#i miss cait but being here is SO uncomfortable

[eridanidreams]

Snippet Sunday

Tagging: @bearlytolerant, @silurisanguine, @aro-pancake, @fangbangerghoul, @atonalginger, @aislingdmdt, @fshenkoescape, @ninjaofnaps, @lisa-and-shadow, @a-cosmic-elf, @thatsgoodsquishy0, @hockeydemon42, @fomagranfalloon@violenceandviolets, and @artemis-crimson

I don't have a snippet per se ready for today; holiday preparations and such got in the way. So instead, here's a deleted scene from an early draft of stars through my fingers like grains of sand chapter 7. I ended up pulling it because it was a little too infodump-y a little too soon, and I wanted to stretch out the reveal of Cait's background. But consider this a DVD extra!

“The Sharing Knife,” she blurted out. He paused, a look of confusion on his face. “My favorite book.”

He lowered himself back into his seat, a slow smile crossing his face. “Well, now. Is that one of the books in your library?”

She blinked, not having expected an actual reply, but fumbled for an answer. A real answer, instead of a dodge. “No. I haven’t had a hard copy of it in years.” She knew it by heart, of course; for some inexplicable reason, one particular passage came to mind: Though you’d never starve your body to wasting and still expect to go on, you starve your heart, yet act as though you can still draw on it forever without the debt ever coming due. Damn if she didn’t feel all heart-starved, but then again she hadn’t ever expected to draw on that account.

“That’s a shame.” Sam sounded genuinely sympathetic. “Cora—well, she’s more attached to her books than she ever was to her stuffed animals. It’s always a fight to keep most of her library planetside.”

“They’re a luxury on a ship,” she agreed. “But I think we can come to a reasonable accommodation.” She’d had to go without enough that she didn’t want to inflict it on someone else. Besides, books generally weighed less than guns.

Her stomach cramped with hunger; with a sigh, she rummaged around her pack again and pulled out some mantid jerky. Something sloshed next to it, and a drink pack of some fruit slush she’d been experimenting with joined it. She offered the latter to Sam. The protein, though, was all hers. He gave the jerky a dubious look, but accepted the drink. “Damn,” he said after a tentative sip. “This is good. How do you even do that?”

Cait shrugged. “I have some weird food sensitivities.” She took a deep breath; it was hard, but she forced the words out. “It was either figure out what I could make on my own, or be sick all the time.”

“That’s rough,” he said. After a long moment, he asked, “Is that how…?” He trailed off, uncomfortably, but she knew what he was referring to.

She breathed out, hard., stared fixedly at her hands. “Eradication costs an arm and a leg, but it’s all profit for the spaceport. They don’t pay the actual workers more than a pittance.” Deep breath. “You learned pretty quickly to… supplement. Most of the leech is toxic, but if you’re careful you can harvest some of the tissues.” She rubbed her hands together to drive away the phantom ache of a leech bite. “There was an old Earth delicacy I read about once, a pufferfish; if you prepared it wrong, it would kill you. Rich people ate it for the thrill.” She laughed humorlessly. “Clearly I missed my calling.”

Sam startled her by reaching out to take one of her hands, looking closely at it. “You, uh, must have been pretty good. No scars.” He let it go, seemingly startled by his own presumption.

Cait shook her head. “Not really. I just… don’t scar. Not for long.” She leaned back against the shelter and closed her eyes. “Comes with being a freak, I guess.”

She wasn’t prepared for the blast of icy rage that came off him. “You know,” he said, in a deceptively light tone, “I’m not one to let people talk about my friends like that.”

I’m not your friend, she thought.

[90calibre]

what is making the arcane/league rpc rancid?

oh boy loaded question and i don't know how to answer it without it being a direct vague lol but to keep it short the blatant racism, toxicity, gatekeeping, bullying, there's probably more wrong but. u know. gestures vaguely. i thought i was insane for feeling this way but i'm apparently not the only one and it's wack because people i've barely spoken to at all have said they felt the same way for the same reasons so that's just. so telling lol. i don't like the league rpc as it is rn like it just feels like frosty + cain era 2.0 lmao

[darklydeliciousdesires]

Verboten - Chapter Nineteen.

A big thank you to all who continue to interact with this story. I appreciate you all so much and apologise that the update is a day late. I was beyond busy and then tired yesterday once I’d arrived home. Enjoy! :)

Previous chapters - One  Two  Three  Four  Five  Six  Seven  Eight  Nine  Ten  Eleven  Twelve  Thirteen  Fourteen  Fifteen  Sixteen  Seventeen  Eighteen

Visuals - The Verboten cast of characters post

Words - 3,279

Warnings - Bit o’ smut!

Tag list - In the comments! To be added/removed, please DM me :)

Chapter playlist - Creed - Torn

The trouble about being in love with someone who, for appearances at least, belongs to someone else, is when said person in love has to witness them together with that other person, just as Zoey did on New Year’s Eve, hating having to watch Tyler and Ella standing arm in arm. It made her sick to her stomach, if she was honest. It must have shown too, Cait sweeping over to her and putting a drink in her hand before ushering her out of the lounge and into the kitchen.

“You’re scowling, so I needed to come and check you before it became more obvious to anyone who doesn’t know what’s going on.”

“Thanks, Cait. I didn’t even realise that I was. Shit, I need to get a poker face, pronto!”  

Cait nodded, heading to the cooker to oversee the chicken thighs she has roasting in a large pan, the waft of honey, thyme and pepper drifting under Zoey’s nose as she opened the oven door making her salivate. Her eldest sister was a fabulous cook. “You’ve managed it well so far, I have to say. I think it’s different now, now there’s something more involved. Anyway, I don’t want to have this conversation, I just wanted to let you know.”

Zoey knew if must have been tough for her, being stuck in the middle and likely very uncomfortable about knowing something she couldn’t tell one sister out of loyalty to the other. “Can I help you with anything?”  

“Yes, chop the radishes and shallots, then add them to the salad with a small pour of the sauce from the grey bowl in the fridge, please.” Her tone alluded to her feelings over it all, Zoey knowing she must have felt such conflict inside.  

“I’m sorry, Cait. I know you’re burdened by it.”  

Sighing, Cait began to nod, pausing her slicing of a large, seeded baguette, turning her head to kiss Zoey’s shoulder. “I am, but it is what it is. I appreciate you acknowledging it. Love you, button.”

“Love you too.” She couldn’t help but wonder if Cait would remain there for her in the fallout from her and Tyler revealing their affair, or whether Ella’s pain would be so great that it eclipsed her desire to remain neutral. Ella’s pain. It had begun weighing on her greatly, even more so after the woman herself came and leaned into her space with an open mouth, gesturing with a pointed finger, Zoey laughing and feeding her radishes.

“I want to see you eat an absolute tonne of this food tonight, little miss teeny tiny,” she spoke, crunching through her mouthful as she wrapped her arms around her, resting her chin on her shoulder. As soon as it was all out in the open, this ended, Zoey knew it would. There was no way Ella would want anything to do with her after she discovered she’d been having an affair with her husband. She could kiss goodbye to such sweet moments like this.

“I will, yeah. I’m feeling quite hungry, actually.”

“You look happier too, so this can only be a good thing. We’re all here for you, whenever you want to tell us about what happened that made you so thin and sad in the first place, but if you don’t want to then that’s fine too. Just know we all love you much.” Zoey could feel her eyes filling with tears, grabbing the shallots and beginning to slice, so she could quickly pass off her crying and sniffing as a reaction to those.  

“Love you much too.” She confirmed, Ella pointing at her eyes and grabbing some kitchen paper.

“Onion tears!” Dabbing her eyes while she chopped, Zoey felt the guilt kick her really hard.  

‘No, rotten sister tears.’

Still, the guilt got kicked into touch later that night, when after New Year had been counted down, she saw her sister in a full lip lock with her husband, a wave of cold running through her to witness the man she loved kissing someone else. Tyler knew it too, mouthing ‘I’m sorry’ at her as she hugged Fran, slinking from the room soon after with her drink and vape, needing some alone time. She wasn’t by herself out in the garden for long, though.

“I’m sorry.” Tyler spoke, his arms folding around her.  

“No, it’s okay. I know you had to.”

“Yeah, but just because I had to make like everything is normal with my wife, it didn’t mean I was blind to my girlfriend’s feelings. Happy New Year, my baby. I love you.” He kissed her head and tightened the hug he held her in, the embrace fleeting when the noise from indoors neared the back door, Cait and Pete stripping to their underwear before bombing straight into the pool, a couple of their friends plus Fran following them.

While they stood laughing at the scene, Tyler going back to Ella’s side when she emerged from the house, Zoey stood beaming. It was the first time he’d called her his girlfriend. Despite the complications, she guessed it was exactly what she was, though. It was New Year, it was time for him to end things with her sister. He’d even found a house he wanted to go and view, asking her to go with him.  

“Would you mind if I didn’t? I mean, I dunno. It just feels weird,” she stated, lying in bed with him one afternoon a week into the New Year, Ella out with the children and Fran. “I’m not sure how either, almost like I shouldn’t be looking at a house with you because you haven’t left Ella yet, and I know it doesn’t make sense, but it just feels odd. I’m sorry.”

She snorted with laughter, hiding her face against his chest. “I’m mental, aren’t I?”

“Nope, furthest thing from it. You’ve been more steadying than you even realise throughout all of this. Confession time, but with all of the stress of being rejected by Ella, having a new born to care for, then the feelings of guilt over having an affair with you, I did feel the urge to reach for the pill bottle again. The solace of the void I used to feel with an opiate high would have taken the edge of it all, but in the end, it was you who was my solace.  

“Having what we eventually turned into kept me sane, gave me focus, made me feel needed and loved when I knew that back at home, the person who had meant to had emotionally checked out. Even when she tried to repair it, I felt the difference between. This is why I need to let myself out, because she isn’t brave enough to end our marriage, so I have to. But I just thought you should know how instrumental you’ve been in helping me not fall back into old habits.”

It made her beam at him, to hear that. Although she hadn’t voiced it, she’d wondered if his addiction issues might rear their ugly head in response to the stress. Who knew? They could still in the time to come, as well, she was mindful to note as she lay there, stroking his beard and kissing him. “You know how important you are to me. Your struggles are mine now, too. I’m in this for every part of what makes you, you, Tyler.”  

In turn, for him to hear that sealed just how close they’d become. This had to be hurried now, him finding a house and extracting himself from the relationship that no longer brought him happiness.  

He didn’t have an actual date on him ending his marriage, but until that happened, he and Zoey found themselves frequently in loving little moments like that, and still very much in naughty, we-shouldn't-be-doing-this territory at times. Like ten days later, while she was at work.

“Miss Hudson, there’s a police officer here to see you,” her secretary Abi said after knocking her door one afternoon between clients, looking a little nervous on her behalf.  

“Send him in.” There was only one police officer who’d be visiting her at work. She continued typing, looking up from under her lashes when the door closed behind her surprise visitor. “Can I help you, officer?”  

Walking around the desk, he leaned down to kiss her, hands grasping her knees to push her legs apart, moving to kneel before her. “Yes. You can be quiet and let me go down on you.”

“I have my next client in fifteen minutes!” she exclaimed, biting her lower lip as he hitched up her skirt, pulling off her thong and stuffing it into his pocket.  

“I’ll be done in five.”

“And you’re stealing my undies!” she further protested, yet didn’t stop him from yanking her to the edge of her chair and kissing his way up her thigh.

“You’ll get ‘em back, eventually. I’m doing a long-arsed shift. Let me have a piece of you with me right here in my pocket. I’ve missed you so much. Now, shut up and let me eat you alive.”

A breathless sigh left her mouth upon his tongue meeting her folds, tickling gently at first, delving within keenly, rolling over her clit firmly and precisely as he kneaded her thighs. He’d been dying for her since New Year’s Eve, wanting nothing more than to drag her off somewhere private at Cait’s. It wasn’t the time, though.  

His break that day? Definitely the time to have a mouthful of her, her high heels digging into his shoulders as she writhed against his mouth, the slow, firm drag of his tongue making her bloom, pleasure skittering from one nerve ending to the next.  

“Oh my god, Tyler! Fuck, you’re so, so good!”

“And you’re so, so fuckin’ wet. Damnit, I might have to just fuck you instead.”

“We really don’t have time!” she hissed urgently, her lover emerging from between her legs, kissing her forcefully as he pulled her down out of the chair, undoing his trousers.  

“There’s always time for me to see how hot you look when you’re split around my cock.” Kissing her again, he pushed her onto her back, hands parting her thighs as he steered into her centre, the hot, wet clutch of her cunt around him eliciting a hungry groan, their mouths meeting in a heated kiss, tongues swirling, passion abounding entirely as they gave in to the heat of the moment.

She felt her bum becoming grated against the carpet beneath her, his mouth at her neck as he moaned wantonly for her, driving himself into her heat, his thick cock dragging at her walls deliciously as she bit her lip to keep herself from screaming. He could be quiet, but with him, she always struggled. His brand of sex was much too electrifying.  

Fucking her with rapacious urgency right there behind her desk, he was mindful of the fact he had mere minutes to make her cum, not that such was ever a problem for him. The repeated grinding of his pubic bone against her clit had her reeling, his hand clasping over her mouth to muffle the squeal as with a series of flutters around him, she came hard.  

He spilled into her moments later, replacing the hand over her mouth with his lips, kissing her before getting up, fastening his trousers and winking as she stood and straightened up, leaving her to collapse back into her chair, utterly breathless.  

“Oh, that man. He’ll be the death of me.” She panted, taking her compact from her desk draw, tidying her smudged lipgloss and running a brush through her hair, grooming her dishevelled appearance with just seconds remaining before her client knocked the door.  

He had the house viewing that evening, the one she decided still not to go to, but they met for a beer afterwards and to watch the football. It felt almost unnatural to him, to have to stop himself from acting affectionately with her in public, Tyler realising just how much he’d checked out of his marriage by that point.  

“It was a shithole,” he began, sipping his beer, Zoey sighing, sad for him. “They’d tarted it up for the photographs, but it was dire, damp everywhere. So, back to the drawing board.”  

“I’d like to say you’re in no rush, but I think we both have to admit that’s not the case any longer. I mean, I don’t want to rush you, but I know you and I know that this double life isn’t sitting well with you. I know how much you want out.”  

Nodding in confirmation, he winked at her, loving how in tune with him she was. “That’s totally is, babe. It’s not fair on anyone at this point, to be living my truth in secret and what’s now a lie to me publicly. I’m shitting myself over it, though. What if my kids hate me?”

“They’re not going to hate you,” she began, Tyler cutting in.

“No? I have to try and find some way to tell them I’m not gonna be living with them any longer, because the way I used to feel about their mum, I now feel about their auntie Zoey. They’re gonna be so fuckin’ confused.”

“Maybe don’t tell them about me right away? I know you want to be honest with them, it’s the way you’ve always parented, but to ease them into the transition of going from you being there every day to only seeing them a few times a week, it might be best to leave me out of the new equation they’re going to need to get used to?”  

He realised her suggestion was likely the best course of action there, reaching beneath the table to discreetly squeeze her hand. “You’re wonderful, you know that? You always seem to have a solution to an issue, a way to keep me calm. I know I’m doing the right thing, forging ahead in a future with you.”  

The search for a place to call home would continue, but not for that night. That night, they cheered on the Queensland Lions with the rest of the bar, on a high after their win, Tyler dropping Zoey home since he’d only had one small beer, working early the next day so wanting not to be foggy. He never worked with a hangover, professional as he was where his job was concerned,  

Enjoying some kisses with her before she got out, she had him in hysterics when during those kisses, she ended up burping into his mouth, hiding her face in his lap. “Well, while you’re down there.”

“Oh, shut up!” He really roared at that point, pulling her into a hug.

“I love you so damn much, Zo.”

“Good!” Turning away, she burped again, keeping him laughing as she leaned in and gave him another kiss. “Love you, too. See you Friday.”

He laughed about it all the way home, still smiling as he entered the house, finding Ella in the lounge. His smile soon faded when she got up, storming up to him, her hand connecting with his face hard before presenting Zoey’s thong, hanging off her index finger.

He’d forgotten to take it out of his pocket before throwing his work trousers into the wash.  

Fuck.

“How long?”

“Ella...”

“How long have you been fucking the little tramp who this belongs to, Tyler?”  

“Ella, can I just...can we sit down and talk?”

“No. Answer me. How fucking long?”

His heart began to hammer as he realised that this was it, because of his own stupidity, his wife had now found out in a way he never wanted her to. Or subliminally, was this exactly what he wanted? For her to find the underwear and force the ending he was dreading delivering?  

“I said how long, Tyler!”

“Four months, then I stopped seeing her. It started up again recently, though.”  

“Four months?” she looked shattered at that admission, throwing the thong at him and punching him in the chest a few times before she shrank back, sobbing into her hand. “While we were working on things, you were fucking someone else the entire time?”

“No. That’s when I stopped, because I wanted to make a go of things with you. I really did.”

Scoffing, she scowled at him through her tears. “You were withdrawn the entire time.”

