Buffy's Basket of Potpourri, Musings, ask Buffy, etc Options

[mALX]

Let's ride!


Rallying the vampire hunters

stands up to her ankles in paternal goo.

Leading the orphaned vampire to her new home among the Dawnguard.

During their time together, Buffy and Serana grew rather close. Alas though, keeping the odd couple together was a bridge too far. Buffy needed potions to manage the cramping that being near a vampire caused. And Serana could do little about the feelings of impending doom that being so close to a slayer caused. Serana said she would seek a cure if Buffy asked her, but the elf would never allow her friend to take the possible risks that suddenly rendering an ancient daughter of Coldharbour back into a mortal Nord would likely entail – like over a thousand years of instant aging. The eve before they parted ways, Serana gave a tearful Buffy this beautifully bittersweet musical gift.

Well, "Paternal Goo" is NOT my fave screen,

I loved the "Rallying" shot; that kind of ceremony really defined the Companions for me when I first started that questline - it just feels very right for the times/setting and most def gives a feeling of being a part of a faction much bigger than the three you usually only see. Love this shot, it has to be my favorite of this set; it is a part of Dawnguard I don't remember seeing before; Awesome shot !!!

Next has to be "Let's Ride" - Have to love seeing Superian airborne in her hurry to get away from ColdHarbour, lol.

The last shot, bringing Serana back to the Dawnguard - Buffy looks down/sad; you managed to capture that expression so fitting to the moment, Awesome shot !!!

I quoted the little comment at the bottom, that was an awesome description of why keeping Serana as a follower would never work, things I didn't think about until you mentioned them here, lol.

Wonderful update !!!'

[mALX]

To be fair, all of us are here as a result of 'paternal goo.'

Oh no, you did NOT go there! Urk,

[Darkness Eternal]

You know, the horse did somehow remind me of that movie Ghostrider. I saw it on FX when it came on. That was a great scene. I fell in love with that horse! I wasn't a fan of the game's blue fire effect but it still looked good. Very fit for a horse from an undead in Oblivion.

The vampire hunters joined together shows that the Dawnguard have well-equipped and capable people ready to bring down those pesky bat-nosed bloodsuckers. Seriously, why is Serana the only beautiful pureblood out there?

Hehe.... that's some goo alright. Pretty disgusting. I suppose Harkon is in Coldharbour and I can't imagine he's having too much fun.

Buffy's concerns do remind me what happened to Rona Hassildor, Janus' wife. Perhaps Buffy learned from that? Or no? It wouldn't be wise curing a millennia + vampire. That and the fact that Serana went through a lot just to obtain the "gift". Buffy is a great friend.

[Acadian]

mirocu- Thanks! I know that Slayer working with Vampire was quite unusual. Although not covered in any of Buffy’s stories, the concept of a vampire who has some control of the beast within is not new to Buffy. She did meet Count Hassildor of Skingrad after the events of her Book 1. And in Skyrim, she is acquainted with Solitude’s court mage – also a vampire. Happily for Buffy, Serana never ever did try to bite her.

Destri- So nice to see you back and catching up – thank you! Although we don’t tightly hug either the lore from TES nor Buffy the Vampire Slayer, I do recall Buffy’s TV namesake working with vampires on a couple occasions. On ghost riders, perhaps one from the future will fly a flaming X-wing fighter?

ghastley- Segways, hoverboards and those sand racers from Star Wars! All aflame! Nah, nothing’s as cool as the horse.

SubRosa- Thanks and nice to hear that, like me, you’re a Sam Elliot fan! I got quite the chuckle over the reactions to our use of ‘paternal goo’.

Grits- Thank you. It sounds as if you think like I do. Those dragons are simply magnificent – even the tattered undead ones. Really makes you wish you could join their faction. I don't see how they could screw up Skyrim's political landscape any more than the Stormcloaks/Imperials/Thalmor do. I’m so glad you liked our nod to ‘Ghostrider’. Thanks to Convenient Horses, Serana comes with that flaming beauty. And she’ll get pretty snippy if you ask her to ride a ‘normal’ horse. Thank you also for pointing out the ‘sidekick’ in Buffy. That role really does suit her ever so much more than being ‘The Chosen One’. As I tell Renee, Buffy is much more of a Gabrielle than a Xena. In Oblivion, Mazoga was Buffy’s ‘Xena’. Serana did fill that roll during the Dawnguard main quest. If Buffy were to ever do the Skyrim main quest, it would likely be as a sidekick to some larger than life hero like Mjoll the Lioness.

