paths with them, he won’t hesitate to insult them either.

“You one of them lunatic rad freaks? You’d fit right in.”

MacCready:

“Yeah, whatever you say, boss, as long as I get my share of the money at the end.” He says at first, but after traveling with them for a spell, he won’t be able to handle it anymore and part ways – not even caring if he gets his money or not.

Nick:

Deep, irritated sigh. “We get it, you two are twins. What more do you have to prove to anyone?”

Piper:

Absolutely flabbergasted during the interview. Piper is unsure whether she should say anything about this weird behavior or not, she decides to stay quiet and stares at her notes from the interview in semi-shock and with a heap of regret.

Preston:

“So which one of you is going to be the general?”

The twins look at each other.

“We wou- will only become general if we can do it together.”

“We will- will only be… become general if we can do it together.”

Preston will be speechless for a moment. His first instinct is to explain why that isn’t possible, but he quickly realizes any such attempt will be futile anyway and gives up.

Strong:

It can either go one or two ways here. Either he's focused on them being twins which he'll perceive as something positive: "Humans look alike! Like Strong and brothers look alike! Good!

Or he's focused on the talking, which (as we all know) is bad: “Humans talk too much! Humans should fight!”

X6-88:

“So which one of you is Father’s parent?”

“We are both his mother.”

“We are both his mother.”

The twins say with much difficulty in syncing their lines. X6-88’s disappointment was immeasurable, but he sure was glad Father had been taken away from his mother(s?) and was raised inside the Institute instead. If Father insisted on keeping the twins around, X6-88 would question Father's objectivity, but he would follow orders as always and keep his opinion to himself.

[that-blue-vault-dweller]

Did I already ask this? Idkk.... 11-12 year old sole looking up to the Companions as serious parental figures? Not like guardians, Like Legitimate parent figures. And they accidentally call them mom/dad when they're both in private/not around people and that's how the Companions find out about it?

This was so cute!!! I really enjoyed writing Cait and Deacon's reaction, though. Idk why 😂

Thank you for the request, and I hope you enjoy!!! 🥰💙💛

Cait - Is thrown off horribly when she first hears them call her Mom in private. She almost spits out her drink then and there and she definitely chokes on it a little. She is honestly in shock, and she does not know what to say. She doesn't want to tell the kid to quit calling her that, but she definitely doesn't think that she is the kid's mom. Therefore, she sort of just ignores her and tries to act like it didn't happen.

Piper - It totally flies over her head at first since she was writing an article and she is used to being Mom in all but name. However, after a moment, she realizes that they did not just call her Piper and that it was Mom instead. Piper almost immediately feels overwhelmed with emotion, and she just gets up from wherever she was sitting and heads over to the kid, ruffling her hair before hugging her tightly. Piper is definitely going to be the best mom she can be.

Curie - Is absolutely and deeply touched that the girl considers Curie to be her mother. Curie is in the middle of testing some chemicals when the kid calls her that, but as soon as she properly cleans her hands and removes her lab coat and goggles, she just hurries over and gives the girl a tight hug and a kiss on the cheek. Curie knows absolutely nothing about being a mother, but she will do the best she can.

MacCready - Is totally shocked when she says it, and he just stares at her for a moment in the middle of cleaning up his gun. After a moment, he clears his throat and tries to regain his composure. However, the awkwardness is almost overwhelming him when he responds to her. He decides to let her call him whatever she wants, but it always makes him blush when she calls him Dad.

Deacon - Is not comfortable with it at all. He would much rather be like cool Uncle Deacon or something, but to avoid hurting her feelings or anything, he tells her that to keep their undercover status, maybe she should make sure she doesn't call him in public unless they're playing the role of father and daughter. Unfortunately, this whole thing backfires on him severely when they go to the Railroad, and since she assumed he didn't have an issue with being called "Dad" in private or around trusted people, she lets the title loose. Needless to say, Glory has a great time teasing Deacon since he's finally flustered about something.

Codsworth - Is deeply touched, but prefers to be considered a guardian. After all, nothing and no one should take the place of sir. However, he soon grows warmer toward it, and decides that he will be what she needs him to be. After all, he is all she has left of her old life, so he figures that he might as well be her father figure despite how strange it is.

Hancock - Does not really know what he thinks of it. But since she is so young, he decides to let it go and be her father figure if she wants despite the fact he thinks he might be a little ill-equipped. He actually even tells her to go call Fahrenheit her big sister to her face just to mess with her, and if F!Sole actually indulges him, he quickly is behind her and makes sure that Fahrenheit doesn't throttle her. After all, the two of them are sisters now even if it is by adoption.

Danse - Is severely uncomfortable, and tries to ignore the slipup she has. However, it keeps circulating around in his brain, and he tries to take a more distanced approach with her and not treat her quite so affectionately. He is not ready to be a father and he firmly believes that she definitely does not need someone like him to play that part.

Preston - Is terribly shocked when he first hears it, and he almost drops his laser musket on his toe. He is not comfortable with being called Dad, but he tries to act like he is. After all, if the girl needs a father and she has picked him of all people to play the role, then he supposes that he should at least try to fulfill it for her.

Valentine - Is very surprised when he first hears it, but he finally just responds to her like normal with only a slight delay. If she seems horrified that she said it, he just flashes her a small, fond smile and continues reading his newspaper or looking through his case notes. He doesn't mind if she calls him Dad and he actually finds it very endearing since it shows how much he means to her.

X6-88 - Definitely does not touch her with a ten-foot pole afterward. He is not at all comfortable with being called Dad and he tries to keep any physical contact with her at a nonexistent level. He also tries to be even more stiff and robotic around her. This Dad thing is overwhelming for him and actually makes him feel things. And that just will not do.

Strong - Absolutely hates it and does not understand. His name is not Dad. It's Strong! And why is she calling him something different? Is it like the human version of brother? He is just so confused. Tiny humans make no sense.

Maxson - Is very shocked, but handles it surprisingly well. He is by no means comfortable with the title at all, but as he thinks about it more, he realizes that he has no other heirs and that she is such a promising young soldier that he might as well adopt her. He explains the entire thing to her, and when she agrees to let him adopt her, he is as proud and as pleased as he can be.

[ground-zero-idiocies]

I've got a funny Fallout 4 prompt/request, so after getting caught doing a prank on the Diamond City Mayor, the Sole Survivor shouts "You'll never catch me alive!" before running off, they immediately trip over and knock themselves out on a pole.

perfect prompt. Thank you.

Fallout 4 Companions React to April Fools

Let’s set the scene:

April 1, 2288. It’s a beautiful spring day in the commonwealth, leaves finally starting to bloom on the few remaining living trees.

Diamond City is bustling today after a massive caravan arrived from the north, carrying goods from Maine, Vermont, and other (almost) all white people places.

Nora and friends are in the city too, looking for something do to other then shoot at roaches. The gang is in the mayor’s office, talking to Geneva, when the Mayor’s door swings open. McDonough himself walks out, only to be drenched by a red paint can from above. All eyes turn to Nora, currently riding down the lift at an excruciatingly slow pace.

“You’ll never take me alive!”

McDonough only rolls his eyes. Nora, while pointing and laughing upwards, slips of the side of the lift, catching herself at the last minute and pulling herself up. As the lift touches down, she starts running: quickly sprinting across the old stadium to be exit, where she promptly runs into a world boundary fence. She scurries away, a goofy look on her face the whole time. McDonough turns to the companions, all stunned by the prank.

Cait: “If she was gonna prank a Diamond City bigwig like yourself, why wouldn’t she go bigger? Get some axes on chains and decent actors involved, come on!”

Codsworth: “Oh good heavens! Mr. Mayor, please let me aid you in cleaning up this red mess before it al dries out. You must admit, though, that that was a dastardly prank!”

Curie: “Oh no! Zat paint may contain harmful chemicals and metals! Please, I must help!” Curie takes out a stethoscope and entire medical kit from thin air.

Danse: “I’m sorry Mr. Mayor, Paladins of the Brotherhood of Steel are not supposed to act in that manner. I’ll make sure Brotherhood command hears of this and properly disciplines Paladin Nora.

Deacon: “Now she’s getting it! Still, I think it would have been better to use latex. Then, we could have an awesome mission impossible mask of his face and use it to pull of all sorts of crazy shit.”

Gage: “As far as pranks go, that was pretty toothless. Mr. Mayor, if you can’t handle a little red paint, I recommend you skip the trip up to Nuka World. I get the feeling you wouldn’t take too kindly to the people ‘round there.

Hancock: “You got what was coming to you, ‘Mr. Mayor’. At least a part of it. Maybe looking all red will get you in a ghoul-y mood. I got it: you should exile yourself!”

Longfellow: “HAHAHAHA! Now that’s what I call the voice of the people! Man, y’think the Mariner would approve if I did this next year? God, this is brilliant! So, Mayor McRed, how’s it feel?”

MacCready: “Oh, it’s so good! It’s so perfect! In your face, McDouchebag! Good one Nora, you really got ‘em. Happy April, Mr. Mayor.”

Nick Valentine: “When that starts to peel, maybe you’ll figure out what it’s like to have such cracked skin. Man, do I wish Avon was still around! (author’s note: this is not an endorsement of avon)”

Piper: “We both know I haven’t got much journalistic integrity, but I think I’ll just leave this one out of April’s paper. Keep this absolutely perfect moment in our minds.”

Preston: “Look everyone! The Mayor’s dressed up for Fourth of July! Although I will say, that is a fair bit away. Oh, and you’re missing white and blue! That was a pretty good one, right Mayor McDonough?”

Strong: “HAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Little man looks like cover in blood! HAHA! Little man drop fake blood from can! Strong like seeing little man bleed!”

X6-88: X6 doesn’t say anything, but has a towel and cleaning supplies teleported into his hand instantly, He immediately sets to work, drying and scrubbing the mayor’s face with extreme force.

[angelmavmurdock]

Home

summary: you and tom haven't seen each other in months and he surprises you.

SUPER fluffy !requested one shot!

you can either listen to the song while reading or start listening to it when it tells you to! Home by Caite Turner - the song in which this is based off of :).

***********

5 months.

5 months since I've seen Tom.

He's been in Atlanta for filming Spider-Man No Way Home and at Christmas he spent time with his family before going back.

I hadn't seen him in so long. Facetiming and phone calls could never come close to the feeling of being with him. It feels like such an alien thing now, even thinking about us spending time together. Like it's something of the past...

