#i have decided he is interested in the falmer

[incorrectskyrimquotes]

I've decided there's a connection between Brynjolf selling "falmer blood" and the fact he can read falmer without translation.

[skyrim-forever]

Day 6: Abandoned

A/N: Give it up for Day 6! No warning I can think of for this one, features Ondolemar setting his plan into action. Finally gave his guards names and a bit of backstory. Tagging @tes-summer-fest

He had been patient. Faking his death too soon after that discussion with Elenwen would have been suspicious. As much as it pained him to have to wait, he did, he made it seem like nothing had changed. He threw himself into being an ideal Justicier, the Temple of Talos was shut down, reports were handed in early, and thorough investigations into talos worship were done throughout the Reach. While completing his duties, all while preparing to vanish, he entered a dissociative state. Never had he believed less in the authority of the Dominion, yet he had never enforced it as much as he had in those last few months. 

Though his faith in the political institution of the Dominion had faltered, his disdain for Talos worship had not. Though it had been true he was rather lax on the subject, the Temple in Markarth had been kept open for most of his duration there. But truly it had been that he couldn’t be bothered with it. The Nords shouldn’t need to be told Tiber Septim was just a man and having somewhere for them to go made them more passive. Talos wasn’t a Divine and no one who had anything worth listening to would claim otherwise. There were times where Ondolemar wondered if this belief would change, as had many of his beliefs about man had been changed already. Yet there was still a large part of him who chalked it off to the fact Theodora was not any original human. Still, he recognized that he hadn’t had a lot of engaging experiences with Talos worshippers, he knew nothing of their philosophy or what they admired about the man. Only that the Nords of Skyrim claimed he was one of them (a fact heavily disputed) and used him as justification against Elvenkind. Perhaps that piece of indoctrination was too strong, having been instilled when he was much younger. 

But perhaps it was for the best, his issues with their false god made it easier for him to push through work during the day. And by night he’d return to his plan. He decided the simplest course of action would be to be killed on the road, on the way to Solitude for a meeting. The primary issue was the fact the Commander was only one person, he could not pull this off alone. Though he knew his guards Cisephona and Ganlian had expressed their loyalties to him; Cisephona was in fact his cousin and Ganlian was stationed with him in Valenwood during the Great War, getting him to effectively abandon his post was another thing. 

They were promised generous compensation and he recommended both of them for promotion to Elenwen, suggesting prestigious placements for them back home as he knew neither enjoyed Skyrim. Thank the Eight they were agreeable, offering to aid in any way they could if it meant getting out of that frozen wasteland. Ganlian had even helped flesh out the rest of the plan. They could use a prisoner’s body from Cidhna Mine, dress them in his uniform and then when the time came, burn them so they would be indistinguishable from him. Ondolemar had to admit, it may be just enough to work. 

Over a year later the day had come. He changed out of his uniform and into typical Nord clothes. Upon looking at himself in the mirror, he realized he didn’t recognize himself out of uniform anymore. He had enlisted in the Dominion as soon as he could in an attempt to bring his family some honour and dignity after his father’s embarrassment to their name. There had been no life outside of the Thalmor, his work was his values, so much of his core had been shaped by them. As he looks deeply into the reflection of his eyes, Ondolemar wonders what life he could have had. Would any of the interests of childhood have panned out? He was interested in history, particularly that of previous Elven civilizations such as the Dwemer and Falmer. Could he have been a historian? A little voice nags at him you still could. 

It is while he is thinking that Cisephona knocks at his door. 

“Sir, are you ready?”

“Just about.” He adjusts his coat when she speaks again. 

“Could I ask you a question Commander?”

“Go ahead.”

“Why are you leaving? I know you do not enjoy Skyrim but why not just ask for another posting?” He let out a light sigh. On one hand they had been incredibly helpful in even agreeing to aid him in this scheme, let alone being so active in it. But on the other he knew they very well may not approve of his reasons, if not outright cease helping. So he lied. Well, not entirely a lie but rather omitting the truth. 

“You know I enlisted at a young age. Well before the Dominion rose to power.”

“Yes.”

“Quite simply, I want more.”

“More?”

“I want more than the Dominion can offer me at this moment.”

“What more could you want that they cannot provide?”

“Freedom.” Cisephona fell silent, for a moment Ondolemar was worried he made a mistake by answering at all, until his guard spoke again. 

‘I also want more.” He turned to look at her, she held mourning in her eyes. Enlisting after the Thalmor took Alinor, she had only known the Great War and thereafter. Whereas he made a conscious choice, albeit heavily influenced by the propaganda at the time, he wasn’t sure her decision was her own. 

“If this is a success, it is I who will be in your debt. I’ll do what I can once I’m out.”

“Thank you Sir.”

“Thank you Cisephona.”

They had planned the timing just right. Leaving in the early hours of the morning, Gailian would take the decoy body through to Dragon Bridge. It would take several days to get there and several more until Elenwen realized he never showed up. He chose a very strategic time, it was a gathering for other Thalmor soldiers in Skyrim. He feared it being a one-on-one meeting would have aroused suspicion. The plan was to lay low for a couple of weeks, he would start his search for Theodora by checking her property in Falkreath Hold  first. Praying she was there, he had a feeling that it would not be so simple. No matter, although it had been a long time since he had to rough it in the wild, not since the war, he was still capable of it. Thankfully he had only been to Markarth, Solitude, and Windhelm. The latter only once, so with a fake name and new clothes no one would even know who he had been before. Bidding Cisephona and Galian farwell, he treks into the Reach, his post is abandoned and now he is at the mercy of his map. Thoughts pound in his head. Thoughts of fear, both as if the plan fails and what comes next. The things I do for love. Love, he decides, is enough to keep him going. As long as there is a chance of seeing her again, even Akavir wouldn’t be too far.