“So were you. Come on, Ella. Is being with me really what you want? I think if you’re honest with yourself, it isn’t, is it? I know you were going through the motions, I even heard you confess as much to Cait in the kitchen at Christmas.”

That wasn’t strictly true, Zoey being the one to hear it, but it bared mentioning. Ella didn’t see it that way, though.  

“How dare you try and blame this on me!”

“I’m not. Believe me, I take full responsibility for this. It was wrong, to cheat on you because I felt pushed away, it wasn’t a cogent excuse, I do know this,” he began, Ella cutting in.  

“Yeah? If you feel so fucking bad then why did you start fucking her again, huh?”

It was here that he had to deliver the blow he knew would wound her deeply.

“Because I’m in love with her. I’m done with our marriage, but please believe me when I say I never, ever wanted you to find out like this.” Bang. Her fist met his eye with a heartbroken howl, turning and fleeing to the garden, leaving him to stand there wincing. Following her out, he found her standing on the lawn, her shoulders shaking as she cried.  

“Go and pack a bag, Tyler. I want you out of the house. But not before I know one thing. Who is she?”

Seeing her this hurt, the part of him that still loved, but wasn’t in love with her, it wanted to protect her heart from further damage. “It doesn’t matter, does it? I cheated on you, that’s bad enough.”

“Why? Do I know her? Have you been ploughing one of my fucking friends?”  

Turning away, he retreated to the house, Ella hot on his heels. “It is, isn’t it? It’s someone I know! You cheat on me and you have the fucking indecency to do it with someone in our lives? Who is it? Who the fuck have you been dicking behind my back?”

Rage began to twist her pretty features, her chest rising and falling quickly, Tyler feeling tingly and hot with the unpleasantness that crept over him.  

Suddenly, she broke, launching herself at him, slapping him and punching his chest, her nails scratching his face. He let her at first, knowing he deserved every ounce of her ire, every single one of her assaults upon him, until she showed no signs of stopping. “Who is she? Tell me who she is, now! Tell me!”

“Ella, calm down.” He defended her flailing arms at that point, but not before she ended up scratching him in the eye, the sting sharp.  

“Tell me! Fucking tell me!” she roared. He had no choice. She wouldn’t stop until he gave up the name, the one name he knew would break her completely. He had to, though, before her rage woke the children. He didn’t want his little ones to possibly come down and witness such ugliness.  

“Tell me, tell me who she is!”  

“Zoey! It’s Zoey.”

Never before had he seen the colour drain so quickly from someone’s face as he did in the aftermath of him telling his wife that he’d been cheating on her with her sister.  

[nukacoola]

Companions react to Danse stepping out of power armor for the first time!

Cait: 

She would look Danse up and down very obviously and grin which would make him extremely uncomfortable. 

“Ya’outgha get out of that thing more often Dansey. Who knew there were cookies in that tin can of yours.”

She obviously isn’t actually interested in Danse. Way too boring. But she’s not one to toss out eye candy just cause it isn’t her favorite flavor. She wouldn’t actively follow him but for fun and also to get on his nerves she would definitely cat-call him everytime he was in hearing range. Deacon and Hancock might join in for a few comments if they don’t have anything better to do.

She would not stop unless sole made a convincing plea or reason for why she should and maybe not even then.

Danse would not respond or look at Cait but he would be very red and never get out of his suit in front of her again.

Codsworth: 

“Why Paladin Danse I dare say you’ve been keeping up your workout routine! Cheers to your excellent health whether in or out of your power armor!” Codsworth is reassured that his owner is traveling with someone so equipped for the struggles of the wasteland.

“Uh, thank you, Codsworth.” Danse would feel a bit awkward but he would appreciate the compliment. 

“Might I polish that for you while you're otherwise engaged? It seems to be in a just dreadful state and I would like nothing more than for you to be looking your best in your wasteland escapades!” Though he is reassured by Danse’s physical state and abilities, he is mortified by the state his armor is in. All the scratches, dings, and dirt? It’s just horrible. Codsworth has always wanted an opportunity to fix that suit up and is pretty happy that the day has finally arrived.

“I- If you’d like to you can.”

“Oh good! I do so love a difficult task!” With that Codsworth would zoom away to procure the necessary supplies to return Danse’s armor to it’s original state. Danse didn’t really know whether or not he should be offended at the robot’s comments but he decided to just continue about his business and not think about it too much. 

Curie:

“Oh Monsieur Danse, you are quite zee lovely specimen! I would be eager to do a physical examination if you would allow me to.” Ever since leaving the vault, Curie has been astounded at how many different sorts of humans there are. Danse is particularly interesting to her because of the amazing athletic feats he does so regularly. She is also interested in studying the effects of constant power armor usage on the human body. When she sees him step out of his suit for the first time and sees his overly muscular physique, it just tacks on another reason she wants to study him. 

Before Blind Betrayal:

“The only specimen that needs examining is you, synth. Don’t talk to me unless you’re submitting yourself to the Brotherhood.” The only reason Curie isn’t already on the Prydwen is because Sole thinks it’s their friend. It bothers Danse immensely that Sole hasn’t destroyed or used this inhuman thing already.

(Don’t get mad at me he literally says this in game.)

Curie is very hurt, she expected this reaction but it still hurt. She was still getting used to feelings such as the pained ones she felt in moments like these.

After Blind Betrayal:

“No. Thank you.” Danse’s words were strained. Being around Curie was pretty awful for him. He had treated her so terribly before and he still had strong feelings of disgust towards her despite what he knows now. Everytime he sees her and has those feelings of hate and disgust, he remembers that he and Curie are the same. He’s still struggling to overcome the years of propaganda that were drilled into him. 

Curie is disappointed. Did Danse not see they are the same? If he didn’t believe in her humanity then he would have to not believe in his own. It is very confusing for Curie. She hopes that he will eventually go back on his denial of her offer. He would be a very interesting specimen.

Deacon:

He would be surprised that Danse would be able to wear that clunky thing so much in the first place. He wouldn’t be surprised at how muscular he is under the suit though. It takes a lot of strength to operate those suits. He’d read that before they were fully developed, a lot of trial runs had resulted in really terrible accidents. The kind of accidents that crush all of your bones at once or remove your top half from your bottom.

Deacon would definitely make a few jokes. “Hey the sardine’s outta the can!” “Isn’t getting out of that bulldozer against Brotherhood policy or something?” “And I thought it was glued on! Learn something new everyday.”

Danse would scowl at his comments but say nothing. He did not like Deacon one bit. That man’s hiding something and if it turns out what he’s hiding will harm Sole or the Brotherhood’s mission, there was gonna be hell to pay. Danse could’ve sworn he’d seen him on the Prydwen a few times but whenever he looked back again to check, he was gone. Danse didn’t much like the idea of leaving his power armor alone with Deacon around but Sole assured him he’s harmless. We’ll see...

Whenever Danse returned to his suit Deacon would stand suspiciously close to it and act like he was trying to play cool after almost being caught doing something nefarious. He would never get tired of watching Danse carefully inspect every part of the armor before apprehensively getting in. Man that guy’s fun to mess with.

Dogmeat: 

He was so surprised! He thought this human was just made of metal! But now Dogmeat can play and jump and lick! Yes!!

Danse has no idea how to deal with a dog he wasn’t allowed to kick so he would just try to awkwardly push the pup off until Sole took care of it.

Hancock: 

Oh HELL YES! Hancock has wanted to punch this fucker since he first laid eyes on him. “HEY SOLDIER BOY, TIME TO SEE WHAT YOU CAN DO OUT OF YOUR DAMN COWARD COFFIN!” He would make a beeline towards the paladin and the paladin would speed walk towards the ghoul as well. Sole barely let him insult the damn freak but this was a direct attack of which he was most definitely gonna defend himself from.

Sole would freak out a bit and try to get in between the two. They would both try to get Sole out of the way so they could pummel each other. A brief alliance in order to facilitate their battle. This was too sweet of an opportunity to miss. 

“Sorry Sunshine, this is happening.”

“Sole, it has directly started an altercation with me and I intend to see it through.”

If they both had a great relationship with Sole after a bit of panicked begging to both parties, the men would begrudgingly back off. They would, however, insult each other viciously despite Sole’s protests. 

“You have no fucking idea how lucky you are meathead. I swear to god if they weren’t here…”

“You call me a meathead but you’re the one who’s rotting, ghoul.”

They would continue to jab each other until Sole dragged Danse off to do what he got out of his suit to do in the first place. 

If one or both of them didn’t have a close relationship with Sole, well, it wouldn’t be pretty. They would forcibly move Sole out of the way and fight for a while. Though Danse is much bigger than Hancock, Hancock is quicker and better at hand to hand. Danse, being unused to fighting outside of his armor, was ultimately unable to beat the ghoul. Hancock landed one final blow to his face, knocking Danse flat. When he stayed down Hancock laughed loudly and spit at him.

“Done in by the best, lucky you.” It would be a huge blow to Danse’s ego and he’d resent Hancock even more now. Hancock would gloat constantly when Danse was around. “Heyyy, there’s my favorite punching bag!” “Come on over Dansey I won’t bite!” He wouldn’t out of shame, but if Danse ever did try to retort, Hancock would just taunt him. Saying something like “Oh yeah? Ya know my favorite way to settle conflicts is by beating the other asshole into the dirt. Hop outta that suit and we can go for round two.”

MacCready:

Mac’s always thought of Danse as an annoying asshole. He still thinks of him this way but when he stepped out of that armor for the first time. Ho lee sh-crap. MacCready might have to look into joining the Brotherhood if the rest of those guys looked the same as Danse. He had expected him to be strong cause of the whole carrying 500 pounds of steel everywhere but his body was something Mac was not expecting and something he could look at for a while. 

If Danse came near the merc he would probably clam up and blush a bit. If Danse caught him staring, he would annoyedly ask, “Is there a problem, civilian?”

“I- uh no.” any other day he would’ve fired back some snide remark but he couldn’t quite seem to think of one right now. 

Nick:

Nick really couldn’t give less of a damn. He hated Danse, Danse hated him, and the two did their best to ignore each other. 

Piper: Piper didn’t really care either. Sure he was muscular but she was very turned off by the everything else about him. All she really payed attention to was the possibility of an exclusive interview or an inside look at the Brotherhood’s workings. Danse would never agree to either of those though. Preston: Preston didn’t care. He already knew you had to be strong to wear power armor especially if you wore them as much as Brotherhood Paladins did. He didn’t like the Brotherhood and by extension, he didn’t trust Danse. Preston was mannerly of course, for Sole, but he knows Danse thinks very little of the Minutemen so he didn’t try too hard to be kind. Strong: Strong thinks this is good time to smash strong human. He has killed many brothers but he wears metal suit. He is weak without metal suit. Human friend tells Strong that if Strong smash, Strong will not find milk of human kindness. Strong angry, Strong want to smash, but Strong not smash.

Danse would never get out of his suit near Strong unless he absolutely had to. Sole insisted that the abomination wasn’t going to be a problem but he didn’t believe it for a second. It took all of his willpower to not open fire on the thing whenever he saw it. Sole has poor taste in companions...

X6:

X6 wouldn’t care. He would consider taking this opportunity to get rid of the high ranking Brotherhood soldier, but it would make Sole upset and would do relatively little to the Brotherhood as a whole. 

Ask and ye shall recieve! I decide the winner on Hancock’s one by their special stats. How the hell does Hancock have such good stats and he’s still terrible in a fight??

[kleinewahines]

​Cont’d from Here | @ncvcrmisscs

Breathing, still a little labored, hitches slightly as suddenly the distance between them disappears with one sharp tug on pants that really needed to be replaced at some point. Not really for fashion reasons, but if so because stripes really weren’t their thing. But no, the real reason is they’re uncomfortable on the best days and oh, yeah, proof of being a jailbird. Replacement is always pushed off to the side, though. Shopping is not high on the list of necessary things to do in Vi’s mind.

Being pulled so close forces Vi to crane their neck, just a bit, in order to match gray gaze with blue. A teasing, playful grin quirks at their features after looking down between them at the hold Caitlyn has on their pants. The smile twists into a smirk, slightly larger and calloused hands (and damp with sweat) dropping to rest on top of lithe ones holding them in place.

She leans in, best she can thanks to the slight height difference. “Yes? Can I... help you, Miss Kiramman?” her voice rasps just a little, words coming out breathy thanks to the work out that she honestly hadn’t fully reckoned on Cait watching (and thus showing off had not entirely happened except as a matter of cause for how much exercise she could get through). Sweat continues trailing down her face and making trails down her back, making the shirt stick to clammy skin. The smirk holds, eyes bright despite being half-covered by sweaty bangs.

[fallout-friends-react]

hello there so picture this, sole survivor who always wears a hat or some type of headgear is put in a situation where the hats gotta go injury or otherwise but then BOOM catboy how do the compainons react

Now THIS is content

Cait: During their time together, Cait had asked why Sole always wears a hat only once, and Sole didn’t give her a straight answer. She told herself she wouldn’t bother them about it, but it started to bother her instead. She kept wondering what was under it. Some sort of hideous injury? She just had to see. While Sole was busy packing a bag, Cait ripped the hat right off their head. It took her a couple seconds to register that Sole had cat ears! Cait bursted out laughing. “THIS was what you were hiding?!” She couldn’t believe it, and began tugging on their ears while still laughing. Even when Sole put the hat back on, she kept teasing them about it. 

Curie: Just moments ago, Sole had taken a pretty serious fall and hit their head. Curie pleaded with them to take off their hat, so she could get a good look at where they hit their head. They refused, but seemed in no condition to resist. Without warning she snatched the hat from their head. Upon seeing two very cute cat ears, she threw her hands in the air, “OH!” After the initial shock of seeing them passed, she became extremely fascinated. Touching them without asking. “Incredible! Is this a mutation from radiation? Or could it be something else entirely?!”

Codsworth: Codsworth and Sole had been traveling together for almost a week, and Sole hadn’t taken a bath or washed their clothes at all during this week. Codsworth insisted they give him their clothes so he could properly wash them. “I’m glad I’m not built to smell...” This comment was the final straw. Sole yelled, “FINE THEN,” and began aggressively stripping, their hat coming off last. Codsworth was shocked to see cat ears, perked up on top of their head. “Oh sir/mum, when did that happen?!” He sounded remorseful for being so insistent. 

Danse: Sole had finally come to Danse to ask about how to work power armor, he was waiting for them to ask him about it. Giddy, he pushed them into a suit without asking. He lifted the power helmet, but stopped. “Um, you need to remove your hat before I can put this on you. Sole shook their head, and tried to explain they couldn’t take it off, but Danse wasn’t having it. “Soldier, in order to properly wear power armor, you can’t wear any head coverings. Come on off with it!” Danse’s authoritative tone convinced them to take it off, and they did so, slowly. When their cat ears popped out from under the hat, Danse’s jaw dropped. He didn’t mean to give them such a reaction, and quickly closed his mouth. He ignored it, and continued to put the helmet on them without saying anything. He smiled to himself as he adjusted the helmet. 

Deacon: “Hey give me your hat.” Sole refused. “Come on I need it for this disguise, it won’t work without it.” Sole continued to refuse, even though they knew how particular Deacon could be about his.. outfits. Deacon groaned loudly, “fine.” He got up and snatched the thing off their head himself. Sole’s cat ears popped out, and they quickly covered them with their hands. Deacon’s cheeks puffed up, as though to stop himself from laughing. He swallowed his laugh, and smiled at them. “Oh, is that all? He put their hat on himself. 

Dogmeat: Human??? CAT???? DO I BARK OR NOT????

Hancock: Sole and Hancock had gotten caught in the rain and were soaked to the bone. Once they had finally found shelter, Hancock quickly removed his hat and jacket, and put them up to dry. He noticed Sole wasn’t doing the same, and approached them. “Come on you need to take your wet clothes off. It’ll be bad if you get sick.” It was sound reasoning, but still Sole was scared. Hancock began to reach for their hat, when Sole grabbed his wrists. They didn’t say anything. A moment passed, but they let his wrists go, as though to tell him to continue. He gently removed their hat, to reveal their damp cat ears. He chuckled and pat their head. He put their hat up to dry with his own and sat down. He didn’t mention their ears. 

MacCready: Sole and MacCready had accepted someone’s hit request, but it was someone who knew MacCready. “Hey maybe we should switch clothes?” The two were mapping out a plan of attack when MacCready made his suggestion. Sole was surprised by it. “Yeah! We switch clothes so he doesn’t know who I am when I approach. Then you come in from behind. He won’t know what hit him!” Sole was obviously uncomfortable with this idea, but agreed to it anyway. They switched clothes, all but their hats. MacCready took his off and handed it to Sole, “Okay now give me yours.” Sole seemed hesitant. “Come on we’re wasting time! He’ll leave!” They took their hat off slowly, revealing cat ears, and handed him their hat. He looked at their head with wide eyes. Without saying anything, he took their hat and put it on his head snugly. “We’re not done talking about this. but for now let’s go.” 

