#Commonwealth theory

[some-brave-apollo]

Fallout 4 fans, where do you see the political leanings of the Minutemen? Assume vanilla game, no mods installed. You can consider non-game material like the game guide and Winter of Atom if you wish but it's not essential.

Reblog for a wider audience!!!

[unhonestlymirror]

*after reading Lāčplēsis* so that's why Polish historians tried so hard to substantiate the theory of Lithuania being a direct descendant of Roman Empire, huh

[mymanreedus]

[blueheartbookclub]

"Leviathan Unveiled: Navigating the Depths of Hobbesian Political Philosophy"

Thomas Hobbes' "Leviathan" stands as a seminal work in political philosophy, providing a profound exploration of the social contract and the nature of government. Published in 1651, during a tumultuous period in English history, Hobbes crafted a philosophical masterpiece that sought to address the chaos and disorder prevalent in society.

The central theme of "Leviathan" revolves around Hobbes' depiction of the hypothetical state of nature, a condition he famously describes as a "war of every man against every man." Hobbes contends that without a structured authority, human life would be characterized by constant conflict and anarchy. To escape this state of nature, individuals enter into a social contract, surrendering some liberties to a sovereign authority in exchange for protection and order.

The metaphorical "Leviathan" represents this sovereign power, a colossal entity with the authority to maintain peace and prevent chaos. Hobbes argues for the absolute power of the Leviathan, suggesting that a powerful centralized government is necessary to ensure the stability of society. This perspective, while controversial, laid the groundwork for later political philosophies and discussions on the role of government.

Hobbes' work also delves into the relationship between church and state. He advocates for a unified authority to avoid conflicts arising from religious differences. In his view, the sovereign power should control both the ecclesiastical and civil spheres to maintain social cohesion.

One of the strengths of "Leviathan" is Hobbes' systematic approach to political theory. He applies a scientific methodology, drawing parallels between the natural world and political structures. This analytical framework was innovative for its time, influencing subsequent philosophers and political thinkers.

However, "Leviathan" has sparked significant debate and criticism. Hobbes' advocacy for absolute monarchy and his rather bleak view of human nature have been challenged by later philosophers who championed individual liberties and more optimistic perspectives on human behavior.

In conclusion, Thomas Hobbes' "Leviathan" remains a cornerstone of political philosophy, offering a foundational exploration of the social contract, sovereign authority, and the structure of government. While controversial and subject to critique, its impact on the development of political thought cannot be overstated, making it an essential read for those interested in understanding the roots of modern political theory.

Thomas Hobbes' "Leviathan" is available in Amazon in paperback 19.99$ and hardcover 25.99$ editions.

Number of pages: 484

Language: English

Rating: 8/10                                           

Link of the book!

Review By: King's Cat

[blueheartbooks]

"Leviathan Unveiled: Navigating the Depths of Hobbesian Political Philosophy"

Thomas Hobbes' "Leviathan" stands as a seminal work in political philosophy, providing a profound exploration of the social contract and the nature of government. Published in 1651, during a tumultuous period in English history, Hobbes crafted a philosophical masterpiece that sought to address the chaos and disorder prevalent in society.

The central theme of "Leviathan" revolves around Hobbes' depiction of the hypothetical state of nature, a condition he famously describes as a "war of every man against every man." Hobbes contends that without a structured authority, human life would be characterized by constant conflict and anarchy. To escape this state of nature, individuals enter into a social contract, surrendering some liberties to a sovereign authority in exchange for protection and order.

The metaphorical "Leviathan" represents this sovereign power, a colossal entity with the authority to maintain peace and prevent chaos. Hobbes argues for the absolute power of the Leviathan, suggesting that a powerful centralized government is necessary to ensure the stability of society. This perspective, while controversial, laid the groundwork for later political philosophies and discussions on the role of government.

Hobbes' work also delves into the relationship between church and state. He advocates for a unified authority to avoid conflicts arising from religious differences. In his view, the sovereign power should control both the ecclesiastical and civil spheres to maintain social cohesion.

One of the strengths of "Leviathan" is Hobbes' systematic approach to political theory. He applies a scientific methodology, drawing parallels between the natural world and political structures. This analytical framework was innovative for its time, influencing subsequent philosophers and political thinkers.

However, "Leviathan" has sparked significant debate and criticism. Hobbes' advocacy for absolute monarchy and his rather bleak view of human nature have been challenged by later philosophers who championed individual liberties and more optimistic perspectives on human behavior.

In conclusion, Thomas Hobbes' "Leviathan" remains a cornerstone of political philosophy, offering a foundational exploration of the social contract, sovereign authority, and the structure of government. While controversial and subject to critique, its impact on the development of political thought cannot be overstated, making it an essential read for those interested in understanding the roots of modern political theory.

Thomas Hobbes' "Leviathan" is available in Amazon in paperback 19.99$ and hardcover 25.99$ editions.

Number of pages: 484

Language: English

Rating: 8/10                                           

Link of the book!

Review By: King's Cat

[findher-ogg]

I think Piper Wright Fallout 4 is one of those characters who's good in theory but not in practice. I was thinking about her as a character in relation to her setting and I genuinely think her archetype would be better suited to the NCR than it is to the Commonwealth.

Which I think comes down to how Bethesda handles their games, environment and attitude wise, as opposed to Black Isle and Obsidian. The West coast has basically recovered. New Vegas is a tourist attraction. The NCR are on a rapid tirade of imperialist expansion that's only achievable because they, as a nation, have recovered from the war and grown from it. If you compare Shady Sands in Fallout 1 to Diamond City in Fallout 4, its kind of funny. Shady Sands started out with decent houses made from dirt, with solid foundation and some of them having actual windows. The average settlement in Bethesda Fallout (like Diamond City or Megaton), meanwhile, are just shanty towns made from tin.

In the Commonwealth's case this is made even more insane by the fact that Fenway Park (where Diamond City is located) is surrounded by mostly intact houses that, with a bit of fixer-uppering, could be lived in relatively normally compared to the tin shacks of Diamond City. I think Megaton gets more of a pass because the Capital Wasteland got nuked to shit, but you get me.

