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John Hancock - Blog Posts
This is absolutely ridiculous but it’s so much fun to do
I’m sorry I’m bad at getting things done have some WIPs
I drew my man John Hancock
"Hancock has no regrets about becoming a ghoul"??
It baffles me when some people think Hancock has zero regrets about becoming a ghoul. Absolutely none at all apparently. Like yeah, he plays it up when you first meet him before he's a companion, but let's be real he plays up pretty much everything in regards to the whole "sexy king of the zombies" image he projects.
It takes travelling with you away from Goodneighbor to give him some time to be introspective for him to finally realize that him becoming a ghoul was just another escape route from himself again. He's got several lines of dialogue that literally reiterate this. It's a key point of his character:
Hell, running from myself is what made me into… into a damn Ghoul.
Well, I mean, I didn't always look this good. The drug that did this to me, that made me a Ghoul, I knew what it was going to do.
I just couldn't stand looking at the bastard I saw in the mirror anymore.
The coward who'd let all those Ghouls from Diamond City die. Who was too scared to protect his fellow drifters from Vic and his boys.
If I took it, I'd never have to look at him again. I could put that all behind me. I'd be free. Didn't seem like a choice at all. Turns out it was just me running from somethin' else in my life.
I mean, after reaching max affinity with you, he realizes that maybe it wasn't such a bad thing after all (because he's finally got an honest friend he can be open with now). He now feels comfortable where he is - but to imply that he doesn't have at least the tiniest amount of regret? Heck, if you go onto romance him (or attempt to), he stops referring to himself as handsome and literally starts calling himself ugly, which naturally goes entirely against the image he projects:
Why don't we just agree to keep it friendly for now or till they find a cure for ugly? Heh.
You don't want to wake up to this mug every morning. Never wish that on anyone I cared for.
You sure you want to be stuck with this ugly mug?
(You could even say he implies it beforehand with another line of dialogue elsewhere in-game when he says "I'd be mad too if I was that ugly." But that's a stretch I guess.)
Combine that with the fact that 99% of ghouls don’t choose to become ghouls. Hancock did. But he didn't do it for a fun experience. He was already in a bad place when he became a ghoul. He didn't turn to be cool and edgy like he pretended he did when first getting to know him.
He lost his appearance, any connections to his old identity and old friends/people he might’ve been associated with (for better or worse), and in return gained hostility from bigots towards him for merely existing, from an overwhelming majority of the Commonwealth population that hates ghouls. There's the Institute and Brotherhood who want to kill anyone like him on top of that. Plenty of people out there who think he and other ghouls are monsters for just being alive.
Not only that, but something which adds onto this is the fact that he's a client of the Memory Den, and they're very selective with their customers. And what's the whole point of the Memory Den? Reliving past memories. Irma's terminal entry about Hancock, as well as the other two ghoul clients Kent and Daisy, all imply the memories they go back to relive are primarily from their human days. (The one on Hancock straight up says "if you thought he was handsome and dangerous now, you should've seen him before he turned ghoul.")
I genuinely refuse to believe that Hancock has never had any regret whatsoever about becoming a ghoul. The man who's spent a decent chunk of his life running from his own problems instead of confronting them, has NO regrets about taking a drug that alters his entire being and functionality on a biological level and will force him to outlive everyone he knows? This man is FULL of regrets!
The thing about Deacon, Danse, and Hancock that I find most relatable is the fact that they are surrounded by so many people they get along with, but yet don’t consider anyone a friend (except maybe Hancock) until Sole.
It’s like they put themselves out there by offering to be Sole’s companion with subconscious hope that it may lead to somewhere (although they may not be sure where or that’s why they are doing it). And then it pays off in the end.
(And they didn’t offer that to just anyone.)
companions react to sole crying when they raise their voice at them
AWW this one's sad
For clarity I'm going with the idea that the companions aren't yelling at Sole out of anger (like, a low affinity talk) but more like they're either scolding Sole over something minor ("you could have gotten hurt! Be careful!") or ranting out loud about something unrelated and Sole is very sensitive to that sort of thing!
