#kasumi nakano

[the-shotce-newsletter]

Would love to see some love for Kasumi Nakano from the Far Harbor DLC for Fallout 4 💙💛

I asked @nightingaelic a few questions and she said she HCed Kasumi dating the mechanist! Here ya go love!

[roystory4]

fog child

chapter six is up now :)

[artificialhearted]

random fallout 4 art dump yahoo!!!

[simplegenius042]

Fallout Casting for Megumi Fushiguccicakes for Jujutsu Kaisen Abridged react fic

"I like gigantic, heaving sophistication. Sopping wet tenderness! And a big! Fat!! Gaping sense of compassion!!!" - Megumi Fushiguro, Episode 5 JJK Abridged (by The Schmuck Squad).

Reasons To Why I Believe These Characters Should Be Casted listed below the cut:

Katja (a scavenger who joins Elrand on his journey in Fallout simply because he asked, leaving the Followers of the Apocalypse which she had tagged along with, is enthusiastic with her blades) -> She's got the sarcasm. I feel it in my bones.

Finidy Mona (my Fallout 2 Chosen One OC, faceclaim Jessica Alba) -> She looks for personality in a relationship and not to mention got skills that make her one of the strongest characters (if only she applied those skills though).

Alph Dolen (my Fallout 3 Lone Wanderer OC, faceclaim Sam Blackensee) -> He's got daddy issues.

Rose of Sharon Cassidy/"Cass" (a caravan owner from Fallout New Vegas before the Van Graffs and the Crimson Caravan worked together to destroy it, Cass drunk her sorrows away at an NCR Mojave outpost, until Ryder showed up to get her contract, though managed to barter her way into getting Cass to give up her caravan name but ensuring she still gets the opportunity to start again. Impressed, Cass journeys with Ryder to New Vegas to find Benny, and Ryder helps her find justice and learn to live. Has a heart condition inherited by her father, John Cassidy) -> Cass has a father who abandoned her, like Toji did to Megumi, and her sarcasm bites.

Danse (from Fallout 4, a loyal Paladin in Maxson's chapter of the Brotherhood of Steel, helps Nate get onboard the Prydwen and meet Maxson, a capable ally who warms up to Nate, despite his xenophobic beliefs, has a crisis after finding out his entire life has been a lie when discovering he was a synth the whole time and the group who gave him purpose have turned their back on him. Nate though doesn't give up on him and gets him out of the BoS without being killed, and gives him a place amongst the Minutemen, which Danse was greatly appreciative and grateful for. It's a long journey, but he is letting go of the hatred he had towards others and himself) -> Danse's sarcasm would probably be confusing. Also man understands the importance of BROtherhood, coming from the Brotherhood of Steel. Spends more time getting stronger to avenge his teammates than looking to get hitched.

Miria (from Fallout 2, Finidy's wife after both were caught in the act by Miria's father, Grisham, causing a shotgun wedding, and throughout their journey together they become closer and Miria becomes a rather cool fighter, unlike in canon but the mods are impressive) -> Perhaps the least "Megumi" like person here, but she would call someone out for being stupid probably (she's had to deal with Davin after all).

Sarah Lyons (from Fallout 3, the daughter of Elder Owyn Lyons, she leads the Lyons' Pride out into the ruins of DC to fight against the Super Mutant threat. There she happens upon Alph and Amata while they're pinned down by Super Mutant forces, and bring them both to the GNR station. Alph and Sarah get close and become good friends with each other, and supports him both when the Enclave take over Project Purity and during his ghoulification (especially when he's hunting down the Enclave remnants) -> She's badass and understands the "bro" in "Brotherhood of Steel". She also has a dad, so she's "daughter material".

Bitter-Root (from Fallout New Vegas, he was adopted by Major Dhatri after the massacre of the Great Khans at Bitter Springs, became an NCR First Recon Sergeant. Has negative views of the Great Khans) -> Not only is he "son material" as Dhatri has proven, but like how Megumi doesn't like the Zen'in Clan, Bitter-Root doesn't like the Great Khans (though he should really tone it down). His biological parents also weren't great according to him.

Kasumi Nakano (a girl who ran away from home in the Fallout 4 Far Harbor DLC after believing that she may be a synth, she makes her way to Acadia where DiMA took her in, and is the reason Nate and Nick go to the island in the first place. By helping Kasumi come to terms with her assumed synthhood, this is in turn helps him with his own struggles of humanity and synthhood) -> Kasumi's origins are unknown to herself as Megumi's is to him. Both I guess want to reject that side of themselves (Kasumi and her possible synth origins and Megumi's ties to the Zen'in clan)?

Davin (from Fallout 2, the son of Grisham and brother to Miria, after the latter joins Finidy on her journey after marriage, Grisham forces Davin to do something useful with his life, and Davin joins the Enclave going about. Eventually, he helps Finidy and her entourage get inside the oilrig base and guide them through it as well) -> Talented but lazy with his full potential.

Follows-Chalk (a Dead Horses' scout-in-training from the Fallout New Vegas Honest Hearts DLC, Follows-Chalk accompanies Ryder through the Zion valley and helps her meet Joshua Graham) -> Has a reluctant role model in Joshua Graham (just like Megumi kind of has a reluctant role model in Gojo though from different POV).

Remember, for the alternative option, REBLOG and put in the tags WHO else from the Fallout franchise should be Abridged!Megumi and WHY you think they'd better suit the role.

I've also created and will continue to update (until the polling is done) a Master List for the poll results of the casted winners. You can find it right here.

You can find my Fallout OC profiles Master List right here, which also includes a link to the original post where I pitched my react fic idea. Anyway, hope you enjoyed, chow!

