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1[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/zach_and_mike_assorted_new_cropped.png]]
2[[caption-width-right:350:[[TheGadfly Mike]] on the left and [[GunNut Zach]] on the right. [[KillerRobot Anne]] and [[EvilCounterpart Legion Mike]] not pictured. Top to bottom: [[VideoGame/FalloutNewVegas New Vegas]], VideoGame/Fallout4, [[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsVSkyrim Skyrim]].]]
3
4->''Zach and Mike explore the Mojave together, saving lives and killing jerks. But mostly screwing around.''
5-->--the description of the playlist of the ''New Vegas'' series
6
7Creator/MikeBurnFireAndZachHazard's main claim to fame are their let's plays, hosted on [[https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3TjPHEcv_7tuT4eb7dO7KA Mike's channel]].
8
9Some series, ''New Vegas''-based ones in particular, involve an occasional diversion from the plots of their respective games, a unique narrative (constrained mostly to [[MilestoneCelebration milestone episodes]], but still) and an EvilCounterpart from an alternate universe.
10
11The playlists grouped by game:
12
13* [[https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL3itm4Cj7SBBuRdCKOOdUGyyi4fgdgVkS New Vegas (including all mod playthroughs and Legion Mike spinoffs)]]
14* [[https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL3itm4Cj7SBCrkLyn3xIM7qKl0bF0q59_ Fallout 4]]
15* [[https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL3itm4Cj7SBBiM0y8uy2GSjqyn5m7q5yS Skyrim]]
16
17For the spin-off where the two just tell stories with the backdrop of an in-game campfire, see ''WebVideo/CampfireStories''.
18
19!!I don't care about your tropes, just shut up and die quietly:
20
21* AbledInTheAdaptation: Downplayed - Christine Royce in ''Dead Money'' remains mute, but uses a voice synthesizer as opposed to communicating using gestures (well, the descriptions of gestures) she was using in canon.
22* AccidentalAimingSkills: When doing the quests from the second Hype mod, Zach manages to accidentally shoot a grenade out of one of the assassin's hand, blowing them up.
23* AcousticLicense: At one point in the ''FNV'' series, gunfire halts to allow Niner to start saying one of his idle lines.
24* AdmiringTheAbomination: Zach in prone to squeeing at dangerous animals and/or robots. For instance, in episode 38 of the NV series, he exclaims at how cute and adorable the terrifying Legion Demon is, despite then describing it as an actual Bahamut-style demon. This doesn't stop him from wanting it as a companion, though.
25* AlternateUniverse:
26** Mike has created a [[https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL3itm4Cj7SBA2lyntOmluU6vSnsSeq9l0 second playthrough]] for New Vegas in which he is a sadistic frumentarius, Zach is a gun repairman stuck in the second worst military base on Earth, the Mojave Outpost, and Aurelius of Phoenix is reskinned to look like Zach (and is also voiced by him). In-universe, it's treated as an alternative universe to the mainline ''FNV'' playthrough, [[spoiler:and Legion Mike ends up transported from that universe into the main one.]]
27** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zv_9VIt41hY A one-shot video]] starred the Enclave versions of Zach and Mike [[VideoGame/TheFrontier guarding the door on the Archimedes II satellite.]]
28* AttentionDeficitOohShiny: Mike and Zach are ''very'' easily distracted from whatever they're supposed to be doing in Fallout: New Vegas, especially whenever they reminisce about their time in the military or find a new gun.
29* AuthorAppeal: Guns - both FNV and F4 playthroughs come with ''dozens'' of guns modded in, and Zach doesn't miss an opportunity to ramble at length on whatever they find. In particular Zach has expressed fondness for rare, unique or unusual guns, like the Borchardt C93 or the Sjorgen Inertial shotgun - as long as the gun in question actually exists IRL in a functional state.
30* BackwardsFiringGun: The "Useless Weapon" mod for ''New Vegas'' adds such a weapon. In Episode 166, Mike [[spoiler:convinces Alice [=McLafferty=] that it's a gun he had nicked from the Gun Runners, and she kills herself using it.]]
31* BattleTrophy: When bounty hunting, Zach will take fingers or heads from his kills as proof of the kill. Sometimes he takes skulls as trophies for his skull collection.
32* BerserkButton:
33** Zach has a ''lot'' of gripes about guns, but one intense enough to qualify for this trope is [[GunsOfFiction/{{Shotguns}} Pancor Jackhammer's exaggerated presence in video games]] (including the modded version of ''New Vegas'' he's playing). In short, it's a terrible gun that only has one real prototype made by an amateur[[note]]There were actually three functioning prototypes made, but two were destroyed during durability testing[[/note]], yet every game insists on putting it in their arsenals [[RuleOfCool because it looks allegedly cool]]. Naturally, Mike has to pick one up and espouse its merits every time he sees one.
34*** GunsDoNotWorkThatWay related issues are another annoyance for Zach, as his expertise in small-arms repair means he is well versed in how firearms are supposed to function. In [[https://youtu.be/f6NVJG-5mHE Zach's Gun Rants Part 4]], he called the base ''Fallout 4'' Assault Rifle "hot trash" and angrily broke down every design element that wouldn't work in real life.
35** Do not replace Zach's weapons with kitbashed versions of them. When Mike joked that he "upgraded" Zach's Grenade Rifle like so, Zach went ballistic and emptied his shotgun, [[ThereIsNoKillLikeOverkill then his assault rifle]], into him.
