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victorluvsalice · 6 months

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Mini VITD Sims Lookbook (Largely Alice Focused Edition)

Hi all -- I ended up downloading and playing with some more Victorian and Victorian-esque CC for Sims 4 last Saturday, looking for some new looks for my Valicer In The Dark versions of Victor, Alice, and Smiler (mainly Alice, as per the title). And, as I'm still getting the next Chill Valicer Save update ready, I figured I'd share the results, in case any of you were interested/wanted some more CC to download! Here we go:

First up, we actually have something that I downloaded from someone’s lookbook post for their Alice Sim a little while ago (I'm afraid I don't remember whose at this point ^^;) – a conversion of Alice’s London dress from Alice: Madness Returns! As in, one Mimoto-Sims ripped this dress straight from the files of that game (along with a bunch of others) and turned it into an outfit in Sims 4! :D I’ve been looking for this for a while, and I’m quite pleased with it, though it is a little weirdly shiny – and if you think Alice suddenly looks a LOT thinner than usual in this dress, she is. Apparently I didn’t make my Sim Alice underweight enough! I think I prefer my Sims 4 version having a waist that doesn’t look like it could snap in half at any moment, though. XD

Okay, onto the CC I actually downloaded on Saturday, with Alice modeling the Ever Elegant Blouse v2 and the Rather Ravishing Skirt v2 from Gilded Ghost’s New Woman set! I ended up pairing these two together because, with the apron, I thought this made another good “maid” Alice outfit – though she looks like she’s working somewhere fancier than Houndsditch in this set, that’s for sure. (Now I’m tempted for her to somehow get her hands on a maid’s outfit from the Van Dort estate when her and Smiler’s attempt to return Victor to his parents ends up in them robbing them for being shitheads who don’t care about their son...) But it’s a nice look for her, and I am THRILLED that this and the other tops from that set worked with her necklace! :D Seriously, so many outfits hide that necklace, and given that it’s suppose to be her wearing Lizzie’s room key, I’d like it to be visible more often than not!

Case in point, the necklace is also visible in this outfit, which is Alice wearing the Jacket Jubilee top with the Perfectly Plain skirt from the New Woman set. This set I just thought looked nice on her, and made a nice – semi-formal? This feels fancier than casual, but not fancy enough to be formal. Like, maybe this is something she’d wear if the gang were heading to the Golden Plum for a nice dinner, or to a park for a trio date. That sort of thing. Not “fancy neighborhood” wear, but a step above hanging around the house.

By contrast, Alice is definitely not leaving the house in this outfit. XD This is dzifasims’s Bespoke Corset, paired with a plain Get Famous skirt that I thought looked like a shift or underskirt (I thought the corset CAME with one, but apparently I was mistaken). It’s nice to have a plainer corset that doesn’t look like it was bought for sex purposes, unlike the base game one. Though I do like the “bought for sex purposes” one too. XD Alice probably prefers this one, though – it’s more her style, and I think it makes good underwear for her.

Onto the masc stuff, with Smiler showing off pandorasimbox’s Azariah’s Sacksuit. I have mixed feelings on this – the basic shape of the suit is okay, and I liked pairing it with the bowler, but as per usual this suit did not have any of the right swatches I needed for Smiler. The problem is, people do a lot of muted colors for Victorian-style clothes, and even the ones that include brighter swatches tend not to do a lot of yellow. Meaning I often end up with poor Smiler wearing beige because that’s as close as I can get. *sigh* I mean, I do rather like the look on them – they kind of look like they’re auditioning for a Charlie Chaplin movie – but it’s gotta be BRIGHTER, you know? *sigh* I gotta learn how to recolor clothes... (Also, amusingly, the boots are actually from Moschino – they actually look Victorian enough when you cover up the tops with a long pant.)

