#it's SO GOOD!!! i'm really questioning Bethesda's writing now

[minilev]

[elderscrollsconceptart]

Have you thought about showing off concept art from fan projects like Skyblivion/Skywind? Could be neat, and they definitely have a few concept artists. I think they'd be happy to let you show some of it off

Hello and thank you for your question!

Please everyone bear with me on this, as this will be a loooong reply, but I've got a lot to say on this matter and related matters and this ask is an opportune time to write all this 💜

I've given *a lot* of thought about this exact thing over the past few months.

Everytime I go looking on artstation, deviantart, etc. for TES artists I come across a lot of art from these and other TES community projects. The people working on these are super talented and alot of them are (IMO) on par with the in-house artists and creatives at Bethesda.

My main drive when creating this blog was to bring attention to the often ignored and overlooked artists behind TES. For years it frustrated me how comparatively little we know about the ins and out of TES games and art development. Everywhere you look online in TES and fantasy forums you see mods, fan art, fan projects etc, all worked on by brilliant and talented artists and creatives.

What is often missing however is the work and creative perspective of the official artists of TES. Take here on Tumblr for example. Follow the right tags or blogs and you'll see nothing but wonderful TES fan art from thousands of artists or fantastic mods and community passion projects.

But you know what you almost never see? Actual TES art posted by TES artists themselves, or at least their art posted by fans with the artist name attached for credit. Occasionally now and again a blog will post official TES art with proper artist credit, but there seems to never have been a blog or sub-community on here exclusively dedicated to just posting official TES art. There should be and elevating the artists of TES with proper credit is something I think we all know should be done. This blog belongs to the community and I try my best to fill this gap as I know for a fact others here feel the same as I do.

There's so much fan art online (which is a good thing!!!) but not nearly enough official TES art posted with artist credit. Thats what this blog is for.

I fear people here and elsewhere are so used to seeing fan art and trying to elevate fan artists, that when they come across this blog they will still just assume its posting fan art because thats virtually all they see on a day to day basis. This has happened numerous times. I will post a piece with full artist credit listed and someone will reblog:

"Wow! This is amazing!" #TES #Fanart

When that happens my heart aches.

It genuinely makes me feel like I'm failing my responsibility to ensure that it is clear that all art posted here is official TES art. All art seen here should be understood as the work of industry professionals working for Bethesda/Zeninax themselves.

It is really really important to stress that I *do not* personally perceive industry produced TES art as naturally superior to fan art.

Art is subjective, as is the merit of it's quality. What I'm trying to stress is that this blog is just trying to bring attention to the oft ignored or unknown artists who make TES. Fan art and projects should be praised and elevated, but I feel this blog is not the space to do so.

Almost daily I see TES fan art on here, Reddit, Twitter, etc. which gets thousands of likes.

Conversely I come across a TES artists on Artstation or elsewhere who will get literally less than a few hundred *views* let alone likes or shares.

That breaks my heart. Everyone's art should be fully appreciated, official art or otherwise. I can't imagine how it must feel to work your way up to becoming an official artist on a beloved series like TES only to have your work stolen or virtually ignored. Your work may be seen but no one will know your name or that *you* made it.

I cannot speak for them, but I'd imagine it is beyond frustrating for TES artists to see their portfolios going ignored or reshared without credit.

I really feel there *should* be a blog that shares TES fan projects art and concept art with full artist credit. That 100% should be a thing and I highly highly encourage someone in the community to make such a blog. Perhaps one day I may even make a side blog like that if I can find the time.

I hope this didn't come across as too long winded of a reply, but hopefully it clarifies the intentions and purpose of this blog for anyone who may not have know. I hope All artists who create art get the respect and exposure they deserve for their hard work and skill. This blog is my best attempt at helping official TES artists get at least a bit more credit and appreciation from the community.

Thank you all, and I apologize for not doing a more thorough job clarifying all art on this blog is official TES art by Bethesda/Zenimax artists.

Love you all 💜

[mllemaenad]

I think I need a break from Fallout 76. I swore I was going to get through it, and Tessa and I have been making good progress. My biggest complaint up until now is that they won't let you have Sofia and Beckett active at camp at the same time. I'm sure this is a resourcing issue, but Fallout 76 is such a lonely game. I get that you're supposed to play with friends, but unless you have a dedicated role playing group (and while I am sure such things exist, I do not get the impression that they are the majority) that's companionship for the player, not the character. I think Tessa, who did a lot of her growing up in a vault, would love a tiny community of her own.