[acadianideals]

i imagine dima is very good at noticing when things are bothering others, particularly nick. it’s a practiced skill. having never been told what people were feeling in the institute and yet being oh so curious, years of trial and error have helped him pick up on the telltale signs of unhappiness, discomfort, or confusion. and I think he’d notice, straight away, something different about kasumi.

now, dima’s no mind-reader or psychic. when he feels as though something’s off, that’s all he can get. and it doesn’t take him long to learn what’s eating into kasumi’s thoughts— her family. herself. ‘family ties do make things a bit more difficult’, he nods knowingly, as she asks him questions he’s not used to being asked. about family. parents. identity, lies. dima has never had a moment of his life where he’s ever had to question if he was a synth. he’s always known. kasumi’s many questionings of herself and her own life are things he cannot relate to. but he tries to help her feel safe, to ease her nerves and her fears. he tries to keep acadia in its balance.

[slocum-dodson]

I finally left Bar Harbor.

I hated this shitty little island. I hated Nick's creepy brother. I hate the people of Bar Harbor. I blew up the cult that was intentionally poisoning all of them and they got pissed with me. "Oh boo-hoo, you blew up all those people." Those people were poisoning your water supply, you fucks. I wore the stupid hat that you guys gave me for doing the Captain's Dance while I mowed down those cultists.

I got Kasumi Nakano to return to her family. I won and everyone who wasn't with me suffered.

Fuck you Bar Harbor, your mayor or whatever is a synth. The only good thing about visiting Maine is Vim! Soda. A controversial opinion, I know. But I think it tastes better than Nuka Cola.

Look at that factory, bee yoo tee ful. (ignore the fire.)

[callmewisteria]

Something Molecular (At The Precipice Of Something New Chapter XLI)

Their deal set in stone, Nora and Cait meet with Sturges and introduce him to Desdemona and Tinker Tom as they prepare to work on making a signal interceptor for the Institute's Molecular Relay? Nick, Preston, Ellie, Derek, and Addison arrive on the Island and Acadia again and meet with Kasumi? Paladin Danse, Scribe Haylen, and Knight Rhys have a rare moment of bonding? Brought from Vault 81 to Goodneighbour, Curie's wish comes true? Dr. Madison Li, Dr. Allie Filmore, Dr. Clayton Holdren, Dr. Alan Binet, and Dr. Alana Secord uncover something infuriating?

The ball is rolling, and won't be stopping. Read it on AO3, ff.net, and/or wattpad!!!

[slocum-dodson]

That's gosh darn adorable.

their first l-word moment o-o

[maxriderg]

Fellers, in honor of Ayaneru's upcoming 30th Birthday, I got this (complete with this) and well, have a VERY Happy Early 30th Birthday to Ayane Sakura, Ladies and Gentlemen! ;)

[redsamuraiii]

Life breaks down even the best of us. The stronger we are, the more we crumble and the harder it is to get up.

Life’s Punchline / Konto ga Hajimaru (Ep 3)

[sirmanmister]

Realized I forgot to introduce Eileen again LMAO

My sea shanty interest was reignited and I was like “:O Boston is a coastal town I can make a sailor oc!!” And promptly remembered Far Harbour exists and so now she is there :)

She left the mainland after nearly destroying the entire commonwealth for her kiddo Eliza. Blew up the Prydwen, Railroad, nearly collapsed the Minutemen, and eventually destroyed the Institute when they created a synth version of her husband and she realized just how much they were manipulating her. She left Eliza with Nick and fucked off North, a good fifty miles past the Nakano residence, where she fixes up an old boat and fishes the days away in solitude. Nick eventually finds her a year or two later and needs her boat to head to far harbour to find Kasumi Nakano, and they get stranded there together cuz a sea monster basically ate her boat :)

Anyway she’s also from Newfoundland and Labrador, got military training from soldiers she helped guide through the Northwest Passage, and commonly goes by “The Lobstermonger” in Far Harbour due to her hiding her identity out of shame for all she’s done. I <3 her I’m sorry

[orange-coloredsky-archive]

she stays at acadia frankly because its entertaining. at the very least

[ID: two sketches of Kasumi Nakano from Far Harbor. in one shes standing in very casual wear: a tee shirt and jeans. the text beside her reads: "pre-acadia, 2292, 19 years old". in the other she's wearing a jumpsuit, goggles and work boots with her hair tied up. the text beside her reads: "post-game AMIHTH, 2296, 23 years old". End ID]

[wander-over-the-words]

Make Like An Atom

Summary: In which Nick’s “brother” is having his partner join a cult, and Nick might just have one or two grievances about that.

Characters: Nick Valentine, [Male] Sole Survivor (Nathan “Nate” West), Grand Zealot Richter; mentions of DiMA, Kasumi Nakano, Brian Virgil, Old Longfellow, High Confessor Tektus, Ellie Perkins, Father/Shaun, Paladin Danse, original Nick Valentine, Kenji Nakano, Eddie Winter, Piper Wright, Nat Wright, Dogmeat, Codsworth, Synth Shaun, John Hancock, Skinny Malone, Jennifer Lands.

Pairing: [Male] Sole Survivor/Nick Valentine.

Warnings: cult-related business, use of derogatory language toward the mentally ill (nothing people don’t call the Children of Atom in canon), radiation poisoning, description of vomiting; mentions of death, murder, execution, firearm usage.

Disclaimer: The Sole Survivor in this is based off how I played him - personality, looks, choices and all.

