Fallout 4: Angel's Pip-Boy Diary #23 · 10:56am Feb 12th, 2016
art by TheOmegaRidley
This week, I've started playing with a handful of new mods. Most just add new pieces of furniture, clothing or similar items. The big ones are Spring Cleaning (a mod that allows you to scrap previously unscrappable debris and skeletons; I have been keeping an eye on this one, waiting for them to fix a major issue with it, and they finally did), Armorsmith Extended (which, amongst other features, allows greater range of clothing that you can add ballistic weave to -- armored red dress FTW!), and Precise Object Moving and Rotating (which simplifies the previously tedious use of console commands like "getpos" and "setpos" for precision settlement building).
In other Fallout 4 news, Bethesda is teasing us again. They have hinted that we will soon be learning about the first DLC. More substantially, they have told us that they are seriously upgrading Survival mode, including a return the elements from New Vegas:
We’re also doing a complete overhaul of Fallout 4 Survival mode. Food, sleep, diseases, danger and more. Stay tuned.
Coming up below the break...
Angel's Pip-Boy Diary. I hope you enjoy. 
(And, as always, if interest in these diaries starts to wane, please let me know. I don't want them to outstay their welcome.)
Angel's Pip-Boy Diary
Day 42
Day 42 – Midnight
December 4, 2287
That ogre has a rocket launcher!
There’s no time to waste. If any fellow soldiers survived that crash, they are in extremely hostile territory and probably need immediate medical attention. But that guy has to go to go down before I can rush in.
Thankfully, they’re all focused on the vertibird. Sniping with Sweetness, I should be able to clear myself a path.
That explosion was horrific. I have to brace for the worst. If there is no one to rescue, I will give the dead a respectful burial and collect their holotags to return to Danse.
Please, God, let someone have survived.
Day 42 – Morning
December 4, 2287The last twenty-four hours have been insanely intense. I have never faced a battle like the one at Revere. And so close on the heels of everything I faced at the National Guard Training Yard…
I spent a harrowing part of the battle hiding in power armor, firing through a narrow space with my newly silenced Sweetness, hoping they couldn’t figure out where the shots were coming from. Eventually, they did.
I’ve got to take a breather. I know that I need to finish my mission for the Brotherhood, but it has now been four days since the Prydwen arrived. I’m already inexcusably late for an “immediate” response. One more day won’t make a difference… I hope. And if nothing else, returning the holotags of Brothers fallen in battle should mitigate my tardiness. But if I keep pressing into increasingly dangerous territory in my current state, I won’t survive to return them or report to anyone.
There were no survivors from the vertibird. After clearing Revere of ogres, I buried the crew, then searched the site until I found another member of the missing recon team. Only one left, and I have a location of the bunker he supposedly was on his way to. It’s quite a long distance.
Instead, I am making a long job to the boathouse. The ogres had a set of power armor – that makes three which I have procured in under a day. I am using it to help me carry the massive amount of weapons and salvage that I have taken from Revere and the NGTY back to Sanctuary. Taffington Boathouse is on the way, and once I secure it, I may just stop there and finally sleep.
On the way, I was ambushed by Giant Scorpions of Doom. But in this armor and with the arsenal of weapons I’m carrying, I am Retro Woman of Doom, and my Doom is much more doom-y than theirs… okay, I’m getting loopy. I really do need sleep.
And… more ogres. I’m just going to skirt around this whole suburb and not deal with them. I don’t have to take on every Goddamn threat to humanity that I stumble across in the Commonwealth anymore. There’s an army here for that. Yes, I’m part of it. But I’ve done my share for the morning.
Day 42 – Early Evening
December 4, 2287I had my daily dose of horror, courtesy of the dead brahmin in front of the Taffington Boathouse. I am glad to be wearing fully-enclosed power armor. The sight of what these bugs can do certainly left a lasting impression.
Taffington Boathouse is a beautiful property. It is going to make an excellent settlement. The house is mostly intact and just needs some roofwork. There is ample water acees perfect to set up multiple purifiers and ship water to all the other settlements. The boathouse is great secondary structure that could be transformed into a market or workshop.
I’m inclined to pull in Brotherhood resources to fortify the location. While it would nominally be under Minutemen authority, it would be very good for the Brotherhood to have an allied outpost in the area.