But I have just slogged through Steel Dawn, trying to justify to myself why Tessa, who loves books and writes poetry and runs down the road to help out Lane and his Responders with food runs or package deliveries every day, would even be there. That's immediately followed by Steel Reign and ... I just can't. Not right now. There is no option to tell the Brotherhood to go the fuck back to California and leave us alone.

The entire first part of the quest line was "these idiots mislaid a bunch of dangerous weapons and are now complaining about other people in the region having the dangerous weapons". You know who I don't think is qualified to have dangerous weapons? The Brotherhood of Steel.

While I appreciate that "dangerous super mutant attacks", which seem to be part two and presumably have something to do with the dodgy scientist guy who showed up earlier, constitute a serious problem ... I am struggling to believe that Tessa would work with them on it. They would also kill Grahm! And Gail! Those are her friends. There are so many other people who could help deal with this, but that's not how the story goes.

So I'm going to give Fallout: London a try. It seems to be the hot new thing at the moment, and I am curious. Mods can be something of a mixed bag, and I'm hesitant to be very critical even when I don't like them, because the labour involved in some of these things ... I can just about do some simple patching in xEdit. So, you know, not really my place to criticise. But I've been trying to mod Bethesda games since Morrowind, and the worst you can say is "Why the hell did I install this? Was I drunk?" and scour it from your game.

But I have (so far) enjoyed Sim Settlements 2 and Tales from the Commonwealth. I did not take to Depravity and Outcasts and Remnants, for several reasons although the ... thing ... with Preston was the last straw (Except that they allowed you to pause your search after going through Kellogg's flat. I do not want to install that mod again ... but I sometimes think ... just for that one feature ... Emily could have a bath and a nap before tearing off again.).

Thank heavens for Mod Organiser 2. I can swap this thing in and leave Emily's load order intact.

I have named my girl Hannah, and since the premise is that you wake up in a lab with no memory of who you are or how you got there, I am going to learn about her as I go.

Initial impressions:

Wait. Is that Colin Baker and Sylvester McCoy performing unethical experiments? That's ... something. Tortured by no less than two Doctor Whos.

Radshrews are terrifying. Little mice creatures should not be this hard to deal with. Admittedly with Hannah's fists since the game seems to be allergic to starter weapons.

This is not quite fair, as some guy kindly handed her a pocket knife once she crawled out of the train crash. But we are now fighting raiders with a pocket knife, and it is only slightly easier to deal with.

While Churchill is adorable, and we are keeping him, I do question his previous human's judgement. Hannah is a lost amnesiac wearing the rags she picked off the last raider she killed and wielding a pocket knife she does not know how to use. What on earth made him think she could care for a dog?

Now we need to go talk to some people called "the Thamesfolk" so Hannah can stop taking 30% more damage (Why? Just why? She can be one-shot killed by a bloatfly looking at her funny). We are about to find out how London feels about mutants, I think!

[slocumjoe]

do you think you'll ever do fnv or fo3 requests too?

TDLR; No for both, because I like New Vegas enough that I don't feel like it needs dissecting, and because I don't like Fallout 3 at all.

warning for cringe nv circlejerking and fo3 negativity...which shouldn't surprise anyone, given other things I've said on this blog

If one could take a good, long look at all the fandoms I've ever been in, the one consistency is potential. This could have been incredible, this almost was a fascinating story, this had everything to be a masterpiece.

For example, Fallout 4. It has so many different aspects that could have made a good game and story...they just didn't flesh any of them out.

The Commonwealth is under the totalitarian, but shadowed hand of the Institute, a hidden organization that treats the land and its people like playthings, for unknown goals. Their latest venture; the synth. A man made of flesh and bone, made as if he were mere machine...and made in the image of anyone. Someone you love, your settlement leader, you. Whatever the Institute had planned, it is at the cost of what remains of humanity, and you must stop—wait, sorry, hold on...yeah, no, Todd says we're going back to the baby thing.

You are a pre-war Vault Dweller, frozen for centuries, when a mysterious man cracks open your spouse's cryo pod and steals your infant son from their hands. Now, you must journey into a land so familiar, but completely alien, to find him, and figure out what forces took him, and for what purp—wait, wait, nevermind, actually we're gonna...those aforementioned forces made androids and have been replacing people with them, go figure that out, decide what color flag you want on their blown up hideout.

The Minutemen are an interesting concept, too, as we haven't really seen a purely altruistic faction, really. If we have, they've escaped my memory at the moment. Say NCR/Lyons and I'm deleting Tumblr, the website. But the Minutemen are treated as nothing more than barebones context for why you would engage with the settlement building.

Railroad...ugh. That's a whole essay. A reference to a historical organization, made purely in response to the Bladerunner reference, and then put together with tape and soda box cardboard. Ugh.