Notes: First Fallout 4 fic. Takes place during Far Harbor, and after the main story. I’ve always thought it was really sweet how genuinely worried Nick sounds when the Sole Survivor has to join the Children of Atom (he sounds like he’s trying to talk them out of it when it comes to going into the Nucleus), so here’s a fic about Nick being concerned about his bf joining a cult that worships something that could potentially kill him. Cause y’know you probably would be too. And let’s be real: that scene where the SS has to drink the irradiated water must look worrying as hell from Nick’s point of view.

Extra notes: This fic has literally been sitting around for about a year and I’m sick of having it hanging over me, mocking me, so I’m using the excuse of the “obligatory posting Nick Valentine content on Valentine’s Day” to finally get the damn thing posted.

All material belongs to Bethesda.

Fic available on AO3.

…

This is going too far. To hell with it - it’s already gone too far.

Nick honestly - shamefully - hadn’t thought much of it when DiMA wanted Nate to pose as a new recruit for the Children of Atom in order to gain access to their base. His mind had been so clogged with the recent revelations: the possibility of DiMA being family, this supposed information that his own head is failing to store all of his memories, Kasumi’s worries that DiMA is up to mischief, the fact that this case is proving to be a bigger doozy than just leaving the familiarity of the Commonwealth to find one lost girl.

And besides - the Children haven’t seemed like that big a threat until this point, at least in Nick’s experience. There’d been those who had attacked when people had trespassed upon their property (but, hey, who doesn’t do that in the Commonwealth?), but the bunch he and Nate had encountered in the Glowing Sea had been friendly, if just weary. Friendly enough, at least, to give them directions to Virgil’s cave, and to do no more than that.

Turns out, the folks back in Far Harbor had been right when they said everything on this island was bred nastier than that of the Commonwealth. Even extends to the people.

Stumbling upon the Children’s little ‘test of faith’ was not only proof of that, but a pretty fine wake-up call.

It’d been an even bigger wake-up call when the Grand Zealot told Nate what he’d need to do, to see if ‘Atom’ wanted Nate in their beloved group: go and drink irradiated water from the spring nearby and see what ‘Atom’ showed him.

Of course - Nate being Nate - he’d headed off without hesitation, and once they’d gotten to the spring and their geiger counters had started going haywire, Nick had had to speak up. He’d tried to suggest they just lie and say they did it.

Nate had brought up the prospect of them saying the wrong thing and losing the chance to get into the submarine base; joining up and thus doing what the Children asked of him was the only way to get in through non-violent means, like DiMA had wanted (not that non-violent means wouldn’t have been the plan anyway, as Nick’s proud to say he and his guy are on the same page about unnecessary violence).

Nick knows Nate well enough to know that he was going to go through with drinking the damn water, no matter what Nick said, so Nick had told him to at least take a Rad-X before doing this, but Nate had frustratingly turned that down too by ‘reminding’ him that the Children were obviously hoping the rads would do something to him, and the Rad-X might stop that from happening. Assured him he’d be fine, he’s gotten dosed with rads before, they have RadAway handy, everything will be fine.

Then he’d cupped his hands under the trickling water, brought it to his lips and swallowed it down.

Nick can’t begin to describe the panic that’d shot through him when Nate had choked, spraying water from between his teeth as he fought not to spit it out, and collapsed against the rocks, violently coughing, gasping for air; Nick had raced to grab the RadAway from their supplies immediately when he’d heard Nate gasp like he was shocked, and he’d looked up to find Nate staring, staring, up at the rocks above them, at…at something. When Nick had looked, he’d seen nothing - there’d been nobody there, his detection programming wasn’t picking up anything, but Nate had obviously been so sure, for he’d tracked it with his eyes as he’d stumbled away from the rocks, out of the spring, following this…thing he was seeing.

And then he’d taken off, staggering into Fog so thick, he’d almost immediately become a silhouette, and Nick had torn after him, calling for him and asking him what was wrong, what was he seeing.

He hadn’t gotten any answers at the time; Nate was muttering to himself, looking around like the world was unfamiliar to him, and Nick had turned up his auditory receptors to hear him. Occasionally, Nate would stop and say something to somebody - a confused “E-Excuse me,” or “Hello?” - or tell himself this couldn’t be real, and a couple of times, Nick had nearly jumped out of his synthetic skin when Nate had cried out in alarm and stopped suddenly like he was avoiding something, nearly making Nick crash into him.

Nick’s just glad he’d been coherent enough to take down the ferals waiting for them at the shrine Nate’s delusions had led them to. The second Nate had stopped talking nonsense and seemed to come back to reality - when Nick could hear him trying to work out the password to the terminal in the shrine - Nick had been pulling his sleeve up to find a vein to pump RadAway into, ushering Nate to sit down outside while he recovered.

Frighteningly, Nate’s face had been grey, he’d been bleeding from his nose and from the scrapes on his forehead and cheeks from where he’d crashed into the rocks back at the spring, and Nick had spotted a few loose strands of hair on the shoulders of Nate’s coat. Before Nick could get a needle into his arm, Nate had swatted his hands away, grunted out a request for him not to look, and had promptly vomited onto the ground beside them, which brought perhaps a small amount of relief that the poisoned water was officially out of Nate’s system (alongside some of that mirelurk jerky Longfellow had given him).

Once he’d successfully started to get RadAway into Nate’s system and collected a purified water from their supplies to wash his mouth out, Nick had wrenched Nate’s road goggles up into his shaggy hair to see the dazed and fatigued look in his bloodshot eyes, and he’d asked Nate how many fingers he was holding up to check how well the RadAway was flushing the so-called vision from Nate’s system. Even treated him to a stimpak for the wounds on his face, once the radiation allowed for proper healing again.