Returning to Piper for a second, let's take a look at her character: she's a spunky, somewhat annoying character who's very invested in the freedom of the press and so forth. She's got a working printing press and everything, which is super impressive considering how run-down the rest of Diamond City is aside from the Valentine Detective Agency signs (seriously, where did they find the materials for those). She runs Publick Occurences solo with her sister, and it's all well and good. Ignoring the witch hunts she sends people on about synths.

And I get it. I think this specific gripe with Piper as a character comes from having played this game for the first time in 2024. The synths don't really hold up as an allegory for anything, and the entire story surrounding them is very "trying to be progressive in 2014". Which is fine, I think it is just a symptom of the era the game came out in, but still.

Piper's character, as a spunky yet annoying journalist who believes the people deserve to know what's going on, would be far better suited in a more developed location on the West coast -- specifically, Freeside or somewhere within the NCR.

I think Piper would suit the Followers of the Apocalypse, for example, serving as an informant to keep them in the know about what's going on between the Strip, the NCR and the regular Freesiders. Plus, having a funny, anarchist-themed newspaper you can receive in-game where she touts her hatred for the Securitron police force is a funny mental image. Equally, I think she'd suit living in Shady Sands -- right at the heart of the NCR's seediest political manouvres as the decisions are made. Imagine her as a journalist who frequently pushes back against the Mojave expansion, for example, and how the NCR is putting too many resources into a lost cause instead of more important things like healthcare or housing. That way, you could still keep her extreme hatred for the upper class in The Stands while making it make more sense within the setting.

Leading on from this, this made me realise how Bethesda also just aren't very deliberate with how they utilise history in their games. Which makes sense, to a certain extent, given how destroyed absolutely everything on the East coast is. But still. It's a little stupid.

The core conflict of New Vegas -- the Legion vs the NCR -- is actually a really deep-cut history reference at its core. The NCR is the Bear, the Legion is the Bull. In mid-19th century California, people watched bears and bulls fight for fun.

There are other, better examples, I'm sure. But I'm British and this is my personal favourite example, so this is what I'm using. History plays such an important part of New Vegas' themes and messaging -- it's a story about how, when, and why humanity needs to move on from the past and look towards the future.

Bethesda Fallout, by comparison, will frequently and shallowly tout "nukes bad" while letting Liberty Prime lob them at Super Mutants, or encouraging players to nuke each other's houses in Fallout 76.

Piper exists partially as a nod to the Boston Herald, and how it's one of the longest-running/most influential newspapers in America. A lot of publishing has its roots within Boston, and I think it's an interesting reference to take.

And I think this is a part of Fallout that Bethesda does get -- a lot of what people do in the post-war world is inspired by what came before. Caesar's Legion and its ideologies come from Edward Sallow not understanding basic Roman history properly and using it to fuel his agenda because it looks cool. The Minutemen are exactly that. The New California Republic are the new US government, right down to the borderline facist intentions and ideologies. I could go on.

And this comes from Fallout being a series about the cyclical nature of violence. "War never changes, but men do through the roads they walk" is the story here. War cannot change if men do not change, because war exists in an endless cycle of violence that can only be broken if man chooses to break it. And they've failed at it so far, right?

And this is where I go back to Piper. Her nod to history isn't as intentional as anything in New Vegas, and I feel like she would have been better served as a character if she was in New Vegas instead. Because her entire character would make more sense if she was living in the more developed and rebuilt towns of the West coast as opposed to a dilapidated shanty town on the East.

I have more thoughts about this but tl;dr Bethesda should really put more effort into making sure their history references and homages make sense to the setting contextually, in the same way that New Vegas does. That game was developed in 18 months and still has far more care put into its historical references than Fallout 4 does. And I love Fallout 4.

[yellowraincoat]

I believe in my heart of hearts that for years after Cinder becomes queen of Luna Kai and Cinder are keeping their relationship private to avoid the "these teenagers are too young and emotionally immature to be world leaders" and "Emperor Kai has Stockholm Syndrome after the kidnapping" and "Selene manipulated Emperor Kaito into having feelings for her" and "The emperor of the commonwealth having future marital ties to and a vested interest in another, once hostile, nation state is a potential national security threat" discourse.

So publicly they are constantly giving PR speak answers like, "My focus is on regaining political and economic stability on Luna, I don't have time to think about romantic relationships" and "Queen Selene and I have a close personal relationship and a beneficial alliance that I hope will serve the commonwealth for generations to come"

But then, simultaneously, Iko has a huge followings on the gossip feeds and constantly comments on and reposts content and conspiracy theories shipping Kaider.

like, comments section on another official press briefing where Cinder refused to answer questions about her relationship with Kai:

Random User: They're so obviously in love, they should just admit it already

Iko, Verified Lunar Royal Advisor & Fashion blogger with a picture of her and CInder hugging as her profile pic: ikr? that's what I keep telling them

Thorne also does this (occasionally) only he's more like: "If Kaider isn't real, where did I get this photo?" And posts a ridiculously badly photoshopped picture of them kissing.

[capcollector]

ok. thinking it’s more of a situation where they found her and force her return. almost similar to how the brotherhood reacts when they find leon again. maybe they simply caught her a few years after she escaped; the games imply she’s been actively fearing they’d come for her for a long time. especially if at the time it was maxson freshly at the helm, i think he’d make finding her one of a few priorities.

i think that would also make the reunion between her and leon more interesting bc it’s like. we’re in the same boat. how do we keep finding each other in this loop.

honestly wondering if dr. li should just already be w the brotherhood in my fo4 canon. i suppose it doesn’t really matter how/when she got there when we see her post-fo4 but idk. kinda intrigued by her just being there already. specifically i really want a scene of her and leon seeing and recognizing each other as he’s being escorted elsewhere; maybe she’s the one who can actually vouch for him and confirm he is who he says he is. what causes things to shift for leon and how he gets to see maxson face-to-face.

i also just think a one-on-one moment between her and leon would be really interesting in this context.