Companions react: Sole crying when yelled at
Includes Cait, Codsworth, Curie, Deacon, Desdemona, Danse, Hancock, Haylen, Maccready, Nick, Piper, Preston, Rhys, X6-88
Cait
Uhh. Fuck.
Cait is probably Least Capable of dealing with a crying person
First instinct might be to use tough love because that's what she uses on herself and it works fine
Like "Oh come on suck it up, it wasn't even that bad"
Actually starts to feel bad after a few moments though and will change trajectory into something more gentle
Gladly lets Sole have alone time if they ask because she really needs a minute to try and think of what to say
If Sole comes back completely ignoring what happened she'll also ignore it, but if they continue to seem upset she'll make the first move and actually apologizes
Very awkward with it, every sentence is like she's testing the waters for Sole's reaction.
The apology IS genuine, though, and Sole can tell just by how awkward she is about it. She won't just brush it off if Sole won't brush it off.
Codsworth
IMMEDIATE GUILT
Poor Codsworth would do a complete 180 and start comforting Sole
Sort of has a hard time if they want to be alone to collect themself, he's worried they'll hate him forever (he has a bit of separation anxiety after being alone for 200 years)
Will note exactly what made Sole cry and will never talk about that topic with that voice again
Like if they cried because he was worried about them getting hurt every interaction like that afterwards will be "You NEED to take better care of - I mean, please take better care of yourself please"
Curie
If Curie is raising her voice at Sole she's probably scolding them for not taking care of their health
She wants them to take care of themself but she didn't mean to make them so guilty they cry!!
She'll immediately comfort them and apologize for being so strict
100% mom friend, will not stop apologizing and trying to make it up to them via food and comfort
Gives Sole a hug and a forehead kiss and tucks them into bed with a warm cup of soup. Maybe cries a little
Probably tries to stand up for them on their behalf in the future, like if someone yells at them she'll scold the person yelling for being mean
Deacon
Ah shit
Deacon prides himself on being able to stay calm during conflict and read the other persons facial expressions, it's his job after all
But anger always managed to get to him somehow, and it made him ignore the small signs that Sole was getting stressed out
He wasn't even upset at them, he was just having a bad day, but he knew he fucked up the second their face scrunched up and they looked away
They're crying. Sole is crying because of him
Might try to fix things by making jokes but if he realizes Sole is genuinely upset he'll probably end up leaving and giving Sole their space
He leaves them to cry for a while and comes back once they've calmed down so he can sincerely apologize
Tries to make Sole feel better for the next few days by pulling some strings
Their favorite animal is brahmin? What a coincidence, Des is telling us to go to a safe house with a huge brahmin farm! They really like Blamco Mac and Cheese? Deacon just found a HUGE stash behind HQ, we better eat it!
Desdemona
Just kinda. Freezes.
This never happened before?? And either she doesn't really know Sole that well (agents faces tend to get confusing since so many come and go) and doesn't know what to say, or they're like, the best agent in the Railroad and she's very worried that she managed to make them cry.
Tries to brush it off as smoothly as possible and excuses them somewhere private to calm down so at least they're not crying in front of everyone
If she's closer with Sole she'll actively search them out herself and apologize directly
If not she'll honestly probably go to Deacon or someone first being like "Are they pissed at me?? Should I apologize or do I pretend it didn't happen?"
Might take the silent approach of giving Sole less work/more support and makes the mental reminder not to yell at them
Danse
Listen, this man is used to reprimanding people. He can practically do it in his sleep
But when he hears Sole burst into tears? He immediately loses all train of thought
He's probably the type of person to go "... Are you crying?" because this has never really happened to him before
Super worried that he's pushed Sole too far, regrets even yelling at them in the first place
Doesn't really know what to do, ends up waiting for Sole to make the first move (explain themself, run away, etc)
If he isn't as close with Sole he'll probably hesitantly give them space - it's what he would want if he burst into tears
If they're close/romanced he'll default to trying to talk to them and calm them down
He is a bit awkward and tends to fumble a lot, so Sole may have to be direct with what they need from him (Space, comfort, apology, etc) but Danse will do basically anything to get them to calm down
Like a person who is very bad at dealing with a crying toddler: "no no don't cry... Here's some candy... and twenty bucks... we can get ice cream if you want just please stop crying"
Hancock
I imagine Hancock to be a pretty touchy guy, so if Sole started crying his go-to comfort is by hugging them or rubbing their arm/back
He has high energy and expresses himself loudly so he realizes that he can be overwhelming at times
He'll quiet down and focus on comforting them and getting them what they need
Absolute KING at respecting their space and autonomy
The only thing worse than crying is crying in public so he's bringing them to a quiet room and letting them cry it out distraction free. They make the tiniest action that seems like they don't want to be touched and he'll back off, no questions asked
Also a bit of the "poorly dealing with a crying toddler" person: "You want chems?? No? Candy?? Would it make you feel better if you punched me??"
