#fusrodie

i was tagged by @fusrodie​, like, two weeks ago. but i was in the middle of Anxiety Land at the time so i’m only just now getting around to doing this. o r z

i’mma do this one with elle since she’s the one i’ve been focusing on recently!

Caps, unsurprisingly. It's not where she keeps all of her caps, but she'll usually shove any random ones she finds while scavving into her pockets, with the intention of putting them away "later." (Spoiler: She tends to forget until she has too many and her pockets get too heavy, or the ridges stab her in the fingers one too many times.)

Screwdriver and bobby pins, for easy access, because you never know when you have to hastily pick a lock while enemies are coming up behind you.

Random shit she picked up because she thought it was nifty, like interesting-looking rocks or bits of string or clothing buttons or some marbles she was lucky enough to find, or even the occasional piece of Pre-War trash that she decides she likes the advertisement on.

A couple of pens or pencils, because she picks them up when she sees them so she can use them to write in her diary later.

It isn’t uncommon to find her with stimpaks in her pockets, usually just a couple, but if she’s out on her own then she’ll carry them there for even faster access than the pouch on her backpack that is specifically for easy access to chems.

Possibly, her sunglasses, if she isn’t wearing them, or hasn’t clipped them onto her shirt, or pushed them up onto the brim of her hat.

Wonderglue and screws are also incredibly common, because she keeps an eye out for them and again just kind of shoves them in her pockets until she sits down to stash them away properly.

I’M ALWAYS READY TO BE SALTY

2. Are there any popular fandom OTPs you only BroTP?

Brynjolf/DB is a big one! I mean, I enjoy some shippy stuff for them, but as time has gone on I kinda feel like… Bryn’s just not interested. Plus it’d probably feel kinda weird for him, since he definitely functions as the DB’s mentor. Or maybe it’s just because when I first started writing Skyrim fic I wrote the worst Brynjolf/DB fic ever (which will never see the light of day, thank you) and my own inability to make it work turned me off from the pairing over time. There’s a non-zero chance that’s the root cause of it all.

I also somewhat prefer Danse/Sole Survivor as a BroTP (again, the mentor thing), but I feel less strongly about that one.

7. Is there anything you used to like but can’t stand now?

Not so much now, but I went from really liking Dragon Age to really hating Dragon Age around the time Trespasser was released. I’m back around neutral now. (still not planning on buying another BioWare game anytime soon, though).

Also will throw the Vilkas/DB ship in here, because, as I’ve mentioned before, the popular fics I found for this tended to be filled with particularly egregious examples of “let me mischaracterize this female character as a jealous harpy so that there can be some drama as my (usually female) DB falls in love.” Other pairings do this, too, don’t get me wrong, but the prevalence of it in some of the most popular fics left a bad taste in my mouth and as a result it’s the one Skyrim ship I blacklist.

10. Most disliked arc? Why?

Most of Bioshock Infinite tbh? Honestly I would have liked Bioshock Infinite SO MUCH MORE if Booker and Elizabeth weren’t related. Not for shipping reasons or anything (he’s still so much older than her and sees her as a kid. that’s not a good basis for a relationship, sorry), but because the sudden shift to “she’s my daughter I must protect her” totally contradicts one of the lessons of the first two games, which is that family should be more about who you choose to love than about biological bonds.

Also not a fan of the whole “Here Lies the Abyss” quest (and most of the main questline, tbh) in DAI. There’s an imbalance between what the player presumably knows and what the characters know, and the main quest as a whole depends too much on information that isn’t in any of the base games.

AND ALSO EVERYTHING TO DO WITH KAI LENG. WHAT A USELESS ADDITION TO ME3.

17.  Instead of XYZ happening, I would have made ABC happen…

Instead of using Kai Leng, I would have brought back an old character that was either resurrected like Shepard was (after Shepard was) or was always on the fence between helping Shepard and preferring Cerberus.

20. What is the purest ship in the fandom?

Admittedly I hesitate to call anything “pure,” mostly because it’s absolutely possible to fuck up any ship, but I’d go with Preston/Sole Survivor.

