#I'm not even going to think about the skyrim one don't look at me

[slumbering-shadows]

The only tes sexyman poll that actually went as expected was the ESO one and I don't even go there

[bemusedlybespectacled]

I'm not really a lawyer or lawyer adjacent so I don't always get what's going on when things happen in court with famous idiots, but I really enjoy reading your breakdowns of them. So please feel free to gush about your IRL Blorbo as much as you want! It's entertaining and (for me) educational. 🍿

Bruh he's just such a good lawyer, though, oh my God.

Also his wife is an environmental law attorney (basically a prosecutor against companies that flout environmental regulations), he has a garden intentionally designed to feel like Skyrim (including dragon skulls and a Viking shield just lying around), and owns two geckos and a "big chungus of a lizard."

But seriously, the dude is so good at what he does. And I don't think he's even 40 yet? But like, holy Jesus, the guy has such a fantastic understanding of the rules of evidence, he's got a fucking mental rolodex of citations to the rules of professional conduct that he can just pull out on the fly, apparently, and he does it all while also, like, subtly trolling?

Like, okay, the bit in the Perry Mason Moment where he asks Jones if he knows what perjury is? And he says it in this tone of voice that makes it seem like he's concerned about Jones possibly perjuring himself and is just trying to make sure Jones is aware of his options before lying on the stand?

I am 100% certain that that's actually a reference to when Dan Bidondi, Jone's "field reporter" who participated in the harassment of the families and is also incredibly racist, harassed one of the town officials by repeatedly yelling "do you know what perjury is?" and that he was "going to jail, criminal."

And the reason I think that is because he did something similar on the first day of trial:

That bit where he's like "will you talk to me?" The one part of the trial that wasn't filmed was jury selection, and apparently Reynal asked every single potential juror "will you talk to me?" before he asked any other questions. (I think it was supposed to build rapport? But apparently it came off as very odd) He's not actually asking Reynal "will you talk to me?" as a legitimate question, he's just making a reference to what had happened the day before, which is why Reynal flips him off.

Also his written motions are always hilarious to read. Even before I knew who he was, one of my coworkers at my old job (who got me in to Knowledge Fight) would show me his filings and they were always so wonderfully sarcastic. Seriously, look at this:

BECAUSE. HE DOES NOT. POSSESS. THE POWERS. OF PROPHECY. I AM CRYING.

anyway yeah i'm totally normal about him shhhhhh

[galoogamelady]

I got an Xbox for my birthday a month ago and I recently downloaded Fallout 4 (totally not bc of Buttons..) and I wondered if there’s a specific order to play them? If so, which one should I play first? :}

Depends on how deep you want to get into it, I guess? If they're available on Xbox and you are up for the original turn-based games, I would start with that. Don't let anyone tell you that they're unenjoyable, I played through the original Fallout in 2020 and had a BLAST! So in that case I would go Fallout -> Fallout 2 (I still gotta play this but I keep putting it off because I know I'll be too into it) -> Fallout 3 -> Fallout New Vegas (still gotta finish this myself, might just start over) -> Fallout 4 The latter 3 also have DLC-s you should get, especially for Fo3 and NV.

I've seen people recommend new fans to start with Fo4 and work their way back, I'm not sure why... Playing Fo3 right after Skyrim really showed its age, and the difference is even larger between Fo3 and Fo4. I think it's easier to start with the less intuitive titles and better to start with the original vision but I understand turn-based stuff is not everyone's cup of tea (no I don't, look at how successful Baldur's Gate 3 is and Act 3 was a PILE OF BUGS!). There's also Fallout Tactics as part of the old games but ehh I think it's one of those titles most fans don't count as canon. (Except my ex, who for some reason? thought it was the best shit) And we don't talk about Fallout Brotherhood of Steel. I think you couldn't play that one even if you wanted to, probably for the best. I can't say I recommend Fallout 76, perhaps if you don't have more Fallout content left to consume and you don't mind nonsense lore stuff and just want to hang out with your friends. I have it but I can't say it brings me more joy than idk... Rust. It's just surface level Fallout for me.

This is just my personal take obviously, feel free to ask other fans.

[greyborn2]

Elisif headcanons now! (friendly tone ofc <3) Why do you think she would be a good marriage candidate? I'm curious :)

Yesssss!!! Okay - so this boils down to two categories. Personal interest in it, and underrated narrative JUICE. Starting with the former because its easier to begin with. So Elisif is just... she's neat. She's simultaneously one of the most politically important people in skyrim while also being COMPLETELY overshadowed by the men around her (Nobody talks about her, really, they talk of Torygg. The civil war isnt her vs ulfric, its TULLIUS vs ulfric. Her own decisions in court the first time we even see her are seemingly overruled on a dime by her own court, by Falk.). Its like she's this big thing of incredible importance and is constantly hidden away both in narrative and in game. But despite that, if you actually sneak in a bit, ignore all the big figures standing in front of her and propping themselves up on top of her, she has a surprising amount of meat to her.

Most of the Jarls are like... a few word summary at best. Greedy idiot boy, honourable honorman, paranoid bigot, old seer, etc etc etc. You get an initial impression of them and thats kinda it. Ulfric has a lot more, obviously, because he's a major character but it would *SEEM* that Elisif should be on the lower end of content. It takes so much to seek her out in her overshadowed little corner after all, but she has so so so much surprising stuff around her. The necromancer potema plot revolves around her, a whole big dialogue tree that isnt super common to see for a jarl, some touching personal quests that go into detail about how she saw her late husband. Its just all super compelling to me to have a character that, despite being so important, is *soooo* hidden away actually have some meat to her. Plus she's just a nice person!!! ANYWAYS!! PART 2!! The JUICE!!

For starters, I think, there should just be more opportunities for the dragonborn to play the political game if they want. Beyond just choosing a side in a war or ticking off their 'thane of everywhere' list, actually getting in on climbing the ladder and enmeshing oneself with the politics of the land they're in. BUT BUT... same can be said for Ulfric. Absolutely true. I do think he should also be a marriage candidate. BUT...

I think Elisif PARTICULARLY makes sense as a marriage opportunity that isn't one you seek out, but one that is put forward to the player. Specifically with an Imperial victory in the civil war.

The war is won. Alduin MAY or MAY NOT be slain. But either way, no matter what, at this point the dragonborn is a war hero, a champion of the people, and decorated imperial legate. And this would be fucking FRIGHTNING, I think, to the politicians back in Cyrodiil. There's a *history* of war hero dragonborns, popular with the people, turning on their commanders and declaring themselves emperor afterall. Oh boy is there a precedent. Suddenly they're the big figure in a war that was supposed to be Tullius' duty and they might start sweating in their boots a little.

SO... after the war is won... the legion starts... pushing. Just a little. A few letters, a few comments, that the dragonborn should maybe marry Elisif. Become High King by marriage. Lock them in and satisfy the war hero with a political title off in the ass end of the empire before they turn their gaze toward a ruby throne. Don't give them time to think on it. Ooooh look tasty treat right here shhhh dont think yes you did very good dragonborn yes yes be high king.

I think from there it could go one of three ways;

1) Last Dragonborn marries Elisif but with her actually agreeing to the union (after completing her personal quests) and she FINALLY steps out of the shadows. Rather than the expected you using her for power, she uses YOU for power. You allow yourself to be the thing she props herself up on and finally really starts coming into public view. Maybe to the nervousness of the Empire as she's a less eager puppet then they might have thought, now.

2) Last Dragonborn falls right into the trap the empire placed. You didnt do the quests for Elisif, she remains in the shadows, there's a loveless marriage and you get to be satisfied with a big title that hopefully keeps you occupied.

3) Last Dragonborn refuses all of this. Things seem to proceed as they do in canon but... well... maybe you notice a few more non-DB assassins using imperial weapons attacking you on the road then you did before. Curious.

[serpensortiamaxima]

What a delightful drama I've woken up to this morning, eh? I still have thoughts I've not seen being brought up so buckle up.

People aren't upset about the summer update. That whole thing is a symptom, not the cause. What people are upset about is the state of the game itself and how much it is lacking and has been lacking since the beginning.

