#these games mean the world to me okay? XD and its high time i spread some propaganda for them

[quinn-of-aebradore]

I gush about a lot of video games on here but these two. For them being my favorite games of all time, I do not gush enough. Delightful stories that both deal heavily with accepting loss and grief. Fun, silly characters. Both are Ghibli-esq and the first one has cutscenes animated by the studio. The first also has a very fun Pokémon-like system!!! Portal fantasy shenanigans (a lot more of a focus in the first, but still very much present in the second). The kingdom building and skirmishes in the second are very fun. Cannot recommend picking them up while they're on sale enough.

[laertesstudies]

I got tagged in my first tag game by the awesome @study-not-procrastinating! Thank you so much!!

Rules: Answer 10 questions, the tag and pose 10 questions to 10 people.

Alright, here we go!

1. How would you like to be remembered in 200 years?

Honestly, I’ve never really thought about it! I don’t really have that same lust for immortality that i had as a kid. I guess I’d just like to be remembered as someone who was kind and loyal, and who helped someone achieve something amazing in their life. Maybe as someone who wrote a bomb paper about floral imagery in the Iliad.

2.  If you could get any director for a documentary about yourself, who would you pick and why?

Tim Burton! Maybe not a traditional documentary, I would love to have it in his style of stop motion clay. Growing up, I was always attracted to the darker and more macabre aspects of life, and that made it a bit hard to fit in. Fellow goths, you know what I mean. Tim Burton’s art showed me that I wasn’t alone, that there were other people out there who saw the beauty in the same things I did, and that it was okay to embrace your individuality!

3. What would be a museum exhibit that would definitely catch your attention?

Anything about the reign of Mansa Musa! Or about the history of math in the ancient Middle East!

4. If you could commit any crime and not get caught, what would you do?

Steal and repatriate a sacred item stolen from an indigenous people and placed in a museum by people who didn’t respect its intended purpose. Or create a perfectly counterfeit copy of a lost Rembrandt painting and sell it to a billionaire and give the proceeds to local schools who had their art programs cut.

5. Which anime/movie trope do you want to be?

I don’t know the name for it, but the character who’s super sweet and bubbly and maybe a little naive. Like Mako in KLK, Tohru in Fruitsbasket, or Cat in Victorious!

6. Which anime/movie trope are you really?

Either the otaku or the crybaby. 

7. At what age would you tell a child Santa isn’t real?

Whenever they seriously ask or start to show signs of disbelief. But I would 1000% make sure that they knew that Santa Claus is real, that those of us who know the secret become Santa Claus and it’s our job to continue spreading joy and belief to the younger kids.

8. Which artist, either dead or living, would you pick to create a portrait of you?

Oh! This is a really tough one. There are so many artists out there who are amazing. For dead artists, I would probably have to say Salvador Dali. For living artists, definitely the amazing @marina-does-things. Her knight Daisy filled my heart with so much joy and she’s so talented!!

9. You can turn back time and rewrite one book that you read in high school English class. What do you change, and why?

If I had to choose, I would have Shakespeare make Romeo and Juliet take place over 3 weeks or months instead of 3 days. It would maybe decrease the satirical element about teens being dumb and making bad decisions, but would that really be so bad? And it would still be an incredibly heartbreaking tale about how there is no place for love in a world ruled by hate and fear, about how that doesn’t matter and we have to love anyway because that is the only way to fight that hate. It would still be a story of how their love was so pure, it defied the rules that bound their lives. But that way when people say that Romeo and Juliet “loved” each other, it would actually be possible. 

10. If you were a billionaire, what is the one totally self-indulgent and weird thing you would have and everyone around you would have to pretend is cool.

XD Oh, the choices!! If I could only have one totally self-indulgent thing, I think I would have a bumper car type thing installed in my courtyard, but instead of cars, it would be dalek suits that you could sit in!

Sorry for the long post! Here are my 10 questions:

If you had to choose one decade to erase from history in order to save the planet from extinction, what decade would you choose and why?

Which of your parents do you think you are more like?

What do you think are the 5 most beautiful things one earth?

If you could explore either the deepest parts of the ocean or the furthest reaches of space, which would you choose?

What do you love most about your culture?

Who is the one person you would talk to about anything?

