#I get way too used to playing as Dunmer in Skyrim and then play another race and when they die when being hit by fire I'm so confused

[venacoeurva]

TES shiptober 7-9- Snow

In fairness, Wren, Miraak can’t be blasted by fire and be mostly fine like you can… also it hits like 40 degrees Fahrenheit and he starts sweating

-Please do not reupload, edit, or use.-

[ladytanithia]

AO3 Twenty Questions

I was tagged by @dirty-bosmer Tagging @lillxart @gwilin-stay-winnin @skyrim-forever and @thequeenofthewinter (even though I know she's already done this!)

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

18

2. What's your total AO3 word count?

416,292

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Currently, only Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, although I have written a few Breath of the Wild fics (one one-shot, one short 8-chapter story, and two long fics that are unfinished). Once upon a time in junior high and high school, my friends and I wrote each other stories about Duran Duran and Def Leppard, but those are on paper and too old for anyone to care these days!

4. What are your top five fics by kudos?

You know, I hadn’t really looked in a long time, so I’m surprised/not surprised to find that mostly my LoZ fics are the highest in kudos (they’ve been there longest).

Dalliances with Dunmer (86)

Link the Anachronism (55)

Larissa’s Tale: Before the Hero (46) – this pleases me; my first story with an OC and a lot of research

Khajiit: Stranger in a Strange Land (45)

Starting Over: A New Woman in a New Hyrule (38)

5. Do you respond to comments?

Absolutely! While I write for myself and have to remind myself of this daily, it’s always nice to know that someone else has seen and enjoyed my labors of love. Readers who comment are rare and precious. And at least 2 of them have become actual friends!

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

Dalliances with Dunmer – but that wasn’t the end of the story, just the ending of the 2nd book in the story.

7. What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

What Might Have Been – because it was MEANT to be an alternate ending to the angsty one.

8. Do you get hate on fics?

Not usually. When I first started putting DwD on AO3 and fanfiction, one person called it dogshit and another person went on a mean, scandalized rant about Miranja’s “fatherless behavior.” But a dear friend told me, if there’s no controversy, you’re not doing it right, and I left the flame in the comments for that purpose!

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

Smut/romance/erotica – various levels depending on the mood and the characters’ relationship. There’s been everything from cuddly fluff to heart-pounding romance to jizz-in-your-pants or call-the-priest filth.

10. Do you write crossovers? What's the craziest one you've written?

I can’t answer that definitively. I started a crossover (Khajiit) between BotW and Skyrim (a friend used Skyrim to wean me off of BotW, and now I live here forever), but I haven’t even gotten to the crossover part and now it’s been 2 years since I played BotW, so we’ll see where that goes.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not that I know of. I can’t imagine why anyone would, unless they were training an AI!

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

No.

13. Have you ever co-written a fic?

Yes, just a silly little back-and-forth scenario with my OC and a friend’s OC. It’s not on AO3, but I’m hoping it will be soon!

14. What's your all-time favorite ship?

Of my own, or anyone’s anywhere? Mine, of course, would be Miranja and Talvas. Elsewhere… I like to ship Kvothe and Devi in The Name of the Wind – if for nothing else but the hate sex!

15. What's a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

I want to finish all of them except the Link and Zelda stories, since those are moot points by now.

16. What are your writing strengths?

From others’ reviews, I’d say characterization and description. I like to get inside the characters’ minds and hearts, think up back stories for them that might have made them the way they are, make their interactions with other characters as genuine as I can. When describing a scene, I almost focus more on the sensations than the actual physical presence of, or situation of, things. What is the character seeing, hearing, smelling, touching, or tasting, and how does it make them feel? The feelings are what you remember, not the details. (Unless you’re Sherlock Holmes.)

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

Second-guessing myself. If someone says the story’s moving too slowly, I pick up the pace and skip the less important stuff that was kind of important to me. Then someone says I’m rushing the story, so I rewrite it and flesh it out the way I wanted it to begin with. Like, I BELIEVE I’m pretty good at re-reading and assessing the pace, but then I let someone else tell me I’m doing it wrong. Also, allowing things to distract me and keep me from writing until I don’t even remember where I was at.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic?

If it’s relevant to the plot, then of course! Otherwise, if it’s just idle chatter, that feels like extraneous flaunting on the author’s part. Look what I can do! Haha!

19. First fandom you wrote for?

As many things as I’ve been a fan of, I’ve never thought of writing my own fiction about them until I beat Breath of the Wild. Because I wanted so badly to know how they would turn the kingdom back around, I decided to write my own continuation.

20. Favorite fic you've written?

Larissa’s Tale or Hrefna’s Crush. Shorter stories, but special to me in different ways. Larissa was kind of a self-insert character but better-looking, who got her hands and other body parts on Link before Zelda did. Hrefna’s Crush was sort of a birds-and-bees and starting to have crushes story, where Sondas Drenim is the object of her crush, and Miranja is the competition she loves but envies.

[juniperberries-canisroot]

Tagged by @debaited thanks!

I don't really know many others who have multiple OCs for Skyrim, so if you see this post and wanna do it go for it! Tpy can tag me of you want. I wouldn't have seen this game had I not been tagged.

Tagging @ghostfacedbat & @rossthren-nsfw-read-bio cause I know they have multiple OCs, only if you want!

Favourite OC: Gotta be my main girl Chantilly Leice. She's the most developed story-wise and she's multi-faceted. Glitters-like-Stars is another fav too. Corveau the Reaper might be a third fav due to her interesting story & the situation she's in.

Newest OC: Cassata, a Dunmer I made on my newest save, named after an Italian cake. Besides the name and colour scheme, I don't have anythin story-wise planned for her yet. I know what factions and stuff I want to do, but backstory and all the character traits are blank right now. I think I want her to be a Boethia fangirl and worshipper of Sithis.

Oldest OC: Dyce. A Skyrim DB I can't play with cause all her save data got erased in some freak incident. I don't even remember making it to Bleak Falls Barrow on her save, I remember thinking the game must want me to go there since I only had the Golden Claw quest and getting horribly lost. Chantilly Leice was made years after Dyce as her 'redo'.

Meanest: Soleil just being herself. I don't really have any mean OCs, like ones that will insult you unprovoked. I have some evil characters but 'mean' wouldn't be one of the first words others use to describe them. Soleil just isn't friendly and she's a bit crass. Besides Sorcha, her cousin, not many can get over her RBF and blunt and dry comments. Even Isran admits she's a bit hard to work with due to her anti-social personality. She only wants to socialize with the bare minimum to get the job done, everything else is unnecessary and a waste of time and breath. Sorcha is the only other person Soleil allows to be in her company, thou even Sorcha themself doesn't entirely know why.

Softest: Ginseng Thorn-Summons is most outwardly soft in her actions; she gives second chances when people probably don't deserve them (not criminals just people of bad character). She gives everyone the benefit of the doubt, thinks the best of them before the worse even when being told the worse by others and she wants to think everyone is capable of good. There's nothing *wrong with the way she thinks, everyone should have a healthy bit of optimism, but for Ginseng, she doesn't have a healthy bit of pessimism until she gets burned or her trust betrayed. Her mostly disregard for people's not so good traits opens her up for others to take advantage of her kindness and generosity.

Glitters-like-Stars and Chantilly Leice are the most 'secretive' softest thou. They'll pay debts for older people who can't pay it themselves, or maybe just someone on hard times, without asking for compensation or acknowledgment. They'll assist others without payment for the betterment of the situation (unless that person is being a dick about it).

Most aloof/standoffish: Soleil. Besides her cousin, she doesn't make an effort to talk others unless she has to, or the 'conversation' is just buying somethin from a shopkeep and leaving. Chantilly Leice used to be standoffish when she was younger, (20s and below) but she was also very un-trusting so that played a part in it. Even still, she would talk to others like Guild and faction members without being rudely short in conversation like how Soleil is.

Dumbest (affectionate): Vanta Iris. She has the capacity to make intelligent decisions, she's not dumb as in 2+2=3 but she doesn't think things throu. She'd much rather rush in then stop to make a plan. She thinks hard not smart.

Jethro is intelligent, thinks smart not hard, but he likes the chaos of being a lil dumb sometimes.

OC I'd probably be friends with: I always find this question weird cause I don't see myself being friends with almost any of my OCs. I have several vampire OCs, but that doesn't mean I would be friends with a vampire normally or approve of their lifestyle in a real world setting with real world consequences.

So assuming I was plopped in the world of Skyrim and followed the same idiosyncrasies, rules, thoughts and world set up as NPCs or even my own NPC, Electra. Socialable, knows when to draw the line, not hard to talk to, plays nice with others until you piss her off. She's not typically a petty person and she'll tell you straight away what's on her mind rather than beating around the bush or saying one thing to your face but cursing you out behind your back.

[aethuviel]

People are shitting too much on the Ayleids

I get it, it’s TES, it’s popular to be a Pelinal/Ysgramor fanboy and joke about killing elves (and it’s fantasy, these people don’t really exist, so it’s fine, joke all you want), but I think people are being way too hard on the Ayleids.

Go on any forum thread or YouTube comment section, and you’ll be led to believe every single Ayleid woke up every morning, thinking about all the human children he would set on fire and flay alive that day.

Always the same quotes about flesh-sculpture, gut-gardens and night-time tiger sports. Which... were written by Nedes. The ones who won a war against their slave masters and then genocided them (slightly more deserved than the Snow Elves who did nothing, but still, talk about going overboard), and needed to justify this brutal genocide. Every victor in history smears the opponent they defeated as an evil that had to be stopped.

“They were Daedra worshipers and worshiped Molag Bal!” Some Ayleids did. Some were still Aedric, like most other elves, until the very end. And as for the other Daedra - Dunmer, Khajiit and Orcs all have Daedra in their pantheons, and while they each have their problems, I don’t see anyone calling the entire races “evil”. Nords have their own problems in how they treat other races, and they never worshiped Daedra.

Originally, all Ayleids were Aedric, then they started worshiping Meridia, then this became a “gateway drug” into darker Daedra, eventually leading to a Molag Bal cult, who yes, if the sources are to be believed, enjoyed torturing and murdering innocent people, including children.

Still, I have a hard time believing all the details about how evil the Ayleids supposedly were, because again, the victors write history, and the Ayleids aren’t even around to defend themselves. They mostly disappeared 4000 years ago, plenty of time for myths and exaggerations to take place. Also remember that even in the Alessian rebellion, there were Ayleids involved, helping the Nedes.

I have not yet played ESO, which is where I understand much of this darker Ayleid lore comes from, and I know lore buffs tend to not put too much stock into ESO lore, if we put it like that.

The rest, in Oblivion - is any of it actually from Ayleids themselves, or is it all from the Nedes? Because that says it right there.

I should comment this again after actually playing ESO and Oblivion, but until then, I check the sources on the wikis.

The main source that everyone uses for the horrors committed by the Ayleids, was written by Morihaus, and if that’s not biased as hell, I don’t know what is.

This picking on the Ayleids make me want to start playing my Altmer in Skyrim already (no, I’m nowhere near done with Skyrim). His name is Astarion, and I put it in his background that he believes he’s descended from Ayleids, due to his dark olive skin and blue eyes, and it colors a lot of his experiences. I know there is another Elder Scrolls OC around here named Astarion, but I came up with this name 2-3 years ago, so I’m not changing it.

