#so uh to me the Railroad is like when you have a bunch of Allies running a minority-focused cause

[so-i-did-this-thing]

So presumably good ole Nick is your favorite Fallout 4 companion; but I was wondering how you feel about the other companions/characters? Like top 5 maybe? (personally I was also a Deacon and Hancock fan, with Nick as 3rd) (also sorry if you've already answered something like this)

Gonna answer these from my personal POV, since my Sole Survivor is basically just an idealized me. ;)

1) Nick, to no surprise. My toaster husband. Love his aesthetic, his sass, and his reckless kindness. Also, thank god for a Companion solidly coded as middle age, coz I ain't exactly in my 20's any more. I would happily play an entire game solving cases with him, with some downtime indulging in Pre War fancies, like hunting for good cigarettes, bringing some old Drive-In movies to a settlement, etc.

2) Preston! My work husband, ha ha. (I am leaning towards the Minute Men ending.) He gets a bum rap for being a radiant quest giver, but he's such a good man and someone I could really see myself working with to rebuild society. I really admire his passion and energy. In my head, he is the true General of the Minutemen and I'm just the settlements logistics guy.

3) Piper! She's like a kid sister to me and I feel real protective towards her and Nat. I actually feel guilty keeping her away from Diamond City, so don't travel much with her. She's brave and has a lot of passion and I feel like she needs someone who is already a bit worn around the edges to make sure she doesn't become jaded at wasteland life's frequent setbacks.

4) Deacon! He's a good guy, but the sort I can currently only take in small doses. Maybe as he mellows more and drops more of his mask around me, we'd become closer. I don't agree with a lot of how the Railroad is doing its mission and feel like we'd butt heads a lot. (Why isn't a synth in a leadership role? Field agent isn't enough. And why not employ some counselors as an alternative to mind wipes, which just horrify me.) But he's fun when you're in the mood for an Adventure.

5) Dogmeat! I am really not a dog person, but make an exception here. XD

#fallout 4 #fo4 #fallout meta #rrramblings #I like the idea of Hancock but don't think we'd be too chummy and the friendship would kind of get strained if we weren't on a mission #I wonder what my answers would be if I played FO4 in my 20s heh #because my age absolutely colors my feelings towards the Companions #so uh to me the Railroad is like when you have a bunch of Allies running a minority-focused cause #their hearts are in the right place #but I have this feeling in my gut that they have a bad habit of talking over synth voices #because what the railroad is doing isn't exactly integration for most their synths it feels like #where are the railroad ops working to change politics and public opinion #there is none of that emotional labor and it bothers me #playing agent is sustainable for only so long #no wonder they have worn themselves so thin

[aahsokaatano]

ITALY????

Y’all I spent one whole week in Italy in 2017 and it was one of the most bizarre fucking weeks of my life

let’s break it down from the beginning

[under a read more for length]

So, fall of 2017 I was studying abroad in London. One of the classes I was taking was specifically for study abroad students, designed to get us engaging in the culture of London or whatever i dont really remember the class itself but my god do i remember the people i met in it

two in particular were these girls, also American. We shall call them Molly and Ally. They had quickly made friends with each other, and after one of the class trips into London, i was friendly with them as well. The “reading week” or fall break was coming up, and they mentioned that they were going to Italy and asked if I wanted to go. I had booked a short tour to Dover, but thought “oh my god Italy???? Fuck yes!” and so I bought my plane tickets then asked them where they had booked hotel rooms so that I could add myself to their itinerary

“Oh,” Molly said, “we haven’t, don’t worry about it”

Me, a seasoned traveler “?????? uh”

I bugged them about this for at LEAST a week and finally, about THREE DAYS from when we were supposed to leave, I just went ahead and booked an assortment of hostels and airbnbs for us in all the cities they wanted to go to and told them to pay me back later

they actually admitted afterwards that that had been a smart move on my part which like????? no SHIT its a smart move to have a plan where you’re gonna sleep every night while in a foreign country. god.

So, lets go through this day by day

Day 1 - London to Milan

we flew from London to Milan in the evening, getting there pretty late at night. and it was only once we were actually IN Italy that I learned that 1) none of us spoke Italian and 2) despite having grown up in two areas with large Hispanic populations, neither Molly or Ally spoke a lick of Spanish, which is close enough to Italian that you can kind of limp through a conversation of one if you know the other.

so, somehow, I ended up being our Italian translator for the week, armed with nothing but a translator website, a handful of Italian music terms, and the ability to roll my r’s fairly well for a white person. Literally, i figured out where the bus stop was outside of the airport because I saw the word “fermata” painted on the pavement and I knew that meant “long pause” in sheet music terms so I hazarded a guess it meant stop or similar in regular Italian