Haylen
Very empathetic towards Sole, immediately switches to a "Oh, hey, come on, it's okay..." type of voice
She gets that the Brotherhood is overbearing and it can take a while to get used to being reprimanded/spoken to in such a harsh way
If she's spent a good amount of time around Sole she's probably pretty in tune with their emotional needs and can work with that
Sole won't even have to ask, she'll just show up with some hot chocolate and a blanket, or apologize, or pretend like it never happened, or any mixture of those
A little worried and overprotective of them for a while after, though, especially if she's already worried about their mental health
Might talk to them to try and see what's wrong or convince them to take a break
Maccready
Another member of the "Wait... are you crying?" group.
Panics, probably. Doesn't know what to do or what to say.
He'll end up apologizing to them either way
If he's close with Sole he's more likely to do so first and more quickly, if not he might wait to gauge Sole's reaction before talking to them
A little bit awkward but he's got the spirit, will probably try to understand what made them cry and what he can do to make sure it doesn't happen in the future
Will also do a sort of follow-up check in after the fact or if they're having a rough day some other time
Tries a lot to stay more in-tune with Sole's emotions and what makes them upset after this point so they don't end up crying again because of him
Nick Valentine
For Nick to raise his voice like that he'd probably have to be distracted in some way
Either thinking about his words and not his voice as he reprimands Sole or snapping about something unrelated that's on his mind
So he doesn't even realize Sole started crying until their tears manage to snap him out of his thoughts
He's the type to try and comfort them straight away by cautiously reaching in for a hug and apologizing
If Sole runs off or yells at him he takes it personally, getting upset at himself for making Sole so uncomfortable
He will eventually reach out to them and get them to talk about what's bothering them, even if it takes a while
He'll immediately step up and sincerely apologize, and then turn his focus onto Sole's mental health
He realizes Sole has A Lot going on and them crying was probably the result of many days/weeks/months of bottled up emotions
Piper
Sole crying stops her in her tracks and makes her re-think everything that's happened between them in the past 24 hours
Was it something she said?? Or something she did?? What did she do wrong!?
Depending on the situation will either try to explain herself ("I didn't mean it like that, no don't cry I was just joking I swear -") or immediately be worried for Sole and try to comfort them
Might take Sole needing alone time a bit personally, she'll end up worrying that they're REALLY mad at her
She feels like she's not the best at comforting people so she'll try to turn to acts of service/gifts to bring them comfort
Buying them their favorite food, carrying more of their items, giving them hugs, etc.
Preston
Almost confused at first
He's never had anyone shy away from him before - if anything people didn't take him seriously and tended to look down on him
So the fact that he managed to make Sole cry really made him reassess their entire conversation up to this point
Immediately apologizes and asks what's wrong because surely there has to be something else going on for them to cry like this, right?
If Sole doesn't give an explanation he'll default to assuming they're overtired and stressed from work
Probably ends up feeling guilty for every time he gave them more Minuteman-related work to do
Might end up in a bit of a self-deprecating spiral of "I pushed them too hard, now they're upset, it's all my fault, how the hell can I fix this..."
He'll really focus on being there for them, whatever they need.
Less work? He'll take on their load. Shoulder to cry on? He'll stay up all night for them. A warm hug? He won't let go until Sole lets go first.
Rhys
Laughs
Alright he's an asshole
Kind of goes on a power trip about it too
Like "Haha yes I made them cry. Because I am the strong alpha male of the group"
At some point might come to the conclusion, either through his own means or by Danse/Haylen calling him out, that he was being a little bit of an asshole
If he apologizes though it's extremely short and awkward.