[sigil-stone]

How would you rewrite TES vore?

considering vore is an important part of malacath's creation, and i do love orc dad, i'm not sure if i would (/j)

(pssst i'm going to be talking mainly about skyrim, because i personally think it's the TES game with the largest amount of things that were almost really cool. i may go through and add points for the other games i've played too, but we'll see)

anyways. let'sa go

the Reach and Markarth. i would have the Reachfolk's kingdom be intact and comparatively strong, especially in relation to the Stormcloaks and Empire in Skyrim.

the Stormcloaks. take away the bit about Ulfric being a Thalmor asset, or bring actual attention to it. let there be consequences for Ulfric's actions, especially in the Reach.

the Dunmer. ESPECIALLY in skyrim. put more emphasis on the remnants of their culture, show clearly how it's changed. dive more into their relationship with the Nords, especially in Windhelm.

Keening. it was fan service. i acknowledge that. that being said, give us more! go more into depth with it! how many folks who haven't played morrowind got keening and was like, "what the fuck is this"? (<- me, at age 9. i thought it was just a pretty dagger). and i get it, it's a fun little thing for returning fans, but it's KEENING! arguably one of the most powerful artifacts ever created by mortal hands!!! in Morrowind you had to meet a god to even get it, but Arniel and the dovahkiin can just, use it?

the whole experiment with Arniel could've been expanded into its own story with different outcomes. it's incredibly jarring to go from generic fetch quests with an arcane slant to watching Arniel be horrifically torn asunder and bound to your soul. and then the story just! moves on! like it never happened! no one comments on the fact that you have a profane tool strapped to your waist! no one mentions arniel disappearing!! give the narrative consequences!!! let player choice effect the world in a meaningful way!!!

also, the Argonians. give them more lore, goddammit. explore the difference between those born drinking the hist sap and those who weren't. let those differences be of consequence to the player if they're Argonian.

the Thalmor as a whole. don't be scared, todd. let them be evil. i don't mean the caricature of evil we see in Skyrim - largely ineffective, too incompetent to really be seen as a threat. if anything, the Thalmor in Skyrim are just kinda... annoying. we see glimpses of their full potential - we hear about Malborn's family, the Night of Green Fire in Sentinel, we see the inside of a Thalmor prison... but these little snippets are overshadowed by how in-the-face the game is about how evil they are.

i'd portray the Thalmor, and the Dominion, as initially sympathetic. let them be right about some things. have the player learn about Talos - really learn about Talos - from a Thalmor source, and let the explanation go beyond "we don't like him because he's a man and we're racist."

it's not so much as changing the lore behind the Thalmor, more just the portrayal of them. maybe have the Thalmor as a joinable faction, let the player run around getting well-paid for doing things like keeping an eye on a certain person on a certain night, or delivering an artifact to another official. let the cracks begin to form in the foundations as you prove yourself to the Thalmor, and without really realizing, move on from fetch-quests to information-gathering.

let the Thalmor KNOW about the player. let the Thalmor use the player. let the Thalmor know that the player is a capital-p Prisoner. give them knowledge that no one else has instead of a bunch of snobby elves who just loiter around and talk about their Eviiiiil Plaaaansss to anyone kind enough to stop by and listen to them.

(i have my issues with his work, but AllinAll on youtube has my personal favorite portrayal of the Thalmor. they're sinister and powerful and terrifying and everything they SHOULD have been).

there's some more i could talk about but this post is already ungodly long, so. ya.

[late-nite-scholar]

Skyrim Screenshot Dump!

I've been playing around with some mods lately (listed at the bottom) for funsies and got some good results.

Like, finally found a mod for good curly hair for Besharat. And some proper Redguard outfits. (I don't know where the blue eye/face glow is coming from)

Got a hair style for Orielle more like what I've been picturing. I don't love the hair around the face, but it's much closer.

Found a mod for Dunmer House robes for Azuri! My console version doesn't have the added patch to fit it to female bodies, but it works well enough. There's some non-House specific ones too, which is nice because there's no way that Azuri is gonna wear another House's colors and that way I can use more than just the one set.

And finally a picture of Azuri's family (found family is a HUGE part of her story). It was hard to get everyone in the same shot! Left to right- Ralof (blood brother), Runa Fair-Shield (daughter), Kharjo (husband), and Ma'Rahka (son). I had originally downloaded Ma'isha, but she wouldn't work properly, unfortunately.

Mods featured (all Xbox One versions)

-Redguard Traders with Mounts

-Raven's Warpaint

-Warrior Woman HG Hairs

-HG Hair pack #8 (curly hairs)

-Dunmeri Great House Robes

-My Little Kitty Ma'Rakha Khajiit Child

-True White KS Hair Selection

-IA92's Epic hair colors

-Marriage Mod- to have and to hold (and others?)

-Buddy Ralof (my very first mod!)

I think that's all of them! I don't want to change anyone's faces or how they look (faces are all vanilla!), but I'm a sucker for clothes, hair, and facepaint mods!

[the-sunlit-earth]

Your Morrowind graphics look sooo beautiful! Do you have a list of the mods you used? I'd really appreciate it if you could share it!

Sure! I'd be happy to share my setup =)

My modlist is cobbled together from various modding guides, suggestions by friends who've played Morrowind, and my own personal preferences as I've played and come across things I felt like changing (like the pond scum lol!).

I tried to leave out most mods that had zero to do with Graphics/changes you can see in the world, and I also tried to keep my descriptions short, though if you were only asking for a simple load order then I apologize, oops!

The Engine

MGE XE (this is absolutely vital for those distant views/awesome light and water shaders and other features!)

Morrowind Code Patch (needed for bump/reflection maps to look right!)

Meshes/Textures/Overhauls

Morrowind Optimization Patch (improves performance/fixes some mesh errors!)

Patch for Purists (squashes so many bugs while avoiding unnecessary changes!)

Intelligent Textures (full AI upscaled/hand-edited texture pack of the game, excellent as a base if you plan to add on more targeted replacers later!)

Enhanced Water Shader for MGE XE--OR--Krokantor's Enhanced Water Shader Updated: (depends on which version of MGE XE you're using; if 0.13.0 you'll want the Updated version, and if earlier you need the older one. 3 shades of water to choose from; improved caustics, foam, ripples, underwater effects; and no more weird immersion-breaking moment when you would previously tilt the camera just beneath the surface and it would suddenly be perfectly clear. Absolutely gorgeous water!)

Animation Compilation-Hand to Hand Improved Without Almalexia Spellcasting (idk if this counts, but it does fix the Visual of that weird vanilla running animation!)

Better Bodies and Westly's Pluginless Replacer (a friend told me to get Robert's bodies, but BB is also very good and seems to be the most widely used + many mods need it, like Julan!)

Pluginless Khajiit Head pack (prettier kitties!)

Improved Argonians (better looking lizard-friends!)

Children of Morrowind (adds realism by having kids running around your towns!)

Julan, Ashlander Companion [v3.0 at bottom of this page] (ok not a graphics mod, but will add much immersion to your game, so I will shill for him anyway!)

Vibrant Morrowind 3.0/4.0 (this one I actually don't have installed yet, but I love the way Vivec looks in the screenshots!)

abot Water Life (adds aquatic creatures/things like algae and coral to make Morrowind's waters more alive!)

Vurt's Corals (found on Vurt's Groundcover page; adds gorgeous corals and new water plants!)

Vurt's Ashlands Overhaul (can choose between gnarly trees or vanilla-style!)

Vurt's Groundcover (gorgeous animated grass and vegetation that differs for each region!)

Vurt's Solstheim Tree Replacer II (more realistic trees and snowy pines!)

Vurt's Bitter Coast Trees II (5 additional unique trees!)

Vurt's Bitter Coast Trees II Remastered (mesh fixes/optimizations for the trees!)

Vurt's Leafy West Gash II (more trees, and optional rope bridge texture!)

Vurt's Ascadian Isles Tree Replacer II (v10a recommended for better-sized trees without clipping issues; TREES!!)

Articus Bush Replacer for Vurt AI Trees II (new model for bush tree + bark retexture!)

Vurt's Grazeland Trees II (really cool palms and Baobab trees!)

Vurt's Mournhold Trees II (beautiful animated cherry blossom trees!)

I Lava Good Mesh Replacer (better lava mesh, has no flickering with effects like steam!)

Remiros' Minor Retextures - Mist (much nicer spooky mist in Ancestral Tombs!)

Unto Dust (adds atmospheric floating dust motes, kinda like in Skyrim barrows!)

Graphic Herbalism MWSE (improved meshes and Oblivion-style harvesting!)

Glow in the Dahrk (windows transition to glowing versions at night!)

Ashfall (super awesome and very configurable Camping/Survival/Cooking/Needs mod!)

Watch the Skies (dynamic weathers/weather changes inside/randomized clouds etc!)

Seasonal Weather of Vvardenfell (weather changes throughout the year!)

Taddeus' Foods of Tamriel (adds Ashfall compatible foods and ovens for baking!)

More Wells (add-on for Ashfall/more immersive since access to water is pretty important!)

Diverse Blood (because not everything should bleed Red when you poke it with a spear!)

Lived Towns - Seyda Neen (adds more containers/clutter to make it feel more lived-in!)

Better Waterfalls (adds splash effects/water spray, better running water texture!)

Waterfalls Tweaks (resized water splash to blend better!)

Dunmer Lanterns Replacer (smoother/more-detailed-yet-optimized lanterns + paper lanterns!)

Telvanni Lighthouse Tel Vos (fits in perfectly with Azura's Coast region!)

Telvanni Lighthouse Tel Branora (very atmospheric, works well with surroundings!)

Palace of Vehk (Vivec's Palace feels lived-in instead of sad and empty!)

Ships of the Imperial Navy (immersive addition to Imperial waterfront areas!)

Striderports (gives caravaners some shelter and comfort while standing there all day!)

Illuminated Palace of Vivec (decorates palace steps + shrines with devotion candles and flowers left by followers!)

Scum Retexture - Alternative 2 (better looking pond scum in Bitter Coast region!)

Full Dwemer Retexture (I went with Only Armor/Robots/Weapons; nice high quality retex!)

Blighted Animals Retextured (I chose Darknut's 1024; blighted animals have their own sickly textures now!

Vivec Expansion 3.1 Tweaked Reworked (adds a hostel/many wooden walkways to Vivec on the water!)

Atmospheric Plazas (Vivec's plazas now have weather/sunlight! Be sure to use MCP's Rain fix to keep it from pouring as if there's no roof!)

Gemini's Realistic Snowflakes (more organic texture with more depth!)

Severa Magia DB fix (makes hideout actually appropriate to Dark Brotherhood!)

Starfire's NPC Additions (more populated towns and settlements!)

Hold It (adds items for NPCs to hold and carry, based on their class; very immersive!)

Suran-The Pearl of the Ascadian Isles (I went with White Suran Complete package; stunning retexture that also adds docks/waterfront!)

Atmospheric Delights (a more fitting mood inside the House of Earthly Delights!)

Guars Replacer-Aendemika of Vvardenfell (pluginless makeover for our scaly friends!)

Silt Strider by Nwahs and Mushrooms Team (great new model+textures for these cool bug-buses!)

Skar Face (giant crab manor in Ald-ruhn gets claws and legs!)

Armor/Clothing

Redoran Founders Armor (Redoran councilors stand out in this cool set!)

Morag Tong Polished (bug fixes/Armor Replacer/restored cut content for the faction!)

Rubber's Weapons Pack (several unique weapons/shields get distinct models!)

Yet Another Guard Diversity (generic copypasta guards now have variation!)

Better Silver Armor (adds missing pieces of silver armor to make full set!)

Royal Guard Better Armor (pluginless armor replacer for the Royal Guards!)

RR Mod Series Better Silt Strider Armor (cooler bug men in your Ashlander camps!)

Armored Robes NPC Compilation (some Ordinators/Mabrigash/others will wear distinct robes of their station!)

Full Dragonscale Armor Set v1.3a (adds the missing pieces to make the set complete!)