Do you have a favorite sitcom? If so, what is it?

When you think of home, what comes to mind?

If you could do absolutely anything you want tonight, and money was no concern, what would you do?

What is something you learned today that was completely unexpected or just really interesting?

@jawnkeets @etherealacademia @thawinoakenshield @studylustre @languages-and-code @gildedstudy @studylikeathena @studyambitiouss @studydiaryofamedstudent @dionyrtal

[ornstein]

ALL THE SALTY ASKS

I’mgoing to assume it’s still about Dark Souls XD

1. What OTPs in your fandom(s) do youjust not get?*

Afterthinking for a while, I got to the conclusion that it is Anastasia/Lautrec. Butthen, I like Eygon/Irina, which is a smiliar dynamic. Weird.

2. Are there any popular fandom OTPs youonly BroTP?*

I don’t know… But if that counts, I likeOrnstein/Artorias as a BRoTP, as well as Solaire/Chosen Undead (at the sametime I don’t mind seeing them being shipped).

3. Have you ever unfollowed someone overa fandom opinion?

No, I’d only do that if the opinion was harmful and/ordisrespectful.

4. Do you have a NoTP in your fandom?Are they a popular OTP?*

There’s actually a ship that I don’t like, which isAnastasia/Lautrec, but I don’t know if it is that popular.

I don’t mind what people ship, tho. I personally stayaway from incest.

5. Has fandom ever ruined a pairing foryou?*

Nope!

6. Has fandom ever made you enjoy apairing you previously hated?*

Like I said, I don’t hate any DS ships. However, Iused to see the relationship between Smough and Ornstein as impossible becauseof the huge contrast in their personalities. But now, I can see it. It is athing that I like, Smoughstein. Yes, it works (counting that the relationshipis consensual, of course).

7. Is there anything you used to likebut can’t stand now?*

Errrrr… I don’t think so. More like the other wayaround.

8. Have you received anon hate? What about?*

Not really. I remember having got random rude anonsonce, but it had nothing to do with fandom.

9. Most disliked character(s)? Why?

I don’t have a particular character that I dislike. Myreactions towards DS characters tend to go from “BABY!!!!” to“Ok I guess?”. Something like that. I do believe, tho, that there’recharacters that are overrated, such as Artorias and Lautrec (esp Artorias), butI still like them!! Like seeing Artorias being a huge nerd with the rest of theKnights of Gwyn. That is my jam.

Oh yeah, right… I dislike Petrus because he’s anass.

10. Most disliked arc? Why?

More than disliking it, I think it’s high tier comedy.The fact that it’s the Chosen Undead who saves Princess Dusk and all the creditis given to Artorias instead.

11. Is there an unpopular character youlike that the fandom doesn’t? Why?

Is Marvelous Chester that likeable by people? Notsure, but I like him!

12. Is there an unpopular arc that youlike that the fandom doesn’t? Why?

Oh my god, after thinking and thinking, I honestlydon’t know. An unpopular arc? Heck… I don’t know if this counts, but I likedAshes of Ariandel DLC and the mystery surrounding its lore. It made me think ofa possibility for foreseeing a Bloodborne connection to Dark Souls 3.

13. Unpopular opinion about XXXcharacter?

About Ornstein: he is a music nerd and plays stringinstruments very well, especially the harpsichord. 

14. Unpopular opinion about your fandom?

It’s full of creative, thoughtful people. Dark Soulsgives room for a lot of talk, and the peeps involved in the fandom are veryopen to discourse.

15. Unpopular opinion about themanga/show game?

I believe that Bloodborne’s setting and lore issomewhat connected with Dark Souls. Bloodborne’s story takes place centureslater after the events of Dark Souls 3.  

16. If you could change anything in theshow game, what would you change?

Adding Ornstein as a summon for Kalameet. I stillmissed him in the DLC and a cameo would have been alright.

Also, a finished version of Lost Izalith would benice, since the area looks like it was left unfinished, with doors and rooms stillto be added.

17. Instead of XYZ happening, I wouldhave made ABC happen…

A scene in which the Knights of Gwyn finally meet eachother again and they hug and weep together.

