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later than i meant cus i kept getting distracted but here’s some rambling about swank and arisbeth’s relationship/more stuff on arisbeth as character, particularly pre-fnv.

i think one of the most foundational pieces of their relationship that you gotta understand is that they met about a year after house revitalized the strip, so by the time fnv takes place they’ve been dating for about six years. it’s also important to keep in mind that they were both in their early 20s when the strip started up again (so mid-to-late 20s by the time fnv takes place), and i think knowing that really contextualizes a lot of what this meant to them. they were young and in love and had the whole world ahead of them.

arisbeth was the only child of a trading caravan run by her single father (her mother left soon after she was born) and her aunt and uncle, and she entertained herself by learning to sing and dance, mimicking what was on the radio and what she learned from old holotapes. when she was older and she saw new vegas all lit up for the very first time, it was an immediate “that’s where i need to be” moment for her. she got a job at gomorrah* and was sending some of her money back to the family caravan as a sort of compromise for leaving (and they needed the money at the time).

*her family had some loose connections to the omertas so it was kinda expected she’d go there

anyway. it was love at first sight for arisbeth. swank looked just like all those old world heartthrobs she saw on old records and magazines, and despite loving being onstage, arisbeth was a painfully shy girl when it came to more personal social interactions. during her free time and on her breaks, she’d literally just stand outside the tops and pine through the window. eventually tommy torini notices her and makes note of the times she’s usually out there, and soon enough begins talking to her, quickly building up a rapport. he becomes her first real friend on the strip, and he’s the one to finally introduces her to swank, setting them up on their first date.

as an aside, i wanna talk about who she is atp. young arisbeth is someone i’d characterize as starry-eyed. i think she had a hard time becoming close with the other dancers at gomorrah bc she viewed what she did as a dream, as an art, while a lot of the other workers viewed it as a job, as something better than being stuck out in the desert or worse. she was young and she romanticized new vegas from the start. and while she absolutely does mature over time and begins to view it in a more practical and critical way, she never becomes jaded. recognizes the problems, dislikes the omertas, but is still grateful she gets to dance and isn’t stuck being a trader the rest of her life. it’s her plan to let this contract w gomorrah run out then get work at the tops. but i say all this cus i think it deeply influences how and why she becomes so close to tommy and swank, and gravitates towards the tops in general. she accepts new vegas and the way it runs. she and tommy in particular really fit in well with this new life and embrace it, and while swank definitely had issues (and continues to even into modern day) i think arisbeth, at the very least, is someone who helps him find something he can enjoy? back when they were the boot-riders, it was all about survival, but now suddenly he has free time and doesn’t have to worry about food or water or finding a place to sleep. being with arisbeth means he has a chance to live and not just survive. suddenly the strip doesn’t seem so bad if it means he gets to spend time with her. not only that, but arisbeth loves learning about ppl’s pasts, so she’s just about the only person here who will listen to any old boot-riders stories he has to tell. she can tell it’s important to him, and it’s important to her. it’s her favorite part of the evening when they can just go to his room and drink and listen to him talk about how it used to be.

i think they work bc they fit into each other well. i think there’s a certain “one has her head in the clouds and the other is back on earth” sort of charm to their dynamic. help each other mature over the years in the sense that swank’s practicality helps arisbeth become a lot more practical herself, while her—for lack of a better word—whimsy helps him relax and learn to accept things. not that arisbeth doesn’t have any sense about her, far from it; she can handle herself very well and can be practical when she needs to. she grew up a trader. she chooses to approach new vegas itself with a lot more excitement, a “life is for the living, for pleasure” attitude.

they play into each other’s strengths and weaknesses in a way that creates a really solid relationship. there’s no one else they’d rather spend the rest of their life in new vegas with. swank is nothing if not loyal and he’d do anything for his girl.

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Gomorrah showgirl and dancer Arisbeth backstage before a show, 2280

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working on a big swankbeth lore/arisbeth in general post like i talked about btw!!

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were yall invited to the swankbeth wedding???

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Gomorrah showgirl and dancer Arisbeth backstage before a show, 2280

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forgot i described swankbeth as “the couple in front of you in line at the theme park” until it appeared in my notifs again sjdhsk still accurate

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be-bop babies!

i've had ladybird and tommy t's daughters on my mind a lot lately. delphine (top) and colette (bottom) torini 🧸

tommy loves making up little songs for them 🩵 (x)

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What universe is the Swankbeth wedding set in?

the doodles i posted earlier i drew with the universe where @uptownlowdown’s ladybird is the courier in mind. arisbeth never leaves the mojave in that one and is able to much sooner get out of her contract with the omertas, cut contact with her family, and work/live at the tops. with that in mind they get married much sooner! ceremony and everything!

that said, swankbeth is still endgame and i do think they still get married after she returns to the mojave in my canon. the wedding itself is subject to change while i wait and see what the show wrote for new vegas (and understand that i am 100% ready to ignore whatever they wrote if i don’t like it lol) but they still end up together.

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ok completely off topic but. are benny and alfredo fucking in this scenario. bc I feel like that deeply changes the dynamic lmao

that’s a great question. it’s not Not sex

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arisbeth and swank always share cigarettes, one of them takes a drag and hands it to the other, back and forth. it just kinda becomes second nature. they’re a very openly affectionate couple as it is so sharing things between the two of them is just what they do

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arisbeth should be allowed to do whatever she wants forever after all that

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were yall invited to the swankbeth wedding???

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so serious when i say ideal alfredo/benny ending is them just stuck in a room pointing a gun at each other for eternity

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i hope dr. li finds someplace safe and stable to live after the post-fo4 BoS story cus i like the idea of leon visiting her whenever he gets the chance. yall don’t understand how important it is to me that they continue to keep up with each other after all those years apart

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messy misc chairmen + arisbeth stuff they’re all that’s on my mind these days. been into sketching more than coloring lately which is really weird for me cus paintings my favorite part of drawing hmm

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anyway dawn is 100% the reason deacon isn’t changing his face anymore. or at least won’t for a long time. that’s the only face his baby knows

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waking up to old ass art getting notes again noooo