Mage Robes (robes for every magic school, many MG members will wear their respective ones!)

Quorn Resource Integration (lore-friendly armor/creatures added to leveled lists to be encountered in game!)

Better Clothes (non-segmented clothing replacer to fit Better Bodies!)

More Better Clothes (additional shirts that were missed in the first one!)

Better Clothes Complete (fixes many problems and 1st person clipping issues for BC!)

Better Clothes Retextured (high-res retextures for nearly all base game clothes!)

Hirez Better Clothes (3 shirts retextured in high quality!)

Better Morrowind Armor (BB compatible armor replacer!)

Dark Brotherhood Armor Replacer (changes DB armor to look more like concept art!)

Bonemold Armor Replacer (much nicer-looking Bonemold armor!)

Westly's Fine Clothiers of Tamriel (very high quality clothes that you will see many NPCs wearing too!)

Orcish Retexture v1.2 (beautifully done armor retexture!)

Daedric Lord Armor (much improved Daedric set, very fierce!)

Ebony Mail Replacer (awesome new model+tex that changes it to actual chainmail!)

I use Wrye Mash to install my mods, though I think a lot of people use MO2. Haaa, now that I've made this list I have the strong urge to just run around Morrowind taking even more screenshots =)

[strigital]

Do tell about Nim, I couldn’t find much info about her through your blog and I am dying to know more about this werewolf lady

well grab a pint and sit yo booty down, cause our bard of the evening tonight is Nim and she's drunk as all hell and ready to weave some outrageous stories!! 🍻

in all seriousness, thank you for asking! 😭💗 she came about back in ye oldie days of hype over the 11th of november 2011, and since then refuses to give up the title of my fav oc!!

now, a Paarthurnax would say: lets-a go!

a quick recap of the events in Skyrim:

Naali Saryn was born sometime in 4E 130 on mainland Morrowind as a result of a quick fling between an unknown Dunmer girl and Lucien Lachance and Kassandra Saryn's (The Hero of Kvatch's) son.

Sometime in that year, the baby was found aboard a ship bound for Raven Rock and when no one came forth to claim her a couple of elderly and childless ash yam farmers decided to take her in until her family was found.

The family, of course, was never found, and so they raised her as their own for the next sixteen years. They called the girl Nim - short, sweet, meaningless, and easy to shout out into the fields where the little brat is out adventuring when the house chores are yet to be done.

Nim grew up alongside her best friend Teldryn (don't believe his tales about his past, there's a reason why he wears a helmet in his hometown). For years the kids dreamt of leaving Raven Rock behind and making it big in the big city. And idea which really annoyed Nim's ol' Nana, who believed that everything needed for a simple happy life was right here on Solstheim.

After one particularly nasty fight with Nana about the ordeal, Nim gathered a bag of things and slipped out in the dead of night to catch an early morning ship with Teldryn.

They stuck together for a while then went on their separate merry ways. He - to Blacklight, she - to Leyawiin. Once in the wild, Nim had to quickly figure out her place in the pecking order. The romantic life of crime seemed to be the most attractive for her, but getting on top could never be easy. Especially for a young, inexperienced, and naive girlie. So she ended up running with the wrong kind of crew. Ended up in some truly dark places. Barely got out alive. Learned from her mistakes. Wore the scars of abuse like armor and made sure that since that day no one in this world or any other would play her for a fool, use her or put a finger on her without her permission.

By the time she turned fifty, Nim was well known amongst certain circles as the kind of scoundrel, thief, bard, and wench one should not trifle with. But her luck had to eventually run out, and so it did on the night of the fabled Umbacano Mansion heist, which failed so badly Nim had to either leave Cyrodiil or end up in a Thalmor owned torture chamber.

Skyrim seemed like a perfect place. After all, in a kingdom torn apart by the civil war, no one would even notice yet another greyskin refugee, right? Well, the Thalmor did. And so she ended up on a cart bound for Helgen to have a date with an executioner. But then Alduin showed up to crash the party before he himself got rudely interrupted by another dragon, who swooped in to save the Last Dragonborn.

After the narrow escape, Nim concluded her duty to warn Balgruuf of the dragon threat and went on to start a new career as a merc with the Companions. She and Aela became fast friends and when the prospect of joining the Circle came up she gladly accepted a sip of her new sister's blood. To never again be helpless and weak? To rip apart any fool who'd take her for just another elf wench who can't put up a fight? Well of course it was worth giving up the ability to sleep and having to get used to all smells suddenly becoming ten times worse!

After that Mirmulnir showed up and ended up as another ornament above the throne in the Dragonsreach. And Nim got stuck with a title which she would wear with great discontent for years to come.

Eventually, she ceased trying to run away and hide from her destiny, accepted her role as the Last Dragonborn, and begrudgingly began her quest to save the world. On her journey, she met and became tight friends with Yollokmir and Alasil who taught her how to speak, fight and fly like a dragon. With their help she inherited Konahrik's legacy: his mask embued with his soul, his citadel far up in the mountains - the NebenLok Zeikangaar - and the right to revive and lead the order of dragon riders sworn to defeat Alduin - DovahDein.

As she gained power and the word of her great many deeds spread across Skyrim, she managed to get quite the following of fellow men, mer, and Dov, willing to follow her into Sovngarde and beat the hell out of Alduin. Alas, she failed. Twice.

At that point, Alasil informed her of a special someone who might be of help in their quest against Alduin and who might prove difficult to convince to join her cause. That was the first time in fifty years that Nim got to visit her home. Unfortunately, Solstheim had changed. And upon arrival, she learned that her Pa passed onto the realm of Azura soon after her departure, and her Nana... well, she wasn't young anymore and suffered greatly due to all the ash ruining her lungs... and when the islanders got called to the All-Maker stones night after night by a mysterious spell, she just worked herself to death. That was the only thing Nim wouldn't forgive Miraak for, not until he swallowed his pride and sincerely apologized for being responsible for his potential mother-in-law's death.

And with Miraak's help, they finally sent Alduin back to his Maker, enjoyed a few peaceful years until High King Ulfric became a bit drunk on his power and needed a good ass whooping as well. Then Miraak suddenly found himself as the new king and Nim... she just did her own thing. As always. The end?

Oh and all the while running about, gathering forces, growing her Dragonborn powers, hunting Dragon Priests and Alduin's henchmen, she also meddled with the Thieves Guild, put Karliah in charge and became her right hand, managed to become an advisor on all things dragon at the Mage's College, ended up teaching lute and songwriting at the Bard's College (she's taking a break since Viarmo can't seem to handle her teaching tactics), earned the title of Thane in every hold and became a good friend to the Dawnguard fellas (Isran is more than happy to teach her kids the ropes of monster hunting) after kicking Harkon's ass into Oblivion. In what little free time she has Nim also manages the Lakeview Manor and leases the ash yam farm back in Raven Rock for some extra cash. All in all, a busy woman!

and some tidbits about the dovahmom:

Although Nim is perfectly aware of her real name, she chooses to use the one given to her by Nana. Both as a sign of respect and because, frankly, she dislikes both the Sarynes and the Lachances, who are, in her humble opinion, just a bunch of pricks. Somehow, the ghost of her murdered grandad finds this opinion of hers kinda funny.

Her friends sometimes describe her as "cyrodiilic brandy in a cup of tea": she's this small elf girl with pretty blue eyes and a smile on her face and you think that she'll be very pleasant and cute and shy and then... then you realize she drinks like a sailor, swears like one too, can beat anyone into the dirt (thanks, Hircine) and doesn't take shit from nobody. She openly speaks her mind and doesn't give a shit about what someone might think of her. She does what she considers the right thing to do, never plays nice with those she dislikes, never pretends to be someone she isn't. She's feisty, sassy, brassy, and, quite honestly, just doesn't give a fuck.

Nim is in almost complete control over her inner beast, partly thanks to her draconic blood, partly - to the ring she got when she and Sinding had that little party on a moonlit night in that grotto. She only loses control over herself when both moons are full and thusly will travel deep into the wilds a few days before the magical night. This way the only people that might get hurt are bandits, necromancers, hags, and the like. She and Aela also managed to get a small werewolf pack going, named the Whitemane Pack after the old man himself and dedicated to those who wish to take control over their inner beast, hunt with honor, and cause the Silver Hand as much grief as possible.

Nim is raising Blaise and Sofie as her own since they both were just wee lil' war orphans (the babes are in their teens now). She never quite really knew why... Nim was never a wifey nor a baby momma kind of woman. In fact, she can't even have children in the first place and, honestly, always thought of this as a blessing - never having to worry about contraception like all those other girls and just having fun without a care in the world! Her friends sometimes joke around, saying that she might've finally "ripened" for the motherhood, but she doesn't care. She loves Blaise, Sofie, and Sissel (thanks, Miraak, you're so good at kidnapping children!) and is content with being their famous Dragonborn mom. Post-Alduin Miraak, however, is secretly annoyed for not being able to get her pregnant. Oh well, the man can dream...

Oh yeah! Nim plays the lute and sings too! It's a skill she picked up across taverns all over the continent when she realized that bards get free drinks and a bed, as well as ample opportunity to sniff out and seduce prey. And even though her days of hunting for good-looking rich fools are long behind her, she still performs in inns and taverns across Skyrim. Firstly, it brings in a fair amount of money, and secondly, it's good for her Voice! And also just plain and simple fun.

Also, people get terribly surprised when she, a Dunmer, doesn't act like one at all! Nim might've grown up in Raven Rock, a Dunmer settlement, but she spent the rest of her life traveling the continent and then living in Skyrim. She's more Nord-ish than some Nords! And the Nords actually really love it! It's so so easy to just get plastered with the homegirl, punch some faces and pass out on a heap of hay behind the inn, just happy to be alive on this fine snowy day. The only truly Dunmer thing about her is the occasional "n'wah!" which escapes her potty mouth. I mean, she doesn't even like sujamma all that much and would rather have a pint of mead! Whatever Ancestors she has must be spinning in their graves fast enough to generate electricity.

uuuhhh I think that's all the important stuff? i might've forgotten, in which case, I'll add it later... meanwhile, have some more Nim content:

^^^ the fanfic is slow, but it's moving... at a snail's pace. my advice: don't expect updates, so that when they do come, you'll be pleasantly surprised!