[hendrickfw]

I´m not sure if I´ll do it, but my mind won´t stop having ideas for a fanfiction of my Dragonborn and his adventures throught my modded playthroughs. I just wanted to write some ideas here, though really doubt I´ll ever write about it.

-My LDB´s named Hendrick. He was borned under a lukiul family in Gideon, Argonia. His family was killed by a group of An-Xileel, leaving him an orphan. Around 4E 183 he was found by a Nordic collectionist that traveled to Gideon to buy some artifacts for the museum he was trying to make in Anvil. When the man found the six-year old Argonian he decided to bring him back to Anvil. He was also married to an Imperial noble family of the city. When they arrived to Anvil his new parents gave him the name of Hendrick. His new mother fought on the Great War alongside her brother.

-Hendrick soon followed the academic life of his family, being interested in the past from young. He helped his father study old artifacts and explore some nearby ruins. He was also trained by his mother and uncle on the sword and bow, fearing the Thalmor would invade again when Hendrick became an adult. His uncle is part of the Fighters Guild btw.

-Despite the peace treaty, his family kept worshipping Talos, so Hendrick also started worshipping him. Hendrick still learned about his culture with other local Argonians, but he follows Talos as his main god.

-When he grew up, Hendrick was sent to the Imperial City to formalize his studies. He started getting interested in the Ayleid history as well as the old Skyrim cultures (Nord, Dwemer and Falmer). While he was on the Imperial City he met Lucien Flavius, Auryen Morellus and Professor Marassi.

-After finishing his studies, Hendrick got back to Anvil and kept working on his father´s museum and collection. I´m still not sure what or how, but Hendrick made an importante discovery for the city´s history.

-After that discovery, Hendrick was contacted by Auryen, who wanted to make a Gallery Museum in Solitude, and wanted Hendrick to be the museum´s relic hunter. He accepted and took the first ship to Skyrim. In the ship he met another Argonian named Lucifer. Lucifer, seeing the opportunity of adventure with Hendrick, decided to go with him.

-When Hendrick and Lucifer arrived on Solitude they witnessed Ulfric´s escape from the city after killing Torygg, and thus the start of the Civil War. A day later they witnessed Roggvir´s execution.

-The first thing Hendrick does for the museum is to organize a donation festival so the people of Solitude could give the museum stuff, help the gallery grow and letting Solitude´s people have a place that represented their history. Tullius and the jarl are the one´s that contribute the most.

-During his firsts expeditions throught Skyrim, Hendrick would expand his team meeting other modded folllowers. The ones I like to include are Xelzaz, Inigo, Caryalind, Kaidan, Khash, Redcap, Taliesin, Lucien, Nebarra and Remiel.

-The only official members that join the Explorer´s Society are Hendrick, Remiel, Lucien and Xelzaz. Despite that, everyone helps one way or another. They all live in the Safehouse and it´s utterly chaos.

-Before starting Skyrim´s main quest Hendrick would fight an Altmer collecting Daedric artifacts for the Thalmor. Hendrick got a few of them (Dawnbreaker, Sanguine Rose and Wabbajack), so the Altmer stole them to deliver them to the Cyrodiil border. Hendrick fights him and, after defeating him, he got separated from his team and caught up on an Imperial ambush and got captured with Ulfric. The Alduin conflict starts.

-Probably Inigo would be the one to get Dawnbreaker with the help of Lucien and Xelzaz. Nebarra, Taliesin and Kaidan made the Sanguine´s mission. Hendrick, Xelzaz and Lucifer did the Sheogorath´s stuff. The evil Altmer did the rest of the Daedric quests. Hermaeus Mora quest is done later during the Elder Scroll fetch to defeat Alduin

-Hendrick would end up with Lydia. Caryalind and Kaidan end together. I´m not sure of other ships.

-Lucifer would be the one to do the Companion´s questline with the help of Nebarra and Inigo. Other members would help during certain quests. Hendrick just helps to get Kodlak to Sovngarde to get something of Ysgramor for the museum.

-Hendrick, besides the Legacy´s stuff, main quest, siding with the Dawnguard and defeating Miraak, also makes the College stuff and ends the Civil War with the imperial, mostly because the Stormcloaks forced him to choose the other side.

-Other quests that add stuff to the museum like Moon and Star, Wyrmstooth and Wheels of Lull happen. Maybe I´ll do something inspired by Lucien´s line at the end of Moon and Star where he suggests a "League of Heroes", or at least more interactions between both Hendrick and the Nerevarine.

-When Odyssey of the Dragonborn happens, everyone follows Xelzaz to his mission to High Rock and help him during his mission. Same happens with Inigo´s prophecy

-Remiel´s quests are done by Hendrick, but the ones that help the most are Xelzaz and Redcap.

-Nebarra, despite never saying a word, loves the mead that Xelzaz makes.

-Nebarra and Taliesin redemption arc before the Second Great War. They´re friends with a Talos worshipper so they need to.

-Khash is adopted by everyone. Caryalind, Xelzaz and Hendrick are the ones that raise her the most.

-Xelzaz is my favorite follower of them all, so I´d definitely reflect that on the friendship.

