Brotherhood of Steel

[czeri]

Ok, so there I was, minding my own business playing Fallout 4. It's mostly wandering around post-nuclear Boston, fighting ghouls, supermutants, and androids (here called synths). You also get to encounter several organisations. One of them is a military-like Brotherhood of Steel, devoted to fighting ghouls, supermutant, and synths; and led by a glowering, intense Elder Maxson:



You are actually introduced into the Brotherhood by a glowering, intense Paladin Danse, who becomes your sponsor and companion:



So far, so much like any game.

And then, after you visit the factory that produces synths, you suddenly get called in by the enraged Elder, who demands you track Danse down and kill him. Apparently, according to the factory records, the fanatically devoted soldier of the Brotherhood Paladin Danse, is a synth.

Which leads to this:

Now, excuse me Arthur (BTW, before this exchange you wouldn't have guessed the Elder even has a first name), but after your speech all I can think about is reading about machine and flesh intertwining. I'll be on Ao3 :-)

Comments

[cavefelem.livejournal.com]

Oh, nice!

[czeri.livejournal.com]

Oh yes... When Danse says "Arthur" it just kills me. Who knew a game could be so slashy?! Well, I did enjoy "Escape from Butcher Bay" for slashy reasons before, but that was for a pairing from "Pitch Black", so I still count it as film-based.

I really do recommend Fallout 4. Its open world might be smaller than Skyrim, but the choices actually have consequences. You do have to choose a side, and it matters, because then you have to destroy the others. After having fought at their side and having bonded with them, too... And although it's a "Blade Runner" rip-off, the attitude towards synths really challenges your actual morality in a way no other game ever has for me. I mean, one of the sides in the game is the ever so subtly named "Railroad" that is devoted to help synths escape and start new lives. It seems so ridiculous at first, but then the more synths you meet, the more the lines between human and android blur, until you realise that for a lot of whites in 18th and 19th century black people weren't human either...

[cavefelem.livejournal.com]

I'll keep that in mind when I get bored of all the games I have now. I bought Morrowind aaaaages ago and still haven't got around to playing it, because when I was about to start, I got ESO as a present...