[blookmallow]

working on my feral mage Menace To Society skyrim character

her name is amaranth and her sole purpose in life is to be evil and do crimes (basically, to do everything i was too nice to do, and to be a vampire and side with the vampires in the dawnguard questline and stuff like that) (ive already done the dark brotherhood and thieves guild lines but im playing those again too)

----

i just kind of wandered off for a while because following along or being friendly with Anyone is not her style and she doesnt give a shit about helping anyone (its actually very difficult to play skyrim with a "i dont care about anyone i dont want to help anybody or listen to anyone's problems" character considering thats the primary way you make money and get missions) (ive had to make some allowances for like "ok I Guess Maybe This Guy Will Probably Pay Me if i deliver this letter for him or whatever") so anyway i actually played for a decent while before actually touching the proper main storyline and completely by accident the first shout she ever learned was. this

which is uh, very fitting

really would have been more in character to just take the crown and run for it since nobody stopped me from just like, putting it on and wandering off to do other shit for ages, but im also using her to see how the stormcloak side plays out so i GUESS ill give it back

god damn it some random hunter sent assassins after me sdfkdsg

one of my rules with this character is she will Always seek bloody revenge if this ever happens but how the fuck am i supposed to know which of you this was

i picked the only hunter camp i could remember seeing and killed him for it but then again it would be like her to just be like "eh close enough. revenge is revenge"

im gonna be honest here the destruction of the dark brotherhood was genuinely the most upsetting thing i ever experienced in this game in my first run and they're still my favorite characters and im STILL not over it so playing again and seeing everyone just. alive and well again. kinda hurts,

i assume there isnt any way to save any of them other than the two (or three if you spare cicero) that survive anyway but. man

amaranth would absolutely be the one to choose to kill cicero but i completely refuse i will not do it and nobody on this earth can make me

pretty sure this guy was lowkey flirting and its a shame you cant marry a jarl because amaranth would definitely be into that

i havent decided who im going to have her marry yet, my first thought was "whoever she thinks would gain her the most power/influence" but upon realizing you can't marry a jarl i kinda dropped that idea for the most part. are there any marriage options that are just fucked up and evil

idk i guess ill just see if anyone fits thematically im really into building my storylines here lmao

very unnerving to see this guy being so friendly and welcoming to me now that im playing as a nord when he's always been rude as SHIT to me before (my main file is a dunmer) (my others are a khajiit and an orc and i cant remember if ive met him with those but i imagine hes just as rude)

i also, uh. broke something with calixto somehow, i forget where i am in the butcher questline on this file (i tried to kill him before anyone dies now that i Know on another file already but you can't, he's apparently immortal,)

anyway so i think this was right after the body turns up in the graveyard, i stopped him to talk to him but for some reason,

his dialogue came up as if he was in his house, he offered me a tour so i was like. ok. and said yes

then he went all the way back to his house, i followed him, he went in

and then just immediately locked me out fjsdgjsdg

[welkynars]

Morrowind was not a pleasant place. Seyrena had known that even before the prison ship had docked in the waters of Seyda Neen. Even the other Dunmer in Cyrodiil spoke of the ashy air, unpleasant patrons, and the lingering scent of tar that followed wherever one went. The province was disagreeable even at its best, and on nights like tonight she longed for rolling hills and sweet-smelling lavender fields of Cyrodiil.

Because… well, Cyrodiil was her home, was it not? It was the only place she ever remembered being. Cyrodiil was where she grew up, where she learned her trade and fell in love for the first time and where she’d made her mistakes. Mistakes that had landed her here. In Morrowind. A hot, unfamiliar, wretched land.

It should be unfamiliar, at least. Recently it had felt more and more like home. She did not want Morrowind to feel like home. She never asked for any of this. She never asked to be the savior of an ancestral land she’d never even been to. She never asked to be the incarnate of a man who’d died so long ago his existence was unfathomable. Never asked to be forced to bring the downfall of three fervently worshipped gods, one of whom had given her a welcome she did not deserve. Never asked to have to stand over the corpses of two mer who she apparently once called friends in a life she didn’t remember. Never asked to feel like she’d killed her own friends. 

Seyrena sighed deeply and took another swig of the unknown drink. It tasted like guar piss but it got her intoxicated and that was all she cared about. That, and the fact that the patrons of the small tavern in Pelagiad hadn’t a clue who she was. If she had to hear the title ‘Nerevarine’ one more time she would certainly slice the fingers off of whatever poor soul it was who’d said it. 

No, to the Dunmer of the Halfway Tavern she was just any old Empire-assimilated Dunmer. An outlander; a term she’d hated when she first arrived in Morrowind but longed to be called again. She was an outlander. Her own personal feelings of the Empire aside, she was of the Empire. Raised in Cyrodiil. There was nothing else she knew and nothing else she wanted to know.

A year ago that was how it had been. The alcohol in her hand let her pretend that’s how it still was.

“If you’re not careful there, elf, you’ll drink yourself to death with that,” A voice mumbled from a few feet beside her. She looked up from the corner she was sitting in. A grizzly-looking Nord man sat on the bench to the right of her, watching the bard sing and swing with harsh eyes. His clothes were splattered with dirt and grime and his hand gripped a large wooden mug. The stench of alcohol filled her nose even with his distance from her and she wondered how he was one to talk.

“I can handle my drinks just fine, Nord,” She replied coolly, also averting her eyes to the bard. A pretty young Breton woman playing the lute and singing tales of dragons. Seyrena was glad there were no songs written about her feats just yet.

The man laughed a hearty but mocking laugh and she scowled at him. She hadn’t said anything funny.

“You Dark Elves wouldn’t know drink if it slapped you in the arse,” He was looking at her now with a dangerously mocking smile. 

“Well, I grew up in Cyrodiil so I’d wager I know more than you think I do,” She took another sip of her drink as if to prove a point. “And whatever this is, it's certainly better than that poor excuse for alcohol you call mead.”

He laughed again, and again she did not know what she said that was so funny.

“Imperials are even worse!” He managed to breathe out between howling laughs. He was obviously very drunk if he found a conversation about beverages so hilarious. Seyrena turned away from him and went back to festering in her own misery and regret and longing for a life that no longer existed. She’d rather that than any sort of conversation with a drunken man.

Apparently the gods were again, not on her side and Nords were unable to take obvious hints, because he continued speaking to her. Spoke to her about his homeland(“If this were Skyrim I’d teach you a thing or two about mead, lass”), about how he was grateful the Empire was reigning in the uncivilized Dunmer(“Imperials are good for something, at least”), and finally, about the pretty little Breton girl dancing along to her tunes. 

“They don’t make them like that in Skyrim,” He grunted, watching the bard with a look that made Seyrena’s stomach twist. “We Nords are beasts of men, good for fighting and drinking. But it makes for unflattering women at the very least.” 

Her anger was only growing at this point, fingertips clenching into her own fists. The young woman was simply trying to make coin, perform, and have fun. She didn’t need some malodorous man twice her age commenting on her appearance. If Skyrim was so much better then maybe he should return. 

“Is that why you’re here instead of Skyrim? Because of the unflattering women?” Her tone was cold but the man was too drunk to notice.

“Ha! No, despite her flaws I’d return in a heartbeat, if I could. I’ve been exiled for one reason or another.”

Well, wasn’t that poetic. 

The Nord stood, steadying himself on a wooden post and slamming his mug on the table. Seyrena narrowed her eyes. 

“Well, I’d best be off. Better if I talk to the bard before some other skeever can get his hands on- hey! W-What’re ‘ya doin’?”

Perhaps it was the alcohol, or her desire to protect the Breton girl, or maybe it was just because she’d had the worst year of her life. But Seyrena found herself with her longsword drawn and pointed to the Nord’s throat, his eyes wide with fear and hands up in surrender. So much for the mighty warrior. 

She was also, suddenly, very aware of the people in the room with her; as they’d all turned to stare at the quiet Dunmer in the corner with her sword to a man. Pelagiad was a quiet and no-nonsense settlement. They weren’t quite sure what to make of the scene. And then, her voice rang out from the crowd. 

“Rena? What on Nirn-“

Mehra pushed her way to the front of the forming crowd. She looked as beautiful as ever, dressed in a quaint traveler's garb with her hickory-colored hair let loose to fall over her shoulders. She looked quite different from the Temple-apprentice Seyrena had met what felt like so long ago; older, only by a year, but her eyes held the same burden Seyrena’s did. Seyrena swallowed. Mehra didn’t deserve to be weighed down by her troubles.

Mehra pulled her ash-cover down from over her face, looking incredulously at the scene Seyrena had created. Seyrena couldn’t fully tell if the look on her face was one of disappointment or defeat. 

Before her lover could even get a word out, Drelasa came marching over, huffing something about outlanders. Seyrena rolled her eyes. 

“Mehra, I am fond of you but if your friend is going to cause scenes in my tavern you’ll never see the inside of it again!” Drelasa wagged her finger in Mehra’s face and Seyrena had the impulse to swing her sword and cut it off. 

“I know, Publican, I-“ Mehra turned to Seyrena, her eyes pleading. “Rena, please. It’s a day long trip back to Seyda Neen.”

Seyrena scoffed and looked back to the Nord who was now backed up against the wall. “You leave that girl alone or I’ll cut off your hands and stitch your lips shut.”

The Nord nodded, and she lowered her sword. He scurried off like a mouse out of the Inn to the border of the Ascadian Isles and the Bitter Coast. 

She defeatedly let Mehra take her sword from her and place it back in its sheath on her back. The Publican was still watching them, arms crossed and tapping her foot. 

“It won’t happen again, Drelasa. I apologize on behalf of both of us.” Mehra sounded sincerely sorry and Seyrena felt a pang of guilt. 

“You’re damn right it won’t happen again. B’vehk, it’s every other night with you two.”

Mehra took Seyrena’s hand and led her to their room. The latter Dunmer’s head was held low, not out of shame but in an effort to keep any patron from doing a double-take on her. “Hey, aren’t you that…”

When the two reached privacy, Mehra’s fist promptly collided with Seyrena’s shoulder. Much harder than she’d expected the mage would’ve been capable of. 

“Ow,” She muttered, rubbing the raw skin. Mehra’s gaze was as fiery as her palms in battle, and Seyrena found herself unable to meet it. 

“Why do you do these things to us? Do you want to have to walk miles in ash to find a new place to stay again?”

“He was being a s’wit,” She silently cursed herself for using the Dunmeris term. This was not her home.

“So was the Imperial Guardsman in Suran, and the Telvanni Noble in Sadrith Mora, oh! And, of course, the poor fellow who simply wanted your autograph in-“

“Alright! Alright, I get it. I ruin everything I touch. I’m sorry.”

Seyrena took a seat on the bed and pulled Mehra to stand in front of her. Apologies weren’t her strong suit. It was hard to apologize to someone else for your actions when you couldn’t forgive yourself for them. So, she intertwined their hands and looked up at her with the most apologetic eyes she could muster, her actions speaking the words that got lost in her throat. 

Mehra sighed. “You don’t ruin everything.”

“I do.”

“You don’t. In fact, you make many things quite grand,” She smiled and Seyrena, who smiled back despite herself. “You saved me, for instance. You saved Morrowind. Twice.”

Seyrena’s smile dropped and she moved away from the other woman, laying down on the bed and turning the other way. She wished Morrowind just did not exist at this moment. 

“I doomed it, more like,” She said. “Doomed to it to a future of political discourse and perhaps even religious wars.”

“That is inevitable for this country.”

Seyrena made a sound of exasperation and sat up again. “You don’t understand, Mehra. I know what is good for Morrowind. I don’t know how and I truly wish I didn’t, but I do. And this was not. Yes, Dagoth Ur had to die. The Blight had to end. But how can you diminish everything a country believes in, how can you kill-“ Her voice caught and tears threatened to spill from her eyes, which she absolutely would not allow. “How can you kill a goddess who has spent thousands of years keeping a country and it’s people afloat and expect everything to be the same, or better?”

“Almalexia went mad. It wasn’t your fault.”

“But she wouldn’t have!” Seyrena cried, frustrated that Mehra couldn’t understand what she was saying. “She wouldn’t have if it wasn’t for my existence! Everyone keeps telling me I am a blessing, that this prophecy Azura created is a blessing; it’s a curse, Mehra. It’s a curse of vengeance and I don’t want to be a part of it. I never did. I don’t want this,” The Moon-And-Star ring slipped off her finger and was thrown across the room. The tears were now falling freely from Seyrena’s face. “I’d rather have been executed for my crimes in Cyrodiil. It would’ve been merciful.”

Mehra was quiet, and now she was the one who couldn’t look at Seyrena. It was silent for what could’ve been hours. 

“There’s so much blood on my hands and no matter how often I wash them it won’t go away. Please, just make it go away.”

Still not speaking, Mehra pulled the Nerevarine into her arms and held her as she sobbed. There were no words that could be spoken to comfort her at that moment, she knew that. But it broke her heart to watch the woman who she viewed as a hero come undone before her. 

Eventually Seyrena pulled away from her, dried tears stuck to her face. Her eyes were wide and bright and Mehra wanted to latch onto her before she realized the vulnerability she’d showed and promptly went to bed. 