Brotherhood...reused because Bethesda has little imagination of their own. The Brotherhood doesn't do anything, they just hang around and say stuff about containing technology. They lack substance in a different way than the other three factions.

The Institute has some bones on it. You could get something out of the idea of, even after the bombs, there being a shadow government controlling the Commonwealth and its people. Instead, it exists purely because of a throw-away reference to Bladerunner in Fallout 3, and Bethesda tripped over itself trying to justify it.

So, Fallout New Vegas...

Lots of themes, pulling from real history and philosophy without dickriding it and refusing to look the current in-universe reality in the eye.

Fallout New Vegas wasn't something that left me thinking. Wondering what it could have been. There's a psychological phenomenon that, when you put down a task or puzzle, your brain doesn't let it go. It keeps that tab running, so to speak. Fallout New Vegas, the story and writing was so complete, that when it ended, I didn't have anything else I wanted to know. No questions, no feeling of dissatisfaction. The puzzle was finished, everything was exactly as it should have been.

NV has more potential, yes, but not because it failed or pulled its punches; they didn't get enough time or resources to work on it. Even then, what they were able to do, they made sure it wrapped up nicely and had enough meat to satisfy everyone. Any discussion I take interest in is political or philosophical; I don't feel like any characters were shafted. They all felt realized, crafted rather than slapped together.

But...Fallout 3 was literally nothing.

Fallout 4 has aspects that could work. Fallout 3's plot is just...so uninspired, constantly yawning as it tries to be grandiose and sentimental. It's about this about this one kid of this scientist. This kid's dad leaves the Vault for some reason, the kid fucks around doing busywork so people tell them where he went, they find him, he dies, stuff with Eden and Autumn, the kid dies pushing some buttons. Yay...I'm so invested in this teenager, this old dude who is nothing but 'dad' and 'scientist', and the two brotherhood of steel ladies who take over telling me what busywork to do...

So, yeah. The killing blow is that I didn't like any of the Fallout 3 characters.

First Companion I met was Jericho. I learned he was a rapist and I killed him. The game told me I lost karma for murder...despite giving me karma for killing the Tenpenny guy in the bar five minutes ago. I killed everyone in Paradise Falls and got good karma. No desire to recruit Clover. I only traveled with Dogmeat and Fawkes. Butch's archetype is boring and Charon...fine, I guess. Stoic, maybe? Honor-bound, as he says. Sure, that's something. I had to Google the other companions.

And I think that demonstrates the problem with Fallout 3 companions. People never say they like Clover, or Jericho. It's Butch and Charon. I saw Star Paladin Cross mentioned by another human being once, IRL. Once. Do you really want to know what Jericho would do for Halloween? Do you really care about what RL-3 would think about the Lone Wander finding a baby and keeping it? Does the thought of Star Paladin Cross wearing a tanktop on weekends thrill and excite you? No. Why would it? Do you even remember Cross's gender? What Jericho looks like? What weapon Clover uses?

I don't feel like writing New Vegas because I don't see anything to write. They're good characters, good writing, I was happy with how it all turned out.

I write Fallout 4 because that puzzle never finished for me. I never got to see the likable, interesting characters reach their full potential, and it got me wondering.

I won't write Fallout 3 because there wasn't anything I found redeeming in it. I finished the puzzle and I was happy only because it was over.

[cryley]

15 questions , 15 people

Tagged by @alwaysanagelneveragod thanks love 🤍

1. Are you named after anyone?

I don't think so, no. I was so close to being named Alyxandria (after my mom's friend) or Rachel (family name), but they for some reason went with Riley

2. When was the last time you cried?

Wednesday when I saw the 1975 (specifically during the opening/the 1975 and during 28)

3. Do you have kids?

nope 🤍✨

4. What sports do you play/have played?

I don't currently play sports, but I played a LOT of basketball as a kid (my dad coached college when he was young and was my coach all through school)

5. Do you use sarcasm?

yeah, but I'm on the spectrum and I think I maybe use it differently than neurotypicals do ???

6. What's the first thing you notice about people?

their eyes, hair, and clothing

7. What's your eye colour?

a mossy-green

8. Scary movies or happy endings?

scary movies 1000%

9. Any talents?

I can recite a lot of lore from Bethesda titles and Stardew Valley, i'm pretty good at puzzles, and can sing (kind of ???)

10. Where were you born?

Pennsylvania, US (ew)

11. What are your hobbies?

art (painting, drawing, sculpting), playing video games, tabletop RPGs, reading, writing, napping with my cat, travelling, researching new hobbies

12. Do you have any pets?

Yes! I have a cat named Tanuki. He is my reason to live.