That’d been another little wake-up call: the rads. Maybe he’d thought too little of it before. There’s no way the Nucleus is as bad as the Glowing Sea, but if it’s enough to keep these fanatics happy…Well, they might be out of their depth here.

Or, at least…Nate is.

There’d been some icon…thing in the shrine, and the Grand Zealot is so pleasantly shocked when Nate shows it to him (because, of course, even to these crazies, Nate would turn out to be something special), and then comes the point of no return.

“I am ready to follow His path,” Nate says.

“Then it will be so,” the Grand Zealot replies.

Nick can’t help himself; he speaks up without even really thinking about it.

“I’m not sure this is such a good idea,” he says. “We barely know these people.”

He catches the slight twitch of Nate’s head as he just barely stops himself from turning around and looking at Nick, and the Grand Zealot looks at him with disdain but says nothing to him. He sees the way Richter looks at Nate, as if expecting Nate to say something in his place, probably tell ‘his’ synth to pipe down, but Nate doesn’t acknowledge it, so Richter goes on like Nick isn’t even there.

He gives a nod to the icon in Nate’s hand. “Head inside and present the icon to the High Confessor once his sermon is done. He’ll be interested in seeing that. Once you’ve spoken with him, you should come see me. Have a task I think you’d be useful for.”

Nick doesn’t like the way he says that.

“And here.”

Richter reaches back and holds a hand out to the guard standing behind him, who hands him a mass of dark fabric and a pair of boots, and Richter gives these to Nate.

“Some more…appropriate attire.” His already-serious expression turns into a harsh frown. “But know this: we are all devoted servants to Atom here. Messenger or no, actions against the Family will not be tolerated.”

Glancing at the body still strewn on the ground nearby, Nick thinks back to the ‘test of faith’ and his coolant turns to ice.

The frown lets up; does this man ever smile?

“Welcome, brother.”

Icon tucked under his arm, Nate looks the outfit over, then smiles with a nod and tells Richter he’s just going to change into this, he’ll meet him inside.

Richter gives him a nod, and Nate and Nick are left outside as Richter disappears into the Nucleus.

Nate gives a huff of a chuckle as he turns around, carrying the bundle of fabric, the boots and the icon as he leads the way back in the direction they’d come.

“You’re gonna blow my cover with talk like that, Nick,” he says quietly over his shoulder as Nick follows him.

“Can’t say I’d be sorry to,” Nick says honestly and just as quietly. “I’m tellin’ ya, doll, I’ve got a bad feeling about all this, and my ‘bad feelings’ are rarely wrong. Come on. Maybe we should just focus on getting Kasumi home - make like DiMA and forget about all this.”

“What, and lose the chance to find out what’s in DiMA’s memories, even though it could end up affecting this whole island?” Nate says with a hint of dramatics, then gives a small snort as he adds, more seriously, “Doesn’t sound like the Nick I know…”

He disappears behind one of the junk fences lining the Children of Atom’s land; Nick stays on the other side to give Nate his privacy, trying to look nonchalant as he feels the eyes of the man at the door on him.

“Yeah, well, the Nick you know didn’t have to watch you poison yourself with rads and go running off into dangerous Fog whilst prattling on about some figure you were seeing. This Nick did, so he’s starting to think this whole ‘joining the Children of Atom’ thing might’ve been a step too far.”

“No turning back now,” Nate says, and Nick can hear the shrug.

Nick frowns softly and opens his mouth to reply, only to stop when the collar of Nate’s coat (the one Ellie had given him as part of the detective outfit he’d received along with the offer of being Nick’s new partner, old clothes of Nick’s) falls into view as it hits the ground, and another shot of ice goes through Nick’s coolant.

That coat has been fitted with ballistic weave, so Nate is shedding his armour for the sake of this charade - meaning he’ll have no protection if someone tries to hurt him.

God knows Nate’s been through some dangerous stuff, and he’s done amazing things since clambering out of Vault 111. He’s already played double agent before, in both the Institute and the Brotherhood (triple agent? Quadruple?), and those had had their own fair share of risks too, but this is…this is different. The Institute were overzealous boogeymen, and Nate had had his son’s good word to protect him, and the Brotherhood were high and mighty zealots who just liked to hear Nate say ‘Ad victoriam’, and they’d trusted Danse’s vouching for him, but these people?

Well, they’re just plain off their rockers, and there’s nobody this time around to make sure Nate is left unbothered in this irradiated hell of unpredictable cultists. And he wishes Nate wouldn’t just…dive head-in and play the hero so recklessly.

(He’s being a huge hypocrite, of course, and Ellie would laugh at his claim about having ‘feelings’ at all about cases, but this isn’t about him, it’s Nate who’s in danger here.)

“Sure there is,” Nick replies. “We just don’t go in an’ let these people try and indoctrinate us.”

“They’re already expecting me, Nick,” Nate says; his tie is discarded onto his coat. “I found this…icon thing, remember? And I saw the, ah,” he puts on a deeper voice of faux-awe, “‘Mother of the Foooog’!”

(Nick might’ve laughed, in another situation.)

“Besides,” Nate goes on over the sound of rustling fabric, “what would we tell DiMA if we didn’t even get to go into the Nucleus? What would we tell Kasumi?”

Nick arches a brow. “That the plan was nuts and we didn’t wanna go through with it?”

“Nick…” Nate says through a fond chuckle. There’s a beat where Nick only hears the shuffling of fabric again, then Nate adds, “We’ve already committed ourselves to the cause. You really wanna just leave Kasumi’s worries floating in the wind like that?”