We tried to call every day but that became difficult as Toms only day off is Monday and I'm working and the time difference. Everything just seems so difficult and forced. But we still do it. Because we want to see and talk to each other but it's just so exhausting with the time difference.

I'd wake up earlier to call and say good morning and I'd end up staying up late on Facetime with him. So my sleep schedule was completely messed up, along with all the emotions that come with a long distance relationship. Then it's heightened even more because Tom is famous and tabloids follow him everywhere. The recent buzz for Cherry has had people asking about his love life - or rather our love life but they don't know we're together. No one apart from our friends and family do.

I missed him. I really missed him. It hurts my heart every time he posts to Instagram or I see interviews from him.

We had scheduled a Facetime for tonight. It was 10pm for me and 6pm for him. Not too bad.

I was absolutely knackered so I was just getting ready for bed when my phone started ringing.

I grinned, picking the phone up and answering the call.

"Hey, handsome." I giggled at the phone screen, sitting it up on my dresser as I got changed.

"Hey, darling. How are you?" He asked, placing a forkful of pasta into his mouth.

He was in his signature pink hoodie with a baseball cap on backwards. His phone was rested against something on his dinner table and I watched as he ate his tea.

"I'm good. Tired but good. How about you? How was work?" I asked, taking some makeup wipes out.

"Oh, sorry baby." He pouted.

"No, no, it's okay. M'used to it." I laughed lightly.

He furrowed his brows slightly as I wiped my makeup off.

"y/n."

I looked at him. Don't cry, don't cry, don't cry, don't cry-

"I love you." He said with a slight smile.

Don't cry, don't cry-

"I love you too, babe. I miss you." I swallowed, trying to keep the lump of sobs from bursting out.

"I miss you, too. It's been 5 months since we've seen each other. I left for Atlanta 5 months ago today." He sighed, taking another forkful of food.

I took a deep breath, throwing the makeup wipes into the bin, "It's been so long."

"I know, darling, I know. But..."

He reached over the table. I heard papers shuffle and I quirked a brow as I got into bed, only my bedside lamp giving me a warm light. I snuggled into my blankets, propping my phone against a pillow.

"I just happened to be coming to London next Friday." He said nonchalantly, fiddling with a plane ticket.

My eyes widened and I stared at my phone screen.

"Y-you're kidding." I felt my heart rate rise.

He grinned, "Nope. Filming finishes next week. I'm coming to you next Friday, love."

I gasped, sitting up and squealing into the phone.

"Oh my god! I can't believe it! We're going to see each other! For real!" I exclaimed.

"For real." He laughed.

"Oh my fucking god...well, I don't know how you expect me to sleep or work until then." I smiled widely, settling back into bed.

"I can't wait. Can't wait to see you again." He bit his lip.

I raised a brow, "Can't wait to see what part of me?"

He laughed, "Hmm, I'll leave that to your imagination. But I'd definitely call your work and tell them you won't be able to come in the whole week because your legs will be too sore."

I spluttered a laugh and got myself flustered.

God, it had been so long since we touched...

"I can't wait to fuck you again." He said lowly.

I widened my eyes, "Are Racheal and Harry not there?" I hissed.

He shook his head, "Racheal's not here and Harry's working in his room."

I shifted onto my side to face him completely.

"Okay then...if you want to fuck me so bad...tell me what you'll do to me when you get here."

***

It was the next night. Friday. Finally. Tom had said he wouldn't be able to call tonight because he was on set all day. I was fine with that, though. Last night was an extremely heated Facetime call.

I went into work and sat at my desk, staring at a blank word document just wishing words would start typing themselves onto the page. My mind was somewhere else. It was with Tom. I didn't sleep much last night as it was an eventful night so I was absolutely knackered by the time I got home from work.

I managed to stay awake long enough to make myself some mac and cheese. I managed one episode of friends, I ate my dinner and I snuggled on my couch, stripping my jeans and top off to leave me comfortably in my underwear with blankets draped over me. I didn't particularly mean to fall asleep at 7pm on a Friday night. It just happened.

-

Toms POV

"Good luck, mate. Have fun." Harrison laughed cheekily on the phone as I entered y/n's flat building.

"Div. Bye." I chuckled, ending the call.

I hyped myself all the way up to y/n's flat. I looked at myself in my phone camera to check how I looked. I couldn't hear anything from inside but I knew she was in. The bouquet of flowers in my hand kept crinkling loudly and I tried to shut them up seeing as it was midnight.

I could feel some jet lag already hitting me but the nerves and excitement completely cancelled it out.

I was surprising her. Filming finished a few days ago, not next week. I had everything planned out. And she had no idea.

I took a few deep breaths and sat my suitcase and bag down. I lifted a hand to her door and hesitantly knocked. Adrenaline rushed through me.

She was going to open the door and we'd have the best moment, then we'd kiss and then...

She wasn't answering the door. Her car was outside and it was midnight so she should be in.

I gritted my teeth anxiously and knocked again.

Still nothing.

I looked around in slight panic, not knowing what to do. But then I tried her door handle. It opened.

I'll have to tell her to lock it next time, I reminded myself before opening the door slowly. The flat was quiet, only the sound of traffic coming in from the open windows filled the room. I wheeled my suitcase and bag in quietly then shut the door behind me equally so.

I walked further into the flat and that's when I finally saw her. And why I finally saw why she wasn't answering the door.

y/n was curled up on the couch, blankets sprawled across her basically naked body and the couch. Her hair lay messy on top of her head and her mouth hung open slightly as she slept.

My heart filled with love and joy as I watched her. 5 months since I had seen her and she was like this. In her most perfect form. Natural and messy and cute but also hot because the underwear she was wearing and the fact I hadn't seen her body in nearly half a year made me nearly get a full hard on.

I walked closer to her, placing the bouquet of flowers next to her abandoned bowl of mac and cheese. I caught a glimpse of the TV.

Are you still watching?

I smiled and turned back to her, kneeling to come face to face with her. I could smell her signature perfume and it made my heart swoon so massively.

I smiled uncontrollably as I reached my hand to her cheek, brushing my fingers over her skin. I missed her skin on mine. I brushed some of her hair behind her ear and then cupped her cheek softly, rubbing my thumb back and forth to gently awaken her.

y/n POV

I felt a hand on my face, a thumb delicately brushing my cheek. It felt familiar and suddenly I could smell something that made my heart ache. Whatever it was smelled like Tom. Like his natural scent mixed with his usual aftershave.

"y/n..."

I heard my name being whispered. I hummed and nuzzled into the pillow more, enjoying whatever dream about Tom I was having. His hand was warm on my face and it was like it was really there.

"y/n, darling..."

Mmm, the nickname. I missed his voice.

"Love...you awake?"

I furrowed my brows. What? Tom didn't say that in my dream. I felt myself being brought back into consciousness gradually and the heat and weight of a hand on my face was very much there, along with the prominent smell and the literal presence of someone.

I slowly opened my eyes, blurry at first but then everything came into view.

Tom.

He was kneeling in front of the couch, his hand still stroking my cheeks, his face in a soft but wide smile, his skin tanned and glowing but the bags under his eyes were visible.

"T-Tom?" I stuttered in a whisper.

Was I dreaming? Was I hallucinating? I mean, I had been thinking about him a lot and I was exhausted so it made sense.

"Hey, darling," He chuckled softly.

"I- what the- are you- what?"

My eyes were heavy, my voice was quiet, in fear of it breaking and I was so incredibly confused.

"Surprise." He chuckled, tucking a hair behind my ear.

I blinked a few times to clear my vision and I saw a tear run down his cheek.

He was here.

"Tom," I whispered, grabbing him and pulling him into me, my arms wrapping around his neck.

He held me just as tightly around my waist. His skin was on mine. He was here. He was actually here. We were actually touching.

He slowly pulled me off the couch and onto the floor with him, welcoming me onto his lap. I wrapped my legs around him and nuzzled my face into his neck. I fisted his light jacket, trying to get a hold of every part of him.

Suddenly it was as if every emotion I felt in the past five months came flooding to the surface. Sadness, hopelessness, excitement, happiness, love. His hands wrapped completely around my waist, holding me flush to his chest. I felt tears tickle down my face but I didn't care.

His face was nuzzled into my neck, too. He moved a hand up to cradle the back of my head when he realised I was crying. I was actually sobbing. Audibly. But so was he now.

We both pulled away at the same time then immediately crashed our lips together. A new wave of tears pooled into my eyes. He tasted good. He tasted like him. Minty and perfect. I ran my fingers up and into his hair. God I missed his hair.

Our tongues pushed into each others and we both moaned slightly, revelling in the feeling of one another again.

He was here.

We pulled away breathlessly and stared into each other's eyes. I cupped his face and he did mine. I wiped the tears from his face, he wiped the tears from mine.

"I missed you so much." I croaked.

"I missed you too, darling."

"Please just promise me you'll never do that again. I can't live without you for that long again. I can't." I half-joked.

"I'm not going anywhere. I'm staying here with you." He rested his forehead against mine.

"I'm home." He whispered.

I sobbed happy cries at his words. He suddenly pulled away and brought his phone out, shakily going onto Spotify and playing 'Home' by Caite Turner, turning it all the way up.

"Dance with me." He whispered.

I stood off of him and he joined me. He held my hand and twirled me around, inspecting my body.

"I feel so naked," I laughed.

He shed his jacket off and then he pulled his t-shirt over his head. I widened my eyes at him. He had gotten fitter over filming, along with a new tan.

"That's better." I sniffled with a smile.

He brought me into him and held me by my waist with one hand then my hand in his other. I had my free hand on his cheek. I traced up and onto his sun freckles, down his crooked nose and then back to his left eyebrow and down to his jaw then back into his hair.

He leaned his head down and encased my lips in his. It was soft and breathless. One of those kisses you wish you had a picture of to capture the moment. I missed kissing him. Our lips slotted together perfectly like they were made for each other.

He slowly pulled away and we rested our heads against each other's, still swaying in time to the music.

"You're my home, y/n." He whispered.

I closed my eyes, feeling a few tears escape my eyes.

"Wherever you are is home to me. I can't be without you again." He spoke quietly and shakily, on the verge of another sob.

"I feel the same. I'm going everywhere with you now."

He chuckled lightly and we pulled back. He brushed my hair behind my ear and looked into my eyes with his gorgeous brown ones. I cupped his face and me sighed into my touch.

