#darquingdragon

[alloverthegaf]

GAAAAF!! *lays out an ever-increasing circle of treats* I'm glad you're back! *continues to set out treats* I hope life has been treating you and yours well!

Thank you!!! I've missed you guys!

It's still intermittent for the time being, but I'll hopefully be around more regularly in about a month or two's time.

[alicesadventuresinffxiv]

Some things that occurred to me in the late hours of the night: Does Alice talk? If she does, what does her voice sound like? Have she and Fordola met? What did they think of each other?

Oh, Alice definitely talks! Even if I don’t RP her very often, I have a pretty good idea of her voice, because the one I chose on character creation (the “noblewoman’s laugh”/Lala voice #3) ended up perfect for how I imagined her.

She’s very formal and ladylike in terms of mannerisms and vocabulary, which is a contrast to how much trouble she gets up to and how she has a kind of fae-like innocence to her. Definitely channeling Shinku in terms of affectation and tone, but with some of Hina Ichigo’s cheerful naivete too. 

As for Alice and Fordola… ha. As much as I enjoy WoLxFordola ships, I found Alice’s aesthetic and theming just too different to really make any major relationship with Fordola work! The most I’ve settled on is that Alice finds Fordola’s Resonance absolutely fascinating and thinks they’re great friends. (She also thinks Zenos and even some primals are her friends, because Defeat Means Friendship, right?)

Meanwhile Fordola would rather beg to differ and feels about Alice about the way you’d feel if a tiger sat down in your lap and started purring. She thinks Alice is mildly terrifying and her carefree friendliness is exasperating and borderline dangerous... though Alice is also one of the few people who doesn’t hate or fear Fordola either, so there’s certainly worse people for the Butcher to hang out with.

I typically keep Alice and Fordola’s stories very separate (Alice doesn’t exist at all in WoL!Fordola AU, for example, and I use Meteor Survivor WoL rather than Alice even in canon-adjacent fics)... but there was that one time I had Alice ask an FC member for a Starlight present to go to Fordola. Let me dig that up, because it still illustrates their dynamic very well!

.

[In baroque, yet mechanically precise handwriting on perfumed paper]

To My Esteemed and Honorable Associate Santa-Popo,

May I request a gift on behalf of a dear friend? I am uncertain regarding her status on your list as she insisted she “doesn’t want anything and even if I did, no one would give it to me.” 

However I think she has been good is trying very hard hasn’t murdered anyone in recent days and also could use a pair of Urban Boots for her future endeavors.

Below please find her confirmation and signature.

Most Gratefully and Sincerely Yours,

𝔄𝔩𝔦𝔠𝔢 ℜ𝔬𝔷𝔢𝔫

PS: Should you find yourself amenable to my request, there is no need to concern yourself with transporting the gift. I have already made arrangements for it.

[In an aggressive, clearly rushed scrawl along the bottom edge of the page]

I know better than to read a letter delivered by a pixie of all sodding things! Here’s the signature you wanted, so call the bloody butterfly off!! -𝘍𝘰𝘳𝘥𝘰𝘭𝘢 𝘓𝘶𝘱𝘪𝘴

[triaelf9]

Does Knight Errant and Chronicles of Tuvana happen in the same universe? What would each group if they encountered each other?

Oh, interesting question!

Nope, different worlds, different universes ^_^

Oh hmmm. I think Vos would probably find Kahlik a nice conversations partner (HAH HAH b/c they don't talk lol), and Zanae and he would probably talk all their hidden weapons.

Talnor would probably get on well with the core three & Atawn), even if they are fairly younger than he is, Mor would probably love Riven, and Netis would probably be way more into studying Riven than Riven would be. Riven would love the dragons XD

[veshialles]

Going to play Fallout 4 again with mods. What mods do you like to use?

Ooh! I have a few old favourites that I can reccommend for sure!

All-in-one Settlement Solution/AIO-SS: this one is great if you're the type who just wants to build and not worry about your Settler's needs

it also pairs really nicely with Sim Settlements 2, if you prefer to let your settlers do all the work most of the time. It's highly configurable if you have the Mod Configuration Menu, and it also has its own storyline of quests with fully voiced NPCs and tbh it blends into the world really well!

Speaking of quests and NPCs, you might also want to check out Atomic Radio and Tales From The Commonwealth, which also adds some quests and new companions (Audrey, R4-04, and Birdie who I still haven't met yet) and includes a custom radio station!

And if you get tired of listening to Atomic Radio, there's the Old World Radio mods, which add even more radio stations, some featuring real world audio dramas and some featuring music with their own hosts.

If you want to add some variety to enemy spawns and such, I highly reccomend:

Fallout 3/NV Feral Ghouls Replacer

Capital Wasteland Robot Pack

Raider Overhaul + Restored Content

Super Mutant Redux + Institute Centaurs + Patch

also, unrelated, but I think Vault Outfits Redux and Proto Vault Suit pair really nicely together! (though you may want the Wetness patch so the gold trim doesn't turn black when it rains lol)

idk what else to suggest really, without anything more specific to go on! But there are some of my favs :)

[byelacey]

If Simon were a streamer, would he 'pretend' to be a vampire?

oh totally haha

[corsairesix]

How would you change Fallout 4?

Okay so this is a long one so it’s under the cut

As I’ve mentioned before, I would make the main plot focus on synths as a metaphor for McCarthyism (and to a lesser extent transness). This is assuming a magical world where I have full creative control over a main game in a major franchise. The main character would either be a wastelander (with optional traits to be an escaped synth, mind-wiped or not) OR if we’re going with the Sole Survivor then it would confirm the Sole is a synth theory; if the game’s going to make roleplay decisions for me, at least let them be thematically satisfying and cool.