36--> '''Zach:''' (as he blasts Mike with a shotgun) YOU TOOK MY GRENADE LAUNCHER AND YOU RUINED IT! YOU TURNED IT INTO A MONSTER!
37* BetterWithNonHumanCompany: Zach has NoSocialSkills, but regularly gushes about animals he encounters in his travels - and in ''New Vegas'', he took the Animal Friend perk, which stops the wildlife from attacking him.
38* BewareTheSillyOnes: Zach and Mike are a pair of bickering, easily-distracted weirdos, but also a nigh-unstoppable pair of killing machines with a time machine.
39* BigDamnHeroes: Just when Zach's clone army and the Malcolm Clones seemed to be evenly matched during the assault on NCRCF, all of Zach's companions got released to assist in the fighting.
40* BigShutUp: Zach does this a lot, especially with Hope.
41* BokeAndTsukkomiRoutine: Mike's prone to playing the "boke" role to Zach's "tsukkomi", especially when guns are involved.
42* BorrowedCatchphrase: Legion Mike borrows mainline Zach's "Shut up, Hope" at one point.
43* BountyHunter: Mike and Zach become this several times throughout the series, most notably in the ''VideoGame/NewVegasBounties'' mod series.
44* BrainUploading: Over the course of the ''FNV'' series, Hope ends up transferred into a robot body, [[spoiler:Rex ends up receiving Bad Mothafucka's brain, and Mike has a failsafe to transfer a copy of his consciousness into a Protectron, which triggers after Marko Booth kills him.]]
45* BrickJoke: Early on, an abnormally tall enemy named Big Dave appears, followed a few episodes later by his taller brother, Bigger Dave. Many, many episodes later, the "big problem" the duo gets sent to solve in North Vegas turns out to be an assault on the plaza by [[AttackOfTheFiftyFootWhatever kaiju-sized]] Biggest Dave.
46* CanonDiscontinuity:
47** As far as the Fallout let's plays' narrative goes, Zach explicitly declared at the end of their playthrough of ''VideoGame/NewCalifornia'' that none of its events are canon, incredibly disappointed with the twist [[spoiler:that the Star Player[=/=]Courier is a clone of the Vault Dweller (the protagonist of the first ''Fallout'') with mutation-boosted healing factor.]]
48** Done quite quickly with the ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qf_6tzDL5k0 Fallout 4 - Cannibal House]]'' episode. Zach and Mike weren't shy about expressing their dislike of it within a few days of posting it, and subsequently removed it from being an officially-numbered part of the series. This is due mainly to them being annoyed with the mod's content, finding the puzzles disappointing and becoming disgusted by the fact the mod is very heavily inspired by the acts of real life rapist and serial killer Albert Fish.
49* CarnivalOfKillers: Mike and Zach are constantly being attacked by assassins, whether it be the Organ Harvesters, Legion Assassins, or Mr. K's goons.
50* CasualTimeTravel: Mike frequently employs the use of a time machine to redo certain events. The time machine often breaks, resulting in some actions being permanent.
51* CasualDangerDialogue:
52** Mike and Zach will frequently joke around and talk about random things while in combat. In one Campfire Stories episode, Mike even walks off screen to shoot at a nearby enemy while Zach is still talking, unfazed.
53** Zach recalls a time in Iraq where he was in a porta-potty while the base was being mortared. When a mortar impacted within a few hundred yards of him, he immediately left said porta-potty and jumped into an armored car. The sergeant inside looked at his undone pants, and the following exchange ensued:
54-->'''Sergeant:''' Had to shit, huh?
55-->'''Zach:''' Yep.
56-->'''Sergeant:''' Don't have to shit anymore?
57-->'''Zach:''' Nope.
58-->'''Sergeant:''' ...You forgot your hat.
59-->'''Zach:''' SHIT! ...I'm not going back for it.
60-->'''Sergeant:''' I don't blame you.
61* ChaoticStupid: As the series goes on, this is how Mike starts to play ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil5'', rushing every enemy he sees, firing explosive weapons at point blank range and using the trading system[[note]] which allows player 1 to trade with player 2, but not vice versa[[/note]] to clutter Zach's inventory with guns the latter can't use and deprive himself of useful equipment on purpose.
62* ChestOfMedals: Discussed: Zach points out how all of the Boomers have way too many medals on their uniforms, often in strange places on the outfit.
63* ClipboardOfAuthority: Zach mentions how he could get away with being anywhere as long as he walked around with a clipboard.
64* ColorCodedSpeech:
65** Across all subtitled series, the subtitles of the players get consistent colours: all iterations of Mike get white subtitles with a red outline, all iterations of Zach (including Legion Mike's Aurelius of Phoenix) get white subtitles with a blue outline, and all iterations of Anne (including the teddy bear in the second ''VideoGame/NewCalifornia'' playthrough) get light-green subtitles with a dark-green outline.
66** [=NPCs=] (or Mike and Zach speaking as the [=NPCs=]) get dirty yellow subtitles in New Vegas, green in Fallout 4, and white with a black outline in Skyrim.
67* CoolAndUnusualPunishment: In Episode 119, Zach and Mike try to extract information from the Centurion Silus through various means, including reading excerpts from the ''[[Literature/TheTwilightSaga Twilight]]'' books, reading boring legalese, reading the transcripts of ''Film/TheRoom2003'', and badly mimicking bagpipe music. None of them work.
68* CowboyCop: Both Garrus and Terrence are this in the Mass Effect run, leading to the rare bad cop[=/=]bad cop interrogation technique.