Clearing it was an almost quaint dance with giant mosquitos and booby traps. With my armor and weaponry, the bugs posed little threat. Getting rid of the body upstairs and the dead brahmin were more gruesome tasks.
Afterwards, I had a quiet meal while reading a little bit from the Covert Ops magazines I found both in Revere and the NGTY. Then forced myself to take a nap. Not for nearly as long as I should, but long enough to clear my head and give me the energy for the even longer slog back to Sanctuary.
Oooh… someone has a really nice homestead out here. Well defended. And I have to say that it is a very pleasant surprise to encounter non-hostile turrets. This looks like it might be a worthwhile detour. They may have a market where I can unload some of my excess.
Day 42 –Evening
December 4, 2287The town is named Covenant. It seems friendly but strange.
The town acts as a pit stop for traders. Lucas Millar was camped outside. He’s a man I know and can trust, so I did a fair amount of business with him and then asked him to keep an eye on my power armor before I attempted to enter the town.
The strange started immediately. I had to take a test to be allowed entrance, and it was easily the strangest test that I have taken in my life. And I had classes with Professor Rotundi. (As a side note: nothing raises alarm bells quite like being told there are no wrong answers.)
Fortunately, I managed to pass their psychological test and was allowed in. The test supposedly proved to their satisfaction that I wasn’t a synth – they only allow “good” people in. The test was so bizarre and random that I cannot imagine how it was suppose to work. And judging by the people here, I’m guessing it doesn’t. Some of these people seem… plastic. I tried the store, but Penny won’t say anything to me other than “enjoy your stay”. Is she a malfunctioning synth? I half-believe they are all synths, and the test is an overboard attempt at making people think the place is “normal”.
Don’t get me wrong: the place is nice. Really nice. Covenant is the closest thing I have seen to the Commonwealth that was my home. But my instincts are on edge. The whole place is creepy as hell. I’m leaving now.
The most normal person I encountered was “Honest” Dan, and that is probably because he doesn’t live here. Dan is here looking into the massacre of a caravan. He was hired by “Old Man” Stockton, the same fellow who Lucas Millar works for. Stockton’s daughter may have survived the massacre. There were no female bodies.
I am getting the picture that Stockton is a major figure in Commonwealth commerce. I also cannot help but remember that he works out of Bunker Hill, which is where that synth Jules was trying to get to. I get the uneasy feeling that the massacre of a Bunker Hill caravan in the vicinity of a synth-paranoid (or synth) community isn’t happenstance.
“Honest” Dan’s investigation dead-ended here. He plans to stay in Covenant as long as it takes to uncover the truth. For fifty caps up front, I accepted his request for help.
Dan probably thinks he’s been conned. I intend to help, but I can’t spare the time right now. Assuming things with the Brotherhood do not go spectacularly badly, I will be back. And I think I’ll be bringing Detective Nick Valentine along with me. Missing person cases are right up his alley.
Day 42 – Late Evening
December 4, 2287The Brotherhood of Steel landed near Starlight. They were just establishing a patrol of the general area. I should get the diner up and running again so they have a place to stop and grab a bite to eat.
On that note, there are a lot of small fires that I need to put out. Both Hangman’s Alley and the Abernathy’s Farm are growing faster than I anticipated. This is good news, but it does come with some logistic work. I’ve arranged for new beds to be made at both locations. Oberland Station now has a beacon, and construction has been started on a bed and breakfast.
The bigger fire was back at Sanctuary Hills. As I arrived, the place was under attack by Giant Scorpions of Doom. All the perimeter defenses were useless against monsters that burrowed up in the center of town.
Fortuantely, not only was I wearing power armor, but I had the railway rifle from Bedford Station. Together, we made short work of the monsters. Thankfully, no one was seriously hurt. But I’m making it a priority to arm all of my settlers with better weapons than the pipe guns they seem to favor. I’m going to start collecting weapons. I’m making my New Year’s resolution early: every settler in every one of the Minutemen settlements will have an assault rifle, combat shotgun or other quality weapon. Even Mama Murphy.
One last matter of business. I am headed back to the G.A.G. (what an acronym!) with Codsworth.
Day 42 – Night
December 4, 2287Raiders made the mistake of ambushing a traveling settler while Codsworth and I were within earshot. They won’t be making that mistake (or any other) again. After making sure the settler was unhurt, I sent him on to Oberland Station.