18. Does not shipping something‘popular’ mean you’re in denial and/or biased?

OF COURSE NOT. Everybody has the right to ship theirships even if they aren’t popular, it doesn’t mean you’re in denial of a shipthat’s more popular. I think that these concepts are what spreads hate amongstfandoms, because it still makes it sound that the more popular a ship is, themore real/canon it is? And it’s the biggest lie I’ve ever heard.

19. What is the one thing you hate mostabout your fandom?

When people judge or criticize other people who draw orwrite a certain character a certain way.

Questions 20, 21 and 22 alreadyanswered!

23. Unpopular character you love?

I’m going to say Ciaran! I don’t think she is thatpopular.

24. Would you recommend XXX to a friend?Why or why not?

I’d recommend Dark Souls to my mom and she doesn’teven play videogames. So yeah, absolutely! First, the story isn’t straight awaytold to you in a lineal way, you have to stop and read item descriptions inorder to unfold a huge part of the mystery. Second, once you try to put thesense of the story together, it’s brilliant, because nothing is entirelyconfirmed, you have to put your brain to work and be like: “okay. We havethis fact and this fact. Now… how can we glue these pieces together and makesome sense into this mess? Like this? Yes…YES!! I can see it… I unraveledthe huge clusterfuck that is Dark Souls!! Oh wait, Dark Souls 3 is out now. Mylore discoveries from the first game are gone. This crap DOESN’T MAKE ANYSENSE, MIYAZAKI. WHAT DID YOU DO”.

No, but really, the story is amazing. I personallyenjoy it a lot, especially because fans have their own interpretations andtheories, so it is all good to read and share different perspectives! Also,another fact: the SOUNDTRACK. Look, I always say that the Bloodborne OST ispure therapy for me because of its aggressive choir of loud voices andwind/string instruments, but the Dark Souls OST is enchanting. Surely it is notas powerful as Bloodborne’s, but it still has its intentional effect, like immersingyou into the scenery/boss fight/whatever it is. And oh boy, it is an epic one!

Another thing: the WORLD is incredibly super wellconnected. The world map from Dark Souls 2 is a MESS. But DS1 does anincredibly good job at it. And it is very beautiful (and a bit depressive too).

Then, the game is HARD AS HECK, Perhaps not for peoplewho is already used to these games, but if you’re a first, it is possible thatthe game gets a bit too difficult for you. But believe me, IT IS SO WORTH IT.DEFEATING A BOSS AFTER THE 30TH ATTEMPT AND CELEBRATING IT, IT IS SUCH A GOODFEELING!

 25. How would you end XXX/Would youchange the ending of XXX?

Putting an Ornstein summon at Kiln so that he cansmooch the Chosen Undead in the mouth and beg them to stay before they burn toa crisp.

And also making the ending cutscenes a bit longer.

26. Most shippable character?

Ornstein. I’ve seen him being shipped with at least 5people.

27. Least shippable character?

Hawkeye Gough and Priscilla. I just… I can’t see them being shippedwith anyone. They are pure cinnamon rolls.

[victorluvsalice]

AU Thursday: Tell Me Where To Find Shelter -- The Reboot

Okay, so -- this past Saturday, I brought back the Pentatonix/Lindsey Stirling cover of Imagine Dragon’s “Radioactive,” and commented that part of the reason the song was on my mind was because I’ve been really getting into Fallout 4, which I’m playing with Victor as my Sole Survivor. This mean that, of course, I have a Valice AU for the game -- “Tell Me Where To Find Shelter.” I originally came up with a rather simplistic version of the AU aaaalll the way back in 2016, based on what little I knew about the game (and the series in general) from getting into the Fallout Shelter mobile game and seeing a friend’s posts about her Sole Survivor. That original version could be summed up as basically “the prologue sequence, only Victor and Victoria are secretly in a poly relationship with Emily, who dies too when their kid is stolen, and Victor discovers Alice alive in the Vault as the only other one who made it -- they go out into the Wasteland together to discover what happened to Victor’s kid.” Pretty simple, right?