21. What are your thoughts on crack ships?

IN MY OWN PERSONAL EXPERIENCE, ships I think of as crack ships very rarely stay at that status. They usually become full blown ships. So bring ‘em on, but be warned that I may start to take them seriously.

22. Popular character you hate?

We’re going to do occupations because yes.

★ Michelle would definitely be a single mother living that hectic soccer mom life doing everything for her kids and their friends and doing literally nothing for herself because her babies are her life. She’d need a day job she could work while the kids were at school, I could see her working at a bank or something where she count sit face to face with people for a little while and possibly also some volunteer work helping adults learn to read in the evenings because she clearly doesn’t have enough to do as it is.

★ Brick...Brick would for sure be a little street con. The sort that bumps into you “ accidentally” and steals your wallet or phone, sells bootleg everythings for any price just to make a buck. Always drunk and high off something. In desperate need for a life change but also happy with his life as is. Basically not a damn thing would be different other than his hydrophobia wouldn’t be as severe.

★ Damien, being the nerd that he is, would teach. As much as I loved to picture him working with kids I think he’d be better off teaching a college course, one that is a necessary prerequisite so a majority of the people in the class don’t really want to be there. He’d be a lax professor for sure, wouldn’t penalize you for not showing up or being late, would allow you to make up tests and homework, he’s just happy to teach and to share what he knows with others. He also wouldn’t be much older than his students and even if some would flirt with him he’d be beyond too oblivious to even notice. Sure are a lot of women in my class today, how wonderful.

★ Jackson can be nothing other than a delivery boy. I can’t unsee him in those UPS brown shorts and sunglasses and earbuds as he rocks out while being the asshole who throws packages near your door before driving away.

if you’re talking about Mordin singing BEST EXCHANGE IN THE WHOLE GAME

honestly it sounds like a good strategy. I used to feel bad about blocking but between feeling a bit bad and not being upset or disgusted by things blocking is a far better option

HOO BOY

1: What does their bedroom look like?overall - any place where elle is crashing for an extended period of times ends up with sentimental stuff strewn everywhere. elle collects mementos almost obsessively, like she’s trying to make up for the lifetime she doesn’t remember. she’s also not very organized. that’s not to say she’s messy, but she isn’t very good at keeping things orderly. 

fallout: new vegas - elle’s Home is the lucky 38 presidential suite, and it’s where she brings all of her friends/found family to stay with her if they want to. as a result, the suite is kind of… chaotic. that’s a LOT of roommates. and because elle is elle, the master bed (her bed) is always open for whoever wants to crash there as long as they understand they’re going to be dealing with elle cuddles. people sleep wherever. and, of course, elle has mementos everywhere.

fallout 4 - pre-war - nate was actively messy, compared to elle just kind of being disorganized. the only reason why their house was in any way clean and orderly is because of codsworth, LOL. there was a lot of “hey codsworth, where’s the [blank]?” there were also a lot of photographs everywhere, because elle went kind of nuts with trying to record every little thing she saw.

post-war - as of right now, elle hasn’t settled down anywhere yet. she keeps tossing up temporary crash pads, scarcely decorated, and then moving on. she really likes taffington boathouse, and that’s her favorite crash pad right now, but i’m having problems getting navmeshing to work well with snappy houses she’s on the move so often that she still can’t really claim that as hers.

2: Do they have any daily rituals?journaling - elle Obsessively, and i do mean Obsessively, keeps a journal. in fact, she keeps two journals. every night before she sleeps, she makes bullet points in her pip-boy of what happened, jotting down quotes (which she has a good memory for) and thoughts and events. every morning after she’s woken up, she writes everything out in detail in an old ass book. these things must Absolutely Happen, and if she misses out on one or both of those sessions, she kind of freaks out until she can find the time to make up for it

also, she absolutely MUST have her teddy bear micah to sleep with (see below)

5: Cleanliness habits (personal: workspace: etc.)we’ve talked about elle’s organization above and below, but cleanliness is something different

personal - um. hm. expect a lot of dirt/sand on elle and in her clothes at any given time. when she goes to diamond city and stays for any amount of time, she makes sure to clean up, but otherwise... “walk-the-wasteland-fuck” is her favorite kind of fashion. she tries to stay hygienic for health reasons?? but being like, scrubbed clean is not a high priority of hers... she does try to keep her armor and mementos up, though, so there’s that?