[carriesthewind]

The one thing I remain interested in after reading the amount I had to about Mangione (and the conspiracies surrounding him) is the repeated claim that he wasn't fingerprinted. Not because I think it's true, but because it's such a perfect little conspiracy nugget.

(Warning: mostly just messy, rambling thoughts below the cut, I'm just typing this to get it out of my head.)

What I think makes it so perfect are the following factors:

It allegedly has a source

It supports the narrative that people already want to be true: there is no evidence, and he is being set up by the police

Once excepted, it creates an essentially unfalsifiable narrative of innocence, where evidence that contradicts the claim (that is, the claim that he wasn't fingerprinted) actually supports the conspiracy theory

Because it relies on a primary source, it sets up its believers to feel like they are thinking critically (even though they are not)

The source I've seen linked when the claim is repeated is the same one I linked before, although in more complete form - the Pennsylvanian Criminal Complaint. And let's take a moment to actually look at it.

It says, "DNA" and "NO" is checked. It also asks, "Defendant Fingerprinted," and "NO" is checked again.

So what does this mean?

As previously noted, all of this is in the "Defendant Identification Information," the same area as where his height, weight, and I color are included. There is also a space to put in vehicle identification information. There is then a signature for the commonwealth's* attorney, then a declaration by two police officers. The next couple pages list the crimes he is charged with, page four contains a narrative of the alleged criminal conduct he is being charged with and the arrest, and finally, on page five, the police officers sign requesting that a warrant of arrest or summons be issued.

*For folks outside the U.S.: some states like to be pretentious and refer to themselves as "commonwealth" rather than a state.

So what does the question about fingerprinting (and dna, etc) mean? Is this indicating whether or not a defendant was fingerprinted at the time of arrest? At the time he was booked? Whether he was or will ever be fingerprinted? Were fingerprints used to identify him as himself? Used to identify him as the alleged criminal? (For what it's worth - these are knowable questions, you can actually look it up. More info is at the bottom if you are curious.) If you actually look at the source, it's a huge leap to conclude that this little checkbox means "he wasn't fingerprinted."

Especially because if you scroll to the bottom of page 4, the last line of the written narrative says, "The Defendant will need to be fingerprinted and photographed."

Huh. That makes it sound like that at the time this document was written, he hadn't been fingerprinted or photographed (both of which usually are going to happen when someone is booked), but that the officers are indicating it should and will happen in the future.

So if you actually look at this source, and you think about it, it isn't a source for the claim.

...but it kind of looks like a source if you don't think about it.

Which is why it's so perfect for creating a conspiracy.

Because now you have a claim, with a source. And the claim fits right into the things people want to believe: 1) that there is no evidence of Mangione's guilt and 2) he is being targeted by the police/system.

And part of what makes it such a perfect conspiracy claim is that it isn't actually necessary to criticize the police or the media surrounding this case. By which I mean: there is plenty of bullshit in the charges (e.g. the terrorism overcharging), the way he is being treated by the police (e.g. the perpwalk) and the media (because sidenote yes, I agree, if nothing else, that CEO was directly responsible for the horrible deaths of way more people than anyone is accusing Mangione of, and he did it for profit, and isn't that the real problem what is wrong with you people) that you can talk about in reality without descending into conspiracism.

And you don't need it to question the police's statements that his fingerprints match fingerprints collected nearby. A) We only have the police statement right now - none of the media reporting on this have actually seen the alleged prints or the basis for allegedly finding they matched Mangione. B) What's the quality of the prints? There is a big difference between partial latent prints and a clean set. C) How were they matched? Despite what media portrays, fingerprint analysis can be a lot more subjective and less scientific than you would hope (again, especially when comparing poor-quality partial latent prints).

But the problem is that none of that creates the clean, unfalsifiable narrative that "they didn't fingerprint him" does. Because of course, he can be treated unfairly, and still have done it. (And as I said before, this mistreatment is much less unique, much more of how the system normally functions, than you would hope.) And because maybe the fingerprints will turn out to be high-quality and likely place him near the scene. Or maybe (with or without any potential fingerprint evidence) there is enough evidence for a reasonable jury to convict him.

You don't need conspiracy to have doubts about some of the evidence that is being claimed - but you do need it to claim that it is impossible for him to have done it.

Because once you believe the claim that he wasn't fingerprinted, later evidence that does (or even just claims to) show a fingerprint link between him and the scene isn't just questionable: it's now more proof of the conspiracy. The evidence disproving the claim: documentation that they did fingerprint him, claims that his prints put him near the scene - contradict the supposed source. And so now, while some people will recognize that oh, maybe we were wrong about the original source, others will fall deeper down the conspiracy hole.

Because we all know he wasn't fingerprinted, but now they are claiming he was - something is wrong, something is fishy: are they manufacturing evidence? Did they realize they didn't have enough evidence to pin the crime on him, so they went back to create more, better evidence? This isn't evidence we were wrong, it's evidence that this goes so much deeper that we could have imagined.

And that certainty of conspiracy, the unwillingness to believe contradictory evidence, will likely be enhanced because it feels like you are thinking critically (even though you aren't). Because you looked at the original, primary, source, you're not just believing what the media tells you! You went and found out for yourself!

When in reality, critical thinking means more than just looking at a source, seeing something that seems to fit your narrative, and running with it. It requires actually thinking. In this case - what could these checkboxes mean in context? Am I misinterpreting this? Could there be some other reasonable explanation? Does my interpretation match other information provided (even in the same document)? Does this conspiracy even make sense (why wouldn't they fingerprint him? No, really? If the police have arrested him, why wouldn't they fingerprint him? It's a standard part of booking, and it's a way for them to potentially find evidence to use against him. (And even if you want to think conspiratorially, and claim that they didn't want to take his fingerprints because they know he's innocent and so they can't use them to claim he's guilty, they will have to manufacture fake fingerprints, they didn't take his real fingerprints because they knew it would exonerate him!!!!! - why would they admit their nefarious misdeeds on the first page of the public charging document? Wouldn't it make more sense to lie and claim he was fingerprinted?))