In the past decade or so, we have gotten more and more accustomed to being sold unfinished games, but with the promise that "don't worry we'll patch it in later updates", and then this never happened. In fact, if Hogwarts Legacy had been an excellent game with its holes patched up and they decided to grant us this free update? The reception would have been, much, much better.

And, excuse the harshness but I do wonder how capitalism-rotten your brain has to be to miss that it's about the principle rather than the update itself. We should not allow corporations to get away with always giving less and less to their clients. Ever. And I can already hear the counter argument of "you can't always get what you want!" and again, that's not my point.

The point is that corporations aim for cost effectiveness. Especially for a free update, they're not going to look at what the community wants really, they will pick the one thing that requires the least time and the least resources because they will have to pay for the time and production cost of a new feature. They know that free updates don't bring in new players. A free update is a way to do community management and get some hype, it might bring in some sales, but never enough to make profit.

Customers aren't upset about the update itself, they're experiencing now the frustration about the game they've always put on the side so far, due to this habit I've mentioned above, of expecting fixes and patches and regular updates from a game, especially one so recently released.

It only takes a quick glance at what's happening with EA in general to see a similar pattern of new content being botched or overpriced, only to receive intense backlash. And that backlash is necessary. Staying complacent and simply accepting your fate as a gamer customer is exactly what corporations are hoping for, because then they don't have to do more. They receive this feedback that it's fine, that they can just do the bare minimum and expect their customer base to eat up the new content in gratefulness. Really? Do we really want to trigger this loop of always getting less and less for something that not only has been bought but that the customers don't even own?

This isn't a Hogwarts Legacy issue, it's an industry wide trend, and we should recognize it as such.

Now, to my last point: mods. I got into modding Skyrim in 2013. Both as an avid user of mods and sometimes to make my own light tweaks for storytelling. For the most part, I'm mostly a mod user and every single time a game I played could be modded, I did so. My current Skyrim save is running on over 200 of them. I only ever play vanilla when I have no other choice. I've quickly touched on the topic yesterday by pointing out how modding requires a healthy and thriving community to work.

There are two main factors to achieve those requirements:

The company behind the game needs to support making mods for their games.

A big and interested customer base

And I guess the hidden third requirement is the coding language and how accessible it is. But I digress. My understanding of the modding community for HL is that it is very small, and therefore limited and that Portkey/Avalanche hasn't provided any resources for modders.

And so, I don't think we'll see a thriving community for HL any time soon, at least not of the comparable kind. And for me, personally, it means that the kind of gamechanging mods I would want to see simply aren't going to happen.

The kind of mods I tend to use are very immersion-focused to allow for a real roleplaying experience, that would include the ability to create new animations, to assign additional dialogues to NPCs, additional routing for NPCs within the map, to allow the player to completely ignore the main quest if they wanted to etc. And I'm afraid that HL is built in such a way that it doesn't have this flexibility even for an experienced mod creator but especially not if the modding community for the game is too small. A lot of these things would require a lot of time, a lot of code, and ton of testing and beta play.

And that doesn't mean that there can't be good mods made, but if the player base wanted to have more mods of a very high quality, we would still need to put pressure on Avalanche to tell them that if they're not ready to provide us with new content, the least they could do is make modding more accessible on their game.

[wickedcriminal]

Just started playing Skyrim as Edward Elric, here's a few highlights of my run and the Lore:

I'm playing on legendary survival mode because Ed's life sucks <3

One of the essential goals is to level alchemy up to 100. I will also be playing as a mage (which I've never done before so this should be interesting)

I'm not allowed to kill ANY PERSON. Not even bandits. Because Ed's a staunch pacifist so the 'people death' counter stays at zero for as long as humanly possible if not the entire playthrough. This is only for people, though, so draugr, animals, monsters, robots etc don't count. (I'm not sure where dragons land on that but I've already killed one so I guess it's too late to ponder it)

Also im not allowed to use soul gems. Those are functionally philosopher's stones, so Ed's not keen on that

I will also not be using any shrines/amulets because Ed's an atheist

Only steel and iron weapons! He's the Fullmetal Alchemist after all. Preferably one-handed weapons, as the sword arm is his go-to.

Enchantments are allowed (outside of soul trap for obvious reasons) as long as they come with the weapon when I find it, and I can't recharge them or make my own since I can't use soul gems

Leather armor because Ed wears leather in canon. Presently looking for a red outfit that looks anything like his coat. I'm thinking the vampire armor will be my best bet

I've got no mods otherwise I'd add a dwarven centurion follower and have that be my Al

As it stands, though, I've come up with a story that Al is functionally dead but Ed can summon his soul to fight for him in the form of conjuration spells. So far I've been summoning 'Al' as a wolf familiar and even a storm atronach when I found a scroll for it

(I considered dressing a follower up in armor so that they can be 'Al'. Still thinking about it but i kinda like the conjuration thing)

Ed's 'journey' lore wise is researching the Dwemer, since he thinks their disappearance could be related to Al's body being gone. I'll be reading every book possible about the Dwemer and researching every possible Dwemer ruin when I find it (I don't know a lot about the Dwemer anyway so me and Ed both are learning Together)

I'm also gonna be going to hermaeus mora's creepy realm cuz that's probably the closest to the truth dimension im gonna get (I've never finished that quest before this is gonna be fun)

I've got no Winry stand in but every time I upgrade my armor and weapons I pretend I'm stopping by Rush Valley or smth. Winry is there in spirit

I will be punching every godlike being in the face whenever humanly possible because that's what Edward Elric would do

That's it so far, I'll keep you updated on what's going on with the pipsqueak as i go along✌️

[yanderes-galore]

Hope I'm not being annoying I'll send the two separate

First request is An extended request for Elenwen from Skyrim with the High Elf Vampire Darling? With these prompts from the prompt list in your pinned comment

51.) "I'll chase you down like an animal if I have to."

8.) "I could look into those eyes forever...."

62.) "I must know everything about you!"

I'll see what I can do, yeah.

Here's the request that they are referring to.

Yandere! Elenwen Prompts 51, 8, 62

"I'll chase you down like an animal if I have to."

"I could look into those eyes forever...."

"I must know everything about you!"

Pairing: Romantic/Platonic

Possible Trigger Warnings: Gender-Neutral Darling, Obsession, Kidnapping, Delusional behavior, Interrogation, Restraints, Isolation, Thalmor arrogance/prejudice Forced relationship/companionship.

You are a plague upon both Altmer and Thalmor. Elenwen kept trying to tell herself that. When she met you at her party she should've outed you for the monster you are.

But she hates the thought of that.

Truth is she hasn't been able to get you out of her mind. It's to the point it's affected her work... she never even got your name! However... she took your looks to heart.

Elenwen knew she had to see you again. You were an Altmer... but one tainted by Molag Bal. You're a vampire... one that should be slain and purged.

Yet Elenwen keeps thinking of you... she has other plans.

Being a powerful diplomat in the Thalmor, she orders your arrest. She tells those in the Thalmor to keep an eye out for an Altmer vampire. She orders you to be taken alive.

With this order she finds some comfort. With help from the rest of the Thalmor you will surely be found. They don't have to know her true intentions... they just need to lock you up in a dark dungeon.

She describes it as an interrogation to those she employs. She needs you for information that'll be useful to the Thalmor. After all... you infiltrated her party.

Her talk with you will indeed be an interrogation...

But the info she plans to obtain isn't for the Thalmor... it's for her.

---

"Wake up."

The order is stern and authoritative. You shake your head, body feeling drained. You feel metal restraints around your wrists... chains holding you in the air by your arms.

Captured... by vampire hunters?

No... it can't be....

"I could look into those eyes forever...." A female voice says to you, holding your chin up. Your red eyes finally manage to focus to see another Altmer staring into you. You finally recall who this person is due to her scent, voice, and appearance.

"Oh, Elenwen... a pleasure to meet again." You say in a lighthearted tone but quickly appear annoyed. "Why am I here?"