It has been pleasant traveling with Codsworth again. In his words, “We’ll be all right as long as we’re together.” I found that very comforting. I have met several good people, people who are becoming dear to me. Of them all, I think Nick Valentine is the one who I enjoy the company of most. But there is something special about Codsworth: a connection to the past which I simply don’t share with anyone else. I’m adrift from my own time, but not entirely alone.
Did I just think of Codsworth as a “he”? Heh. Codsworth’s programmed voice has me thinking of it as male. Even with my extended view of the possible “personhood” of some robots, it is fanciful nonsense to associate a gender with the machine. It isn’t as if Codsworth could internally have a sexual identity, right?
That aside, it is really heartening to hear Codsworth say that its early reservations about me have been alleviated. Our relationship, Cosdworth says, is “right as rain.” It is really different for me to think that I have a “relationship” with Codsworth – to think of it in terms of friendship rather than ownership. I once thought of Codsworth as I would think of a household appliance. I can’t look at it the same way anymore.
Hell, technical realities aside, maybe I should start thinking of Codsworth as “him”, if only because it feels more personal. I suppose I could ask…
Ack! Glowing radroach!
…And already cut into pieces by Codsworth.
Oh, look where we are. Wildwood Cemetery. I think we’ll be avoiding this, because nothing says “ghouls” like a cemetery.
…On second thought, with Codsworth at my side…
art by Rublegun
This is as Fallout as Fallout gets. Respond to the immediate summons, just taking 4-5 days of detours on the way.
Pardon me while I zig-zag to every shiny beacon out there...save for the main objective!
Well, that's a heck of a way to start things off.
Still loving the continuing adventures of Retro Woman of Doom.
Futile, too, since they'll be right back where you found them, the next time you visit. I always disable such returning leftovers via the console.
Two typos: "afterwords", "profession", should be "afterwards" and "professor" respectively.
(Sigh) When will you learn, Kkat...we never get tired of your stuff! EVERYTHING YOU DO IS AWESOME!!!
3749754 Thanks. Fixed.
And yes, I used disable too.
3749669 You ain't seen nothin' yet!
Pretty sure Angel's going to hit level 70 before she makes it to the Glowing Sea. 
Great stuff as always, Kkat. Please keep it up (if you want to, that is).
I finally got back into Fallout after taking a break from it. Currently, I'm trying to level up and find more stuff to do for people. I have a bad habit of always missing places that give me things to do. I found Diamond City before I ever found some of the closer settlements near Sanctuary Hills.
It just dawned on me, but what level has Angel gotten to?
3749952 I believe Angel is level 24 in APBD Day 42.
In my playthrough, she just reached level 64. But while I have a TON of notes for those levels, I haven't written them yet.
That cover pic makes me go "aww yis"
And while your dooming it Don't forget to sing the doom song. "Doom! Doom! Doom! Doom! Doom!"
At the rate I've seen the Brotherhood go through vertibirds, I'd say Angel is being amazingly optimistic with the Brotherhoods chances.
Better warm up the Mystery Machine and open up another box of Scoobie Snacks, looks like Angel has another potential mystery on her hands.
3749811 Make sure you find the Yhang Zi while you're at it!
Why, oh why can I not find the tab that will let me like the blog post itself? Have never been one for social media, so it took me a little while to figure out following blogs on Fimfic, but shouldn't there be a like function for the primary post?
...with options like "all the likes!", though considering this is Fimfic, maybe "Fabulous, darling" is more in keeping...
Anyway, please please please keep these coming Kkat! You're doing an excellent job of bringing a game to life!
"Fabulous, darling!"
(I'm still enjoying the blogposts.)
3751026
Just caught up on Angel's Pip Boy Entries, and I absolutely love them. It's so great to read about other people's play-through in a story-like environment. And in particular I love the diary setup. Took me a while to get to them as I'm trying to get more time put into my own FO:E side-story. Been trying to get an editor, posted in "Looking For Editors" 3 times and no one responded. :c
I was confused to see the pictures not showing up, at least until I saw the note about imgur blacklisting FimFiction. Can't for the life of me figure out why they would blacklist FimFiction though. Seems rather weird.
Anywho~ Always enjoy your posts, they're great.