(sidenote I almost got in a fight with some random Italian dude on the bus because Molly was going on about how excited she was to try the pizza and I told her it wasn’t going to be the same because “the pizza you’re used to is an American invention” and he turned around and started going on about the tradition of pizza in Italy and I was like I just mean that American pizza is different from real Italian pizza i did not mean to offend i’m sorry!!!!!! anyways)

the bus dropped us in a square in the middle of Milan and we got out and i’m lookin at my airbnb app trying to figure out where we need to go and i said “okay we need to get a cab” and Molly and Ally are arguing about something and this RANDOM ASS DUDE walks up to us and is like “you need taxi?” and i said yes to he leads us back to his REGULAR ASS CAR, NOT A TAXI and tells us to get in, and for some unknown fucking reason I do and Molly and Ally follow me and shut up real fast because this is sketchy as fuck but the guy did take us to the airbnb without murdering us so thats a win i guess

The airbnb by the way was more like a mini hostel - it was this apartment where pretty much every room except the bathroom had been converted into a bedroom and so probably not entirely legal but whatever. whatever. 

Day 2 - Milan to Venice

i woke up early the next morning and went to take a shower at the bathroom at the end of the hall and found out that the lights didn’t work. Whatever, I’m mostly blind without my glasses anyways so i just showered in the dark, no biggie

we had an early bus to catch from Milan to Venice, so we headed out to the bus station. I’ll be honest, I do not remember how we got there. I think we walked, because I ended up with a coffee at some point so I probably got it from some cafe on the way? But idk. I was so tired.

We get on the bus, I found two empty seats far away from Molly and Ally, and immediately stretched out and fell asleep.

Ally woke me a little later and said “c’mon, we’re here!”

I was confused as all hell because it had not been nearly long enough for us to get all the way to Venice, but I got off the bus and was greeted by Molly stretching her arms out and proclaiming “Welcome to Venice!” underneath a sign that said we were at the Verona bus station.

They did not believe me when I said Verona and Venice were two different places. “Venice has canals, Verona is where Romeo & Juliet is set. There are no canals in R&J, they’re two different places!” I literally had to pull out my phone, go to google maps, and zoom out until they could see that Venice was still several hours away before they believed me.

The bus driver almost didn’t let us back on but I was able to show him on the tickets that our end destination was, in fact, Venice.

Venice itself was pretty neat. We got to go on a gondola ride and I ate an entire pizza by myself at dinner lmao.

Day 3 - Venice to Florence

we took a train from Venice to Florence the next morning, and that’s when I discovered that Italian train stations have lovely little cafes with AMAZING coffee and really good pastries. The other two didn’t drink coffee but like, their loss. it was fantastic. 

Florence was great, we found a little shop that sold really yummy gelato for only 1 Euro a scoop - Geletaria La Carraia. If you ever end up in Florence, definitely check it out!

We wandered around for a while, took a lot of pictures. There was some famous church that was undergoing some renovations, but as we walked up to it Molly gasped and said “I’ve climbed that in Assassin’s Creed!” which was pretty funny. 

We went to a museum that had made a bunch of models of some of Leonardo DaVinci’s inventions. We went to an art museum and stumbled across Michaelangelo’s David on accident, so that was the big “wtf” moment of the day. Also that night Molly decided to buy a bottle of wine to take home to a friend of her’s back in America, but realized after buying it that her backpack wasn’t big enough to cart it around for the rest of the week so I ended up carrying an entire fucking bottle of wine for the rest of the trip because I was the only one smart enough to bring a proper backpacking backpack and not just my school bag.

Also the hostel we were in had actual skeleton keys for their rooms and actual goddamn keyholes that one could clearly see through so i left the key in the lock all night AND hung my sweatshirt from the door handle so that no one could peek in at us

Day 4 - Florence to Pisa

once again, I woke up early, went into the bathroom attached to our room (the hostel had had a cancellation and so we ended up in a private room instead of a dorm style) and discovered that the lights didn’t work so I had a second shower in the dark

we took another train from Florence to Pisa, and there we ran into our only bit of bad weather

What’s the big draw in Pisa? The Leaning Tower, right?

What was the only day it rained, non-fucking-stop, the entire time we were in Italy? THE DAY WE WERE IN PISA

I got so soaked that I actually bought a new sweatshirt because the one I was wearing was DRIPPING

anyways, after we had taken several dumb touristy pictures and grabbed an early dinner at a nearby restaurant, we decided to head over to the room I had booked. The cheapest place I could find was a tiny cabin at a campground nearby. According to the map on my phone, it was a short walk away.

A solid hour later, we finally trudged up to the main office of the campground, shivering and soaked, and got the keys to our cabin. We set our stuff down, and Ally and Molly decided to go back out to the grocery store we had passed coming in. I waved them off and went to take a shower in the bathroom with fully functioning lights! hooray!