"You left my party too soon..." Elenwen laments softly. "I barely had a chance to know your name."

"I don't give out my name, it draws attention." You answer bitterly. "But it seems I've caught your attention anyways."

"You are such an elusive creature...." Elenwen hums, a purr in her voice. "I must know everything about you!"

"I thought you Thalmor hate anything not yourself?" You taunt, Elenwen appearing to grit her teeth for a moment. Normally she would agree... but you...

"You've managed to plague my mind for months." Elenwen sighs. "You have a natural beauty to you I wish to capture. Plus, you're an Altmer... I feel there's ways to... purify you. You'll be perfect for the Thalmor... you can work right beside me."

"I don't wish join you and the petty squabble the people of Skyrim are involved with." You hiss. "I am perfectly fine with my undead nature. When I find a way out of here-"

"I'll chase you down like an animal if I have to." Elenwen interrupts, her grip on your chin tightening. "I don't plan on letting you go. I'll do everything in my power to prevent that. I ordered you to be hunted on sight if you leave here. I also weakened your magicka and stamina with potions before you woke up."

Elenwen's gaze is twisted... you almost find her dedication amusing.

"You won't be leaving here." Elenwen vows. "Unless you wish to be turned to ash... I suggest you play nice. You've gotten the attention of the Thalmor, after all."

You can't help but grin playfully at the fellow Altmer.

This could be interesting.

"Fine, Elenwen, I'll play nice. But only for you, dear." You laugh teasingly, noticing Elenwen appear shocked for a moment before pulling herself together.

"Great." She sighs, her thumb rubbing your cheek.

"Tell me everything you know, servant of Molag Bal."

[turian]

beloved gamer mutual & comrade @rhubarbspring tagged me to do a video game about me ( tysm for tagging !! truly loved reading all ur game thoughts. <3 ) explanations behind my choices under the cut.

(also, i had to cheat a little bit in the "you love, everyone hates" category, because i don't think people on tumblr hate da2, but one of my best friends despises it because of reused assets and combat designed more for consoles than pcs. and i can't remember any other controversial beloved games right now. the best i can do is games i love that i'm not sure anyone remembers? imagine ubisoft ballet? which, like. do people hate that. i don't think so).

tagging @cowsquirrel @malcriada @sakraya @ansburg @anoramactir + literally anyone i might have missed who wants to do this

favourite game of all time: so, look, i hate her as much as i love her. i always go back to new vegas even though i have a lot of criticisms of it - i had a realization recently after the release of the fallout show that while maybe i was projecting intergenerational trauma onto the game and using it to process some things, there is a lot in the game that is extremely imperialistic, even as it dabbles in anti imperialism. i can't get into all that here - better essays than i'm capable of have already been written on new vegas - but i also have to admit that new vegas taught me to see game writing differently, and helped me a great deal in improving my own writing. it's also just really entertaining playing later games by obsidian and picking out the new vegas elements. i think that new vegas gets praised too readily for being progressive when in reality it's only the most progressive game in the fallout franchise, and i think every time i return to it i'm noticing one more thing that'll kind of be making my eye twitch. but, yeah, i think it would also be dishonest to not include it here, regardless of my mixed feelings, because i keep going back, and because there are so many angles to it, and because i keep catching myself comparing other games to it.

i think a lot about like........... how so many themes i can relate to exist within the narrative of new vegas, but that doesn't feel entirely intentional. like, benny is so real to me because ! he was forced to assimilate into this culture that was not his to survive. and ulysses as well. and like!!!! yeah idk. going insane. i feel very similarly about dragon age elves tbh i'm like okay i feel seen but also this game is racist! kms :') will be projecting hard and taking so much psychic damage

many such cases tho </3 baldur's gate 3 and their treatment of the gur is always going to be a mix of relatable and uncomfortable to me

favourite series: soulsborne! i like how bleak it is, love the theme of death and rebirth, love how thankless the games can be, and i also love how the combat reminds me of muay thai. had a coach explain something to me using dark souls combat as an example once. i didn't really get these games at first, until i saw my best friend playing - she is ridiculously good at them - and then i sort of realized that they're just combat puzzles, and that like... they're kind of about honing patience, i guess? and after that they really became my favourite.

best soundtrack: honorary mentions: mass effect and dark souls both have some individual tracks i revisit on the daily, and skyrim's secunda is beautiful. but hollow knight doesn't miss, and i love how every track matches its environment.

favourite protagonist: i grew up in a really dysfunctional somewhat criminal family so like... lol. i feel seen when i look at arthur morgan <3 him and charles are both close to my heart. john can stay too ig

favourite villain: SO okay, maybe this is cheating a little, but. the reapers from mass effect. went into that game with zero spoilers, and finding out that they were in fact cosmic horror games was so <3

this would probably have gone to new vegas except benny (and also ulysses + i think he's more narrative foil than antagonist, as is benny) literally did nothing wrong in my eyes and after that point it's like... who is the main antagonist? the ncr and legion both? like yeah they're interesting but...

best story: i haven't actually finished pathologic on my own yet. kind of obsessed, though. just feels responsible to put it here. honorary mentions to new vegas, some fromsoft titles, twd, imagine ubisoft ballet........ (i love her and i miss her).

i feel like a lot of story games i've played actually have garbage stories with good characters, which is why they're not here. baldur's gate 3 and ME, for example. or like... ME has a great story at first but they fuck up the ending so badly that a popular theory i've heard passed around essentially boils down to "it was all a dream!"

have not played but want to: i was actually supposed to apply for a job with the team that made these games !! i didn't because it would have required relocation to the US, but. idk i feel like they keep showing up, always highly recommended, and i think i own one? so yeah, i should really get around to that.

you love, everyone hates: again, i cheated on this one. i don't think people on here hate dragon age 2.

you hate, everyone loves: skyrim, detroit: become human, stardew valley (because it's a weird little cottagecore colonialism game but also because i don't really vibe with the art style and i get stressed as fuck in it because nothing is happening... it is simply not for me), and fallout 3 and 4 (because they're masquerading as games with choices but they fully aren't, they suffer from bethesda writing, and they are super unapologetically racist and imperialist). i mean like... not mad at any of my friends who like these games i just cannot play them. i don't really think any of the games on my list are unimpeachable, tbf.

favourite art style: disco elysium !! it's so <3 like, i also love it for other reasons!! but every time i play it i end up wanting to draw.

favourite ending: new vegas has four endings. i feel differently about them all, but the independent ending is very much shaped by the infrastructure the player assembles during a playthrough, and while it is maybe imperfect and very open ended in some ways i like how it doesn't really reassure the player. also, i really like certain elden ring endings and the dark souls 1 ending. and pathologic.

favourite boss fight: hollow knight has a lot i've really enjoyed (particularly hornet's). for elden ring, malenia is the fave, tho <3 when i defeat her i tend to feel really disappointed. like, get up. let's go again. parrying her is extremely satisfying.

childhood game: we like... found out we had some cousins which is wild because this has been a tiny family since Certain Incidents A Long Time Ago and they also had nintendo ds access and they were not into this game. and like... look, i'm not saying it's great, but it had dark souls ish combat? like, you could lock on? you could roll? and i ended up replaying it as an adult and being like. huh. not that bad.

