#isabelle watson

[cherryelectricboogaloo]

The relationship between Bell and the DLCs in Fallout is genuinely one of the things I love the most about how I played them. OC rant ahead:

She went through Old World Blues first. She was confident and chipper and, even when faced with the worst the Big MT could throw her way, she was laughing the entire time. She explored every nook and cranny at the research facilities, she got every single upgrade, every seed bag possible, went through all the different tests with the Stealth Suit and at X-8, she found hints of Elijah and Christine and Ulysses (and it's part of why she decided to follow the broadcast to the Sierra Madre.) While she abhorred what the Think Tank did, and the many things they created, she didn't really get the extent of what they did—and she spared them. Mimicked Dr. Mobius and wouldn't stop parroting his voice back in the Mojave when she got back. She conquered Big MT, and it made her confidence go up in astronomical levels.

When she confronted Caesar in nothing more than Sexy Sleepwear, it was with the same smile she stared at Dr. Klein with.

The Sierra Madre Broadcast always intrigued her. She loved the voice on the radio, was so intrigued by it, and her time exploring the Big MT only pushed her further into seeking it out. She finds the bunker, sees all the signs of danger, and what she thinks is that it'll be fine. After all, what could beat being stuck in a small hallway with Cazadores, or being chased down into pipes by Nightstalkers, or dealing with Dr. Klein's demands to have her brain?

When she finds herself in the Villa, she tries to stay confident.

She doesn't manage.

The Sierra Madre breaks Bell. Eats away at so much of her that makes her vulnerable. Hits exactly where it shouldn't. She had been trying to kick her drinking habit, but when all she could taste was the coppery taste of the Cloud, what else could she do but down some whiskey? When she had to carry whatever food she could find, because she never knew when it would run out again, what else could she do but hope the alcohol helped her carry things just for a little while longer? The lack of sleep didn't help either, with the Cloud threatening to hack away at her lungs in her sleep. She was so used to listening to the radio 24/7, and now even the slightest noise from a radio was enough to set her off into a frenzy to shut it down or destroy it. She couldn't just rely on what she already had, the gear she carried with her, and instead had to fight in a completely different style just to survive. She had none of her friends there, and the people she met…

Well, Dean Domino used her. Talked her up and, knowing she was fawning over him, convinced her to help him rob the Madre independently from Elijah. Compared her to Vera, made her feel better than her, special, only for Bell to realize he used Vera just like he did with her. (Bell's relationship with Vera Keyes is so much, too—she reads about this woman, mocked for her addiction and forced to help with a heist she didn't want to do, trapped between a rock and a hard place and she can't help but identify with her. She can't help but sympathize. She takes Vera's woes on her own shoulders, makes them her own… in a less than healthy way.) Elijah drilled into her head that, at any moment, he could replace her, let her die and just go to the next group of people willing to come. The only people she trusted even halfway were Dog, God and Christine.

She locked Elijah in that vault, and when he cursed her, said he would be waiting when she died, it haunted her.

She went to Zion purely to try and forget what happened at the Sierra Madre. She heard that the way to New Canaan was beautiful, scenic, and she was a shell of herself. She just wanted to have a nice vacation. She just wanted to finally relax, and instead she was thrown into the middle of a conflict she didn't understand, with people she didn't know, and the people who came with her died no matter how hard she tried to protect them. She heard a radio play in any of the ranger stations and shot it on sight. She ate every single fruit she found, because she never knew when she'd find food next. She drank so much water she felt sick, because she wasn't sure she would find pure, rad-free water again (even when it was everywhere). She barely slept, waking up in a panic to check her neck every time. And yet…

She did everything she could to help. Making healing powder, bringing people supplies, running errands for the Sorrows and the Dead Horses, helping Daniel and Joshua. Even when Daniel was… less than pleasant, about her status as an outsider. Even when Joshua worried her, with his talk of dashing thy little ones and his history being in the Legion. She did all she could to help. She investigated every cave, searched through all terminals, trying to make sense of the decision she knew she would have to make eventually. People always put decisions on her shoulders, even when she's not qualified to handle them at all. (Just a leggy dame, a little too into the chems… the words weren't directed at her, and yet…)

And for the first time since the Sierra Madre, when she said they should stay and fight, and when she talked Joshua out of killing Salt-Upon-Wounds, she felt… not exactly confident, but she was sure of what she was doing. She knew exactly what to do, and she didn't regret her decisions even after leaving Zion. Not regretting things was starting to become rare, after Dead Money.