-And other stuff. Yeah, probably not gonna write a fanfic. After all of this the Second Great War happens, everyone is forced to leave Solitude with the museum´s relics and they start fleeing to High Rock and Hammerfell. They meet Uriel Septim V and then start a new rebellion, as well as some lore-breaking stuff about Hendrick´s family, but I won´t say more. I just wanted to get this off my system. I know it´s dumb, but my mind doesn´t stop

[trickstarbrave]

heyyyy im making a pinned post as that is a feature and seems good to keep info all in one place esp for ppl on mobile

❤️im brave!! or rua works if u want to but brave is by far the most popular name i go by. he/him pronouns

❤️art commissions/art trades are NOT on the table rn sadly. i used to offer commissions and did art trades with friends but for the most part im really busy with work/health conditions. if i have a bit of free time i may change this or make a few exceptions on a case by case basis depending on my schedule. for the most part tho i just want my art to be a stress relief activity

❤️art requests i do take from time to time now, but there is no guaranty i will take it. please do not spam requests hoping i’ll do it and please do not get mad if i don’t do it. they’re requests for a reason. if i am particularly inspired i’ll be happy to get around to it if life lets me

❤️technically multifandom blog i would say, mostly i have been focused on the elder scrolls series lately. you will probably see me rb stuff from like, a bunch of series. if this changes i’ll prob edit this post LMAO (i do not control the special interest)

❤️not just an art blog but also personal. my art can be found in my #my art tag. wips can sometimes be found scattered on my twitter if they arent on here. and writing that i publish can be found on my ao3 (though i have like a million wips that dont get published and be warned much of my ao3 is rated E and not for everyone)

❤️ been doing a lot of oc posting so i can do a run down of them currently for anyone that wants to follow along/know the lore:

/// OCS ///

(under cut)

🌟 Eyja: skyrim oc, nord dragonborn, she/her. past life incarnation was konahrik, alduin’s head priest, murdered by miraak. uses a bow and magic primarily. story can be found here

🌟 Senna: skyrim oc, nord dragonborn, she/her. proud two handed weapon user and leader of the companions. fought and lost to the world eater who took her back to his den and make her his partner. proof prophecy can be a complicated thing. story can be found here.

🌟 Baldur: skyrim oc, nord dragonborn, he/him. grew up on the streets stealing to survive, and certified trans of gender. fought and lost to the world eater who decided to force baldur to be his champion. helps him take over skyrim. story not yet published but will prob contain a lot of mentions of transphobia as a cw :(

🌟 Ansa: skyrim oc, nord dragonborn, she/her. orphaned at a young age, and just a weird, feral child. learned to steal, and ended up joining the thieves guild. killed mercer and turned the guild over to karliah and is helping rebuild it when she finds a weird rock that turns out to be a dragon egg. story not yet published

🌟 Ahkrinaak: general elder scrolls oc, he/him/any pronouns. he is based off me as a sort of self insert/persona character purely for comedy, not a serious au. dragon/god who was corrupted in the war with lorkhan/shor and became more so an agent of lorkhan. he spends most of his time pretending to be a mortal and causing problems. he’s just sillay. looks like a falmer/snow elf and nord hybrid making pretty much everyone just in general uncomfortable. dragons dont have gender he just likes tits. divorced with alduin

🌟 Lyre: not a skyrim oc (yet) but my beloved dnd character i have made a million aus for, including one that has turned into a full on novel lmao. will update everyone when i start uploading the novel (its not gonna be too serious just a fun lil webnovel that is pg rate) and you can see me post illustrations for. depending on the AU uses either he/him or she/her. i just think theyre neat

🌟 Anthial: nerevarine bosmer, tired, angry, nb spellsword. he/them pronouns. just wants to cover their entire body until you cant tell what gender they are. vivec never got them the drink he owed them. was convinced as nerevar that voryn never liked them back all that much. had an open marriage with almalexia. this incarnation was emotionless and lacked a moral compass due to the betrayal in their past life.

🌟 Steren: nerevarine, technically. not actually the reincarnation of nerevar, but the reincarnation of nerevar’s son. nerevar never reincarnated bc he was too busy haunting his descendants, too upset to move on. steren has a couple of aus but mostly its him with vivienne the dragonborn who belongs to @mulberrycafe. calls voryn “ata” and nerevar “dad” because he technically grew up in cyrodiil but remembers his first lifetime in bits and pieces where voryn raised him for the first few years.

feel free to send asks abt my ocs i love answering them

[tes-trash-blog]

What do YOU headcanon about provocation from Atmorans? Do you think they just immediately started being... themselves even before Ysgr*mor and thus angered the old Falmer, or is there something else you can think of?

Interesting question! Truth be told, I actively don't think about what was the one specific cause!

"But tes-trash-blog! You overthink everything!"

I know! But I think here is where my imagination hits its limit, and where any draws from history would be... Well, it just leaves a really bad taste to me.

What I do keep in mind though are:

The Night of Tears did not happen in a vacuum. No one woke up one day decided to sack Saarthal.

The Atmorans of old were coming to Falmer-Land long before Ysgramor did.

The Falmer may have known of the climate change happening in Atmora, and possibly found out about man-made devastation of the country: deforestation, war, etc. There were likely a few Elves who thought (maybe even aloud) why these people can't go back home and fix the mess they made instead of coming to mess of their home. Nationalism rears its ugly head!

Perhaps attempts to keep the Atmorans from repeating the cycle were met with resistance? Knight-Paladin Gelebor did say the Snow Elves were at constant war with the Nords, though he could have simply been too young to remember a time before the Falmer-Atmoran war.

I do think there was a growing animosity, and altercations that proved violent.

Whatever the final cause was, the march on Saarthal was not a decision made lightly, and while no Snow Elf would be so brazen as to say it aloud, it wasn't as popular a decision as historians theorize.

Nor do I think the Night of Tears was a surprise attack on a poor defenseless village. If I absolutely must use a historical allegory, I'd use the Alamo: not the act of brutality the "remember the Alamo" people paint it as, a bunch of dumb white guys died, the site turned into a nationalist rallying cry, and people still believe the whitewashed version (and ignore that a part of the Texan Rebellion was because white Texans wanted slaves - slavery being illegal in Mexico at the time).

Mexico if you're reading this please take back Texas. We don't want it or its Zodiac Killer senator.

