#grecks

So, I feel like ghoulification would heighten all of the senses (*within the confines of what tissues can remain intact over long spans of time, like centuries; we see older ghouls, especially, with things like cataracts, etc. that would would obviously impact your perception), but the sense of smell especially. Smell is widely considered to be the "weakest" of the human senses, but if you were constantly regenerating the smell receptors that are physically closest to your brain, along with having basically one massive nostril, I'd think you'd at least smell SOMEWHAT more effectively.

I've seen people assume that, as ghouls eventually lose their noses to decay, they have no sense of smell, and (absolutely no disrespect or anything) I find that sort of funny. The olfactory sense ultimately originates in the brain, like any other sense, and the smell receptors that pick up on odors are not only found in the cartilaginous parts of the nose AKA the part that would rot off.

Scent memory is also one of the strongest kinds of memory, as the olfactory bulb that processes smells is located very close to the amygdala and the hippocampus, the memory centers of your brain. For this reason, I think that many ghouls, but particularly ferals, would be incredibly sensitive to smells, even if their particular "nose" is weak from decay. I'd imagine that ferals, as they slip further and further into the sort of aggressive, rotting dementia state we see them in, would still be able to connect with some human memories through smells. I think this may be one of the things that draws them to people so easily, even when you're trying to sneak past them.

Imagine moldering away for years and years, rational and conscious thought basically lost to you, and then, for just a breath, you smell a long-lost loved one's perfume, a favorite food you haven't tasted in decades, a fresh rain after a long, long dry spell. Just for a moment...you can remember.

All that to say that I think smell would be a very big deal for ghouls. Especially the smell of people they care about. One day, the memory of that smell may be quite literally all they have left.

I'm not sure most of them would be conscious of the fact that it's scent marking, but it wouldn't be uncommon to find ghoul lovers (ghouls who are lovers AND those who love ghouls) swapping clothing, reveling in their partner's smell enveloping them and vice versa. Taking their lover around other ghouls and knowing that the fact that the others can smell them all over you means they know you're theirs. Ghouls smelling another ghoul on you and knowing all your business without you even having to say anything.

More centaur?? You want More Centaur??? Well okay!!

Left: Ignacio Rivas, a scientist from the Followers of the Apocalypse working at HELIOS-1. —"I'm a man of letters. I'd be torn to pieces by the security system they have in that tower. I'd never reach the mainframe. But eventually the NCR will, or if not them, Caesar's Legion. They will use this place for war. Because the possibility exists you might do anything else, you're the only choice I have."

Right: Grecks, an indebted resident of Freeside. —"A scum-humping water baron did this to me. No one trash-talks the eye."

Designated cheerleaders were not available for this match-up.

20. childhood illnesses? any interesting stories behind them?

-Grecks was a relatively sickly child growing up, but that’ common for children in the wasteland. There was a time when he was seven when he had a stomach flu and was told to stay in bed. Instead of listening to his parents he snuck out with some other kids. One of them had a cartoon of cigarettes they stole from their dad and Grecks, trying to look cool and grown up, tried to smoke it. It ended up making his stomach flu worse and he threw up on a girl he liked. He got in big trouble but the blow to his reputation was worse.

26. do they have any plans for the future? any contingency plans if things don’t work out?

-Nope. He has dreams of course, things he wants to do life, things he wants to accomplish. But it hasn’t gone past the daydream fantasy. He’s really lost himself and he’s not really trying to pick himself up.

30. reaction to sudden intrapersonal disaster.

already did rotface, so grecks it is~

boy’s a mess, first of all

at first he thinks you’re making fun of him, or trying to scam him or some junk

so he responds a little harshly; I mean, let’s be honest, he hasn’t garnered much positive attention for a long time

he loves to shower you in affection (in private, bc most smooth skins don’t like watching a ghoul get cuddly)

partly because he can’t believe he’s got you, but also because he’s so terrified you’ll leave