"I love you." He stated quietly.

"I love you." I replied.

"You're the one, y/n. No questions. I can't fucking live without you."

I felt my chin quiver at his words. I didn't know how to even respond verbally.

I pulled him down to my lips, my tongue slipping into his mouth almost immediately. He hummed and wrapped his arms around my waist.

"You're it, Tom," I whispered between kisses.

He pulled away slightly, our lips just ghosting over one another's.

"You're my home."

[commonwealthoccurences]

Companions React: Masked, Teenager Sole

Note: Deacon has a full imagine due to it being the original request, which can be found under the title “The Kids From Yesterday.” Enjoy!

Cait:

Nosy about Sole’s identity

The fact that they’re so secretive makes her extra suspicious about their motives, especially when she first becomes their companion

Will probably straight up start arguments about it, and it honestly does become a barrier in her trusting them

(Maybe it’s just an excuse she’s using not to trust them)

Eventually it settles into an unspoken agreement that they agree to disagree; Sole knows she doesn’t like their secrecy and Cait knows they don’t fully trust her either due to how guarded they have to be

Doesn’t appreciate it when other people push to find Sole’s identity, though

She can yell at them about it but no one else can, that’s her job

When she eventually has to remove Sole’s helmet due to them getting injured, she’s outwardly horrified

They remind her of herself when she was younger; young and vulnerable and put in dangerous positions no teenager should be a part of

She’s terrified for them and that shows itself as anger, considering that’s the only way she really knows how to show emotion

When they wake up they argue, but eventually she gives them her reasoning

She becomes extremely protective and is more ready than ever to spill blood over someone threatening Sole

No one was around and willing to protect her when she needed it as a teenager; Sole doesn’t have to deal with the same if she’s there, though

Curie:

Doesn’t particularly let the anonymity bother her

She notices, of course, how closely they guard their identity and the fact that they never show their face, or any part of their body, but that doesn’t hinder their efficiency so she doesn’t think much of it

Finds them to be delightful company and doesn’t need a face to know that

That’s about it. She may ask the occasional question about their background out of curiosity or ask their reasoning for hiding identifying features, but other than that she doesn’t really react to the hiding

When Sole gets injured and she finds out their identity she’s definitely surprised

She asks them what led them to taking up the mantle they have (General, Railroad recruit, etc) when they shouldn’t have to have that responsibility at such a young age

They’ve clearly proved themself capable, so she doesn’t tend to question them so much

However she does make sure to sneak in ways to let them be a teenager and not the Sole the Commonwealth knows

She asks them to join her on short walks, help her cook, etc

Makes sure to help them stay anonymous to others

Danse:

Absolutely not impressed

A security threat he doesn’t want to deal with

How is he supposed to verify they’re decent and vouch for them if he doesn’t even know who they are

Not to mention the potential for someone to pretend to be them and gain access to the Prydwen

Makes a begrudging exception if Maxson requests so or they turn out to be a fantastic asset

Doesn’t really stop prying, though (A small part of that is his own curiosity)

After they’ve known each other a while he gets defensive over other people prying into Sole’s identity

“They’re highly respected for a reason, I don’t think their appearance is any of your business, now is it?”

When he has to remove their helmet he’s shocked but doesn’t fully react

Sure, the situation’s unfortunate, however many Brotherhood recruits start young

Does have doubts as to whether or not a teenager can handle the workload and make the decisions required of Sole, but realizes eventually that they’ve already been making those choices

Is wary of them overworking themself but it isn’t a big conversation

Gage:

Struggles a bit with not being in the loop, but plenty of raiders don’t show their faces

If they get their work done and don’t fuck things up, he doesn’t particularly care what they look like or where they come from

Sure he’s curious and makes small attempts to find out what they look like but it’s not a big issue for him

Does ask about their past every now and then just to see if they’ll slip up

When he finds out their age and what they look like he finds himself more upset than he’d expected

The things he’d required them to do weren’t pretty and yet they hadn’t hesitated, even seemed to be trying to surpass his expectations

They lived in a shitty world but things like this really hit him in the gut and drive that point home

Goes a little easier on them afterwards but doesn’t make a discussion out of it and no longer pries

Also uses the respect angle as a way to get raiders to stop asking questions

Hancock:

Unashamed prier

Doesn’t hesitate to try and get them to expose their past

It’s playful teasing to him so unless Sole draws a line or seems extremely uncomfortable, he’s not gonna stop

Doesn’t really think there’s anything to their anonymity other than maybe them having a situation similar to Mac; someone hiding from raiders or the Gunners

Once they earn his respect his jokes get a little less invasive and he starts letting them have their secrets

When he sees they’re a teenager he’s pretty upset

They’ve been travelling the Commonwealth fighting things that no sane adult would go up against in their dreams and they’re just a kid in his eyes

Doesn’t really know what to do

Has a talk with them about letting him protect them a bit more

He doesn’t feel right having a teenager try and take bullets for him

He’s not upset at them he’s upset for them and all they shouldn’t’ve had to do

Haylen:

Another believer in the security risk issue

If they prove themself loyal, though, she doesn’t have too much of a problem

Does ask questions about their past but not to pry, more because she genuinely wants to get to know them

As long as they’re capable, though, she leaves anything regarding their appearance and past alone

That’s about it before they reveal their face

Afterwards she’s somewhat upset

She doesn’t often question Maxson, but he’s sending a teenager on dangerous missions that should be completed by the upper ranks of the Brotherhood

Mostly just angered by the fact that they have no one to stand up and protect them when a bunch of adults are asking them to do dangerous things for their own benefit

MacCready:

Respects the anonymity

Honestly a little jealous he didn’t think to go anon

Doesn’t ask anything in the beginning; he’s getting paid to protect them not for small talk

Does suspect they’re running from something

As they get closer he asks a few questions but doesn’t really pressure them to talk about their past

When he finds out Sole’s a teenager he’s possibly the most effected out of all the companions

He feels sick and immediately thinks of Duncan; this was somebody’s child. What if it was his kid in this position, with all these expectations on his shoulders?

Immediately activates dad mode, to the point where Sole might find it a little suffocating

“There has to be someone out there missing you, kid. Why are you out here doing all this dangerous sh- stuff?”

The dad mode thing doesn’t really switch off unless they’re in public; implying a familial connection could make things more dangerous

He does protect them in combat situations more, though, and usually has an eye on them at all times

Nick:

A little wary of their unwillingness to be identified, but can’t be too annoyed about it

There’s plenty of tactics to stay alive in the Commonwealth and theirs seems to be working for them quite well

Does wonder how they manage to avoid slipping up and revealing something about themself so well (he is a detective after all)

May make sly comments to see if they do mess up but other than that he leaves the identity situation alone

They’re respectable and they respect him, so that’s enough in his eyes

When he finds out they’re a teenager he, like Gage, is reminded of just how much the world has changed

He’s disgusted that a teenager has been put in a situation where they feel they need to make theses sacrifices for everyone

God knows the adults aren’t really doing it

Becomes a lot more defensive of them but not to the point Mac goes to

Checks up on them a lot more often, too

Makes sure they take breaks from the difficult tasks

Piper:

She’s a reporter; you really expect her to do anything other than pry?

Seriously does everything she can think of to get them to slip up and reveal something about themself

Even tries to bribe them

When it doesn’t work she sulks a little and mulls over her next plan

Eventually she isn’t so forthright with it but she never really stops trying

Makes it clear that she does respect Sole for their personality and what they do, though

When she finds out it all makes sense to her and she feels guilty for being so persistent

Becomes a bit protective over them as well; she couldn’t imagine if Nat was put in their position

Tries to make it clear through her actions that they have a home with her and Nat if they need somewhere to go or a family, since it seems like they don’t have one of their own

Preston:

Are they efficient? Do they respect the settlers? Do they have a good heart and want to help the Commonwealth? Good enough for him

He doesn’t have the time or energy to try and dig into why they don’t want to show their face

He’s admittedly a little curious but it’s none of his business and he makes sure that they know he knows that

A little more reluctant to just let it go once they become General considering there’s more at stake, but what else is he gonna do

It’s not like anyone else was willing to lead, and they seem to be doing a damn good job at it

When they get injured and he finds out why they hid their appearance, he’s somewhat upset

At himself for putting so much pressure on a teenager, at Sole for not being straightforward and allowing him to push them so much, and at the world for putting them both in a situation where there’s no other option

Moving forward he asks a little less of them and tries to step up even more to take some of their workload

Definitely helps quell the settlers asking questions about Sole and their identity

Sturges:

Pretty similar to Preston

Doesn’t ask too many questions as long as they’re a respectable leader

When he finds out he takes a minute to be frustrated with the situation and then moves on

Their armor and weapons are always priority for repair, however, and he asks them quite often if they need his assistance with something

X6-88:

Internally he’s quite unwilling to believe they’re good enough for the job the Institute’s given them, but he doesn’t express this other than with a few snide comments

They could be a major security risk but the decision has been made and he’s not in much of a place to protest

He does try to investigate them on his own, without asking them questions directly, but comes up empty handed, which irritates him further

When he finds out he’s alarmed

The fate of the Institute, and therefore the Commonwealth, as been put in the hands of a teenager

His reaction to protect them even more isn’t quite out of concern for their wellbeing, and more out of concern for the Institute if they were to die

Isn’t impressed

[ythankucaptainmccoy]

Triple Frontier: Unwanted Job Chapter 5

Wow it's a new year and a new chapter for you all following the story. I apologize for not updating very frequently, but my job has been very hectic. This chapter is going to be a lot of domestic Frankie/Catfish which I absolutely adore. If y’all have any thing that you think could be added feel free to let me know. WARNING: Fluff, Cursing, Sexual Tension, Awkward Conversations, First Date and Heated Scene. The italics are text messages between characters.

----------------------------

The sun was filtering in through the blinds when Frankie opened his eyes. The side of the bed where Cait had been was empty, but he could hear her shuffling around in the kitchen. He went to get up and realized that he couldn’t get his leg to support all of his weight. He tried again, but this time he fell straight to the floor with a loud thud. Next thing he knew Cait was kneeling down beside him trying to keep him from moving. “Jesus Frankie you have to take it easy. Are you okay? Any pain? Which reminds me I need to give you your morning dose of pain meds”, she assessed. 