I don't like the theories that the Dwarves somehow tricked the Snow Elves, and I avoid looking at KINMUNE or the Eye of Magnus as a cause. Too MacGuffin-y.

[lobselvith8]

A Necromancer Goes to Skyrim (OC)

“I shall remember this when I have transformed.” - Lord of the Necromancers, King of Worms, Daggerfall

A lot has happened since I last shared my thoughts here. I was diagnosed with cancer and spent a considerable amount of time in the hospital. As I was receiving initial treatments for my Leukemia, when I could only receive two visitors each day due to my immune system, I immersed myself in Skyrim, returning to Mundus with a heavily revised version of the mage who I originally played when I first embarked on adventures in the cold tundra that was once inhabited by the Falmer, now the Betrayed.

My magical protagonist had gone through an initial reimagining after "Dragonborn" due to the schism between the Dunmer of the now autonomous Morrowind and the Empire, as well as the presence of Great House Telvanni items. And the final transition took place after many years with the release of the "Necromantic Grimoire" items and the residence of "Gallows Hall."

My final version of the character is someone who feels a lot more at home with some of the paths that I have planned for him, which is something that wasn't the case the last time that I retooled the mage for the storyline (for example, I couldn't reconcile a Telvanni who would willingly surrender a daedric artifact back to the Daedric Prince Nocturnal). I also incorporated elements of my illness into the character, perhaps as an outlet for what I'm going through since I'm still grappling with this as an outpatient. A necromancer who is well aware of his fragile mortality.

During the turmoil of the civil war erupting across Skyrim in the 4th Era, rumors of powerful artifacts of necromantic power pique the interest of a son of one of Morrowind's longest enduring necromancer families, Arvyn Adram.

Stricken with an illness that is slowly killing him, Arvyn decides to promptly head into the war-torn province of the Empire to acquire the scattered artifacts, focused on his desire to overcome mortality itself and empower his abilities and to become a powerful necromancer with no equal.

Perhaps even filling in the vacuum long left behind by the King of Worms after he used the Mantella and the Numidium to achieve apotheosis and become the Revenant, worshipped henceforth as the God of Worms by necromancers.

Caught in an Imperial ambush as he attempts to clandestinely make his way into Skyrim, Adram finds himself unwittingly entangled in the civil war.

An unexpected arrival saves the necromancer from the headsman’s axe.

Arvyn Adram accepts the assistance of his former fellow prisoner, Ralof. He has no trust of the Empire, and he is in no position to refute any assistance.

At this time, Arvyn focuses only on his survival. He isn't contemplating the nuances of the schism that turned Nord against Nord within the region of Morrowind's neighbor, or the mysteries of the dragon who led to his newfound freedom.

Through charred bodies and desperate soldiers who are too occupied with their aerial foe to pay much attention to him, Adram makes his way to Helgen Keep, and to his freedom.

The necromancer enacts his vengeance on the Imperial Captain who ordered his execution, landing the killing blow with his magical prowess, and helps Ralof’s comrades survive against their Imperial adversaries.

Having survived the calamity at Helgen, Arvyn Adram makes his way with Ralof to Riverwood, and agrees to notify the Jarl of Whiterun about the impeding threat of the dragons.

After providing word about Helgen, Jarl Balgruuf attempts to recruit Arvyn towards a task to recover an item of no necromantic or magical value. Rather than deal with a frivolous task for a simple-minded Jarl, the necromancer decides to seize control of the fabled Staff of Hasedoki.

Modig Gilgar, who, like Adram, is a member of an enduring family of necromancers, is spared as the necromancer steals the Smuggler’s Ledger from him through the aid of magic. There is no point in killing him. The Orsimer necromancer will be none the wiser about the true fate of his family's staff.

Lushak gra-Ragdam and Ivara of Olenveld, the two powerful and dangerous necromancers who took possession of the staff, are dispatched after a lengthy confrontation by Arvyn Adram through a mixture of cunning and conjuration.

[tired-spider]

I rewrote the Dawnguard quest line.

I was originally just going to rewrite the quest "Destroying the Dawnguard" as I got to play it for the first time last week and was incredibly disappointed. But then as I was starting to get more into the writing, I realized that rewriting almost the entirety of the DLC would make everything fit together a bit nicer.

So I did that.

Content warning for death/undeath, and kidnapping people. Spoilers for Skyrim's Dawnguard DLC.

Main Issues with the Original DLC:

Agmaer is Wasted Potential.

Agmaer is the first person the Dovahkiin meets as part of the DLC, originally met as the player is heading the Fort Dawnguard. I'm describing him because by the time I got around to killing the members of the Dawnguard, I had completely forgotten who he was. He's also the main reason for me rewriting this entire quest line, rather than just that one quest.

It seems odd to me. He is introduced in a similar way to the rival figures in the Pokémon games, like someone who is important, and will be a familiar face continuing forward, either as an antagonist or a friend. But nothing really came of it.

The Final Boss is Disappointing.

Lord Harkon doesn't do much of interest during his final fight. He only runs and teleports around the cathedral while throwing a few spells. By the time you get to it, the gargoyles are no longer a threat, and the fight isn't difficult, just long.

It's not the main final boss, but the process of destroying the Dawnguard is stupid easy. If the Dawnguard was supposed to be a force to match the vampires, they should have been a bit harder to kill.

There is a Clear Power Imbalance.

Adding on to the last point, killing the Dawnguard is easy once the player uses the vampire lord form, with most of the characters going down in a couple hits. Of course, this is due to how I leveled up my character's vampiric abilities, but I'm not the only one who put all their points into draining health.

While taking the Dawnguard side allows the player to remain a werewolf, there is no added bonus to make the group particularly worthy opponents of vampires.

There is No Truly Evil Option.