69* CrazyJealousGuy: When Art expresses his attraction to Cass in the No No Bad special episode, Specialist Zach responds by pulling out a pistol and aiming it at him while demanding that he leave her alone.
70* CutawayGag: When Mike remarks that he ate his sister once, he starts a flashback revisiting his [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c7eLCuHQjMQ&list=PL3itm4Cj7SBAIiLXCrWd6SiBWTilcXuld Fallout 3 playthrough]] where, indeed, he ate his sister's corpse.
71* TheCynic: In contrast to Mike, Zach thinks little of the world and everyone in it.
72* DarkHorseVictory: Last time the Legion Mike's universe was glimpsed, the guy in charge of the main force controlling the Mojave was [[spoiler:Specialist Zach]].
73* DeathNotification: In Episode 110, Mike and Zach deliver news of Gunner Cooper's death to Mary Cooper, his wife.
74* DeathOfAThousandCuts: When talking about the American 180 (aka ''New Vegas''' .22 Silenced SMG), Zach mentions that it's surprisingly effective against body armor, because while one .22 LR bullet won't do much damage, [[MoreDakka 180 bullets at 20 bullets a second]] fired at roughly the same spot thanks to minuscule recoil will make short work of whatever's in the way.
75* DemonicPossession: While fighting off War Trash, Zach channeled the spirit of Chef Boyardee and started attacking them with a [[ChainsawGood chainsaw]].
76* DisproportionateRetribution: Zach has a bad tendency to cripple Mike with excessive firepower for annoying him. One particular moment has Zach explaining that you need a specialized hammer forge (AKA: drop forge) to repair the rifling on a weapon and Mike continues to sass him by suggesting that a nearby stove could be used as a hammer forge, Zach just responds by blasting him with his China Lake launcher at point-blank.
77* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness:
78** Early ''New Vegas'' episodes had the Courier's name given as "Hunter" before switching to "Zach". It was a leftover from an earlier iteration of the let's play called ''Hunting with Hunter'' with Zach playing the titular character.
79** The first episode of the ''Skyrim'' playthrough had some mods installed that made the game too goofy for Zach's tastes - there was a [[Franchise/{{Pokemon}} Pikachu]] wandering around Riverwood, modern firearms were available in the forge, and the dragon [[https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/25317 was replaced]] with Wrestling/RandySavage. The silliness was toned down from episode 2 onwards.
80* EarWorm: When trying to think of a theme song for giant spider enemies, Mike accidentally starts singing the WesternAnimation/{{Freakazoid}} theme, and then they both admit to being unable to think of any other song than that one.
81* ElitesAreMoreGlamorous: Much to Zach's irritation, most of the military worships groups like the Airborne Rangers and basically wants to be like them, even if they're in a support unit with zero prospects of ever being elites.
82** Subverted between the Zach and Mike themselves. They often acknowledge and joke about the fact that, despite Mike being a Marine (with all of the panache carried with it), he's far less knowledgeable about firearms and combat than Zach, who served in the Army.
83* EvenEvilHasStandards:
84** Legion Mike is about as morally upstanding as the rest of his faction, but even he finds himself bothered by Legate Lanius, [[spoiler:to the point of having him killed and taking over the Legion leadership.]]
85** Aurelius of Phoenix gives the Weathers family double rations because he took pity of them after learning about Mike talking Frank Weathers into killing himself.
86* EvenTheSubtitlerIsStumped:
87** In New Vegas Christmas Special, Humphrey's...[[WhatTheHellIsThatAccent unique dialect and enunciation]] leads to some FunetikAksent FunWithSubtitles, but at one point Mike just gives up and renders one sentence as a series of question marks.
88** Ditto Lyle from the ''Working on the Chain Gang'' mob, with Mike giving up on subtitling mid-line. To his credit, the in-game subtitles didn't even bother with that.
89* EveryoneHasStandards: Zach and Mike in-universe are a pair of murderhobos that usually target bigger assholes (and out-of-universe, aren't averse to "roleplaying" as murderhobos) but every once in a while they stumble upon something that even they consider crossing a line. Examples include [[SaveScumming time-travelling]] to undo the events of the ''War Trash'' mod in ''New Vegas'' (which had [[spoiler:murdering most of Freeside]] as one of the objectives), or Zach flat-out refusing to read some of the notes left behind in ''Fallout 4 - Cannibal House'' (and Mike blurring pieces of them out in post) as they are blatant references to the horrific acts of real-life serial killer Albert Fish. Additionally, while they do have the Killable Children mod installed on their New Vegas playthrough, Zach became genuinely angry during the Russell mod when it looked like one of the tribals speared a baby to death.
90* EvilCostumeSwitch: Legion Mike wears a vest with the Ceasar Legion's bull painted on the back, to contrast with his main counterpart's NCR vest, a black leather armor instead of a grey shirt, and SinisterShades instead of a beret.
91* ExplainExplainOhCrap: An offhand comment about Glocks leads Zach to go on a long, ''long'' monologue about the history of law enforcement pistol calibers in America, particularly comparing 9mm to .40 Smith & Wesson. After about six minutes, Mike interjects:
92--> '''Mike:''' [[ArmorPiercingQuestion Where are you going with this information? What's the overall point you're trying to make here?]]
93--> '''Zach:''' ([[{{Beat}} Long Pause]]) Man... I dunno. I-I lost for the forest for the trees there.
94* FetishesAreWeird: Mike accusing Zach of having a foot fetish is one of the running gags. Zach either vehemently denies that or, in later episodes, rolls with it.