“I’m alright hermosa I just couldn’t put my full weight on my leg”, he pouted. “Frankie you were shot it just doesn’t magically heal overnight”, she chuckled. He ducked his head sheepishly as she helped him to sit on the edge of the bed. “I’m going to go get some water for you to take your pills. Do not move from that spot Francisco Morales”, she scolded. He grinned as she swished out of the room to go get a glass of water. “Here you go”, she told him making her way into his room. 

He quickly popped open the pill bottle and took a pill into his hand. He downed it with the glass of water she had handed him. “If you want to stay here I can bring you your breakfast”, she told him. “Hermosa you don’t have to make me breakfast”, he sighed. “Nonsense that's why I’m here. To help you until you are back to a hundred percent. Besides you might want to let the pain medication do its magic before you get up again”, she instructed.

He nodded and it wasn’t a couple minutes later Cait came strolling back in with a plate. He noticed she had made an omelette. “We need to go to the store today so we can get groceries”, she hummed. He nodded as he took a bite and groaned which caused a shiver to run down her spine. “This is good. I could eat this every morning and be content”, he complimented. She only nodded as she tried to hide the blush on her cheeks. 

“Well I will let you finish your breakfast and then we can get ready to go to the store. I mean unless you want to stay here”, she announced. “No, I can go to the store. I just may be a little slow with this leg”, he shrugged. She waited until he was finished before she took the plate and fork back to the kitchen to set them in the sink. When she came back in she helped Catfish to his feet. She noticed the slight grimace and without a second thought she put her hand on his stomach to steady him.

He sucked in a breath as she helped steady him with her hand. He didn’t know if she knew that her touch sent sparks flying in his veins, but he was relishing the contact with her. The last couple days had been extremely hard since they shared beds, but now he was seeking out the touches whereas before it was just a small flame was now igniting a fire. Cait didn’t seem to notice his breathing become a little deeper or if she did she didn’t let on. “Okay do you think you can get ready by yourself”, she questioned. “If I need you I’ll call for you”, he said limping to his dresser. 

Cait stopped at the door and turned to watch him which caught his eye. He stopped rummaging in his dresser drawer and looked at her with a smile. “What?”, he questioned. “Nothing”, she replied with a grin as she turned to walk out. Once she made it to the kitchen she checked her phone where she had a text from Benny which read: Hey hope you and Fish aren’t getting too frisky and June says hi. She quickly typed her reply: Why are you like this. He is injured and I will not take advantage of him like that! Tell June I said hi and make sure if you all screw that she should make you wear a condom. We don’t need any Benny Juniors runnin around.

She chuckled as she hit the send button waiting to see if Benny would even respond. She was about to go check on Frankie when her phone alerted. Benny: I can’t believe you would think so lowly of me XP. Oh and I’m sure Fish wouldn’t mind if you took advantage of him. Just imagine that, him not being able to do anything about it, not that he would want to.

She quickly typed back: You perv I would never do that to Frankie. She sent it and waited for Frankie to appear, but when he didn’t she began to worry, but her phone alerted again. Benny: Well if he asked you to do it would you? I bet you both would be kinky as hell >:). Cait choked on the water she was drinking when she read the text. She shot back: Benny what the hell! She was absolutely red with embarrassment. The alert came through and she was hesitant to open the text. Benny: Well would you do it if he asked this is a serious question Cait 

Cait stared at the phone as though the answer had already typed itself. Cait: I mean if he genuinely asked and we were in a relationship then yes I would, but we aren’t dating. Hell why am I even talking to you about this. Benny: Because you care for the dork that’s why. He cares about you. You’re just too blind to see it. You know that Santiago has a bet going that you two will fuck before he even gets his stitches removed. Cait: I can’t believe he bet on something that won’t happen. Wait did you bet for us fucking or against it. You know what I don’t even want to know. 

Benny: Of course I bet that you two would and June did too. Because the spark is there and it will ignite into a beautiful flame. Cait: I swear you… wait June bet to? Stop corrupting her, she is a nice woman! Damn it who bet we wouldn’t sleep together? Benny: Well I think the only one that bet against you all fucking was Tom. Cait: Well tell Tom he will get his money Benny: I think you two should definitely go on a couple dates first, but definitely give him the WAP! HE DESERVES THE WAP!

Cait’s jaw dropped and she squeaked when she read the text. Frankie had just hobbled into the kitchen when she squeaked, and he smiled at the adorable noise that came out of her mouth. “Who’s texting you?”, Frankie asked. She almost dropped her phone, but quickly shut the screen off. “Oh it was Benny wanting to check up on us”, she huffed. Frankie raised an eyebrow as if he didn’t believe a word she said. “Well are you ready to go? I can drive”, she announced. “No that’s okay I can drive besides my right leg is fine”, he responded. “No I will be driving due to the fact you are on pain meds Francisco”, she smiled sweetly. 

He shivered when she said his name like that, but he had already grabbed the keys to the truck. “Uh uh hand 'em over”, she said, coming to stand in his way. “No, I think I can handle the pain meds and driving”, he pouted. He held them above his head as she frowned. She stretched up to reach them, but he held them a little further away each time. His smile widened as she huffed trying to take them again, but he held them just out of reach. “Fine”, she growled. 

He followed behind her grabbing his ball cap and putting it on as he left. He locked the door to the house, and clipped the keys to his belt loop. Cait knew she needed to get those keys, and she hatched a little plan. She followed him to the drivers side of the truck, and he turned around to face her with confusion written all over his face. It was now or never and she had to swallow down her nerves. 

She looked down to the ground and put on what Benny called her “I want you” face. She looked back up to Frankie, and he swore his mouth went dry. Cait then gently pushed him back against the truck door, and his eyes widened. She pushed up against him putting her hands on his chest then slowly dragged a hand down, and Frankie swore he was about to combust. Her hand traveled to his belt, and he was trying to think of anything other than what she was doing. He couldn’t look away as she brushed his belt with her finger tips. 

She made her move and quickly unclipped the keys from his belt loop, and danced backwards with a smirk on her face. “Thanks for the keys”, she giggled while jangling the keys. He shook his head and tried to breathe, and tried to get his semi erection to go down. “That was unfair, but know this little game isn’t over”, he grumbled as he made his way to the passenger side. Once they were both in she started the truck and started down the gravel drive. 

The radio played on a rock station, and they listened until they reached the parking lot of the grocery store. Cait shut the truck off and made sure Frankie was good to go. “Okay I know what I like, but I need to know what you usually stock the fridge and pantry with”, she informed him. Frankie told her what he normally got, and she had a horrified look on her face. “What I like to be simple”, he blushed ducking his head. Cait watched him hide his face under the bill of his hat.

“Frankie you grocery shop like you are making MRE packets”, she joked. “Well let’s see what you would pick then”, he scoffed. “Alright”, she smiled. She walked slowly to keep beside Frankie as she started to pick items off the shelves. Every once in a while she would bend over a display, and Frankie couldn’t help but stare at her perfect ass. One elderly lady caught him staring and when they locked eyes the old woman laughed. 

He ducked his head as his face heated up at being caught. When Cait turned around to a blushing Frankie the old lady called out, “Your boyfriend is a shy one isn’t he”, she smiled. “Oh he isn’t my boyfriend”, Cait blushed. “Oh honey you would make such a great couple, and probably some cute babies too. Better snatch him up before somebody else does”, she chuckled. “Well I don’t know if we would be ready for a relationship with the things he stocks his fridge with”, Cait giggled. “Oh trust me even after your married men couldn’t stock a fridge to save their lives”, the elderly woman shared. 

Frankie was in awe at how she handled the elderly woman as if she knew her all her life. When the woman bid them a great day Cait looked to Frankie with a smile that made him want to tell her how he felt. “What do you think about lasagna for dinner tonight with some red wine, and maybe a movie with popcorn?”, she asked over her shoulder. “So like a date?”, he questioned. She stopped abruptly and turned to look at him. He was about to make a joke that it was the pain killers making him say stupid shit, but he would be a liar.

“I would really like that”, she responded. Now Frankie was grinning ear to ear because the woman he had been wanting to date for years now just said yes to a date. “Well I guess we better get everything we will need. I’ll make my mothers recipe that she taught me”, she giddily responded. “So does this make us… ya know…”, Frankie dared to say the words he was afraid would scare her away. “Boyfriend and girlfriend… Yeah I like the sound of that”, she nodded. They both stood there looking like two loons as they smiled at each other until a guy cleared his throat.

“Oh sorry”, Cait said as she moved so he could get by. Cait noticed how Frankie kept glancing down at her hand and she quickly grabbed his hand. They walked down several isles and she placed what she would need in the cart. At one point she couldn’t reach the red wine she wanted on the top shelf so Frankie stepped right up behind her to get it down. She turned and smiled up at him as she took the bottle from his hand. Then his hands gingerly landed on her hips as if he would break her.

He was contemplating on a kiss, but another shopper brushed past his leg and pain made him pull away with a hiss. “Frankie are you okay”, she said glaring at the person that just passed them. “I’m alright”, he breathed. When he was ready they finished up their shopping and headed towards the check out. Cait laughed as the elderly woman from before spotted them a couple checkout lanes over. She raised her and Frankies hand and she beamed with a knowing smile as Cait mouthed a thank you to her. 

Once they got everything back to the truck she loaded all the groceries in the back. While she was distracted Frankie grabbed the keys and got into the drivers side. She only rolled her eyes but got into the passenger side and shut the door. As he started the truck he looked over at her as if wanting to ask her something. She quickly scooted over the bench seat to the middle of the old truck as he slung his arm across the back of the seat. It took a while but they both finally relaxed enough and she started to sing to the old rock station. 

It was as if time slowed as he watched her sing Dreams by Fleetwood Mac. When they reached the house she shooed him inside, and insisted that when he was better, then he could help bring in groceries. She stocked the fridge and pantry with everything they had bought, and by the time she was done she realized she needed a shower. “Hey I’m going to take a quick shower before I start making dinner”, she told him from the kitchen. “Alright and I’ll take one once you're done”, he hummed. She was still giddy with excitement and nerves as she took the toiletries she had gotten at the store to the bathroom. 

Frankie picked up his phone while Cait was in the shower and sent a quick text to Santiago. Frankie: Hey man you will never guess what happened today. Santiago replied almost immediately: Please tell me you both finally fucked Frankie: What? No, I asked Cait about having a date. She said it herself we are both officially boyfriend and girlfriend. Santiago: Holy shit you actually asked her. Was it romantic like you kneeling down and asking her. Frankie: No hijo de puta. I asked her while we were out at the store it just kinda slipped, but she said yes and said that we are official.