I understand Harkon makes a good boss fight, and that it's kinda hard to have a solid fight with someone you want to see succeed. But I want to kill people and cause as many problems as possible. Let me black out the sun.

Stuff I Think has Potential:

Some characters seem like they could be neat.

Agmaer. I mean Agmaer.

Serana is also chill.

Fura Bloodmouth mentions Feral Vampires.

It's a shame these aren't actually separate enemies from the usual enemy vampires. It would add some variation to the hoards of draugr in caves.

Actually Fixing Stuff:

New Enemies:

Baby Trolls:

A smaller, and faster version of adult trolls. These spawn either alone or in pairs around adult trolls in caves and other locations trolls decide to hang around while eating campers or waiting to attack the Dragonborn who just wants to learn a new shout with the Greybeards.

They come in two variations: snow and generic, and spawn matching the version of adult troll they spawned near.

They drop the same items as their adult counterparts, but when they die, cry out, alerting all the other trolls in the area of your location.

Feral Vampires

Essentially Skyrim's version of Fallout's feral ghouls, or a vampire version of the werewolves the player fights while taking down the Silver Hand with the Companions.

They can be occasionally found outside of the DLC quests, and if found before first joining the Dawnguard, they have an increased chance of transferring vampirism to the player.

They kinda look like the Falmer, but more bloody and bat-like, sometimes crawling or nesting along walls and ceilings.

Half Thralls

Either thralls who escaped their vampire masters, or some people who were bitten by a feral vampire and did not receive the proper treatment.

When encountered in the wild, they will often be found wearing bloody rags, and running, unwilling to stop and talk. When they do stop, they are skittish and complain of hunger. This version is the most common in northern Skyrim. As part of bands of bandits, or as NPCs in a town, they wear the appropriate outfit.

The main difference between them and a normal person is the half thrall's pale, sunken skin and eyes, something that doesn't change, even once they leave servitude.

Some quest relevant NPCs might be half thralls, and while they exist outside the DLC, the Dovahkiin only learns about them as part of the side quests relating to them.

At least one member of Namira's Coven is a half thrall.

Dawnguard - Exclusive Abilities:

Revolves around a hatred for the undead, and a bit of a phoenix theme.

Passive:

Complete resistance to vampire venom.

Health, magicka, and stamina don't regenerate at night without killing the undead or daedra.

Health and speed are slightly boosted while in sunlight or during the day.

Toggled Form:

The Dawnguard version of the vampire lord.

Undead and daedra that come close are automatically weakened and take damage.

New restoration and fire spells become available, and normal ones become more powerful.

Similarly to werewolves, the form is sustained and improved by killing the undead.

In some rare situations, there is a 10% change that, when knocked to 0 health, the player will go into a coma, and wake up at dawn the next day with a quarter of their full health restored.

New Plot:

its long (:

Learn About the Quest Line:

The presence of vampires starts to increase once the player gets to the right level.

The player is asked to protect a set of merchants on a trip through an area where a number of vampire attacks have been occurring. The Dawnguard had been contacted to help, but no one ever showed up, and the group needs to get moving

After defending the merchants for the duration of the trip, the player is told to seek out the Dawnguard, as the player seems to have some potential as a vampire hunter.

Agmaer was one of the guards for the merchant band, but was staying in town as he was injured. After hearing about what you did, he decides to accompany you to Fort Dawnguard and train/grow stronger with you.

Traveling together, it is fairly obvious you are the better fighter, but he is eager to learn, and hopes to be just as good as you eventually. In some conversations, the Dovahkiin can give him pointers and teach him a few skills. The skills the Dovahkiin helps him with will be the ones he favors the most while fighting later on.

Joining the Dawnguard:

Arriving at the fort, it’s obvious why no one helped the merchants. The group only has three members: Isran, Beleval, and Durak, all busy fighting a small collection of feral vampires, unaligned with the Volkihar Clan.

The Dovahkiin and Agmaer join the battle, and with their help, the feral vampires are killed.

As reward, the two of you get to join the Dawnguard, and will begin training and receive your new armor and weapons the next day. Until then, you get to explore the fort, and talk to the members.

Recruiting Members:

Training begins at sunrise, with you and Agmaer learning how to use the crossbow, and patrolling around the fort. While patrolling, you fight off some level-appropriate bandits or wildlife. It's nothing special, but you remain the more powerful of the two of you.

Isran decides that the guard needs new members, and you should seek out some old friends of his and convince them to join. At this point, you can start to choose whether to bring Agmaer with you or not.

The first or second person you find, Sorine is in a dwarven ruin, seeking out blueprints for dwarven bolts. In order to talk with her, you need to find her in the ruin, and help her get to the blueprints at the end of the dungeon. She joins the Dawnguard after hearing you say that you will help supply her with more blueprints, and that her work will help people.

Found as part of the same quest as Sorine, Gunmar is busy tracking a troll to its cave. The player must join him and help him sneak in to find the nest. Once at the nest, Gunmar sedates and kidnaps the baby troll, and after leaving the cave, can be convinced to join the Dawnguard.

If Agmaer is present, he attracts the attention of the troll mother, and you need to kill it, making Gunmar unhappy with both of you. If not there, or left outside the cave, the quest can be completed stealthily, and Gunmar will be easier to convince.

The day after returning, you are tasked with patrolling the fort and attending another training mission. There are more enemies this time, including a vampire or a few feral vampires. During training, you learn about the creation of a Cure Disease potion, receiving a recipe to keep in your inventory, and get to duel one of the senior members.

At this point, the player has faced enough vampires that they and Agmaer are tasked with a quest to complete together: clear out a cave of vampires, and rescue the hostages.

It’s a basic dungeon crawl, finishing off with killing a boss: an unnamed member of the Volkihar Clan. While they look like other vampires seen so far, their eyes glow and they have the new armor. They are commanding the hostages to dig when first found.