95* {{Foil}}: Legion Mike deliberately contrasts with mainline Mike in several ways:
96** Mike's loyal to the NCR for the most part, while Legion Mike is a loyal frumentarius.
97** Mike gathers companions left and right while Legion Mike prefers to work on his own, or assisted by slaves.
98** Mike and Zach tend to go for open combat while Legion Mike prefers subterfuge, stealth, and setting his enemies against one another.
99** For the most part, Mike [[StraightManAndWiseGuy plays the Wise Guy to Zach's Straight Man]], while Legion Mike plays straight man to Aurelius of Phoenix' wise guy.
100** On a meta level, mainline FNV series is done from Zach's POV, while Legion Mike's series is done from Mike's POV
101* FreezeFrameBonus: The test card shown when Zach uses the time machine [[spoiler:after Mike's death at the end of NVB III misses the red stripe.]]
102* FunWithAcronyms:
103** When put on the spot to explain what FAMAS stands for,[[note]]Fusil d'Assaut de la Manufacture d'Armes de Saint-Étienne, "Assault Rifle from the Saint-Étienne Weapon Factory"[[/note]] Zach gives up and names it "Fun And Me Ass Shoot".
104** Later on, Zach renames his [=MP9=][[note]]Maschinenpistole, German word for "submachine gun"[[/note]] to "Machinenen Pew 8" [sic].
105* FunWithSubtitles: While the subtitles are typically faithful to what's being spoken aloud, occasionally Mike will have some fun slipping gags into them such as changing size for certain inflections like Dr. Disaster saying "pUSsy". Other times, like when Zach headshots Mike for being annoying, the subtitle might shudder and tilt when the dialogue is interrupted.
106* TheGadfly:
107** Drinking game: take a shot every time Mike says something incorrect or asinine about guns to annoy Zach.
108--->'''Mike:''' Maybe this stove could function as a hammer forge.
109** Zach admitted in episode 197 of New Vegas Multiplayer that he exaggerates his dislike of the 1911 to annoy people considering it the greatest thing since sliced bread.
110--->'''Mike:''' You've called [the Colt 1911] the most unreliable gun you've ever used.
111--->'''Zach:''' I like ''joking'' about that.
112--->'''Mike:''' It's not really that unreliable?
113--->'''Zach:''' No, they work just fine. I just like giving 1911 owners a bunch of shit because ''MUH TWO WORLD WARS'' and ''45 ACP, 'CAUSE THEY DON'T MAKE A 46''.
114* GameMod:
115** The ''New Vegas'' playthrough alone includes multiple mods from ''VideoGame/TheSomeguySeries'', several mods by americanwierdo, and ''VideoGame/HonestHeartsReborn''.
116** The guys eventually [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RFrbv5dHoFo get put into a mod themselves]] as NPC companions. There's a standard NCR-aligned Zach and Mike duo, and an Evil Mike companion mod from his Legion playthrough. The Evil Mike mod also features an extremely irate repair NPC at the Mojave Outpost named Specialist Zach, who is forced to digitally relive every godawful Fort Polk experience the real Zach has ever had. Lastly, Park Ranger Zach is at one of the abandoned ranger towers in Honest Hearts.
117** Mike ended up [[VideoGame/MikeburnfiresNPCsAndQuests making his own mod,]] introducing a bunch of new [=NPCs=] and adding a few new quests.
118* GunNut: In real life, Zach was a small arms repairman in the US Army, and he ends up commenting on most unusual weapons that he encounters in ''New Vegas'' or ''[=FO4=]''. Most of his ramblings about guns were collected into compilations called Zach's Gun Rants.
119** Tellingly, the first of the compilations mentioned above begins with Zach saying "I'm gonna go on a short gun rant". There are six such compilations as of December 2023, with the shortest (part 6) being 35 minutes and the longest (part 4) being ''82''.
120* HalloweenEpisode: Episodes 68 to 71 of the ''Fallout 4'' series were posted around October 2022, and have everyone dressed up in costumes and some additional spooky content modded in.
121* HandCannon: Zach ''hates'' these, mentioning the Desert Eagle in [=.50AE=] and magnum revolvers in particular.
122* HandWave:
123** The in-universe explanation for SaveScumming is "time travel".
124** In an attempt to gain allies in the mainline universe, Legion Mike offered to help the Powder Militia faction from ''[[https://www.nexusmods.com/newvegas/mods/74958 Working On The Chain Gang]]''. When it became apparent the leadership are interested in peaceful cooperation with the NCR and dislike Legion as much as most other people, Legion Mike's continued cooperation with them is handwaved by namedropping the SunkCostFallacy.
125* HerCodeNameWasMarySue: Episode 201 of the ''FNV'' series has Zach present a barely coherent "script" in which he saves defenseless settlers from "ass ghoul" Malcolm Holmes and hooks up with [[spoiler:...not Cass, but Mike - in a bromantic (?) way.]]
126* ICallItVera:
127** After Mike claims to have "upgraded" Zach's grenade launcher into a kitbashed monstrosity, Zach's anguished cries reveal that he had named it "Betsy".
128** ''VideoGame/Fallout4'' allows you to give custom names to weapons, and so Zach's arsenal in that game gets names ranging from clever ([[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iranian_Embassy_siege "Operation Nimrod"]] for a silenced [=MP5=], referencing how the news coverage of it allowed the SMG to enter popular culture) to silly ("fun and me ass shoot" for a FAMAS).
129* IconicOutfit: The main characters end up gravitating towards specific outfits:
130** ''New Vegas'' series:
131*** Zach: [[https://fallout.fandom.com/wiki/Desert_Ranger_combat_armor A duster worn over combat armor and khaki pants]].
