Not Used To This Just Yet

The really frustrating thing about the Eddie Winter quest is that fixing it to create both a better commentary on Nick Valentine whilst also tying it effectively into the larger world of Fallout 4 would be super easy, barely an inconvenience. The fix itself is right there, in the game, in the dialogue, and nobody at Bethesda seemed to notice.

Nick tells Sole that Eddie didn’t want to be placed on ice, instead opting for a severe radiation treatment which ghoulified him before the bombs fell. This is stupid for two reasons: the first is that nobody knew ghoulification was a thing prior to the war so it comes across as completely random; and the second is that it just seems like a bloody weird risk for a gangster who liked everything in his life to be controlled to take. Eddie’s a no-nonsense guy when you run into him; there was no way he’d be like “sure mad science person, hit me with the good green stuff” without assurances it would 100000% work. In comparison cryosleep is a far safer alternative and was even on the cultural mind in the 2070′s with Silver Shroud having a character who was themselves cryofrozen appear in the show, and what happened to Bradberton. 

So keep the quest as it is, but substitute ghoulification for cryosleep. And then throw a spanner in the works: you find the bunker, Eddie is in there, but the timer on his cryopod didn’t work and he’s still asleep. Utterly defenseless. All Nick has to do is turn the pod off and hey presto, no more Eddie Winter! And maybe Nick’s even all hell-bent on doing it, talking about how Eddie deserves it and how it will help him finally separate Real Boy Nick from Metal Puppet Nick and avenge Jenny until he suddenly comes to his senses and realises who he is monologuing to: 

The Sole Survivor of Vault 111. His friend. A person he cares about, who had to sit and watch helplessly from a cryopod as their spouse was murdered and their kid stolen. By asking Sole for help he is forcing them to relive a very recent, very raw trauma. Not only that, in this particular replay he is Kellogg. The dead mercenary he recently had plugged into his own brain. Uh oh: new identity crisis. If he does this, is it him doing this or Kellogg doing it or even original Nick wanting it done? He can’t fully trust himself so he puts the decision into Sole’s hands.

Asshole Sole: encourage Nick to do it. He does so, and ultimately finds it not only unsatisfying but also starts to harbour guilt over the whole thing and never fully heals from it. You don’t get his Close to Metal perk because you haven’t actually helped him; he’s worse off than he was before, and he has nobody to blame but himself. 

Paragon Sole: yeah no you’re not letting him do this - either because of your own trauma, because you believe it’s wrong to kill an unarmed person, or because you know it won’t help Nick. You encourage him to leave Eddie to his eternal slumber and instead go to the spot where Jenny was murdered to place a Hubflower where she fell in tribute (there’s a bush growing right next to it in-game). You do get the perk, and Nick is healed. Well. On the path to it, at any rate. 

This is how I headcanon it all, anyway. That story had so much potential and the gangster out of time angle landed for me (did Eddie really think he could just go back upstairs and take over the world lmao Hancock would have stabbed him two seconds after he waltzed into Goodneighbour), but then we just got. Bang bang I am no longer mentally ill (lie). 

i genuinely dont know how to use tumblr

um so... the danganronpa brainrot is back and it's specifically soudam rn XD ITS ALSO GUNDHAMS BIRTHDAY TODAY!! totally a coincidence I happened to be drawing him!!!

Thinking about this line from Cazador and what implies:

I keep thinking about how strange and new must have been for Astarion to finally be surrounded by people who actually listen to him and no one there to punish him for speaking up. 

How it must have felt for him to be able to freely joke around and find that Tav actually laughs at his jokes and even joins in the fun. How new it must have been to be able to express himself and have people who actually listen to him and don't treat him like he is a nuisance, but truly listen to what he has to say. 

I imagine a Tav who just listens, even when he is complaining and whining on purpose, they listen and maybe smile a bit between themselves because they've seen through him, and they never tell him to shut up, they let him vent, they listen to his stories about Cazador, they laugh with him at his jokes. 

No wonder he falls so hard for Tav or becomes very fond of them in a friendship route.

After 200 years where even the Gods didn't care to listen, he has found someone who sits down with him and hears him out.

A little drawing warm up

Why are you looking at me like you care?

Whole ass comic unfortunately

August 26: O (Overwhelm, outpour, overjoyed) hey did u guys know they make me actually sick to my stomach

He got snot n shit all over mondo's tank top and coat btw

The lack of Hanahaki fics for Fallout 4 is KILLING me

i know people give Leon a lot of flak for his murder bc he claims it was in "self-defense," but let's be real with ourselves. What the fuck else was he supposed to do? If he just left, what, he has to go next day and be like yeah we both tried to kill each other and i broke her wrist. Can you pass the salt? Also Sayaka 100% would've turned everyone against him bc like she's Sayaka. So yeah I kind of have more sympathy towards this guy. Like Sayaka was going to straight up murder him. For literally zero reason. Like, I kind of get why she wanted to murder someone but it is never explained what made her choose Leon specifically.