No, of course, he doesn’t, but…

“Well, we…don’t hafta do it this way. Found another way into the Institute, we can find another way into this place, even if we just…grab ourselves a couple Stealth Boys and wing it.”

“Ah! Sooo, what you’re saying is: I drank some poisoned water foooor…nothing?”

Of all the times to show his wit…

“Nate…”

“Why the hesitation, Nick?” Nate says. “Kasumi’s counting on us, DiMA’s expecting results and the Children already think I must be some sort of figure the ‘Mother of the Fog’ is speaking through or…something. Besides -”

There’s a beat where Nate doesn’t say anything, just gives a grunt, and then there’s the clicking of metal.

Then comes a soft thud and Nick looks to see that it’s Nate’s shoe that has hit the ground, landing atop his fallen coat and tie, and he realises Nate is changing into those boots - that clicking had been the sound of his prosthetic foot being shimmied out of its shoe.

“ - this is an opportunity, remember? To find out if DiMA was telling the truth about you guys having history. Aren’t you excited about that, at least?”

“Not sure ‘excited’ is the word for it…” Nick mutters, brow furrowed as he casts his gaze to the ground, catching the sight of Nate’s second shoe joining the first out of the corner of his eye.

It’s been an uncomfortable lump in the back of his mind ever since DiMA apparently recognised him, the prospect that DiMA is right and Nick has just…forgotten him.

When he’d awoken in that junk pile, still of half a mind that he was the real Nick Valentine, he’d just assumed he was blending in with that which was around him: trash. The Institute’s trash that they’d - he didn’t know - gotten bored of. Maybe he wasn’t doing what he was told and so the Institute got tired of trying to tie their strings to his wrists and make him dance, maybe they’d just found a new project and decided this dingy old prototype wasn’t fun to poke and prod at anymore.

The idea that someone wanted him out, helped him escape…no. Never been a thought. With the way the Institute treated synths, the very idea of mercy, let alone help, was laughable. But a second prototype…sure, he’s wondered if he was the only one ever made, but the fact that another prototype had not only been made and been with him that whole time, but had assisted him in getting out, is…well, it’s knocking a screw loose.

Another prototype…A ‘sibling’. A ‘brother’. Is that how it works? Are they family because they were on the same assembly line? Because they were…‘raised’ together?

When he thinks of his time in the Institute, he thinks of the single room he was in, the feeling of knowing somebody’s eyes were always on him, the yanking of parts coming loose in his head as they pulled him apart and put him back together, but he never thinks of a face like his own. Of someone…being there, with him, in the room.

Was it DiMA’s eyes that were always on him, or their creator’s, or both?

It’s all so confusing, he’s dangerously close to being overwhelmed - so the fact that they’re getting nearer and nearer to potential proof is causing him all sorts of levels of trepidation. If DiMA is right about them being brothers, then he’s right about everything else: that he really is just forgetting things because he can’t stuff anymore memories into his head. He hadn’t remembered Kenji at first, after all…and if he can’t fit anymore memories in, then…how long will it be before his hardware starts tossing out other things, important things, more recent things? The good times he’s had as of late, the fact that he’d completed his mission to get revenge on Winter, the people he knows and loves? Their motley crew back at Sanctuary, and the likes of Piper, Nat, Codsworth, Dogmeat, Shaun, Ellie…Nate…?

The idea of that, it…it scares him. Badly.

But that isn’t what’s important right now. What is important is the fact that DiMA’s little plan is putting Nate in the heart of an irradiated cult who carelessly gun down their own and want to shove rads down Nate’s throat until he’s as sickly and insane as the rest of them.

“And I appreciate how eager ya are to help me with that,” Nick goes on, “but…”

“But…?” Nate presses him.

Nick hesitates, then comes out with it: “But no answer would be worth it…if it costs you, doll.”

There comes silence then, even the sounds of outfits being changed has stopped, and Nick waits for Nate’s answer to that. No doubt, some other attempt at getting him to agree to this harebrained scheme, knowing Nate. He does love what a do-gooder his guy is, but even he has his limits.

“...Nick, could you…come back here with me for a moment? I, uh…don’t think I’m putting this on right.”

Nick blinks once, surprised.

Not the response he’d expected from putting his heart on his sleeve; Nate’s priorities are getting a little skewed. Besides, he hadn’t thought those robes looked particularly difficult to put on - looked sort of just like a jumper and some trousers to him - but heck, what does he know about the uniforms of these loons?

“Uh…alright,” he says confusedly, putting a hand to the fence as he turns on the spot.

He steps behind the junk wall, and before he can process the sight of Nate before him in full uniform, the lapels of his coat are grabbed and he’s pulled forward so suddenly he nearly falls, and Nate’s body is crushed against his in a hug.

Caught off-guard, Nick takes a moment to fully recognise what’s happening, his body frozen and his hands hovering in the air, then his autonomy comes back to him and he returns Nate’s hug, slowly. His hands go to Nate’s upper back and he holds him as he feels Nate lean his head against his own, shifting his fedora. The man’s got only two inches of height over him, but somehow, he’s one of the few people who have ever made Nick feel…small.

“I’ll be alright, Nick,” Nate says, close to Nick’s ear, warmly but seriously. “I promise. I’m not gonna let them talk me into doing anything that I can’t happily be a part of. We’re just gonna go in there, grab DiMA’s memories and go, and we’ll figure the rest out later.” There’s a beat. “Besides, you…do know this is just an act, right? That I don’t really believe in all this ‘Atom’ junk?”

“Course I know,” Nick says, then sighs through his nose. “It’s just that this meeting with the Children of Atom turned out…a little different than what I expected. The folks we came across in the Glowing Sea didn’t even point a gun at us, but these people…”

He gives another small sigh, then breaks the hug so he can look Nate in the face, transferring his hands to Nate’s waist instead as he remains in Nate’s personal bubble.