After the battle, Agmaer sees that the hostages are okay. However, the player is not, and becomes shaky on their feet, having been infected during the fight. Rather than use his new skills, Agmaer panics, and you faint as the venom overcomes you.

You wake up back in Fort Dawnguard, to the sound of a new voice talking with Isran. Agmaer brought you back, where Florentius, who just arrived with Celann, was able to heal you before you turned completely.

After Isran leaves, Florentius tells you that you were lucky to survive, and that Agmaer had better pray to Arkay for protection from Isran.

Florentius and Celann now stay at the fort, having decided on their own to join together, despite not having great experiences with Isran in the past.

Celann has been changed from a traditional fighter-style character to an alchemist, while Florentius is an enchanter/mage. They share a room/bed, and wear matching enchanted rings. When asked, Florentius will say they met when he was helping the Vigalents of Stendarr, and Celann will say it was when he healed Florentius after a skirmish. Though not explicitly stated, they are married.

(I understand the appeal of stories about queer characters being queer. However, I prefer to see them in stories where the sexuality of a character does not matter. In my opinion, it helps to normalize it, and appeals to a wider audience, myself included.)

Bring Serana to Her Father.

Isran is concerned by what Agmaer said happened, specifically the presence of a member of Harkon’s court. Given a few new Cure Disease potions, you are tasked to go alone back to the cave, and find what the vampire was looking for. Agmaer is not allowed to go with you, being confined to the fort for some time.

At the cave, the Dovahkiin can use Unrelenting Force to break down a wall, and enter the dungeons where Serana is found. Here, the main enemies are draugr and some feral vampires.

Serana does not need to be changed, and the next part follows the original storyline, with the player bringing her to her father.

Split Paths:

Like in the original, they player can become a member of Harkon’s court, being promised a never ending feast and glorious power. Or, they can return to the Dawnguard, never to return. Returning to the Dawnguard gives you a different set of bonuses (listed above).

Agmaer does the opposite of the player. Should the player return to Fort Dawnguard, they will learn that he ran away, likely to not return. He joins the Volkihar Clan, becoming the vampire lord the Dovahkiin could have been. If you stay with the vampires, he becomes the Dawnguard version of the vampire lord.

Moving Forward as Usual:

Move forward as usual with the quest line.

When asked about her family, Serana talks about her father trying to receive more power from Molag Bal, leading him to try and darken the sun to gain his favor.

Agmaer is part of the group with the moth priest, and shows up at a few other fights.

Vampire Player: He’s furious and screaming at the Dovahkiin, saying that you let him down, and that he and the rest of the Dawnguard though you had died while finding Serana. He dies, but comes back from the dead later.

Dawnguard Player: He’s still mad, but this time he’s also laughing, claiming that he’s finally found a way to be better than you. This is where it's revealed he became a vampire lord. He escapes the fight.

After collecting Areil’s bow and leaving the hidden vale/dark cave, he attacks again, and either escapes or comes back from the dead.

Killing Lord Harkon:

Three phases this time, with a redesigned cathedral, because more room would make the battle a bit more fun.

Harkon is in his human form, using a combination of magic and melee weapons. When things get too bad for him, he raises skeletons and draugr from the piles of bones.

This time in his vampire lord form, but he actually attacks the player, and doesn’t just run around. Give him some normal vampire lord abilities to make this a bit more fun. This time minions come from the gargoyles still located around the room.

If the Dovahkiin is a vampire lord, Harkon asks for the bow again at this point. Giving it to him makes him trap and sacrifice Serana on the alter, and use the bow, stained with her blood to darken the sun creating the third phase. Should Serana not die, the third section will not occur, and he can be killed after not receiving the bow.

3: Harkon looks like the vampire lord, but more over the top, like he just crawled out of Cold Harbor. He decides that you’re not worth the risk of having around anymore, citing that, like him, you would do anything for power.

Only sunhallowed arrows will hurt him now, so the player needs to steal the bow from the alter, and use their limited supply of arrows to damage him. With larger wings and claws, Harkon starts to crawl along the walls and ceilings, with the player shooting him or the ceiling to knock him down. He finally dies when knocked to the alter from the ceiling after his health has been lowered.

It’s side quest time! There’s a list of some more quest options after the plot.

Kill Agmaer (for vampire players):

The Dawnguard gets a message from a town guard, saying the caravan from the beginning was traveling through the same woods as they were prior, but have not arrived at their destination.

The caravan members are all dead when they’re found, with Agmaer over the bodies. After monologuing for a bit, he resurrects them and becomes a vampire lord, the same kind as stage three Harkon.

Rather than crawl on a ceiling and walls, he flies/jumps between trees. Killing him ends the main quest line for the DLC.

Kill the Dawnguard:

Beleval, Celann, and Durak all patrol in/around the fort or protect the entrance and will attack on sight. A back entrance can be used to sneak past them, but they need to be killed.

Gunmar: guarding the entry hall to the fort, with two trained trolls. The healing spell/mist that stops you if you’re a vampire earlier in the Dawnguard path is active now. It can be turned off with a lever on the balcony on the second floor, or you can just fight. The mist will lower your health while healing any enemies if not shut off.

Florentius Baenius: caught off guard in his little work area, you have the option to sneak up and kill him, or start talking before fighting. Before dying, or noticing you’re there, he asks if the noises he’s hearing are Celann, and starts looking around for him. When actually fighting him, he’s that annoying enemy that heals himself halfway through the fight that no one likes. His magic is more powerful, and magical runes are placed around the room.

Sorine Jurard: A new part of the fort has been opened up, into a small cave system. To kill her, the Dovahkiin needs to work their way past dwarven styled traps and dysfunctional automatons. She fights with a crossbow using various dwarven bolts.