Up until then, Bell had been… less than thrilled about having to choose the fate of the Mojave herself. She knew she couldn't really hand it to the NCR in good conscience, and that she would DIE before letting the Legion ever get their filthy hands on Vegas, and she wouldn't trust House with a Bighorner, much less New Vegas—but who was she to make that choice? House was so much more experienced with leading, so much more used to the politicking of Vegas, so much more intelligent, and…

And when she goes through the Divide, when she's faced with the fact that just one individual can have such a monumental influence in the world, whether intentionally or not? When she's faced with the symbols of the Old World, when Ulysses speaks to her about her inclinations towards an Independent Vegas?

She realizes then that it's a responsibility she'll have to take.

And she does so gladly, when the time comes. She shoulders that decision, because if not her, then who? And if it will help others, if it will make things easier on the people she's met along the way, the friends she made, the lovers she met, then she just has to do it. She's doing the best damn job she could do, and that's already miles better than what House would've done.

anyway i love the fallout new vegas dlcs can you tell

[isabelleize]

Jim Morrison

[pockettprince]

Insp

[cherryelectricboogaloo]

The fact Bell was the catalyst for both of her brothers joining the factions they joined (NCR and the Legion) really shows just how different the siblings are. Beloved Courier Bell ends up going for an Independent Vegas, both because of how she was raised and because her brothers joined the two big factions out there (they wouldn't even have the Option to join House).

“Augustus”, the eldest, joined the Legion young. He saw the Malpais Legate one day, strong and powerful and commanding respect, and he was hooked. The Legion kept the roads safe. Whoever traded with the Legion was guaranteed protection. He wanted to give that safety to his family, and his father disowned him the moment he heard of that. Augustus left them in a fit of rage, and Nick Watson burned all pictures of his son he could find. As far as Bell was concerned, he was long gone, growing up. (She was just 3 when he left.)

Matthew, the middle child, joined the NCR as soon as he was old enough to serve. Despite numerous protests from his father, he believed in the better nature of the people at the NCR. He believed they could be good, that the ideals of the Republic was built upon were good, and he wanted to fight for them. He wanted to kick back the Legion, to protect his family from them and protect everyone else from them, to prove to everyone and to himself that his brother was wrong in leaving them. He wanted to make a better world for Bell, who was a young teenager when he began his military career.

And then Matt dies to the Legion while serving the NCR, and Bell blames both the Legion and the NCR for his death.

And Augustus is sent out to kill his own baby sibling, when she crosses the Legion one too many times, and that's why he leaves the Legion.

It's just fun to analyse how both wanted the best for her, and while the sentiment is good what ends up happening isn't. She fundamentally rejects both of their conclusions and forges her own path.

[cherryelectricboogaloo]

Sorry to all my Bell enthusiasts, I've been thoroughly consumed by Disco Elysium and the fun lil fellow I made for it. Not much Bell posting these days

Anyway it's really fun to think about Bell's heritage as a Brazilian and I think it's one of the things that hits me the hardest (y'know, as a Brazilian). There's a reason I started making Fallout Brasil in my head, and she's the main reason. This courier? Bringing carnaval to New Vegas, you can't stop her.

So, the whole deal with Bell and Brasil:

Bell's mother, Beatrice, and her aunt, Nell, are both from a bunker in England. Not Vault-Tec, but one of Vault-Tec's few actual competitors, González Inc (oh to talk about González Inc… later, later). That entire side of the family comes from people who left Brazil to seek refuge elsewhere, thanks to the brutal dictatorship going on. You know. Red Scare. American interventionism. It happened once, it definitely happens twice. That's Fallout for you baby!