Piper: Piper had never seen Sole without their hat on, but she never questioned it. One night they had settled down in an old building for the night. “I’ll be right back, I think I saw some muttfruit bushes near here.” Piper went off to gather some berries for a treat. Upon returning to the old building, she entered to find Sole with their hat off, and cat ears out and perked up. At first she was shocked, she even dropped all the berries. Then she was amazed. “Oh my gosh! You’re so cute!! Do you mind if I write a paper about this?” She panned her hand over the sky, as though to present a title, “The Effects of Living In Radiated America! or something like that.” She smiled brightly. 

Preston: Preston thought giving Sole the General’s hat was an honor, but they seemed hesitant to put it on. Something about their hesitation worried him. He took the hat from their hands, and reached up to take the hat they were already wearing off. He gently slid the hat off them, and out sprung a couple of cat ears! Preston was startled, but plopped the General’s hat on their head anyway. He put his hand on their shoulder and smiled at him reassuringly. He didn’t need to say anything for them to be comforted. 

Strong: It didn’t take long into their weird partnership for Strong to ask about the hat. Sole tried to explain it away as just a preference, that it was comfortable. Strong looked interested, and without any warning took the hat from their head. He put it on his own head, then looked back at Sole. Surprisingly, he didn’t react to their cat ears at all. “How does Strong look?” Sole just laughed and told him he looked great. 

X6-88: X6 never once asked Sole why they always wear a hat. He respected them too much to ask about something so small. Sole and X6 were approaching a raider camp, quietly. They both sat crouched behind a bush, mentally mapping the place out. Suddenly a shot rang out, and caught Sole’s hat and ripped it, somehow missing their scalp. Their cat ears were exposed, and X6 definitely noticed, but without missing a beat, he was already shooting at the raiders. He’s a professional, after all. Even after all the carnage was over, he never asked them about it. 

[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

[hyper-cryptic]

Oh yes, an ask ! What's the opinion/relation of Kate on the others companions ? Do they have a bestie ? Does she hate/dislike one of them ?

Hell yeah!! I am glad you ask about her, I absolutely adore talking about Kate! By the way, really funny fact, I have actually romanced most of the companions (Danse, I am coming for that ass), but canonicaly, their partners are Hancock and Nick! :D

Cait:

She admires her! Like, a lot! They think she is a super strong person, in both meanings! She loves how brave, how sassy she is! She’s just really fun to be with overall in Kate’s opinion!

About her drug addiction, Kate never really minded, but they were really concerned about her health. When Cait told her that she wanted to be cured, they didn’t hesitate to help her. 

Kate knows Cait can be a better person, especially under her influence! She constantly makes subtle comments that might make Cait change her opinion on things. Every once in a while they sit down to talk about her insecurities if she’s ok with it!

Funny extra: Since their names sound literally the same, Kate asks to be called Kat! Or to call Cait, “Irish Kate” tho expect a very angry irish person coming down your way.

Curie:

Absolutely LOVES her!! They love her curiosity and optimistic personality! Thinks she’s adorable.

They were very supportive of her wanting to be a synth, she thought it was very interesting! Though, was also very worried about how they would get to it...She was relieved that she didn’t have to take anybody's life!

Kate loves to make Curie flustered. It’s honestly adorable to her how she gets mad about getting compliments because she gets distracted, or confused. She lets her know why, tho! Hahah.

Codsworth:

He is family. He had been since before the war. It was the only person she could actually be herself.

When the bombs dropped she couldn’t stop thinking about him, if he was fine, if he had survived. When they got out of the vault, she was so happy to see Codsworth alive and well.

Kate wasn’t able to leave Codsworth’s side during 1 whole months, if it wasn’t for him and Preston, she would’ve given up on everything, on the ‘whealth, on shaun, on herself.

She adores his dumb sense of humor and his ridiculous british accent.

Danse:

She...likes him? She certainly enjoys his company and thinks he is kind and great but his bigotry and loyalty to the BOS makes her really uncomfortable.

Kate could connect to him on an emotional level, but never actually be interested in him, no matter how much they tried. BOS was just a major shit that made her uneasy. She only joined because they could be helpful to get rid of the Institute, and she was going to until…

They straight up refused and told off Maxson, but he didn’t give her the choice. When Haylen begged them to hear out Danse, they told her that she didn’t need to worry at all and would do everything in her power to keep Danse safe. They tried to change Maxson’s mind about Danse, about synths, but as she expected, he didn’t. After this whole incident, she quit the BOS and decided to destroy the Institute with the Minutemen.

She offered him to stay with her, on the lighthouse, but after a BOS attack to a settlement she left him in, Danse insisted to let him live alone, that it wasn’t safe to have him living there so close to Shaun. Kate sadly had to agree, she couldn’t risk to lose Shaun or any of her companions. She still goes and visits him every once in a while! Even got him to meet Shaun! They got along and share a love for cowboys.

Deacon:

LITERALLY BESTIES. Imagine those girls in highschool that are always together, wear matching clothes and call each other “slut”, “whore” and “bitch” affectionately? That’s them.

They literally wear matching clothes when they travel together. (I make ‘em wear matching clothes…)

Kate always introduces them as “ The Death Bunnies”.

She catched up immediately with his compulsive lying. She doesn’t mind it, in fact she might even go along with it, depending on the context and what type of lie it is. She tries to help him with it, along with his impostor syndrome (...which comes...literally sometimes?) and he tries to help her too. Hoes got each other’s back.

If they aren’t with their partners, they are with Deacon. Hell, even when they are with Nick and Hancock she brings him, of course if it’s not private. Deacon gets along with Nick so it isn’t much of a trouble...but they literally have no idea why Hancock dislikes him, tried to ask him but he said “some things are best left unknown”, which left Kate even more curious but respected his...privacy...I suppose? She asked Deacon, he said that it was no biggie, but to get Hancock to hold a long grudge like that is really weird so she can’t believe him. What did he do? She might never know...

They adore him overall, and loves his dumb comments, which she tries to always reply without bursting in laughter.

Dogmeat:

Light. Of. Her. Days. Well! Of course after her partners!! *gulps* 

They can’t go on with her days if she doesn’t pet Dogmeat at least...twice. She gives him kisses, pats and plays with him at the end of the day. 

When they first met Dogmeat, they almost couldn’t believe it. It was like a light in the dark, he definitely made her days easier as she was trying to stay stable during those 2 dark months.

She almost never goes out with Dogmeat because she is really worried the radiation might affect him, or even die out there. She usually has this fear with most of her companions, but specially him, as he is a literal animal and will probably not know if something is really dangerous or not just looking at it.

She usually falls asleep with him on the couch.

Hancock: 

Do I really even have to say anything? He is her everything along with Nick.

Kate’s first impression of him was: “Oh. FUCK. HOT?!”

Okay but really, she found him attractive and interesting after that first interaction. They had their doubts about him..you know him being a politician and all, but they quickly disappeared the more they interacted with him. Damn, the more she knew about him, the more she was interested in him. 

About Bobbi, she was totally into robbing McDonough, she did question Bobbi a lot though, as she instantly noticed how shady she was. She actually realized they were going for Hancock instead mid-way but waited to get there to confront her, make sure she was right. She didn’t do it for Hancock, instead because she wasn’t going to rob somebody who didn’t deserve being robbed. Tried to tell her to get out, nobody needed to be hurt but Bobbi refused to, so she had to pull the trigger. She knows it was the right thing to do, but can’t help but think if it could’ve ended differently.

She loves Hancock so much, they can’t stop thinking about him. “What would Hancock think about this?”, “Hancock would love this”, “I wish Hancock could see this”, “I miss Hancock”, literally being so clingy.

Overall, she thinks he’s such an amazing person: he’s kind, he’s brave, he’s funny, he’s understanding, he’s adorable, he’s caring, he’s determined, he’s (very) handsome...I really could go on.

She tries so hard to get him to understand that he is an amazing person. He appreciates the efforts.

“watch you sleep” by girl in red is totally their song.

MacCready:

LITERALLY A LITTLE BROTHER. They adore him! They love how funny and sassy he is.

Kate had to constantly tell him that she doesn’t care about caps and that he can keep ‘em if he wanted, that it looked like he needed it more than her, and she’d be right!

When Mac told her about Duncan she was upset at first, how could he just leave his child like that? Never acted on it, since she knew it would make it worse, but she could quickly understand where he came from and why he did what he did. Didn’t hesitate to help him find the cure for Duncan. 

They share a love for snipers and long ranged weapons so...that’s a topic they talk about a lot!

They both geek out about Silver Shroud every once in a while! Listen to the plays together and stuff like that!

Nick:

HERE WE GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

They didn’t like him when they first met. They liked Nick’s humor, but couldn’t stop thinking about how much he acted like a cop, and let’s say Kate had their share of bad situations with cops because of race, and shit like that. Kate didn’t know a lot about synths at the time, so she just guessed somebody programmed a fucking cop persona into him. And she wasn’t going to deal with a cop bot that probably had a stick up his ass.

Eventually, when she got so oversaturated with work, and stressed out with the whole Institute shit, she decided to go and do some of the cases with Nick, she couldn’t wait to show this “cop” that even a “civilian” could do his work. As she worked through the cases, she began to notice that Nick was...actually ok? She had more knowledge about synths at this point, but still didn’t understand how Nick worked exactly. He did tell her that he was a prototype, between Gen 1 and Gen 3, so she quickly realized that he was no ordinary bot. She eventually warmed up to him, and could see the appeal.

It was like a bomb dropped inside her head when Nick asked if she was doing fine. Kate had never actually opened up with anybody, not even with Hancock. She mostly worked over her depression and anxiety by keeping herself busy and unhealthy thoughts like “they need me to be strong, I am a role model right now.” with the whole being a General thing, and the fact that so many people relied on her. Kate tried to be dismissive of it, but Nick could see right through her, and insisted that it was ok to open up. She had to get really drunk to do any of that shit! So they told him that they should both go to a “more private place”, as an excuse to get her hands on some alcohol. Didn’t end up drinking any alcohol, and just spilled most of it. Found comfort on his “origin story” with Diamond City. 

He was a huge part in her full recovery, along with Hancock and Deacon. But honestly? If it wasn’t for him, it would’ve taken her snapping at anybody and being confronted about it to actually open up to anybody. 

She didn’t realize she had any feelings for him until a month after that event. That they were storming into Eddie’s shelter that she realized that they loved him. All of this they were doing for him, the cute comments, the praising and trust they had in him...it became so clear why while he was talking to her after killing Winter, she couldn’t help herself but to dump on him why he was not just “a shell” how he was so much more than that. She didn’t actually confess her feelings to him there, but they were pretty close to doing it. If it wasn’t for her thoughts stopping her from doing it, what would happen with Hancock now? She still loved him deeply...

Eventually, two weeks after, they took a break at the end of the day from missions with Nick, at the empty bar that she had built inside the Castle. It was midnight and mostly everyone had gone to sleep, so they could talk about whatever they wanted and get as drunk as she wanted. They were having so much fun until Nick brought up something she had said that day they ended Winter’s life. Fuck. God, they wished they hadn’t been so busy to actually sit down with Hancock and ask him what he thinks of polyamorous relationships because she was way too drunk this time to stop herself from doing anything stupid. And she didn’t, Nick did, he corresponded but said that he couldn’t let her do this to John. Hah! Little did they know Hancock was super into the both of them. (I actually want to make a lil’ fic about this!!)

They just love him so much and connect with him on a whole new level. He and John make them so happy, she literally couldn’t ask for anyone or anything better than what they have going on.

I know it isn’t exactly a love song, but “Agnes” by Glass Animals reminds me of them.

Piper:

WHAT A LADY, AM I RIGHT? They adore her!! 

She is literally her kind of lousy! Always speaking her mind, always speaking the truth. She admires what she does.

I really don’t have much to say about her, just that they really like her and that she thinks she’s a good friend and overall good person!

Was totally in to beat up McDonough’s ass.

Preston:

They think he is amazing!! He is so kind and caring, they like him a lot!

Let’s say that he liked him so much at some point they got together during those two months. It wasn’t a stable relationship and they both acknowledged that they just didn’t work. Besides, he was there when she met Hancock, and had this look in her eyes that he had never seen. Not to worry tho! He has been testing the waters with Sturges lately! ;)

They function better as friends! Besides, it was quite awkward for Kate their General/Soldier dynamic they had going on, so that was another thing!

She thinks he is so cool and amazing, and they let him know this!

Kate teases him about when they were a couple and they laugh it off.

Honestly, he was a big help for Kate during those months and she is really grateful for all his help. They were both really important for each other.

X6-88:

They didn’t get to know him as much as they wanted.

It all was happening so fast, they couldn’t do anything to convince him to get out of the Institute before it was too late. 

And it was. They had to kill him along with the other coursers. 

In their time as companions, they thought he was enjoyable to be with. He looked like he could be saved, but...yeah.

They made him a grave in the Institute’s remains.

Aaaaaaaaand, that’s all!! Gosh, that was loooong!! Can you see I was really eager to talk about Nick and Kate’s relationship? Yeah, that shit is long.

(I literally finished this yesterday...at 2 am or something)

[animus-inspire-archive]

reeves opinions on the Tsviets?

The Tsviets conjure up very unpleasant feelings in the Commissioner.

Not solely because they were thrust into the role of ‘the enemy’ during the war, but because their very existence is yet another visceral reminder of the dark side of Shinra. Which he either a) had to be aware of to some degree and wilfully ignored in favour of concentrating on his own priorities or b) he really was not on the “need-to-know list’.

If it were the former, which I suspect it might be (I cannot see that he was not at least aware of the Deepground facilities, a massive city that sits below the one he helped to build and maintain? Which has been shown in the Remake to be something that can just be FALLEN INTO?) then he has to live with that guilt of silent complicity.

Even if he did not know its true purpose (I HC that he probably helped secure some of the infrastructure as a potential alternative should surface-Midgar itself be attacked or destroyed) - that is still an incredibly uncomfortable thing to bear.

If it were the latter however - during the early stages of the Deepgound invasion and in recovering the files from Shinra, Reeve must’ve been exposed at a phenomenal rate to (yet more) horrors perpetrated by those he worked for and alongside for the entirety of his adult life. Probably with quite a bit more detail than he spares the rest of the planet from knowing.

He considers himself a pretty smart kinda fella - now how the heck did he miss that. Again, no doubt distinctly uncomfortable to realise, witness and process.

The Tsviets are basically the living embodiement for such emotions.

Does he think of them as the enemy?

In the sense that thousands of people start to go missing and it disrupts an already extremely fragile new world order where people are still trying to grieve and heal from a massive amount of trauma inflicted upon them? In that one particular circumstance where a new kind of war is being waged upon an already ravaged population? Yes.

Does he think of them as evil?

Not inherently, no. This is most apparent with Shelke, the Transparent.

Here is a woman who - through horrific experimentations, brain-washing and torture - is now a trained killer trapped in the body of a child. Who still holds the form of a beloved sister at the time she was lost.

Reeve faces off with Shelke. He does not back down, nor show his fear. Shalua has collapsed to her knees besides him and Vincent is there, but he does not tell him to attack. Instead he tries to appeal to the part of the Tsviet that he still believes could possibly have some humanity.

And whilst I have no doubt that he is trying to make up for yet more guilt through these actions (he had tried to convince Shalua that her search and scorched-earth efforts to find Shelke again were not worth the pain) he is shown not to automatically go for the kill-all-evil option throughout canon. Nor much black and white thinking at all. He himself has done some dubious things in the past, and has been shown to be intimately involved with those who have arguably done a lot worse.

Following Shalua’s sacrifice, Shelke starts to work alongside them. Cait Sith also undertakes an SND, and she helps them all navigate history in order to make sense of the present threat, ultimately enabling Vincent to defeat Omega.

By the end of the game, she is an ally.

Reeve doesn’t see them as monsters. He sees them as the products of Shinra’s cruel and senseless ambitions. It is the only the violent, occasionally eldritch, threat to the general populace and the planet at large that forces his hands.

Does he think they are deserving of kindness / redemption?

Reeve claims to not be locked into the past, he looks to the future and how people act in the present to assess what potential good or bad they may do in the world.

(And to judge their utility, let’s face it).

Whilst it would be nice to think anyone should be given kindness where they have only previously experienced cruelty, that all opportunity should be given for people to redeem their actions... in reality, it entirely depends on the individual Tsviet. What they do right now and how they are expected to act going forwards.

If they continue to be a threat to the safety of the majority, then Reeve will respond in kind, making use of others as he does so.

If they work to accept what they have done, and attempt to do different - especially if they use their own strengths and talents to help faciliate better change. Well, he is of course open to anyone being given that opportunity. But he is cautious, understandably.

Someone asked a while back on my ask-blog that sums up some of this already:

How do you intend to increase the security at the WRO and possibly in Cait Sith itself now that Shalua's sister is likely to be around more often? She can hack with her thoughts and she has no emotions. Don't you worry that she'll backslide?

Tl;dr

They make him very uncomfortable for varying reasons.

But he feels a degree of empathy for their suffering and tries not make judgements based on their previous actions, only their current ones.