workspace - again, dirt and mess don’t really bother elle at all as long as it’s not threatening her health or the health of those around her... if she’s setting up somewhere to cook, or fix up her armor or weapons, then she just puts stuff down where she thinks of at the time so things get cluttered fast. if she thinks someone is gonna use the space she was in when she’s done, she’ll clean up the grease/whatever a bit, otherwise ............. she’ll leave it for the ambiguous Later

17: Preferred mode of dress and rituals surrounding dressfashion style - elle LOVES pre-war fashion!! she loves! long dresses! she loves floral print! she... doesn’t love high heels, she much prefers boots, even if they don’t match the rest of her outfit. but she really likes the pretty, delicate-looking things. she loves lace, and in fnv, i use a mod to give her a lacey fingerless glove. but she isn’t comfortable in slinky/sexy fashion... she just feels too self-conscious and feels like her clothes are prettier than she is

armor style - elle favors maneuverability so she likes light armor. she also REALLY likes the whole Ranger look. she likes leather, she likes gas masks, she likes combat armor, she likes long coats. most of the time, though, she’ll pass up a helmet in favor of a wide-brimmed pre-war hat/worn fedora (but she does also like the militia hat because it feels Western and that’s an #aesthetic she deeply appreciates)

rituals - you can tell when elle means fucking Business when she puts on her ranger helmet

23: How organized are they? How does this organization/disorganization manifest in their everyday life?as mentioned above, elle isn’t generally very organized. she just doesn’t think about it when she tosses something in a box. the most organized she ever gets is in her lists for her pip-boy. she may know that she has six 10mm pistols, but fuck if she’s entirely certain where she put them

the other thing she’s organized with is emergency supplies in her pack. she keeps stimpaks in an easily accessible pocket, for example, and extra ammo in another. her organization happens on a kind of As Needed kind of basis… as a result, she can always find the shit she needs to find when she desperately needs it. but if she’s trying to pack before a big trip or something? “hey guys, have you seen my sniper rifle?”

31: Most prized possession?oh god. uh. i feel like this is going to be a toss up between:a light shining in darkness - a gift from joshua, the first person who elle fell in love with and someone who means a lot to hermicah - the teddy bear she had with her when she was dug out of the ground, which used to belong to her father (though she didn’t know that for the longest time), and the courier duster - from ulysses, who also means so much to her, and he made it for her when he still hated her, and there’s so much MEANING and. it just means a lot to her

in fallout 4, maccready’s little toy soldier and the coat and hat ellie and nick gave her also hold special meaning for her, but so far, there isn’t anything that has the same weight as the stuff from fnv. nate’s dog tags come close, though

41: Hobbies?sewing Ugly stuffed animals - she’s not very good at making her own patterns or following existing ones, so while she can stitch together patches for clothes or whatever… when she tries to make stuffed animals… y i k e speople watching - she’s fascinated by People, and she likes Stories About People, so… yeah, people watching is a thing for herreading - everything. she just likes Learning things, and she can learn fairly fast given the opportunity (though she doesnt always retain stuff like Science)listening to the radio - you can tell when she’s relaxed or in a good mood because the radio is always onexploring - she’s restless and has this big Thing about wanting to touch new things and make new memoriesphotography/scrapbooking - see above, but also add in “trying to record her memories so if she ever gets amnesia again…”

44: Superstitions or views on the occult?new superstitions/occult things, elle automatically takes the outlook of “idk could be legit.” there have just been too many weird ass things that she’s been through for her to be like, “NAW THAT CAN’T BE REAL.” she always takes the approach of “whatever someone says is happening is probably actually happening.” she knows she has NO room to judge because “take drugs, kill a bear” happened to her. think tanks happened to her. ghouls flying to the moon happened to her. time travel and cryo freezing happened to her. she doesnt know what is and isnt in the realm of possibility any more

47: How do they express love?EVERY WAY. … not joking. uh. elle is just so very touchy feely, and she would 100% be down with platonic smooches if she thought they’d be welcome/if she wasn’t so damn shy and afraid of being misconstrued. she loves cuddles. she loves giving gifts. she loves taking care of people. she is completely unafraid of straight up telling you. it is BLATANTLY OBVIOUS when elle cares about you in a personal way because by god she goes out of her way to make sure you know

Brace yourself, its a lot of questions okay.