But none of that may matter, once you go too far down the rabbit hole. Confirmation bias is a hell of a thing, and the more elements you have to prop it up - the idea that you have a real source for the belief, the confidence that you are thinking critically - the harder it can be to let go.

---------------------

Anyway, as promised, what's actually going on with these checkboxes? I talked before about the DNA checkbox - it’s currently not legal in Pennsylvania for the police to collect routine DNA samples upon arrest.

But what about that "Defendant Fingerprinted" box?

Well, let's look at Title 234 Pennsylvania Rules of Criminal Procedure (Pa.R.Crim.P) Rules 504 (Contents of Complaint). 504(9) requires that every Pennsylvania criminal complaint includes "a notation that the defendant has or has not been fingerprinted."

Ok! So according to the police, he wasn't fingerprinted at the time this complaint was filed.

What does that mean? Reading from the comment below the rule:

"The requirement that the affiant who prepares the complaint indicate whether the defendant has been fingerprinted as required by the Criminal History Record Information Act, 18 Pa.C.S. § 9112, is included so that the issuing authority knows whether it is necessary to issue a fingerprint order with the summons as required by Rule 510."

Ok, so let's look at Rule 510 and 18 Pa.C.S. § 9112.

Rule 510 (Contents of Summons; Notice of Preliminary Hearing)(C)(2) states that when a court issues the summons (the document requiring a defendant to appear in court, after a criminal complaint is filed and accepted), it must also include "an order directing the defendant to submit to fingerprinting in all cases in which the defendant has not been fingerprinted, except cases initiated by private complaint."

18 Pa.C.S. § 9112 (Mandatory fingerprinting) (a) states that "Fingerprints of all persons arrested for a felony, misdemeanor or summary offense which becomes a misdemeanor on a second arrest after conviction of that summary offense, shall be taken by the arresting authority, and within 48 hours of the arrest, shall be forwarded to, and in a manner and such a form as provided by, the central repository."

What does all this mean?

It means the law recognizes that sometimes a complaint will be completed before someone is booked and fingerprinted. Fingerprinting is mandatory, so the complaint has a little checkbox where it indicates whether or not the person has already had there fingerprints taken at the time the complaint was filed. So the police officer has to make a notation to let court knows whether it needs follow up and make sure they are taken later or not. In this case, as indicated at the end the narrative, at the time the officer wrote the complaint, Mangione hadn't been fingerprinted and photographed yet. So the officer noted both in the relevant checkbox, and in the body of the complaint, that these things were tasks that still needed to be completed.

[stoat-party]

Fallout 4: Where is the Lone Wanderer?*

*a vague conspiracy theory which doesn’t actually answer the question at hand. We all have our own ideas of how the lore should go, and I’m sure yours is very canon-compliant and valid, but this is mine and I have support for it. Looooongpost.

First off: What do we know about the canon Wanderer?

We know they activated Project Purity (or had a companion do it) without the FEV and were inducted into the Brotherhood. We know they’ve met with MacCready (you can’t finish the game if you don’t), and he has dialogue indicating they had further contact. They also took the Brotherhood’s side at Adams Air Force Base.

We don’t know what happened with The Replicated Man, but since the canon Wanderer appears to have good karma, and info from 4 implies Zimmer’s disappearance was more recent than ten years ago, it seems likely they took the boring ending, which secures their membership in the Railroad.

Why aren’t they in Fallout 4?

The Doylist answer is that they’re highly customizable, and so they have no canon appearance, personality, gender, etc. But in-universe? Something happened.

“Accepting outsiders like yourself has proven disastrous in the past.” - Kells

“I've seen other soldiers come and go. Some were brave, some were honest... hell, some were even downright heroic.” - Danse

“Every doctor I've talked to was worthless. [] I don't need them... I need someone like you.” - MacCready

When Duncan first got sick, “someone like you” would have meant the Wanderer. This suggests (to me) that they’re not in the Capital Wasteland anymore. But they’re certainly not in the Commonwealth either.

The weird thing is that the Lone Wanderer is all over this game - they’re the namesake for a male hairstyle, a perk, a DCR song, a motorcycle brand… and the codename of Deacon’s mission to save the Railroad from certain destruction by recruiting the Sole Survivor.

Someday We’ll Find It, the Deacon Connection

Oh yeah, I’m going here. Desdemona’s terminal entries confirm it was always Deacon’s plan to get you onboard and use you to destroy the Institute. There are Railroad lookout posts near 111/Sanctuary and Red Rocket, and of course he followed you in Goodneighbor, Diamond City, and Bunker Hill (at least). His court jester vibe hides it a bit, but he’s manipulating you more than he’s manipulating Desdemona in the intro scene. And do you notice he rarely gives you a firm verbal disapproval unless you’re hurting the Railroad?

What could have caused Deacon’s interest in you, unless he’s made the connection between you and the Lone Wanderer? He’ll vouch for you if you haven’t accomplished anything yet, or even if you’re a Brotherhood member. A Pip-Boyed stranger emerges from a vault in the middle of a crisis, gaining friends, skills, items, and special abilities at a suspicious rate? Probably with the same gender and playstyle as the previous one? Heck, when he first heard the rumors, he probably thought you WERE the Lone Wanderer.

There are other indications the Railroad has been in contact with them — Desdemona mentions the Capital Wasteland as their primary destination for synths, and Deacon references Harkness’s recall code. If you refuse to pick a codename, Desdemona even assigns you “Wanderer.”

So what happened, then?

I think the answer lies with the Brotherhood, specifically in Deacon’s hatred of them. Sure, ideology is enough to hate them for, but Deacon sure seems suspiciously happy if you nuke their base of operations. (Some of) his comments on that:

“The Brotherhood... well, I met them on an op in Capital Wasteland a few years back. But now with Elder Maxson... Let's just say, not a fan.”