[tiifalockhart]

As The World Caves In

Listen to: As the World Caves In by Matt Maltese (for the best experience)

Prompt: If Final Fantasy VII had a bad ending

Pairing: Cloud x Aerith

Warnings: mentions of death, injury, depression, end of the world, fighting, starving, paralysis, main character death, FFVII OG spoilers

Word Count: 1k

A/N: This is super angsty. Don’t read it unless you’re prepared for any of the above warnings. I highly recommend listening to “As the World Caves In” while reading, since this is what this fic is based off of. This is partially based off of the Rogue One ending, so spoiler warning there as well. I hope you enjoy reading, this is probably my best written work yet. 

Ao3 || Masterlist

Sephiroth was undefeatable. 

The team had fought for so long, for so many days, months, years, and in the end, it was for nothing. When Aerith was nearly fatally injured, that’s where their loss began. She could survive, at the cost of being heavily weakened and nearly paralyzed in her lower body. With quick use of leftover materia from Tifa, she survived barely. 

Since then, the fight against Sephiroth was hard. Making it to the Northern Crater was nearly impossible. They managed to scrape by when facing Sephiroth for the final time, but it was pointless. They ran out of time.

Meteor began to fall into Midgar. They could only watch in horror as the Lifestream fought it off until it was inevitably defeated. Aerith didn’t have enough strength to use Holy, especially since Sephiroth still blocked it. 

It was the end of the world. Meteor would destroy the world, and nothing would be left in this void. 

Cloud couldn’t remember much of their final days. He remembered that he agreed to take care of Aerith until the end. They solemnly returned to the church in the slums, Aerith wished to speak to the planet one last time before the meteor impacted the Earth, and to set her grief aside. Cloud spent a lot of time thinking about where it all went wrong. Maybe if he did this, maybe if he did that... Maybe if he did something, things would be different. The guilt was beginning to build up as he continued to think about it. Not only did he fail himself, his friends, Zack... He failed the entire world. It made him sick. 

He found it hard to look in mirrors or reflections, he couldn’t look Aerith in the eye anymore. Cloud was finding it hard to face the consequences of his failure. He remembered that there was almost nowhere he could look where he was reminded of his failure. The papers say it’s doomsday. He couldn’t face the truth, no matter how many times he was reminded. There had to be something they could do, right?

Aerith tried to reassure and comfort him, even if it was nearly impossible. She would say things like “We did everything we could,” or “It will be okay.” Cloud remembered that there was really nothing she could say that would make him feel better, though. Honestly, he partially blamed her, which he hated about himself. It wasn’t her fault, it was out of her control as well, but had she not gotten injured, or perhaps if she hadn’t survived, there was more they could have done more. His mind made him sick, these thoughts plagued his mind every day until the end. 

He remembered since the beginning of the end, he had taken care of Aerith as much as he could. There was no point in working, no point in eating for himself, no point in doing anything than taking care of Aerith. He sacrificed every single thing for Aerith, so that she could live comfortably until the end. He didn’t know if it was because of love, or the built up guilt he’d been carrying since the Temple of Ancients. 

He remembered their final day together. Aerith suggested that they wear something nice, since they won’t be able to again. Cloud’s stomach twisted uncomfortably at the thought. They put their final suit on. They paint their fingernails. Aerith explained it as “going out in style.” When they stared in the mirror together, Cloud felt his heart sinking as he reached down to hold Aerith’s hand tightly. 

We creep up on extinction. That day had to have been the longest day Cloud had ever experienced. All the shops were closed, there were no restaurants opened, all of Midgar seemed to be mourning for their future. There was nothing to do but sit and wait. The feeling of sickness never left Cloud as he waited for the meteor to collide with the Earth. 

Cloud remembered that Aerith guided him up on top of the roof of the church. Up there, they could clearly see the meteor closing in. I pull your arms right in. He embraced Aerith tightly. He wasn’t sure if it was because of fear, guilt or love anymore. All of his emotions blurred together, as well as his memories. 

He watched his life like a movie before his eyes. Every single one of his memories, from living in Nibleheim to just a couple days ago played out for him. He remembered everyone in his life. Mom... Zack... Tifa... He thought about his teammates. Barret... Cid... Vincent... Yuffie... Nanaki... Reeve and Cait Sith... He wondered what they were doing now. What was Barret telling Marlene? 

He even remembered his enemies. Rufus... Those Turks... Sephiroth... He should have been angry when he thought about Sephiroth, but he could no longer muster up the energy. Cloud missed his mom so much at that moment, but he was thankful she wouldn’t have to experience this. 

While he was thinking, he could hear Aerith next to him. She was crying. He stared down at her. There was nothing he could say that would make this situation any better. She wept and shook under his arms. Aerith couldn’t face their fate anymore, her face was hidden in his neck. 

Cloud couldn’t pull his gaze away from the meteor. All of his regrets and guilt began to creep up on him as he held Aerith, carefully rocking her back and forth. 

And here it is...

Our final night alive.

And as the Earth runs to the ground, oh girl...

Cloud’s eyes widened at the sight of the impact. The desert that went out to the horizon was replaced by the meteor. The Earth shook violently from the impact, the plates above the slums beginning to crumble and fall onto the city below them. The ground in the desert surrounding the meteor rose high into the sky, creating quite the spectacle, until a blinding light replaced the fire and dust in the air. 

Cloud remembered holding Aerith tightly, refusing to let go as he gripped onto her, shielding her eyes from the sight. He listened to the cries of the people in the slums, he felt Aerith’s tears on his chest and her shaky hands gripping onto his shirt, he could taste his own sweat and tears as he watched the destruction of his only home. He couldn’t move at all, he could only watch as the light began to engulf everything as it expanded. 

He watched the ground dissolve as the light got closer to them, wincing from how bright it was. At the last moment, he shut his eyes tightly and braced for impact, gripping Aerith tighter for the last time. 

And then, There was nothing. Everything was dark. Nothing was left behind in the end. A destroyed world, void of life, was all that was left. 

The last thing Cloud would ever experience was holding Aerith in his arms until his dying breath. 

As the world caves in...

[concussed-to-pieces]

The Mettle Of A Man; Part Eleven

Fandom: Fallout (4)

Pairing: Eventual Paladin Danse/Female Sole Survivor

Rating: Holy shit M.

AN: Enjoy!

Part One: ArcJet

Part Two: The Prydwen

Part Three: Orders

Part Four: Finding Brandis

Part Five: Weston Water And Oberland

Part Six: Meeting Preston And Matthew

Part Seven: Radstag And Radstorm

Part Eight: The Return To Sanctuary Hills

Part Nine: Domestic Ruminations

Part Ten: Institutionalized

[!TRIGGER WARNING!: This installment contains brief mentions of pregnancy (relating to bodily changes and a C-section) and a graphic depiction of an emotional/nervous breakdown. Stay safe!]

Two weeks and three days. 

  Danse wasn't exactly certain of what to do. It had taken his squadron nearly three weeks to track down Cutler, so three weeks had become his hard limit almost unconsciously. The paladin had never been overly good at resting on his laurels, but it wasn't like he could single-handedly lay siege to the damn Institute for a retrieval mission.

  Returning to the Prydwen without his charge might prove divisive , regardless of how many technical documents Codsworth had procured from the cul-de-sac's abodes. 

  Speaking of Codsworth…

  "Aw, cheer up man." Sturges comforted the robot, who (unless Danse was imagining it) was hovering a bit lower today. "I bet she'll be back any second now!"

  "Mister Sturges, as much as I appreciate your optimistic outlook," the robot sniffed dramatically. "I'm afraid that you cannot begin to understand the sadness I feel. I believed for two hundred years that I had lost Miss Vega, and to have lost her once again is...well, it is unbearable , Mister Sturges."

  Danse grimaced. Did he actually feel bad for a robot? He was, at the very least, sympathizing with it. What the hell was his world coming to?

  Knight Vega certainly kept some interesting company. Aside from the seemingly permanent presence of the elderly Mama Murphy, Sturges, Codsworth, and the married couple of Jun and Marcy Long, numerous colorful individuals had drifted through the settlement over the course of the weeks.

  First there was Cait, a woman with hair red enough to put Proctor Ingram's to shame. She blew into town, provisioner in tow, speaking with a thick, caustic brogue and toting a sawed-off shotgun. "I owe Backhand my life." She said shortly when Danse enquired as to what her business was with Vega. "She got me off the chems, so now I keep her goddamn caravans free from pests."

  She only stayed for a night, but she insisted that Danse join her for a sparring match. He wasn't afraid to admit that she put him through the ringer , his whole body sore the following morning.

  "Tell Handy Cait sends her love!" The woman had called before she departed, giving him a small smile. Danse had ruefully promised to do so, trying not to visibly wince as he waved farewell.

  One Robert MacCready followed shortly thereafter, who had acted like Danse being there would raze the town to the ground on nothing but principle. "I dealt with you ass--er, you jerks in the Capital Wasteland." The lithe man scowled up at Danse, pushing the bill of his hat back. He had a sniper rifle slung around his body with a barrel that was almost as long as he was tall, bearing an ornate, quick-slide scope.

  "I assume you are used to the charity of former Elder Lyons. The eastern chapter is no longer so benevolent, civilian." Danse growled, pricked by MacCready's blatant disdain for the Brotherhood.

  He could tell MacCready wasn't a bad sort, just overly suspicious and prickly. After serving with Knight Rhys for so long, Danse was almost tempted to tell the younger man that he would need to try harder to keep people away from him.

  "Backhand saved my kid." Robert admitted one night after he had been drinking by the fire with Sturges. "She...She helped me get the medicine I needed. Helped cure my little boy." 

  Danse knew he shouldn't be surprised that someone who seemed as young as MacCready had managed to procreate. But as he watched the other man toy idly with a tiny, battered tin soldier that he had pulled from his pocket, Danse felt that perhaps...perhaps Robert had the right to be a bit suspicious and prickly.

  The next visitor was a petite, dark-haired woman named Curie who had an incredibly strange accent. She was of the medical persuasion and curious about everything . Danse was a little taken aback by how blunt some of her inquiries were, but he did his best to humor her. 

  She seemed harmless enough, even if she was hellbent on learning the inner machinations of his entire existence. She asked everything in such a clinical manner, Danse didn't even have the presence of mind to be uncomfortable or embarrassed. 

  That is, until she asked whether he was sexually active and " when was zee last time you stimulated yourself, Monsieur Danse? " Then he clammed right up, loathing that he could feel his face going hot as he remembered exactly when the last time he had stimulated himself was.

  "I will not be answering any more of your questions about my personal matters, civilian." The paladin informed her curtly, caught off-guard by her plaintive cry of dismay at his refusal. 

  "But Monsieur Danse, I must learn zee secret of your overgrown size! You are so very tall and muscular compared to your contemporaries, my research could result in a breakthrough for your whole species! If you are a genetic throwback, zis could mean-" Sturges finally came to his rescue, ushering the wailing doctor away and shooting Danse a wink that made the paladin huff out an irritated grunt.

  Genetic throwback . Dogmeat was a genetic throwback. Danse just...maybe he had good genes. Both of his parents must have possessed more robust constitutions. That was the clear answer. 

  An elaborately-dressed ghoul had marched down the main road like he owned the joint a few days after Curie had come and gone, only stopping when he realized there was a fully-armored paladin aiming a laser rifle at him. "Whoa! Easy crewcut, you'll harsh my mellow." He exclaimed, taking off his tricorn hat and fanning himself with it. "The name's John Hancock," he continued with a showy little bow. "I'm lookin' for General Vega. She around?"

  "Knight Vega is indisposed at the moment, but you're welcome to leave a message, ghoul." Danse gritted out, oddly keen on attempting civility.

  Hancock whistled and Dogmeat came running over, immediately flopping onto his back for a belly rub. "Ah, there he is. My favorite of the general's mutts. Sorry, you say somethin'?" The ghoul asked lazily, the pitch-black void of his eyes boring pointedly into Danse's. 

  The paladin threw his hands up in the air after a moment and stormed off. God damn it, Vega, you could have warned me that you kept such diverse company! he ranted inwardly.

  The visitor that had nearly sent him into a conniption was an old synth, its skin ragged and tattered enough to show its inner workings. Sturges chatted away with the damn thing (and its traveling companion, a self-styled reporter apparently named Piper Wright) and Danse just floundered . Backhand made friends with synths?

  Ticking mentally over everyone else he had met during his stay at Sanctuary, Danse reluctantly admitted that yes, Backhand would absolutely make friends with synths. Perhaps he should have come to terms with that before everything that had occurred, but now here he was, fully kitted and watching this synth narrowly. 

  "Come on over and introduce yourself, big fella'. No need to glare from afar." The synth commented wryly. "From what I understand we're all on the same team."

  "If it's all the same to you, synth , I'll keep my distance." Danse could tolerate a lot of things. Ghouls, specifically. He had met numerous in his travels and while it was unsettling to converse with them, he knew they weren't all diseased, mindless shamblers despite what the Brotherhood had beaten into him. But synths …

  They were the embodiment of mankind's arrogance. Monstrous, uncanny, a mockery of bodily functions. They made Danse's skin crawl.

  Piper huffed indignantly, rolling her eyes and pointing a finger at Danse as she remarked loudly to Sturges, "I wasn't aware that Blue had rechristened this place Bigotry Hills."

  The synth inclined its head in the meantime, somehow giving off an air of mechanical resignation. "Alright, I'll go first I suppose, since you've forgotten your manners. Name's Nick Valentine. I'm a detective operating out of Diamond City."

  Nick Valentine . Danse's mouth became a desert. This , this was the detective Vega sang the praises of when it came to tracking down the man who had stolen her son? "Knight Vega failed to mention that you were a synth." He muttered.

  "She probably figured it wasn't relevant. After all, the Institute left me at the curb with another man's memories in my head. Miss Vega did me a good turn after I helped her out with that Kellogg fella'." The synth shrugged. "Let an old bot put a few more ghosts to rest." He dusted off the raggedy fedora he wore, those unnerving golden eyes focused on Danse. "I caught wind that something might have gone a little sour with her infiltration, so Piper and I thought we'd drop by and see if we could offer any sort of assistance."

  "And can you?" Danse asked, concern and suspicion making his tone even sharper as he glanced at the woman. Piper stuck her tongue out at him, to his chagrin.

  The synth looked regretful for a second and Danse pondered that its face could even convey such a complex emotion. "Probably not, but at least now I know I'm not the only one worrying about our doll Vega." It remarked shrewdly. 

  Danse blushed guiltily, dropping his gaze from that calculating stare. It felt like the synth could see every damn thing he had ever done wrong in his life and Danse loathed the idea of this machine being able to help where he couldn't. "I'll be watching you, synth ," he blustered. "If you step out of line-"

  The synth actually interrupted him, waving a spindly, metallic hand. "You'll what, melt me into slag? I'd be careful, I might do something nefarious like trap you in an intelligent conversation."

  …

  Danse's sleep schedule had never been anything even bordering on concrete, but now the worry kept him up more than the nightmares. A thousand scenarios ran through his mind, each one worse than the last. His fatalistic tendencies would be the death of him one of these days, and wouldn't that be a poetic end. Death by apoplexy, his heart just exploding under the stress of his own imagination.

  No one commented when he ended up abandoning that soft mattress in the front room of Vega's house in favor of planting his bedroll on the floor at the foot of her bed. He spent long hours there every night, disassembling his gun, cleaning it thoroughly and checking over his mods. 

  When he inevitably gave up on sleep, he would patrol the perimeter. Jun joined him fairly often, the soft spoken man having taken it upon himself to manage the security around the settlement.

  "At first, I think Backhand just wanted me to have something to do." Jun mentioned out of the blue one evening, his haggard expression illuminated in the faint light of the moon. "So she told me to uh, walk the property line. Marcy didn't know what to do with me. Hell, she didn't even know what to do with herself . Losing Kyle was…" the man swallowed hard. "Well, the general understood, on account of her own little one. She knew I needed to be kept busy, especially after that close call in Concord. I'm just glad Marcy didn't give up on me." He admitted.

  "Why would she have given up on you?" Danse asked, a bit confused that this conversation was even occurring. He didn't do this sort of thing. "Whatever transpired with your child wasn't your fault." He had never asked for the specifics and Jun hadn't volunteered them.

  Jun shrugged. "Being married is...full of ups and downs. And sometimes the downs are really, really hard. Too hard. It's terrible, seeing the person you love turn into some kind of...angry husk because of grief and you're grieving too, and you know you can't fix it because-" the man's eyes welled up, his voice hitching. "-b-because you're not strong enough."

  Danse's breath caught in his lungs because oh God , that had been him after Cutler. Frustrated, hollow, newly promoted and warming Arthur's bed out of duty as he tried to privately grieve the man he had lost.

  It had been Haylen and Rhys who pried him from his depressive, wrathful tendencies. Brandis had suggested that Danse consider sponsoring his own initiates, and recommended him two candidates. The young woman, barely into adulthood, so full of life and eager to learn, and Rhys had been angry like him. 

  More followed after those two, but they had been his first. He sponsored Dawes, Brach, Keane, Worwick...squire or initiate to aspirant, aspirant to scribe or knight. All the while keeping them at arm's length, reluctant to open himself up again to the suffering that had wreaked its havoc upon him after the loss of Cutler.