Lopov- Thanks for your kind words. I really like the outfit you mentioned because it strikes me as a mixture of College of Winterhold and Assassin’s Creed robes that suits Buffy well. Buffy can be rather cold blooded when it comes to her two-legged prey, but she really is quite nurturing to her friends.

mALX- Aww, thanks, as ever, for your warm support! One thing I liked about Dawnguard, is that when the questline is over, you are simply a working knight of the Dawnguard – not the darn ‘boss’ like every other significant TES questline wants you to be. I’m with you, and really enjoy screenshots with Superian – animals always steal the show, don’t they? Thanks also for your understanding and support of Buffy and Serana’s choice to not remain a permanent traveling duo – and for leaving Serana as a vampire. I’ve no doubt she’ll serve the Dawnguard well – who (besides a Slayer) to better kill vampires than another vampire?

DE- Thank you. As I was telling mALX, I quite enjoyed the Dawnguard – largely because Buffy was not the hero (Serana was) and Buffy was not pushed to become Grandmaster of the Order. Not to mention the natural match of a character named Buffy with vampire hunting. I knew that, with your keen interest in vampires, you would likely appreciate the hazards of separating an ancient Daughter of Coldharbour from her gift.

* * *

~ If you are kind to me, I will love you dearly; if you are a threat to me or my friends, I will likely kill you. ~

- - The Buffy Doctrine

So what might trigger Buffy’s use of the dark side of her doctrine? How about this?

It was quite evident that this 'Astrid' was part of the Dark Brotherhood. Buffy figured that a reasonable path to them might be to impersonate one of their assassins.

Summoned from her sleep, Buffy meets Astrid and is asked to choose her next victim.

An easy choice for the elf.

And my wrath shall fall upon not only you, but your entire family.

Now, choices and actions have consequences of course. Somewhere there is a formerly abusive orphanage that is now run by kind and loving hands. And somewhere there is a very disturbed little boy who got what he prayed to the Night Mother for. All Buffy can hope for is that whoever adopts this young man can guide him along a path that is wiser and gentler than hers.


I would be remiss if I did not point out a couple of chuckles that Buffy's brief involvement with the Dark Brotherhood provided. The first was the note itself - that the Listener would sign (and the assassin would carry around) such a blazing beacon back to their own doorstep. The second was that the same Listener who signed a warrant to have Buffy killed would so readily provide the opportunity for Buffy to 'return the favor'.

[mALX]

* * *

~ If you are kind to me, I will love you dearly; if you are a threat to me or my friends, I will likely kill you. ~

- - The Buffy Doctrine

So what might trigger Buffy’s use of the dark side of her doctrine? How about this?


And my wrath shall fall upon not only you, but your entire family.

I would be remiss if I did not point out a couple of chuckles that Buffy's brief involvement with the Dark Brotherhood provided. The first was the note itself - that the Listener would sign (and the assassin would carry around) such a blazing beacon back to their own doorstep. The second was that the same Listener who signed a warrant to have Buffy killed would so readily provide the opportunity for Buffy to 'return the favor'.

Oh, that note had me in hysterics! You could not have told that as well as that screenshot did show it, ROFL !!! I could feel Buffy's temperature rising just reading that!

The next "Wrath falling on whole family" - you had to know when you saw that before posting it that it would be my absolute favorite of the set, I LOVE that shot !!!!

Second favorite was the one right before it; "An easy choice." What a great shot that was!

That poor little mixed up boy, what does happen to him after the questline? I'll bet when he said that it shook Buffy up.

This was a great update, you showed some parts of the vanilla game I haven't seen yet - though I did meet the little boy, but it was by accident - I was breaking in to rob the house. For some reason, there was never any writ of assassination for Maxical, and of course Misa hasn't had one either. Hmmmm, I wonder why that is?

Awesome update !!!




This post has been edited by mALX: Jan 24 2015, 12:02 AM

[SubRosa]

Putting out a death warrant on Buffy is a monumentally bad idea. Adding your name to it an even greater blunder. But then, Bethesda is not know for the brilliance of their writing...

I love how Buffy looks in the red light of the Arentino home. Buffy made the same choice Persephone did so long ago, and Astrid now sleeps with the fishes. Maybe Persephone 2.0 will adopt the young lad!

[mirocu]

mirocu- Thanks! I know that Slayer working with Vampire was quite unusual. Although not covered in any of Buffy’s stories, the concept of a vampire who has some control of the beast within is not new to Buffy. She did meet Count Hassildor of Skingrad after the events of her Book 1. And in Skyrim, she is acquainted with Solitude’s court mage – also a vampire. Happily for Buffy, Serana never ever did try to bite her.

I´d say happily for Serana...



*seeing screenshots and reading text*

UGH!!! This was bout the only time I wished that Lothran was in Skyrim too! He would have helped Buffy in a heartbeat and she wouldn´t have needed to ask or even look at him!!

[Lopov]

The last mistake of the Dark Brotherhood was to cross Buffy and she repaid them in full! Great job!

I agree that the note signed with the name of the leader is a bit stupid move for a secretive organization like the Dark Brotherhood.