“That bastard Maxson really screwed them up. The Brotherhood used to be the good guys. Well, goodish.”

[Who’s Elder Maxson?] “He’s a piece of work, is what he is.”

And on his time in the Capital:

“Did I ever tell you about the time I was in Capital Wasteland? Now there's a tale.”

“Capital Wasteland. Exports: purified water, some decent tech, oh, and an insane suicidal cult that worships radiation. Thanks, guys.”

“I miss Capital Wasteland. You can actually drink the water there.”

And a few lines I’ve decided (with no evidence) directly refer to LW:

“Last partner I had wound up going... well, a little insane. I think it was all my show tune medleys.”

[After Maxson orders you to hunt Danse down] “See? This is what the Brotherhood's really about.”

And my favorite: “I’ve been looking forward to kicking the Brotherhood’s teeth in. I owe them.” This line comes before Glory is killed, so he’s not referring to that. The Brotherhood only recently arrived in force in the Commonwealth. He’s talking about something that happened in the Capital Wasteland.

So Here’s What Might Have Happened:

In early 2286, Deacon moves to the Capitol Wasteland for awhile, probably to get a face change and lay low for a bit. He contacts the Lone Wanderer, who has barely heard from the Railroad in nine years. They begin to work together.

(In context, this journal entry looks like he’s somehow gathering intel to predict when Vault 111 will open, but I can’t think of a way for him to get that information or know why it’s important, so I’m not going to believe it just yet.)

The Wanderer is still a knight, maybe a paladin. Maxson has been elder for 2-3 years and is monitoring the Institute. Meanwhile, the Lone Wanderer and Deacon are setting up infrastructure to receive escaped synths.

And then the Brotherhood finds out about one of the safehouses. With their limited understanding, they believe that the Institute is holed up there and attack. The Wanderer intentionally throws the mission — maybe disobeys orders, maybe downs a vertibird or collapses a subway tunnel, or maybe even attacks their brothers to protect the synths.

And, well-

Either they were killed, or they escaped court martial and execution by a hair’s breadth and fled the Capital, leaving Deacon to believe Maxson had them killed.

There you have it. That’s why they aren’t in Brotherhood dialogue or records. Their accomplishments couldn’t be recognized because they’re a traitor. And that’s why it’s personal for Deacon.

[wisteriagoesvroom]

For the trope mashup thing whatever: arranged marriage and neighbors 👀 - CX

again not one i would've picked but thank you for prompting it !! this also uh, got longer than i thought.

(from the prompts mash up - still taking submissions)

--------

“What do you mean your visa’s running out?” Lando asks.

“I’m Australian. Not a magician. Commonwealth only gets you so far.” 

“I thought you were here on a scholarship.”

“Well. Yeah. But scholarships stop. Once you graduate.” 

Lando toes the doorway rug. It feels weird to be talking about this in the middle of the hallway, though the only other person who would be listening might be Mrs. Kapoor, and half the time it’s only because she sticks her head out to ask if Lando or Oscar would take one of her mystery vegan curries. Lando is neither a huge fan of vegan food nor curry, and he trusts Oscar’s word for it that it’s good because they eat it while playing Gran Turismo at Lando’s place. But Lando always accepts the curries nonetheless, because his parents raised him to be polite, and he wasn’t raised in a barn. (Even if he technically grew up in converted farmhouse in the countryside, but that was besides the point.)  Either way, this is slipping away from him much quicker than he’d anticipated. Late night hangouts, dropping mail and post-it notes, text messages about the community garden. The most inane smalltalk about things big and small from the origins of moths to whether aliens were out there or just chose to ignore the +44 area code. Oscar always laughing in the right places when Lando regales him about tales of his terrible online dating stories, Oscar always picking the pickles out of the roast beef bagels before he passes one to Lando. The corner of Lando’s sofa that Lando has started to think of as Oscar’s because he’s there so often, reading one of his books or trying to speedread a JSTOR article about the lifecycle of urban pathogens while Lando worked on artwork for his upcoming store launch. 

Lando’s synapses are firing too fast. His brain did that most days, and that was what made him exceedingly good at his job, and today in particular - it doesn’t feel like there’s any logical way out. 

Lando remembers that movie they watched once though. As a joke. The one they both pretended not to enjoy, with Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds in Alaska. The one they watched when Oscar sat next to Lando on the sofa, and they both pretended the entire night that their knees weren’t touching. 

His therapist said he had a tendency to get ahead of himself when under stress. But it’s a joke, it’s not serious, there’s no way—

“We could just like, get married.”

Lando shoves his hands in his pockets. That came out way more calm and cooler than he thought it actually would.  And to his credit, Oscar doesn’t drop his mug of tea. Lando knows that’s his favourite one, because Lando got it for him, and it says Science is my superpower. Oscar does, however, slightly shift his grip on the mug.

“I feel like it’d be complicated to explain to my mum why I randomly married my upstairs neighbour?” 

“But it’s not a no.”

Oscar tilts his head. There’s a glimmer of something focused, maybe even hungry in his eyes. Oscar gets like that when his mind turns, when he’s working on an especially difficult thesis, when the pieces are forming and he can lock into the crucial details.

Lando is a little alarmed at how much he already recognises it, and how much more often he’d like to draw that reaction out. 

“If the facts don’t fit the theory, then reexamine the facts. Right?” Oscar says.

And Lando is there, in the doorway. Conscious that Mrs Kapoor might’ve heard everything, but all the more conscious that there’s a hammering in his heart that he can’t tell is nervousness, or anticipation. 

What’s the stress limit for a joke you’re probably already pushing too far? Lando thinks.

He isn’t sure.

But maybe it’s a thesis worth testing out.  