132*** Mike: [[https://www.nexusmods.com/newvegas/mods/55024 A vest with NCR's symbol on the back]] and [[https://fallout.fandom.com/wiki/1st_Recon_beret a red beret]] worn over [[https://fallout.fandom.com/wiki/Merc_outfit_(Fallout:_New_Vegas)#Merc_grunt_outfit a gray shirt and cargo pants]].
133*** Legion Mike: [[https://www.nexusmods.com/newvegas/mods/55024 A vest with Legion's symbol on the back]] over [[https://fallout.fandom.com/wiki/Lightweight_leather_armor leather armor]] and [[https://fallout.fandom.com/wiki/Authority_glasses tinted glasses]].
134** ''Fallout 4'' series:
135*** Zach: Blue Vault 111 suit with bit of armor worn over it; down the line it was replaced with a [[https://www.nexusmods.com/fallout4/mods/9034 modded-in trenchcoat-over-combat-armor combo]] similar to his ''NV'' outfit.
136*** Mike: [[https://www.nexusmods.com/fallout4/mods/17007 Red]] [[VideoGame/Fallout3 Vault 101]] suit with assorted Legendary armor bits. Later episodes added a red beret.
137* ImmediateSelfContradiction: Zach, sometimes.
138--> '''Zach''' I'm not insane, I know I'm not insane. Somebody had a Glock 18, [[DiggingYourselfDeeper I just need to find the corpse that had it]].
139* ImperialStormtrooperMarksmanshipAcademy: Zach brings this up when it comes to full-auto battle rifles chambered in .308 (and presumably other full-auto battle rifles) since the recoil would throw your aim well above the target after the first round in a burst. The intention was to have them stabilized on a bipod but, in [[ArmedFarces typical U.S. Marine wisdom]], everyone tried to shoot them from the shoulder.
140* InexplicablyIdenticalIndividuals: Legion Mike's universe's Aurelius of Phoenix looks and sounds like (a) Zach. [[spoiler:After he dies, the ending slides for the No No Bad playthrough reveal him to be Specialist Zach's long-lost twin.]]
141* InsaneTrollLogic: According to Zach, a former US Army Small Arms repairman, the US Army considers Bushmaster chainguns mounted on [[AwesomePersonnelCarrier Bradley IFVs]] and howitzers to be ''small arms''. Though they don't consider [[GatlingGood miniguns]] to be small arms: those are aircraft weapons systems, even if they are mounted on something other than an aircraft (though some special forces members asked if he could fix one. He tried, but couldn't).
142* InterserviceRivalry: Occassionally Mike (a retired Marine) and Zach (a former US Army small arms specialist) take joking swipes about each other's branches.
143* JavelinThrower: Frumentarius Mike's weapon of choice.
144* KilledOffForReal: [[spoiler: Bad Mothafucka]] gets killed by spined hellhounds, and Mike doesn't [[SaveScumming use his time machine]] to resurrect him.
145* KindaBusyHere: During a stakeout of the medical tent at Forlorn Hope in Episode 107, Zach's Pip-Boy begins to ring as a telemarketer calls him.
146* KnowNothingKnowItAll: Zig-zagged and generally portrayed positively with Zach. He jokes that he has "approximate knowledge of everything", and while there are some topics he is legitimately very knowledgeable about, he will also fully acknowledge when he is talking out of his ass.
147* LateToThePunchline: It takes Zach until the end of New Vegas Christmas Special to realize that "Grinchenhauzen" is a pun on [[Literature/HowTheGrinchStoleChristmas The Grinch]].
148* LetsFightLikeGentlemen: Subverted. When Zimmer challenges Zach to a katana duel, Zach gladly allows his companions - who still have guns - to shoot Zimmer to death.
149* LikeAGodToMe: More than once, Zach invoked [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Browning John Moses Browning]]'s name in place of God when firearms were involved.
150* LOL69:
151** When Zach rants about a revolver chambered in .45-70 Gov't and says that anything smaller than that caliber would be better, Mike suggests a gun chambered in .45-69.
152** Mike refers to the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PB_(pistol) PB pistol]] (labelled "PB-6P9" in game) as "Peanut Butter Sixty-Nine".
153** One of the reasons why ''Fallout 4 - [[CannibalLarder Cannibal House]]'' was demoted from episode 69 to an unnumbered one was, [[https://www.youtube.com/post/UgkxyuhA_1Jrjn1jJiKAp18G6fSzNNLh-tgg quote]]:
154--->[E]pisode "69" should be a fun one, which the next one is! :)
155** In an attempt to make one of the modded in ''Fallout 4'' companions stand out, Mike put her in a bright red jumpsuit with Vault 69's branding.
156* ManipulativeEditing: The "multiplayer" in their ''Fallout: New Vegas'' and ''Fallout 4'' series is achieved by modding in one of them as a companion or an NPC. It's also used in other ways, to deviate from the canon events or cover both branches of a quest, like with [[Characters/FalloutNewVegasCourierAndCompanions Veronica's]] decision whether to stay with the Brotherhood or split.
157* MisfitMobilizationMoment: The NV quest "Flags of our Foul-Ups" involves invoking the trope on an underperforming squad of NCR troopers. Mike and Zach did the quest the BoringButPractical way, while Legion Mike drugged the squad and made them fight to the death.
158* MoodWhiplash: The funeral speech in ''Frontier'' - first, Zach makes an inappropriate ProductPlacement joke about "sex couches", then, after a test card, he delivers a somber and bitter speech about how war is hell and the dead in front of him died for nothing.