Santiago: Well congrats man. Hey I gotta go a couple girls just walked into the bar, and they might be twins. Frankie: Well have fun with that I have a date to get ready for.  When Cait came out with her hair braided, and in jeans and a band shirt he thought she was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. “Showers all yours Frankie”, she said heading into the kitchen. As soon as he rounded the corner Cait pulled out her phone. 

Cait: Benny omg you will not guess what just happened! Benny: You finally let that man have the WAP!? Cait: No you jackass Frankie asked me out on a date and I said yes. We are dating now like what do I do and don’t say I should give him the WAP or I’ll kill you. Benny: On a serious note just be yourself. That's why he likes you. Cait: What if I mess this up like with well you know. Benny: What happened with that fucker wasn’t your fault. Cait, Fish loves you for you not for what you can give him Cait: Thank you Benny. Hey I gotta go make lasagna for date night. We can talk later.

Benny: Go get him tigress. Cait chuckled at the last message and turned on her phone's music playlist. The lasagna was taking longer to make because she was making it from scratch like her mother used to do. She was swaying to the music when she felt hands on her hips that made her jump slightly. “Looks good. Need any help?”, Frankie asked. “Yes actually you can go ahead and open the wine. I got two bottles so we won’t run out any time soon”, she told him. He did as she said and grabbed two wine glasses out of the cupboard. 

He poured the wine into their respective glasses and she sipped from hers. He took a sip and was hit with a sweet flavor. “Sorry if it’s too sweet I like sweet reds over dry reds”, she shrugged. “No it’s really good I just wasn’t expecting it to be sweet like you”, he popped off. Cait blushed and he grinned. “So he can flirt”, she giggled while taking some more sips of wine. “There is a lot that you don’t know about me”, he winked. 

Everything seemed to fall into place then and they bantered back and forth. The lasagna needed to bake and Cait placed it in the oven and set a timer. Frankie had been a little quiet so she walked into the dining area and she almost felt like she was floating when she came in. He had set a table cloth down and had a candle in the middle of it that was flickering. Her eyes landed on Frankie as he smoothed out some wrinkles in the cloth. “Oh… um I figured since this would be our first date that I should maybe make it look nice. I mean it isn’t much, but it will do I guess”, he rambled. “Oh Frankie I love it!”, she smiled as her eyes burned with tears. 

Before she talked herself out of it she walked over and gave him a quick peck on the lips. When she went to pull away he grabbed her hand pulling her back to him. “You have no idea how many years I have waited for that”, he smiled. Cait blushed as he brought his hands up to cup her face. “If we are moving too fast or I do something you don’t like please tell me”, he pleaded. “I want this. All of this. All you have to give me and more”, she whispered. That was all he needed as he surged forward.

It was slow and sensual as he kissed her, and when she moaned he took the opportunity to explore her mouth. She didn’t fight or pull away if anything she relaxed more. He continued until they both needed to breath and he reluctantly pulled away as Cait tried to chase his lips. He pulled her close and rested his forehead against hers. “I was an idiot for not telling you how I felt all those years ago”, he hummed. “Well I’m here and we’re together now so we will make the most of it”, she chirped. He stole a few more kisses until the timer on the oven went off. 

Cait quickly got two plates and served up lasagna, garlic bread and a vegetable mix. Frankie grabbed his plate and they sat at the table to eat. Cait refilled their wine glasses and Frankie took the first bite of lasagna. The groan he let out was almost pornagraphic and Cait rubbed her thighs together at the sound. “This is amazing!”, he said around a mouthful of lasagna. “I’m glad you like it”, she laughed. They talked and ate until they had emptied their plates. They both had at least two and a half glasses of wine.

Cait went to take the plates to the kitchen and started to wash them. “Why don’t you go ahead and pick a movie while I clean up and put the popcorn in”, she suggested. “Sure thing Novia”, he called from the living room. She smiled at the nickname as she finished up the dishes and pulled the popcorn to put over the stove. “It may take me a minute because this popcorn is one you put over an open flame”, she called out. “That’s alright I’m still trying to find a movie”, he called back.

Once the popcorn was done she poured it into a bowl and went into the living room where Frankie had a movie ready to go. “What are we watching?”, she asked as she curled into Frankie’s side. “Casablanca”, he replied as he made room for her. “Perfect I love that movie”, Cait replied. They watched the movie and ate their popcorn and at one point Frankie had needed to move his leg. She got up and he stretched out on the couch and pulled her down between him and the back of the sofa. 

Near the middle of the movie he looked down to see Cait tucked close with her head on his chest. Every once in a while she would hum in contentment, and he never wanted things to go back to the way it had been. Her being his is all he had ever wanted and now with her here in his arms he was content. Before he realized the credits were rolling and she had gotten up to take the bowl back in the kitchen. When she came back he was sitting up and he grabbed her hips and pulled her down to him where she straddled his lap.

She was smiling and somewhat giddy from the wine which he smiled at. She leaned forward to kiss him and he leaned back into the couch letting her take the lead. Cait blamed it on the wine, but she had always imagined what kissing him like this would be like. The kisses became more needy and she let out a whine that had him gripping her hips and pulling her down on him. She gasped when she felt something hard beneath her. “Mmmmmm Novia”, he groaned as she ground her hips down onto his jean covered cock.

He was letting her take control, and it was going great until he tried to buck up into her. He hissed as pain shot through his leg and she jumped. “Frankie oh my God I am so sorry”, she apologized. “No it was my fault Hermosa I was too eager”, he assured her. “We should get to bed besides it's time for your pain medication”, she informed him. He let her lead him into the bedroom where she left him to get dressed into his night clothes.

He pulled on a T-shirt and a pair of gray sweats that hung low on his hips. He then went and brushed his teeth before bed. When Cait knocked he told her to come in and she gave him a glass of water to take his pain pill with. She excused herself and went into the bathroom to brush her teeth and change into a tank top and shorts. When she came back out Frankie held the blanket open for her and she slid under the covers.

He pulled her into his side with his good arm, and she molded herself to him. “Goodnight Cait”, he told her. “Goodnight Frankie”, she replied with a yawn. Frankie waited and listened for her breathing to even out signaling that she was finally asleep. The pain pill was catching up to him and the excitement of the day. He placed a loving kiss to the top of her head, and drifted off to sleep.

-----------------------------

Holy crapola guys there ya have it!

[returnn-of-the-mac]

Companions react to Sole being a famous violinist that played Irish/Folk music? (no complaints if Cait's is longer * hint hint *) Love ya work!

Ah this one was fun! You might notice it in this little more in this React than in my others, but I’d just like to point out (in case you haven’t already noticed), I purposely make Sole not have any lines of dialogue because everyone’s SS is different. It kinda breaks the immersion if Sole says something that your Sole wouldn’t say. So that’s why Sole is, well, silent. Just leave their responses to your imagination! Also, I’m sorry this doesn’t really touch upon the “famous” part of your request, but I figured they’d all kind of sound the same as that prima ballerina React I did a while back, so I just did it more as a “Sole is very, very talented” kinda reaction. Hope that’s okay! Please enjoy!😄

FO4 Companions React: Sole Being a Famous Irish Folk Violinist

Sole and their companion were on their way to Salem when they stumbled upon an old music shop. Inside the store, the pair found a collection of perfectly preserved instruments. Upon looking through cases and displays, Sole found a violin— one that was identical to the one they used to perform Irish folk music in the pre-war days. They picked up the instrument and began to play familiar melodies

Deacon: Deacon was completely enthralled by the beautiful performance by his partner. When Sole has finished their song, Deacon enthusiastically clapped and cheered. “WOOHOO!” Deacon shouted, “ENCORE! ENCORE! Play I’ve Been Working on the Railroad next!”

Hancock: Hancock swayed to Sole’s music. When they had finished, he nodded in approval. “Excellent performance. Job well done. And without chems either? Damn, you got some real talent, [brother/sister]. You should be proud.” Hancock picked up an electric guitar. “My turn. You just sit back and enjoy the ride.” The ghoul proceeded to perform one of his favorite pre-war classics: Purple Haze by Jimi Hendrix. Sole watched him in awe as he perfected every riff. When he had finished his performance, Hancock took a bow. “I’d like to thank the ungodly amount of mentats that contributed to mastering this song—the only song I can play on any instrument.”

Nick: Nick smiled as Sole performed Irish folk tunes on the violin. When they had finished, he clapped. “That was an extraordinary performance. You’re quite the virtuoso, my friend.” The detective sat down on a piano bench and cracked his mechanical knuckles. “You know The Entertainer by Joplin? I know how to play it on the piano if you wanted to perform it together.”

Curie: Curie hummed along to Sole’s melody, immersed in the music. When Sole finished, Curie wiped away a lone tear that trickled down her cheek. “Magnificent. That was absolutely remarkable, [Madam/Monsieur]. It has brought tears to my eyes.” Curie blushed, “If it’s not too much, could you possibly play another melody? Possibly...La Java Bleue by Fréhel? That is my absolute favorite!”

Ada: Ada stood in place and listened to Sole’s performance. When Sole had finished, she finally spoke. “That was stunning, [sir/ma’am]. It’s incredible how nimble you are with that instrument. Me...I could only dream of being that dexterous.” She paused for a moment. “I wish I could compose a melody for you...oh! I can play Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star in Morse Code if you would like to hear that.”

Strong: Strong listened to Sole’s song all the way through. “Human...how you play tiny instrument? Strong want to try.” Strong picked up the violin and drew the bow across the strings. It made a horrendous screech that forced Sole to cover their ears. Strong was not amused. “STUPID INSTRUMENT! Why not work for Strong?” Strong crushed the violin in his hands and carelessly dropped the wooden fragments on the ground. “Bah! Useless junk anyway.”

Codsworth: Codsworth listened to every note of Sole’s performance with a strong longing for the past. When Sole finished, Codsworth signed. “Oh, [sir/mum]. I missed this. It was wonderful to have the opportunity to listen to your music again.” The two were silent for a few moments before Codsworth broke the silence, “Please, would you mind just playing one more tune?”