-------------

(and ok maybe i cheated a little on arranged marriage but i think this is the closest i could get with the contemporary context. thank you @cx-boxbox for the prompt <3)

[exitoath]

Danse was a Courser

Paladin Danse is later on revealed within the game Fallout 4 to be a synth (sorry for spoilers but it came out nearly 10 years ago) Danse had no idea he was a synth, and because of that it is likely he had lost his memory due to the railroad OR that the institute put him there as a sleeper agent as they have replaced people before. The only problem with this is that individuals who have been replaced by the institute aren't given as much of a highlight as people who escape or people who believe they are synths or people who are believed to be synths. The only individuals we seem to interact with otherwise are mostly people who have disconnected from the institute via the railroad, there are reports that individuals do get replaced, but those tend to be from people who actually are working for the institute and not individuals who are aware of this.

With this in mind, it is likely Danse was a synth who managed to escape and be part of the Railroad. How did Danse get into the brotherhood and become a paladin? If the Sole Survivor can become a sentinel within a year (likely less) , the authority that is above Danse, then Danse could've gotten there pretty quickly himself.

Now let's compare Danse to some of the other cast. Knight Rhys for starters, Danse is not only in a position above him as his commanding officer, but also Danse seems to be a lot more level headed and has more disciplined of a character who cares just as much for the brotherhood identity as Rhys does, but in such a way that is not fueled by intense emotions. Danse welcomes you in if you do well, which you do, and Rhys wants to push you away because he simply doesn't have a good feeling about you. (and rightfully so because you could easily turn your back on the brotherhood, but he doesn't know that.)

What about another synth? All the synths, whether or not they escaped with the railroad, are very different from Danse. Their temperaments range from anxious to friendly, they adopt the culture they have been given or are existing within. Nick is a detective, Dima develops a kind heart whose goals are equitable with the Railroad, Glory is rough around the edges but is overall a mellow individual, so on.

X6-88 and the other coursers however, they seem to match the personality of Danse perfectly. Danse already talks like a robot, his common lines are "outstanding" or "affirmative", carrying out orders perfectly as assigned - even to the point where when he finds out he's a synth he allows you to kill him. X6 has a similar problem too, he obviously feels something outside of what Synths are supposed to, he's human in that way, but he maintains his identity alongside the institute, that's just who he is.

You can only pick up a single courser chip from Z2-47, and they are known to be very difficult and rare to collect from Coursers alongside that. Other coursers don't drop these.

Danse, alongside his skill set and personality, is perfect to be a courser.

Now, alongside the railroad theory, how is Danse not recognized by the other members of the Railroad? Well, for starters, you don't meet everyone you find in the Railroad. The Railroad expands their horizons as far out as the capital wasteland from the commonwealth, it's likely that the people who did work to rescue Danse are either dead, weren't the big players you know now, or simply in a different location.

Imagine Danse clearing out railroad headquarters, hunting for rouge synths. Capturing one, "outstanding."

[nukacoola]

Omfg I know I’m shouting into the void but every Fallout fan needs to read the journals of the Railroad leaders from P.A.M.’s mainframe terminal. There’s that huge theory that Deacon is the lone wanderer but he was actively, documentedly, doing stuff in the Commonwealth before, during, and after Fo3’s events jfc. I feel like I’ve uncovered sacred texts with untold secrets but they are fully available both in game and online.

The timeline does match up for Pinkerton in Rivet City to be Pinky from the Commonwealth Railroad tho which I fully believe.

[brf-rumortrackinganon]

What does that have to do with a new interview?

That Harry's fans are using it as proof of the "invisible contract" and "William showing which side he's really on"

1. Do you understand the argument you’re making? In case you don’t, let me spell it out for you. You’re saying that The Prince of Wales - the future King, the UK’s next head of state, the future leader of the commonwealth - can’t speak to his constituents because the 200-person cult that worships of his nobody brother who lives on an entirely different continent in an entirely different country will argue it’s proof of a conspiracy theory.

Sure. Let’s let William organize the next 40 years of his life based on what his brother’s fan club might do or say.

2. You do realize that Harry’s claims of “the invisible contract” is actually censorship, right? Harry never cared about “the invisible contract” as long as he personally benefited and profited from it. But the second there was criticism, he was suddenly against it and suddenly demanding the palace reform its media strategy to promote the small indie voices (aka the ones that praised him and Meghan) and cancel the big traditional publications (the ones that criticized him and Meghan).

And by the way, how do you think that’s going? Where are all these small, diverse, indie voices that he and Meghan promised to uplift the Megxit manifesto? Because let me tell you - People, Vanity Fair, Page Six, the Daily Beast, The Cut, and Omid Scobie are not it.

3. Who cares?

[badkarma1998]

Hey kid.

Yeah you.

You wanna read a long winded conspiracy theory for 2008 classic open world first person RPG Fallout 3?

Ok so I know it's been literally 17 years, and we all know that Bethesda has questionable writing, but I was thinking about a revalation I had recently at 7pm in a Dell Taco drive thru.

So I was replaying the main questline, and as anyone who's played Fallout 3 50 times over knows, it goes as so:

you leave Vault 101, you go find your dad, and then he dies like 1 quest later when the Enclave shows up to steal Project Purity. And as we all know, you watch your dad die (along with everyone else whos standing in the death chamber with him) from a massive release of radioactive gas from behind a thin pane of glass. You watch it happen, it's infuriating sad and sucks and you run away devastated to go continue the game's second wild goosechase.

And as we all know, when you do find the GECK in vault 87 and the Enclave ambushes you, who shows up?

Fuckass Colonel Autumn.

Who, if you'll remember, was standing right next to your dad in the radioactive death chamber when it filled with radiation and death. Who very clearly falls over dead right in front of you, but then somehow shows up fully alive to abduct you a few quests later.

Which is, ya know, bullshit?

This man has like 5 voicelines, and gets to cheat death while I get to have secondhand daddy issues, but sure, ok Todd.

So of course, I start thinking of possible explanations, cuz it's been a few years and I remembered he kidnaps you and all that, but I was thinking "surely he was standing outside the chamber when James starts the project purity meltdown", only to confirm that, no. You clearly watch him die.

And again, it's totally unfair that your dad dies but this two second bad guy gets to live? To antagonize you for a lil bit until you beat his ass like an hour later???