Isran/Agmaer: The two are found at the end of that obstacle course. Have a fun conversation, probably about how you failed them, where Agmaer says that he’s finally surpassed you, and thinks that you should die. The two fight you at the same time. Agmaer falls back to Isran for protection when his health gets too low, and ideally, he would die last. Once dead, the main plot for the DLC is over.

New Side Quests:

Feral Vampires:

Dawnguard Players: Hunt down set numbers of feral vampires for bounties, or save small camps and towns from small swarms.

Vampire Players: Lead groups of feral vampires to towns or hunting camps. They’re attracted to the smell of fresh blood, can be herded, or may follow the Dovahkiin or another more powerful vampire.

Find Artifacts/Items:

Dawnguard Players: Usually supplies for Sorine, in the form of metals, blueprints, and enchanted weapons. These are the same items that, if the player was a vampire, would be seen implemented in Sorine’s bossfight.

Vampire Players: Same as the original. I really can’t think of much that I would change here.

Hunting Half Thralls:

Dawnguard Players: Find and help/escort half thralls to Fort Dawnguard, where Florentius and Celann can help them. Or, the player can be asked by the half thrall’s family to find them after they go missing.

Vampire Players: One of the thralls escapes the castle, and the player needs to hunt them down, either to take them back to the castle (using the seduction ability), or kill them. Bringing them back to the castle will have a better reward.

This helps to cement the vampires as morally corrupt, and gives players looking to play as an evil character some more options. Of course, if witnessed, kidnapping someone would be considered a crime and have the usual repercussions. The player can also be tasked by the thrall master to find potential thralls and bring them to the castle.

I have a few more issues with the DLC, mostly surrounding the vampire NPCs being forgettable, but they could be fixed with some new armor versions and giving Lord Harkon a new personality. However, this is just going over the story line, and I wanted this to still feel like the original. If I can find the motivation, I’ll make a couple different vampire and Lord Harkon concepts for a different rework.

Critique is always welcome, and I hope you have a nice day/night! (:

[spywitch]

The more times I play the companions questline the more rushed, bizarre and shitty it seems.

The way they say they’ve never heard of you and treat you like some “whelp” at first no matter what other things you’ve done in the game lmfao. I don’t know why the entire game never has any sort of infamy for you besides comments from the guards, vs oblivion where the minute you help save one little town the entire country calls you a hero.

After doing like 3 little errands Skjor and Aela being like YUP you gotta become werewolf

The beast blood thing being treated like some “curse” but like… nothing forces them to partake in it, besides peer pressure. They could hmm idk simply Not force new members like you to do it right away without considering the consequences or really making it a choice.

Skjor dying like immediately in the dumbest way possible. Then right after Aela is like “He shouldn’t have gone in alone without a shield-brother 😢” she sends you. Alone. To go kill more of these dudes.

None of the quests seeming that cool or “honorable.” Just their personal vendetta against this pretty borimg and undeveloped werewolf hunting bandit dudes + murdering a few hagravens. They could have made the silver hand a faction that split off from the companions when they became werewolves. Even as some simple “werewolf bad” people they at least could have had some sort of leader(s) with some development like the dawnguard. Some personality, explaination of how they know the companions are werewolves, maybe a reason why the companions specifically are such a big target despite most people seeing them as good people, why they don’t decide to just try to expose them to the town/jarl or something. There even couldve been a political aspect since we know they align with the grey manes and therefore pretty much the stormcloaks.

Aela being a huge bitch by basically being the one who gets Kodlak killed and then not giving a shit about his dying wish to go to Sovngarde 😂

Kodlak’s journal just being weird as hell, him having some obsession with you from a dream he had about you before he even meets you. He talks to you briefly like twice but decides already you have a better temperment than every other clown in that place and should be harbinger…Even though he didn’t really like what Skjor and Aela were doing and you just blindly went along with doing their errands behind his back.

Kodlak’s journal actually mentioning you should be harbinger “in time” after “much counsel” and him sharing wisdom with you. Yet its still just decided you should be harbinger right away anyway.

Vilkas rightfully seeming a bit hesitant about making you harbinger, but again just going along with it. Cuz sure u gotta be the most coolest dude in every faction by default in skyrim

Just general lack of interesting or developed lore. There was more potential for these alleged “honorable true nords” trying to embody Ysgramor’s companions to pass down some knowledge of the thu’um, or other ancient nord wisdom and history. Some secret knowledge about the falmer or dragons/the dragon cult, connection to the shit in Saarthal, something. But they just seem like a bunch of petty mercenaries who became werewolves for power. Pretty 👎💩

[madam-whim]

Aela and Rumarin just attempted murder and I got blamed for it

For context: Rumarin (from interesting NPCS in case anyone really doesn’t know him) was my follower at the time I decided to go ahead with the Companions quest line on my LDB, Rienn.

Now, Rienn, in her own version of the story, never becomes a werewolf and isn’t even present for the whole Silver Hand business. Ingame, however, she didn’t have a choice, and so she got turned. 

My usual method of dealing with the transformation is to just stay in front of the door to the Underforge until I get teleported to Gallow’s Rock. Nobody’s ever seen me there and nothing’s ever happened. However, I hadn’t counted on the AI mod that makes NPCs behave a little bit more like actual people working as well as it did. 

And so I’m standing there waiting, and just as my werewolf time is about to run out, guess who walks around the corner? 

Hrongar. The Jarl’s brother. I have never seen this man outside Dragonsreach and now he decides to go for a stroll in the middle of the night? My screen starts to go dark. The last thing I see is Rumarin summoning his bound swords. I wake up at Gallow’s Rock. Rumarin isn’t next to me, but since he has the tendency to vanish sometimes, I’m not worried yet. Aela says her usual bit of dialogue, and then I walk up to the fortress and go inside. And I immediately notice that Aela is no longer with me. That’s... not normal.