Fortunately, while [LonelyBoy]’s TS4 Solardius Outfit doesn’t have a yellow swatch, it DOES have a black swatch with gold decorative details, and that I can work with – especially when paired with the High School Years shoes I love so much for Smiler in the “black with yellow stitching” swatch. :) Not sure how much I like the high collar on Smiler, but this is certainly not a bad look for them!

And it CERTAINLY isn’t a bad look for Victor, who suits that high collar much better. XD As you can see, Victor got the nice dark blue swatch with the red tie, which is kind of the inverse of his tie/vest color scheme in the movie. XD But it suits him, and again, this seems like a nice, semi-formal outfit he might wear for an outing with his partners where he wanted to look a little more put together. :)

And there you have it – me playing with my favorite trio like dolls again. XD What can I say, it’s fun to dress them up in new outfits! And these particular sessions help inform me of what I’d like my trio to wear in the Valicer In The Dark universe. Since, you know, I’m pretty well obsessed with that these days. XD So don’t @ me, downloading CC is writing research, okay? Okay. :p

#sims 4 #cas looks #fashion #victor van dort #alice liddell #smiler alton #valicer in the dark au #well appropriate that I had this in the queue after getting that ask about Valicer multichapter fics #and me talking about the first fic in the VITD series that I'm working on XD #but yes more fun with CC clothes #I really do like Alice's outfits #that's an excellent conversion of her canonical dress #I have taken a turn toward preferring Maxis Match stuff but I will make an exception there #and her new dresses and corset fit her very well #and Smiler and Victor are rocking the Solardius suit #particularly Victor who looks very nice in that shade of blue #aw but the sack suit #I really DO need to learn how to do clothing recolors #there's so much stuff that would suit Smiler so well if it came in the right swatches!#who do I have to pay to add bright yellow and yellow-and-black stripes to everything #no more of this beige nonsense Smiler needs to be LOUD AND PROUD #...also someone explain to me how jewelry works in this game and why some tops hide necklaces and others don't #I genuinely don't understand :(#Sims 4 you are confusing #queued

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victorluvsalice · 1 month

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AU Thursday: Valicer In The Dark -- Fun With Special Abilities II, Time For The Crew

Because the post about their INDIVIDUAL special abilities got long enough that I felt it was a good idea to give their special abilities as a GROUP its own post. XD Because that is the thing about Blades In The Dark -- not only do individual characters get a playbook, the crew as a whole gets one as well! To help codify what kind of scoundrels they are, and what kind of scores they generally favor. The Three Pillars, at least in my head, are Shadows, first and foremost -- this means they favor scores that involve finding and stealing stuff, spying on people, and sabotaging things. Though I'm not opposed to them doing Hawkers scores from time to time, since that playbook is all about selling shit, and that syncs well with Smiler being a seller of Joy Serum to the masses... Anyway, the crew playbook provides special abilities and bonuses for all of the crew members to use, and upgrades to their lair to help them with their various scoundrel activities. Here's the abilities and upgrades for the Three Pillars as a whole that I have locked down so far:

-->Special Abilities: As per my original write-up on this topic, The Three Pillars start with the Pack Rats special ability -- the actual playsheet says that their lair is a "jumble of stolen items," but for my crew, this represents the fact that, while most of the actual house portion of their lair is empty when they first discover it, Elder Gutknecht's beloved library up in his tower is stuffed full of books, occult objects, and other articles of interest he collected when he was alive. (Plus, I'm not opposed to them finding other random crap hidden away while they clean the rest of the place up -- the initial looters couldn't have gotten everything!) Game mechanically, this allows them an extra die whenever one of them rolls to acquire an asset before or after a score, because there's a non-zero chance it might already be in that damn tower. XD Now, admittedly, I picked this partially because I didn't think any of the other special abilities fit for the trio at the very beginning of their career, but I'm pretty happy with it regardless. As I said at the time, it feels appropriate given how messy that tower is in the actual Corpse Bride movie! :p As for what they get as time goes on --