“I want to go east,” She said, surprising Mehra. 

“East? Like, back to Azura’s Coast? I suppose-“

The Nerevarine shook her head. “No. Farther. I want to leave Tamriel. I want to see something else, anything else.”

Mehra’s mouth opened and closed a few times. “But-“ She’d heard stories of other continents on Nirn, and none of them were good.

For a moment she believed her beloved had lost her mind right there and then. That the stress was too much to handle. But Seyrena’s eyes were dead serious and her composure was eerily calm. 

“Will you join me?”

[varricmancer]

Intertwined | 2

*** Cross-posted on AO3 ***

Pairing: Farkas x F!OC

Summary: A child of Mara was a soul blessed and bound to its mate for all eternity. Elizabeth Williams is summoned to Mara as a lost soul, only she’s from modern America and her mate is somewhere in the wilds of Skyrim.

A/N: Quick note - Don't worry! I don't plan on rehashing the script the entire time. This part was just essential so that Elizabeth recognizes where she is and what's going on.

***

She’d gone to college so she’s woken up to some horrible things before - puke in the bed, strange houses, dates that were definitely a product of beer goggles. She couldn’t ever remember feeling this horrible, however, not even during the worst hangover in her memory.

Elizabeth’s entire body ached, from the pounding in her head to the sharp stabs of pain in her ankles. The pain was amplified every time whatever she was in would hit something and bump her. If she was in a car they were the slowest drivers of all time, and they had the top down. The sun was piercing through even her closed eyelids. She tried to bring her hand up to shade her eyes from the painful light, only to realize she couldn’t.

She tried to crack open her eyes instead, but she was still groggy and her vision slightly blurred. She took a sniff instead, immediately recoiling. Overwhelming amounts of body odor, spoiled food, and what certainly smelled like shit of both human and animal variety.

Where the hell was she?

Someone groaned next to her and she finally managed to focus enough to see clearly. She looks up into the grim face of a strange man. His blonde hair was scraggly and clearly hadn’t been washed in ages as it hung around his face. He wasn’t ugly, just kinda dirty. Like, Kurt Cobain after a roll around in some dirt.  

“Hey, you’re both finally awake. You were trying to cross the border right? Walked right into that Imperial ambush same as us and that thief over there.”

She looks around, finally noticing that she’s in the back of an old rickety wooden wagon, the kind that they usually put in old westerns or other period movies. There are several men stuffed in the back with her, all of them with their hands tied in thick rope. The one nearest the back of the wagon is even gagged. She looks down at herself and notices that she is indeed tied up too, but she also has an extra rope tying to her the man next to her. The one blinking up at her groggily with red eyes set in a face of grey.

Okay...so she guesses she’s still dreaming? Her head really fucking hurt and she could barely think straight, but she felt like she knew what was going on. If only her head would stop pounding enough for her to concentrate.

“Damn you Stormcloaks... Skyrim was fine until you came along! Empire was nice and lazy. If they hadn’t been looking for you I’d have stolen that horse and been halfway to Hammerfell. You there, “ he nods towards the grey man next to her, who stops glaring at his ropes long enough to lift a questioning eyebrow at the angry brunette man. “You and me, we shouldn’t be here. It’s these Stormcloaks the Empire wants.”

“We’re all brothers and sisters in binds now,” says dirty Kurt.

“Shut up back there!”

Elizabeth startles at the sudden shout, turning to look at the drivers themselves. They were wearing what looked like medieval armor. She even spotted a glint of metal on their hips, like they were carrying real swords. She gulped and spared a look at the grey guy still tied to her, noting that he looked just as freaked out as her even if the proud tilt of his head remained.

“What’s wrong with him, huh?” The angry brunette man snorts and nods his head towards the large gagged man in the back.

“Watch your tongue! You’re speaking to Ulfric Stormcloak, the true High King.”

Apparently, dirty Kurt had said something truly terrifying, because angry brunette looked ready to piss his pants. “Ulfric? The Jarl of Windhelm? You’re the leader of the rebellion... if they’ve captured you... oh gods, where are they taking us?”

“I don’t know where we’re going, but Sovngarde awaits.”

“No, This can’t be happening! This isn’t happening!”

Angry brunette looked on the verge of a panic attack and she was afraid his terror was infectious because she was starting to freak out herself. Her mind was finally clearing of the painful fog and she realized she knew this scene. She’d seen it play out a million times. She could quote it word for word if asked.

“Hey, what village are you from horse-thief?”

“Why do you care?”

“A Nord’s last thoughts should be of home.”

“Rorikstead. I’m from Rorikstead.”

“General Tullius sir! The headsman is waiting.”

Everyone in the wagon turns to watch as two official-looking men meet to talk. Elizabeth swallows thickly when she recognizes Hadvar. Fucking Hadvar.

“Good, let's get this over with.”

“Shor, Mara, Dibella, Kynareth, Akatosh! Divines, please help me!” Angry brunette mutters loudly, rocking back and forth in his seat. What was his name again? Something with an ‘L’ she thinks.

Dirty Kurt - who she now realizes is Ralof - scoffs at the men. “Look at him! General Tullius, the Military. And it looks like the Thalmor are with him. Damn elves, I bet they had something to do with this.” He pauses and looks around the filthy little village. “This is Helgen... I used to be sweet on a girl from here. I wonder if Velod is still making that mead with juniper berries mixed in... Funny, when I was a boy Imperial walls and towers used to make me feel so safe.”

Elizabeth feels her breath hitch as they turn the corner, the little scene where the father is ushering his child into the house so he wouldn’t witness the deaths scarily familiar.

The wagon is slowing even more, and she looks around, amazed that she could recognize everything. There’s Hadvar, waiting with his list. There’s his bitch of a Captain. There’s the chopping block. There’s the tower where Alduin...oh fuck.

“Get these prisoners out of the cart!”

The wagon stops with a jolt and she struggles to keep her balance. The grey guy (Dunmer, she recalls. Dark Elves) is someone that she doesn’t recognize but seems nice enough since he pushes his shoulder against her to keep her from falling over. She smiles timidly in thanks, and he nods briskly. She realizes he’s been silent the entire time. Could he be the Dragonborn? It would be a giant fucking joke on the entire world if she was.

“Why are we stopping?”

Ralof looks at the angry brunette with pity shining in his eyes.“ Why do you think? End of the line. Let’s go, we shouldn’t keep the gods waiting for us.”

Ralof stands bravely and leads the way out of the wagon, despite angry brunette’s panicked whining.

“No! Wait! We’re not rebels!”

“Face your death with some courage, thief.”

To be fair to the guy, Elizabeth was starting to feel like breathing was becoming difficult. Her heart was pounding in her chest and she could feel her entire body shaking. To be honest, she was probably in the middle of both a panic attack and whatever shock did to the body. She felt almost detached and yet this still all felt almost too real.

“You’ve got to tell them we weren’t with you! This is a mistake!” angry brunette continues ranting.

“Step towards the block when we call your name, one at a time!” the female Captain shouted. Elizabeth glanced around nervously. Any moment now she was going to wake up. Hopefully, before she had to put her neck anywhere near the wooden block still stained with past kills.

Hadvar clears his throat and adjusts his papers before turning towards the gagged prisoner.

“Ulfric Stormcloak, Jarl of Windhelm.”

They all turn to watch as the large man walks defiantly towards his place in line.

“It has been an honor, Jarl Ulfric,” Ralof nods his head towards the man.

“Ralof of Riverwood,” he moves to his spot in line proudly.

“Lokir of Rorikstead.”

“No! I’m not a rebel! You can’t do this!”

Elizabeth flinches as angry brunette tries to make a run for it. She’d always thought this part was fucked up.

“Halt!” the Captain yells at him.

“You’re not going to kill me!”

Horrible choice for your last words, she thinks.

“Archers!”

Elizabeth observes in horror as the arrow flies through the air. Surprisingly enough it landed in his knee instead of his head or gut. He rolled around on the ground, groaning. Elizabeth thought she might be going a little crazy if all she wanted to do was giggle and make jokes about guards and arrows to the knee. Maybe the guard in Whiterun was angry brunette the whole time.

The Captain glares at the rest of the prisoners. “Anyone else feel like running?”

Hadvar crinkles his nose and looks at the Dark Elf man next to her.

“Wait... You there. Step forward.”

The man did his best to walk up to Hadvar without pulling her too much. He subtly eases her behind him and quirks an eyebrow at the soldier.

“Who are you?” Hadvar questions, glancing between him and the list in his hand.

“Sundrose Droleno,” the Dark Elf answers, his voice refined and currently sounding very bored and unimpressed with the entire affair. If Elizabeth hadn’t noticed the fear flashing briefly in his eyes while they were on the wagon, she would think him unaffected entirely.

“Another refugee?” Hadvar sighs. “The Gods really have abandoned your people, dark elf. Captain, what should we do? He’s not on the list.”

The woman sneers at him and shrugs. “Forget the list. He goes straight to the block.”

Hadvar frowns, obviously trying to hold back saying something. Finally, his shoulders droop and he looks at the dark elf, apology shining in his eyes but meaningless as everyone now knew how unfair this entire thing was.

“By your orders, Captain. I’m sorry. We’ll make sure your remains get returned to Morrowind. Follow the captain, prisoner.”

Hadvar finally notices Elizabeth behind the Dark Elf, frown deepening as he notes the combined rope.

“What’s going on here?”

“He tried to stop us from taking her,” one of the soldiers that drove the wagon answered. “Figured he’d come along easier if he had his...lady friend,” the soldier snorted, showing exactly what sort of friend he thought she was.

“Enough!” the Captain shouts. “Take care of her next. Whether she’s accomplice or camp whore makes no difference. She was with the rebels. Collect her name and stand her in line.”

“Captain, I don’t think…”

“Exactly. You’re not to think. You’re to follow orders. Or do you want to join them? Don’t think I’m not aware of where you’re from. A childhood friend of yours, perhaps?”

“No, Captain,” he swallows, shutting his eyes briefly before calling her forward.

“I’m sorry. What is your name?”

She swallows to wet her dry throat, answering softly, “Elizabeth Williams.”

Hadvar raises his eyebrow but scratches down the name. “And where do you hail from? High Rock?”

Elizabeth merely nodded her head, knowing that any other answer like, “Planet Earth,” or “Arizona,” would probably get her a trip to an interrogation chamber rather than waiting out here for the inevitable outcome.

He then waves for her to join the dark elf, no one thinking to bother untying them from each other before sending them to the block, apparently. As she steps up to her place, she searches the skies frantically for signs of Alduin. Unless her being here has changed things he should start heading over here soon. Hopefully, before they made her walk up for her turn.

She hadn’t realized how much she was shaking until the dark elf - Sundrose? - placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. He leaned over slightly and whispered in her ear, “Don’t let them see your fear. Head up, little one.”

She exhaled harshly and nodded, squaring her shoulders as she resumed her search. That’s right, she’d be okay. This man next to her was the Dragonborn. She was going to live.

General Tullius walked towards Ulfric, his eyes burning with hatred and fanaticism.

“Some here in Helgen call you a hero, but a hero doesn’t use a power like the voice to murder his king and usurp the throne.”

Ulfric growls warningly from beneath his gag, but the General ignores him.

“You started this war, flung Skyrim into chaos. And now the Empire is going to put you down and restore the peace.”

Finally, the sound that Elizabeth had been waiting for rang through the skies. The far-off roar of a dragon.

Hadvar looked around nervously. “What was that?”

“It’s nothing. Carry on.” General Tullius snapped, eyes never moving from Ulfric.

Captain Bitch salutes him. “Yes, General Tullius!” She turns to the priestess they’ve so thoughtfully provided. “Give them their last rites.”