159* MoralityChain: It's not stated outright, but within the New Vegas continuity Mike and Zach are this to one another -- Legion Mike's universe shows that both Mike and Zach would be far, ''far'' worse without each other's influence.
160* MyNaymeIs: Zach's name, more specifically the fact it's spelled with an H, is occasionally treated as unusual by Mike.
161* MythologyGag:
162** Two in succession in the first episode of the ''Fallout 4'' series: Mike ends up wearing a red jumpsuit with Vault 101's number on it, alluding to his solo ''VideoGame/Fallout3'' playthrough, and Zach complains that he's more used to his Pip-Boy being "like, a tablet thing", referencing [[https://www.nexusmods.com/newvegas/mods/38844 the modded Pip-Boy he was using in New Vegas]].
163** Mike has an armor stand with his NCR outfit in his room in their ''Fallout 4'' base.
164** The pilot episode of Skyrim has Zach ask someone about their opinion on the Legion and the NCR before he catches himself.
165* NerdyNasalness: Commander Shepard's voice is authoritative and deep, while Terrence Shepard's voice is slimy and creepy.
166* NiceJobBreakingItHero: In the No No Bad series, when Specialist Zach tries to fix Art's Pip-Boy, he ends up accidentally making it more broken than it was before.
167* NicknamingTheEnemy: During their playthrough of ''VideoGame/HonestHeartsReborn'', Zach takes a liking to the nickname of "redskirts" for Legion soldiers.
168* NoOneShouldSurviveThat: Thanks to some unfortunate clipping, Benny survives a ''mini-nuke'' fired at him by Zach, to the latter's disbelief.
169* NoSocialSkills: Zach consistenly emphasises how bad with people he is. Notably, while they're not above altering their stats to ridiculous levels and otherwise cheating, his Speech skill in ''New Vegas'' remains laughably low and he regularly fails skill checks related to it.
170-->'''Zach:''' I know more about how an AR-15 works than I know about interpersonal relationships.
171* ObviouslyEvil: Black vest [[WearingAFlagOnYourHead with a Legion bull on it]] worn over [[EvilWearsBlack black leather armor]], SinisterShades, dialogue that barely hides his contempt towards the NCR... Legion Mike is about as subtle as [[VideoGame/TheFrontier Tiberius Rancor]].
172* OpposingCombatPhilosophies: Mike and Zach usually charge into combat head-on alongside whatever companion(s) they picked up on their way, while Legion Mike prefers a stealthy approach and letting his enemies weaken themselves while he stays on the sideline if possible.
173* OutOfCharacterMoment: By the time of the final battle of the [[VideoGame/TheFrontier NCR Exiles]] campaign, Mike explicitly breaks character (as the cheerful optimist to Zach's tired cynicism).
174-->'''Mike:''' Climactic battle of ''The Frontier'', go! [...] Whee- I... I can't even pretend to be caring about it, I'm sorry. I'm supposed to be the positive one, but it's exhausting.
175-->'''Mike:''' (singsong) I'm normally trying to find the best side of everything, but I hate everything about this battle.
176* PetPeeveTrope:
177** Zach dislikes defined backstories in role-playing games, especially sprung on protagonists that were blank slates before that; the ''Burn Hazard'' [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VfmfG0kWGvw episode]] on ''Fallout'' games had him decry [[VideoGame/FalloutNewVegas New Vegas' Lonesome Road]] for that reason, their ''VideoGame/{{Fallout 4}}'' playthrough notably omits all the canon backstory of the Sole Survivor (and if the [=NPCs=] bring it up, he reacts like they mistook him for someone else), and the ''[[VideoGame/NewCalifornia Fallout: New California]]'' playthrough was deemed non-canon as far as the let's plays' lore goes after the reveals at the end.
178** Generally, Mike and Zach are both annoyed by mods that shoehorn in unnecessary romance options or awkward flirting.
179* PsychoSerum: One of the ''New Vegas'' mod quests adds a drug called Hype. Stat-wise, it boosts Agility to 10 while tanking Intelligence, and it's introduced by way of an AxCrazy NPC high on it. When Zach takes it, the screen gets a red tint and he quickly devolves from complaining about being a bit thirsty to shooting one of the Goodsprings settlers in order to drink his blood.
180-->'''Zach:''' YOU LOOK LIKE YOU'VE GOT A LOT OF WATER IN YOU AND BY "WATER" I MEAN "BLOOD" GIVE ME ALL OF YOUR BLOOD (cue [[BoomHeadshot shotgun shell to settler's skull]])
181* PyrrhicVictory: The ending of the Legion Mike playthrough sees [[spoiler:Ceasar's Legion triumphant... but Ceasar died after Mike botches the attempt to remove the tumor from his brain, leading to Legate Lanius' ascent to power. Mike ends up killing him and taking power for himself, but finds himself mourning the loss of his freedom. And then he gets transported to the mainline universe, where Legion gets their asses kicked by mainline Zach and Mike.]]
182* QuantityVsQuality: How Zach describes the British Sten SMG versus their counterparts in UsefulNotes/WorldWarII, it was made out of stamped steel so it could be quickly manufactured to arm soldiers in the British Army and hazards a guess that the American Thompson was about ten times as expensive to make over the Sten. Accuracy from manufacturing faults wasn't a concern as it was, of course, [[MoreDakka a Submachine Gun]].
183%%* RecurringBoss: Malcolm Clones.
