#fo4 theories

[somethingaboutmint]

Fallout theories ranking. If you're wondering about the placement of these feel free to ask but you will not change my mind

[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.

[labotor]

"Have you ever questioned your humanity?"

[fallout-new-mudkip]

My Fallout Head Cannon!

The Vault Tec Rep's name is Ed.

Mentats taste like Smarties candy.

Charon's haunted past includes helping Paradise Falls. He was brainwashed though so he had no control.

Pariah Dog is a descendant of the original Dogmeat.

ED-E can use a microwave setting on his lasers.

MacCready takes Sole's pipboy as they sleep to play games on it.

Curie and Preston get along really well, as they both like helping people. She works as a medic at The Castle.

Curie likes reading to Strong. He's always wanting to hear Shakespeare, of course.

Charon hates small spaces.

Preston dislikes Hancock because he does chems around Mama Murphy.

When MacCready lied to his wife about being a soldier, he was inspired by the Lone Wanderer, who'd joined the Brotherhood of Steel.

Kellogg hates the Enclave personally.

The Courier is bilingual. Speaks English and Spanish.

Arcade has hit ED-E with a tennis racket before.

Sole and their spouse met in college. Nate dropped out and joined the military.

Another settlement needs your help. Here, I'll mark it on your map.

[sniperdadmaccready]

This is how MacCready got the VIP room at the Third Rail. No I don't take constructive criticism.

[ozymandiaskingoftrash]

Genuine question although I do agree, Nick rolling up his sleeves, breaking out the elbow grease, and getting creative for getting off is very fun and largely untapped fic potential: What're your thoughts on writing Nick using that one crotch port Early Gen Synths have for sex? If he doesn't have that under his plating or it doesn't accommodate traditional penetration methods, I think he gets a little jealous that he can't experience being penetrated from the waist down, but he's not like super broken up about it.

So sorry this is late! This is the best thing I've ever been asked in my life so please feel free to ask me for more of my opinions about synth sex lol

My bet is that the port would not accommodate traditional penetration methods, and I agree Nick would probably be a little sad about it, because he's a curious person and wants to know what it feel like.

I totally don't mind the idea of him using the port during sex because that's a part of him already, and he's just finding a new purpose for it.

And to be fair, I don't hate the idea of Nick getting a genital modification on its face. But usually when it shows up in fics, it's framed like Nick needs it, or needs a Gen 3 body, in order to be a "real person," or to be worthy of desire. I totally understand Nick believing that because he struggles with self-loathing, but the narrative should NEVER reinforce that belief.

[willinglyghoulified]

When Hancock's too high and having The Thoughts TM.

"Why the fuck did the bugs get so big, but the food didn't? You know how much world hunger you could solve if the food had grown as big as the fuckin' bugs? So anyways, that's why we eat bugs."

"Not to be 'that guy,' but your ceilin' fan turned into Radscorpions on a merry-go-round."

"Hey, that guy in the trench coat is tryin' to sell me some stolen squirrels, and he's bein' pushy about it. ... Whaddya mean you don't see him? He's right the- A coat rack? Oh, yeah, I knew that. I was just makin' sure you knew that. Just don't buy anything it's sellin'."

"I dunno, those clouds are turnin' into one of the best strip teases I've ever been to."

"The floor literally put my foot in its mouth, I ain't movin', sister."

"As soon as I give these tiny robots an autograph, we'll go. *signs bent cans*"

"This paper's broken, I can't fuckin' read it. ... No, it's not upside down. Wait, yeah. Shit, I already tried to read half of it on the balcony to the citizens. *laughing*"

"I thought I already understood math, but today changes everything."

"Either I'm really high or really feral, but you're startin' to smell pretty delicious."

"I just realized I think of myself in a third-person point of view at least twenty percent of the time."

"Super Mutants are probably more plant than animal. Think about it, they're both green and stupid."

"Orange Mentats taste like orange, but Grape Mentats taste like purple. Fucking why?"

[elvishdemigod]

So I have a theory on the real experiment behind Vault 111

Now, let's look at some facts we know:

Inhabitants of the pods were meant to be unaware that they were to be frozen.

There was only so much supplies before things had to be rationed and later gone.

We see nothing of an underground farm or ways to make their own food.

There was nothing telling of what to do if they ran out of food.

The purpose of Vault 111? To see if desperate people trapped in isolation, with dwindling rations, would result to cannibalism. And if so, then is FROZEN human meat edible?

No food, no freedom, no word from Vault-Tec, no backup. But plenty of frozen people. Frozen meat.

And with the vaults meant to experiment how people would function in what situations, how their bodies would fare, how their minds would lose sanity or gain more control, it's quite possible that this was meant to see if people would be willing to push past their morals to survive.

That may be what that one empty pod is, someone who had been eaten.

But whether it was one person sneaking a meal, or everyone tried and they couldn't no matter how hard they pushed themselves, it caused the inhabitants to rebel and try to leave. Whether Vault-Tec's hope was for people to result to a dark place for survival, or figure out how to survive without resulting to the route of eating their fellow man, who knows?