A) Everyone Steals -- they get better at the skills best-suited to their chosen scoundrel "trade!" In game terms, this lets you immediately add a dot to either the Prowl, Finesse, or Tinker action rating (which indicates how many dice they get to roll whenever they attempt something that involves that action) on each character's personal playbook -- and you don't have to choose the same action for each character either, you just have to pick one of those three. (Though you also can't go above three dots in any of the actions either, as the fourth and final dot in all actions is locked behind another upgrade.) This is the first upgrade listed on the sheet, and is considered to be a good "starting" upgrade for new crews, but I felt that, while I wanted it, it made a little more sense to take it a bit later to show how the gang is slowly getting better at some of their chosen tools of the trade. :) Specifically, I think currently Alice would take the extra dot in Prowl, Victor in Finesse, and Smiler in Tinker to represent their own specializations (Alice is the more physical one and could use the boost to moving around quietly that Prowl gives; Victor is the one most suited to delicate work -- and I've decided Finesse is the best action to represent his artistic/musical skills, so it only makes sense to boost that; and Smiler is the tech/chemistry person and thus should have a strong Tinker rating) -- but we'll see if I think differently based on where they are in the series when they get this upgrade!

B) Ghost Echoes -- they all gain the ability to see and interact with the unearthly echo of Duskwall that exists in the ghost field! Which is just more weird, cool, and dangerous magic for them to play with. :D The playbook indicates that this is gotten through "weird experience or occult ritual," and -- well. Victor already has the Ghost Mind ability that allows him to sense the presence of anything supernatural in his vicinity, and I'm planning for him to pick up Ritual and Ghost Veil abilities, so this crew ability just feels like a natural extension of all of that (meaning, obviously, those powers of his are prerequisites). Maybe once he figures out his own ability to shift temporarily into the ghost field, this group ability can cover him figuring out how to turn it into a ritual? Though I don't know if the characters are supposed to fully or just partially shift into the field while this is happening...we'll figure that out when we get there!

C) Slippery -- they're better at avoiding the consequences of their various scores! In game terms, this means that when you roll for "entanglements" (the various things you will have to deal with after committing a heist -- can range from Bluecoats picking up friends to interrogate, to devils taking an interest in the gang, to a friend needing a favor, to a rival trying to throw their weight around), you roll twice on the table and keep whichever result you want. You also get an extra die when you roll to reduce the crew's "heat" (which, the higher that goes, the worse/more complicated the entanglements you pick up, so it's good to keep it low). I think this one fits the crew because my stories for them have them building a reputation as "weirdly unstoppable for just three people" -- they manage to get one over on Six Towers' local nobleman Lord Rowan, they survive Lord Bethesda's assassination attempt and a trip into the Lost District, they survive ANOTHER assassination attempt by the fucking leaders of most of the criminal gangs of Duskwall, etc, etc. They are slippery little fuckers! And we love them for it. :p

D) Synchronized -- they become exceedingly good at working together as a team. Mechanically, this means that when they do a "group action" together (where everybody rolls to do one specific thing, with one character leading), if two people roll separate sixes, you can count that as a critical success. I like this because a) it's cool and makes group actions more interesting and b) it has great story idea potential! You see, I see this as a supernatural thing that they pick up accidentally -- I'm not sure precisely what happens yet, but there is occult nonsense that briefly links their minds and has them relive the others' memories, and after that...it's not precisely a full telepathic link, but there's some sort of lingering effect that they can use to just -- know what they all need to do when they're all working together on something. It doesn't always work perfectly, but when it does, they are a force to be reckoned with. Plus there would also be many feels involved from them getting a first-hand look at what the others went through and -- just understanding each other better afterward. I picture them all standing stunned for a second after the trip through the memories ends, then just moving to embrace each other because damn. They've been through some shit.