13. How tall are you?

5' 5" - 5' 6"

14. Favourite subject in school?

Sculpture and painting, but of the core classes I really liked both English and Science

15. Dream job?

I'm technically in the field already (software development), but I would like to switch to a company that aligns more with my interests, like game development or web development for a company that makes cool stuff. I just work for an ecommerce company now.

I think all of the people I would typically tag were already tagged, so I tag anyone that hasn't done this and wants to!

🌿15 people, 15 questions

Tagged by @scarcrossdlvrs and @eriquin, thank you friends!! <3

1. Are you named after anyone?

My middle name is apparently a family friend's grandmother's name? It's extremely basic, but it was almost Maude, so.

2. When was the last time you cried?

Just a couple days ago.

3. Do you have kids?

No, and I will Not be having any myself. Could I be a step-parent? Maybe. Maybe, after, like, lots of talking and more therapy.

4. What sports do you play/have played?

I was in kickboxing in grade 9, and maybe my axe throwing counts? It's a whole league with points and stuff?? I think it counts.

5. Do you use sarcasm?

Sometimes, but mostly just with people I'm really comfortable around or as a very poor attempt at flirting. I'm usually too worried about coming off as mean or it being taken the wrong way, though, so I tend not to.

6. What's the first thing you notice about people?

Probably body language and tone of voice. It's the hypervigilance and people-pleasing, babeyyy ✌

7. What's your eye colour?

Green. And funny story, a few days ago a woman stopped to ask me a question and literally got distracted by my eye colour 😅😅😅 she even pulled her partner over to look at my eyes. It was very embarrassing and flattering xD

8. Scary movies or happy endings?

Currently deep in a scary movie phase.

9. Any talents?

I'm very good at remembering where someone's parked their car, and I can fold a fitted sheet.

10. Where were you born?

In the very same city I live in now, on the west coast of so-called Canada.

11. What are your hobbies?

Writing, trying to get back into reading, singing in the shower, bass guitar badly, walking, making art of some kind, D&D, video games.

12. Do you have any pets?

Two! Jam, a black cat, and Toast, a leopard gecko.

13. How tall are you?

5'5" and some change.

14. Favourite subject in school?

Art, English, Biology.

15. Dream job?

Man, I dunno. I just wanna make shit.

The Tags (but no pressure, and apologies for some double-tags): @steves-strapcollection @t-boyeddie @hellion-child @kkpwnall @spectrum-spectre @moss-woods @alwaysanagelneveragod @starryeyedjanai @patriciavetinari @doublecherrypiediscosuperfly @cuoredimuschio @theheadlessphilosopher @vecnuthy @auryborealis @sentient-trash

[undeadcourier]

So given that Mormonism is almost dead and it's very possible for the Courier to have never heard of Christianity, I'm trying to brainstorm post-war beliefs. What do you think people swear by? What sort of religions, superstitions, rituals, etc. have sprung up in the wake of the bombs? (Note that I've only extensively played FNV so far of the series so I don't know about other games' stuff much.)

This is an incredible question and really fun to consider. Gonna tag the expert @calder to weigh in on canon (and beyond) too.

Christianity is a bigger influence in Fallout 3. Revelation 21:6 is the favorite bible verse of James and Catherine, the Lone Wanderer's parents, and it's quoted multiple times. That's probably the most overt reference outside of Joshua's Mormonism, but the wiki has a log here if you want to see more. It's also incomplete, since it doesn't mention Arcade quoting Isaac in Genesis 22, but still a good source for what's mentioned in canon. Given how ridiculously invasive Christianity is in U.S. American politics/culture and how inextricably tied it is to the jingoism, racism, McCarthyism, American exceptionalism etc. that the Fallout games were meant to critique, I don't think you could effectively do Fallout without it coming up. I'm trying not to write a whole dissertation on how Chrisitianity has influenced U.S. politics right now (tho maybe someday), but even where you don't have actual Christians, I think you're still going to have a lot of Christian influence. I wouldn't be surprised by people still swearing on a Christian bible or saying "Jesus Christ" or the like as an exclamation, even in places in the wasteland where Christianity isn't practiced or particularly well-known, since that has become so integrated into the language (similar to how the days of the week in English are named after ancient Norse deities even though very few people in the U.S./England practice that religion). Fallout 4 starts to explore new post-war superstitions and religions with the Children of Atom, and 76 goes even a bit further with Mothman and some other cultish beliefs, but I haven't spent as much time playing those or the games before Bethesda, so I'll let others way in on that for now.