+ imagine ubisoft ballet ily

relaxing games: distance, injustice 2 (i main red hood & black canary but i like playing robin too. it's super imbalanced and they still haven't nerfed starfire !! and it's incredibly funny like good for her), dark souls 1, and elden ring.

stressful games: again stardew valley because i would play with friends and it was like oh god i need to leave. i do not know what to do, i am useless, i am understimulated

+ red dead online is not a good game to play without substantial backup . so glad i had horse insurance because if i hadn't my only friend in that world would be dead. that said, i did like to hunt in that game + play the fps levels with groups

games you always come back to: new vegas but maybe she'll release me someday. idk. also unfortunately i didn't include it earlier but i keep going back to the sims 4 and baldur's gate 3. and fromsoft titles because i sometimes just crave that combat.

guilty pleasure: new vegas again!!! i guess i kind of talked about my extremely complicated feelings when i first spoke about it, but yeah. there's just so much to unpack and i'm never going to forgive it for a lot of things. the horrors and the joys are both numerous but the joys will never not be tainted by the horrors

tons of hours played: elden ring + bg3 + new vegas + mass effect. i don't have the hours of new vegas and mass effect available tho as they are confined to a now dead xbox 360

[deadlymousex01]

Skyrim Characters when you get hurt

Farkas, Brynjolf, Nazier, Aela, Arnbjorn, Lydia

You got hurt on a mission and there were no healing potions readily available (but let's face it if your actually playing skyrim you're usually stocked on those things, also for the sake of this story you don't have a healing spell). Sorry if this is a long one! Hope you enjoy! :)

Farkas

Farkas carefully wraps the bandage around your injuries making sure to not hurt you further. He's trying so hard to focus on helping you feel better but you can tell by the way his brow is scrunched he's more than a little annoyed you went so far into the barrow without him.

He got caught up dealing with some draugr and by the time he finished with them you were gone, so focused on your goal you didn't realize you'd left him behind until you were dealing with three draugr deathlords. You'd managed to keep them all at bay between shouts and your sword, even killing one of them, but they managed to get a few good hits in and if it wasn't for Farkas showing up you might have joined the dead. Once the two of you had finished them off your adrenaline had worn off and the decent cut down your back and side made it impossible to travel further, so instead Farkas got you both into a cleared out room and secured the door for the night so you could rest without risk of attack.

Now he was currently bandaging a cut along your arm and a wave of guilt washed over you. You had first been annoyed by his fussing, reminding him once again you were the dragonborn and perfectly capable of taking care of yourself but seeing his concern and worry made those feelings disappear quickly and be replaced by guilt. Once he finished with your arm he set to work building a small fire in the little pit in the room as you leaned back against the wall watching him.

"I'm sorry Farkas." You say softly. You know he's listening as his hands pause their movements even as he continues to face away from you. "I shouldn't have been so distracted and gotten so far ahead without you. We were warned this barrow was dangerous and I was reckless...I'll try to be more mindful about my surroundings in the future." You see his shoulders rise and fall with a sigh as the fire starts up. He moves to kneel in front of you, worry written all over his face, as he brings a large battle worn hand up to cup your cheek.

"I just want you to be careful, if anything happened to you..." He trailed off, but you knew what he wanted to say. Many think he's just a thickheaded brute but you knew better. Under that all that gruff was a intelligent and caring man. He sighed again looking you in the eyes. "I know you are a capable warrior, the dragonborn, and I don't want to belittle you but...please stay close to me until were out of the place."

You bring one hand up to gently hold his wrist and bring your other to cup his cheek like he's doing to yours with a smile. "I promise, and thank you for saving me, my big strong wolf." He returns your smile with a huff of a laugh before bringing his forehead forward to lightly rest against yours "You're welcome, my ferocious little dragon."

Brynjolf

"Of all the boneheaded, reckless, stupid stunts I've seen what you just pulled has got to be the stupidest one!" Brynjolf's angry whisper tickles your ear as he leans dow to talk to you. The plan was supposed to be simple; He would create a distraction downstairs in the basement of the estate to draw the guards down and then you would sneak in and rob them blind as the owner was supposed to be out for the night and his wife was not home. Well it didn't exactly work like you planned.

Brynjolf had to wait a little longer than expected to get into the estate as the owner was standing in front of the door he needed to get into talking with a guard. Deciding you didn't need a distraction you snuck into the building without him. It was going well in the beginning however you forgot to consider the owners mistress who was visiting her lover for the night. She had been sleeping in the bed and heard you sneaking around in the room over and came to investigate. You had been so busy trying to break into a safe you didn't hear her until it was to late and her dagger stabbed into your shoulder.

Luckily she had terrible aim and in the dark it was even worse so instead of stabbing into your shoulder it missed and ran the blade down the back of your shoulder and back. Your scream of pain and surprise, as well as turning around with your own dagger, caused her to scream in return and start drawing the guards upstairs. You managed to get out the window again and drop to the ground where Brynjolf was still hiding nearby. He knew what was going on the minute he heard the screams and saw the guards run into the house giving the two of you the chance to run.

You didn't get to go to far when the guards started running after you, so Brynjolf had pushed you into a small space between houses and pressed himself up against your back in order to fit himself. The wound on your back ached and burned but the feeling of your lovers body against yours helped distract you from it.

Once the guards had moved off elsewhere he slowly left the space before helping you out as well. Turning you around with his hands he lowered your collar to examine the cut.

"You're lucky your armor protected you from the worst of it, you'll need a couple stitches but you'll be fine." He turned you back to face him as he crossed his arms. "You could of been killed and it would of been because you were being stupid." You knew he was right but that didn't stop the annoyed feeling rising up at his tone.

"Oh like you've never made a bad call during a job."

"Oh plenty love," He said leaning down to be face to face with you with that signature smirk "But I'm clever enough to get away with it." You roll your eyes before turning to walk away. "You're a cocky bastard Bryn." He stops you but grabbing your arm and pushing you back until your trapped between the wall of the house and his body still smirking down at you.

"Aye love, that I am, and you can't resist it."

Nazier

You start to wake with a pounding in your head. As your open your eyes you realize you're back in the sanctuary, laying on one of the beds. You go to lift your arm but a sharp pain prevents you from doing so, instead you turn your head to see Nazier walking up to your bedside, a mug of water in his hand. He sits down in the chair next to your bed and helps you take a few drinks of water before setting it down on the end table and gently taking your uninjured hand.

"How are you feeling? We would of given you a potion but Gabriella said you needed to wake up first or it could do more damage than good." he explained gently running a hand through your hair, careful to avoid any hurt areas.

"I'm sore and hurting all over...how did I get here? Last thing I remember we were hunting down that rouge in the woods." Your head hurts as you try to recall memories that are escaping you. Nazier scooted his chair a little closer so he could lean against the bed.

"Turns out that rouge was a werewolf. The we hadn't any indication of that otherwise we would of been ready for him. You had managed to get close to him but he either smelled you or heard you because he changed quickly and hit you so hard you went flying back into a tree..." He trails off for a moment giving your hand a gentle squeeze. "For a minute after that I thought you were dead."

Your heart ached at the sound of his voice. It was so broken and hurt, like he was truly afraid he had lost you. Of course it could of been true, werewolves are hard to fight when your prepared for them let alone when you aren't. You squeeze his hand back encouraging him to continue.

"I managed to kill him and ran to check on you. You were hurt pretty bad, my healing spells are rusty but I managed to heal you enough to be able to move you and get you back here. Gabriella and Babette got you bandaged up and healed a bit more, but then it's just been waiting for you to wake up. You've been out for two days."

You gently bring your hand up to his cheek and give him a small smile unable to give him the comforting hug you want to. He leans into your touch before leaning down to place a soft kiss to your lips. You knew he must have been extremely worried if he's being so affectionate where the others could see. While the whole family knew the two of you were together, Nazier wasn't one to how it off much.

"Next time you go out I'm going to make extra sure we know everything about the next mark, I'm not going to let you go in blind again." You hum contently feeling safe with him nearby and as he leaves to get the healing potion you close your eyes knowing it will be a while before he lets you out of his sight again.

Aela

You limp toward Whiterun holding your side, the injury wasn't life threatening thankfully as you had been wearing your steel armor but like a idiot you hadn't remembered to bring a healing potion so now you had to endure the long walk back to Jorrvaskr. As you grew closer to the gates you could smell Aela's scent getting closer. Sure enough around the bend she came looking annoyed and worried at the same time.

"I could smell your blood from the gate, how badly are you injured? Why didn't you bring any healing potions?" She asks coming up next to you and lifting your arm to allow her to inspect your injuries. You wince as she does so, the sudden movement pulling at the wound and causing you to flinch.

"I'm fine Aela...ow...I just forgot to get some before I left since I didn't want to lose the silver hands scent. I had the element of surprise and I wasn't going to waste the chance to get 'em." You pull your arm around of her grip and lower it to relieve the strain it was putting on your side. "I had them all nearly taken care of when one pulled a hidden dagger out on me. Just got me by surprise but I'm fine. My armor blocked most of it."