E) Ghost Market -- they discover how to make something that affects supernatural entities -- who are very interested in getting their hands on it... This one is from the Hawkers playbook, and it goes "Through arcane ritual or hard-won experience, you have discovered how to prepare your product for sale to ghosts and/or demons. They do not pay in coin. What do they pay with?" This is obviously a special ability that mainly relates to Smiler -- but it's not about them improving Joy Serum with Victor and Alice's help. Instead, I picked this because I had an idea revolving around them finally managing to invent Giggler Gas, and going with Victor and Alice to present it to the Advocates -- only to run into ghost trouble along the way. And when Smiler sprays the ghost with some of the gas just to distract it --

The gas affects the ghost. Leaving it giggling and allowing the trio to escape and go "what the fuck?!" I haven't gotten much past that point, but I do know that Smiler and the Advocates would be all for peddling this shit to sapient ghosts (and maybe ghost-hunting Whispers to use as a "stun" option while they try to catch other spirits), while Victor and Alice would be a bit like "do we really want to get into the business of selling drugs to ghosts?" XD I also don't know how the ghosts who actually buy the stuff would pay for it -- maybe just drip some electroplasm into a vial? Victor at least could always use that for his butterfly experiments... I'll figure something out, just because this whole idea amuses me. XD

-->Upgrades: Again, as per my original write-up, the trio's lair starts with the following upgrades:

A) Hidden -- the lair's location is a secret to most people and is hidden from casual discovery! In-universe, I'm representing this with Elder Gutknecht using special wards that he'd crafted to keep anyone he didn't want finding him from even seeing his house in Six Towers. After he died, he started to let them run down, figuring it didn't matter so much now what happened to his stuff now that he was no longer among the living --

And then some hooligans showed up, smashed all his windows, and started talking about setting fire to the library. Cue Gutknecht scaring them out and then refreshing his wards on the regular. :p The only reason Victor, Alice, and Smiler find the place is because they come in at just the right time between refreshes -- and when they prove to be nice and polite (especially to a ghost), Gutknecht lets them stay and incorporates them into the magic. :) A very lucky break for a trio on the run from the Bluecoats, to be sure!

B) Training: Prowess -- the lair has something in it that allows people to train in the "Prowess" skills -- Finesse, Prowl, Skirmish, and Wreck (when someone chooses to "train" in that skillset in downtime after scores, they mark two XP points on that skillset's XP tracker instead of one). Admittedly, this isn't something that the place has when the trio first arrives -- rather, once they decide they're all living there permanently, the Advocates give them some spare equipment they have at their headquarters so they can train those skills (I'm picturing old-timey workout stuff). As Shadows, they'll definitely need Finesse and Prowl to effectively pull off their scores, so this is important stuff!

C) Workshop -- the lair has the space and tools for tinkering and alchemy, plus a library of various books, documents, and maps, which makes completing long-term projects involving tinkering, alchemy, or looking up stuff easier. Obviously, I've already mentioned Elder Gutknecht's library at the top of the tower, but the level directly below is a workshop, containing a Fox-Lloyd alchemy bench (the best of the best, Smiler is THRILLED) and a Lumiere brand tinkering bench (guess where I got those names XD). I suppose Gutknecht also having a nice Harper upright piano for Victor to play with can count toward this too. :p I just wanted to give them ample opportunity to indulge their hobbies!

D) Cohort: Expert -- the crew has access to a single expert NPC who helps them with their work -- in this case, the Reconciled ghost of the original owner of the place, Elder Gutknecht! As will eventually be revealed in the final chapter of "Start At The Beginning...Sort Of," he became a ghost under unusual circumstances, and thus hasn't gone mad from the craving for life essence most ghosts suffer from. Plus, when the trio arrives, he's starting to feel a little lonely, haunting his house with just the ravens for company, so he's only too happy to let them use the place. :) In game terms, he is a Tier 1 Occultist (before you say anything, the Three Pillars start at Tier 0, soooo), with the edge Independent (they can trust him to make good decisions on his own) and the flaw Principled (he has his own code of ethics he won't betray, which means certain things he won't help with -- like actively helping the gang figure out a way to murder one Dr. Bumby. He'll let them STAY, he just won't help them plan).