Like "Hey. Uhh. Sorry for making you cry. Just don't do it again. It's weird." And never brings it up ever again
Alternatively, takes the "Older Brother When The Younger Brither Starts Crying" approach of "Don't tell Danse! I didn't even yell at you that much! You can punch me back so we're even just please stop crying dude Danse will hear you and he'll get mad at me"
X6-88
It stops him in his tracks
Part of him is freaking out because Oh God Someone Is Experiencing Emotions Around Me
And the other part of him is freaking out because He Made Sole Cry Uh-Oh
Will probably give Sole some space immediately and waits for them to calm down - he's never been good at dealing with emotional people
Once they're calm he'll revisit them with a peace offering of sorts, like a fancy lad snack cake or some tea or something
Very curt apology, hands them the gift, leaves a moment of silence as an opportunity for them to speak up about what made them cry if they want
Once that's over he'll just try and pretend it never happened while also keeping them safe from whatever else could trigger that
He'll try not to yell at them and actively avoid putting them in situations where they'll be yelled at again whenever possible
Fallout companions react to sole telling that they don't want to even lose them and then breakingdown. I need all the angst!
God, me too. As much as I say I hate angst, I'm definitely a sucker for it! This idea, especially, is super exciting for me since I feel like the Fallout 4 companions have a lot of opportunity for angst (I play through Nick's personal quest just to cry at the ending) Anyways, I hope you enjoy this one and it was worth the wait!
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Companions React to Sole Breaking Down - TW: Mentions of Addiction and Suicide
(Includes: Cait, Codsworth, Curie, Danse, Deacon, Hancock, MacCready, Nick, Piper, Preston and X6-88)
Cait She isn't really sure what brought this on. Cait knows she isn't great at keeping herself safe or even having much concern for her own wellbeing, but she hadn't realised that upset Sole so much. Was it the chems? Maybe how she often charges head first into battle. Whatever it is, she admittedly feels guilty, not realising Sole cared so much about her. She isn't the best at comforting people, but she tries her best to make Sole feel better and reassure them that she isn't going anywhere. It may result in some awkward shoulder pats, but it's the thought that counts, right?
Codsworth It's probably not the first time that Codsworth has seen Sole break down. After all, he was the first living being they ran into after escaping the horrors of Vault 111. Still, this particular breakdown takes him by surprise, he didn't know he mattered that much to Sole. He's probably the best at comforting Sole, considering he knows them so well. Later on, he'll likely bring up how touched he is to know that he's important to Sole and promises he'll stand by them.
Curie She's extremely apologetic when she realises Sole's breaking down, at first thinking she'd done something wrong, before they explain that they can't stand to lose her. She understands where Sole is coming from, they're the most important person in her life and she doesn't want to begin to think what things would be like without them. She apologises if she ever scared them and reassures them that she's much more formidable than she seems
Paladin Danse He immediately panics when Sole starts to break down. Being in the Brotherhood, he's never known how to deal with his own emotions, let alone the emotions of someone else. He'll try his best to comfort Sole, but he definitely won't succeed. If he's still in the Brotherhood and him and Sole aren't extremely close - or romantically involved - he'll only insist that, due to his training, he's confident nothing bad will happen to him. However, if they're closer, Danse will go out of his way to make sure Sole knows they won't ever lose them, he loves Sole and he'd keep surviving so long as it made them happy.
Deacon He has no idea how to react at first. Sure, he'd been travelling with Sole for a while now, but he figured it was just out of convenience, since he was showing them the ropes in the Railroad. He'd figured his lying would've annoyed them by now and yeah, they were close, but he didn't know he mattered this much to them. He wants to crack a joke, but even he knows it's bad timing. Instead - because he understands how devastating loss can be, and he knows what Sole's been through - he actually does his best to comfort them, which he's actually good at, much to both his and Sole's surprise.