  Learning about Paladin Krieg's passing during the assault on Adams Air Force Base was a blade twisting in his back. Danse had felt like his entire body was on fire, raw with agony once more as everything he had tried so hard to keep under control collapsed beneath him. He emerged from that particular rubble stoic and grim, and it was shortly after that incident that Recon Squadron Artemis went dark in the Commonwealth. 

  Brandis was sent to die and you know it! That evening in the barracks had been one of the hardest in his entire military career. Danse had known he was lying, lying to every single man, woman and child in that room that he would pass along any information he learned about Paladin Brandis.

  But what else could he do?

  "You can't fix everything and every one, Mr. Long." The paladin murmured finally. "You'll only burn yourself out with the effort. All you can do is let time do its work."

  "Oh, I know." The other man said calmly, having clearly mastered himself while Danse mulled over his response. "Marcy and I had a long talk about...our son, and even though it still hurts to talk about him, I know someday it won't." He smiled at Danse. "Thanks for listening, Mr. Paladin. I can see why the general likes you."

  Danse may or may not have tucked that precious information away, deep down in his heart.

  ...

  Backhand had no idea how many days had passed since she had departed. The Commonwealth was relatively quiet all around the settlement as she took a few steadying breaths after relaying back, bent nearly double with her hands on her knees. Overhead in the night sky, the moon beamed weakly between the thick clouds.

  Staggering down the steps that were still attached to the bare foundation, a wave of exhaustion threatened to cripple her. Away from the artificial lighting and brilliant whiteness of the Institute, she abruptly felt like she hadn't slept in weeks. How long had she been awake for?

  Bed , Vega decided with a nod. Bed before anything else . With slow, trudging footsteps, the young woman made her way to the house where she had lived before the bombs fell. Whatever time it was, it was obviously late. There wasn't a light on across the whole settlement, and she was incredibly grateful that she would be afforded a few moments of reprieve before she was plied with questions.

  Backhand closed the front door behind her, doing her best to be quiet. Danse must be asleep. Either that or he had returned to the Prydwen. Vega was a little startled at how distraught that made her feel, like she had lost somehow. 

  She stifled a yawn as she jiggled the sticky doorknob to her room and, too impatient to ease the door open, she put her shoulder to it.

  The door flew open and she immediately found herself on the business end of a very familiar laser rifle. Vega couldn't help her shriek of surprise and in her haste to retreat, she toppled into the hall and landed hard on her back. "Wait, wait! " She pleaded, throwing up her hands in surrender. "Don't shoot, Danse!"

  The paladin just stared down at her for a moment, his brow slowly unfurrowing in recognition as he lowered his gun. "Elizabeth?" He asked, his voice rasping hoarsely.

  "Y-Yeah. Hi." Backhand replied, her voice shaky. "It's me." Danse extended his hand, easily pulling her upright off the ground. She half-fell against his body, the large man accepting the weight without a word. "Why are you sleeping in here?" Backhand blurted out the first question she could think of, noticing the disturbed bedroll on the floor at the foot of her bed. 

  "I assumed that should you return, you would most likely head to your room first." The paladin answered quickly, too quickly for it to be the truth.

  Backhand raised an eyebrow. "And the armed greeting?"

  "A reflex."

  Vega's hands curled into fists on his chest, taking handfuls of his shirt between her fingers. I missed you , she wanted to say, I missed you so much . "How long was I gone for?" She asked instead.

  "Seventeen days." Danse replied in a no-nonsense manner. "It appears your infiltration of the Institute was a success." He was watching her closely. "It's a pleasure to see you again, Knight."

  Vega wanted to kiss him, not missing the warmth of relief in his eyes despite his neutral tone. She hurriedly peeled herself off of his chest, awkwardly clearing her throat and casting her brain around for an excuse to leave. "I'm...I need to shower." She lied, grimacing. "I was going to go right to bed, but…"

  "Take your time. I'll remove my personal effects and return to my quarters." The paladin intoned stiffly.

  Backhand grabbed a random assortment of clothing from atop her rickety dresser and fled to the bathroom without another word. 

  She slid down the door once she had shut it firmly, closing her eyes and hanging her head. What the hell were you expecting, Vega? she chastised herself, starting to unlace her boots. Some kind of fairytale reunion where he sweeps you up into his arms and professes his undying love? And we ride into the sunset? Backhand scoffed, bringing her fist down on the side of the salvaged water heater to get it to function.

  Vega stared down at her body as she showered, feeling oddly like a spectator. The faint scar at the bottom of her stomach mocked her, taunting her with the memory of the hospital room, the swaddled Shaun being pressed into her arms…

  This was all so wrong. 

  She pushed the heels of her palms into her eyes hard enough to blind her for a moment, fending off the tears that threatened to close her throat. The scar was placed low enough on her body that the waistband of her underwear concealed it. She didn't have to think about it too often. Usually she avoided looking at it while she bathed, the surgical leftover making complex feelings of grief and resentment war inside her.

  Her fingers drew over the faded scar, then rose to brush the stretch marks that striped over her belly from where her body had changed to accommodate Shaun's growing form. And still her eyes were dry.

  Backhand emerged from the lukewarm shower and simply sat on the side of the tub, watching the water slowly swirl down the drain. She thought of the Institute, where clean water was just a faucet turn away. Free of parasites and radiation, bearing a faint reek of chlorine that had clung to her hair and skin after bathing.

  Her brow furrowed and she toweled herself off briskly, donning the clothing she had grabbed at random. The shirt was too big, unfamiliar, and she realized with a sharp pang of a strange emotion that it must be one of Danse's. Had he done her laundry while she was gone?

  The young woman hung her towel up to dry, scooped all her dirty clothes off the floor and padded back across the hall to her room. 

  Danse, true to his word, had removed his bedroll and pack from the room, leaving no trace of his previous occupancy. Vega dropped her ball of clothes in the corner and sank down on the edge of her mattress, putting her head into her hands. 

  I believe you will do great things for the Institute.

  Her fingers dug into her hair, raking through it in a nervous gesture. She didn't want to do great things. She had never wanted to do great things. All she had wanted was a family.

  A child, a husband, a modest house in a quiet neighborhood…

  The bombs had taken so much from everyone else, did she even have the right to mourn the life she wished she had? It seemed so selfish, so...petty.

  Shaun's crib sat empty by the door like always, but now its vacancy mocked her. Had she ever truly believed she would find her son? Or had she been lying to herself the whole time, trying to convince herself that she could have been a good mother and that it wasn't all her fault Shaun had been taken. Rage bathed her in a comforting blanket of numbness and Backhand clenched her fists, rising from the bed. 

  With a stilted, furious cry of, " fuck you! " she heaved the empty crib against the wall.

  It was a simple enough task to snap the rungs in it, blowing through them one after the other. Next the flimsy headboard, torn from the sides with a shriek of abused screws. Backhand broke it over her knee, pitching the pieces off to land somewhere as the crib teetered on two legs. She grabbed those last two legs, picked the remains of the crib up, and smashed it against the floor with all her might. 

  It exploded in a cloud of chipped blue pieces, effectively destroyed. Backhand screamed in frustrated anguish, sinking to her knees and wrapping her arms around herself. She hadn't even noticed she was crying, but the tears were hot enough to burn on her cheeks.

  She felt running footsteps vibrate through the floor, but she didn't so much as raise her head. 

  Danse, Danse , those brown eyes so warm and concerned, knelt in front of her. " Easy , Knight." He soothed. Backhand sobbed hysterically, her whole body shaking with each inhale. "Elizabeth." Danse said her name calmly, quietly, his arms falling open.

  The woman flung herself into his embrace, gripping his back tightly. Danse held her close, like she was small and fragile and needed to be protected, one hand on the back of her head stroking her still-damp hair. Vega just went limp, weeping pitifully into his shirt.

  "By Jove…" Codsworth breathed from the door. "Oh mum, I'm so sorry." She felt a metal pincer rest gingerly on her shoulder and Backhand knocked her forehead against Danse's clavicle when she turned her face to look at Codsworth. "You should have told us, mum. Whatever it is, it's all too much to carry alone." The robot scolded her kindly. "I helped you raise the little tyke, if you recall. We will always have those fond memories, you and I."

  "It hurts." Backhand said thickly. "It h-hurts so much. I just wanted him back."

  "I'm sorry, Elizabeth." Danse murmured, words laden with sorrow. And he didn't even know what had happened yet!

  "I don't want anyone else to be sorry. I-I want to take every one of that smug f- fuck's toys and break them. If he wasn't already on his way out, I would-" Backhand dissolved into seething, nonsensical muttering. "There's good people in the Institute." She said finally. "People who wanted to help. People who need to get out."

  "And the Brotherhood will do everything we can to save them." Danse promised solemnly, taking her hands in his own and making a sympathetic noise in the back of his throat as he examined the battered skin. "Christ Vega, you're full of splinters."

  "I just...I don't know, I shouldn't have done that." Backhand mumbled, feeling idiotic for letting herself get so out of control.

  "Not to worry, mum!" Codsworth cheerily clicked his pincers. "I'll have you squared away in a jiffy!"

  Danse didn't let her go as Codsworth painstakingly worked over her abused hands to remove every last sliver. The paladin even assisted when the robot asked, holding her skin taut or flattening her palm out on his own to keep her steady so Codsworth could get a better grip.

  Piper appeared in the doorway in the midst of the procedure, wearing a raggedy robe and carrying a steaming mug. "And there's our gal." The reporter said softly. "Heya' Blue."

  "H-Hey Piper." Backhand sniffled. 

  The other woman tipped her head. "Nicky's on his way. You want tea or coffee?" 

  "Coffee, please. Please." Backhand begged, feeling Danse's hold on her tighten slightly. She was sitting in his lap still, his arms around her while Codsworth worked. She hated herself for enjoying the comfort his proximity provided, hated herself for being too weak to deal with this on her own. 

  As if he could sense her thoughts, the paladin settled her back more firmly against his chest.

  …

  She was back. She had come back. Harried and haggard but alive . Danse could feel the tension radiating from her and he wanted to kick himself for greeting her with a weapon at the door. His brain hadn't even registered that it might be her , he had awoken from his uneasy half-doze to someone breaching the door and his body reacted.

  Danse wanted to question her. He wanted to grip her to his chest and never let her out of his sight again. He wanted to berate her for being gone for so long. He wanted to lay her down on her bed and--

  He shoved that thought away. She was obviously exhausted and worn from whatever it was that she had gone through. Now was absolutely not the time to voice the pesky, budding emotions that warred in his chest.

  He could sense the impending explosion hanging heavy in the air like the changing pressure of an approaching storm, but he hadn't expected the rupture to happen so soon. Vega was barely out of the shower when he heard the first crash , her yell of " fuck you! ". 

  Danse wrestled momentarily with himself, his hands clenching in the fabric of his sleeping bag. Expressing anger could be therapeutic in it's own right, and her getting everything out now might be miles healthier than bottling it all up until she imploded.

  But her sobbing cries effectively wiped his plan of inaction. She sounded like she was in agony and Danse didn't even remember tearing the door open. One second he was in his own room and then the next he was on his knees in front of her, " easy , Knight," his voice gone soft and tender in a manner wholly uncharacteristic of the usually stoic man.

  He couldn't help saying her name, her first name, even though he felt wrong for doing so. But she pitched forward into his embrace just like Haylen had, weeping as though her heart was fit to break. And all Danse could do, all anyone could have done, he assured himself, was hold her close.

  She had no care for the safety and wellbeing of her hands, he realized wryly as he checked them over for broken bones. This was the second time patching up her poor fingers, the first time feeling like a distant memory. Her shredding her knuckles to ribbons on the manual release of his suit, her complete disregard for her own comfort…

  Danse didn't move, even when the synth arrived on Piper's heels. Everyone crowded into the room and he knew he ought to feel self-conscious, but now Vega was the one refusing to release him . So there he sat on the floor with her secure in his arms, listening to the entire sordid tale as Codsworth quietly tidied up the mess that had been Shaun's crib. 

  The Institute was real , and it wound for miles underneath the Commonwealth. They had access to safe food and pure drinking water, all made possible by unimaginable technology. Her son wasn't dead or even a child, but instead old and frail. The years had stretched on longer than anyone could have anticipated between his removal from the Vault and Vega's own awakening. 

  The advances that made the generation three synths possible had been brought about by utilizing infant Shaun's pre-war DNA, and he was known as Father to all the synths. But he wasn't a father at all, at least not one that anybody would want to have.

  "Synths are like lower class citizens to these scientists. Expendable. Seen and not heard." Backhand explained, and Nick muttered something uncharitable under his breath. "They're not people, they're tools. Shit, Shaun even listed them off like that, he called the coursers hammers ." Vega spat. "But they think . They dream. Hell, they grieve even though they don't know that's what they're doing."

  She spoke of the courser mourning the loss of his friend, forced to grieve without understanding the feelings he suffered through and Danse was somehow full of sympathy for a damn killing machine. It must just be Vega's compassionate nature transferring to him. There was no way he could actually believe anything like that was even possible.

  Spinal recalibration .

  Danse wasn't sure why , but he felt a blunt stab of pain at the nape of his neck when she explained the procedure. It was probably psychosomatic, he reasoned. The process sounded gruesome.

  Nick flipped back and forth through his notepad, scratching at the side of his head with his pencil. "I'll need some time to look all of this over, sweetheart." He said to Backhand, glancing at Piper. "And you need time to recover," he continued in a gently-chiding tone. "You seem half-dead, doll."

  Danse realized with a barely-hidden start that he had begun to refer to the synth as Nick in his mind. What was happening to him? Had he been away from the Brotherhood for so long that he was going soft? Was his moral integrity being compromised?

  Or was he just coming to terms with something that he couldn't bring himself to label yet? 

  Backhand nodded, tugging the paladin out of his reverie. "I really want to sleep." She mumbled. She must have been truly exhausted, because in spite of downing the mug of coffee Piper had procured for her, she was slumped in Danse's arms. 

  Piper patted Vega's knee, giving Danse a stern glare. The paladin wanted to laugh at her attempt to intimidate him. "You get some rest, Blue. Nicky and I will do our best to compile what you've given us." She assured her.

  After the duo from Diamond City had left, Codsworth made a noise like he was clearing his throat. "I'm just so glad you're back, mum." He said, his words weirdly heartfelt for coming from a machine.

  Vega reached out and caught one of Codsworth's arms before the bot could leave, the young woman smiling wearily up at the Mister Handy. "I'm glad to be back, Codsworth." 

  Danse managed to usher her into her bed just as the sun was rising, but she grabbed his hand when he turned to depart. "Wait." Backhand whispered, her eyelids drooping. "Please...please stay? I don't want to be alone, Danse." A lone tear wound its way down her cheek. "Please don't leave me alone." 

  Danse planted himself in the chair beside the bed, laying his laser rifle across his knees. "I'm not going anywhere, Knight Vega." He promised her solemnly, taking a greedy, selfish moment to push the hair back from her face. "Sleep."

Part Twelve

[ythankucaptainmccoy]

Triple Frontier: Unwanted Job Chapter 8

The next chapter is here! I’m not exactly sure where I am going to go from here so some of the next chapters may be a little slow. I hope you all enjoy reading these as much as I love writing them. In this chapter and the next couple of chapters there will be scenes of past abuse so fair warning before you get into this chapter. WARNING: Past Physical Abuse, Past Mental Abuse, Past Sexual Assault, Protective Frankie, Attempted Sexual Assault, Assault, Nightmare Induced Panic Attack and some Self Doubt/Hate. IF ANY OF THESE MAKE YOU UNCOMFORTABLE DO NOT READ!

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The next couple of weeks had been quiet as Cait and the others frequently checked in with Will. June had decided to go back to the ranch, but Benny decided to stay after she persuaded him that Cait needed him at this time. “We should go out tonight”, Santiago announced. “Where would we go?”, Benny questioned. “Well we could go down to the local bar and play some pool or shoot darts”, he responded.

“It would be good for us to get out of the house and have some normalcy”, Cait agreed. Frankie nodded as Santiago and Benny smiled. Later on at the bar Frankie watched as you did shots of tequila with Benny. It had gathered a small crowd to see which one of the two would quit first. “What’s the matter Benny ya’ look like you might get sick”, Cait joked as she took her sixth shot. “Nah, I’ll be fine you just worry about yourself”, he laughed.

“I bet she beats him”, Santiago quipped. “Oh what makes you so certain?”, Frankie asked. “Well if I recall correctly she was always good at drinking us under the table, and not being absolutely hung over the next morning”, he replied. “Yeah that’s true. I never understood how she was able to pull that off. She always said it was genetics”, Frankie laughed before taking a swig of his beer. Benny was starting to sway after his ninth shot, and Cait was grinning as if she already knew the outcome.

Sure enough Cait downed her tenth shot as Benny shook his head, and bowed out. The small crowd cheered as Cait held up her fists in victory. She stumbled back towards the boys when a guy cut off her path. She looked up at him, and took in that he was tall with short blonde hair and gray eyes. “Hey those were some nice drinking skills. How about you come with me and I’ll buy you whatever you fancy”, the stranger smirked.