She gives you a firm glare before poking your side causing you to flinch and yell in pain. "You are clearly not fine. Now lets go, don't want you to bleed out in the street." She moves to your good side and drapes your arm around her shoulders so you can lean against her for support. She leads the way through the streets gaining you both a few curious looks before you make it back to the hall. Leading you inside and to your shared room she sits you on the bed and begins to help remove your armor to look at the damage. Even with a healing potion it would need stitched up so she sits on the bed next to you and begins sewing the skin shut giving you the potion to help with the process.

"While I'm all for knocking a few silver hand heads, I wish you would of told me you were leaving to do it. I would of given you back up and probably prevented this from happening." Her quick and nimble hands make easy work of the stitches before she starts wrapping bandages around your chest and waist. "We've already lost two important people to the Companions... and to me ...I really don't want to lose anyone else. So next time, clue me in on your plans so I can make sure you don't kill yourself by accident alright?"

You nod as she finishes with the bandages and helps you lay back on the bed before joining you herself. Snuggled up together you give her a small gentle kiss "I'm sorry for worrying you Aela, I promise to tell you when and where I'm going next time."

"Good, cause if you don't I may be the one stabbing you."

"Wouldn't want it any other way, love."

Arnbjorn

"Arnbjorn, calm down! I'm fine, really, look! See? I'm fine!" This was of course a lie; your left leg was cut up and bleeding, your right arm was just as bad, you were pretty sure your left wrist was broken, and you could be sure you had at least one black eye and a cut lip. In truth you looked like hell however Arnbjorn was one move away from shifting into his werewolf form in a rage and going out and unleashing hell on anyone and everyone, wether they were involved in the bandits that did this or not.

Arnbjorn's chest was heaving so badly from his heavy breathing and growling, and his eyes had almost gone full black in rage you wondered if he was even hearing you or was just lost fighting the beast inside. While you knew he would never hurt you, you didn't want him to hurt one of the family by accident or go on a rampage in Dawnstar and force all of you to move again. You slowly limp toward him, every movement of your leg sending shooting pain up it, until you were close enough to cup his face in your hands.

"Arnbjorn...please...breathe. I know you want to help and the best way for you to do that is calm down so you can help me. Please love, for me." The mission had gone badly. The target had been ready for you and managed to capture you. They had started to torture you in the hopes of finding the rest of your family but you managed to get away and kill your target before you left. Arnbjorn had smelled your blood the moment you walked into the sanctuary and when he saw you, the beast started taking over.

His breathing started to slow down as you held his face and his body began to slowly relax. You watched as his eyes slowly returned to color before he let out a long slow sigh closing his eyes before opening them again. Without a word he immediately scooped you up into his arms and carried you downstairs and into the master bedroom of the sanctuary. He sat on the bed with you in his lap, protectively holding you against his chest as if the bandits were going to show up to finish the job. Babette came in and bandaged your wounds giving you a healing potion for the pain. After she left she shut the door leaving the two of you alone.

Arnbjorn buried his head into your neck deeply breathing in your scent and letting out a low growl. "I will be going out and killing the rest of those bastards." This wasn't a surprise, you knew he would. After losing and being betrayed by Astrid it had taken him so long to be open to the idea of having a mate again and once he did he was even more paranoid; making sure he knew where you were traveling to, who you were talking to, what your plans were, that your weapons were sharp and in the best condition, that your armor was intact. He had loosened up and a lot of these but he had been so hurt by Astrid betrayal you knew this was just what he needed to do to allow himself to be open to you yet still protect himself and you.

He laid you carefully on the bed and then laid next to you allowing you to position yourself against him comfortably without hurting yourseld further. "I know you will, I know you'll always protect me when I need it." He grunted in response before burying his face in your neck again.

"You're not leaving this sanctuary again until your wounds are completely healed...and even then I might not let you." You huff a laugh starting to feel drowsy from everything that had happened the last two days.

"Yes, love."

Lydia

Lydia let out a grunt as she helps slide down the wall to sit on the ground outside of the cave the two of you had just explored. Neither of you had expected the cave to be full of vampires however once you discovered it was you had been determined not to leave until you had cleared it out as it was so close to Morthal.

The two of you had gotten most of them taken care of when a gargoyle popped out and surprised you both. Its claws got a good cut in across both your legs and while you had managed to kill it you were definitely not walking very well by the time you had made it back to the entrance, needing Lydia to help you limp your way out.

"Here my love, rest here while I see if I have a healing potion or bandages." She digs through her bag managing to find a small healing potion and a few rags to cut up for bandages. Offering you the potion she cuts the rags into strips before carefully bandaging your legs.

"You'll need to rest here for a day before you'll be strong enough to reach Morthal. That potion was enough to heal your legs so you don't bleed out but you need to build up some strength. Wait here, I'm going to grab some firewood before it gets dark." When you nod in response she leaves for several minutes before returning with some wood. She sets up the fire before lighting it and then moves toward you. She removes her leg armor and sets it aside to help you lay down with your head in her lap.

"Thank you Lydia, you really were my shield in there. I probably wouldn't be here right now if it wasn't for you." You smile up at her, legs feeling numb from the potion working its magic. She gives you a smile running her fingers through your hair as you close your eyes and let out a sigh of contentment.

"Of course, you're not just my thane, you're my love. I would do anything to protect you, even lay down my own life for yours." You bring a hand up to stroke her cheek and she takes it in hers giving it a soft kiss.

"Let's hope it never comes to that dear, after all, someone needs to go home to the kids."

[dynamite124]

Ooo, Taliesin's Gate questions, sign me up. Here's a few (very earlygame only, so as to avoid spoilers): 1. How would you find Taliesin postcrash? 2. How would he react to the knowledge that there's a tadpole in his head? 3. How would he react to finding out what ceremorphosis does, and that he's got 7 days to live? 4. What would his default camp clothes/tent space look like? 5. Are there any companions that would get a "Taliesin disapproves" blip for adding to the roster?

So I'm unable to play Baldur's Gate III due to lack of space on my computer, but I can use my imagination and I have my Astarion replace for Taliesin to fill in the gaps. ;__;

Maybe someday, I'd love to make a Taliesin Tav and do a playthrough as how Taliesin would.

I honestly don't know how to answer this one because I can't play the game so I'm unaware of the maps or names of the land.

2. Oh absolute DRAMA! He would feel VIOLATED to no end, probably constantly taking baths or looking up herbal remedies in a spiral of declining denials thinking it's something simple like the flu. "Maybe...if I take a REALLY hot bath and dunk my head in it, it'll die! Yes that's what I'll do! It's so simple! haha!"

3. Like the Debbie Downer he is during times of crisis where HE'S personally affected, Taliesin immediately vers into the negative side of things. Coming to the conclusion that they're not going to make it and makes a bucket list of things he wants to do before turning. Maybe a new hair cut? Trying something new? Admitting or becoming more forward with his feelings and opinions. Things like that, he lets go of doubt because he's out of time and just does things without a second thought.

4. Even when out on the road, Taliesin really doesn't have a clear definition of "casual" in his dictionary. He might wear something ridiculously flamboyant and not very appropriate for camping! He may need to be taken shopping for something better down the line!

His tent space he'll keep organized. His tent style would probably look like the classic tents you'd see around the War camps of Skyrim, tall with a cot, several boxes set up for makeshift shelves where he can books lined up. A few fur blankets to keep himself warm and comfy, a little tea set on a tiny table, a rug to keep himself separated from the dirt, and another table where he can sit down and work on Berwhale, sharpening and cleaning him to make sure he's ready to do some stabbing! and a little area where Naomi can keep close and rest herself.

5.

Astarion: Remains neutral. Considering his own introduction in Skyrim with the Dragonborn, he has no grounds for arguing about poor first impressions.

Shadowheart: Taliesin Approves

Gale: Remains neutral.

Wyll: Taliesin Approves

Lae'zel: Remains Neutral.