But both Beatrice and Nell were raised by this very Brazilian community in a bunker filled mostly with the British. They mingled with others, yes, but their community did as much as they could to preserve their cultural identity. Brazilians are nothing if not INCREDIBLY resilient when it comes to keeping their identity intact. Proud motherfuckers, that's what we are. Be it history, music, dance, the Portuguese language itself—they did all they could to pass it on to the next generations.

Sadly, those two didn't have… the best family out there. Despite calling each other sisters, they're cousins. When Bea's parents died, she was taken in by her uncle and aunt, and they… well, there's a reason why she helped Nell leave the bunker and embrace the wasteland. They left. Their journey to the US is history, but it happened after they had already met their future partners, Nick and Tommy.

Then there's little baby Bell, right?

She grows up listening to them arguing in Portuguese, when they don't want the kids to know what they're complaining about. She slowly picks up on things, words and sentences and with time, she starts speaking Portuguese casually as well. She grows up listening to her mother singing her Brazilian lullabies, and she engraves them in her memories. She sees old, faded photos of her mom dressed in traditional southern clothing, and she has no idea what those are, just that they look pretty. She watches old holotapes of her aunt dancing back in the bunker, and while she doesn't know the name of the dance, she starts trying to mimic it.

They don't discuss their heritage with Bell. It's too painful of a topic, to both of them. They die without telling Bell about any of it.

But there's always this longing. This feeling that there's something she should know, but she doesn't. Missing something so, so deeply it leaves a hole deep down, and she's not even sure what it is. (Saudade. She feels saudade, even if she doesn't know what she's feeling it for.)

After she meets Joshua "used to learn tribal dialects and languages so he could translate those even before meeting Caesar" Graham, she's told a little bit about the language she speaks from time to time, and where it might come from. …After that, Bell begins looking for as much information as possible about Brazil. Her mom's country, even if she hadn't been there. Her aunt's country. Her own country, in a way. It's a fun journey, especially with the amount of cultural exports she brings back to New Vegas. The carnaval parades are THE showstoppers after she secures Vegas' independence.

[cherryelectricboogaloo]

Also Bell lore is intrinsically linked to Bitters lore. Who is Bitters? The other courier. What, you don't know that there's TWO courier six? Fake fan.

Whenever I write Bell lore here I'm waiting with the mousetrap in my other hand like yes yes come closer no no ignore my arm conspicuously hidden behind my back. Now are you ready to hear about The Dual Protagonists—

Writing Fallout New Vegas lore with a friend requires either a compromise or the erasure of one whole courier. A WASTE OF POTENTIAL I say. That's why me and my bestie most beloved (at @caricatureblue ) ended up deciding both our couriers existed, actually, and the platinum chip was put in two separate deliveries. Harder to track and easier to transport, right? (Except Benny had Yes Man. Sorry House, but also not sorry at all House.)

Enters Bitters, and enters Bell. They're two different sides of the same coin and I love that for them so much.

Bitters is from Arroyo. Bitters was supposed to be the next Elder. They're the Chosen One's kid, they're a direct descendant of the Vault Dweller, they were meant for great things. And then the Legion took them on their endless pursuit of Conquest and Subjugation. Bitters spent the most important years of their life under the Legion, witnessing the atrocities AND SUFFERING THE ATROCITIES FIRST HAND. They had a brilliant future ahead of them that was taken from them by the Legion. They were meant for great things and they were deprived of all of that. After escaping the Legion they try to go back to Arroyo, only to find out their mother is long gone and that their aunt wants them gone, lest they try to take her place as the Elder. So, they leave. They become a courier. They try to move on, as much as you can move on from something like THIS + with the Legion on the Mojave's doorstep all this time.