Day 5 - Pisa to Rome

another morning, another train station with excellent coffee. We got into Rome and, at this point, we were all so tired from travelling that I was finally able to take charge. up until this point, Molly had been railroading us, even sort of bullying Ally in the process, but now she was exhausted and I, through a combination of practice in functioning while dead on my feet, lots of travel experience, and Mom Friend Instincts, took the reins. We got to Rome and I said “we’re going to the church with the big hole in the roof (its a thing, look it up) and then we’re going to eat.... at this place around the corner and then we’re going to to go our hostel and check in”

they didn’t argue, and that’s a true testament to how fucking tired the two of them were, especially Molly, because she would argue about anything and everything given half a chance. We also went to the military museum that day, mostly because it was free and also air conditioned

(also while looking through my pictures of this trip i just discovered that i still have the picture i took of the Rome hostel FAQ page that had by the front desk, which i now remember i did because it had the wifi password on it and we weren’t in our room for 30 seconds before one of the other two asked what the wifi password was so, once again, i show that i am a very good traveler/travelling buddy)

Day 6 - Rome

so we had the next full day in Rome, and we got up early to get in line for the Vatican. I wanted to be there by 7am, Molly was like “it doesn’t even open until 9!” and we compromised at 8 and it was STILL an enormous line so i was like “see? this is why i wanted to get here early”

Oh, but before we went to the Vatican, i took a shower. IN. THE. DARK. BECAUSE ALL OF ITALY EXCEPT FOR PISA DECIDED THAT I DIDN’T DESERVE TO HAVE A SHOWER WHERE I DIDN’T HAVE TO FUMBLE AROUND BLINDLY LIKE AN ASSHOLE

ALSO on the way to the Vatican, I asked if the two of them had their passports. Ally said yes. Molly said yes, why?

And I had to then explain to Molly, a 20 year old RELIGIOUS STUDIES MAJOR, who was RAISED CATHOLIC and who had FAMILY IN THE CLERGY, that the Vatican, THE CENTER OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH, is it’s own country. 

she, again, did not believe me until i pulled it up on google for her

turned out that we didn’t need our passports stamped to enter the Vatican but still! still!!!!!

so it turned out that whatever day we were there on, the Sistine Chapel isn’t open that day, so we just walked through the cathedral and then headed out to the Colosseum and the ruins of the Senate behind it, both of which were very cool

Day 7 - Rome to Milan to London

we got up even EARLIER on our last day, I took another shower in the dark, and we rushed over to the Vatican, speedwalked through most of the museum, and finally got into the Sistine Chapel, which was absolutely breathtaking. Then we hauled ass back to the train station to catch our train back to Milan.

At this point in the trip, I was so fucking done with the two of them, but especially Molly. Ally was sweet and naive, but she was also willing to listen to new information. Molly was just a stubborn ass with a mean streak a mile wide and I was COMPLETELY done associating with her.

Luckily, since I had booked my flights separately, while we had flown into Milan on the same plane, I had a completely different flight back to London - to a different airport, even. They were going back to London City, but I was heading to London Gatwick. Both planes were set to depart around the same time, from two gates that were next to each other though, so i couldn’t really escape them until - uh oh! My flight was delayed. 

Molly and Ally were fretting about it but i was like “it’s fine. it’s fine. I’ve been flying since i was literally 3 months old and I s o m e h o w know more Italian AND Spanish than the two of you combined, even though I would never say that I speak EITHER of those languages. Just go.”

The flight ended up being delayed like 5 hours due to mechanical issues. They finally just got another plane for us, and we finally took off from Milan. When we went over Paris, the captain, obviously feeling bad about the delay, made sure to tilt the plane in both directions so that everyone could see the Eiffel Tower lit up, it was really neat.

We finally got back to London at literally like 230 in the morning. The busses and some of the trains weren’t even running at that point - certainly not all the way out to the fancy little liberal arts college I was going to. I went up to some security guard at the airport and said “just tell me how close I can get to the University of Roehampton on the trains” and he told me to take the train to Black Friars so I got out there and there was a bus, but it was like 40 minutes out. It’s now pass 3am, I am exhausted after a long, weird week in Italy, I texted my dad and he said “just get an Uber i’ll pay for it”

The Uber driver was very nice and as soon as I got in he said “you look really cold! do you want the heat on?” i could have fucking kissed him. he was super nice. actually made sure that I was still texting my dad (i had mentioned it when I got in because I almost dropped my bag while trying to text and maneuver at the same time) every few minutes. offered to let me take and send a picture of him to my dad. otherwise didn’t really speak and just let the music play. I tipped him literally whatever was in my pocket at that time, i don’t remember how much it was, but it was at least 20% and probably more. Really great guy. 

Random London Uber driver from 2017, you remain the best Uber driver and I love you

i finally crawled into my shitty little dorm bed at about 4am, exhausted and utterly bewildered by the past week

honestly??? I’m still bewildered by my week in Italy.

wtf even happened in all that mess.

#italy #venice #florence #rome #pisa #tales from the hill #chris #thebubbledragon

[radbeetle]

OC Interview - Katherine

Tagged by @mojavejourneys and tagging @ariejul​, @justaname02​, and @flannelshirtandjeans

What is your name?

"er, Katherine? Katherine Vance.”

How old are you?

She grimaces. “That’s uh, I mean.” She makes a kind of vague hand gesture. “How do we count this? I guess... twenty-five but there’s, uh, there’s that whole two centuries in the deep freeze. It’s a question that’s more complicated than it should be.”