Karlach: Taliesin Greatly Approves

Halsin: Taliesin Greatly Approves

Minthara: Taliesin Disapproves

Minsc: Taliesin Approves

Jaehira: Remains neutral.

[bamsara]

Half IT here, how long have you had Arson? and I would make sure the fans are actually working and not just making funny sounds that sound like they're working- maybe keep an eye on the battery inside in case it starts to expand or anything (or replace if its really old)

And my ps4 overheats, but i just have wooden blocks under its four corners to keep heat from trapping under it. Maybe a similar set up could help?

This is he:

I've had him for a few years now, about 4+ ish I think?

Lets walk over to the power settings real quick-whoops, accidently unplugged Arson from the wall /j

It says 2 minutes Arson can't survive but maybe 30 seconds max. Do not suggest replaceing the battery, please, I have tried everything in my power to get one.

Dell has discontinued my laptop's battery and would rather me trade it in for 1/8th of the price I paid for it to get a new laptop, and the only other alteranate part I could find has been out of stock for 11 months. I'm mad about it and made like 50 posts about how technology isn't meant to last anymore and big companies bank on it but alas.

anyway

The fans work fine, they're not making any noise and they respond just fine when I change the settings, and automatically if I run something intensive, and I've cleaned them so there's no dust.

Take a look at temp core:

Everything looks good now. I was going to run skyrim or something intensive like what I use daily, like art programs or stream labs, or even calmly writer, but I don't want to deal with a hotter keyboard at the moment lkdhgslkdgs. Twitch stream chat sometimes gets to view the tempcore live and watch the numbers, and it's pretty funny.

I usually get a notifciation if it gets too hot and will shut off to protect the system, so I shut it down or use ice/fridge trick and it works.

Also I know it's a joke but Arson really DOES work as a pretty good heater in winter months. The back of the laptop is basically a big vent that pumps out hot air.

Sometimes he crashes randomlybut thats,,fine. Dell's hardware tests dont bring up anything I don't already know and I have a SDD and extra internal harddrive thats a Terabytes worth so it's not storage

(I have money put back for a new laptop when this shell yeets, since it's slowly deterioating, so it'll be fine when it does as long as my art and stuff is backed up)

[davidsdussy]

•───────•°•❁•°•───────•

This is gonna be a Lil sumin. I was wondering, what would be some of the stupidest and funniest or even sweetest things these boys do? Welll let's find out. HAPPY NEW YEARS

•───────•°•Warning•°•───────•

Foul Language, just them doing stupid shit

sexual themes and smut AND FLUFF!

•───────•°•❁•°•───────•

David

𓆩 𓆪 David can be silly and goofy too, its not always serious we all know this. Man has natural crack hidden up his ass some here and its in there deep... Can't even reach up with ya foot.

𓆩 𓆪But one of the funniest moments with David is when he was minding his business. All up your sugar walls with his cock, no shame in the world. Just balls against booty, and Marko had threw a pizza into the slide of his face. The crazy part is how David didn't notice Marko's presence behind him. You watched as the pizza slowly slid down the side of His face and land in between your chest/boobs.

𓆩 𓆪 David was PISSED! But you? You laughed. It was too fucking funny, even with him balls deep inside you and a pizza on your chest.

"GET THE FUCK OUT YOU LITTLE SHIT!!!"

"Whoa calm down no need to get so hostile. I just thought I add a little Italian spice to your bedroom."

"MARKO!"

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH"

Dwayne

𓆩 𓆪This serious big teddy bear is goofy too..mostly quiet but once you come at him with fun time such as poking him and saying you didn't do it a bunch of times.

𓆩 𓆪 so here you were poking him as he reads on the couch. Repeatedly! Once he was annoyed enough he'll just simply grab you hand and kiss it.

𓆩 𓆪"You done?" he'll chuckle at you. You see dwayne has a hell of a lot of patience I like to think even more so than David. Once you shrugged and claimed it wasn't you, he'll say"Oh yeah?" And then that's when the fun starts.

"MERCY! PLEASE HAHAHAHAHA!" Your laughter filled the lightly dim lit hotel. Be pinned under the long haired giant of a vampire, being tickled brutally. "Yeah? Gonna tell the truth now?" He'll smirk down at you as you nod "Alright alright! I'll stop poking ya!" You yelled out and smiled up at him before sitting up and kissing his cheek.

Paul

𓆩 𓆪we all know this man don't have hidden crack up his ass...he got crack in his peepee 🙄That mf goes up randomly and who better than you to go to for help. He'll always hug you from behind and rut against you slowly as he whispers filthy things in your ear.

𓆩 𓆪He's just restless, always grabbing for you but he can't help it. Not when you're standing there doing nothing looking all pretty. Even just your voice alone turns him on.

𓆩 𓆪You love paul, never the less. You'll do anything for your sweet puppy. But today you weren't in the mood. So you got an idea, Paul is a menace we know this. even his jokes be heartless a little. So..you did the unthinkable..

A rumble erupted on Paul, and he froze. Did you just?....did you just fart on his erection?!?! Instant turn off, whyyyyy!? "WHOA BABE, you could've warned me!"He backs up and whines. "I'm so sorry Pauly! I didn't m- pffft hahaha" you laughed and grabbed your lower abdomen from laughing so hard. You could hear David from across you two. "That wasn't an accident she's lying" he smirks trying to instigate."Y/N!? Is this true?!"

Marko

𓆩 𓆪Oh man...you thought Paul was bad. Wait till you hear how him and Paul were planning a prank on David. Nothing like annoying the true high king of skyrim.

𓆩 𓆪so here they were. Waking up early at tonight just to piss off the hanging human bat with crocodile feet. Paul started off by poking David awake. Like it was a serious problem happening

𓆩 𓆪Little did little David know...he's always gonna be the butt of their jokes...no matter what...

"DAVID! WAKE UP! MARKO IS HURT PRETTY BADLY!" David woke up quick, both concerned and pissed about what was going on. "What do you mean he's hurt?! What the fuck happened?!" Once he got his gorilla grippers off the ceiling and started running down the hall with Paul. And there Marko was..bleeding on the ground, panting and reaching out dramatically"it hurts.." And David was over there in seconds! Wait, oh no...he didn't get nowhere because the mf slipped on some oil Marko put on the floor purposely. Sending David sliding across the ground and into a wall. "PAHAAHAHHAHAHA!" The loud howls filled the hotel as David got up growling and slapping Paul and Marko in the back of the head. "YOU LITTLE SHITS!"

[grabowskibeepboop]

Lap

A collection of my hq ships attemtping to sit in each others' laps or smth~

Everyone is sitting on a couch, where I have no idea but imagine that, and the couch is full. You can think these are happening in the same place but they weren't intended to unless specifically mentioned.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hinata, already a flustered mess, pointing at Kageyama's lap: Is- is this seat taken?

Kageyama, with an annoyed look on his face: Of course it is dumbass, I'm sitting here, are you blind or something?!

Hinata, giving up: Oh, okay...

Kageyama, the next morning: HOLY SHIT I FUCKED UP!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tsukki: *walks into the room*

Tadashi: Hi Tsukki, do you need me to give you my seat?

Tsukki: No.

Tadashi: Where are you gon-

Tsukki: *sits in his lap*

Tadashi: *loading*

Tadashi: *loading*

Tadashi: *system shutdown*

Tsukki, under his breath: Oh fuck I think I broke him...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Asahi, walking into the room, seeing that the couch is full: Hey can someone please throw me a pillow on the ground to sit on?

Noya, with a flirty tone: No need for that babygurl, got a seat for you right here *gestures to his lap*

Asahi: Absolutely not.

Noya: Naww but why?

Asahi, with tears in his voice: Because I'm scared I'd crush you to death!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Kiyoko: *walks into the room, looking for a place to sit*

Tanaka: Hey you can sit in my lap if you want t- *pillow gets thown in face*

Kiyoko: I'd rather stand.

Tanaka: Well at least let me give you my seat! *Stands up*

Kiyoko: I don't need it.

