Buttercup

Buttercup is the head of the Atlantic City Internal Revenue Service, appearing .
==Background==
Buttercup is one of the most terrifying inhabitants of Atlantic City. His strength and brutality are legendary,Billy Beltbuckles: ""(Billy Beltbuckles' dialogue) and his name is spoken in hushed tones. Although it is derived from Giddyup Buttercup, Buttercup wears it with pride, as it dates back to the pre-Lane times, when he was running with an Acee gang: In a shouting match with a rival gang from the Casino Quarter, the future Buttercup decided to answer insults with violence. The two gangs were bickering outside a pre-War toy store, and the closest thing at hand was a fully-assembled Giddyup, which he used to bludgeon the other ganger to death. His gang decided to nickname him Buttercup, which was answered with more violence using the Buttercup. He adopted the nickname as his own name, and kept the toy as a memento.Vault 76 dweller: "No, it's super tough. Like, really awesome name."Buttercup: " "(Buttercup's dialogue)
While he is proud of the name, he holds no illusions about the time before Timothy Lane's rule as mayor. The city floundered under Carly Day, with starvation, disease, and crime rampant. While he was a part of the problem, when Lane marched onto city hall to replace Day, Buttercup threw his lot in with him. The two have become fast friends,Vault 76 dweller: "What were things like before Tim became mayor?"Buttercup: " "(Buttercup's dialogue) and Buttercup holds immense respect for Lane due to the way he turned Acee around and turned it into a functioning city. While it is far from perfect, it has food, water, electricity, and safety - which is more than most wasteland settlements can offer.Vault 76 dweller: "What's the point of the Mayor's Office?"Buttercup: " "(Buttercup's dialogue) As a former ganger who's no stranger to violence, Buttercup was appointed as the head of the IRS, responsible for extracting dues from the Showmen and Lombardi Family. Buttercup loves his job and he's a crucial asset in keeping the balance of power between the factions intact.Vault 76 dweller: "How does the Mayor's Office deal with the mafia and the Showmen?"Mayor Timothy Lane: " "(Timothy Lane's dialogue) His auditors are as violent as he is,Vault 76 dweller: "What are the different departments?"Frieda Lane: " "(Frieda Lane's dialogue) and utterly loyal to Buttercup, to the point of dying with his name on their lips.Municipal Auditor: "" Among the rest of the Munis, he's treated with a mixture of respect and fear, and rumors about his violence keep circulating, like him using someone's jawbone as a nail file.Generic Municipal Worker: "" Some would also prefer he got rid of his trophy horse.Generic Municipal Worker: ""
In recent times, with the passing of Don Quentino Lombardi, the situation started to destabilize. While Concerta Lombardi is good at maintaining the illusion that her brother is still alive, Lane realized the truth based on the email exchanges. Sensing weakness, he decided to set Buttercup loose on the Lombardis and collect outstanding dues,Q which were suspiciously low ever since a new COO took over accounting.The Neapolitan Casino terminal entries; Billy's terminal, Outgoing Costs The fact that several auditors went missing while investigating the shortfall has added a personal edge to the situation: Buttercup is not going to take deaths among his gang lying down.The Neapolitan Casino terminal entries; Concerta's terminal, UNKNOWN USER: Missing Auditors
===Relationships===
Buttercup has little time for relationships due to his passion for tax collection (and the associated violence), which is a problem for Anna Barone, the Muni dispatcher: She is rather taken with him, but Buttercup repeatedly turned her overtures down,Anna Barone: ""(Anna Barone's dialogue) believing that his first duty is to Atlantic City and dating might distract him from tracking down tax dodgers. However, since he finds her presence tolerable, he still asks her out for drinks from time to time,Respectfully, no and brings her small tokens of his appreciation, like the severed heads of Overgrown he collects, to inspire Anna and remind her that she is a warrior.City hall terminal entries; Anna Barone's terminal, Null, Buttercup: Gift He's been spending increasing amounts of time with her, which has led to concerns among auditors that he's going soft,Municipal Auditor: "Buttercup's been spending a lot of time with Anna lately...hope he's not going soft." although Anna doesn't consider it dating and is still bitter over the initial rejection.Vault 76 dweller: "Buttercup is...interesting."Anna Barone: " "(Anna Barone's dialogue)
Buttercup's closest relationship is with Mayor Timothy Lane. Lane is very fond of ButtercupMayor Timothy Lane: ""(Timothy Lane's dialogue) and just about the only person who can engage in playful ribbing with Buttercup and walk away with his limbs intact, and openly describes Buttercup as a big, tough, pre-War action movie character who's harmless as long as nobody crosses him.Vault 76 dweller: "Where can I find Buttercup?"Mayor Timothy Lane: " "(Timothy Lane's dialogue) Buttercup is a loyal and trusted friend in turn, even generous, though his preferred gift is the severed heads of enemies or bloodied implements.Vault 76 dweller: "Buttercup seems a tad violent."Mayor Timothy Lane: " "(Timothy Lane's dialogue) Crucially, Buttercup is privy to the secret of Carly Day's fate, and makes sure the truth stays buried, even if a few aspiring journalists wind up six feet under.Unnecessary questions 
He is on looser terms with Timothy's wife, Frieda Lane, who constantly wonders how Buttercup stays in shape and is so buff with so little protein in his diet.Frieda Lane: ""(Frieda Lane's dialogue)
==Interactions with the player character==
===Interactions overview===
===Quests===
* Tax Evasion: Buttercup heads the IRS audit at The Neapolitan Casino and is the final challenge in the expedition. He's well aware that Billy is a fall guy and offers the Vault 76 dwellers a deal: If they manage to best him in battle, then Billy may live and the auditors walk away (only to return again). Buttercup hates picking on small fry and prefers a proper challenge.Buttercup: " "(Buttercup's dialogue) However, he is ready to kill Billy otherwise.Buttercup: " "(Buttercup's dialogue)Buttercup: " "(Buttercup's dialogue)
** Buttercup is a strong combatant, with about three times as much health as a mythic deathclaw, further enhanced by a full suit of Civic Duty power armor and a creature perk reducing incoming damage by 25%. He uses an assault rifle in combat and while its damage output is reduced by 50%, Buttercup is always assisted by several auditors providing covering fire.
==Inventory==
==Appearances==
Buttercup appears only .
==Behind the scenes==
* Similar to the design process for Billy Beltbuckles, the writing for Buttercup's character began with quest designer Stephanie Zachariadis asking the development team for a name, specifically for a character who was tough, but with an unfitting name. Zachariadis received many suggestions, including Buttercup, from another developer who had the buttercup flower in mind. However, Zachariadis then thought of the Giddyup Buttercup toy in-game, and came up with a story of Buttercup earning his nickname from beating someone to death with the toy.Fallout on Twitter: "Ever wonder how the name Buttercup came to be?Well, wonder no more with this bonus dev dive clip! #Fallout76"
* Buttercup's appearance and implacability mirror that of the Terminator, as portrayed by Arnold Schwarzenegger. In fact, one of the script notes for Timothy Lane's dialogue reads: "Amused, speaking fondly of Buttercup, the tough Terminator-esque head of the IRS." According to Stephanie Zachariadis, Buttercup was designed to be like a "1980s action hero-type tough guy" from the beginning.
==Gallery==
FO76 Radio Buttercup.svg|Radio icon
FO76AC Buttercup running.png|Buttercup in an early version of the Public Test Server, using a placeholder raider power armor
==References==
; Non-game
Category:Boardwalk Paradise human characters
Category:America's Playground human characters
Category:City hall characters
Category:Muni characters
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