“No that’s quite alright”, she answered. “Oh come on just one little drink”, he tempted. “Look I’m here with some friends, and I’m not looking for any company please move”, she gritted out. She went to move around him when he grabbed her arm. “Ow hey let go puta you're hurting my arm”, she snarled. “Look I was trying to be nice, but I think you should come with me”, he growled and started to pull her towards the bathrooms.

Cait panicked as images of her ex flew through her head. He pulled her into the mens bathroom and pushed her against the sink. She threw a punch at him and it landed on his jaw, but it didn’t have the desired effect she had hoped for. He drew back and the slap he threw landed on her right cheek. She crumpled to the floor in pain, but was yanked up by her hair so she was face to face with the man. “Relax once I get started I’m sure you’ll enjoy it”, he chuckled.

Cait could smell the liquor as his breath hit her face. She flinched back, but stomped on his foot as the bathroom door burst open. He hissed pushing her away from him which caused her to stumble and fall catching her head on the sink with a sickening sound. Through the blur of tears and pain she could make out a scuffle. “Cait hey are you ok”, Benny was asking, but he sounded like he was in a tunnel far away. 

Frankie grabbed the man by the collar of his shirt and slammed him against the wall. “You ever fucking touch my girl again, and I’ll fucking kill you”, she heard Frankie shouting. “That whore is your girl, maybe you should teach her to be more submissive”, the stranger scoffed. That was all it took for Frankie to go absolutely feral, but before Frankie could do any damage Santiago was pulling him away as a bouncer grabbed the drunk stranger. “What the hell is going on here”, the bouncer asked. 

“This bastardo assaulted my girl and was trying to have his way with her”, Frankie hissed. “What my boyfriend said is true he pulled me in here and slapped me around”, Cait spoke up. Benny watched as she sat up slowly, but was swaying pretty bad. “Miss, do you want the police called?”, Cait seemed to freeze up. “No”, was her whispered reply. Frankie, Santi and Benny were dumbfounded. “I just want to go home”, she sniffled. 

Benny slowly helped her to her feet as the bouncer escorted the stranger out of the bar. Frankie and Benny helped her out to the rental car that Santiago had and helped her into the back seat. She instantly curled into Frankies side and silently shook the entire ride back to the house. He helped her into the house, and she went straight for the bathroom before the guys could assess the damage. 

Frankie knocked on the door and asked to enter, but when no reply came he slowly opened the door. Cait quickly hid her face behind her knees that she had had against her chest. “Hermosa it’s okay you don’t have to hide”, Frankie told her. He was using his bedroom voice on her, but she refused to look at him. He slowly got down onto the floor and pulled her legs out. When he looked at her face he grimaced. “I’m sorry it looks horrible. I tried to fight back, but he...hehitmeandIdidn’tknowwhatelsetodo”, she said in a rush. 

“Hermosa don’t apologize it wasn’t your fault if I ever see that man again I’ll kill him for what he tried to do to you”, Frankie seethed at the memory. He noticed that she was still swaying some, and her eyes seemed unfocused. “Cait, baby can you tell me how many fingers I’m holding up?”, he questioned. “Ummmm four I think”, she responded. “I think you have a pretty serious concussion. I was only holding up two”, he told her.

“Here let’s get that cut on your head doctored up, and then an ice pack for that bruise on your cheek ok”, he soothed. Cait simply nodded as he helped her up, and to sit on the sink. He pushed her legs apart so he could stand closer to clean out the cut. Once it was clean he put some triple antibiotic on it to keep out any infection. He leaned in close and kissed her forehead as Benny came in to get a look at her. 

“How is she?”, Benny asked. “I cleaned the cut on her head, and I’m pretty sure she has a concussion”, Frankie replied. “Here I’ll go get her an ice pack”, Benny said walking out. Frankie helped her to the bed where he propped pillows behind her to keep her awake and upright. Benny came back in with an ice pack and tylenol that she gladly accepted. Santiago brought in some water and she downed the pills. “Gracias”, she smiled. “De nada”, Santiago grinned. “Yeah what he said”, Benny huffed.

“Sorry for ruining your all’s night out”, she apologized. “Stop apologizing it wasn’t your fault”, Frankie defended. “Yeah if anything we should have let Frankie kill that asshole. Hell Frankie had him by the collar and pushed up against the wall”, Benny explained. “Really?”, she asked. “Yeah he sure did and that guy was almost a foot taller than him”, Santiago grinned. “Damn that sounds hot as fuck”, she replied. Frankie blushed red at the comment as the guys said their goodnights. 

Frankie made sure that she iced the bruise that had already formed on her cheek. The bruise had started to spread, and now she had a pretty bad shiner under her eye. When he was sure she was okay enough to sleep he pulled her close, placing small kisses on the top of her head and whispering sweet nothings into her hair. The peace didn’t last long as he woke up to shaky breathing, crying and a panicked voice. 

“I’m sorry I won’t do it again. Please I...don’t hit me please I didn’t mean anything. Please no no no no. Please stop it hurts. You’re hurting me...Please stop!”, Cait cried thrashing beside him. “Cait wake up it’s okay”, Frankie called out. As soon as he touched her arm she shot up like she had been shocked falling off the bed in a tangle of sheets and blankets. She scrambled back until her back hit the wall and Frankie was already making his way towards her. 

“Cait it’s okay it’s me it’s Frankie”, he tried to soothe her frayed nerves. Cait’s breath was coming out in quick puffs, and Frankie knew the signs of a panic attack. He slowly scooted off the bed and knelt in front of her. “You’re safe. I’m right here baby I need you to listen to me okay”, he told her. She just shook her head as more tears fell down her face. He slowly brought his hands up on the sides of her face.

“Look at me hermosa. That’s it, now breathe in and out”, he told her, taking a deep breath and exhaling. It wasn’t working and Frankie was wracking his brain trying to think of something to help her. A last second idea popped into his head and he gently pulled her into his lap cradling  her head to his chest. “Listen to my breathing. Now I want you to inhale when I do and exhale when I do okay”, Frankie relayed.

It took a few moments, but when she started to relax and breathe normally he sighed. There were several minutes of silence as Frankie contemplated on asking what that episode was about. “I’m sorry for waking you”, she admitted. “It’s ok....”, he started to explain, but was cut off. “No it’s not okay. I’m broken, and you deserve somebody more put together. Someone who doesn’t wake you at odd hours of the night. Someone who can be there for you instead of adding to your problems”, she hiccuped. 

“Cait, don't ever think that you add to my problems. I love you, and you have been there for me.  If anything I’m the broken one. Please never ever think that you’re not enough for me. I would take a bullet for you”, he confided. “Maybe we are both broken, and you kind of did take a bullet for me”, she tried to joke. “Why don’t we go to the kitchen and get you something to drink”, he suggested. She nodded and got up and helped him up.

In the kitchen Frankie started making some tea as Cait watched from the counter where she sat. He put the kettle on the stove, and made his way to stand between her legs. “Do you want to talk...I mean it’s okay if you don’t want to, I understand”, he backpedaled. “I was having a nightmare about the night that my ex beat me. I have had that particular nightmare before, but the last one I had of that night was the night after the funeral”, she admitted. 

Frankie just watched her as she continued explaining. “We had gone out to a club, and a guy had asked me to dance. I told him I was there with someone, and he understood, but my ex got jealous. He waited until we walked in the front door of his house, and that’s when he pushed me into the wall and punched me. I remember clawing at his face, and he retaliated by pushing me to the floor and started to kick me”, she told him as tears started trailing down her face.

She paused as Frankie wiped the tears away with his thumbs and brought her in for a soft kiss. “You don’t have to continue if you don’t want to, I won’t pry”, he assured her. “No I need to tell somebody. He knew I was already considering leaving him because of verbal abuse, but this was so different. He repeatedly kicked me and I remember hearing some of my ribs snapping as I screamed at him to stop. He told me that I was a whore, and I should be treated as such”, she explained. 

She paused and glanced at the pot on the stove as if wanting a distraction for the next things she was about to tell him. “He grabbed me by the hair and dragged me to the bedroom. He threw me onto the bed and climbed over top of me. I fought him, but he punched me a couple of times and I lost consciousness. I was only out long enough for him to remove my shirt and pants. I told him no and that I was going to leave him, and that I was tired of the abuse. He just laughed at me”, she hesitated.

Frankie sat still as a statue afraid of what he would hear come from her lips next, but he stayed strong he had to for her. “He beat me more after I refused to have sex , and I was so exhasted that he had me naked and under him before I could even cry out for help. I pleaded with him to stop that it hurt, but he wouldn’t. He kept telling me that I was his and that I couldn’t leave him if I got pregnant. I tried to block it all out and waited until he was done and passed out. Once he passed out I got dressed and called Will and Benny to come get me”, she continued.

“They came and took me to the hospital both vowing that he would pay for what he did. I never told anyone about him raping me not even Will or Benny. It made me feel so dirty, and I felt like no one would ever want me after what he did to me. I should have stopped him or fought him harder. I was weak, but I went back to him because he told me no other man would want someone broken or used. I believed him then. Will and Benny got me to make my final decision and that's when he tried to kill us both”, she cried. 

Francisco Morales was never a man of confrontation, but right now he wished that her ex was still alive just so he could torture him, and make him suffer for what he had done to her. “Cait you aren’t weak, and I am so sorry I wasn’t there for you then. I promise you that I will protect you and never let another man do what he did to you. I would die before letting anything happen to you”, he told her as he shed tears of his own for her. He held her and they both shared more tears as he comforted her.

His heart was breaking that he couldn’t save her from that horrible moment in time. She clung to him, but it was interrupted by the whistle of the kettle. Frankie reluctantly pulled away from her and poured her a cup of tea. She took the cup from him and sipped on it after it had cooled. “I know everybody knows he beat me, but you’re the only person I told about the…”, she sobbed, breaking down again.

“I won’t tell anyone that is only information that you should share if you want to, but I am glad that you told me. If I ever do something that makes you uncomfortable in any way I want you to tell me immediately okay”, he told her, taking hold of her free hand. Cait nodded and drank the tea until she was ready to go back to bed. Frankie went to pull away to put the kettle in the sink, but Cait’s grip tightened on his hand. 

He squeezed her hand in confirmation and helped her back to the bedroom. She helped him put the covers back onto the bed, and she glued herself to his side. He pulled her more onto his chest and she automatically draped her leg over his. She listened to his heart beat to help lull her back into slumber. He stayed awake a bit longer having images of what that asshole had done to her. “Te protegeré hasta mi último aliento mi amor”, he whispered as he fell asleep.

No more nightmares plauged her throughout the night, and neither of them woke until Benny knocked on the door. “Hey guys it’s like Twelve Hundred Hours”, he called through the door. Benny knocked a little louder until Frankie flung the door open startling him. “What do you want”, Frankie seethed. “I just thought I would let you all know how late it was. Santiago and I are thinking about heading out today to go home”, he told them. 

“Sorry for snapping. That’s fine just don’t wake Cait she is still sleeping and had a rough night”, Frankie told him. “Yeah I know man we can let her sleep a little longer”, Benny agreed. Benny and Santiago were almost done packing when Cait finally walked in from the bedroom still groggy. “What’s going on?”, she asked. “Well I have to get back and Benny here can’t stand being away from June so we are packing to leave. It has been quiet, but if anything happens you and Frankie have our numbers”, Santiago supplied.

The goodbyes were all said and Santiago drove the rental car back to the airport. Cait had been fidgeting for the rest of the day waiting for texts that they were safely home. Santiago’s text came in first letting Frankie and Cait know he was home safe and to call if they needed anything. Benny’s text came in much later when he had gotten “distracted” as he put it by a night under the stars with June. That night Frankie had treated Cait to dinner, and a nice hot shower that had led to more than just a shower. It was all too easy for them both to fall asleep afterwards.

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Alright guys that is the end of this chapter. We will see where the next couple of chapters take us and what else awaits for the two lovebirds. For the translation I used Babel Fish so I am sorry if the spanish isn’t correct. I wish I had someone to teach me spanish!

[greymattermaelstrom]

Ozlander Fan Gathering 2020  -   The Rik and Sophie Show

I attended Ozlander in Melbourne. What an incredible weekend so would like to share my Ozlander experience with you. Of course, it was during the very early days of covid-19 which I’ll address shortly. I’d never met any of the cast before, nor any group of like minded fans. Of course, you are usually lucky to know anyone who watch the TV show (not counting a partner) in your circle of friends let alone personally know a group of fans to chat with. It’s funny though, I’m not sure what I expected, but I thought people would have in depth discussions about OL characters/plots during coffee breaks or in line ups for autographs/photos. I didn’t experience that. I think it was a given that we were all deep into OL. Instead, I found we just chatted and got to know each other, ‘Where are you from?’ etc. As this was the first formal Outlander convention held in Australia, this was big news. I bought my ticket the day they were available (Nov 2019). It was a long way off but I knew the gathering would occur a short time after the first few episodes of Outlander S5 were broadcast, so when S5 started airing, my anticipation grew. Prices were steep admittedly, but a number of us felt it may be the first and last opportunity to meet a cast member, so we did what we could to get there (i.e. sell the healthiest child, blackmail the rich, etc).

Article from “The Scottish Banner” Feb 2020.

Unfortunately, 4 weeks out, Ed Speleers withdrew due to work commitments but local, David Berry, was announced as his replacement on the same day. Then 10 days out, Graham McTavish withdrew due to work commitments in Slovakia. No news of a replacement was announced (I learnt at the event that organising a visa etc with Covid-19 developing had made it nigh on impossible to organise a replacement in time). Ozlander organisers revisited the program and added extra value features to the various tiers. The gathering weekend was so close, yet seemed so far away in these uncertain times. Every day, I anticipated receiving an email stating it had been cancelled. I knew the organisers must have been pulling their hair out. Selfishly and as long as it was safe to do so, I was hoping it would still go ahead. The virus was not as advanced in Australia. Most of our relatively low number of cases were brought in by travellers (residents returning or tourists) from Europe/Asia before flying was cancelled. The Federal Government had restricted public gatherings to less than 500 at the time. Attendance was actually under 200.  FYI, below are the global covid-19 stats as of 19 April 2020, a month later. Australia’s population is 25 million.

A few days after the Ozlander event, only crowds of less than 100 were permitted by the govt. We were so, so lucky!! Of course, that reduced further as precautions were implemented over time. We have self-isolation and a lot of business closures, cancellation of sports/entertainment etc. It is dreadful, but not a total lock down in Australia. We could walk dogs and make necessary trips to the supermarket, pharmacy, doctor or special court appearances. Anyway, just wanted to address this concern. ~ Tickets sold well (premium tickets sold out). I saw fans on sm stating the date of the event clashed or it was a bit expensive so I know more wanted to come. Yes, the cost was relatively high. Return airfares for cast, accommodation, plus I assume their appearance fee was always going to be an expensive venture, especially as our AUD had been declining sharply against the USD for some time. Australia can miss out on some things because of distance and a relatively small population, but overall, I think we have done well over the years. ~ Rik (Richard) and Sophie posted IG photos from Melbourne a couple of days before the event. Yay!! They were in the country at least, enjoying the sunsets, cuddling koalas and hypnotising wallabies lol. Sophie posted a selfie from a public toilet (bathroom) - as you do. See Sam’s comment below. Toilet paper was becoming a precious commodity....🤔

So the odds looked good and finally, Ozlander arrived.🥳 Before we took our seats, a lone piper slowly walked into the throng playing Waltzing Matilda (iconic Australian bush ballad) which segued into Outlander's theme song. Goosebumps! Applause all 'round. The piper was a big fan too.

What a thrilling start to proceedings. We took our seats and Meagan Taylor (the one who dared dream the dream), welcomed everyone. The age range of fans was predominately 40-65. We were excited and expectant. Housekeeping announcements focused on coronavirus precautions of course. Wash hands, use hand sanitiser when you can't, no handshaking and no touching the cast. This last request was a little disappointing after seeing photos from other OL cons, but it was quite understandable. I think we were just over the moon Ozlander went ahead so we were more than happy to comply and consider the health and safety of others. Then Meagan had the unenviable task of informing us David Berry had unfortunately cancelled his appearance due to health reasons. Yikes! What a shame. (David released a press statement 15 March(?) outlining his difficult decision. Sydney is Australia's Covid-19 hot spot, so David being a Sydneysider, had to consider this I guess). There are IG photos of David, Rik and Sophie together in Australia, just not sure where. So of course, it surprised everyone that David wasn't attending. Refunds of his meet and great and the re-jigging of tiers was to be announced on the fly. Then there were two, Rik and Sophie (and no pressure whatsoever!)🤪. Meagan then advised that the five panels across the weekend would be all audience Q & A which got a loud cheer. On with the show! The Rik and Sophie show! 🎉 They came on stage ready for a good time. Rik opened with 'G'day'. Great start I thought and continued his half decent Australian accent. It's a hard accent to imitate as we know. Rik's was a bit exaggerated but that was part of the fun. 

‘G’day. ‘How are ya’?’