This is already so long and I haven't even begun speculating about stuff that isn't directly supported by canon, so I may just make some more posts after this. I love the idea of a cult centered around the power of nuclear weapons, but the Children of Atom didn't really do it like I would have, so I can outline my ideas about that later, too. I'd like to explore the concept of radiation as akin to fae or spirits, which is probably not something that meshes well realistically (virtually everyone knows what radiation is and wouldn't need to explain radiation poisoning as a ghost's curse, for example), but I think it would be Fun.

Nuclear semiotics in Fallout is so fascinating to consider. Like the idea of narrow triangles and spiky symbols becoming taboo because they're associated with the hostile architecture of long-time nuclear waste sites. Of course, the point behind hostile architecture like that is that we already associate thorny shapes with danger. Maybe phrases or folk wisdom develops around the idea of a problem compared to the size of your thumb, related to using your thumb as a measurement against a mushroom cloud to determine if you're in a fallout zone. "A problem bigger than your thumb" is serious, whereas "a knuckle" is considered a less urgent issue.

[slade-neko]

Saw this video game tag thing pop up on my dash a few days ago. Wanted to do it.

1. First game you played obsessively? Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, I believe I was 5yo. Still waiting on that FF7 Remake treatment.

2. A game that has influenced you creatively? Writing, drawing, etc. Well if I play a game and like it, then I'll create sims of it. Does that count?

3. Who did you play with as a kid? My brother from the day I was born.

4. Who do you play with now? My brother FROM THE DAY I WAS BORN.

5. Ever use cheat codes? I wasn't lying when I made this post. {link}

6. Ever buy strategy guides? Yes! Mainly to look at the artwork though. (Don't need no guide!)

7. Any games you have multiple copies of? Lots of games, most being Left 4 Dead with 6 copies (3 Xbox 360, 1 PC case, 2 PC digitally.) What can I say, its a GOOD GAME!

8. Rarest/Most expensive game in your collection? Gold cartridge Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time (maybe that's rare?)

9. Most regrettable purchase? I don't regret my purchases, but I have received games I have never played like Cubix (PS2) no clue where that game came from, but I have it somehow. Madagascar (Xbox 360) came with my Xbox 360, never opened it from its case. And Monsters Inc. Scream Arena (Gamecube) or something... it was a gift.

10. Ever go to a midnight game release or stand in line for hours? No, because then I'd have to interact with people.

11. Have you ever made new friends from playing video games? I'm only friends with people BECAUSE of video games, so yes.

12. Ever get picked on for liking games? No, that'd be ridiculous.

13. A game you’ve never played that everyone else has? Probably a lot, I'd say Call of Duty, but I technically played CoD 1, 2, and 4. The campaign mode was alright, but I don't really care for CoD games at ALL.

14. Favorite game music? Koji Kondo and Grant Kirkhope are two BIG ones.

15. If it was a requirement to get a game related tattoo, what would you pick? Triforce is the most basic option, but I'd rather not get a tattoo.

16. Favorite game to play with your friends IRL? Super Smash Bros. Brawl with hacks, but that was over a decade ago.

17. Ever lose a friend over a game? No, that'd be ridiculous.

18. Would you date someone that hates gaming? No, that'd be RIDICULOUS.

19. Favorite handheld console? PSP. 3DS is great, but PSP Monster Hunter has ALL of my portable gaming memories. Like playing in school after End of Grade tests with my friend.

20. Game that you know like the back of your hand? Sims 4 I like to think I know everything about Left 4 Dead. Quite a bit about Monster Hunter, more so of a series though than a specific game.

21. Game that you didn’t like or understand as a kid but love now? I'd say Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic. I loved it as a kid, but had a lot of complex pen & paper RPG mechanics that I never understood. I understand a lot more of it now, but its still complex as all heck. I just know you hit things, they die.

22. Do you wear game related clothing/accessories? That's the only thing I wear.

23. The game that you’ve logged the most hours into? Not sure so I'll list a few. Sims 4, Smash Bros. Brawl, Monster Hunter (its a series though), or Left 4 Dead

24. First Pokemon game? Leaf Green

25. Were you ever an arcade game player? No, don't like paying to play.

26. Ever form any gaming rivalries? No.

27. Game that makes you rage? I don't get mad at games, but I had a custom modded Hard Eight mutation in Left 4 Dead that is absolute bullsh*t!

28. Ever play in a tournament? No, because then I'd have to interact with people.

29. What is your gaming set up? A giant wall of video game consoles spanning from NES to Switch, 4 TVs, but I sit at a desk with a PC.

30. How many consoles do you own? "I own every console that's ever existed." - I Don't Play Games When I Play Games (My STRENTH) original song by Smooth McGroove BUT no seriously I own 32 consoles including handhelds.

31. Does the 3DS and/or Virtual Boy hurt your eyes or give you headaches? Yes. 3DS gave me headaches though I only really played with the 3D feature in Ocarina of Time 3D. I think my eyes broke because I couldn't get my 3D to work very well after.