What do you look like?

Katherine is quiet for a good few moments. "Um… odd question. Tall, I guess. Red hair." She looks off to the side, hesitant to continue. Reluctant. She doesn't say much else.

Where are you from? Where do you live now?

"I grew up a little ways outside Boston… my parents lived here for um, almost thirty years. If you go back a few generations you can track my family history up the coast, uh, through Maine, keeps going north… I've travelled up that way a few times. Two or three times before… well, before the bombs. More recently, too. It’s still nice out there. But it’s different."

What was your childhood like?

"Unremarkable?" She sighs. "I guess that's not much of an answer. Uh, I did okay in school. Academically, at least. Had a handful of friends, eventually. Things were… well , quiet, I guess. I should be glad."

What groups are you friendly with? Are you allied with any factions?

"I've always tried my best to get along with people. Um, that's gotten much more difficult." She looks down at the ground. "I've been - I've been helping out Preston for a while now - the Minutemen are really starting to be a thing again and I think - that's a good thing. And there's the Railroad but I don't think I should say too much there."

Tell me about your best friend.

"Oh don't make me choose. There's, well, I really have more friends now than I ever did. I'm not sure what that says about me." She hesitates, lingering on that thought for a moment. "Well, Preston is - he's great, he was one of the first people I met here, um, that weren't trying to shoot me. I don't really think I have the words to say how good he is." Another pause. "But there's others. There's MacCready, and Deacon, and, um, and Hancock; I think people are always a little surprised to hear we're friends."

Do you have a family? Tell me about them!

Kate's face immediately drops. "Um, not so much. Not… not related by blood, not any more. They're all gone." She shakes her head as if to chase that thought away. "There's… there's still people who are, um - I guess 'found family' is a good term. And there's Codsworth, and I know, really, it was his programming that kept him around for so long, but… I don't know, maybe it's silly, but he means a lot to me."

What about a partner or partners?

She very swiftly turns a shade best described as beet red. Kate trips over her words a few times before regaining her composure, though her face is still pink. She laughs, a little weakly, in an attempt to stay her nerves. "I guess it's, um, not really that much of a secret? Ah, not that it ever needed to be? Or um, was never supposed to be, or…” She kicks her feet. "I'm sorry! This is still um, it's all kind of new to me and I'm not used to it. I guess I haven’t really answered the question!" She chuckles, a very different kind of laugh, one that feels much lighter. “I do have a partner, and that’s Nick. Um, Nick Valentine. The detective, from Diamond City? Ah, but - but not that kind of partner. Or yes, that kind of partner? Um, it’s romantic, I mean. I do love him. A lot.” She wonders, for a moment, if she’s gone ahead and made a fool of herself. Maybe. Too late to worry about it now - not like that will stop her.

Who are your enemies, and why?

"Ah, well, um, this took kind of a drastic turn from the previous question, didn’t it?” She scratches at the back of her neck as she has to think on this. “I mean, really, there’s got to be people out there who don’t like me. Um, raiders, or gangs, or something. I don’t know if I can think of anyone I’d specifically call my enemy, though?”

Have you ever heard of The Brotherhood of Steel? What do you think about them?

”Actually, I take that back. Yeah, I know the Brotherhood, and, uh, I helped them out for a while, but um, things got tense. I don’t… I didn’t really like them, and - that enemies thing? Yeah, um, I think that’s a decent label for Maxson. I don’t want to get into the details - it’s not really my place to talk too much about it, but, um, a lot of stuff went down with a friend of mine, and, uh, I’m not really on good terms with the Brotherhood anymore.” She grimaces.

What about The Enclave?

“Ah, who? I know I’ve heard the name before. Can’t say I’m familiar with them, though? Sorry.”

How do you feel about Super Mutants?

"Well, I only really have a problem when they're shooting at me or whatever, but that's kinda most of the time."

What’s the craziest fight you’ve ever been in?

“I feel like the honest answer here is all of them, really.”

Have you ever fought a Deathclaw?

“Yeah, um, probably more times than is safe. Actually, I think the safe number of deathclaw fights is zero. Those things are scary. I uh, can’t say I recommend taking one on.”

Do you like fighting?

”Not at all. I’m - what’s the phrase? Conflict averse. I’ll tell you though, you know how they say ‘speak softly and carry a big stick?’ That works with a big gun, too.”

What’s your weapon of choice?

”Well, um, just in general I like laser rifles. There’s no recoil, or, I guess it’s negligible. But generally it’s Harbinger. That’s - that’s my gauss rifle. It was a project back…” she trails off and runs her hand over her right arm. Over the burn scars. “Back when I got hurt, um, I had found some pre-war schematics. It was a big undertaking, trying to find equivalents - lots of stuff cobbled together out of scrap, really. Sturges helped with some of the heavier lifting, and like, welding and such. I wasn’t really in the best shape.” She bites her lip. “If I can’t take that out with me I’ve got a little pipe revolver. Chrome plated. Shiny thing, and, aptly named The Second Option.”