184* RecurringElement: Mike's character ([[EvilCounterpart Legion Mike]] notwithstanding) will end up wearing a red hat of some sort: a beret in ''New Vegas'', ''DUST'' and ''Fallout 4'', a red baseball cap in ''New California'', and a wizard's hat in ''Skyrim''.
185* RedOniBlueOni: [[ColourCodedCharacters Despite the colour-coding]], Mike's blue and Zach's red: the former's calm and upbeat, while the latter's cynical, prone to ranting at the drop of a hat and willing to shoot people for annoying him.
186* RunningGag: Their long-running video series contain many of these:
187** "Were dinosaurs a pre-War thing, or a pre-pre-War thing?"
188** Zach sure does love his mac and cheese- [[ManchurianAgent I MUST KILL THE GOVERNOR]].
189** During their Videogame/FrostPunk playthrough, one of their randomly generated characters rolled up the name Dick Good. Dick Good is now a long-term member of the cast, and Dick Good has appeared in both their ''VideoGame/{{Pikmin}}'' playthrough, as a Pikmin, and in Mike's Legion playthrough of New Vegas, where Dick Good is Aurelius of Phoenix's secretary. [[OverlyLongGag Dick Good]].
190** [[VideoGame/NewVegasBounties Steven Randall]] loves fingers.
191** [[BigSHUTUP SHUT UP HOPE!]]
192*** For Fallout 4, SHUT UP DARLENE!
193** After past companions started piling up in Novac, Mike started describing it as "the town of beloved yet neglected companions".
194** Zach shooting Mike or one of their companions (usually Hope) whenever they start saying things that annoy him.
195** Mike being annoyed by how many different types of bullets there are in real life.
196** The recurring BondOneLiner of "I don't care about your sexual preference, just shut up and die quietly", or variants.
197** Zach snarling his name out (or just snarling in place of it) whenever it comes up in dialogue options.
198* SayingSoundEffectsOutLoud: When Legion Mike [[spoiler:has sex with Vanessa, her moans are accompanied by Mike proclaiming "SEX NOISE! SEX NOISE!" out loud.]]
199* SeinfeldianConversation: Mike and Zach frequently branch off into random stories about their time in the military or life afterwards while playing something else, compiled as either "WebVideo/CampfireStories" videos or "Random Military Stories" videos.
200* ShoutOut:
201** A few kills Zach got with the [=L96A1=] (aka the Arctic Warfare sniper rifle) are accompanied with a [[VideoGame/CounterStrike CSGO-eqsue kill notification in the corner.]]
202** The episode covering the ''[[VideoGame/TheFrontier Frontier]]'' mission [[spoiler:where the Wolfpack attempts to recover a captured and crucified Zach]] is called [[Film/SavingPrivateRyan "Saving Private Hazard"]].
203** Later on in the Frontier playthrough, [[spoiler:when they are all going to space,]] Zach and Mike end up imitating one of the ''VideoGame/Portal2'' cores.
204** In episode 315 of the New Vegas series, Zach paraphrases [[WesternAnimation/DanVs Dan Mendel]].
205--->I don't care who the NCR sends, I'm not paying taxes!
206** When getting his hands on a golf club in episode 323 of the NV series, Zach ends up poorly recreating a scene from ''VideoGame/BioShock1''.
207** In the first episode of the ''Fallout 4'' series, Zach blurts out that bayonets don't serve any purpose, then backpedals, saying [[TabletopGame/Warhammer40000 the Death Korps of Krieg]] will come after him if they hear that. Later on, he's seen using a laser rifle named "Cadian Flashlight".
208** In episode 54 of the Skyrim series, Zach does a faux-''WebAnimation/StrongBadEmail'' CouchGag after being told a key to a cell is in a strongbox.
209-->Duh-guh-tuh-tuh, answerin' the email, Strong Box.
210* SignatureHeadgear: Mike's default outfit includes a red NCR beret, signifying his (loose) allegiance to the NCR.
211* SinisterShades: Legion Mike is... well, [[TheEmpire a Legion member]] and his default apparel includes a pair of sunglasses.
212* SomethingWeForgot: In Episode 91 of the New Vegas series, Zach does this several times after completing one quest and thinking that he's done before remembering the imminent danger to some other location.
213* SpoilerCover: Spoiler Youtube thumbnail, but the principle remains: before the thumbnails were updated to use commissioned art instead of posing in-game characters, episode 311 of the New Vegas playthrough, the last ''[[VideoGame/NewVegasBounties NVB III]]'' one, [[spoiler:didn't have Mike on the thumbnail.]]
214* StuffBlowingUp: Both of 'em are fond of explosives -- Zach's secondary weapon of choice is a pump-action grenade launcher and Mike likes thrown explosives like dynamite sticks and grenades.
215* SurvivalMantra: When Terrence Shepard accidentally invites Liara into his quarters, Zach starts repeating "TALITALITALITALI".
216* SuperweaponSuspenseSubversion: In the No No Bad series, Legion Mike [[spoiler:launches a nuke at the NCR at the end of Lonesome Road]]. Aurelius of Phoenix then points out that nukes have a shelf life, and thus no damage occurred.
217* TakeThat:
218** When Zach talks about the Beretta and how it's a very common police-issued sidearm in the U.S., he starts by [[PoliceBrutality excessively firing at a small foe, yelling "STOP RESISTING!" and "GUN, GUN!"]]. It's made funnier by [[ImperialStormtrooperMarksmanshipAcademy how many times he unintentionally misses.]]