Danse: Danse, genuinely impressed by his partner’s talent, listened attentively to their performance. He then fished through the instrument box and pulled out a harmonica. He began to play harmoniously with Sole. When the two finished their song, Danse smiled. “Cutler and I would play that song among several others when business was slow at our junk stand in Rivet City,” the Paladin explained, “He played the accordion and I played the harmonica. We were decent enough. People gave us tips. We constantly joked about starting up a street band with other drifters, but nothing came of that. And we never spoke of t again once we joined the Brotherhood.” He put the instrument back in the box. “But I digress; that was an outstanding performance, soldier. You never cease to amaze me.”

Piper: Piper closed her eyes and fully immersed herself in Sole’s beautiful music. When Sole finished the melody, Piper approached them. “Blue...that was incredible. Honestly, I think that was the best violin performance I’ve ever heard!” She shook her head and laughed. “Hey, you should play that song for the upper-stand snobs. You’d absolutely blow their minds. I swear you’d make Ann Codman’s head explode if you proved to her that the working class have talent, too.”

X6-88: X6 absorbed every note of Sole’s Irish folk melodies and subtly tapped his fingers to the beat. When Sole had finished, he spoke. “That was excellent, [sir/ma’am]. I do not frequently listen to music— save for a few classical songs— but that was a truly riveting performance. Well done.”

Longfellow: Longfellow smiled widely as he listened to his partner performed. He picked up a nearby fiddle and played notes that complimented his partner’s perfectly. After their performance, Longfellow clapped. “Bravo!,” Longfellow praised, “I may not know how to play Irish folk songs on the fiddle, but I can teach you some sea shanties.”

MacCready: MacCready smirked and listened to his partner masterfully recreate traditional Irish folk music. When Sole has finished, MacCready grinned. “That was awesome! I never pictured you as the musical type.”MacCready approached an electric guitar that was on display and through the strap over his shoulder. “Now the real question is...can you play rock and roll?” MacCready aggressively strummed the strings of the guitar, creating sharp, piercing beats that caused both himself and Sole to cringe. He quickly stopped and sheepishly scratched his head “...because I clearly can’t.”

Preston: Preston stared in awe as his partner skillfully handled the violin. He clapped once Sole had finished playing. “General, that was incredible. I never would’ve guessed you were a master of the violin.” He complimented. He thought for a moment, and then eagerly turned to his partner. “Any chance you know how to play the pre-war National anthem? I’d love to hear it.”

Gage: Gage was taken aback by Sole’s sheer talent. “Boss. That was...good. And I ain’t messin with ya either. It was damn good.” He studied the violin. “And I ain’t usually a fan of these fancy-folk instruments. I’m more of a trashcan lid and harmonica kinda guy.”

Cait: Cait’s eyes lit up when she heard the all-too-familiar tunes of her homeland. When Sole finished, she beamed. “Hey, ye ain’t half bad! In fact, ye ain’t bad. Yer amazin! You’ve got some Irish in ye?” Sole answered and Cait smiled. “Well you’d probably be surprised to know that I know how to dance to these songs. When I was a girl, I taught myself how to dance in my spare time. Kept me from thinking of me parents.” She looked down and frowned. “But as much as I loved it, it was a risk. They’d beat me if they saw me practicin. So eventually I just stopped tryin.” She looked at her companion earnestly, “But I like to think I still have that spirit in me. The way I dodged punches in the Combat Zone, it reminded me of my dancin. I think I’d like to give it a try again if you don’t mind.” Sole agreed and started playing another tune. Cait aptly began to step to the music; her feet tapping to the beats synchronously. For the first time in a long time, Cait looked radiant and truly happy. When the song concluded, Cait took a playful bow. She then turned to her partner, eyes wide with genuine gratitude. “Thank you, [name]. That truly meant a lot to me.”

[fallout4reactsblog]

companions react to ss being in the red room before the war, and thats why their so good at fighting, killing, seducing people, etc

Companions are just realizing their crush for sole in this one! Warnings: depictions of violence, drug use

Cait: Cait watched sole disable the last of the collars keeping civilians as raider slaves. She allowed herself the briefest smile as families tearfully reunited and sole humbly waved off praise, only letting the barest hint of a smile show through on their face. As soon as they could get away, they picked their way over to her side, leaning up against the building with their arms folded.

“Thanks for doin’ this,” Cait said, giving them a gentle punch to the shoulder. “I know it was a hassle, but I do appreciate you doin’ this stuff for me.”

“Ah, don’t worry about it. Slavers are dicks. Anytime I can get a chance to hurt them, I will.” Their eyes trailed over the civilians making their way out of the camp and toward wherever home was. “Besides, it’s a little bit for me, too.”

“Oh?” Cait raised an eyebrow, waiting for them to continue, and to her surprise, they did.

“I guess it was a long time ago, but I was in cryo for most of that, so I don’t remember. So it feels like a couple months. But I remember what it was like to be at someone’s beck and call. No freedom, no will of your own, just doing what you were told.”

“Were there slaves before the war?”

They laughed a little. “Not legal ones, no. But there were people that would take civilians and train them in a place called the red room, teach them to become something other than human. Fighters, spies, torturers. They’d beat you until you learned, then either kill you or beat you some more. Then, once you graduated, you were always under your handlers command.”

Cait was smart enough to put two and two together. “And that was you.”

They nodded. “That was me, and I fucking hated it. The skills are great to have now, but constantly having to do everything my handler told me to, well, that was pretty damn miserable.”

“I always knew you’d seen some shite,” she said, leaning her head back against the wall. “Guess I was right.”

“Guess you were. Makes us two peas in a pod, huh?”

“Sure,” she snorted. “Two peas in a pod, whatever that means.”

“Come on.” They shoved off the wall and stepped into the sun. “Let’s get out of here. No sense in dredging up nasty memories for no reason.”

“I couldn’t agree more.”

They headed into the sun.

Curie: “You have a lot of scars, cheri(e),” Curie noted as she patched up the latest of sole’s wounds. Her fingers trailed one without meaning to, and she quickly snatched her hand away in embarrassment.

Thankfully, sole didn’t seem to notice, as they just nodded. “The wasteland’s a pretty dangerous place. You get hurt a lot.”

Curie hummed a little, trying to focus in on the bandages that she was supposedly applying, but getting a little too distracted by their naked back to pay as much attention as she should. “Oui, this is true. But some of these are very old, non? They are from before the war, I think.”

They nodded again, letting out a long breath. “I suppose that’s also true. Life wasn’t much safer for me before the war, I guess.”

“Oh, why not?” She reached for a bit of tape to hold the bandages in place. “I did not think things were very dangerous before the war, but then again, I was just a small robot in a lab. My view of things was probably not the best.”

“Yeah?” They laughed a little. “I guess not. You were probably pretty protected, huh?”

“Oh, yes. The only news that I knew was whatever my fellow scientists were talking about. Otherwise, I would not have even known there was a war. “

“Yeah, things were a little different for me, I guess.” Their fingers drummed against the counter they were perched on. “In all the news you ever got, did you ever hear of something called a red room?”

“Oui, I did. There was a lot of talk about the police finding one not far from where I worked. We followed the story of them arresting everyone and the trials for months. I was very happy. All that talk about the violence and horrible things happening made me very unhappy. It was hard to work.”

They chuckled again, shoulders shaking. “That’s funny. I think that one was the one that I went through.”

Curie’s hands stilled, falling flat against sole’s skin. “You experienced one of these awful places? Cheri(e), tell me it isn’t so.”

“But I did,” they said with a shrug. “Believe me, I was as excited as you to see that hellhole get shut down. Watching them try my handler was the best thing I’ve ever seen, especially the look on that asshole’s face when they sent him away for life.”

“Mon dieu.” Curie moved around the counter to stand in front of them and take their hands. “I am so sorry. You must have seen such awful things.”

“Of course. But going through all those things is what makes it possible to stay alive out here. So, I guess, in a way, I owe them.”

“Absolutely not. You do not owe those horrible people anything.” She cupped their face in her hands. “You would have made it just fine on your own. You are very strong and very smart.”

“Thanks, Curie.” They were a little muffled, due to the squished nature of their face, but their smile was genuine.

“Of course. Now, let me finish patching you up.”

She slid back around the counter as sole whined, “How long does it take?”

“A while, if you want it done well.” She reached for another roll of bandages. “If you would take care of yourself, and not try to fight so many Deathclaws, this would not happen.”

“I know, I know.” But they were laughing, and so was she, and everything was good.

Danse: He supposed that one of the things that made him and sole such good partners was their tendency to have nightmares. 

They shot up in bed across the room, panting heavily, eyes unfocused as they looked around. Slowly, he waved from his position keeping watch at the window, and when their face snapped to him, he saw fear clouding their vision.

“You with me, soldier?”

Their head shook, fingers curling around their wrist, nails digging into their skin. “I’m- I’m not-”

“It’s alright. You’re safe here.” He slid off the stool. “I’m going to walk toward you. Try to count the steps I’m taking. I’ll take it slow.”

His foot hit the floor, and they softly whispered, “One,” eyes locked on his shoes. They counted the steps as he eased toward them.

“Is it alright to touch you?” He knew from experience that contact wasn’t always the way. Rhys had punched him more times than he could count, just from the surprise, but sole slowly nodded. His fingers found theirs, and he pulled their hand away from their wrist. Gently, he pushed their holotags into their palm, and the other hand rubbed away the angry red crescents in their skin.

“Wherever you were, it’s alright. You aren’t there anymore. Can you tell me where we are?”

They nodded, and their voice shook a little as they spoke. “We set up camp in an abandoned drugstore. You offered to take first watch, said you couldn’t sleep anyway. I didn’t argue; I was tired. It was a long day.”

“It was.”

He stayed there, sitting across from them for a minute, watching them come back to the present. Their hand dropped from their holotags, and they slowly relaxed.

“Do you want to talk about it?” he asked once they seemed to be with him again.

They sighed heavily and nodded, fingers curling into the bedroll. “Do you know what a red room is?”

“I’m familiar with the concept. A room of training through torture. They’re highly frowned upon here.”

“Well, that’s nice to hear, at least.” Their eyes darted around the room, eventually settling on tracing the pattern in the floorboards. “I went through one, back before the war. It’s where I learned to fight. I guess it kinda messed me up.”

“Anyone would be emotionally scarred by that experience. It wasn’t your fault.”

They sighed again, then nodded hesitantly. “Yeah, I suppose.”

Silence stretched between them. He gently rubbed the redness away from their skin, trying to soothe the marks they’d made. He wasn’t quite sure when to stop, but they told him by pulling away and standing up.