Looking him in the face has become slightly more rewarding, since Nate has had the courtesy of moving his road goggles up into his chestnut brown hair, giving Nick the opportunity to have his own yellow eyes lock with Nate’s hazel-blue ones.

“Just…watch what you say in there, will ya? Don’t want you endin’ up like that other guy.”

He glances in the direction of the man who had been killed, and Nate puts a hand to Nick’s cheek and turns his head to bring Nick’s attention back to him.

“I always watch what I say. And if I don’t, well - I got you around to keep me in line, right?” he asks, and when he gets a small smile, he leans forward to kiss it.

Nick gladly returns his kiss, turning it from a simple peck to a deeper smooch, enough that both of them close their eyes and hold it for a few calming seconds before Nate breaks it to smile at him.

Nick still looks concerned, thinking back to the image of Nate, dazed and pale, bleeding from his nose, starting to lose his hair, sitting next to his own puke. Nate’s been hit with rads on their travels before, but Nick had never seen him look so…ill.

“Don’t suppose you…packed your hazmat suit?”

He knows how ridiculous he sounds - if Nate packed his suit, Nick would know it, his bag ain’t that spacious - and such as it is, Nate laughs at the prospect.

“No, I didn’t,” he adjusts Nick’s lapels, straightening them from where he’d grabbed at them, “and we don’t really have the time to head back to Sanctuary to pick it up. I’d…probably be offending them, anyhow.” He gives a hiss of a laugh. “They’d probably accuse me of,” he puts on a deeper, dramatic voice, “blocking Atom’s holy touch! Such blasphemy!”

Nick can’t help the short chuckle that leaves him as he hangs his head.

“Alright…” he says wearily. “I can see when I’m beat.” He lifts his head back up to look Nate in the eye seriously. “But you tell me if you start gettin’ sick, alright? Don’t try and play the tough guy act and muscle through it, not even if one of those Children are around to hear you complaining…I’m not losin’ you to rad poisoning.”

“I could end up as a Ghoul instead.” Nate shrugs a shoulder, looking up like he’s genuinely thinking about this. “Hancock’s always saying I’d make a great Ghoul.”

“Yeah, well, he would.” He gives Nate’s waist a shake. “But I’m bein’ serious here.”

“I know, Nick. I’ve been watching my rad count ever since I realised my Pip-Boy has a geiger counter.” Nate looks at him and smirks. “Since when did you go all Mother Hen?”

“Since my guy decided drinking poisoned water for the sake of a bunch of cultists was a good idea.”

“Leeet’s be honest here, Nick: is it really…the weirdest thing I’ve ever done?”

“I’ll get back to you on that verdict,” Nick says dryly, “depending on what happens next.”

Nate laughs, leaning in to Nick’s embrace, and thusly, Nick brings him in and holds him close.

Best thing to happen to him in perhaps ever, this man; saved him from Skinny Malone, from wrestling with the original Nick Valentine’s past for the rest of his days, had so happily helped him find all those holotapes, stood aside and let him kill Eddie Winter on his own and then stood by him where Jennifer Lands had died and let Nick say his piece. Brought him on this whirlwind of an adventure that culminated in exterminating the boogeyman that had had the Commonwealth running scared for so long - and through it all, went ahead and made Nick fall for him.

How many of Nick’s clients could say they’d done that?

Just the one - this one right here, in Nick’s arms (though he hasn’t been just a client for a long while now).

So if anything happens to Nate while they’re carrying out this plan of DiMA’s, Nick will be taking his grievances straight back to ‘bro’.

Nate pulls back from their hug, and Nick rests his metal hand on Nate’s cheek, thumb brushing tenderly over the sideburn lining his jaw, before Nate takes a step back, removing himself from Nick entirely. He pulls his road goggles back down over his eyes, then ushers Nick over with a quick curl of his fingers.

“Here,” he says, “gimme your hand.”

“Hm?”

Nick watches as Nate stoops to pick up a boot, and only then does Nick realise their hug had interrupted Nate completing his new look: his right foot’s found its way into the new boot the Children have provided, while the left is naked, since Nate doesn’t bother putting a sock on his prosthetic.

“Oh,” Nick says, understanding, and offers a hand for Nate to hold so he can balance himself as he goes to one foot, shimmying the boot over his fake foot.

Once he’s finally managed to get it on, he’s all set. Nate steps back and holds out his hands to put himself on display.

“So,” he says, “how do I look?”

Nick looks him up and down, taking in the sight of Nate in the baggy, dark robes, and he replies exasperatedly, “Like a fanatic.”

“Hm - that’s great,” Nate replies, ducking to collect the coat, tie and shoes of his discarded outfit (he’s wearing the robes over his shirt and trousers, evidently), “then I’ll fit right in.”

Nick can’t help the small scoff of a chuckle that leaves him as Nate stuffs his clothes into his bag. Before he can pick the bag up, Nick ducks down and retrieves a bottle of Rad-X from one of its front pockets, waving it at him.

“I’ll slip ya these when you start lookin’ pale,” Nick says. He pops open the bottle, shakes out a pill onto his palm, then holds it out. “Best to take one now, before we head in there.”

Nate hesitates, then stands up to look at Nick properly.

“Are you sure you wanna come in there with me?” he asks. “DiMA said these people accept synths, but…the looks they were giving you when we showed up…”

“Tryin’ to get rid of me, huh?” Nick asks teasingly. “Didn’t think I was being that much of a wet blanket. But you can forget it - you’re not going in there without me, no matter how these people feel. Remember: DiMA said there was some Pre-War security keepin’ the Children of Atom from getting their paws on those memories of his. Could be anything in there, and I’d feel a whole lot better about all this if I was there to watch your back.”