Yeah, you can throw all that out. Now, I have actually played the game, spoiled myself on the main quest and a lot of the side quests because I don’t give a damn, and have done a bit of research on the history of the Fallout verse as a whole. (Short version: It sucks. It sucks a lot.) So I have a lot of new ideas, meaning it’s time to reboot this verse! I wouldn’t expect a full-fledged story to come out of this (you’ve seen me panicking over the size of “Londerland Bloodlines,” right? Which is based off an action RPG that is reasonably linear and has a timeline of a month? Fallout 4 is open world and while the main quest is linear, the fact that I’ve been able to ignore it for MONTHS in-game because I can’t say no to Preston Garvey is -- eeep), but I may at least do a few snippets and whatnot.

So! Let me share what I’ve got regarding Victor’s history as the Sole Survivor of Vault 111 -- I’m gonna try to keep it to more general thoughts as I’m not totally up on the history of the Fallout world, and things may have to be adjusted if I later discover that something in the canon strongly contradicts it:

-->I have got his birth date: June 9th, 2050. This makes him 27 at the start of Fallout 4, which I felt was reasonable based on the Fallout Wiki stating both Sole Survivors were likely born between the early 2040s and the mid 2050s.

-->I still want him to be born in England, and have his family move to America a little later in his life -- though when is complicated by the whole Euro-Middle Eastern War and the New Plague putting America under quarantine for a while. The latest I can imagine is them making it over in his early teens or so, having left the broken-down wreck of the U.K. to rebuild fortunes in America.

-->They do indeed rebuild fortunes in America -- Boston, Massachusetts, to be precise. William sets up an extremely lucrative fish-canning business and makes sure to support the military extensively. (The Four Leaf fishpacking plant is almost certainly one of his in this timeline.)

-->The Victor/Victoria/Emily poly thing still happens, kicked off by Victor’s parents pressuring him into dating Victoria (whom he likes), Victor making friends with Emily (whom he also likes) -- and Victor accidentally asking Emily to prom via trying to rehearse his lines to ask Victoria to prom. Feeling bad as Emily is coming off a really bad breakup with an ass named Barkis (who stole a lot of money from her in a long con), he clears it with both girls to take Emily, and later they help defend Victoria when Barkis returns during the party and try to rob her. This leads to a close friendship, which eventually becomes something more.

-->Victor ends up being pulled into the Sino-American war straight out of high school -- William attempts to buy his way out, but for once his money doesn’t work, and Victor ends up fighting in Anchorage, Alaska.

-->This version of Victor, while still into butterflies and moths, is also a tinkerer, and quickly becomes known among his fellow soldiers in Fox Company (108th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Battalion) as “that guy who can fix anything with duct tape and Wonderglue.” (I do enjoy my armor and gun mods -- everything must be deep pocketed!)

-->I’m not sure what Victor does to earn his “decorated war hero” status yet (probably saved the lives of a lot of men with some quick repairs and shooting), but it’s enough to finally get him discharged around 2076. Victoria and Emily had gotten together while he was stuck fighting, but are only too happy to let him into their relationship. Victor officially marries Victoria to keep his parents happy, and they move into Sanctuary Hills with Emily pretending to be their “eventual live-in babysitter” to avoid scrutiny from the parents.

-->And then, during a park escapade, Victoria ends up pregnant. Baby Shaun is welcomed to the world July 31st, 2077. Everyone is thrilled, and Victor picks up a Mr. Handy soon afterward to help with baby care.

-->And then, of course, the bombs drop on October 23rd, 2077. Victor, Victoria, Emily, and Shaun just barely make it into Vault 111, and end up in cryonic suspension -- Victoria is later shot when her and Victor’s pods are reactivated during the kidnapping, and Emily dies quietly when the life support is cut to all but Victor’s pod. Victor is absolutely devastated by their deaths, and takes Victoria’s wedding ring and Emily’s favorite butterfly hair clip as mementos to remember them by before leaving Vault 111.

-->As for the actual game stuff:

Victor’s starting SPECIAL stats were Strength 4, Perception 3, Endurance 7, Charisma 2, Intelligence 8, Agility 3, Luck 3. I’ve been mainly improving Strength for carry weight, though I recently started working seriously on bumping up Charisma because I have realized making it a dump stat was probably not the greatest idea.

I can’t list all his current perks off the top of my head, but Armorer and Gun Nut are up there -- he’s very much a shooty-bang-bang kind of guy, and I believe I mentioned loving deep pockets?