“Here, you should try to sleep. I’ll take watch.”

“Are you certain?” He watched them settle on the stool he’d pulled up by the window. “I can stay up a while longer.”

“No, I mean it. Try to sleep.” They smiled, a little weakly. “It’s gonna be another big day tomorrow.”

“If you’re sure you’re alright.”

“I promise.”

He nodded and settled into the still-warm bedroll, mind spinning with this new information. He couldn’t imagine the things they must have seen, or even the things they must have done.

“Go to sleep, sir.” They seemed to read his mind. “I’ll wake you if I need you.”

He took their advice.

Deacon: Deacon liked the way the new agent worked, he decided as he sat back in his chair. He watched their leg gently press against a mark in the Dugout Inn, listened to them laugh at some joke the target had made. Their seduction techniques were beyond any he’d ever seen. They made it look so easy, even he found himself believing the attraction was genuine for a moment.

Their eyes left their target only for a moment, and they spared him a wink and a smile before returning to the Brotherhood Knight on their left, whose words were just beginning to slur together. They motioned to Vadim for another drink, and a certain change in their demeanor let Deacon know that they were about to get down to business.

Ten minutes later, when the information had been retrieved and the Knight was tucked into a bed, courtesy of sole, Deacon found them side-by-side as they stepped out into the rainy Diamond City air.

“How do you do that?” He asked, not trying to hide his grin as he gently nudged their shoulder.

“Do what?” They playfully nudged him back, just hard enough for him to stumble a bit.

“Handle those missions like you do.” He darted back to their side, shoulder hitting theirs hard enough to nearly make them stumble into a building. “You make it look so easy.”

“Secrets I learned before the war. You get to be an old-timer like me, you pick up a few things.” They practically ran at him to shove him, smile shimmering under the lights, and he was the first to hit the wall. “I didn’t go through the red room and come out with nothing to show for it.”

That was enough to make him pause their bout of roughhousing. “Sole, you went through a red room?”

They blinked twice, seemingly caught off guard by what they’d just said, then plastered a too-tight grin on. “Sure did. Terrible vacation, that was. Food was bad, hotel was bad, customer service sucked as well. One star because at least it was educational.”

Deacon was a liar. He knew that, and he also knew that it was his coping mechanism to deal with everything that had happened. In this moment, sole was not being a very good liar, but they sure were trying to deal with what they’d been through. So he wrapped an arm around their shoulder and laughed at their joke, and after a moment, they did, too, though a little uncertainly at first.

“Come on,” he finally said, pulling them back toward the exit to Diamond City. “Let’s get out of here and give Des the information you just expertly pulled out of that girl.”

They chuckled again, leaning into his side a little more to wrap an arm around his waist. “She’ll be happy we were so efficient.”

“She’ll be happy you were so efficient.” His other hand reached up to gently tap their nose. “All I did was watch.”

“You were…” they struggled for the words. “Moral support.”

“Sure, moral support.”

Gently, he squeezed their shoulders, and the two of them headed for home.

Gage: Gage liked a lot of things about his new boss. He liked the way they fought, he liked the way their ass looked in their jeans, and he liked that they certainly weren’t Colter. Mostly, though, he liked the way they got shit done.

A sickening crunch echoed through the streets as a traitor’s face met the pavement. They yanked the attached head up by the hair, snarling into terrified eyes.

“Where the fuck are the supplies, Davies?”

Davies looked like he was probably going to shit himself, but he shook his head in their grip. “I don’t know anything- I-”

Sole interrupted him with another slam against the road. This time they let him stay, grinding his broken nose into the ground, pulling a muffled scream from his limp body. “You know who you were working for, you piece of shit. Start talking.”

Muffled words were swallowed by the ground, and they dragged him up by the hair once again.

“All I did was do what Char told me to do. I swear, that’s all I know, please, she said she’d kill me if I didn’t do it. Please.”

“Oh, Davies.” Their lips curled into a sneer. “Did you really think Char could fuck you up worse than me?”

“No,” he whimpered. “Please, Overboss…”

They shook their head and gestured to a raider nearby. “Get this dumbass on a pike, and bring me Char.”

Davies’s screams and begs for mercy echoed off the building and fell on deaf ears. Sole stood up and wiped their hands on their jeans.

“Nice work, boss.” Gage offered them a can of water, which they plucked from his hands. “I think a lot of the people around here could stand to learn somethin’ from you.”

They snorted and handed the water back. “We could make our own red room here, if we really wanted. Make a whole new line of raiders. Nobody would dare fuck with us, then.”

Gage didn’t quite want to ask, but curiosity was burning him up from the inside out, and eventually he just couldn’t hold it in. “A red room?”

“Yeah, you know. A place for training. You take a bunch of people, put them in isolation, make them learn to be killers and spies and beat the shit out of them or kill them if they don’t succeed.” They eyed his undoubtedly quizzical look. “Do those not exist anymore?”

“Don’t think so.”

“Well, maybe they should.” They kicked some dirt over the spot of blood Davies’s face had made on the ground. “After all, I learned everything I know from a red room.”

“You’re a badass, boss, there’s no denying.”

They grinned at him, and opened their mouth to say more, but Char’s voice cut them off. 

“What the fuck is going on here? Why do I have to see the Overboss?”

Their grin widened into something far more unpleasant, and Gage settled back to watch them work, contemplating how to set up one of these “red rooms” for the boss. It’d make a nice present for them.

Char’s shriek echoed off the buildings as the Overboss’s ball bat connected with her knee.

Plus, it might keep him on their good side for just a little while longer.

Hancock: He sank back into the couch cushions, watching the colors begin to spin along the ceiling. Sole sank in beside him, head dropping back against his arm, and they let out a contented sigh that he could just barely hear over the song playing from the radio. He loved to get high with sole.

“‘S a good batch,” he mumbled, and reached up to gently run his fingers through their hair, soft strands tickling his skin even more than usual.

“You hear that?” they asked in reply, sitting up again. He whined a little at the sudden lack of warmth against his side.

“What, the radio?”

“No, that- that-” They stumbled to the window, pushing it open. Cold air rushed into the room, and Hancock whined again.

“That what?”

“That screaming. It’s getting louder.” Their now-yellow eyes darted around the room, and they reached over to shut off the radio. The world went quiet around him.

“I don’t hear anything.”

Their hands reached for their ears. “How do you not hear that?” they shouted, making him jump and land unceremoniously in the floor. “God, it sounds like-”

They froze, eyes on the door. He looked over, seeing nothing, but sole looked like they’d seen a ghost. Fingers still curled around their ears, they whispered, “Alex?”

“Hey.” He crawled across the floor to wave a hand in front of their eyes. “Hey, there’s no one there.”

“I’m sorry,” they whimpered, tears beginning to run down their face. “I didn’t want to, Alex, they made me, they said they’d kill me, they’d kill my son. I didn’t want to. I’m sorry.”

Hancock’s drug-addled mind made two and two connect, and when they finally made four, he was glad they’d taken Jet. Just a few seconds left, now. “Sole. Hey, there’s no one there. It’s just us.”

“I’m sorry,” they said again, rocking back and forth slowly. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I didn’t want to, I’m sorry.”

As the drug faded out, he wrapped them in a hug, tucking them against his chest. He rocked them a little slower, trying to calm them, trying to soothe the sobs that wracked their body. The colors finally disappeared from around him, and sole’s hands fell away from their ears.

“Bad trip?” he whispered gently, and they nodded.

“Real bad.”

“What happened.”

“I- I saw an old friend of mine. Someone I was forced to kill. We were close and-” They laughed and didn’t bother to finish their sentence.

“Who’d make you do that?” He ran a hand through their hair.

“My handlers. That’s what the red room does, John. It makes you do terrible things, and then it uses the guilt from that to make you do more awful things until you stop caring and just start doing what you’re told. And if that doesn’t work, they show up to your house in the middle of the night and threaten to kill everyone inside, including your newborn son, if you don’t carry out your orders. So, you go torture your best friend to death for turning and then you try to move on with your life.”

He wasn’t sure what all that meant, exactly, but he was sure that sole needed him. So they sat on the floor together, slowly rocking back and forth, him whispering calming words every now and then, and he promised himself that he would never, ever let sole get high on Jet again.

MacCready: Robert Joseph MacCready was in no place to judge people for their personal business. He’d woken sole up enough times shouting Lucy or Duncan’s name that he couldn’t be irritated when they talked in their sleep either.

But still, he thought there was something a little different between shouting for a family member and snarling, “Begging for your life won’t matter to me” at three in the morning.

The strangest thing was that, come morning, sole never mentioned this. They were their usual chipper self, offering him a cup of instant coffee and a cigarette. The sheer juxtaposition of the sharpshooter he knew by day and the apparent psychopath that came out in their dreams was enough to unsettle him to the point he was actually willing to ask.

“So what’s up with your dreams?” He asked one morning, after their mutterings had kept him up late into the night.

They raised an eyebrow as they refilled their coffee. “I don’t catch your meaning.”

“Y’know, what do you dream about at night? You’re a pretty restless sleeper.”

They slurped the cool layer of coffee off the top. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, RJ.”

He sighed, seeing that they weren’t going to give him the answers on their own. “You say weird stuff in your sleep. It’s creepy and I want some answers.”

“What do I say?” They laughed a little, leaning back against a tree, seemingly unfazed.

“Weird stuff,” he said again. “Stuff like, ‘Shut up or I’ll kill you.’”

Their face collapsed. The energy in the camp seemed to shift in merely a second, and he’d swear the world went a little grayer. “Oh, I thought… Nevermind.”

“Sole.” His eyebrows furrowed seeing how clearly upset they had suddenly become. “What’s going on?”

Their fingers ran over the side of the mug they were holding, tracing the design on it. “I don’t want to talk about it.”

“It’s clearly bothering you.” He reached out to touch them, but pulled away at the last minute. “You can talk to me.”

A breath hissed between their teeth, stirring the steam rising off their coffee. “Did you ever wonder how I got be such a good shot?”

“Sure, lots of times.”

“I figured.” They sipped their coffee again, clearly uncomfortable. “This is hard to talk about, I guess. But, y’know, you’ve told me a bit about you, so it’s only fair…” They sighed one more time, then set their coffee cup to the side. “Back before the war, I was trained in a place called the red room. Heard of it?”

He shook his head.