Tanaka: Then I'm going to stand with you!

Kiyoko: *hides her blush*

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

(okay this one is on a train/subway)

Ikejiri: *gets on a full train/subway*

Ikejiri: *looking for a place to sit when he notices Daichi sitting on the same train*

*cue talk about always bumping into each other*

Ikejiri: Hey umm, my legs kinda hurt, would you mind if I sit in your lap?

Daichi: *processing information*

Daichi: Umm, I guess I wouldn't...

Ikejiri, taking advantage of Daichi's unawareness: Sweet! *sits in his lap getting some stares but mostly noone cares*

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

(i think I'm out of karasuno ships, if thats what you're here for you can leave)

(I was gonna do Akiteru and Saeko but I couldn't think of anything. Also if I were to do them I might've made Akiteru sit in Saeko's lap but that would break my flow because I'm making my bottoms sit in my tops' laps)

(hollon tryna think of my ships, I don't think I'll be able to do them all)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tendou: *joking* Hey Wakatoshi-babe, can I sit in your lap?

Ushijima: *lays back in his seat opening his legs*

Tendou: Holey pappa-pia!~~

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

(this one makes no sense but bare with me)

Yaku: Hey can I sit in your lap?

Kuroo: No. Wanna sit in my lap?

Yaku: No. *Sits in his lap*

Kenma: ......... What the fuck is wrong with you guys?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

(imagine this is in like a world of warcraft/skyrim esque game or smth)

Kenma, sitting in a chair by a dining table in-game: Hurry up Lev, we all need to sit to start the cutscene!

Lev, looking for a seat: Is there even any seats left? Oh look, it's letting me sit in the same one as you are!

Kenma: What-

Lev: *Already triggered the action*

Lev's character: *glitches through Kenma's character*

Kenma: -the fuck?!

Lev: Omg it looks like you're sitting in my lap!

Everyone else in the vc: *laughing/giggling/shipping*

Kenma: God no, we can't have that, I'm standing up!

*cutscene starts*

*everyone dies laughing exept Lev whose too hyped up and Kenma who dies of embarrassment*

(I could've also done smth irl that has smth to do with cats but I liked this idea better, also they give skephalo energy in this)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I think thats it for now, I can't rlly think of anything else for my other ships

Hope you enjoyed umm... Bye? Fucking hell grabowski this isn't a youtube video!

Also this took forever to write because I kept putting it off, the very first time I only wrote "Lap" and hoped I'd remember what it was supposed to be later, I mean I did, it's not somethung you forget very fast, but still

Also I've only seen the anime so keep that in mind before you criticize me

[liianliann]

So I've started playing Fallout 4 yesterday, because of the new series an a recommendation, and I have to say:

It's not so bad.

It has a good worldbuilding, interesting lore, simple gameplay (reminds me a bit of Skyrim lol) and funny and lovable NPCs-

Yet there's one thing that I don't like about the game: The main story. It isn't bad or anything, it just doesn't really catch me.

(SPOILER for the beginning of Fallout 4)

For those who don't know what the game is about, basically, in the year 2077, a nuclear war happened and you, your wife and your newborn son go to a protective bunker and due to a series of events you've been put into a coma and awake 200 years later, in a world of nuclear fallout and apocalypse, with your wife dead and your son abducted by random people.

And now, you obviously head out to find your son. And that's the breaking point to me.

Now, I'm no parent, and I'm not saying the parental instinct to find your child isn't important or valid, but I just can't really relate to that.

If I'd awake in a world like that, my instinct would be to seek shelter, a group of survivors, and just accept the loss and move on. Because of two reasons:

a) you don't know when your son got abducted. For all you know, your son could be 100 years old and dying right now, and the only way you know he's still alive is by some old lady/fortune teller on drugs. Yeah.

b) HOW would you even care for a baby or small child in this world?!Adults barely have enough to live and are in constant danger! I'm still wondering how humanity has survived this long, honestly... Plus the mortality in this world is already skyrocketing, so chances are you'd get your son and he'd die like what, a week later and you're sad again? Why do that???

So I can understand the game is appealing to our parental and human instinct to care for others, but honestly, I just can't really relate to the whole parent situation. A sibling? A spouse? Yeah, I'd look for them in that situation. But a newborn baby is too much of a burden in that situation, and even if they're already older, they probably wouldn't recognize me and it'd just be another heartbreak in the end, worth none of the resources I'd put into it.

I'm not saying it's a bad story, or surrealistic, or irrational. It has its logic and valid points, and it's a good story altogether I think.

But it's just not my type of story.

The game's still good though.

[quicksilverdrabbles]

At Rorikstead

Gaia: We have arrived.

Lucien: Your digital map really is something to behold, Gaia. Even though the landscape and civilization is completely different from the first era, you can navigate it so efficiently.

Gaia: That would be thanks to my Observers. *two small drones materialize at both of her shoulders, round and much smaller than her head* They fly about Skyrim, invisible, and send me the data they find about the land's people and cities. They are very advanced compared to normal Observers, much like myself against typical Gynoids. I made them myself.

Xelzaz: How interesting. Are you able to speak to them at all?

Gaia: Yes. On a certain level, I can communicate with all Dwemer machines. I can only control the ones I create with my own hands and technology.

Taliesin: How does that work on a moral level? A machine controlling other machines, I mean.

Gaia: Similar to a general commanding her warriors. They are well aware of what they fight for. They fight for me, because I gave them life.

Taliesin: I see..

Lemkil: *in the distance, his crops, he shoves Sissel to the ground* Stupid brat! Look at you! Snivelling in the dirt when you're supposed to be working!

Sissel: *crying, sitting on the ground at her father's feet* I-I'm sorry, Papa! B-Britte took my- *hic* my shovel and I-I couldn't do what you wanted me t-to without it!

Lemkil: I don't want to hear your excuses! Time and time again you waste daylight standing around doing nothing but cry and survive off of what I earn!

Gaia: *turns toward the source of shouting, spotting Lemkil* Hostile Lifeform Detected...

Lucien: What? In Rorikstead?

Kaidan: Look there. Bastard.

Xelzaz: Indeed. What should we do, Gaia?

Gaia: ... Wait Here.

Inigo: You are going to confront him alone?

Gaia: If I must. Kaidan, when I direct his attention, see to the girl.

Kaidan: Aye.

Gaia: *nods, walking towards Lemkil and Sissel, her irises fading from yellow to red as her expression falls to a glare*

Lucien: ... *breaks away from the group and walks alongside her* If I may.. You look upset, Gaia.

Gaia: I am not upset. That Nord is a threat to the people of this settlement. He must be detained. Go back with the others.

Lucien: What if you need backup?

Gaia: I never do.

Lucien: Really? What about that one time with the Dunmer-

Gaia: *grabs Lemkil's shoulder, pulling him back just as he slaps Sissel across the face* Pardon me.

Lemkil: Huh? And who the hell are you?

Gaia: My name is Gaia. It has come to my attention that your are mistreating this child. Please step away from her.

Lemkil: What does it matter to you, huh? You some sorta hired thug? I bet that screwy wizard hired you into scaring me away from this worthless brat, eh?

Gaia: No wizard has done anything of the sort. I am here of my own accord. *her grip on his shoulder tightens* And I recommend you follow your given orders and Step Away. Or else I am afraid I will have to use force.

Lucien: I quite think you're already using force.. *watches as Lemkil winces under the pressure of her grip*

Lemkil: Get the hell off of me, you bitch! This has nothing to do with you!

Gaia: On the contrary, your endangering of a human life, especially a child, has everything to do with me.

Kaidan: *sneaks behind the group and lifts Sissel up, shushing her when she cries* C'mere, let me see. It's okay.. *brushes the red mark on her cheek with his thumb* ... Gaia-

Gaia: Yes. Take her somewhere safe.

Lemkil: Wait! You son of a bitch, don't you dare touch my daughter! Get your hands off of her!

Gaia: Please do not refer to my companion in such a vulgar manner.

Lemkil: I'll say whatever the hell I want! You aren't guards! You have no authority to do this to me!