The drably clothed woman nods and turns towards the line of prisoners.

“As we commend your souls to Aetherius, blessings of the 8 divines upon you-”

“For the love of Talos, shut up and let's get this over with,” one of the Stormcloak soldiers snaps and marches towards the chopping block. Elizabeth swallows nervously, because holy shit, was she really about to see someone decapitated?

The priestess stops and stammers, looking at the soldier with a mixture of confusion and pity. “As you wish.”

“Come on! I haven’t got all morning!” The soldier bellows. Some of his fellow soldiers snicker, not seeming surprised by this turn of events at all. He takes one last look at Ulfric and they share a nod before he drops to his knees and presses his face to that horribly stained wood.

“My ancestors are smiling at me, Imperials. Can you say the same?”

Elizabeth holds her breath as they step on the man to hold him down, and she watches in horror as the axe falls and -

A hand quickly grabs her head and turns it towards the side, and she finds shelter in the dark elf’s shoulder. Unfortunately, she could still hear the moment metal met flesh and the horrifying thud as they simply kicked the body to the side like trash.

“You Imperial bastards!” One of the Stormcloak’s yelled at the executioners, spitting into the dirt.

The gathered crowd of villagers were screaming a different tune - “Justice!” and “Death to the Stormcloaks!” were the most common. The first taste the game gave you of differing views and sides.

Ralof sighed and she peeked out of Sundrose’s arm to watch him stare proudly at the corpse. “As fearless in death as he was in life.”

Captain Bitch stood at attention, smirking gleefully at Sundrose. “Next, the dark elf!

The distant roar of a dragon grew closer.

You’re an asshole, Alduin, but right now I’d really like you to hurry and get here, she thought.

Hadvar dropped his hand to the hilt of his sword, searching the skies himself.

“There it is again... did you hear that?”

Captain Bitch ignored him, too power-mad to pay attention to anything else.

“I said... Next. Prisoner.”

One of the Imperial soldiers grabs Sundrose’s arm, yanking him forward.

“To the block prisoner. Nice and easy.”

To her horror, they still hadn’t untied her, so she was pulled right along with him and expected to stand at his side as they executed him. She definitely wasn’t picking Imperials this playthrough.

Sundrose knelt gracefully, turning his head to face her.

“Close your eyes, little one,” he said softly, watching her as the headsman raised his axe.

“No need. He’s here,” she grinned, even as terror filled her at the very real Alduin flying close and landing on the stone building behind them. He roared, sending everyone around them into a panic.

“What in Oblivion is that?!” Hadvar yelled.

Elizabeth waited for Captain Bitch and the General to be caught up in the panic before reaching down to help Sundrose to his feet. They both stood there watching as Alduin set the little town ablaze, killing most of their would-be executioners instantly.

Suddenly Ralof appears and grabs Sundrose’s arm, tugging him towards one of the buildings.

“Come on! The guards won’t give us another chance! This way!”

They both run along after Ralof, with the still gagged Ulfric not far behind them. They rush into one of the still mostly intact buildings, slamming the door behind them. Ralof pulls a dagger off of one of the bodies inside, using it to slash all of their ropes. Elizabeth sighs and rubs her burning wrists in relief.

Ralof turns to Ulfric, his eyes wide in wonder - and though he would probably never admit it - a touch of fear.

“Jarl Ulfric, what is that thing? Could the legends be true?”

Ulfric finishes untying his binds and spits out his gag. “Legends don’t burn down villages.”

Alduin’s roars outside rattle the building as he nears their location, all of them looking worriedly at the walls.

“We need to move, now!” Ralof bellows, gesturing for them to follow him upstairs.

They all run until they can’t anymore, finally facing a dead end. The rest of the stairs had been smashed off by Alduin, leaving nothing but a giant hole in the stone wall.

“See the inn on the other side?” Ralof asked, turning to the two behind him. “Jump through the roof and keep going! We’ll follow when we can!”

And here she was, the end of Skyrim chapter one. She startles as Sundrose suddenly jumps without a word. She rushes towards the hole, watching in awe as he neatly lands with a slight roll, before standing up and dusting himself off.

He looks up with a charming grin and reaches both of his arms out.

“Jump, little one. I’ll catch you.”

Elizabeth gulps and walks trepidly towards the edge. She steels herself by taking a few deep breaths, staring at Sundrose as she launches herself from the edge.

Time suddenly stood still as she registered the roar of the dragon was far too close for comfort. She could feel the sweltering breath as he opened his mouth, the stench of sulfur bringing tears to her eyes. Then came the scent of searing flesh as her pained screams filled the air. The last thing she heard was the cry of horror from the man below her.

She supposed as far as ways to die went, this was probably up there. Death by video game. That wasn’t a video game. And it wasn't a dream. Because she was in Skyrim and she was very, very, awake.

***

[ivisite]

DRAGONBORN 30 DAY CHALLENGE

Day 13 - Thieves in the Ratway  

Did they join the Thieves Guild?: 

She officially joined as a member when she was 20 after impressing the senior members with her skills while tagging along with Brynjolf on his jobs. She was around long enough to get to know several of the more esteemed members but wasn’t there long enough to get close to many of the “entry level” recruits.  

She returned at 27 (she was with the Companions a few months and her birthday passed) and since she never “left” the guild, technically she was still a member. Albeit she was in debt and kind of just doing the work for the sake of paying off what she owed rather than for the hell of it. Mercer very sarcastically applauded her when she followed Brynjolf into the Cistern running a few jobs after, stating that “I’d be impressed with your feat had you not put us in more debt then we were already in” and even scoffing and saying “You know, it takes a certain kind of person to be a thief, but it takes a special kind of person to be a thief of thieves.” 

If yes…

How did they feel about their fellow guild members?:

As a younger person, she was more concerned with the likes of Bryn, but when she returned she found herself rather comfortable with the rough rabble of the Flagon. Something about everyone being a societal reject or odd-ball made her feel right at home. Despite her and the other local red head of the guild often bickering and arguing upon her return, she was rather friendly with everyone else. More often than not, specially after getting a few jobs under her belt, the others started warming up to her and she ended up the center of the Flagon with her stories of her travels and her past with the guild. 

She warms up to Brynjolf, too, but only after they get stuck on a heist job together because Delvin claimed “You’re in charge of her debt, Bryn, you ought to make sure she can even do the jobs. Go on and go with her.” It almost went bad (because they started bickering mid-job) but they managed to reluctantly work together and get what they needed and get out without getting caught. Afterwards, they were hyping each other up but realized that they were being civil and [ tsundere bagpipe mode ] kicked in and they started bickering out in the middle of Morthal’s swamps until it got so heated they kissed. Went to Morthal, got drunk and caught up afterwards and managed to work things out that night. Delvin got 1000 septims though, having been in a bet with Vekel and Dirge about the two getting back on good terms.  

How about Maven Black-Briar?:

From the beginning, she’s always kept Maven at arms length. They’re both terribly good at speaking and dancing around words so the conversations between them are always short. She respects that she’s a strong woman but also thinks that she could use something or something to keep her power balanced out. Another powerful person moving to town or something. Too much power never ends well, after all. They are neutral, at best. Maven doesn’t like Saoirse for being so “good at making coin” and drawing people in and Saoirse doesn’t like that Maven thinks she’s some sort of goddess on Nirn. Money talks though and both enjoy money, so at least they have that common ground. 

Her daughter is nice though. After buying Honeyside to avoid sleeping with the skeevers in the sewer, she often takes trip down the the Apothecary shop and talks alchemy with Ingun. 

Was Mercer Frey’s betrayal a shock to them?:

She never liked that old codger, even when she initially joined when she was younger so it wasn’t too terribly surprising. Dodgy as he was and terribly bitter all the time, she figured he must have been up to something. After he tried to kill her though, she was a little more upset. It’s all fun and games until it gets personal and then she gets mad, so to speak. (scared, really, but that’s another story) She’s not reluctant about helping Karliah out at all, trusting her and standing her ground on the matter when confronted by the other guild members and Brynjolf. When Karliah states she knows how to get to Mercer, Saoirse is ready to squad up. 

How do they feel as a Nightingale?: 

She’s not terribly into religion, Aedra or Daedra, so the whole “doing it in the name of Nocturnal and serving the prince in life and death” thing weirded her out. Herself and Brynjolf were both a bit turned off from the idea at first but eventually shrugged it off and gave in, if only to get the guild back on the right path. The armor is neat, though, at least.   “Y’know Karliah, Bryn and I always joked we were a match made in Sovngarde with the irony being that neither of us would ever get to go there.” Saoirse said thoughtfully with a short chuckle. “...Aye, I suppose birds of a feather will always flock together though.”

Will they make a good Guild Master?:

Once again, I kind of sway from canon with this but it’s still lore friendly. After she does the main quest of returning the skeleton key, she still keeps her base of operations in Riften while going about the Dragonborn destiny with the Greybeards. While out traveling all over Skyrim on that journey, she keeps up with the guild and continues doing jobs to count towards her debt that she insists on paying off, regardless of all she’s done. Eventually, she manages to get all the special jobs and when offered the title, she takes it for exactly two days and then gets Brynjolf really drunk and romances him real good one night and, in his drunken stupor, tricks him into taking the Guildmaster title. After he’s tuckered out and fast asleep, she returns to the Flagon, tells Delvin of Brynjolf’s new title and that he’d be down tomorrow morning to get started on the books and officially “gives up” the rank before heading back out to Ivarstead for more Dragonborn-ing. To say the very least, when Bryn made it down the next day all full of himself and hung-over, he wasn’t sure what to make of Delvin dropping the Guilds’ books and finances onto his table at the Flagon and carrying on about “Good luck, Guildmaster.” Once she pays off her debt and talks the now sober Brynjolf into “just dealing with it like he promised”, she takes her leave from the guild but stays in touch, of course  ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

Late but better than nothing OTL

I like to think that Saoirse would insist on “Nightingale Squad Casual Fredas” meet ups to drink and hang out with each other. 

Also, the drunker she gets, the more you can hear bagpipes playing aggressively in the distance, canon.  (background is screenshot because I can’t draw Rift scenery to save my life)

----

“You know...I think Ulfric just needs to get himself a good Dunmer lass to bed him.” Saoirse said after a long moment of thought. 

The comment earned her a snort from the Dunmer nearby and an inquisitive nod from Brynjolf next to her. 

“W-Why say that?” Karliah asked, her attention split between sipping as slowly as possible on her drink and watching the two red-headed Nords as they both heartily drank their own drinks. 

She wasn’t very prudent, so to speak, but in comparison to her Nord friends, she seemed rather stiff about it all. She didn’t think little of them, of course, and in fact was rather amused by her two associates across the way. Having been in hiding for so long, the comradery was of the welcomed sort.

“Listen, he’s an ol’ codger in the worst way- ought to get bedded once real good and who better to knock some sense into that thick ‘ead of his than a strong Dunmer lass? The irony of it!” Saoirse said, holding her bottle of mead out and pointing it at Karliah. 

Brow raised and mouth curled into a confident pout, the red head took a sip from her bottle and chuckled.  “It’d be funny, at least. Make him feel like a right arse for how he keeps Windhelm divided.” She grumbled. 

“Right awful of him, the old bastard. Ne’er met him but I don’t think I’d want to, ya ken?” Brynjolf finally spoke up after finishing off his Alto Wine.  “I ‘ave, at Helgen. We were in the same wagon. He’s very tall. I dinnae ken if it was just the outfit or his presence but he was intimidating to stand by.” Saoirse cooed, gulping down the last swig of her mead. 