How do you survive? Your wits, your charm, your skills, brute force, some combination? (a.k.a. what’s your S.P.E.C.I.A.L?)

”People say I’m smart, but some days I really doubt that. Some days are better than others, though. I guess on occasion I’m a fast thinker.”

Have you ever been in a vault? What do you think about them?

”Yeah. I was stuck in one for two hundred years. Sorry, two hundred and ten.” She groans. “Been through a bunch of them. Um, they’ve all kinda gone to hell, really. I thought 81 was doing fine, and I guess it is compared to the rest, but that still has problems. They do have working showers though. That’s nice.”

How do you beat all the radiation around here? Has it affected you?

”I don’t know if you can beat radiation? Uh, hazmat suits and power armor for the occasions I have to trek into the glowing sea, and I've got a decent stash of RadAway."

What’s your favorite wasteland critter?

"I'm really glad chickens are still around! I feel a bit bad because some of them are kind of naked. I think they need little sweaters."

What’s your least favorite wasteland critter?

"Don't like bloodbugs. Regular mosquitoes are bad enough. I'm not super keen on molerats, either, but at least they've got decent meat on them. Actually, they make for a passable bacon substitute."

How do you feel about robots?

Katherine's face lights up. "Oh! Robots, I love robots. I worked for General Atomics, I was, I was onsite support for their Handys. That's how I got Codsworth, they were having one of those big wheehaw parties for employee morale - I uh, I got him in a raffle. Best thing I've ever won. Um, I still work with them a lot. The eyebots, and there's a construction protectron I keep meaning to stay home, I want to get him up and running again. Oh, and - and there's KLEO in Goodneighbor, and I don't know why she's like that, but, um, I've helped her out a few times, I don't know if she'd call me a friend but it's nice to help with repairs and stuff. Makes me feel useful."

How many caps do you have on you right now?

"On me? Oh, um, maybe a hundred. I don't carry too many at once, mostly I keep them stashed and locked up."

Nuka Cola or Sunset Sarsaparilla?

"Nuka-Cola, I think. They don't really sell Sunset around here, I think? Or, they didn't. Nuka-Cola Wild is pretty good, but I think my favorite is Grape? I like most of the flavors, except Dark, but that's the alcohol."

Do you do chems?

"Not really? I mean, uh, I have Med-X around, it is a painkiller, after all. But nothing recreational." She pauses. "Well, grape mentats if needed, but again, that's not really recreational."

Do you ever think about the Pre-War world?

"Yeah. I… try not to. I don't want to dwell on things that I know will never come back… but there's also people from back then that I don't really want to forget. It's hard. Sometimes I wish I could go back, just for a few days. To - to say goodbye, you know? Things weren't perfect then, uh, pretty far from it actually, but it was my life you know? And it all got taken away." She's quiet for a few moments, thoughts trickling through her head. "Sometimes, too, um, I wish my friends then could meet my friends now, but that's never going to happen. I don’t - I don't know how well they would get along, but I think about that sometimes."

What’s your deepest regret? What would you do differently?

"... I regret a lot of things, honestly, and, well, I try not to think too hard about them - or what I'd change, because, well, I can't, and dwelling on it, just... It's not good for me."

What’s your biggest achievement? Or what do you hope to achieve?

"God, it's kind of corny, really, but I'm… I'm quite proud of myself for just making it this far? The fact that - that I've started to get things figured out, after everything got torn away from me. I've got friends, I've got - I've got love, hell, it feels like I've got purpose, on a good day. And that's nice."

What do you want for the future? For yourself? Your friends? The world?

"That's a good question. I've, um, never really been good at figuring out what I want for myself. No good at planning for the long term. I like the way things are now, for the most part. I feel like I've gotten myself figured out, and mostly I just want things to stay that way."

#fallout 4 #screenshots #fallout oc #sole survivor katherine #radbeetle writes #beetle's ocs #gif tag #radbeetle screenshots

[viewfromthevault]

Fallout OC Interview

Thanks to the lovely @tarberrymentats for the tag 💜

Rules

Choose an oc

Answer the questions as that oc

Tag 5 people to do the same

I’ll tag @nonbinaryrobot @rogue-lavellan @drneverland @commonwealthcommoner and whoever else wants to do it because I never know if I’m bugging people by tagging them or not 🤣

Gonna do this with Lesley

Okay so I got waaayy carried away and thought maybe I should throw this under a read more for the sake of your dashboards.

1. What is you’re name?

“Lesley Elvira Mathews. Not a real fan of Elvira so don’t call me that unless you wanna get whacked.”

2. How old are you?

“Shit, I dunno. I was nineteen when I got the boot. How many years ago was that now?”

(Lesley’s timeline is a bit funky at the moment. I wanna say this takes place after main story stuff and before fo4, so she’ll be in her early twenties)

3. What do you look like?

“A fucking legend.”