Either way, it's more messed up considering one of the pods had a 1-year-old baby in them.

[theflowerofthecommonwealth]

There, that’s my thought process of getting a canon height for the Synths in Fallout 4. Kinda hard to tell because neither of them two are standing straight in the picture, but I did my best to match up.

So yeah, Nick is probably towering over everyone in Diamond City. No wonder people are scared pants-less of him.

[lilacretrograde]

Why haven't I seen a fic where they explore the "Deacon is the Lone Wanderer" theory?

[analogbreakdown]

HOLY SHIT, WHAT?

You have a Guardian Angel, but with a deadly hand-cannon instead of wings. Meet the Mysterious Stranger, an odd and eldritch entity said to appear and aid you in combat before you draw your dying breath. Of course, it helps to have the Mysterious Stranger Perk first....

Fallout 3 Official Game Guide/Wasteland Census

The Mysterious Stranger is canonically an eldritch entity. Does this mean the Lonesome Drifter is possibly a demi-god? Does he possess the same power as his father???

On the topic, have a theory:

The Mysterious Stranger exclusively helps Vault Dwellers, descendants of Vault Dwellers, or people who wear vault suits for a certain period. His power can be passed from a Vault Dweller to a non-Vault Dweller. Doc Mitchell unknowingly passed on his summoning ability to the Courier, which allows the Courier to also access the chaos magic of Miss Fortune. This also explains the lack of the ability in Fallout Tactics and Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel, as those two games lack Vault Dweller player characters (not counting Patty since she's more a secret unlock)

[stoat-party]

If you’re not weird like me about Fallout lore, feel free to go ahead and ignore this post. Because some people play video games to play them, and not to systematically piece them together as a cohesive whole. And you don’t have to be a perfectionist about something before you’re allowed to enjoy it. But if you’re still reading, I’m forced to correct two Fallout theories I see all the time:

Deacon is not the Lone Wanderer.

Courier Six is not the Lone Wanderer.

A lot of people accept these headcanons and even build them into their OCs, which is why I was hesitant to rain on their parades. But my parade is being anal about lore, so allow me this little timeline dive. The Lone Wanderer left Vault 101 in August 2277, at 19 years old. The earliest confirmed Deacon sighting was late 2273, when he was already a full-fledged Railroad agent. There’s a pretty strong theory that he joined the Railroad much earlier, but regardless, he’s an old, old man (affectionate).

The Wanderer, of course, was studying for the GOAT at this time, so it’s hard to square the two without some serious shenanigans. The Courier’s past is a little more complex, but they have to have been active as a courier in early 2277 at the latest. According to Joshua, the Divide’s destruction happened before the First Battle of Hoover Dam, which took place in 2277:

There’s a reading I’ve heard where the Lone Wanderer finishes up the events of Fallout 3 before 2278 begins (which would just barely be possible with DLCs) and travels west in time to deliver the package. But Ulysses indicates that the Courier had an active involvement with the Divide for some time before it was destroyed.

So between August and January, the timeline would have to be: Leave Vault —> Finish all of Fallout 3 including Broken Steel —> Travel to California for some reason —> Become a mailman —> Travel enough to develop a city —> Blow up that city by accident —> Hoover Dam.

The only other explanation is that Ulysses is confidently wrong and he’s thinking of a different courier. Which is hilarious, and more power to you if you accept it as a headcanon, but it does do some violence to the Themes and whatnot.

(If you’re interested, here is my personal theory re. Deacon and the Lone Wanderer)

[hancocksbitch]

Feeling silly and relaxed today. That's a proper nice feeling, I live with chronically recurring depression and anxiety so whenever the clouds part I'm all here for it.

Getting a new Hancock tattoo tomorrow and looking forward to catch up and shoot the shit with the artist, he's an absolute sweetheart and always so much fun and great at what he does. I'd say half the fun is just hanging out!

And it was a long time, toooo long, since I got some new ink. Giddy like a kid before Christmas.

I'm laughing at how I wanted to try and describe the character of Mayor John Hancock, our sexy king of the zombies, the Robin Hood of the wastelands misfits, freaks and deviants and libertine extraordinare and wounded up hitting the poor guy with a wall of text he probably wasn't quite expecting. 😂

So, who is John Hancock?

Hancock has this kind of devil-may-care air about him. He's all drugs, sex and rock'n'roll, just replace the rock n roll part with close quarter combat...

He's sarcastic, witty and flirty. He call grown ass men and women "doll", "sunshine" , "pussycat" in conversation and gets away with it.

He doesn't give a flying fuck that he's a ghoul, he's as confident as a house cat. The kinda guy who seems taller than he actually is simply because of charisma ya know? His confidence doesn't stem from validation from others, rather it comes from knowing he "helps those who need helping and hurts those who need hurting" (that's one of his lines in game). Also, he's high as kite 98% of the time so that helps.

But he's likeable; he doesn't build himself up by tearing others down.

He's the definition of NON-toxic masculinity.