Gaia: Perhaps not. All laws in this era, however, are.. very loosely enforced.

Xelzaz: Gaia.

Gaia: Xelzaz.

Xelzaz: I took a moment to ask some of the townspeople about this man and his two daughters. It seems to be a relatively common occurrence. Why nothing was done about it is beyond me.

Gaia: I see. *switches her grip from his shoulder to his neck, grabbing him by the base of his throat and forcing him to the ground* So this is merely a regular day for you, hm? To abuse your children?

Lemkil: It's none of your business, I said! What I do to my daughters is my business!

Gaia: Wrong Answer. *her free hand grabs the arm he slapped Sissel with, tightening her hold until a loud snap comes from his wrist*

Lemkil: AGH! What are you doing?! St-Stop it! Please!

Gaia: How quick you are to beg. Would you like me to break it? As of now your wrist is only dislocated.

Lemkil: N-No! Let me go!

Gaia: Why do you hurt your children?

Lemkil: T-They killed my wife! She-she died bringing them into this world!

Gaia: Should you not have cherished what your wife left behind, then?

Lemkil: I-I-

Gaia: Too Slow. *the hand around his wrist rises to his bicep, closing around the middle and squeezing, the limb snapping quickly*

Lemkil: A-AAAHH!! STOP! PLEASE- LET ME GO!!!

Gaia: Goodness, you're loud. Have you learned your lesson?

Lemkil: YES! Y-Yes I swear! Please, you don't have to do this! I-I'll be better, I promise!

Gaia: Good. Now listen here. *pulls him forward, her face inches from his. Frost creeps up from her fingertips and spreads at every point of contact between them* You are a disgusting man, incapable of caring for and protecting what your wife gave her life to bring into this world. You do not deserve to be a father. You did not deserve to be a husband. If your wife could see what you have become in her absence, she would take her daughters and leave you.

Lemkil: ...

Gaia: And if you ever harm this little girl again- *stops, staring into his eyes. Sees fear, but not remorse. Panic, but not guilt.*

Lemkil: *whimpers, gripping the hand around his throat in terror, broken arm dangling uselessly at his side*

Gaia: ... No. That is an outcome I cannot risk. *drags Lemkil up by the throat* Taliesin.

Taliesin: Yes?

Gaia: Cover our tracks. Ensure the guards to not follow. *turns and walks away, avoiding the main roads and routine patrols. Lowers her arm and drags Lemkil behind her, unwavering despite his struggles to escape*

Taliesin: ... Of course. Please do try not to make too much of a mess, though

Lemkil: N-No wait- please-!

Gaia: Shut up.

Lemkil: I-I swear! I won't hurt her anymore, I promise! Please you can't- You can't kill me! PLEASE!

Kaidan: *sitting in the field covering Sissels ears as Gaia drags her father away, cradling the trembling girl to his chest protectively*

Inigo: *trailing close behind her passively* I know a good place some ways away.

Xelzaz: *walking at her other side* I'll have to make a potion that eliminates the stench.

Lucien: *walking at Inigo's side, looking unnerved, but unopposing* What of the other girl? She was mistreated too..

Gaia: Britte was a victim as much as Sissel was, but she weaponized her pain. She shouldn't remain with her sister. It is better for both of them.

Lucien: And the father?

Gaia: ... Some things are better off eternally gone.

~

*distant screaming*

Rorikstead Guard: Hm? What on earth was that?

Taliesin: *changed back into his Thalmor robes, a hood covering his dark hair* Nothing to be concerned with, citizen. Move along with your patrol. To investigate would be to interfere with official Thalmor business.

Rorikstead Guard: O-Oh, I see. Forgive me.

Taliesin: *watches as the guard walks away* Gods, I've always hated saying that.

Kaidan: *carrying Sissel, now asleep. Walks out from behind a nearby house* Guess it does have some uses, though.

Taliesin: Yes, I suppose so. *sighs, wiping gently at a streak of dirt on Sissel's face* She's filthy. Makes me wonder if he made her sleep in a pigsty...

Kaidan: Should we wait for the others?

Taliesin: ... No, let's go back home and wait for them there. I'm of a mind to think if we wait they'll just return covered in blood. We don't want to risk her waking up to that.

Kaidan: Worst possible outcome, aye?

Taliesin: Hmph, you really are starting to sound like Gaia.

[elderscrollsconceptart]

how many tes games have you played, what was your first build/character in each, and why did you pick those skills/traits/etc?

Hi and thank you!

I've played admittedly not a lot of Arena. Its hard to get into due to its age 🧙‍♂️ Love Jeff Perrymans work on the game though!

I've played a good amount of Daggerfall! I played a bit of it ~13(?) years ago but it was the original version so like Arena it was super hard to both play and get into it. I was actually doing a classic "sword and board" play through via Daggerfall Unity just last year and was having fun until my saves got corrupted somehow 🥲

I actually touched Redguard for the first time this year but I'm holding off until I finish my current Morrowind playthrough 🏴‍☠️

Battlespire I've actually never touched despite owning it. Its weird because I've POURED over that games wiki and its actually my favorite old school TES game based purely on aesthetics and its designs. A full play through is on my to do list for this year!

All the old TES mobile games, shadowkey, Oblivion Mobile, etc. I have limited experience with. I've seen them IRL on friends phones back in the day but never got hands on since I actually didn't have a phone until later in Highschool. I think the internet archive has at least a few of them playable? I'd have to check, maybe it's worth checking out!

Morrowind...ahh morrowind :) its my fav TES game in terms of quests. My first play through was not a full one, it was at a friends house on the XBOX version way way back in the day. For my first REAL play through it was on my first gaming PC and I played an athletics focused halberd wielding orc who bonked people on the head 😂

Oblivion..This one PAINS me..I've only actually played though it entirely a single time and it was ages ago on the Xbox 360 and I played a...stealth archer 😵‍💫..It wasn't a meme at the time I swear! I just liked sneaking and archery! When I got it on PC, every time I tried setting it up with or without mods I had technical issues. I've mentioned it before but I absolutely loathe the bad draw distance and pop in that plagues even "ultra" settings on PC. OpenMorrowind on PC is a technical marvel. I wish they'd do something similar for Oblivion or port a stable version of Oblivion to PC. I really want to do a full playthrough again!

Skyrim. Fun fact I calculated it one time and I'm certain I collectively have 3,000+ hours in Skyrim over the past 13 years. Possibly close to 4,000 but thats from my Xbox 360 playthoughs and I don't remember the exact times for that. The base game is long worn out for me but god damn is Skyrim's modding community incredible. Thanks to mods, the game has remained fresh in various ways for the past 13 years and at this rate I'll probably add another 1k hours before TES 6 comes out 😁

ESO. I'm gonna be 100% upfront here. I got the game when it came out and had lots of issues with it. The game had a rocky start and I wasn't ever a big fan of MMOs to begin with. That said! Zenimax has done amazing things over the past 10 years and really kept that game alive with continuous improvement. I haven't kept up with it the past few years ago outside of the lore (and art) stuff but I think after I give the older TES games another go, I'll probably hop back in to ESO.

Legends. I've never played it! TBH don't like card games, Hearthestone, Gwent, etc. Legends doesn't have much going for it besides the art BUT BUT BUT...Legends art is fucking incredible 😍😍😍 Seriously, after Perhaps Skyrim's concept art, the various artists of Legends are my 2nd fav to look at. I can ignore the actual gameplay but I really wish we knew more about who actually has created all the Legends art. We only have hints such as studio names for vast portions of the art, or straight up ZERO sources for who made a lot of the core decks and original release era art. I keep my head on a swivel for that stuff because its so amazing and beautiful!

Lastly, TES Blades. I'm not a huge fan of the game since I don't like touchscreen controls (eg. I play Morrowind on my phone but with a controller). I've played a fair amount but never beat it since the controls are bleh and gameplay doesn't appeal to me a ton. Most of the stuff that interests me about blades is the armor designs and the fact it gives us a super small glimpse into the period between The Great War and Skyrim.

Sorry this went a Lil long but thanks for your ask!