Sophie in an outfit she bought here. Same brand as Saturday’s dress that she brought with her.

Roger Mac is in da house.

I’ll admit, I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. I have seen Rik and Sophie in a lot of interviews, OL promos (talking to camera) and taking part on OL panels on YouTube. I can find their rapport a little strained and snarky at times. Luckily, I was very pleasantly surprised that their 2020 version was very endearing and entertaining. I think they’ve worked on this. I also think, that the spectre of Sam and Cait, through no fault of their own, does loom large at cast events. Therefore, it was great to see Rik and Sophie rise to the challenge of working the room in the absence of their cast mates. And I think they really relished this (albeit exhausting) opportunity and the small theatre made it a casual and intimate affair. They answered questions in an engaging manner and often expanded on it, citing on set examples, many I’ve never heard before, and I’ve seen a lot of OL interviews. Almost as soon as they came on stage, Rik was asked if he would play his guitar and sing for us. While flattered, I think it was too early in the piece and he said maybe he would do so during the weekend sometime. Alas, time wasn’t on our side so it didn’t eventuate. ~ Rik was asked if his hair ticks were under control (ep 501)😂. Combing his fingers through his hair, he replied in his strong Scottish brogue that most of them were gone now. Good sport. ~ He was told the OL bts photos he posts on sm (taken on set) were great and much appreciated and to keep them coming to which the audience applauded. I think he quietly enjoyed that moment. All creatives will take that, knowing their skills and hard work meant something to someone, much like our appreciation for OL and these sorts of events!

Then on to costumes, wigs and make up. It was thought that it must be nice to have your scalp/hair attended to in the makeup. ‘No, it’s not’ R&S said in unison.😂 Verra uncomfortable process apparently. The hair is flattened and held down with clips. The hairline edge of the wig is ‘glued’ to the top of your forehead and then alcohol is used to get the glue off after shooting, which dries the skin. Some hair falls out over time with this process also. We know this has happened to Sam to an extent.😬 Rik is hoping to grow his hair long enough so he doesn’t need a wig, which accounts for his current hirsute glory. ~ Sophie said they both share a make up trailer and added that Rik has a magic make up chair. Being early morning, he often goes to sleep in it and upon waking up, hey presto, it’s Roger Mac. At make up time, they do know if the other is a bit touchy, so they try not to annoy each other. Too much.😂 ~ At one stage, we were a bit shy in asking questions. Meagan said if this was in the US, there’d be a line up for the mic.😂

Ozlander Fan Gathering 2020 selfie. 

~ Sophie responded to a geeky question about wearing wireless mics secreted in their costumes or hair as well using the usual overhead boom mics you see on bts videos. She was asked about her experience with ADR which she’s not a great fan of it. The audience asked, ‘What’s ADR?’ There are a few accepted terms in the industry, Additional Dialogue Replacement is one. It’s when some dialogue needs to be re-recorded late in post production if the original dialogue audio recording at the time is less than optimal for a variety of reasons (thanks Google). Sophie gave an instance when in S4, Bree told Claire she had been raped. The stream in the background got into the dialogue mics too much in this particular outdoor location, so Sophie had to re-record her dialogue (like lip syncing) saying exactly what she said at the time, whilst watching the scene on a screen in a recording studio. It’s hard to get the context and emotion of the scene back into your voice and that’s why some actors hate doing it and plead to have the original dialogue kept as much as possible. But ADR happens more than you realise and for various reasons (see Google). It is impossible to tell when you watch the show, what scenes have had ADR done, it’s blended so well. They would record the stream/ ambient sounds separately at some point and then mix it in lower against the dialogue after ADR is done. 😅

 ~ Sophie talked about her audition process and was sat down in an exec’s office and was told OL fans are very passionate! (we are?🤔😁). They have an idea of how book Brianna should look and Sophie confirmed she wasn’t tall enough, eyes the wrong colour, etc and that yeah, as expected, she received some not so nice things on sm. But she tried not to read too much of it and pressed on with the role of Bree. Her tone wasn’t sarcastic or indignant at all, but humble. I was impressed. 

Queuing for photos with Rik or Sophie on this occasion. We weren’t allowed to touch but we all had a squirt of hand sanitiser (just to be super safe?).🤔            

There were a few photo opportunities over the weekend and a bonus or two thrown in make up for the cast that couldn’t make it. A refund was offered for people with meet and greet tickets for David. However, R & S kindly offered to do a meet and greet for David’s fans instead and they happily accepted. Legends! I don’t know where they found the energy to be constantly ’on’ with so many people over the weekend. Chocolate? Youth?  ~ As it was a small event, there weren’t any extra security staff that I could see. I think it was only the Museum staff and the security cameras which were hardly noticeable. ~ When getting my autographs, Rik and Sophie didn’t ask for my name, but when I read their personal messages, they had used my name (which they’d seen on my Ozlander lanyard. How cool is that? Very slick!). There were assorted costumes, the de rigueur wedding dress of Claire’s which added to the ambience. Of course, most of the audience were women but good to see a handful of men there, some even in kilts! Saw some Aussie Peakers in their MPC tees too. Cool. 

To settle a pronunciation question, Sophie asked the audience after lunch, ‘Is it scone (as in, phone) or scone (as in, shone)? 

An emphatic SCONE (shone) came back. Rik said “Oh, wow, a shouting(?) majority?’ 

Just to be sure, someone asked who lost, Rik pointed at Sophie. He didn’t gloat too much. Poor Sophie!

Of course, what would an OL event be without the cast having a drink or two to lubricate the tonsils (as we say).

Here are a few more tidbits. All the info I’m sharing has been gleaned from the panels and time spent with Rik and Sophie over the weekend as my tier allowed (which was a lot). ~ Yes, they had tried Vegemite (similar to marmite/promite), courtesy of David Berry. Sophie has some in Scotland. Onya Davo! (good on you David). Incidentally, Sam tried some when he was here in 2016 on Studio 10 (morning talk show - March 2016, his interview is on You Tube). It’s a thing. ~ Rik didn’t know if Sam’s whisky would be his cup of tea, but said it was ‘good actually’. ~ Rik was sometimes surprised by the particular take post production used for the show, but was more surprised by what was edited out of a scene (to add dynamics or guide the narrative a certain way which would apply to all productions everywhere). ~ The pyre scene with the Jesuit Priest at the Mohawk Village Ep 412 was hard to watch on TV. He said it was hard to watch them shoot that scene on set as it was so dangerous!😬 ~ Sophie very occasionally discussed the historical accuracy of things in a scene with directors ie. birthing stool or not in Ep 413 and 1960′s The Mashed Potato moves in S5 are different to how we know them now. She convinced the director’s on those 2 occasions. To me, it shows her passion for the show! ~ When asked about Bree meeting Jamie for the first time in S4, Sophie was asked about the eww factor but didn’t think about Jamie’s hand touching her face after he had relieved himself as he had only used a fruit juice bottle.🤣 ~ R & S were asked to respond to: ‘Aussie, Aussie, Aussie!’ And with relish they replied: ‘Oi, Oi, Oi!’. Someone did their homework. Cool. It’s a parochial call and response thing some aussies do at sporting events etc. ~ R & S often went for an early morning run. Before Sunday’s program began, Meagan asked us all to be very quiet. ‘That sound’, she said, ‘is Rik having his hair blown dry backstage.’ Laughter at Rik’s expense all round. Sophie came on with her’s still damp.

Graham McTavish ‘popped’ in from Slovakia to say hi and sorry I can’t be there. Rik and Graham had a good rapport. After some banter, the audience was now supposed to ask a question and GM rolled his eyes as he heard Rik’s voice again, this time asking him what he conditioned his beard with? ‘Well”, said GM, ‘well Richard, um, I, ahh (chuckle), I condition it with...., obviously a little bit of your love ..’. Much laughter in the theatre.

Then GM commented further, (which I missed, sadly), to even more laughter.

Who knows what would have happened had GM been at the event in person?! There is so much more I could share, but you get the idea. 

Sophie wasn’t feeling the best during the last panel just before the close of the event, but she pushed through like a trooper. Rik said she had eaten too much chocolate. A weakness of Sophie’s. I think fatigue was catching up with both of them. They did so much.

Meagan presented Rik and Sophie with an Akubra (pron. uh·koo·bruh) each (iconic Australian outback hat) as a memento of their time here at Ozlander. Rik had the Crocodile Dundee style whilst Sophie’s was more demure. In his best aussie lingo, Rik said: ‘I’m Richard Dundee and this is my partner, Skippy (Sophie).’ (Referencing Skippy the bush kangaroo ? - a much loved Australian TV show 1968-1970). 

The Scottish Banner article promised an intimate relaxed chance to get to know stars from the Outlander TV series and I’m happy to say that this is exactly what we got. Whilst it’s a shame we didn’t get to know Ed, Graham or David better, we certainly got to know Rik and Sophie better than we had ever anticipated. As a result, I see Rik and Sophie in a new light, esp in S5, where they have more scenes together. In a small way, I’ve gotten to know a little of the person that inevitably informs their TV persona (ie facial expressions, mannerisms, speaking cadence and inflections). What a memorable time I had (can you tell?). Thanks to Rik and Sophie, the gathering organisers (who got a special mention on stage at the close) and the other fans I met there. Thanks for reading this far on a rather lengthy post.😊 I know it’s my take on the weekend, but I’ve tried not to editorialise it, but present it, as accurately as I can, hence, it may be a bit dry to read.😅  I think Ozlander is a great name and I look forward to Ozlander Fan Gathering 2021.  

Ozlander graphics: Ozlander Fan Gathering (I tweaked the circle logo in the title)

Ozlander Fan Gathering 2020 selfie: Ozlander Fan Gathering

other photos: all permissions obtained    

Ozlander Fan Gathering article: The Scottish Banner February 2020

Sophie Skelton post: Instagram

global covid-19 cases stats: Wikipedia

[nukagalreacts]

Fallout 4 companions react to finding out Sole is a synth! Part-One

oh look I finally got another request out 20 billion years later thanks again for the patience y’all! I hope you enjoy reading and thanks again for the request friends.

Hancock: The Mayor had always despised The Institute they where a plague that had always haunted the Commonwealth turning people against each other and destroying whole communities. He never hated synths though, it wasn’t their fault that they were created and used to do the Institute’s dirty work, after all, he was friends with Nick valentine and saw first hand how easily they created and disposed of there creations. So when he learned that Sole was a synth it didn’t bother him one bit what did piss him off though and made his blood boil is that they used Sole as some kind of experiment for there sick and twisted purposes. Putting memories in their head that were never real, making them think they had a son that needed to be found, that they had a spouse at one point, it was a cruel joke and it was ripping Sole apart. He watched as the love of his life cried so hard they could barely breathe, he gently took there face in his hands trying to brush all the tears away and promised them that the Institute would be brought to justice, he would make sure the whole place burned and the people responsible would suffer even if he had to do it all himself, sealing the promise of revenge with a hard kiss and a wild look of fire in his eyes. 

Cait: Her mind was blown how could someone she grew so close to and feel so much love for and have so many memories with, be a synth?. Cait felt like she was in some weird dream and it took all of her willpower to snap back into reality and focus back on Sole’s face. They looked scared and anxious and their eyes were darting from the ground back to them, and Cait couldn’t think of what to do or to say, and she felt a weird mix of sadness, anger…. Maybe betrayal and a fear that she was going to be alone again abandoned once more. “Cait I’m sorry I didn’t know either till a few weeks ago, this is hard for me to except to, I mean I don’t even know what’s real anymore” Cait could hear Sole start to tear up and their voice crumbles, as they kept repeating how sorry they were. Cait felt all those negative emotions leave her and the thought of Sole ever lying or trying to hurt them seemed like the stupidest thought to have ever crossed her mind. She may not be a soft and comforting, warm fuzzy person but she could see that this was ripping Sole apart and if Sole was able to put up getting her clean from chems than she would stick this out with Sole till the bitter end no matter the consequences.        

Codsworth: He was bewildered, to say the least, he had served Sole well before the bombs and he can’t wrap around the thought that Sole was not human all this time. If anything it brought up some alarming concerns for both of them, like was Sole always a synth, was there a swap-out of the real Sole and the synth while they were down in the vaults. Codsworth did his best to comfort a distraught Sole but he was just a robot, synths were a whole different ballgame, he knew there was always the argument if they were just machines or human. He promised Sole he would still stay by there side and help them navigate this new territory anyway he could, and if there where answers to be found about this new information he would help them find it. Sole couldn’t stop expressing how grateful they where that Codsworth was still willing to stick with them, even if it turned out they weren’t the original Sole. If anything Codsworth was a great listener whenever Sole felt confused or just wanted to talk about there memories and the past and rather it was all real or not for them, and Codsworth being himself always gives logical answers and reassurances.       

Curie: She was actually the first one to notice Sole wasn’t human, and being a synth herself she noticed Sole’s body and face had that slightly too perfect and pristine quality to it. Curie being who she is was very curious about the circumstances surrounding this considering they had were looking for there biological son, and as far as Curie knew it was impossible for synths to reproduce. Not being aware that Sole didn’t even know they where a synth she brought it up one day and Sole turned around so fast they about tripped themselves, frantically asking what Curie was talking about. “ You are a synth yes”? Curie asked again innocently in turn Sole shook there head frantically “No I’m not why are you saying that”? But from the expression on Curie’s face Sole knew she wasn’t lying and could feel themselves starting to panic. Curie could see this and gently took there hand and lead them over to an area to sit down never letting go of them and patiently waiting for them to gather their thoughts and readying herself to answer all the questions they have. Curie knew she wouldn’t be able to answer all of them after all things just got more complicated since Sole thought they where a human all this time and they had a lot of history and memories that didn’t add up with being a synth, she would give them nothing but her best though to get them through this.       

Danse: Shockingly enough not only had the Brotherhood found out that Danse was a missing synth from the Institute but it turned out that Sole was one as well. Both of there world’s where crumbling down, everything they thought they knew was ripped away and neither knew what to do except run away and try and make sense of everything. This is exactly what they did before they could both be executed, they knew Elder Maxson would be furious that two synths had been inside his inner ranks. After reaching Listening Post Bravo they sat down and silence engulfed them, neither knowing what to say to the other until Sole broke down and started to weep thinking about Shaun and how they were never really his truel parent. Danse looked uncomfortable and unsure of what to do as he watched Sole bawl their eyes out and it didn’t help that he felt like doing the same. He knew all they could do right now is try and talk through this and help each other start over and pick up the pieces and decided what needed to be done next in order to move forward.       

Deacon: For once Deacon was the one at a loss for words feeling as if he was stuck in his past once again, how was this something he wasn’t aware of till now, he had spent all of that time waiting and watching Sole gathering every scrap of information on them after he found out they where still alive down in the vault. Now here they stood trying to wrap their minds around the fact that Sole was synth and there was no telling when the real Sole had been replaced which made it even more troubling. Deacon thought he and the Railroad agency had been getting ahead of the Institute for once but it seems they had pulled a fast one on all of them. He knew he was being selfish right now just thinking about himself and the agency when the real person that needed comfort right now was Sole, who was currently having a panic attack in a corner of there room. Deacon sat down next to them and pulled Sole to his chest promising that he still loved them just the same and the Institute would have to fight him and the whole agency to ever get there hands on Sole again. 

[haledamage]

Breakfast at Haley’s

A coffee date between two detectives just before the start of Book 2, OR two best friends sit in a cafe and talk about boys. Kira Kingston is mine, Abigail Jenings belongs to @queen-scribbles <3 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, CAIT!!! I was going to post this tomorrow for your actual birthday, but my internet’s gonna be down, so have a slightly early present :)

It was late morning, but quiet enough in Haley’s Bakery that Abigail and Kira managed to grab a window table. They sat in companionable silence, watching the town go about its business like nothing had changed, the murders only a couple months ago already fading from collective memory. Only the two women at the table truly knew just how much had changed.

Haley delivered their drinks and pastries before wandering off to take another order, and once she was gone Kira finally broke the silence. “It’s too fucking quiet here now,” she admitted reluctantly.

Abigail grinned, wrapping her hands around her coffee mug to let the warmth seep into her fingers. “Kira Kingston, complainin’ about th’ quiet! Wonders never cease.”

“Oh, sod off, Red,” Kira said, but there was no heat behind it. “You know what I mean.”

“You miss ‘em.” AJ didn’t need to say who ‘they’ were. Neither of them seemed to be able to think about much else besides ‘them.’

“Maybe,” Kira muttered to her lemon scone. “I didn’t say it.”

Abigail chuckled at her friend’s sour tone. “I miss ‘em too. Apartment’s too empty now, with just th’ two of us.” She took a bite of her chocolate chip muffin and glanced subtly around the bakery, making sure no one was close enough to listen in. “Have y’ heard anythin’ since…”

Kira shook her head. “No. Not even from Mum.” She leaned across the table, dropping her voice. “It’s all very suspicious, innit? What do you think they’re up to?”

“Dunno,” Abigail said with a shrug, tugging idly at a loose curl. “They said they’re stayin’ in town, right? T’ keep us safe. So they’ll be back soon.”