“I didn’t figure. Basically, it was a ‘learn to do this or I’ll kill you’ thing, where I learned how to fight, how to seduce people, how to… well, torture them to get information. That’s what you’re hearing. I was there for a long time, so I guess it stuck.”

His breath hitched in his throat, stealing his words for a moment, but he finally managed to choke out, “You torture people when you dream?”

They bit their lip and nodded slowly, picking up the coffee cup again. “I guess so.”

“I- that’s messed up.”

They laughed, bitterly. “You don’t have to tell me twice.”

They lapsed into silence. MacCready tried to process what he’d just heard. His fingers combed through the grass, trying to ground him to the here and now and not freak out over this new reality.

“If you don’t want to stick around, I understand.” Their voice didn’t shake. “I probably wouldn’t.”

He scowled at them, a little playful but mostly genuine. “You can’t get rid of me that easily.”

They glanced over, eyes betraying their vulnerability. Suddenly, he felt a pang of guilt for not having told them more about himself. “Promise?”

“Yeah, sure.” His cheeks flushed a little. “Unless you do something awful, I’ll stick around.”

They nodded, and their posture relaxed once again.They drank their coffee, he drank his, and together they settled back into life.

Nick: The Valentine Detective Agency was usually a quiet place. Nick liked it that way. There was something comforting in knowing that, no matter what happened, he always had a place to go back to that was warm and quiet.

That changed a little when sole arrived. It took them a while to settle into the routine that he and Ellie had unofficially set out, but once they had the hang of things, Nick found he liked having them around. They had a relaxing air about them, and it was nice to have someone else to work on cases with.

The only time sole ever broke their usual calm persona was at night. On the rare occasion they slept in the agency, it wasn’t uncommon to hear whimpers of what he thought was pain at first, or words that begged for someone to not hurt them.

Nick knew what bad mental health looked like, and he hated to watch his friend suffer.

“Got a minute?” he asked, one particularly slow afternoon.

Sole glanced up from the case file they were reading over for what had to be the hundredth time, then nodded and set it to the side. “Sure, what’s up?”

“Well, I’ve noticed you don’t always sleep very well. Get a lot of nightmares?”

They pursed their lips in displeasure but nodded, refusing to meet his eyes.

“You know, talking about this stuff helps.” He offered them a mug of coffee, which they accepted but didn’t drink. “I’m always here.”

“It’s hard to talk about.” They wrapped one arm around themselves, staring into the distance.

He considered that for a moment, then motioned them to sit in a chair beside him. They did, slowly, and he produced a piece of paper from his jacket along with a pencil. He scratched down. “Do you think writing about it will be easier?”, then offered the pencil to them.

They considered the offer for a moment before setting their coffee to the side and plucking the pencil from his fingers. “It might.”

Their handwriting was far nicer than his, and he tried his best to not be jealous, instead writing, “What do you dream about?”

“Things I did before the war. I don’t want to bother you with all the details.”

He sighed and shook his head, retrieving the pencil. “I’m one of the few people who might understand. It’s not a bother. I want to help.”

They tapped the pencil against their lips a moment, considering, then scrawled, “I was in a red room. I did some stuff.”

“What stuff?” He already knew the answer, but him making assumptions wasn’t going to make them feel better.

“Torture. Killing. That sort of stuff. It was-” they paused int their writing, thought for a moment, then resumed, “awful. Sometimes, I think there’s still some of them out there, looking for me. Even though it’s silly and they probably all died when the bombs fell.”

Nick wrapped a gentle arm around their shoulders as he scratched out his reply. “The mind is strange sometimes. It makes us believe things that don’t make sense, puts memories in that we don’t want. It’s okay to be afraid. But you have people to help you. We’re on your side.”

The didn’t take the pencil from him, just opted to wrap their arms around him and whisper, “Thanks, Nick.”

He hugged them back. “No problem, kid. Any time.”

Piper: “Come on, sole,” Piper whined, trailing her traveling companion by a few steps. “You’ve picked this camp twice over already. There’s nothing here.”

“Well then what does this go to?” They brandished a key they’d pulled off of the Gunner Captain, metal glinting almost menacingly in the light.

“Probably something in one of the other camps.”

They shook their head. “Something isn’t right here, Piper. I just can’t put my finger on it.”

Piper sighed and resigned herself to another round through the building. “Alright.”

Sole nodded their thanks, and their right hand found the wall again as they traced their way through the building. Piper followed, mentally composing a new article on all the ways the hero of the Commonwealth was an idiot,though a lovable idiot, an idiot nonetheless.

Suddenly, sole came to a halt, and Piper, who wasn’t paying attention, ran straight into them with a small “oof.”

“What’d you find, Blue?” she asked, straightening her cap on her head and dusting off her coat.

Sole grinned. “Secret door.” 

Their fingers wedged in between two wall panels, and with a heavy shove and a grinding of rusted gears, the wall slid to reveal a long, empty corridor. Fluorescent lights flicked on overhead as they stepped into the hall, illuminating the area. At the end, a large metal door stood imposingly, and sole shot a very smug grin at Piper as they slid the key into the lock and turned.

The smile dropped away from their face as the door swung open. The key clattered from their hand to hit the floor, and they just stood, staring into what seemed to Piper to be an empty room like any other, littered with skeletons and a few towels.

“Uh, Blue?”

“They starved,” they whispered, seeming to forget that Piper was even there. “The handlers must have died when the bombs dropped.”

Piper rocked back on her heels anxiously. “Blue, it’s just a bunch of skeletons. We see them all the time.”

“I might have known these people, Piper. I trained here. This was…” They sank to their knees to trace a long scratch mark on the tile flooring, stained dark brown. “This was my red room.”

Piper’s breath caught, and she sank down into a low squat beside them. “Oh, I- Geez, I don’t know what to say.”

They shook their head. “Don’t say anything.” A long breath dropped from their lips. “It’s a long way behind me now. I guess at least I have closure. Nobody’s gonna be coming after me now, right?”

It was a weak attempt at a joke, but Piper smiled anyway. “Is there anything I can do to help you?”

“Wanna help me burn this place to the ground?”

“Sounds like a plan.”

Preston: Sole had a lot of bad habits. He knew that about them, and so he tried to mitigate it when he could. He didn’t let them stay up all night working on new defenses, he made them take at least one day off a week, he made sure to get some food into them every once in awhile because they’d forget to eat.

He knew what guilt looked like for sole. It looked like running yourself into the ground week after week, trying to solve every problem they found, trying to save everyone. He didn’t know what they’d done, and for a while, he didn’t ask. He reasoned that it was their business and that they’d figure it out in time.

But they didn’t. As the months wore on, they only became more frenzied, taking on more responsibility, handling more issues. He appreciated the help, sure, and as a Minuteman he knew that serving the people was their first priority. As their friend, though, he knew it wasn’t healthy.

His tactic wasn’t the most honorable, he’d admit. He waited until late night, when they were exhausted and their defenses were down, to corner them at the workbench. They were bent over what looked to be the wiring for a new turret of some kind. He whistled loudly as he approached, trying not to startle them, and they waved with a screwdriver in his direction.

“General,” he said when he was finally close enough to not shout through the sleeping Sanctuary Hills. “We need to have a talk.”

“I’ll go to bed in a bit, Preston. I just need to finish this.”

“This isn’t about that.” Gently, he rested his hand on theirs, stopping their work. “This is about you.”

“I know, I know. I’m not taking care of myself, I work too hard, blah blah blah. Spare me the lecture.”

“Not this time.” He perched on the counter to the workbench. “This time it’s something different.”

“What then?” The lights made the dark circles under their eyes stand out against their paler-than-usual skin. They looked exhausted, and for a brief moment, he almost backed down and sent them to rest.

He didn’t. “What are you running from, sole? What are you making up for?”

They said nothing for a long moment, simply looked at him. The lights danced in watery eyes, and he wordlessly handed them a handkerchief. They took it and wrung it between their hands.

“I’ve got my own Quincy,” they whispered finally. “I’m just trying to make up for the damage I’ve done.”

“Sole,” he said again, softly and kindly as he could. “I can’t help you if you won’t let me.”

They trembled, undecided, for a moment longer. Their eyes held uncertainty and something he thought might be fear, so all he did was smile.

“It’ll be okay. We’re friends. You can tell me.”

They twisted the handkerchief tighter as they spoke, as if they could choke out their demons through it. “Back before the war, before I went into the vault, I was trained in a place called the red room. I… I learned awful things there. I did awful things there. My handlers would send in people and tell me to find out what they knew. A lot of them were scared. They were just normal people in the wrong place at the wrong time. I hurt a lot of good people, I-” They sucked in a breath. “I killed a lot of good people that didn’t deserve it. I just want to make up for what I did.”

“That’s noble,” he whispered, laying a hesitant hand on their shoulder. “That means you’re on the right track.”

“I don’t think I can ever make up for everything I did, Preston.”

“I know. But all we can do is try, right? We have to promise ourselves we won’t go back to that, that we’ll be better. That’s how we make up for it. We help others, and we help ourselves.”

They nodded, finally dabbing at their eyes. “Okay.”

He smiled and patted them softly. “Alright. Now, let’s get you to bed.”

For once, they didn’t resist, and he guided them away.

X6: X6 knew what humans were supposed to be like. He was around them often enough to observe their usual patterns and habits, and overall he would say he had a decent idea of what a normal human typically behaved like.

That was one of the things that intrigued him so much when it came to the new director. They didn’t fit that pattern at all. They were closer to him and his courser siblings than any human he’d ever known.

He wasn’t about to ask about it though. No, X6 had more pride than that, and he knew all too well what the costs of stepping out of line were. So instead, he snuck out at night to poke around in their personal file. No harm, no foul, and if he got caught, he could always just say he was doing research for their next mission.

What he found was hauntingly familiar. This concept of a “red room,” something he’d never heard of before, dredged up a host of old memories for him, and he forced them to the back of his mind as he scanned the file. It seemed there was a reason that the new director reminded him so much of a courser; the training was incredibly similar. The Institute had probably modeled their courser training after this, removing the part involving seduction and adding more to fighting.

He never did mention it to sole, though. It was their business, he decided, and he didn’t want to get punished for looking for answers he wasn’t asked to look for. But still, a part of him wanted that companionship with them, to reach out and let them know that they weren’t alone, especially when they cried out from night terrors or jumped at strange sounds in the dark.

X6 didn’t have the words for that, though, so he let them be, and hoped they’d approach him in their own time.