“Are you sure?” Nate winces and adds hesitantly, “I mean…you do look a lot like DiMA. If anyone in there has a problem with him…they could have a problem with you too.”

Nick shrugs. “Half the Commonwealth has a problem with me. Hasn’t stopped me yet.”

Nate gives him a small smile. “Alright. It’s your call. But you may have to hold me back if anybody in there says anything about you.”

“Hey, now,” Nick cracks a smile (he doesn’t approve of Nate’s wish to pummel anybody who gives him lip, but it is sweet), “DiMA wants us doin’ this without violence, remember?”

“Sure, but,” Nate stoops to collect a can of purified water from his bag, “I feel like DiMA would understand if I told him I punched a guy in your honour.”

Nate stands up and plucks the pill from Nick’s palm, sits it on his tongue, then gulps down some water. He gives a hard swallow as the pill goes down, then nods once and drinks the rest of the water from the can. He drops the can to the ground, squashes it with his prosthetic foot, then returns the metal to his bag, most likely to convert it into raw materials for building projects later; funny, what one can make with junk.

Nate picks up his bag and rolls his shoulders, clapping his hands once in preparation.

“Alright,” Nate says, “let’s do this.”

He passes by Nick to walk around the fence, and Nick sighs wearily as he watches him go.

“Yeah,” he mumbles. “Let’s.”

He follows Nate, gaining the attention of the guard by the door, who watches them closely as they approach. For a moment, Nick thinks he might be suspicious, but then the man just tells Nate that the High Confessor is in the middle of his sermon still, and that Nate should listen in.

Nate gives an obedient nod and raises a triumphant, excited fist as he slaps on a grin and exclaims, “Glory to Atom!”

As Nate disappears into the Nucleus, Nick casts the guard a deadpanned look and half-heartedly raises his own fist.

“What he said,” Nick adds dryly, and follows Nate inside.

[rad-roche]

Share Something S... Smonday

I was tagged by @bokatan for share something Sunday! I don't have any art WIPs to share (been busy the last few days). In fact, the only real WIP I have is Dead Woman Walking, so here's the first page! Very excited to share the whole thing when it’s done.

Kasumi Nakano. Nineteen years old. Runaway. Kidnapping. Runaway turned kidnapping? Black hair, shoulder-length and the first thing to go if she wanted to be left alone. Short, slight build, brown eyes. Had a tiny scar on her nose. May have been factory-made in some grotesque people-printer. Two moles on her right cheek. Smart, her parents told him, really, really smart. He wondered what she’d be doing before the bombs fell. He shouldn’t, but he couldn’t help it. Engineer, maybe? All those big dreams rattling around that little house. Must have seemed littler when her grandpa died. Kenji— her father— gave her projects to work on around the place. Busywork, seemed like. Then one day she decided she was the project. Hopped on a boat and sailed into the mist, followed a soft voice on the radio. Something about Acadia. The national park? Nick hoped it was a cut and run. They were easy. Help the drunk kids get home, help the beat ones get anywhere but. But this didn’t feel like a cut and run. The water churned against the hull of the boat and kicked salt into his mouth. He grimaced. Might be a cut and sink. The moon painted the waves white with a thick brush, a rush-job before a viewing. Everything was pronounced, like bumping the contrast too high on a serial. The sea, the rocks, the starless black of the sky. You couldn’t see a damn thing for how clear it was. He pulled out his cigarettes, looked out over the water. The pack was soaked through, the cigarettes busting out of their cases like hot dogs splitting in the pan, smearing wet tobacco in the crevices of his metal hand. He cursed and tossed them into the sea. He hoped some neurotic trout enjoyed the smoke break.

[queersrus]

HII KIRA KIRA looks at you :] persona names maybe... (feel free to choose from all games, but obviously 5 is the one I know :D)

yeye!! (nick)names from persona 5!!!

Aka, Akan, Akane, Aki, Akim, Akimi, Akimitsu, Akira, Al, Ali, Alice, Ang, Ango, An/Ann/Anne, Aoi, Ama, Amami, Amamiya, Ake, Akechi, Ara, Arai

Car, Caro, Carol, Caroli, Carolin/Carolyn, Caroline, Chi, Chiha, Chihay, Chihaya, Coach

Dem, Demi, Demiu, Demiur, Demiurge, Di, Dir/Dire, Director

En, Ena, Esc, Esca, Escar, Escargo/Escargot

Fu, Futa, Futaba, Fuji, Fujikawa

Go, Goro

Haru, Hi, Hif, Hifu, Hifumi, Has, Hase, Hasega, Hasegawa, Hi/Hii, Hiir, Hiira/Hira, Hiiragi, Hiraguchi, Hy, Hyo, Hyodo

Ichi, Ichiko, Ichiryu, Ichiryusa, Ichiryusai, Igo, Igor, Iss, Isshi, Isshiki, Ichino, Ichinose, Iwa, Iwai

Jo, Jose, Jun, Juny, Junya, Jyu, Jyun, Jul/Jule, Juli/Julie, Julia, Julian, Just, Justi, Justin, Justine

Kas, Kasu, Kasumi, Kaz, Kazu, Kazuya, Ko, Kob, Koba, Kobaya, Kobayaka, Kobayakawa, Koto, Kotone, Kumi, Kun, Kuni, Kunik, Kunika, Kunikaz, Kunikazu, Kuo, Kuon, Kiu, Kiuchi, Kita, Kitaga, Kitagawa, Kamo, Kamoshi, Kamoshida, Kawa, Kawakami, Konoe, Kage, Kageya, Kageyama, Kane, Kaneshi, Kaneshiro, Kat, Kata, Kataya, Katayama, Kabu, Kabura, Kaburagi