32. Did you ever play a game based on your favorite show/cartoon/movie/comic? Sure I play games based on a lot of things. Literally any anime game. If I had to pick Dragon Ball Xenoverse is kinda like a dream Dragon Ball game. Oh, Attack on Titan 2 is pretty neat too!

33. Did you ever have any bootleg games or plug-n-play games? Some SEGA plug-n-play thing once. Played it like once and now its lost to time (or my closet.)

34. Do either of your parents play video games? Yes. Mom and Dad played NES Super Mario Bros. My Dad went HARD at that game until he saved the Princess. Then he quit forever.

35. Ever work in a game store? Or do you have a favorite game shop? "Hi. Welcome to Gamestop!"I never want to hear that again, but it was my main store until I went full digital/ online orders.

36. Have you ever shed actual blood, sweat or tears over a game? No, I don't tend to get upset or emotional, but Bill dying in Left 4 Dead made me pretty pissed.

37. Have you played E.T. for the Atari 2600? Do you think that’s the worst game ever, or do you have another nomination? Never played it. I don't really play "bad" games, but maybe Sims 4.

38. A game you’re ashamed to admit that you like? The Sims 4

39. A sequel that you would die for them to make? Dragon's Dogma 2 WHICH I think is actually in development, so I'd have to say Fallout New Vegas 2. C'mon Bethesda you cowards, hand the keys back over to Obsidian so they can make another good Fallout game!

40. What to you think of virtual reality headsets or motion controls? Two part question, two answers. VR Headset to immerse in world, yes. Motion Controls, no.

41. A genre that you just can’t get into? MOBAs and MMOs. I don't like paying to keep playing.

42. Maybe it wasn’t your first game, but what was the game that started you on your path to nerdiness? Nintendo 64 opened me up to what video games could be as a kid. Sad to say my parents' NES didn't really do that for me. And years later Fallout 3 was a big game changer for me too.

43. Ever play games when you really should have been concentrating on something else? Every day of my LIFE.

44. Arcade machine that has consumed the most of your quarters? None. I'd rather emulate.

45. How are you at Mario Kart? Pretty dang good. 3-STARS MARIO KART WII, BABY!

46. Do you like relaxing games like Animal Crossing or Harvest Moon? Yes, both of those. I preferred when Animal Crossing had more character to it. New Horizons looks so pretty, but feels so bland compared to classic AC.

47. Do you like competitive games? No. Not really. Usually amongst friends or if I can get competitive against AI Bots. I love my machine bot friends cause they don't cry like 10 year olds when they lose.

48. How long does it take your to customize your player character? Too long. I've seriously restarted games because I wasn't happy with my character's appearance.

49. In games where you can pick your class, do you always tend to go for the same type of character? Yes, I am always the magic man, my brother is always brute warrior, and my friend is the ranger.

50. If you were a game designer, what masterpiece would you create? I don't really know. Honestly, I'd rather mod already good games to make them better than create something completely new.

51. Have you ever played a game for so long that you forgot to eat or sleep? No, that'd be ridiculous. But I've had a friend fall asleep playing games at my house 3 different times and currently dozes off during our Minecraft sessions. So, maybe that's not a completely ridiculous thing after all.

52. A game that you begged your parents for as a kid? Kirby 64 apparently. My brother tells me we had to count out pennies to buy it. I must've been too young with no recollection, but I believe it.

53. What’s your opinion on DLC these days? It's good if its not in the game's files from the beginning and is actually developed AFTER launch... and pre-order bonuses should be standard DLC a month or two later. Some games have content lost to time because of that pre-order bullsh*t.

54. Do you give in to Steam sales? Of course. If you want a game and its on sale then why not? I typically wait just for Steam sales to get games.

55. Did you ever make someone you hated in the Sims and did mean stuff to them? No? I typically make people and characters I like in Sims. I've made villains like Dio, but he's an anime villain and I don't really HATE him despite the horrible things he's done.

56. Did you ever play Roller Coaster Tycoon and kill off your guests? No. Never played that game.

57. Did you ever play a game to 100% or get all of the achievements? I try to for all the games I really like.

58. If you can only play 3 games for the rest of your life, which ones do you pick? The Sims 4, Skyrim, & Fallout: New Vegas. Mods make them live forever. Left 4 Dead and Monster Hunter are good choices too.

59. Do you play any cell phone games? Those aren't games.

60. Do you know the Konami Code? No? But I'll take a guess. Is it make an IP and forget it exists?

61. Do you trade in your games or keep them forever? Keep forever... even the bad ones.

62. Ever buy a console specifically to play one game? PS4 Pro for Monster Hunter World. It was basically for early access since the PC version was being developed and releasing after PS4, but I don't like waiting.