The ultimate bad boy, with a heart of gold and a combat knife in his boot ready to put a permanent smile on anyone who deserves it in the blink of an eye.

[thenamesgage]

it’s been three years and the only things that have changed is my autism diagnosis and the fact that I think about Charon just as much as I think about Gage now

SOMEONE HELP !

[m-u-n-c-h-y]

Preston/Gage is a really interesting dynamic - It's hard not to notice that they have a LOT in common, but stand on completely opposing sides especially when it comes to morality. Seeing as you're the only person I can find who actually ships these two, I just wanted your thoughts on how those two might work in more than just a hatefuck/bad-time situation? Especially considering Preston's history and trauma relating to raiders. Even if it's not a romantic/sexual way, just both working for Sole and not tearing each other apart?

Oh you sweet summer child, you have opened the flood gates lmao

In all seriousness, the similarities are by design. My friend and I (we're like the only two people that actively ship them), noticed a while ago that Gage and Preston are written to be narrative foils. They're very similar in their over arching goals, wants, motives, backstories, etc. But they're complete opposites when it comes to their morals and personalities. And that's on purpose. They're differences contrast each other to highlight them, and make them easier to spot and see, usually for the main character. In this case it's us, the player.

Basically, my friend and I often say that they both believe that community is the best at surviving. But for Preston it's about working together and helping to rebuild and defend, while for Gage it's about power and taking what you need (survival of the fittest, but community style).

In terms of working together? Oh boy, I've got a lot of thoughts.

Particularly, I have a bunch of AUs where Preston is forced by Gage to become the Overboss, and AUs where Gage is forced to work under the Sole Survivor. A lot of the time, their working together is due out of pure necessity. Mostly because Gage is threatening innocent people either outright or just by his presence alone (plot related stuff).

It's always very tense and usually there's a major threat if one lets the other die, forcing them both to behave. Preston and Gage in terms of actually fighting and working together is interesting. Preston is used to a more long ranged, structured, and defensive style, while Gage is more close quarters, chaotic, and aggressive (which is actually reflected a little in their companion perks). And both of them seem to prefer planning strategies and working with teams. So, they actually compliment each other. When they're not arguing over everything that is.

But in terms of... expressing themselves, actually talking to each other? It's a bit of a toss up. A lot of the time, when they aren't arguing or insulting each other, both like to slap down truth bombs every once in a while. Making the other see a new perspective, even if they don't want to. Preston pointing out Gage's unwillingness to trust anyone, while Gage points out that trusting no one got him this far in the first place. Gage being the first in line to criticize setters for always needing help, making them weak and unable to defend themselves. Preston in turn, criticizes raiders for their overzealous belief in taking rather than building, growing, stabilizing, which just makes them just as weak. Both not realizing that the other is working towards trying to change that. Trying to get their respective factions to grow strong enough to be self sufficient.

I also think, weirdly, they would be willing to defend the other when it comes to people criticizing their work ethics. They're both hard working, they both get shit done, they're competent. And to question that of either man, sets the other off. They may hate each other, but both of them have a willingness to put work in, to (excuse the language here) pull themselves up by the bootstraps and get shit done. It's a weird respect they both share.

In terms of trauma... it's hard. So damn hard. They were both betrayed, horribly so, basically left to die. Gage took away the idea that he can't trust anyone, but also still looking for people to just listen to him. While Preston was left with so many feelings of worthlessness and bitterness, yet he still wants to find a way to help.

In many of my AUs, I like to imagine a scenario where both of them, being forced to work together, have to confront Clint. And it always ends with Gage taking Preston's side. Not because most of my aus involve them being in some kind of fucked up relationship, but because Gage would HATE Clint. On principal. Which, I think says a lot about Gage's character.

I could go on and on, but that's just my present thoughts atm. I'm thinking of making a general Fallout discord server that focuses more on lore and fandom, so if anyone would be interested in more of my ramblings about my specific AUs and weird little ships, I'll definitely be posting an invite link soon. In the mean time, feel free to just poke my brain about Preston/Gage (or Preston/Maxson cause I ship that too lmaoooo), or any of my AUs. I've got a lot of them.

[imagine-silk]

Deacon + historic

Okay this one is going to be different. Imma go over a theory I find interesting for Fallout. There's this theory Deacon was pre-war.

He knows a lot about old things. Book and TV references, normal day activities, pass-times, like a stupid amount of things you don't notice because to you, yeah duh, but 200 years into the apocalypse it shouldn't and isn't duh.

Outside the vault there's a stakeout spot looking straight at the entrance. If you were from there you might hang onto the spot as the only thing to connect to your novel experience. Then someone pops out. Scary.

No one knows where he comes from and he doesn't tell anyone, ever. And he's not a synth. In theory he has nothing to hide, it's his choice to.

This man shrouded in secrets who has been apart of the Railroad for years hasn't said shit about himself to any of them but he does to Sole, someone who gains his trust. Might be a relation thing, shared experience and so forth.

There's more but I can't remember. So that's that.