Lala

Mak, Mako, Makoto, Mari, Mariko, Masa, Masayo, Masayoshi, Mer, Mero, Merope, Mi, Mika, Miya, Miyako, Morg, Morga, Morgan, Morgana, Moto/Motoh, Motoha, Mune, Munehi, Munehis/Munehise, Munehisa, Mish, Mishi, Mishima, Maru, Maruki, Maki, Makigami, Mifu, Mifune, Mada, Madara, Madarame, Mon, Mont, Monta, Montag, Montagne

Nao, Naoya, Nat, Nats, Natsu/Natsuh, Natsuhi, Natsuhiko, Noge, Nii, Niiji, Niijima, Naka, Nakano, Nakanohara, Natsume

Od, Oda, Oku, Okumu, Okumura, Ohya, Owa, Owada

Pres, Presi, President

Ren, Ru, Rufe, Rufer, Ruferu, Rumi, Ry, Ryu, Ryuji

Sada, Sadayo, Sae, Sei, Seiji, Shadow, Shi, Shibu, Shibus, Shibusa, Shibusawa, Shiho, Shin, Shini, Shinichi, Shiny, Shinya, Shu, Shuz, Shuzo, Si, Siu, So, Soji, Sojiro, Soph, Sophi/Sophie/Sofi/Sofie, Sophia/Sofia, Sugi, Sugimura, Suguru, Sumi, Sumir, Sumire, Saku, Sakura, Su, Suz, Suzu, Suzui, Shira, Shirato, Shiratori, Saka, Sakamo, Sakamoto, Shido

Tae, Tak, Taku, Takuto, Tom, Tomoko, Tor, Tora, Torano, Toranosuke, Take, Takemi, Tan, Tana, Tanaka, Tsu, Tsuda, Taka, Takama, Takamaki, Togo

Ubu, Ubuka, Ubukata

Wakaba

Yu, Yuki/Yuuki, Yukimi, Yusu, Yusuke, Yuji/Yuuji, Yosh, Yoshi, Yoshida, Yoshiza, Yoshizawa

Zen, Zenki, Zenkichi

[onceandfutureoshainspector]

Kenji: You're back, but Kasumi isn't with you? Cat: Mister Nakano. Kasumi isn't coming home. She's staying with the synths up North. Kenji: What? I hired you to find her, to bring her back safely! You left her there?

- i mean, she is a grown ass adult, but i see his point. he’s not ready for his kid to leave.

Cat: I did everything I could to make sure she was safe, Kenji. She'll be fine. Kenji: You're sure? It's just... all this nonsense about her being a synth. She doesn't still think she's one of them, does she? Cat: Does it matter, Kenji? She's staying. She has people there she cares about. Kenji: So Rei was right. Kasumi needed to make her own life. Away from us. I guess I... just didn't want to believe she had grown up. That she was going to leave me. 

- ...oh, motherfuck. there’s a link to Shaun here. how i didn’t want to believe he’d genuinely become the villain, the head of the Institute with no hope of me talking him out of it. i guess that might be the intended lesson here - kids make their own decisions, but they’re not the only ones who have to live with them.

Kenji: There's one last thing you and I need to discuss. Your reward. My daughter might not be coming home, but at least she's safe.

- dude, no. don’t reward me for what i just did. don’t.

Kenji: We don't have much to offer, but my father traveled the Commonwealth. He had quite a collection before he died. I buried it all near the house. I'm not the explorer he was. I don't need them. I think they would be better with you.

- i can't take his reward. between DiMA, Kasumi, those poor unpleasant idiots stuck in the Vault forever... i left the Island cleaner than i found it, but i sure as hell got dirtier in the process. i don't deserve praise for a job half done and messily too.

Cat: You don't need to do that. You keep your father's collection for your family. Kenji: Thank you. Perhaps we'll need it someday. God knows plenty has happened to us already... Now, if you'll excuse me, it's... been a long day.

- you’re telling me.

Rei: I'm glad my daughter has found a place where she can make her future. Thank you for making sure she's safe.

- these guys’ll be fine. and hey, they’ve got their boat back. it’s not like they can’t visit.

Nick: In this line of work, you have to expect the unexpected. Still, I've got to admit, I've never had a case quite like Kasumi's. Cat: Really? Never? Nick: Well, there was that time I got hired by someone who'd been frozen in a Vault for 200 years. That one's been a doozy so far... I wonder how Kasumi is gonna do up in Acadia? That place has some big ideals in a world of cruel realism.

- which is exactly why we’re gonna help them out. the Railroad needs someplace it can send synths for safety, and Acadia needs resources and aid. now that we’ve all found each other, we can stand together and make each other stronger.

Nick: Well, the case is closed. Sometimes that's all you can really say.

- :(

- fast traveled back to Nick's office

Ellie: You're back. How'd everything go with the Nakano case? Cat: I tracked Kenji's daughter to a synth refuge up north near Far Harbor. She's made a life there. She ended up deciding to stay. Ellie: I can relate. I left home pretty young, and look at the low-lifes I've ended up with... Thanks for coming in for this one. I knew something good was happening when you and Nick started working together. Don't be a stranger, gumshoe. Nick: If I didn't know better, I'd say you're giving our friend here all the credit... Ellie: Just keeping you on your toes, Nick.

- and Nick’s not alone either. he’ll be alright. i hope.