I digress

So I'm thinking ok, how does one survive radiation that intense?

It'd be obvious if he was a ghoul or a mutant, so that's out. And the only other thing I could come up with would be if he were a robot.

And then, because it's a fresh playthrough, I remember the android questline in Rivet City I've been ignoring. A quest that I basically wrote off as a teen because it was before Fallout 4 came out, and I didn’tcare about what a Commonwealth was until Dr Li left for it. But synths are very much an established thing in 3. Sure, the events take place about a decade before 4, so the tech is a little less advanced. But Harkness is living a full unsuspecting life as a man convincingly enough that Zimmerman can't find him. The synth technology is proven to be at a state where theyre indistinguishable (enough) from people. Sure, the institute is way north and it's a biiit of a strech to think there's two androids that made it down to DC, let alone that one of them is inexplicably in the hands of the Enclave leading it in a position of power. But like, it's not impossible right?

So I go to reddit, cuz I wanna know what the real answer is before I get too lost in my little theory.

And I just

Yall

I know Fallout 3 gets a bad rep. And like, in many ways it deserves it.

This is one of those times it deserves it.

Because Todd Howard's underpaid typewriter monkeys would really have my ass believe that this middle aged man storms a research facilitly the second it becomes operational after 20 years. Then, with no idea the lead researcher is a self destructive idealist, this man preemptively last min doses himself with an experimental never before heard of strain of rad-x he happened to bring with him, and that actually makes him immune to the lethal rush of condensed radiation that he had no way of knowing was about to kill him.

Now. Idk about yall. But I think its much more believable that say, a rouge institute scientist steals a synth, then runs away to join the Enclave down south. and maybe the actual living man that was Colonel Autumn sees an opportunity for immortality of sorts, and does everyone's favorite scifi trope, and uploads a copy of his brain into the convincingly human robot body. And either the original Autumn dies in project purity, or he was dead before, but the synth Autumn has no idea he's a synth and is just acting like he never died.

Its a stretch, sure. It's got some holes in it, of course.

But the alternative is the only known dosage ever of extra strength rad-x pm

Now, imagine that one reaction of the guy in the drive thru talking to the fast food worker, and hes got the sunglasses taped to his head and the worker looks horrified. Except the fast food worker was inside assembling my wife's carne asada fries while I ranted to my steering wheel.

[theology101]

Fallout 4 Enhanced, part 2 - minor factions

People seemed to like part 1 so I'm going in for round two! Last time, we discussed the main endings for the Commonwealth with the primary factions but we all know that there is more to the Commonwealth than that. We're talking small fry this time. Let's go with the new kids on the block

Gunners

In the base game, Gunners are just higher-level, better-armed Raiders. They're a well organized 'Mercanary' group with multiple outposts connected via Radio at Gunner's Plaza. They seem to be either new immigrants to the Commonwealth or (if the Vault 75 theory is true) have only just emerged. Personally, I think they're moving in from the South - most of their territory is located in the south of the Commonwealth, baring a few outposts further north that are well fortified.

They're plot irrelevant save for one thing: they're responsible for the Quincy Massacre, polishing off the Minutemen, and sending Preston Garvey running North. That is it. There is no major quests for them, no one comments if you wipe them out - you don't even know who their clients are. Okay, that's not true - the Diamond City robot chef hired them to steal a Deathclaw egg and Old Man Stockton (and thus the Railroad by consequence) protects his caravans. Every other client is a mystery. A common theory is the Institute but they would have to recognize that Stockton's activities, especially because his use to the Railroad is through his trade network.

So we have a group of highly militant if disorganized gang of private soldiers who have beef with the Minutemen and aren't scared of the Commonwealth's boogieman.

I think they should've been joinable or at the very least interactable. If I approach one of their bases, they should tell me to back off and leave, threaten me, etc. Just opening fire on every random person is what makes them just raiders. Should they suddenly be friendly? Absolutely not, despite their relationship with Stockton (and how I want the Railroad to be more focussed on slavery in general) the Gunners are canonically slavers so if a Gunner patrol comes across you in a random encounter, have them open dialogue to try and kidnap Sole, or have Minutemen quests to rescue kidnapped settlers

I also don't think they should have a single "Boss". Maybe a client who is specifically targeting the Minutemen for some fucking reason (Maybe it's a Drug Kingpin out of Goodneighbor, or some rich raider boss - or maybe they did it on their own volition because the Minutemen made it harder to do their job) but I think for every single operation they have in the game (Which is when they're specifically doing something, like being in Mass Fusion, Hallucigen or Greentech, and not holding territory) there should be a client that we can find in the game, and they should have a reason to do it.

The Gunners can also fulfill something that Fallout 4 desperately needed: an act 4. Now that X has claimed the Commonwealth, the Gunners being dealt with are probably high up on their list of actually establishing control. In part 1, I talked about how the Battle of Quincy should be this big epic battle involving multiple major factions as Quincy is taken back once and for all, freeing the captured townspeople and taking back the commonwealth - the Gunners are kinda just Bad Guys to Kill. But you know what? Great. Give them more men, more machine guns, etc. After that, taking Gunner Plaza should have had a major impact on the Commonwealth - the Gunners could no longer communicate between groups, the Minutemen Radio had further range than ever before, and their leadership was decapitated. This should send them scrambling - maybe even warranting a force from outside the commonwealth coming in to relieve their comrades. I think the Gunner-Minuteman war would've been dope

Children of Atom

The Children of Atom are Great. I love them. They're silly, cool, and low-key, right? Like, Eldritch Entitities exist in Fallout and they are typically related to radiation. This is just canon, there are beings beyond our comprehension who exist outside of our Reality.

But that's not important - why are they all so angry?