4. Where are you from? Where do you live now?

“See, I thought I was born in Vault 101, but actually I was born somewhere in the wasteland then grew up in the vault. Not a fun environment to grow up in, to tell you the truth. A lotta assholes livin’ there, except Amata.

“I’m happy to say that now I live in my very own house in Megaton. It’s not a super private place, though. Gotta few couch surfers.”

5. What was your childhood like?

“Could’ve been better, actually. Like I said before, there were a lot of assholes in 101. Had a real hard time making friends. People liked to call me the problem kid because I got in a lot of fights, but I didn’t start all of them and those fuckers had it coming. Grown-ups complained about me all the time and the Overseer hated my guts, but that’s ok because I hated his about the same.

“I guess it wasn’t all bad, though. My dads were pretty great, even when James was too busy being James. Granny Palmer used to look after me when they were both busy, she was really nice. And then there’s my best friend, Amata. If it weren’t for her I probably would have went nuts in there.”

6. What groups are you friendly with? Are you allied with any factions?

“I currently do work with Reilly’s Rangers and the Regulators. I get to run around the wastes and kill bad guys for money?? They had me at ‘caps.’

“I used to be part of the Brotherhood of Steel, though I don’t remember actually signing up or anything. They dropped my sorry ass as soon as they thought I wasn’t useful anymore. Bastards.

“This one lady also said I could be part of this Railroad group if I didn’t tell this fancy suit where this android person went. Still waiting for them to call me back.”

7. Tell me about your best friend.

“It used to be Amata, but we went our separate ways. Good terms, though. The fella that fills that role now is the bee’s fuckin’ knees. Tall, knows his way around a gun, kinda cranky, but he has a secret softy side.”

8. Do you have a family? Tell me about them!

“Well, the family I told you about earlier kinda fell in on itself when James fucked off. Jonas was murdered and I got stuck with the blame, James zapped himself with enough radiation to ghoulify a super mutant. Last I checked, Granny Palmer was ok, as okay as you can be when your only grandson is killed. I don’t know if she’s still around. I also had a mom once, she died about five minutes after I was born.

“The family I got now? Pretty bomb. There’s aunt Cross, though I don’t get to see her much anymore, Butch who surprisingly is like a brother to me, Fawkes the coolest meta human around, Dogmeat the goodest boy, that little urchin from Lamplight that shows up now and then to drink all my Nuka-Cola, and Charon of course. I’d say Wadsworth, too, but he’d take offense to that.”

9. What about partner or partners?

“Oh man he’s fuckin’ great. Lots of people are scared of him, but he’s real sweet when you take the time to know him. A complete badass that I would absolutely die for. A lot smarter and funnier than people give him credit for. He’s one of the few people who actually listens to me and doesn’t get mad when I get to yakking too much. Is willing to stick his neck out for me, not that I want him to do that, mind you, but it’s real nice to know he’d never throw me to the wolves like others would. Nice ass... what were we talking about?”

10. Have you ever heard of the Brotherhood of Steel? What do you think about them?

“Uh, yeah? I just told you I was with them once. To be honest, though, they’re far from perfect. Sarah and the old man are pretty great, and Cross of course. But there’s a lot of shit that goes down without the old man knowing about it. I wouldn’t be surprised to hear the guy died under ‘mysterious circumstances’ and they put up some wet mop in his place.”

11. Who are your enemies, and why?

“Jeeze who isn’t? I don’t know who’s paying them, but the Talon Company is dead set on killing my ass. Their client could be slavers since they hate me with a passion. Arefu doesn’t like me for some reason (ooc: thanks for the gitch, game). I don’t have enough fingers to count this shit out.

12. What about the Enclave?

“Those motherfuckers are lucky I wasn’t at Adams Airforce Base. I’d teach them the meaning of the word slaughter.”

13. How do you feel about super mutants?

“They’re real fun to fight with, but it’d be nice if they didn’t always try to shoot you on sight you know? Why can’t they be more chill like Fawkes?”

14. Have you ever fought a deathclaw?

*points at stump* “The fuck do you think?”

15. What’s the craziest fight you’ve ever been in?

“Me and a bunch of folks took over a spaceship once.”

16. Do you like fighting?

“Does a yao guai shit in a landfill?”

17. What’s your weapon of choice?

“I’m a real fan of stabbing shit, so I mostly work with swords. I have this neat ass one I made myself from schematics I got from vampires, don’t ask, I like to call Shishkebab. That baby has a funky little function where the blade catches fire, which is pretty damn cool if you ask me. I also got a neat sword with an electrified blade from a weird pre-war bunker thing.”

18. How do you survive? Your wits, your charm, your skills, brute force, some combination? (a.k.a. what’s your S.P.E.C.I.A.L.?)

“I’m fast, strong and I talk real good.”

[S-7 P-5 E-7 C-7 I-5 A-6 L-5]

19. Have you ever been in a vault? What do you think of them?

“Yes, I grew up in one. Keep up! As for the others I’ve seen, I guess I should consider myself lucky that I was stuck with the one I was. Vault-Tec is fucked, man.”