“Helgen?” Karliah asked, catching Saoirse off guard a bit.  “Aye, I was almost executed. Unfairly, too. Of all the things I’ve done in life thus far, and they try to execute me for swapping potions for arrows at a Stormcloak outpost I came across.” 

Her tone was amusingly dry as she spoke, rolling her eyes mid-sentence and Karliah couldn’t help but laugh.  “Ya’know, I think we should do this more often.” Brynjolf spoke up once again, having discovered the emptiness of his bottle. Scoffing in disdain, he dropped the now empty bottle behind him. 

“Need to bring more to drink next time though.” He continued, making the two women snicker at his flushing cheeks. His brows furrowed some at the reaction but he tossed an arm over Saoirse’s shoulders and gave Karliah a hardy pat on the back never-the-less.

“Ah, you two can pick all you’d like. I suppose I’d rather it be you two than Ol’ Delvin.” He cooed. 

[twitchesandstitches]

Skyrim/General Fantasy OC Ideation: Tamitayo’s Buddies

I’ve mentioned before, I think, that one of my signature OCs (Tamitayo the dark elf/black dragon in a dark elf form) is actually based on the character I played in some of my Skyrim playthroughs that I got particularly attached to; after doing runs as an orc and argonian, my dunmer playthrough got particularly appealing to me because of the narrative resonance of a nord prophecy heroine being one of the dark elves so oppressed and mistreated in Skyrim, and a personality of sorts emerged in my playthroughs as well.

however, while a lot of Tamitayo’s personality and abilities are a direct translation of my time playing in Skyrim, not all of them are. Put simply, I like to do a little bit of everything in Skyrim, from being a combat monster, to a deadly spell apocalypse, to a werewolf/vampire lord hybrid, and do it all REALLY well. an undead summoning, spell-slinging, deadly warrior who excells at pretty much whatever i currently find the most fun to play. while that’s good for gameplay, it translates pretty poorly into a written narrative; a character who is good at everything, while fun in a powergaming way, lacks narrative hooks to really figure them out or come up with ideas for how they typically perform.

So, and I have done some ideas with this in the past that haven’t really gone anywhere, my idea was (and still is) to split up my preferences in gameplay into several characters, with their roots in the Elder Scrolls setting, but designed so that they can be adjusted to fit other settings as needed; D&D, my sci fi fantasy AUs, and whatever else feels right.

In rough order:

Tamitayo: The most established of these characters, she’s a spellsword barbarian type; in TES setting, she’s a dark elf from a fairly obscure sub-culture within Morrowind’s outer reaches and is an outsider to established Imperial culture. Short-spoken, terse and very forbidding in demeanor, she’s explicitly based off Conan the barbarian, both in general personaltiy and her world-weary disdain of the civilized world’s own cruelty. She’s, ironically, a sorceress type: she specializes in destructive combat magic, with some more defensive abilities. Probably makes use of Bound weapons, and mainly uses fire/explosive magic. Likely to wear furred robes and make use of armorskin spells (in the form of magical war paint) as her primary protection, but does make use of her family’s traditional malachite armor in times of great need.

Outside of TES, the assumption is that she is actually a noble black dragon who is mostly confined to the form of a dark elf. This may be a matter of some curse she can only temporarily escape, or a matter of preference. Either way, she’s still the same character (And its just taking the implications of being Dragonborn to its logical conclusion). In D&D proper, she’s most likely a druid or, if that’s not elemental destruction enough, a wizard. She’s compelled to establish a territory and defend it, and thus she’s actually something of a benign warlord; finding chaotic territories, defeating rivals and persuading others to be allies, destroying all malicious threats, and establishing herself as a heroic empress over it all.

As a refresher on her appearance, she’s a very tall dark elf (7ft+) with a fit, fairly defined hourglass body; huge hips, massive breasts, and a fair amount of muscle throughout. Her skin is black (with a bit of a blue tint??) and usually covered in magical war paint. She likes to dye her hair, but the exact shade isn’t defined.

Rogha: Based on my more combat-focused playthrough styles, she’s an orc warrior through and through, with an emphasis on being an extremely skilled craftswoman with a powerful knowledge of enchantment. Very much a strategic planner despite seeming to be a meathead; give her time, and she will WRECK YOUR SHIT with gear designed to exploit your weaknesses. Makes heavy use of electrical magic, necromancy for allies and soldiers (recycling the dead is just common sense, she says). Probably a fairly jolly woman, and very polite. A bit of a stickler for being nice, with a bit of a knight templar-ish view on punishing evil. She’s very community minded, and views smashing bad guys as just another job; think something like Bismuth from SU for inspiration.

Narratively, it may make the most sense for her to mainly focus on having abilities that buff her allies (transforming them, making them bigger/stronger) and functioning a bit as a team support who then wrecks the enemies. a total combat monster, who rages and slaughters everything in her way. As an orc, she adjusts pretty well to pretty much any setting that allows for orcs.

Physically, she’s HUGE; my most muscular and amazonian character, she’s not particularly defined but she is extremely bulky and buff, with arms larger than most people’s torsos. Might have a bit of an old school Gaelic warrior vibe in terms of her design, depending on what cultural associations feel the most right for her. (For example, she’d be of Irish descent in my main AUs.) Mega buff and bigger than the other two here by a wide margin. probably uses a lot of weaponized shields or oversized gunswords that shoot like cannons. (Maybe a wereboar, too?)

Raxlila: A combination of my Argonian character, some more subtle character styles i didn’t actually use but find interesting for narrative ideas, and some vague ideas from WAY back of a dinosaur girl OC. She’s based on some more sneaky skill sets: she’s an alchemist brewing up potions for any conceivable situation, an archer who takes out armored foes from afar (and probably uses crossbows; automatic crossbows and similar weapons, in less TES-canon set ups), makes a lot of use of stealth and acrobatic dodging, and prefers lighter armor. She can makes use of illusion magic (invisiblity, messing with people’s minds), and is also a skilled healer. She’s interested in summoning, but only the theory, and she is also fairly good at using ice magic for combat.

Very fast (Despite her considerable curves, she can get a LOT of velocity in her leaps), she’s a rather indirect and tricksy person; she’s great at fooling people and pulling off diplomacy and schemes in equal turn, and prides herself on walking into pretty much wherever she wants. Tall but not unusually so, she has more crocodilian traits (though she’s more feathery than most argonians, otherwise) and prefers things wet: she’s VERY curvy and thickset, edging a bit towards an overall broad body, though her huge boobs make her look hyper all over.

I have this idea that she doesn’t cast spells; she distills spells in advance as potions, powders and other one-use effects, or works them into special gadgets she can reuse; explosive arrows that create a freezing effect may be a common tool. She’s not making healing potions, but distilled restoration spells. in more sci-fi scenarios, she may be a gadgeteer who specializes in weapon systems, and is generally more about theory; she’s able to do the manual work of putting them together, but it involves a LOT of trial and error, and she works best with people to handle that on her behalf.

[furbyq]

things have been shitty lately so maybe talk at me about morrowind?? like what are some cool things? any favourite npcs/items/quests/whatever? i've only played oblivion and skyrim so i'm really curious about it!

yeah!!! i’m sorry you’re having a bad time rn anon, i hope things get better! i don’t mind rambling about morrowind at all!! :D 

i’m putting this under a cut because i. rambled a lot aslkdjkslad

first of all, one of my favorite things about morrowind is the main quest. rather than playing as Chosen Prisoner McGee Uriel Septim Saw In A Dream Once or Dragonscream McGuirk Who Literally Isn't Even The Only Dragonborn, you play as The Nerevarine, who is the definitive reincarnation of an ancient dunmer war hero and has returned to morrowind to save it from a false prophet who is spreading a "divine disease".

one thing i really like about morrowind is the increased element of horror its overall aesthetic has over oblivion and skyrim. like, oblivion had wraiths and liches, and skyrim has draugr literally everywhere, but there is a certain weird feeling of dread that they somehow perfectly encapsulated in vvardenfell's red mountain area, which exists without overwhelming the game.

the game is also rife with things that make lore in oblivion and skyrim make much more sense! such as the dwemer ruins in skyrim. there are ruins in morrowind as well, but there's also a character who is the last living dwemer who you can talk to about theories of their disappearance with!  

telvanni towers are also REALLY REALLY GOOD. basically, one of the factions you can join in morrowind is one of three "great houses" of the dunmer-- telvanni, redoran, and hlaalu. i've tried out all three and telvanni is my favorite, because you are able to grow your own telvanni tower stronghold.

getting into more specific things, since you asked... creeper and tarhiel are great honorable mentions. creeper is a sentient scamp who buys everything for full price and tarhiel is a character that exists to literally fall out of the sky. 

master aryon in house telvanni is another great npc because he’s literally the only one who isn’t insane and he’s actively trying to make the other councilors stop being moody bitches who keep khajiits and argonians as slaves.

percius mercius is one of my favorite npcs too because he’s just, trying to dismantle corruption in the fighters guild. also his name is percius mercius.

as far as items go, my absolute favorite item is the boots of blinding speed, which are boots that increase your speed by 100 points but also blind you 100%, but can be used with resist magic to be worn without negative effects.

as for quests... there’s a lot of quests i’m weirdly attached to. 

mystery of the dwarves is hilarious, because the arch-mage of the mages guild sends you to figure out why the dwarves disappeared and then doesn’t understand the information you bring back to him. the quest description is literally “Arch-Mage Trebonius asked me to find out what happened to the Dwarves. Unfortunately, he didn't give me much information to go on. I'm not sure if he was serious.”

one of the main quests, mehra milo and the lost prophecies, involves you sneaking your way into a building called “the ministry of truth”, which is built into a suspended meteor and is under control of a joinable faction called the “tribunal temple”. usually the inhabitants are hostile, but if you beat the tribunal temple questline before doing the main quest, they won’t react to you breaking mehra milo out and have dialogue akin to “just. don’t let me SEE you break her out ok and we’ll be good”. 

the actual last quest in morrowind where you kill the main villain is also really good compared to skyrim (it’s been too long since i played oblivion to make a fair comparison to that), because it doesn’t involve a standard “fight this bitch... NOW FIGHT THEM AGAIN BECAUSE YOU DIDN’T DO IT RIGHT THE FIRST TIME” thing and i really liked that. you do in fact, fight a bitch twice, but it becomes pretty apparent that you can’t kill him and instead have to destroy his power source, which involves destroying the literal heart of a god that he is drawing power from. i’ve tried to not spoil EVERYTHING here, but you can read more about that quest here if you aren’t really into PLAYING morrowind, but want to know lore. :D

in conclusion, morrowind is kind of janky due to its age, but seems to take itself less seriously overall and i really like that! if you’ve ever played the shivering isles dlc from oblivion, i would say that has a somewhat similar feel to morrowind aesthetically with the demi-horror, strange aesthetic, weird comedic timing thing.

