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[kn1ghthawk]

Nick Valentine, the Detective Archetype, and the Mettle of a Man

If you browse social media, chat to your friends, brave what old-school forums are left or plunge into comments of various subreddits, you will find a fair amount of people who truly, earnestly enjoyed Fallout 4. It has been the subject of numerous (earned) critiques regarding everything from its convoluted story to its oversimplification of once interesting game mechanics. This isn’t an essay that focuses on those elements, numerous though they are, but something I noticed as I did my best to grapple with the unwieldy main plot and the significantly better Far Harbor. 

If you gather a crowd of people who have played the game and ask ‘how many of you had a great time?’ some people, by merit of how taste works, will happily raise their hand. That I’m writing this at all is a sign that, for all the faults I found, I genuinely engaged with it in a way I didn’t expect to as I (apparently a lawyer) slogged through the opening with my assigned soldier husband and Apple-Cheeked Infant You Will Love. In that respect, I suppose, I’m raising my hand.

If you peruse those same places, with the same people, and ask ‘how many of you really liked Nick Valentine?’ 

The number of hands up will be significantly higher. 

In fact, it isn’t uncommon for people who didn’t enjoy any part of Fallout 4 to instinctively throw in a ‘Nick was cool’. But, as somebody who agrees, why is that? He’s got a lot of cool elements, sure. He’s a wisecracking robot detective. He has the most fleshed out backstory of any companion and, come Far Harbor, is the deuteragonist. Stephen Russel delivers an incredible vocal performance. He has a sick-ass fuckin’ detective name. What’s not to like? But he isn’t just a well-liked character in a game with many failings, he’s one of the most beloved characters in the entire franchise. That takes some doing. So how the hell did they do it? 

Valentine is a character defined by contrasts; man to machine, past to future, ‘me’ to ‘not me’ and, less obviously, ‘archetype’ to ‘antithesis’. Nick Valentine is both a stereotypical gumshoe, the hardboiled detective of the neo-noir setting of Fallout 4, and every element of what makes up that stereotype turned completely on its head. He is, and is not, what he claims to be. He is noir and neo-noir. He shouldn’t be well-written. But, by accident or miracle, he is.

He is, and is not, Nick Valentine.

Let’s pull back a little and talk about noir, detectives, and detectives in noir:

The role of The Detective isn’t to solve crimes in the seedy underbelly of whatever city he lives in, seducing dames and cracking wise as he goes toe to toe with gangsters. That’s the window dressing. Press your cheek up against the glass and squint a little and you’ll make out a murkier shape, something that wraps around all the others like chiffon. It accentuates, highlights, is easily overpowered by the glitzy parts it surrounds. It is vital to the context of what makes or breaks a noir detective yet makes an effort to avoid your scrutiny. It is, and is not, the point.

The role of a detective is to suffer.

Keep reading

[kn1ghthawk]

“he’s my comfort character!” then comfort him, he’s drowning in an indescribable emptiness right about now

[kn1ghthawk]

In the same way that magic cannot be magic if it is perfectly understood, people can only be hot if they look a little weird.

[kn1ghthawk]

[kn1ghthawk]

whenever I feel bad about having a weird name I remind myself that C.S. Lewis’ middle name was Staples 

[kn1ghthawk]

The Middle

I wrote and illustrated this story as a birthday present for my partner, I hope you enjoy it!

[kn1ghthawk]

top hats imply the existence of a bottom hat

[kn1ghthawk]

Appa in tibetan yak rugs and apparel 

[kn1ghthawk]

I’m not saying it’s right, but I understand (x)

[kn1ghthawk]

when u die and the cones in your eyes are repaired when you come back to life #justlazaruspitthings

[kn1ghthawk]

Fawkes the Phoenix was based on a harpy eagle, howmcute would a kestrel phoenix be with a peacock tail and train?

this is a Good Opportunity considering i was never a big fan of fawkes’ movie design how about

[kn1ghthawk]

one fairly common experience of gifted children is wishing for pain. wishing you had some great big horrible thing in your past so that you can justify the pain you’re in, and so that you’ll deserve help. it’s exhausting and it fucks you up and to anyone out there who feels like they haven’t suffered enough to get help: you’re allowed to want help. you’re in enough pain. you deserve to feel better

[kn1ghthawk]

Running with the pheasants

(via)

[kn1ghthawk]

My little dragon puppet I just made!! Be nice to him he’s only a little boy! 

I have a tutorial up on how to make him if u want check it out 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J7Hkv6d-Jpg

[kn1ghthawk]

Sure, other platforms may call them “followers” too, but only Tumblr can capture the feel of a faceless crowd of huddled masses trailing after you about a city block’s distance away, picking up pages of your diary or scrawlings that you drop on the ground as you walk along. Some of these people have been there for years. Some only joined the crowd last week. Collectively, the crowd is ancient and ageless. Who are they? What do they want from you? Nobody knows. Walk a little faster.

[kn1ghthawk]

Random mansion generator

The Procgen Mansion Generator produces large three-dee dwellings to toy with your imagination, offering various architectural styles and other options. Each mansion even comes with floorplans:

https://boingboing.net/2019/07/12/random-mansion-generator.html

[kn1ghthawk]

how do the centaurs sleep? and how do they stretch after a good sleep?

Ok this is one I’ve been wanting to cover for a while and my cooldown sketches got out of hand, so buckle up and enjoy the picturebook!

The easiest options is exactly what you think, the flop. In a home, thick carpets or tatami-like mats would provide at least some sort of cushion for the horse-half and various sized cushions and pillows to lift and support the top half. And they CAN sleep standing up, like horses, but it does require both a special harness/corset and practice. And it’s not very comfortable for anything deeper than a doze or catnap for most, so it’s mostly reserved for bad situations, naps, or guard duty.

Most common are recliners, or ‘hammocks’. Easy to fold and carry for cultures on the move, or make fancy for the city-folk they are probably the most ubiquitous of centaur furniture. A simple adjustable A-frame supporting some sort of flexible fabric-ish sheet for the top half to lean against and sleep. Usually paired with some sort of large blanket or padding on the ground to lay the horse-half on!

When you don’t have no fancy recliners, your herd will do! The preferred sleeping method of closely bonded herds is to simply rest on your buddies cushy backside! Roaming bands can often form long chains of sleeping centaurs with the unlucky first taur either on guard duty, sleeping sprawled, or with the group’s only hammock.

Mix and match to your character and herd’s personal preference!

Also stretchies!