Hancock Like Cait, he initially thinks it's down to his reckless behaviour when it comes to chems and almost immediately promises you that he knows not to overdo it and if chems were going to kill them, they would've by now. He assures Sole that so long as he has them by his side, there's no way he plans on dying early, even though life hasn't exactly been kind to him in the past. Sole gives him a reason to keep going and he'd rather not ruin that.
MacCready Similarly to Deacon, he understands - maybe better than anyone - just how hard losing the person you love can be. The death of Lucy still haunts him, in spite of how much he cares for Sole, so he feels terrible that they share concerns he once had to suffer the aftermath of. He promises them over and over that they'll never lose him, no matter what happens. He even goes the extra mile and makes sure to be careful when they're outside the walls of a settlement, just to give Sole some peace of mind.
Nick Valentine He's better at comforting Sole than most, he knows a lot about their past and how they ended up in the Commonwealth, widowed and searching for their child. Besides, he's used to dealing with people breaking down in front of him - albeit, it's a little different since Sole means a lot to him. He knows he and Sole have grown close, so he understands completely why they'd be worried about losing another loved one. Nick will jokingly point out that if he's survived this long with only a few - a lot of - bumps and scratches, they have nothing to worry about. If Sole brings up their concerns again, he'll be more than happy to reassure them further.
Piper Wright She understands that with her line of work, she's a lot more likely to meet an untimely demise, but who doesn't die young these days? She's surprised she's made it this far with the amount of attempts on her life. She can stand seeing Sole cry though and instantly wraps them in a hug, telling them that as long as she's got them by her side, she'll be fine. Piper trusts Sole completely to protect her, just as she'd protect them. It breaks her heart to see them so torn up though and she almost feels guilty, deciding she'll find a way to make it up to them soon, even if she hasn't necessarily done anything wrong.
Preston Garvey As someone who often struggles with seeing the meaning in his own life, Preston is completely taken aback by Sole's worry towards his wellbeing. He instantly feels terrible for having any thoughts about taking his own life and apologises profusely to Sole, insisting that nothing bad will ever happen to them. He hasn't had an easy time recently, but having Sole by his side has helped more than he could've ever imagined and if they care about him enough to want him to keep fighting, then he will, without question.
X6-88 To nobody's surprise, X6 doesn't really know what to say or do. He simply clarifies that coursers were designed to be near enough formidable, so the likelihood of anything happening to him is extremely low. He does show some genuine concern, by asking if Sole would benefit from speaking to someone professionally, it's not enough to comfort Sole, but he's trying his best.
Fo4 Companions and their Love Languages
Words of Affirmation
- Curie was locked in her cage for god knows how long, and really just wants to impress you. So when you say nice things to her, she gets all giddy.
- Deacon doesn’t like getting close to people, but he really enjoys your company. So when you tell him how you appreciate him, it really hits home.
- Hancock is like, lonely. Bless him, he doesn’t really have a lot of people around him, other than his citizens. It’s just nice to hear appreciation from someone who truly cares.
Acts of Service
- Cait doesn’t feel that she deserves good people in her life. So doing things to help her, no matter how small, she appreciates so deeply.
- Codsworth was literally built to please.
- Preston A SETTLEMENT NEEDS YOUR HELP-
Gift-Giving
- Maccredy grew up really poor, so any time he receives gifts, he’s a very happy bunny rabbit. Literally healing his inner child.
- Strong like shinny thing.
- Gage, much like Maccready, grew up with nothing, so he likes to receive gifts. It’s also how he shows his appreciation and love.
Quality Time
- Nick feels comfortable when he is with you. You stop the random memory flashes, the fear of people judging him, and you make him happy. That’s all he needs.
- X6 isn’t really sure how to express his emotions. He has never been allowed to. So just being in your presence has helped him get a good start.
- Ada feels lonely a lot, so when you guys just sit and talk, she loves it. And she has A L O T to talk about.
Physical Touch
- Danse is literally just a big teddy bear. He loves cuddling with you and just basking in your presence. He’s a big ol baby.
- Piper hates it, but she’s severely touch-starved. She just loves being held so much, it’s not even funny. But if you tell anyone she’s a softie, she’s killing you.
- Dogmeat is literally a dog lol. Just a baby :)
Hello cock nation (volume warning)
drawing under the cut lol