20. How do you beat all the radiation around here? Has it effected you?

“Rad-X and Radaway are pretty expensive, so for the most part I just try to stay away from it. I did intentionally get super sick from radiation once, but as far as I know it didn’t have any lasting effects.”

21. What’s your favourite wasteland critter?

“Dogmeat. He hasn’t tried to eat me yet.”

22. What’s your least favourite wastelad critter?

“Fucking mirelurks. With their big meaty claws and their gross shells, swimming arounf waiting to get you by the ankle. I hear they have more legs in other parts of the country.”

23. How do you feel about robots?

“I guess they’re ok. I wouldn’t put a whole lot of trust in them, but if they don’t bother me then I won’t bother them.”

24. How many caps do you have on you right now?

“Not enough for you to wanna mug me for after this wraps up if that’s what you’re asking.” (she’s fucking broke)

25. Nuka-Cola or Sunset Sasparilla?

“Sunset Saspawhat?”

26. Do you do chems?

“Only when I need to, they’re too expensive otherwise.”

27. Do you ever think about the pre-war world?

“What is there to think about? They fucked up the world and now we have to deal with the consequences.”

28. What’s your deepest regret? What would you do differently?

“Maybe if I got to Dad sooner he wouldn’t have died. Maybe neither of them would have died. I don’t know.”

29. What’s your biggest achievement? Or what do you hope to achieve?

“I guess my biggest achievement would be getting to where I am now, finding a place and people who like me because I’m me. Learning that I can be loved. Mushy shit.”

30. What do you want for the future? For yourself? Your friends? The world?

“To be able to live freely and happily no matter how you look or act. To always have an adventure waiting around the corner. I just want us all to have a good time, you know?”

#fallout #fallout ocs #lesley #fallout oc interview #oc tag game #myart

[johnandrasjaqobis]

OC Interview Meme

I got tagged by the lovely @flannelshirtandjeans (thank you and also boi it was hard to pick)

so THOMAS, at some point after Everything

How old are you? I mean that depends on what all you’re counting. I was...what, 26 coming out of the Vault? But there were 200 years of being an ice cube. It’s been a little while since. I dunno, somewhere between 26 and 230.

What do you look like? I’ve been told like I need a good night’s sleep. Which is...probably accurate. Taller than pretty much anyone but the Coursers, hair is finally consistently clean, and the bags under my eyes are designer.

Where are you from? Like, originally? New Mexico. I think. That’s the first place I remember at least. Shuffled around a lot with foster care, ended up in Boston for college. Didn’t live in Sanctuary Hills for too long before the bombs fell. These days most people just say I’m from the Vault, which I guess is kind of true. It was a very different place.

Where do you live now? Most of the time, underground. Got a nice cushy space down here, complete with real beds and a shower. The Institute is nice, clean, and people are starting to crack smiles a little more than once a week. Sometimes I get missing the sun, so we’ve -- I’ve got a place on the coast. Just had to clear out the ghouls and patch up the roof, it’s good for sort of vacations.

What was your childhood like? I don’t...actually know. According to a bunch of people in lab coats, probably terrible. I don’t remember anything before I was about 9, and that started in the system. There were a lot of different homes. A lot of appointments. All of that, it could’ve been worse. The only way to get through it is to get through it. And I had...company, at least.

What groups are you friendly with? Are you allied with any factions? I mean I think running one of them counts as allied. The Institute has standing deals with the Minutemen, mutually beneficial deals and we work with them pretty non stop. There was some...tension with the transition to begin with, but things have smoothed out for the most part. Hopefully.

Tell me about your best friend Not really sure who would count. Allie was one of the most welcoming when I first showed up here, I always appreciated that. X6 is -- now staring at me, sorry pal, but I think you count. Kinda hard not to get to know someone when they’re stuck as your bodyguard pretty much all the time. He’s a lot funnier than he’ll ever admit, and probably going grey dealing with me always getting shot at. Though -- I dunno, can Coursers get grey hairs? Does anyone know that?

Do you have family? Tell me about them I did, uh...well, I had my wife. Audrey. Ridiculous and sharp and endlessly patient. She’s been gone a while now. My son was...an odd case, don’t usually end up meeting them when they’re some 40 years older than you. He turned out about as good as I think anyone could in those circumstances. I’m just glad I got to see any of it before... Didn’t know my parents. Not sure if Aiden really...counts.

What about a partner, or partners? Well, the terminology is a bit questionable, but...give you a hint - tall, constant shades, likes leather coats, and is currently glaring daggers into my head. Also insanely protective, insanely smart, and for some reason keeps putting up with me anyway.

Who are your enemies, and why? Brotherhood aren’t exactly fans of us. The whole “blowing up their airship” probably made a bad impression, and we wouldn’t really let them settle back in when they tried to come around again. If there’s anything left of the Railroad...well, they hated us from the start. Kind of started the whole organization based around hating us. It’s understandable.