219** During a certain mission in ''VideoGame/TheFrontier'', Zach and Mike end up assigned to a team in which one of the members is a ghoul that's explicitly included for his immunity to radiation. They proceed to claim that once the situation comes up, he'll just declare it "not his destiny", a jab at ''VideoGame/Fallout3'''s ending.
220--->'''Zach:''' Until the DLC comes out and then he'll go "Oh yeah, I should totally go in there. Why am I making you do it?"
221--->'''Mike:''' "I was stupid before you downloaded the $5 patch!"
222** Later on, when Blackthorne [[spoiler:proclaims the NCR Exiles' victory during an official speech]], Zach sees the plot twist coming and alludes to the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mission_Accomplished_speech Mission Accomplished speech]].
223* TalkingIsAFreeAction: Averted in the climax of the ''The Machine and Her'' playthrough: [[spoiler:as Kat's monologuing, Mike is shown running up to her and shooting her with a rocket launcher right as she finishes.]]
224* TelecomTree: In Episode 100, Mike and Zach gain the support of all their companions in the fight against Malcolm Clones (after they free them from prison).
225* ThrowTheDogABone: Rather than following one of the canon paths for them, which leaves them shafted one way or another, Mike and Zach [[spoiler:put Veronica in charge of Gomorrah after Cachino dies in the shootout with Sal and Big Nero.]]
226* TooKinkyToTorture: In episode 221 of the ''NV'' series, after he gets gunned down by Zach once again, Mike claims to have developed a fetish for being shot.
227* TwoKeyedLock: After Zach causes excessive mayhem with Esther, a very powerful modified Fat Man, he agrees on such a solution. Later on, in the ''War Trash Bounties'' episode, he whips it out, and when Mike protests, he claims he has both keys and fires, killing himself.
228-->'''Zach:''' ...I think it needs four-factor authentication.
229* UnexplainedRecovery:
230** Esther, a minor villain from VideoGame/TheSomeguySeries, inexplicably comes back to life after they kill her and her Super Mutant bodyguard. Out of universe, it's because when they had to pick between two exclusive options [[spoiler:(killing her or finding out where are the children she sold to Legion are)]], they took a third option of [[spoiler:killing her and [[HandWave deducing the children's whereabouts from vague clues]].]]
231** Mike survives getting arrowed down in the ''Skyrim'' intro, with a vague handwave that the arrow didn't hit anything vital.
232* UnfriendlyFire: In the New Vegas series, Zach will frequently shoot his companions for annoying him - often even Mike.
233* WalkingArmory: Zach frequently has a wide array of weapons that he uses, though he tends to prefer shotguns. Mike will often either give Zach new weapons or randomly begin wielding a weapon that Zach has never seen him wield before, such as the Giddy-Up Buttercup melee weapon seen in Episode 158.
234* TheWatson: Mike usually plays this role to Zach, being able to hold any conversation and ask follow-up questions whenever the latter talks a lot about guns, Warhammer 40k, history, etc.
235* WaxingLyrical:
236** At one point the duo segues into both singing a line from [[Music/{{Blondie|Band}} "One Way Or Another"]].
237--->'''Zach:''' You're coming with us, Mike, one way or the other (starts singing) One way...
238--->'''Both:''' Or the other / I'm gonna find ya / I'm gonna getcha getcha getcha-
239--->'''Mike:''' [[SuddenlyShouting LET ME GO!]]
240** Another time, Mike greets Dee Jay, a recurring mod character, with a line from Music/{{Rihanna}}'s "Pon de Replay".
241--->'''Mike:''' Hey there mister Dee Jay won't you turn the music up?
242** One of the companions' disturbing anecdote about an incident in Reno prompts this exchange:
243--->'''Mike''': Thank God we've never been there and never will go there!
244--->'''Zach''': I've been there.
245--->'''Mike''': Have you?
246--->'''Zach''': Yeah, [[Music/JohnnyCash I shot a man in Reno just to watch him die.]]
247--->'''Mike''': Ugh...
248** The crucifixion scene from ''VideoGame/TheFrontier'' has Mike (speaking as the crowd) paraphrasing the last lines of Charlie Daniels' [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u2gGi-F829o "Crucify Him"]].
249--->''If you are [[spoiler:the Courier]], why won't you come on down from that crooooss?''
250** Episode 11 of Anne's Skyrim playthrough opens with Mike asking a question "Do you think people in Skyrim believe in..." before hanging up on a word, and Anne continues with "[[Music/TheLovinSpoonful ...magic in a young girl's heart?]]"
251* WeaponSpecialization: Evil Mike is fond of throwing spears, as befits a Legion member. Zach, as a gun nut, sticks to assorted firearms (with preference for shotguns and grenade launchers). Mike, as the less serious member of the duo, occassionally switches to unorthodox melee weapons.
252* WearingAFlagOnYourHead: Both mainline and Legion Mikes wear vests with their factions' symbols on the back.
253* WhamEpisode: Episode 311 of the ''FNV'' series ends with [[spoiler:Mike dead, Zach's sanity taking a hit, and a botched attempt to turn back time sending him to the world of ''VideoGame/FalloutDust''.]]
254* WhereAreTheyNowEpilogue: The ending of the last episode covering the Fourville mod is edited this way, showing the fates of a few of the [=NPCs=] without Mike or Zach's commentary.
255* WhosOnFirst: In episode 155 of the NV playthrough, the password to one of the terminals is randomized to be "simple". Zach says as much, Mike responds with "Oh, what is it?" and a back and forth occurs, capped off by Mike namedropping the trope as a non-sequitur.

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