When I rock up to Kingsport Lighthouse, I want to talk to them and say "Hey, I support your religion, but can I make a settlement here?" and then BOOM! Unlocked Children Of Atom Settlement Items. Simple as, they're just a religion, I can allow them in my settlements - just stay away from the water, okay? Some of the radiant quests should just be going to your settlements and figuring out a solution between the Children of Atom and your settlers / Brotherhood / Institute. This goes double if you are a full member up in Far Harbor (which, legit I will not touch it cause it's great) as you spread your religion across the Commonwealth. Or at the very least, you tolerate them and control them

It's wild to me that they're hostile on-site. If I rock up to the Crater House to get baptized, they should let me be baptized! It's weird that they're just on-site for NO REASON! I want to see Children of Atom in every major city (they know the most about energy so they run the power grid, we just have to put up with the preaching) and follow every major caravan (they can help with a lot of radiation diseases on the road) to make the Church of Atom something that you might actually look at and go "Oh hey yeah that seems like a good idea."

Interestingly, I think they could be an ally for the Railroad of all people. If they give a Synth the identity of a Children of Atom Follower, they can live fine (some are immune to radiation, some aren't, it depends) in the Glowing Sea.

I could also see the Children of Atom and the Brotherhood of Steel having an Adeptus Mechanicus-Adeptus Astartes kind of relationship. Like, they view the Brotherhood as Atom's Fury taking and holding Atom's holy relics from Abominations. Oh, and by the way - the Children of Atom Cult almost took over the Commonwealth the winter before we woke up. Maybe some people should bring that up, especially because a peaceful variant of the faith won out in the end.

Raider Gangs

This pisses me off so much, cause Bethesda did the work to give each of the raider bosses personal beef and relationships with each other and have fairly consistent borders/areas of control that they work with - and then didn't do anything with them. There are six major factions of Raiders. I'm just going to briefly describe them, their attitudes and what I would change

Tourette Gang - They occupy the Federal Ration Reserve, so they should be incredibly well-armed, well-armored, and well-fed. The group is kept small and they focus on longe range weapons to make sure no one they dislike can get too close. Hate Tower Tom's gang, should wear surplus military or police gear. Near no major trade lines, but also don't need to be.

Beantown Boys - Tower Tom's group, they are sitting near no major trade or supply lines, and the only reason they're alive is that they can sell bear to Triggermen, other Raiders and also hold Red Tourette's Sister hostage (actually dead) so Red keeps sending them food. Sent people all the way out to BADFTL and they can see the writing on the walls and that a gang led by drunks is not going to thrive. Because they're so drunk, they focus more on melee weapons or things where they don't need to aim all too much like shotguns or machine guns

Boston Bandits - Led by Bosco, these Raiders should be the most 'classic' raiders. Controlling the majority of Boston and a chunk of Cambridge, his gang shouldn't have a particular focus, just to sell home that they're generic. Wide range of loot from the better equiped and skilled to the randos who just joined up. They should also have a BUNCH of traps to defend themselves from the ‘Beast’

Libertalia - this gang is different, led by a former Minuteman and his company, these guys should still have their laser muskets, Minuteman outfits, etc. For a group in the 'slow decline from guardians into raiders' they seem to have adopted the tattoos and grisly displays pretty damn fast. These Raiders should seem a lot more well maintained, more hygienic - probably a lot less chems too.

The Forged - The Forged are actually great, wish I could've seen em more though.

Judge Zeller - He tortures people into working for him until they're insane and fanatics. That to me sounds like either they sprint in with knives like crazy people or just insane spray-and-pray types. Lets give them automatic weapons and grenades to see what happens

I doubt the Engine could've handled it, but it would've been cool seeing these factions fighting over Raider camps and stuff after we clear it out, see how the territory changes through our actions and the various gangs. Giving them a unique feel on top of gang war violence is just fun.

Special mention to the Triggermen who really seemed like they would be important, but just weren't. I want them to act as the unofficial middleman between Raiders and Goodneighbor - Goodnighbor as a respectable trading town would never sell to violent evil raiders.... but they sell to the Triggermen and they don't have such compunctions. I'd also like to see a few of them lurking around Diamond City, giving the city a bit of crime or occasionally showing up in your settlements as black market salesmen

Caravan Collective

This is a new faction, but I could also call it Bunker Hill Plus. There are several traders and they’re all based out of Bunker Hill but in spite of that, there is no organization. No collective trade power. Nothing like Crimson Caravan or the Mojave Express. I think that the Caravan Collective should be a sorta rump state to the Commonwealth Provisional Government - while the actual government collapsed, the organized trade network and regulations that they made has survived the massacre

They shouldn’t have the big of an effect on the story - maybe a quest were you help Old Man Stockton root out Institute Spies - but negotiating them to go to your settlements instead of them just appearing one day. Similarly, the traders should pop up in Goodneighbor or Diamond City instead of just settlements and Bunker Hill. With the deal Bunker Hill has with the Raiders, they can travel pretty much unimpeded. This faction won’t be claiming the commonwealth, but they should have a presence and a decent size of Caravan security - if you don’t mess with them, they won’t mess with you

Super Mutants

These guys are unique amongst Super Mutants as they have no methods to reproduce themselves. Out west, there are a number of FEV vaults out there making more, though it’s rare - and in DC they have a whole Vault to make more, while the Appalachian guys have a few sources.

All Super Mutants in the Commonwealth come from the Institute’s experiments. And by “Experiments” i mean Shaun intentionally destabilizing the region, Virgil himself says they aren’t accomplishing anything. Super Mutants are just made from random kidnapped people, a Synth replaces them and the mutant is set to rampage. And I think that these mutants should be aware of that fact.

All Super Mutants are communalist and love each other as ‘Brothers’ - basically Warhammer Orks - but these brothers no that they are a limitted supply. I don’t think these super mutants should be any smarter then their cousins, but perhaps more cautious? They can’t just make more, every Super Mutant is a rare resource. Suicide Super Mutants; while cool, don’t fit this model but every society needs its Lunatics

I even think you should be able to make a deal with them if you’re the Institute - promise them to keep filling up their numbers, and in exchange get an army of green shocktroops. The Institute doesnt care if the Greenskins rampage about - if anything, the Institute is already the Super Mutant’s greatest ally

Up Next - Companions and/or Settlements