Not a bad set of stuff to start out with, right? As for upgrades I would like them to get as time goes on --

E) Quarters -- the crew's lair actually has places for them to sleep and live in, rather than forcing them to go to another location for a bit of shut-eye. This one is a little bit unusual because, well, the trio are living in their lair even before they get this upgrade -- after everything with Barkis, Bumby, and the Van Dorts, Victor and Alice don't really have anywhere else to go, and while Smiler could stay at Advocate headquarters, they really want access to that Fox-Lloyd bench. XD So in their case, Quarters means they've made the place a lot more comfortable to live -- it's clean, there's some proper furniture in there, the sink works, they have a way to cook food, and they all have places to sleep (though, as noted in a particular fic's title, there's only one (proper) bed...). Hopefully they can score this sooner rather than later, the poor guys!

F) Secure -- the lair has proper locks, traps, and other measures to thwart intruders! This is actually an upgrade you can take twice -- ticking the first box protects it against mundane threats, while ticking the second protects it against supernatural ones. As you're allowed to tick two upgrade boxes every time you fill the XP track, I'd probably take both levels of this in one go -- I mean, Gutkecht ALREADY has wards up, it only makes sense that they'd cover buffing the place's defenses against humans and ghosts all in one go. Maybe learning how to make ghost-repellent wards can be part of Victor's Whisper training. :p

G) Thief Rigging -- the crew learns how to load themselves up with their tools of the trade more easily and efficiently! In game terms, this means they get two free slots of "load" for anything that counts as "gear" or "tools" (like a burglar's kit that includes lockpicks and oil for squeaky hinges, or Smiler bringing along a portable alchemy set). As all characters have a limited number of slots for items (with the exact amount depending on if they go for a "light," "normal," or "heavy" load), getting a couple of things for free means being able to carry more useful kit on scores! And we all like that.

H) Insight Training -- the crew gets some stuff to help train their "Insight"-related skills -- Hunt, Study, Survey, Tinker! Because those are skills that are also much-needed by Shadows, especially ones like them. Not a single one of them starts with a dot in Hunt, after all, and they might need that if they have any jobs involving tailing people or the like. Getting new books for the library will probably help with Study, and just practicing on the alchemy and tinkering benches for Tinker -- we'll see what I come up with to represent training in the other stuff. (Hide and seek for Hunt?) We want them to master some skills at some point! Speaking of which --

I) Mastery -- the crew gets access to stuff that allows them to really train up their skills as Shadows! Yeah, remember how I said above that the fourth and final dot for all actions is locked behind an upgrade? This is that upgrade, and it requires you to tick four boxes to unlock it. So even if I did two at a time, they'd have to sink all their XP into taking this twice to unlock it. So getting this one is probably going to take a little bit, but I think it'll be worth it in the end. Because, hey, we want them to be at least masters in what I think of as their "core" skills -- Skirmish for Alice, Attune for Victor, and Tinker for Smiler. And hopefully some others besides. They will be fucking earning it, let me tell you.

Whew -- that was a lot, wasn't it? How about next week we talk about something much more simple but still interesting -- good old-fashioned trauma! :D Because THAT in a system in this game too -- see you then!

#valicer in the dark au #valicer #blades in the dark #special abilities #crew abilities #victor van dort #alice liddell #smiler alton #more special abilities for my trio #they will become superpowered whether they like it or not XD #but honestly I like thinking about this stuff #as it kind of informs the direction I want this series to go in #like the first five stories are on lock #but I have a lot of ideas #and building toward certain powers and upgrades helps focus them a little #and provides more story ideas #seriously I am drowning in ideas for this universe #you have no idea #well you probably have SOME idea given how many posts I've made about VITD verse recently #but still XD #also I just like to think about them becoming super powerful and cool #because they're my blorbos and I love them #despite all the Situations #queued

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