Michelle:

1. What does their bedroom look like?

Her current bedroom is just a bed with a dresser and a hamper for dirty clothing and thats it. There are no decorations, no light, no plants, nothing of comfort other than what is necessary. She would love to have a fancy bedroom, her dream bedroom, but she feels there is no need to spoil herself like that when she doesn’t believe she has earned even that little bit of happiness.

3. Do they exercise, and if so, what do they do? How often?

She does not. Isn’t against of course but being as petite as she is and always spending her days on her feet and moving about she’s simply never considered doing it for herself.

6. Eating habits and sample daily menu.

A balanced meal, or at least as balance as the day allows. She prefers a quick yet filling breakfast, razorgrain biscuits with a some fresh jam. She snacks on from fruit until lunch time where she likes to prepare a veggie stew with meat if its readily accessible of course. Dinner she likes to get a little fancy, a good cut of radstag or brahmin paired with some seasoned tatos and maybe a half a glass of wine if the day went well. She loves to good and loves to get creative with what she has available and always makes due somehow.

14. Physical abnormalities?

Other than her C-Section scar she is very much on the “normal” side.

16. Biggest and smallest long term goal?

Biggest long term goal is obviously to make a life for herself in the Commonwealth. She can’t imagine this life of hers being a happy one or even a peaceful one but she’s determined to at least make it a life. Smallest long term goal is just to man up and return to Shaun and help him in whatever way she can, even if she doesn’t feel like he’s her baby she knows that she is his mother and while she is still able she wants to assist him.

*cracks knuckles* let’s do this

the first character i ever fell in love with: Boone. Boooooooooone.

a character that i used to love/like, but now do not: I fell off the Maxson train almost immediately after I got on so I don’t know if that counts, but that’s who I’m going with.

a ship that i used to love/like, but now do not: I still love the character, but Boone/Courier kinda faded for me. Too many skeevy fics out there where the Courier solves all of Boone’s problems with her vagina. It… ruined the taste of it for me.

my ultimate favorite character™: EVERYBODY’S FAVORITE TALKING DEATHCLAW, GORIS THE SCHOLAR. LOVE THAT GUY. Gosh, I have a lot of runner ups, too, though. MacCready. Tandi. Preston. Christine Royce. Moira Brown. Madison Li. Lots of characters are right up there.

prettiest character: Curie!

my most hated character: Wally Mack. god, I hate that guy. There are people in the games who are objectively worse people but I just hate Wally Mack so much.

my OTP: MacCready/Sole, Christine/Veronica, Butch/LW, Swank/Courier, Carol/Greta, Duff/Scara, Piper/Curie… a lot I don’t talk about, but I still really love them.

my NOTP: man I’ve seen some people who ship LW/Col. Autumn and I’m just like… don’t, please. Same with Vulpes/Courier. 

favorite episode quest: Blood Ties, Wasteland Survival Guide, 

saddest death: GRUTHAR. 

favorite season game: Maaaan that’s so hard to choose, but I’m really a Fallout 3 girl at heart. It’s home. No, literally.

least favorite season game: I don’t enjoy Lonesome Road. Sue me.

character that everyone else in the fandom loves, but i hate: Vulpes Inculta is both controversial at best, but he fits the bill.

my ‘you’re piece of trash, but you’re still a fave’ fave: Pickman and Gage both. Although, to be fair, Pickman’s less “piece of trash” and more “holy fucking shit what is wrong with you.”

my ‘beautiful cinnamon roll who deserves better than this’ fave: LENNY AND GORIS BOTH. For someone who never technically finished the damn game, I have a lot of FO2 feelings.

my ‘this ship is wrong, nasty, and makes me want to cleanse my soul, but i still love it’ ship: Benny/Courier. At least I know I’m not alone in that garbage pit.