[ansu-gurleht]

like other people have said this but (aside from the whole meridia situation) the worst part is the homogenization of the religion lore.

like one of the best parts of the series is how unique the races and cultures are from one another. even when they have the same figures, they tell different stories about them. even when they tell the same stories about them, they tell them differently. 

sure, the altmer worship pretty basic fantasy gods in a pretty basic fantasy way. they’re high elves, and kind of a touchstone for the contrasts in the lore. the imperials and bretons function similarly, both reflecting real european cultures, and the imperials in particular utilize religion as a tool of at best unification across the empire, and at worst as a way to oppress native populations and suppress their native cultures.

then there’s the bosmer, who are somewhat similar to the altmer, but way different. like, the green pact alone makes them highly unique. they can’t eat plants, and in the past this fostered cannibalistic practices. they’re wood elves, and you can draw good comparisons between them and other fantasy wood elves, such as their living in trees and fondness for archery. but GOD if the green pact and their literally-physically-moving capital tree city don’t make them right-off way more interesting, i don’t know what will.

then there’s the next race of mer, the chimer, who are DRASTICALLY different from the rest. they worship “demons” and value strife and political underhandedness. their evolution, the dunmer, worship living gods, who are all fairly unique to each other: there’s the most seemingly mundane, almalexia, who might appear at first as just a maternalistic queen (”mother morrowind,” after all), but has within her war and strife; sotha sil, who creates robots and shit and lives in a technologically advanced city in another realm; and vivec, who i hope i don’t have to explain as a pretty fucking unique god.

then there’s the chimer’s contemporaries, the dwemer, who are initially described as “dwarves” and “deep folk” to confuse you, but are actually a highly technologically advanced steampunk people who worship no gods, but instead value reason and logic and science above all else, and even go so far as to try to make themselves gods by tampering with the still-beating heart of a creator god.

then there’s the nords, who if you only played skyrim might seem just like normal vikings or some shit. but skyrim really fucked with the cultural and religious lore of the nords a lot. their chief god is a dragon god of destruction, who they worship to placate into not ending the world yet, and who once enslaved them all with his dragon army. the next most important god is literally dead and in heaven, but sometimes he gets brought back in different shapes to help the nord people. some of the other nord gods vaguely resemble other “normal” gods, seeming to have counterparts in other religions, but that’s bc those religions built their gods piecemeal, using the nordic gods as part of the ingredients.

then there’s the redguards, who are actually more like the more “tame” religions than you’d think. they have unique gods, for sure, and different names for shared ones, but ultimately they’re not too dissimilar from from, say, the religion of the altmer, save for name and aesthetic.

then there’s the orcs, who worship a “savage demon” god of war, or sometimes the same god as a “noble knight” god of war. their entire culture is founded on their oppression as “ugly” and “animals,” as well as their resistance to that oppression.

then there’s the fuckin khajiit who take a lot of the altmeri and bosmeri concepts and gods and completely flip them on their heads in very unique ways, mostly centered on their “cats” themes. there’s so much interesting about it, way more originality in approach than i have space to elaborate. i highly recommend reading “words of clan mother ahnissi”, which is really the fundamental text on khajiit religion.

then there’s the argonians who only worship one god of the other cultures, (the literal fucking void) and also the deific trees that give them life. this requires no further explanation as to why they’re pretty fucking unique.

there’s just so much diversity in culture in this series and it’s gradually being destroyed and homogenized into pretty run-of-the-mill boring fantasy tropes. these datamined khajiit books are another in recurring theme of homogenization. like, this might as well be a book on chimeri religion rephrased (in some parts, poorly) to include some “khajiit” flavor. it’s extremely disappointing, even though i suppose i shouldn’t be surprised. it started in oblivion, got a LOT worse in skyrim, and has been downhill since

[the-dragonborn-cums]

“Sorry, no rooms available.”

“What? How?” Elisa said a little too loudly. The rest of the inn glanced up at her with vague curiosity before returning to their flagons.

The innkeeper, a rather thin Nord woman, shrugged. “We got a Redguard woman who’s holed herself in here for days, a mercenary from Cyrodiil, and a man who claims he’s a traveling jester, if you can believe that.”

Elisa gave her an incredulous stare. “So what am I supposed to do, sleep on a bench? Don’t you have a cellar I can plop down in for the night?”

The innkeeper shook her head. “Afraid not. Look, if you’re that desperate, I’d speak with the Companions up in Jorrvaskr. If they take you in, your bed is free.”

“The Companions?” Elisa said. They didn’t sound like a bed and board. Plus, joining them sounded like she would be committing herself to whatever three ring circus they were running. She ran her own circus, with acts involving setting anything that tried to bite or chop her head off on fire, growing her coin purse through whatever opportunities were tossed her way, and stretching the distance between her and her family as much as possible. And it was ran independently.

“Mm-hmm,” the innkeeper replied. “They’re one of Skyrim’s longest standing mercenary bands.”

Elisa gestured to her mage’s robes. “Do I look like a mercenary to you?”

The innkeeper paused for a moment, giving her a once-over. “Admittedly no. Can you swing a sword?”

“Of course I bloody can,” Elisa replied, annoyed.  Dueling was one of the most common methods of settling disputes between houses and the first art taught to Breton children growing up in noble families. Plus, sometimes there were situations where magic was the weaker option, like the time a crazed Ashlander nearly gutted her in her sleep back in Morrowind. She’d been welcomed by an Ashlander tribe after days of traveling to Ghostgate, not knowing that a few of them were superstitious xenophobes who distrusted strangers. Fortunately, her ebony dagger was less than a hand’s reach away, which she slid neatly between the Dunmer’s ribcage before he could lay a finger on her.

“Then you shouldn’t have any issues joining. Their hall is just up the steps to the right once you leave.”

With that the woman began busying herself with washing the counter of her bar with an old rag as if the conversation never happened.  “Anything else you needed?” she said without glancing up. Clearly at this point the woman had enough of their exchange and Elisa wasn’t going to get another word about a room to stay in out of her.

Elisa rubbed her face, thoroughly annoyed and exhausted at this point.

“Some Breton wine, if you have it,” she said, tossing a few gold coins from her purse onto the counter. “I need something strong after this headache of a day.”

———————————————————————————————————–

Elisa stepped up to the doors of Jorrvaskr, a longhouse with a roof that looked like an overturned boat. Two dragons curled upward from either side, facing off with perpetual snarls. Elisa sighed, wondering what Daedric Prince was toying with her. Never had she expected to enter a Nord mead hall of her own volition. But, unless she wanted to spend a night in the Skyrim cold, she didn’t have many options.

This may, perhaps, be the worst day of my life, she thought as she swung the doors open. What awaited her inside was a full-on brawl.

“Are those two at it again?”

“Quit swinging so wide, you’ll make yourself more vulnerable!”

“My bet’s on Njada. After the way she felled that bear the other day, I wouldn’t want to mess with her.”

A small gathering was formed in a half-circle around a Dunmer man and a Nord woman who Elisa guessed was Njada beating the piss out of each other. It seemed the fight had been going for a small while, judging from the cuts and bruises on both of them.The Dunmer made to land an uppercut at Njada’s jaw, but whoever shouted about the Dunmer swinging too wide was right. Njada easily sidestepped to avoid his fist, causing him to stumble. She took the opportunity to grab and pull him close to her, slamming her knee into his groin. The Dunmer howled, collapsing to the ground and curling into his abdomen. Njada stood over him, flashing a triumphant sneer.

“Best two out of three,” she said, wiping a small amount of blood from a cut on her lip. “Looks like you’re polishing the armory this week.”

The Dunmer coughed. “Fetcher,” he wheezed.

“Quit being a baby,” she said as two of the others began helping the Dunmer to his feet. Other than some minor cuts and bruising on his face, the man looked alright. As he steadied himself, he glanced up to see Elisa standing a few feet away.

Seeing her made him snarl and spin to face Njada.

“This isn’t over,” he spat, his face inches from her’s. “Pick up a sword and we’ll see who ends up on their ass.”

He shot Elisa one final glare of daggers before storming down a flight of stairs, out of sight.

How charming, Elisa thought, as the group disbanded. And so very typical…

It took a moment before a burly Nord from the group noticed her and approached. When he came close enough for her to study his appearance, Elisa almost scowled. His face was a mask of dirt that sunk into the creases gathered around his eyes and mouth, his hair an oily, dark mop. She thought he’d been punched in the face twice, but upon closer inspection, she saw that dark warpaint framed his eyes like bruises. If he hadn’t been wearing a very regal set of armor, she might have mistaken him for a beggar.

“Vilkas,” he said, introducing himself. Despite his disheveled visage, his voice surprisingly soft. “If you want to hire, you’ll have to speak to Skjor. He handles that.”

“Actually,” Elisa said, smiling to hide her disgust at his appearance, “I was told you provided room and board?”

Vilkas shook his head. “I’m afraid not. Only Companions are allowed to stay in Jorrvaskr.”

“Ah,” Elisa replied. “So it’s like that, then. Not to worry though, I have a solution for both of us.

She fiddled with a loop on her belt and presented her coin purse, waggling it as if she were enticing a dog with a bone. Vilkas crossed his arms, scowling.

“What if I were to give you, say, a hundred,” Elisa said. “You let me stay, and I fatten your wallet.”

She was lying, of course. Given that most of her savings had been taken from her before being put on the cart hurtling towards her execution, plus the exorbitant amount she spent on that rotten trade deal that landed her there, she had maybe twenty gold after the few coins she shoved at the barkeep for a bottle of wine. But, if the Jarl was good on his word, she’d have five hundred coins to add to her deflated wallet. And if he wasn’t, well, after shoving a fireball down his throat, she would be, as the Dunmer said, “as fortunate as a netch born without limbs”.

“I wouldn’t let you stay here even if you were the Queen of Solitude with gold spilling out your backside,” Vilkas replied, eyes narrowing. “Do you see any barmaids around? We’re not an inn. Is there something you actually came her for, or are you here to waste my time?”

Elisa reattached her coin purse to her belt, sighing. Bribery seemed to get you nowhere here compared to Morrowind. Her last resort was clear, and she was certain it was going to bite her in the ass later.

“Fine,” she said. Her voice was calm, but inside she was imagining all the ways she could set this hall on fire. “How do I join?”

Vilkas gave her a surprised look. “You serious? After that stupid ploy you just pulled? You’re either mad or an idiot. Or both.

“Plus,” he added,eyeing her mage’s robes, “you don’t seem the type.”

Elisa gritted her teeth. “I was told this was a good place for work,” she said, her smile growing with her impatience. “I’m a long ways from home and could use the extra gold.” This time it was the truth, but it might as well have been a shovel that was digging her deeper into this pit she tossing herself into.

To Oblivion with this godforsaken town, this fetcher of a Nord, that innkeeper bitch…

Her internal list of profanities continued while Vilkas was silent for a moment, watching her with suspicion. “Aye, it is,” he said, nodding. “But you won’t last long here without some knowledge of handling a blade.”

“I wouldn’t have survived the duels among Breton nobility if I didn’t know how to wield one.”

“Uh-huh,” he said, giving her another look-over, retaining his dubious gaze. “I have a lot of questions, but we’ll get to that later.”

He looked back over his shoulder and shouted, “Athis!”

Athis, the Dunmer in the brawl earlier, came rushing up the steps near them, flashing Vilkas an annoyed look. “If you’re expecting me to polish every damn weapon and  piece of armor again for the third time this month, you can-”

“Shut it,” Vilkas snapped. “Grab your sword. You’ll be testing her arm.” He nodded at Elisa.

Athis looked like he’d just been insulted. He glared at Elisa, then back at Vilkas. “You’ve got to be kidding me,” he said. “I’ve seen mudcrabs that looked tougher than her.”

“You’re one to speak after getting your ass beat by a whelp who joined a month ago.”

Athis replied with a look that could kill a bear, but said nothing.

“You get one chance,” Vilkas said to Elisa, handing her a sword from one of the racks on a wall nearby. He pointed to the doors on the opposite side. “We’ll meet out that way. And don’t dawdle. I don’t have all day to wait on newcomers.”

Athis flashed her a look of disdain before stomping behind Vilkas out the doors to whatever shoddy training grounds they had. As they left, Elisa glanced down at the sword in her hands.

“Shit”, she said aloud to the empty hall of the Companions, which, if this Nord approved of her sword play, she would potentially be sharing with a band of dirty, sweaty mercenaries.

If I ever run into that Khajiit, she thought, gripping the sword’s handle tighter as anger bubbled in her gut, he’s going to Oblivion with his tail shoved in his mouth and a knife up his ass.