Victor hasn’t met all the factions yet, but -- he’s definitely a Minuteman. I am so easily distracted by those quests, it’s not even funny. ...Well, it’s a little funny. XD He was only too happy to help Preston Garvey’s group set up in Sanctuary Hills, and he and Preston are best friends now -- aka, Preston’s the first companion who idolizes me and whose perk I got. He’s a LITTLE awkward about the whole “General” thing (”Preston, you’re the one always telling ME what to do”) but he’ll grow into it.

As for the other factions -- he’s met Paladin Danse and helped him out at Arcjet, but refused the offer to join the Brotherhood. . .he might go back and do some missions with them, but I don’t think he’s going to like Elder Maxson’s views on synths and ghouls (Super Mutants -- okay, Super Mutants are assholes). He hasn’t met the Railroad yet, but I think he’ll like them and join up to help, even if he thinks some of their methods need tweaking. The Institute -- I think he’ll be of the mind that their discoveries are good, but they’re using them for such evil purposes, and -- ugh.

That being said, I’d like to go for the Minutemen ending that does not require warring with the Brotherhood of Steel, simply because there are kids on that airship and I’d feel bad shooting it down. If there was a way to just get rid of Maxson and maybe yank the Brotherhood closer to its Fallout 3 views. . .and if not blowing up the Institute was an option, Victor would be for it. Getting rid of the top brass who have completely written off the Commonwealth is one thing -- but the building, with all its advances? That could be useful.

Oh, and yes, he is adopting Synth Shaun -- but he is letting the kid know who and what he is, to help him forge his own path in life. (Synth Shaun also correctly guesses his new Dad feels awkward calling him by his predecessor’s name, and they decide on “Chester” instead.)

As for companions he’s currently met -- mentioned already that Preston’s his best friend, and he’s a solid supporter of the Minutemen. He adores Dogmeat and has made him a doghouse to live in at the Red Rocket near Sanctuary. He likes Piper Wright and her desire to spread the news quite a lot (and finds her attractive too). Danse he admires for his commitment to his men and his cause, but doesn’t really know him beyond that due to not joining the BoS. He IS very thankful for the gun, though -- Righteous Authority is useful! Codsworth and he had some rough moments at the beginning (I gave Mama Murphy some Jet for a vision, and poor guy got in the way of some friendly fire on an early trip), but seeing Victor get his modding on has improved their relationship quite a bit (Codsworth sees it as Victor getting back to his old helpful self). He’s encountered Ada and has grown quite fond of the little robot, wanting to help her avenge her slaughtered caravan family (WHY CAN I NOT HUG THE ROBOT). And he’s rescued Strong from Trinity Tower. . .and ended up getting sick of the Super Mutant’s constant negative comments toward humanity and inability to figure out stealth. He was helpful in taking back The Castle, but currently Victor’s got him living with a couple of settlers as a “guard” of sorts, in the hopes it’ll keep him busy and out of Victor’s hair.

And now you may notice there’s a strange lack in this longer-than-I-anticipated write-up. . .namely, where the hell is Alice? Well, that question has three answers:

-->For the purposes of my playthrough, I’m designating Piper as Alice -- she’s going to be Victor’s romance option in this game. (Me turning my attention to boosting Charisma may have been inspired by being unable to flirt with her during an affinity conversation no matter how many times I reloaded.)

-->An idea I had recently to put Alice in the verse was have her as a native-born Wastelander/escapee from a Vault (latter would probably be best to keep her history -- oh cripes, maybe she was from a Vault where BUMBY was OVERSEER, imagine THAT horror) who discovers the history of the “Order of Mysteries” (a group of women, lead by the old voice actress of the Mistress of Mysteries, who turned herself into a legit superhero post-Great War -- unfortunately betrayal led to the group dying out) and decides to take up the mantle, much like the Sole Survivor can become the Silver Shroud. She’d show up not long after Victor starts Shrouding around, asking to meet -- they’d have a little spar, end up fighting another enemy together, and she’d join up as a companion, leading to eventual romance.

-->But the first idea I had to get Alice into the story was. . .well. . .

Let me put it this way -- for quite a while, I was playing both Vampire: the Masquerade -- Bloodlines and Fallout 4 at the same time.

. . .yeah, I think this is going to need another post.