Then there's Bell. Are there important people in her family? Kind of! But they're so far removed from her that she has no idea of who they are, or what they did, or what influence they had on the wasteland. For all intents and purposes, Bell is a nobody. She's the kid of a random British couple that came to America, she's the youngest and her brother is much more outwardly educated and promising than she is, she has no great aspirations in life other than being a courier like her auntie used to be. She's charming enough, but that doesn't change the fact that she's… not really… outstanding, or important, in any way. Unremarkable. She loses all of her family, but being an orphan in the wasteland is the same as a fork in the kitchen. Nothing different from the norm.

Their paths intersect, in the fact they work at the same place and deliver parts of the same packages to the same places, but they never meet before the fatal Free Lobotomy courtesy of Benny.

So you'd expect the obvious, right? Bitters, the lost heir that was meant to take up their mom's mantle would reclaim their spot as Elder of Arroyo, and not only that, they'd also save the Mojave and, no matter which faction they decided to trust, they would be the defacto changing force in the narrative. Meant for great things. It's their destiny. It's what's supposed to happen. Bell, well, she's a helper, right? It's not even funny that her last name is Watson. She's here to be supportive and as a second gun, she's here to highlight Bitters' strengths and to cover for their weaknesses.

But that's… not… what happens.

First and foremost, their relationship of mutual trust and relying on each other? Essential.

Without Bell's insistence on gentleness and kindness and compassion and drive, Bitters would have been aimless, and wouldn't have spared half the people in the wasteland they met. They're angry. So, so angry. They don't want to be, but severe brain damage does that to someone. Bell stays their hand when she sees someone can genuinely change, and helps focus that anger on the intended target (the L E G I O N).

Without Bitters putting their foot down sometimes and reassurances and righteous anger, Bell wouldn't be able to choose anything, and would have let people step all over her all the time. She's afraid, all of the time. Terrified she'll make the wrong choice, that she's incompetent. Bitters pushes her forward when she's too scared to act, and reminds her that sometimes people don't want to change.

Bell thinks Bitters is a genius, and in many ways they are! Even if the brain damage made things harder for them, they're still extremely knowledgeable. They're a Science kid, they're skilled with Medicine, they're resourceful and know how to convince people if they want to, and they're resilient and courageous and strong and how could Bell not think they're perfect? …That's the thing. Bell sees Bitters as this… impossibly Perfect person. Above her, in every way.

AND BITTERS SEES HER THE SAME WAY. Bell is sweet and gentle and compassionate, she can and is willing to talk things out with people every time, she's a fantastic gunslinger, she's knowledgeable in a variety of fields even if she can't articulate it well, and she's always there when they're frustrated with not remembering something, or not being able to do something they used to do well before the Headshot. They see Bell as a Superior.

These two have to work through their tendency to put each other on a pedestal and putting themselves down, but that's something I can talk about on another post.

The fun thing is that Bell thinks she's not capable of leadership, Bitters is… and they couldn't disagree more! Besides, they don't- want, to be a leader. Not like what New Vegas requires, or what Arroyo needs.

When it comes down to it, it's Bell who pushes for an independent New Vegas, and Bitters backs her up every step of the way. She becomes the public face of New Vegas, the Sheriff, and Bitters becomes the ghost of New Vegas. Doing things behind the scenes, aiding in so many fundamentally important ways while only receiving acknowledgement from the people close to them. Bell doesn't think she would be able to be where she is without Bitters, and Bitters doesn't think they would be able to be in Bell's position.

I AM UNWELL ABOUT THEM can you tell i love fallout new vegas

[cherryelectricboogaloo]

One of the most fun things about my courier is that most of what she is stemmed from one throwaway line that was meant as a joke. Doc Mitchell says he's not expecting to find a family history of getting shot in the head, but that's exactly what she has.

Bell Watson and the Family Curse (also known as a series of extremely unfortunate coincidences in the same family, with all the headshot related problems that come with that):

Bell was raised in a relatively big family, for wasteland standards. A mom, a dad, an aunt, an uncle, and an older brother. Her aunt was a courier for the Mojave Express, insanely cool and adventurous and so fun in Bell's eyes: she wanted to be just like aunt Nellie when she grew up. She was loud and proud and didn't let anyone talk over her, and she used to be with this big group that she didn't talk much about. She was the one who taught Bell to shoot and to scavenge out in the wasteland.