Have you ever heard of The Brotherhood of Steel? What do you think about them? Yeah, they’re not fans. Believe it or not I actually worked with them for a little while, straight out of the Vault. I’d had some experience with military, thought I might be able to get back in. Didn’t exactly work out. These days they stick to the south, keep their business to the DC area. We don’t mess with that operation, they don’t try to slink back up here.

What about the Enclave? Heard of them. Before my time, I guess. Heard they’ve been gone a while, didn’t come this far north anyway, so it didn’t effect much for me anyway.

How do you feel about super mutants? I’ve met one that hasn’t immediately tried to kill me, and he was a former scientist. We’ve lost a Courser to one of their bigger camps. Needless to say, I’m not a fan.

What’s the craziest fight you’ve ever been in? I mean there are probably quite a few I don’t...actually remember. Apparently I killed Kellogg with a damn pipe wrench. Apparently I...killed a Courser myself. Those were Aiden, though, so I don’t know if it really counts.

Have you ever fought a Deathclaw? A couple, which is way more than I would have liked. One straight out of the Vault, in Concord. One in the Glowing Sea. Needless to say I try to avoid them.

Do you like fighting? Me? No. I wouldn’t have killed Kellogg if he’d given me any other options, but...that wasn’t really the case, and Aiden’s much more into the fighting thing.

What’s your weapon of choice? I don’t really need them much anymore. More administrative work these days. Before I got down here, I mostly used this...pipe wrench. Had some nasty hooks. I had a pistol, too, but I’ve always been a lousy shot. These days my best weapon is the smoldering glower of the big guy back there.

How do you survive? Your wits, your charm, your skills, brute force, some combination? (a.k.a. what’s your S.P.E.C.I.A.L?) A lot of dumb luck, honestly. I’m pretty quick, apparently stronger than I seem whenever Aiden takes over, but...I’ve had a lot of help making it this far.

Have you ever been in a vault? What do you think about them? They’re shitholes. I agreed to put our names down for Audrey and Shaun’s sake, and...well, saw how much good that did. Half the time they’re overrun by something nasty these days. I can’t really mind being underground, but Vaults...I don’t go in them if I can help it.

How do you beat all the radiation around here? Has it affected you? Guess I’ve gotten lucky there, too. There’s been plenty of Rad-Away treatments, and even better ones now. If anything had been affected, I guess Volker fixed it.

What’s your favorite wasteland critter? Least favorite? Guess radstags aren’t really that bad. Tend to leave you alone if you don’t get up in their multiple faces. I hate the bugs. Hate the bugs. Bastards were bad enough before, and now they’re the size of my head.

How do you feel about robots? Well. There’s a bit of a blurry line sometimes in regards to that word. Codsworth was a sweetheart, kept our house safe for however long it was. Met some asshole robots who wouldn’t stop grilling me about being a commie spy. Some people...still call the synths robots. Gets a little complicated there. But things vary there, too. But I’m definitely more attached to some than others.

How many caps do you have on you right now? Now? None. Not exactly any use for them down here. We keep a fund for when we deal with the surface -- it’s been hard to switch them over to any better form of currency with the rest of the country still so stubbornly on caps. I don’t know how much I’ve got saved away, but it’s enough to make negotiations pretty simple.

Nuka Cola or Sunset Sarsaparilla? Plenty of Sarsaparilla out west, I kinda grew up on that stuff. Never had much of a preference between them -- they’re both just flat syrup water these days anyway.

Do you do chems? Officially? Not anymore. Unofficially...well, it’s been a while. It’s going better. But like I told the doctors, I was an addict before I set foot in the cryopod. Getting the chems cleared out is only part of it. Haven’t touched Psycho in a while. Hopefully it stays that way.

Do you ever think about the Pre-War world? Not much, honestly. I miss Audrey, and it’s easy to see the impact of everything back then, but...I found my son. He had his own life. Now I’ve got my own. Doesn’t do much good looking back.

What’s your deepest regret? What would you do differently? I didn’t really...I wish the Railroad would’ve given up. Brotherhood, they were soldiers and fighters, and they at least stood a chance, but...the church was just a slaughter. I’m not proud of it.

What’s your biggest achievement? Or what do you hope to achieve? I’d like to think the Commonwealth is doing better than before. Brotherhood hasn’t tried to come back, the raider attacks are getting fewer, and with the technology the Institute is finally actually sharing, people aren’t scraping by to survive quite as much. There are still biases and old grudges, but I like to think we’re working past those. And the SRB has taken a direction I’m pleased with. Not that there was any bias influencing that, of course.

What do you want for the future? For yourself? Your friends? The world? I want to have more chances to take a breath. It’s better now than it was, by a long shot, but things are still...hectic. Get better, more open communication with the Minutemen, start to ease some of that mistrust, and show people that even the big boogeyman of the Commonwealth can change. It’s not like we’re going anywhere, and I’d like to think we can keep learning from each other.

#this was fun bless #i'm bad at tagging as per usual #but pls i want to hear about ur kids #institute run