She actually made Aventus happy, which is good. At least until he grows up and becomes an assassin. I have a feeling that we might see him in TES VI.

Buffy made a good choice about who to kill in the abandoned shack, her arrows pierced Astrid's head, my favorite shot.

And with the Sanctuary cleared of its evil denizens, Buffy brought some more peace to Skyrim.

[Destri Melarg]

And my wrath shall fall upon not only you, but your entire family.

I don’t think anybody ever accused the Skyrim DB Sanctuary with an abundance of brains. I think the fact that they are so inept is the reason for their survival after all the other Sanctuary’s fell.

I always find it interesting how Buffy is able to square things with her own unerring sense of right and wrong. Correct me if I’m wrong, but doesn’t she wind up becoming an assassin in order to justify finding and killing a bunch of assassins? This was a slight stretch of the Buffy Doctrine, was it not? Grelod wasn’t a threat to her, nor was she a threat to Aventus while he was sitting in his house in Windhelm. Everyone takes for granted the fact that Grelod is evil based on hearsay from outside sources and from Grelod’s less than kind way of speaking with the children. Yet she must have some feeling for them, no one else was volunteering to care for a bunch of orphans. Personally I have always seen her as one of those hard-to-love curmudgeons capable of cursing you while still doing a selfless act.

But that’s just me.

My favorite shot was Buffy inside the Sanctuary. Never let it be said that faction precludes the appropriation of a nice pair of boots!!

She actually made Aventus happy, which is good. At least until he grows up and becomes an assassin. I have a feeling that we might see him in TES VI.

Interesting point. I can definitely see him as your first DB contact (though, hopefully, not contract) in TES VI: Redguard.

This post has been edited by Destri Melarg: Jan 25 2015, 09:27 AM

[ghastley]

I agree with Destri about Grelod to some extent. But she does taunt the kids a bit too much, so my character slapped her and she took a bad fall. Whoops!

It's a good thing Buffy didn't get to take Serana with her into the sanctuary, or she might have come out with a pet spider. Did she find any shoes she liked?

[Grits]

‘This poor fool,’ lol. Never have those words been more wrong. Should have passed on this contract, Astrid!

I like the Aventus-view of Buffy in the red-light picture. That kid must have gone through a lot to get the meat and bones for the ritual. Ugh.

Looming over petite Buffy’s wake-up in the cabin from the top of that shelf just adds insult to injury. Astrid made the choice very easy indeed. Shot through the face, very nice!

What a great picture of Buffy inside the Sanctuary! I love how the shape of her face echoes the skull emblem behind her. That’s my favorite of this group.

How neat to see Aventus outside. I’ve always wished he could be adopted. He’s certainly willing to do the hard things, so it would be comforting to think you could help him pick what team he’s going to be on.

How interesting to see the Kill the Dark Brotherhood quest Buffy-style!


My first ‘good’ character who murdered Grelod was Jensa. She spent enough time with the orphans to believe them and eventually adopted Runa and Hroar because according to Grelod’s complaints to Constance they seemed to be the most troubled or likely to get into trouble. When Jensa found the closet with the manacles that was it. She had no problem inviting a blight onto her soul by beating an old woman to death. Funnily enough some of my naughtier characters have been squeamish about it. I guess sometimes a righteous person can be more frightening than a criminal.

[Acadian]

mALX- Thank you! I’m so glad you liked Buffy’s flirting around the edge of the DB – just long enough to put them down. Apparently, the little boy makes his way back to the orphanage - now under kind and proper management. In fact the new manager of the orphanage sends out flyers urging folks to adopt the wonderful children in need of homes that she has under her care. Some nice touches.

SubRosa- Long ago, you referred to Buffy as ‘cuddly like a rattlesnake’ and during her DB involvement, I figure that fit pretty well. Yes, Astrid signing that warrant and the assassin carrying it on him were huge mistakes. Although I didn’t cover it in the update, you take news of Astrid’s death to some captain who gives you the spiel that always makes Buffy’s eyes roll. Some big strong guy telling a tiny elf that it is up to her to solve the [insert crisis] - by herself of course.

mirocu- Aww, I know Lothie would have quickly jumped to Buffy’s aid were he there! Thanks!

Lopov- On the Astrid signing her name, I learned long ago that when it comes to writing TES stuff, it is sometimes best to openly poke fun at some of the game things that don’t always make the best of sense instead of trying to tweak them into sense. Another game limitation is that you can never figure out who requested a DB hit on your character in the first place – so your vengeance can’t really go further than Astrid and her cronies. Buffy feels badly that the little boy is still screwed up. She (probably correctly) thinks she is too screwed up to be the one to give him guidance though. That I tell her he was screwed up before she came on the scene is scant comfort to her though.