63. Ever go to a gaming convention or tournament? Sort of. Been to anime cons and walked into the gaming tournament rooms only to walk out less than 10 minutes later.

64. Ever make a TV or monitor purchase based on what would be best for gaming? No, but I'm going to be doing that soon, hopefully.

65. Ever have a Game Genie, Game Shark or Action Replay? Did it ever mess up your game’s save file? GameShark for N64, PS2, Gameboy, and Action Replay for Gamecube, DS, 3DS. And no not really, I would cheat responsibly... but there was this one time at school my friend and I borrowed another friend's Gameboy game, loaded it up with my Gameshark, tried playing, it crashed, loaded it back up, save file corrupted... we just stared at each other jaws dropped, "Here's your game back, dude. Make sure you don't play it til you get back home!"

66. Did you ever have have an old Nokia with Snake on it? No, but I remember seeing them on billboards in the game DRIV3R on PS2.

67. Do you have a happy gaming-related childhood memory you want to share? Every game I play is filled with happy memories (mostly.)

68. Ever save up a ton of tickets in an arcade to get something cool? These tiger plushes. My brother got white and I got orange. They were the coolest. Got a butt load of tickets from some jackpot spinning light game thing as I was good at the timing with repeated jackpot hits.

69. In your opinion, best game ever made? I've played quite a few masterpiece games, but to pick one, I'd say Fallout: New Vegas

70. Very first game you ever beat? Super Mario 64. I was a mere child on a Sunday morning and ate celebratory pancakes made by my Dad.

Wow, that was long... I get the feeling this was supposed to be a "send me ask with numbers" thing, but answering all at once is more fun.

[danses-with-dogmeat]

27 and 13 for the writing questions

Also I love your work keep it up :3c

Thank you so much, love! :'3

27 -- What’s the nicest comment you’ve ever received?

Omg, it's hard to pick 😩 I have a whole ass Google doc that just consists of saved comments/asks that made me smile! (which high key is all of them, cuz every single comment is SO important to me, seriously). This community is honestly so jam packed full of wonderful people and it makes me so happy to be a part of it ❤

That being said, this ask literally made me tear up:

“Not request but can I say that you deserve do many more followers???? Not only is every hc and reactions super in depth, but it’s actually like so nice to read??? Like I could sit in one place for a while and read them non stop which I normally can’t do. AND you write for fo4, fo3 and fnv??? Bro!! You’re so versatile in ur writing it’s amazing!! Basically hdsjg, I appreciate and care you, I genuinely hope this year has been kind to you and for the next ones to grant you good fortune. You r super cool 😤❤️”

13. First fandom you ever wrote for?

This one! :) The fallout fandom is the first I've ever really written for, and definitely the first one I've ever posted publicly for.

However, I've been writing a Harry Potter fanfic for a long time now, that I've just never posted anywhere cuz I started writing it in middle school, and it's pretty embarrassing 😅

I've also been thinking about branching out and living up to my "Bethesda hoe" title I put on my account by writing for TES as well (mainly Oblivion and Skyrim, since I don't remember much of Morrowind, and I didn't play Arena, Daggerfall or TES Online) But I'm not sure how I would go about it 🤔

[nightingaletrash]

I'm returning the same set because these are some good questions: 2, 3, 4, 5, 8, and 9 for the Jacob and MC asks 😊

ahhhhhhhhhhhhh thank you :D

2. How did you come up with your MC and Jacob’s backstory (family, where they’re from, their relationship with each other, etc.)?

Tbh I started out with the intention of messing around with a lil Dadam Jensen AU and not much else, so I had no idea to expect to get so invested into the story and the characters the way I do with Bioware and Bethesda games. As I spent more time playing the game, however, I got very invested in the game’s story and the more I played, the more time I spent coming up with ideas for the Jensen family. Parts of their story I derived from Deus Ex, in which Adam is a canon character, so originally Adam was a single dad who’d separated from Evie and Jacob’s mother, Megan, when Evie was still very young, but Evie talked about her mum so much in game that I started envisioning a whole different character in that role. It changed quite a bit about the family’s history. 

Originally Adam moved the kids from Detroit to the UK after separating from Megan at the request of the Ministry who needed help dealing with the war - Megan was too wrapped up in her work to be a reliable parent and partner, which is why he took the risk in taking the kids. With Kara in the picture, Adam instead came to the UK with his parents whilst he was still a student and transferred from Ilvermony to Hogwarts, so he’d always worked at the Ministry and the kids had always grown up in the UK - namely in Derbyshire. It also influenced Evie’s development as a character and she became more fleshed out within that particular verse.