“I hope so. Though not as much as you do, I think,” Kira said slyly, taking a sip of her tea to hide her grin as she added, as casually as possible, “So you and Nate, hmm?”

“What?!” AJ sat up so quickly the table wiggled, making her coffee slosh in her mug, though it didn’t quite spill over. Her face turned almost as red as her hair. “How did--what are--did he say somethin’?”

“He didn’t have to. I hope you don’t think you’re being subtle, the way you stare at each other. I can see the little cartoon hearts in your eyes. It’s adorable. And nauseating.” Despite the bite to her words, Kira smiled warmly at Abigail and her clear infatuation. If anyone in the world would ever be good enough for her in Kira’s mind, it would be Nate. Still, someone had to say it and she knew Agent Jenings wouldn’t, so she added, “If he breaks your heart, I’ll kick his arse. Vampire superhealing be damned.”

“He wouldn’t,” AJ said immediately.

“No. But if he does.” Kira nudged the toe of Abigail’s boot with her own. “C’mon, AJ. Spill. You’re dying to talk about him, I know it.”

“Alright, you asked for it.” Abigail chuckled and took a drink of her coffee and then the floodgates opened. “But, I mean, you know him, Kir. He has t’ be th’ sweetest person I’ve ever met. He’s so nice--genuinely nice, not fakin’ or anythin’--t’ darn near ev’ryone I’ve ever seen him meet, an’ he’s so charmin’ and sincere about it. An’ he really cares about people, doesn’t want them hurt. He’s so empathetic, ‘specially with those eyes…” She sighed wistfully, her own dark blue eyes shining. “He has the best eyes, Kira. They’re all warm an’ carin’ an’ the most beautiful brown on God’s green earth, an’ when we’re talkin’ he looks at me like I’m th’ only thing that matters, an’ he makes me feel all special--which no one’s ever done before, not like this.”

Kira nodded encouragingly, though she knew AJ didn’t need encouragement on this particular subject.

Sure enough, she continued, a wide and happy smile spreading over her face as she did. “An’ the looks don’t hurt--you know I like tall guys, an’ those shoulders--but they’re just icin’ on th’ cake. He’s gorgeous an’ strong an’ that plays second fiddle to him bein’ so open and sweet. It’s the kindness an’ compassion an’ deep brown eyes that got me. Oh, an’ his smile. His smile makes me all warm an’ gooey inside, an’ not just ‘cause I’m fallin’ for him harder’n a rotted tree in a storm.” 

She paused long enough to take another drink of her coffee. “It just…. immediately puts you at ease, makes you feel safe, yeah? Safe an’ valued an’ like you have his undivided attention however long you want it. An’ I want it a real long time. He’s just so wonderful, Kir.” She gestured to the huge, giddy grin still on her face. “Can’t stop smilin’ whenever I so much as think of him. An’ I don’t want to, neither.”

Kira chuckled, unable to keep from smiling herself at Abigail’s infectious joy. “Oh, is that all? Don’t hold back on my account,” she teased.

AJ blushed, drawing a random pattern on the tabletop with her finger. “Well, there’s also th’ way he always knows what t’ say when people are mad or upset or other… emotionally fraught situations and checks with me if he thinks he’s makin’ me th’ least bit uncomfortable--he never is--oh, an’ his hands.” She flexed her own fingers almost subconsciously, like she could almost feel Nate’s hand in hers, but she didn’t elaborate further.

Kira was grateful. She hadn’t given much thought to Nate’s hands before, it seemed like a weird time to do so now.

“Wow.” She smirked and made a show of checking the time on her phone. “You sure that’s it, Red? We’ve still got a few minutes before we’re due to be at the station.”

Abigail chuckled, curling her hands around her coffee mug again. “You asked. Twice.” Her sweet, smitten smile turned playful. “An’ now that I’ve let m’ mouth an’ heart run away with me again, your turn, yeah? What about you an’ Adam?”

Kira scoffed, but she blushed at the same time. “Don’t be daft. There’s no me and Adam. He’s made that very goddamn clear. Doesn’t matter what I feel about it, it isn’t up to me.”

“You don’t see the way he looks at you when y’ aren’t lookin’,” AJ said encouragingly, trying to get her normally closed off friend to open up a bit. She knew she needed to, and just as much she knew that it would take a bit of a push for it to happen.

“Well, no, I wouldn’t, would I?” Kira said, a little sharper than she intended. Then, in a tiny voice, speaking more to the table than to her friend, she added, “How… how does he look at me?”

“Th’ same way I look at Nate.”

“Really?” Kira hated how hopeful that single word sounded. She scowled at no one in particular - or at least, no one in the bakery; it wasn’t hard to figure out who she would be scowling at, if he were there. “Ugh. He’s the most pig-headed, arrogant bastard I’ve ever met. I’m glad you shot him. I should have fucking shot him.”

“An’ you’re in love with him,” Abigail said plainly. One of them had to say it.

“And I’m in love with him.” It took a second for the words to sink in, and when they did Kira covered her face with both hands and groaned. "Oh fuck, I am, aren’t I? How do I make it stop?"

Abigail reached across the table to pat Kira on the arm. "I don’t think it works like that."

Kira was quiet for a long time, long enough that AJ started to wonder if she was going to say anything at all, but she waited her out, eating her muffin in silence while she put her thoughts together.

"He’s got the prettiest eyes," Kira muttered all of a sudden, as if the words escaped against her will. But once she started talking, she couldn't seem to stop. "You know wintergreen’s always been my favorite color. I didn’t know eyes came in that color. And have you seen his arms? Those are good arms to have. And his jawline might as well have been chiseled out of marble, just… fucking perfect." She paused, chipping restlessly at her nail polish, leaving a neat pile of black lacquer on her napkin. "And I… feel safe with him. Like nothing bad could happen as long as he’s there. Obviously, that’s not true, if it was, Murphy wouldn’t have… but it still feels that way, you know?"

"It’s just--I’m--he’s--fuck!" She dropped her head onto the table with a dull thud, but only stayed there a second before sitting up again. "When he looks at me, it’s like the rest of the world just disappears. Like it’s just him and me. And sometimes it’s so intense I can barely breathe. Just from him looking at me! If he ever touched me--like, actually touched me, with intention, not just when he’s trying to protect me--I might literally combust." 

She closed her eyes and sighed. "I could live a thousand years and never feel as special as I do when Adam smiles at me." She covered her face again. "Oh god, that’s awful. If I start reciting poetry, hit me with something."

“Y' know I'm not gonna do that,” Abigail chuckled. She bit her lip in an attempt to hold back a smile. “It's not such a bad thing, havin' feelin's for someone. Y' might even like it if y' try.”

“It doesn’t bloody matter anyway, does it? He doesn’t want me. Or he doesn’t want to want me. There was a moment when I thought, maybe…” Kira’s light brown eyes were distant, full of something an awful lot like longing. Then she shook her head, and it was gone, “but nevermind. Whatever. I think he’d be happy if he never saw me again. If he didn’t have me around complicating things for him.”

AJ shook her head. “You don’ believe that, Kir,” she murmured gently.

“Maybe. I don’t know. It’s fine, I’ve accepted it.” Kira combed her fingers through her hair as she slouched down in her chair. “Can we go back to talking about you and Nate? Or, like, fucking absolutely anything else?”

“How ‘bout Felix an’ Mason?” AJ finally unleashed the smile she’d been holding back.

“Felix is great,” Kira said immediately, relieved in the change in subject. “He’s what you’d be if you woke up one day and stopped caring about what people think about you.”

“Funny.” Abigail arched an eyebrow playfully, her grin widening to match it. “I was gonna say the same about you an’ Mason. Y’ even dress alike.”

Kira smirked and rolled her eyes. “Oh, please, I’ve seen him wear at least one red shirt. That’s too much color for me.”

Abigail’s phone beeped and a second later Kira’s buzzed as well. They reached for them in sync. “That’ll be Tina, I s’ppose. Looks like breakfast is over.”

They quickly finished their coffee and tea and pastries. AJ took their empty mugs and plates up to the counter while Kira took their trash to the bin and then Kira held the door for them both as they waved goodbye to Haley and stepped out into the cool morning streets.

Abigail linked her arm into Kira’s as they fell into step together for the walk to the police station. “Thanks for listenin’, Kir.”

“Anytime. Really. You can talk to me about Nate anytime you want, as much as you want.” She squeezed her arm fondly. “I’ll bitch and moan about it, but I won’t mean it. I’m just jealous you won the emotional availability lottery when it comes to hot vampires.”

AJ lit up with a bright smile and an even brighter blush. “I did, didn’t I?” They walked the rest of the way to work in comfortable silence except for occasionally greeting people who said hello as they passed. Only when they arrived at the front door did she draw Kira to a stop, waiting until she met her eyes to gently say, “Y’ know you can talk t’ me about Adam anytime too, yeah?”

“I know.” Kira smiled warmly, then slipped her arm out of Abigail’s to wrest the door open. “But don’t get your hopes up, Red, I doubt there’ll be anything worth talking about.”

Abigail chuckled, her smile knowing as she followed Kira into the station. “We’ll see about that.”

[returnn-of-the-mac]

So there’s this NPC from Borderlands 2 named Face McShooty. He wants to be shot in the face. So how would companions react when one day, an unarmed raider comes up to Sole Survivor’s face and starts screaming hysterically for them to shoot him in the face?

Sorry I’m only just getting to this now, I have like 2 weeks worth of headcanons in my inbox; I’m trying to through to them as fast as I can! I’ve never played the Borderlands games, but my boyfriend has and when he saw this request he got a kick out of it. Also, I know you wanted a raider, but I felt like Sole & crew would immediately attack a raider, unarmed or not, so I changed it to a crazy settler so there could be more opportunities for dialogue/interaction. Hope that’s okay with you! Anyway, thank you for your patience and please enjoy!😄

Edit: I FUCKING FORGOT HANCOCK but I added him in! *dodges rotten tatos*. I’m ashamed for forgetting such a fabulous ghoul. I like to change up the order of the companions so it’s different every time, so that’s probably how it happens. My b.

Edit 2: Preston was the first react I did for this one, but *apparently* I don’t know how to copy & paste correctly and I missed him. So I added him at the bottom. Sorry bout that, folks.

FO4 Companions React: Crazy Man Asking to be Shot in the Face

Sole and their companion where just leaving their newly captured settlement, Outpost Zimonja, when they head rustling in the bushes. Fully alert, the pair approached the bush, expecting a mole rat or mongrel to attack. Instead, a man jumped out of the bush. He was almost completely naked and had a target painted on his face. He immediately ran up to Sole, got up in their face, and started violently chanting “Shoot me! Shoot me! Shoot me!”:

Gage: “Listen up, punk. Ya better lay off. Ya don’t know who you’re messin with.” The man ran up to Sole and his deranged chanting became more aggressive. Gage glanced at Sole. “Do whatcha wanna do, boss. If it were me, I’d fuck this guy up.” Sole pulled out their gun and shot the man in the face without a second thought. Gage smirked. “Good choice. This is why your in charge, boss.”

X6-88: “Are you positive that’s what you want, sir?” X6 asked the settler. “Shoot me! Shoot me! Shoot me!” the settler continued to chant. X6 looked at Sole and gave them a knowing nod. Sole whipped out their weapon and shot the man in between the eyes.

Deacon: “Chill out, buddy. You wanna talk it out?” The man continued to holler like a lunatic. “Hmm, yes, yes. Those are some deep thoughts.” Deacon joked. “I sometimes want to be shot in the face too. That’s just how it be sometimes.” As the man became more violent and invasive, Deacon stopped joking around. “Okay pal, seriously though. If you don’t back off we’re actually gonna have to shoot you...in the face, per your request, of course.” The man ignored Deacon’s warning and continued to harass Sole. Sole finally pulled out their gun and shot him. Deacon shrugged. “Well, he asked for it...literally.

Curie: “Monsieur, please, calm down,” Curie pleaded, “You are unsound. You are going to hurt both yourself and others if you are not careful. You are in crisis...Parson’s is no longer in operation, but I’m sure we could find you someone to talk to.” The man continued to yell and get in Sole’s face. Curie tried again, this time, speaking to the crazed man more firmly. “Sir, if you do not calm down, we are going to have no other choice but to defend ourselves.” The man continued to aggravate the pair. Sole pulled out their gun and fired. The man died instantly. “I’m upset we had to do it, but we had to stay safe.”

Dogmeat: Dogmeat barked and growled at the man. When the settler refused to stop yelling, Dogmeat lunged and held the man down. He looked over at Sole and the two locked eyes. Mutual understanding. Sole aimed and pulled the trigger, careful to avoid their canine friend. The bullet whizzed by Dogmeat and struck the settler in the head. He died instantly.

Piper: “Uh...Sir? Is there a reason you want to be shot at? Do you wanna talk it out or something?” The settler continued yelling. When he realized that Sole was hesitating to pull the trigger, he got even closer and louder.” “Hey! Dude, back off! Piper angrily interjected, “Blue, I mean I’m against killing innocent people, but if you feel threatened...” Sole pulled the trigger and the man went flying backwards by the force. “Shame it came to that, but there was nothing we could have done to help him.”

Ada: “Are you sure that is what you want, sir?” Ada asked the settler. “Several data scans suggest that if shot in the face by this individual, your chances of survival are a mere 0.831% chance.” The insane man continued to spew nonsense. Sole finally decided to pull the trigger, killing the man instantly.

Cait: “Ye better back the fuck up or we will put a bullet through yer skull.” Cait threatened. When the settler got closer to the pair and seemingly more belligerent, Cait pulled out her shotgun. “Ye asked for it!” She pulled the trigger and sent the man flying backwards. He hit the ground with a sickening thud. “And that’s how ye do it.”

Strong: “Human annoying. Go away or Strong smash.” The man continued to shout and get in Sole’s face. Strong had had enough. “WHY HUMAN NO STOP? STRONG SMASH!” With a mighty swing of his supersledge, Strong sent the deranged settler flying. He was dead before he hit the ground. Strong then turned to Sole. “Crazy human bad. Strong protect good human.”

Danse: “I suggest you back up and cool off, civilian,” Danse warned. “Otherwise, we’ll have no other choice but to execute you for the reason of self-defense.” The psychotic settler contributed to invade Sole’s space. As more time passed, his demeanor became increasingly threatening. Being a man of his word— and not wanting to see this obviously unstable man hurt his partner— Danse pulled out his laser rifle and vaporized him. “Threat neutralized.”

Codsworth: “Uh...[sir/mum]. This man seems dangerous and unstable. Please, be wary.” The crazy settler continued to chant “shoot me!” as he inched closer and closer to Sole and Codsworth. “Maybe...maybe you should just do what he says.” Sole, in agreement, pulled out their gun and shot the man between the eyes. He fell to the ground, dead. “I’m glad that’s over.”

Longfellow: “You need to stop.” Longfellow walked over to the man. “If something’s wrong talk it out. Or have a damn drink. Don’t just go around hollering like a lunatic.” He held out a bottle of whiskey. “Speaking of which: would you like a drink?” The man slapped the bottle out of Longfellow’s hand and continued screaming. Longfellow, infuriated, gave Sole a sharp look. “Do what you need to do.” Sole pulled the trigger and the man was killed instantly.

MacCready: MacCready chucked, “No way, a voluntary target? I’d be more than happy to help you out!”!Sole stepped aside and let MacCready have the satisfaction of blowing the deranged settler’s brains out. The ex-gunner smirked as he loaded his gun, aimed, and fired. The settler was killed instantly. MacCready set his weapon down and looked at Sole. “I swear, I’m not completely heartless. This guy was just obviously looking for trouble.”

Nick: “Listen pal. Lay off my friend here. We don’t want any trouble.” The man continued to yell “shoot me!” After a few moments, nick pulled out his gun. “Last warning: Back off. This doesn’t have to get messy.” When the man continued his tirade, Nick looked at Sole and nodded. Sole shot the man in the face, killing him instantly. “It’s a shame it came to that, but we didn’t have any other option, really.”

Hancock: “Chill out, brother.” Hancock said, “Life can get tough, but that doesn’t justify harassing my friend here until [he/she] blows your brains out.” The man continued to shout madly. Hancock reached into his pocket and took out some Jet, “Here, brother. Try some of this. It really takes the edge off.” The man ignored the ghoul and continued to breach Sole’s personal space. “Okay. I’ve tried reasoning with you,” Hancock stated firmly, now serious, “but you’re crossing a line here. Hurt my friend, and I’ll end you.” The crazed settler cease his threatening behavior. Hancock shot Sole a sharp look, “Good o for it.” Sole pulled out their gun and fired. The man dropped to the ground, dead.

Preston: “Sir, if you are upset, I’m sure we can work something out. Ending your life isn’t the answer.” The man continued to holler. “General, you don’t need to shoot him, just give him some time to calm down. He’ll come around.” Minutes passed and the settler became increasingly unruly and dangerous. Preston looked at Sole. “You can decide what you want to do. He’s obviously troubled but..he’s also a threat.” Sole, feeling extremely uncomfortable by the man, loaded their gun without hesitation and shot him in the face. He was instantly killed.