Her uncle was a poet and a bit of a salesman, though he was in the business of overcharging for scraps and junk to help out at home a little better. He was sweet and kind and he was the first one to realize Bell wasn't really neurotypical or cis, and thanks to previous knowledge from being pre-war (I so could elaborate on that but shhhhh) and being in the underground queer community a lot (kitchen found in fork), he was the best to help her out with that.

Her dad was a scholar. A studious man. A historian. He hated the NCR from the moment he put his feet in their territory, and he hated the Legion from the moment he heard of them, and he hated the state of New Vegas, and he taught Bell accordingly. He tried his best to teach her even if he never really got how to properly work with the way she learned things, and while he was a little awkward he was the most loving father she could ask for.

Her mom sold food and clothes mostly from people coming from California into the Mojave. She was a religious woman, but more in a "God is love, so of course He would love you as you are, it doesn't matter who you're with or what you are" way than most. She was quiet, most of the time. A little stoic. But she was caring, and she taught Bell how to live off the land and how to sew and the compassion that carried her through New Vegas' main story.

Her older brother was a soldier. Despite all complaints from their dad, Matt joined the NCR as soon as he was able to, and he thought that while it was flawed, it could change into something better. He believed in the ideals of the Republic harder than anyone else. He was aggressively supportive of everything Bell did, and while they bickered a lot, they loved each other dearly. She was his baby sibling, and nothing could change that.

When Bell was 13, her aunt Nell got shot in the head during a bar fight. That's what she was told, anyway, and she never questioned it. Uncle Tommy was devastated. He buried his own wife in the small little backyard of their home, west of Goodsprings (out of the map), and they had a little funeral for her.

When Bell was 15, her father and his brother got shot in the head during an altercation, after her father had talked shit about the NCR one too many times near fervent NCR citizens. Uncle Tommy was trying to protect him when he was gunned down. It was Matt who dug the holes for them, and he became insanely protective of his mother and sibling after that.

When Bell was 19, her mother was shot in the head on accident, when a fight broke out between some raiders and some NCR troopers. She survived, but barely so. She never fully recovered, and Bell did everything in her power to help her out and stick by her side at every moment. She wished she could do more, but helping her walk and doing what her hands weren't steady enough to do anymore was all that she could reasonably do on her own.

When Bell was 23, her brother was shot in the head in a skirmish against the Legion. They gave him a medal. Wanted to give him a military burial. She raised Hell on Earth, yelled at every single one of the damn NCR troopers that came to her house. She buried her brother herself, near the rest of her family, and couldn't look anyone from the NCR in the eyes at all after that.

When Bell was 24, her mother passed. After years struggling, her body had grown too feeble, even when her mind was strong. It was quiet, and Bell held her hand during those final moments. After she was buried near the rest of her family, the house was quiet, too quiet, when it used to be so full of chatter and noise back in the day. Bell, already a courier, went to Primm to ask about any new jobs—she couldn't stand the silence.

And we know what happened then.

(She has another brother, in the Legion. The eldest. She doesn't know that, around that time, he too suffered from the same sort of thing and survived, just like her. They only meet again once the Legion starts sending out assassins to kill her.)

[cherryelectricboogaloo]

Bell Watson deserves to have her playlist out there. Sorry guys.

Isabelle Watson (KNOWN TEMPTRESS)

Devil woman Devil woman, let go of me (I'm irresistible, you fool Give in)

She's a lover she's a Courier she's the ruler of New Vegas she's a silly she's extremely smart but constantly underestimated and she also loves Sunset Sarsaparilla to the point she drinks pretty much nothing else she's a cowboy she loves Vera Keyes' dress (and Vera Keyes) to weird degrees she's Dr. Mobius' No. 1 impersonator she HATES having any rads she is so much all of the time I'm so incoherent about her but I promise I have a coherent literary analysis in my brain it's just