The four faction companions would all be synths (Sturges, Danse, X6, and Glory) and would all represent a different take on synths in society. Danse would be basically the same, synth who doesn’t know it, self-hating, forced to change through self-acceptance or die in Blind Betrayal. The main change would be significantly changed behavior after BB and a chance to join the Minutemen or Railroad. Glory would be a synth who knows she’s a synth, and is very concerned with synth welfare and autonomy. X6 is a synth who has been mind wiped several times by the Institute due to his increased contact with the outside world. As he travels with the main character, there are decision points where X6 raises concerns about “glitches” (developing a personality as he gains experiences) and the player can decide whether to wipe his mind again or continue to travel with him. Before max affinity, he will ask for your help escaping the institute once again, you can complete his quest or you can turn him over to be mind wiped. Sturges is a synth with a Railroad identity, but who has traumatic memories resurfacing after the attack on Quincy. He is stuck between the true, harmful memories of the Institute or the false, comforting memories of his invented life.

In general the synth’s exploitation by the institute veers away from the slavery metaphor that’s in the game. Robots address labor issues very well and the slavery thing was weird and bad, so we’re moving away from that.

Mind wipes are much more controversial, much more like how they’re portrayed in Far Harbor. Characters like Glory who are mostly opposed to them see them as destruction of identity, not quite murder, but something that should only be done in dire circumstances. Those who are for it, Desdemona and Deacon, see it as a tool for helping synths hide and covering up painful memories (imperfect, as Sturges shows), and that there is an ineffable self that persists between wipes. It’s a source of tension even within the Railroad.

The Institute doesn’t have synth spies, but it does have human spies. The idea that the institute would 1) put synths in charge of major cities while still claiming they aren’t sentient and 2) put their constantly-escaping labor force on the surface with minimal supervision always bothered me. Institute agents foment anti-synth movements on the surface and sabotage synth sympathetic communities.

However, synth paranoia still totally exists. The combination of institute interference and the presence of freed synths, the public is terrified that their friends could be replaced by synths. In reality, the “confirmed” replacements were freed synths who either died (and evidence of them being a synth was found on death) or felt that it was safe to admit to others that they were a synth. No body snatching actually ever existed.

McDonough is a regular wasteland human, a corrupt Boston politician. He made his political career on anti-ghoul fearmongering, but after kicking the ghouls out of Diamond City he needed a new target. He is not associated with the institute, but since he began targeting synths he has received monthly campaign donations. He started the synth activities committee to investigate suspected synth sympathies among the citizens of Diamond City and its surrounding neighborhoods.

That’s the main plot stuff but for companions the main changes are:

Preston is a faction leader, not a companion. He’s very involved and has the same character arc, but the quests he gives are less radiant and more focused, with a plot moving forward.

Hancock is not a companion either, and is less of a good guy than in the game. Goodneighbor’s government serves as a condemnation of the founding father’s idea of freedom and that kind of American libertarianism. (Really, he’s an anarchist but also immortal mayor-for-life?)

Piper is a blacklisted journalist and the most vocal critic of McDonough’s anti-synth policies. She’s somewhere between an Edward R Murrow-esque anti-McCarthyist and an underground journalist. She’s a little more self-admittedly editorial and is openly for using journalism to change hearts and minds. She’s also a better writer than in the actual game.

Curie is a Mister Handy instead of a Miss Nanny because I find the concept of a girl Mister Handy that does the housework (especially when that’s already what Mister Handys do?) a bit silly. She voices more of a desire to be human and have control over her own body, rather than just “I want to do zee science better.” She even admires the player character if she is a woman. You can go the regular in-game route (with strong objections and disapproval from Glory, who doesn’t like to see someone she was close to inhabited by someone else) or you can use the institute to print a synth body for Curie. This route can be done under the guise of an “experiment” if you are part of the Institute (although some scientists may question the scientific value of such a plan) or you can get Liam Binet’s help if you’ve made contact with him as a spy for the Railroad. If you print Curie a body, it will be created based on her self-perception, and will look different from her body if you use the wiped synth route.

Ada and Codsworth can have a synth body printed as well, to Ada’s ambivalence and Codsworth’s objections. This can only be done if you are allied with the institute; Binet won’t help if your companion doesn’t seem to want to be a synth. There is no benefit to doing this.

Nick Valentine was a private detective pre-war, not a cop. After the Eddie Winter quest, which skips the collect-a-thon part, Nick wants to solve a case that is all his own, an unsolved wasteland murder that was the first case he had walk away from.

[just-pug-things]

I finished Endwalker a few weeks ago on my au'ra, D'Elora. And then I started playing through Endwalker with a friend and next tuesday we'll be finishing off 6.0. I'm excited to hear what they think of the 6.0 story!

\o/ I hope they enjoyed the Endwalker journey!

[windupnamazu]

I really enjoy your content as an FFXIV blog, do you know of any good female au'ra and female roegadyn blogs? I hope you have an awesome day! /hug

tyty darquing!! i,, dont think i can really make a list (my memory is bad and id absolutely forget someone ;A;) but the One fem au ra i simply have to promote is my dear sweet precious cyan @to-the-voiceless!! if you arent already following them and want fantastically written dark knight fic and killer combat scenes and a very well-written lizard then i highly recommend it!!

i... might not actually be following many or any femroe blogs..? or at least blogs that have a femroe as their main oc.... hm,,,..