Destri- Thank you. I love how we can see the same NPCs, yet draw differing impressions of them. Buffy spent some time reconnoitering the orphanage (as, ironically, an Agent of Mara) and came to the conclusion that Grelod was pretty much pure evil – so, as you say, she had no problem squaring her choices. As you also point out, she is pretty good at creatively justifying what her heart tells her to do. Her doctrine was triggered by Astrid of course and she would otherwise have likely never involved herself in the orphanage because, as you say, the situation there was not a threat to her or her friends. It was simply the path to her goal. She’s not big on ‘the ends justifies the means’; in fact she walked right out of the Dragonborn main quest refusing to betray the Skaal to kill Mirak. In the case of taking out Grelod however, that was just a convenient pleasure to accomplish. Her only regret over the whole thing is that the little boy is still screwed up and, as we know, Buffy is hardly the best ‘moral compass’ for the lad. At least she is wise enough to know that adopting him would be a bad choice.

ghastley- Heh, on the shoes. Naturally Buffy tried on all the new whiz bang DB gear while in the Sanctuary. She actually didn’t keep any of their gear though – not even their boots. The boots she’s wearing in the screenshot inside the Sanctuary are part of her Triss (mod) gear. Actually taking Serana inside might have been a good idea. . . that way Buffy could have the vampire resurrect the assassins and kill them twice. Did we mention she’s not averse to vengeance?

Grits- Thank you. Sounds like Jensa spent enough time with those orphans to come to the same conclusion about Grelod as Buffy. Like so many of the neat ‘gray’ things in Skyrim, little Aventus’ uncertain future kept Buffy from being overly confident that she made the right choices.

* * *

After several theme-based updates, I’m happy to return to our more random potpourri of sneak peeks into Buffy's life in Skyrim -

Profile in courage.

Well, let's see what he does when he finds a real one.

Where no companion dares follow.

Shopping for shoes.

Good morning, Druglord.

Catch this!

[hazmick]

Well, let's see what he does when he finds a real one.

HAHAHAHA this is perfect.

And might I (and my Argonian friend) say, sir, that Buffy is looking great! Must be that fresh Skyrim air.

[mALX]

"Profile in Courage" looks like it should have been called, "Oops, where did my bow go?" I see Buffy's arm drawn back like she is using the bow; and see the arrow in the dragon's arm - but no bow in Buffy's hands! Now THAT is a real archery trick!

This has to be Buffy in Winterhold, and boy does she look ticked off!!! I have GOT to love this one best, HAS to be my favorite! I can just hear Buffy saying, "FINE! He wants to hunt Elves then? We'll see about that!" LOVE THIS SHOT !!!!!


Holy Cow! "Don't Step Into The Light, Superian!" Urk !!! But I can't say much, Maxical took her horse up to the Throat of the World the hard way, lol.


These next two are exciting battles with the glowing weapons and ammo floating around ... or are those spells? Either way, AWESOME to look at !!!

Love this update, but I have to say that I loved the themed ones too !!!

[SubRosa]

Love the profile in courage. Or maybe "Eat This Bronzie!"

I think Assur might have found more elf than he can handle!

Watch that first step Superian, it is a doozy!

Catch this is just spectacular! What a fantastic slice of time.

[ghastley]

And the caption for Catch This is : "I'm OK, it's going to miss my knees"

[Destri Melarg]

Profile in courage.

The bound bow fits Buffy as perfectly as her fitted green ranger outfit. Kicking butt in haute couture!

Well, let's see what he does when he finds a real one.

Speaking of haute couture, I just love the feathers (if those are feathers) in Buffy’s braids. In fact, the whole outfit is just smokin’. ‘Rosa nailed this one. I think Assur is about to have a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day!

Where no companion dares follow.

Superian showing off the parkour skills. The mod that allows Buffy to carry the bound bow and quiver on her back is just great.

Shopping for shoes.

Caption for this one:

“Again?” asked Superian.

[Lopov]

Profile in courage.

Beautiful but I don't recognize this location, where is it? I assume it's the Reach because it's the area about which I know almost nothing. Also, does Buffy absorb souls and words or is that feature disabled in her world?

Well, let's see what he does when he finds a real one.

She looks very good in what she wears. Are these Shrouded Boots or are they just similar?

Where no companion dares follow.

By Dibella, what a fantastic shot! 10/10.

Shopping for shoes.

Buffy's never alone, not even in Solitude.

Good morning, Druglord.
Catch this!

Bound bow really fits Buffy well! A fitting end for the undead lord.

[mirocu]

So many nice Buffy pixies


As one who remembers her eager return to the south after the Bruma visits when she lived in Cyrodiil, it´s quite astonishing to see her thrive so well in the frozen land


P.S. Great pic of the month!

[mALX]

I missed the new Screen of the Month! What a great shot !!!