a total space case

The Kings are a salient example of this. The surface level gag, of course, is that they're a militant gang of Elvis impersonators, having adopted the aesthetic after their leader mistook a training facility for Elvis impersonators as some kind of religious site. Stock Future-imperfect stuff, oh-those-silly-wastelanders, elevating our pop-culture to the level of organizing-societal-principle.

Until, of course, you take into account the (singular) King's actual project- the fact that his gang is the defacto governing body of Freeside, the accompanying fact that he's got his anarchist predilections and thus would like to maintain that governing position without having to constantly kick people around to get them to listen. And here you've come across a guy from before the war who was apparently so incredibly charismatic that people came from all over the country to see him, so charismatic that they built an entire school to train people how to imitate his mannerisms. No shit they're gonna check if there's any gas left in that can! There might be some real practical power on the table if they can walk that walk! Even if the quick-and-dirty pitch for the gang is "Elvis Cult," there isn't really a spiritual component, they aren't morons who're mistaking this guy for a literal god, they just recognize that there might be some unreclaimed social capital here for them to tap into. And there absolutely is, in-universe and out- have you ever encountered a Fallout fan who didn't love The Kings?

Beyond “Let’s make synths that replace people.” What was their goal. What were they trying to do. Like why were they spying on the surface. Was it just for data collection? Okay but why? Were they intending to fix the radiation problem? If so why are they kidnapping people? 

Like if I recall finishing the main quest for the institute involves turning on a big reactor. And Father gives a speech like “Now we’ll have all the power we need to change the wasteland!” But for what purpose man! By the looks of things, you already have ample electricity! 

Throughout the Fallout games, there’s a running theme that the PreWar days were awful. Resources were scarce. Plagues ran rampant. Martial law came into effect in many places. On top of that there was a miasma of Xenophobia and pettiness that permeated civilian life. Nearly every trace of prewar story in the older games is about how people were just as morally rotten but without Wasteland lawlessness. These stories include a man sleeping with a woman for the promise of access to his personal fallout shelter (and lying the whole time), a popular soda company releasing a product that kills people and writing it off as “lol whoops” and an office led by a paranoid boss that slowly kills all the workers as security gets tighter and tighter.

So you boot up fallout 4, and you’re welcomed with a nice well lit house with a stocked fridge and a loving marriage and a charming robot Butler and a healthy son and a fun trip to the park later! You’re invited (fuck me the guy straight up gets your info without asking for a fucking dollar) to a vault (contrast the towns full of mailboxes with request denial letters in Fallout 3). When I first played, I honestly thought it was some sort of Tranquility Lane style fake life because it was so pleasant it didn’t fit with the lore.

What if there was a place with all the zip of Nuka-Cola?

Collecting Magic: The Gathering – Fallout

Fallout: New Vegas Companions