Evie and Jacob’s relationship is based pretty much on what I wish I could have had with my older brother when we were growing up. It’s only now that we’re adults that we actually get along and can talk without ripping each other’s throats out, because as kids we didn’t even want to know each other and looking back, I just see a lot of wasted time :/ it also made Jacob’s disappearance harder on Evie, because they got along so well and she was always at his heels and spending time with him, because they went from spending all their time together, to writing all the time and being together during the holidays, to Evie suddenly not having her big brother at all. She could never turn to him for help in her 1st year of school, having spent her life fully expecting for him to be there and looking out for her, and couldn’t ever ask him for advice as her relationships began to change and her world began to change. Yes she has her parents, she’s very close to both of them, but there are somethings that you don’t talk to your parents about and Jacob was always her go-to for that.

3. How did you come up with your version of Jacob?

So Jacob originally didn’t get a lot of focus because I’d not even imagined Evie having a brother at the time I first created the character, which was before I even started playing HPHM.  So the second that Jacob’s name popped up in HPHM, I actually spent a good ten minutes cry-laughing because part of my love of the name Evie comes from Evie Frye in AC:Syndicate… and she has a twin brother… called Jacob.I used Jacob Frye’s most basic character traits (good intentions, heavy handed methods, and humorous) as a sort of template for Jacob Jensen, and then just… let him run wild and decide who he was. My method of development is less coming up with stuff and more start with an initial concept and then let my character telling me about themselves, so essentially he’s decided now is the time to start talking to me about himself and I’ve had the time to sit and think about what he’s told me and how it plays into things.

With the introduction of Duncan and some new information that’s been dropped in 5th year, Jacob’s become a much more focused character. Rather than a sort of concept with a name, he’s become more solid in my mind and feels more like a character than before.

Of course we still have a lot of story left and JC might have plans of their own that deviate from my Jacob a bit, but I’m not above ignoring what game devs establish as canon. I mean what are they gonna do? Break down my door and tell me no? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

4. How does your MC cope with everything they’ve endured with Jacob, R, and the Vaults?

Pretty much as stated in game - she keeps herself busy. Whether its at the creature reserve, helping out Kettleburn and Hagrid, spending time with Rowan in the library or the common room studying. Evie doesn’t like being idle because it gives her too much time to think and dwell, and it makes her miserable.

She gets bad dreams a lot, which usually end up with Evie crawling into Rowan’s bed because she used to do the same with Jacob, and she really doesn’t want to be alone and needs the comfort. Rowan doesn’t mind, it was her suggestion in the first place when Evie finally admitted to having bad dreams and not being able to sleep after them during their 1st year.

5. How does your Jacob cope with Duncan’s death?

He doesn’t. He was in such a total state of shock when he found out that all he could do was blame himself and take the blame when the staff found out, which led to his expulsion. He locked himself away when he got home because he was still kind of in shock and was still processing what had happened, and then it turned to anger that he directed at the Cabal (and possibly R, I’m waiting on canon to see exactly how everything fits together before I decide if he’s biding his time with them).

He ran away, partly to protect his family from everything he was caught up in, but also because he wanted to avenge Duncan’s death. Ofc a lot of this depends on what we find in the Portrait Vault and anything we learn in future, but if Jacob isn’t in the Vault (which I doubt, and I think Olivia has maybe been posing as Jacob to use MC to free herself) then he’s likely hunting down those responsible for everything that happened to him and his friends. He’s kind of living out his dream of being an Auror. He just does it illegally.

So yeah, he’s not coping.

8. Does your MC have any sentimental items?

Her earring, made from one her mum’s Animgus form’s feathers (a raven, like Evie herself). Kara gave it to her at Platform Nine and Three Quarters as a good luck charm, and Evie would never part with it. Not willingly anyway :)

She also has a necklace given to her by her dad which is enchanted with a warding spell meant to offer her some magical protection during her time at school. He’d rather she not need it, but he knows better than most that it’s better to be safe than sorry. 

9. Does your Jacob have any sentimental items?

He was given an earring on his first day, just like Evie was, but he doesn’t like to wear it because the feather bothered him when it tickled his face. Nowadays he keeps the feather itself in a locket because he worries it would get in the way, but he wants it close anyway.

He was bought a pocket watch for his 17th birthday which he keeps with him at all times as well, and the jacket he wears in Knockturn Alley was one that Adam bought him for his birthday. He made a couple of modifications (like adding the hood and casting magical extension charms on the pockets), and its gotten a little scuffed and worn over the last couple of years, but he takes very good care of it.