I go back out to check if she’s still fighting some Silver Hand dude I missed. But instead, she is literally nowhere to be seen. As in, detect life reveals nothing in the area. 

Okay, I think. As Rienn is standing there, totally confused because both her followers are suddenly gone, I’m considering my options. I try using the console to teleport Aela to me, but that just results in her being stuck in combat and running into a rock. Reload it is then.

My next idea is to teleport to Aela to find out what happened and where she was stuck before. So I do that and guess where I end up? In Dragonsreach. In the Jarl’s family’s rooms, to be precise. And what was it that my poor Rienn walked into there, you may ask... 

She found Rumarin and Aela trying to murder Balgruuf’s poor bro. The man was sitting behind his bed, cowering in fear as these two repeatedly hit him. As I’m desperately trying to reset their AI so these three essential NPCs will stop beating each other, two guards walk in.

I manage a quiet “Oh shit” and Rienn jumps out of the way as the guards charge at Aela and Rumarin, only for those two agents of chaos to turn around and straight-up slaughter the guards. At this point I’m beginning to panic because my last hard save was from three levels (and several hours) ago when I was stuck in the Falmer Cave Of Doom that Farkas sent my level 10 ass to, apparently in an attempt to get rid of me. I do not want to go back there.

I hear children screaming. Oh great, so now Balgruuf’s kids are awake and aware of the mess. I sprint towards their room in hopes that I can at least reset them before this gets worse. I round the corner and BOOM, lightning to the face! Irileth is there, throwing herself between the kids and Rienn, slinging spells at her even though she has literally done nothing at all here.

I have no idea what to do anymore. I’m starting to think this is a lost cause when it hits me. My girl Rienn is Imperial. She has the Voice of the Emperor power. 

So she channels her inner Martin Septim and, in a very pacifist way, yells at everyone involved to calm the fuck down. 

Irileth, Rumarin and Aela sheathe their weapons. The kids stop screaming. Hrongar crawls out from behind his bed. Everybody ignores the dead guards on the floor.

Rienn grabs Aela with her right hand and Rumarin with the left and proceeds to drag them out of Dragonsreach in record time and got them the hell out of Whiterun. 

I would like to add that I would like to blame Skjor for the whole thing, since the wolf thing was his idea in the first place.

[spiritamongdarkness]

30 Day Oc Development Meme - Khiroth

1.) Describe your character's relationship with their mother or their father, or both. Was it good? Bad? Were they spoiled rotten, ignored? Do they still get along now, or no? Khiroth never really had a relationship with his biological parents since before he can remember. They were strict when they weren’t absent. As a baby, they left all of his care to a wet nurse. When they went into hiding, he was supposed to be sent to them, but the caravan was attacked and they were separated. He eventually did find them but not until much later. By then he was already grown. All they cared about was him helping them to carry out their revenge on House Redoran. However, they were disgusted to learn that he was a vampire so Khiroth decided not to pursue a relationship with them any further.

His adopted brother Irolere’s father raised him for a short time until he was killed by a Stormcloak soldier in an unprovoked attack. Khiroth wasn’t with him long enough to really get to know him.

Both boys were adopted by a nord family who had a daughter named Faye. Her parents were lax in their parenting, but very nurturing. They did have a set of rules laid out that they expected them to follow. He loved them almost as if they were his own parents, even though he felt out of place, being the only Dunmer.

After the happenings with the Dark Brotherhood, Khiroth has come to have a sense for the Night Mother as his real mother.

2.) What are your characters most prominent physical features?

His most notable features is his angular facial structure. His brow line and cheek bones protrude a bit, making his forehead and cheeks look sunken in slightly.

His skin has paled out some and his eyes gained a reddish glow since becoming a vampire, but it doesn't look too odd for a Dunmer.

3.) Name one scar your character has, and tell us where it came from. If they don't have any, is there a reason?

I haven’t really thought about it. No scars seems too good to be true and just one scar seems cliché. He possibly could have some, but not as many as others considering he is the stealthy type. That doesn’t mean he wouldn’t have gotten hit by an attack. I haven’t decided yet. I have to think, and weigh his lifestyle and experiences. Putting into account that he is always active and is rarely caught before he strikes, the first blow is usually fatal depending on who the target is. He would have battled dragons, draugr, brainwashed cultists, Miraak, assassinated many people, dodged traps, escaped when the sanctuary was set on fire, been attacked by the Penitus Oculatus, Morag Tong, Dawnguard, bandits, falmer, wild beasts, and the random attacker on the streets. He was also blown up and nearly killed.

4.) How vain is your character? Do they find themselves attractive?

He has no opinion about himself in that way, if not a bit doubtful of things in general.

5.) What's your character's ranking on the Kinsey Scale?

I would say he is a 2. He isn’t entirely bi sexual, but it’s possible he could be interested in a male partner if there was one.

6.) Describe your character's happiest memory.

The happiest time in his life was probably when they were taken in by their nord family even though they were still saddened by what happened just before. The happiest memory in itself was when Khiroth and Irolere got used to Faye’s parents and they felt like a real family.

7.) Is there one event or happening your character would like to erase from their past? Why?

There was an incident from his childhood that he would like to forget. His curiosity got the better of him and he snuck into a neighbor’s house to have a look at one of their books. He was discovered. The older man was very rough with him and out of fear Khiroth accidentally set fire to the house, killing them.

He also doesn’t like to think about when they saw Irolere’s father killed in front of them and were nearly attacked themselves; how horrified and grief stricken his brother looked.

8.) Day of Favorites! What's your character's favorite ice cream flavor? Color? Song? Flower?

They don’t have much in Skyrim since it is set back in the Nordic era, but his favorites are as follows. His favorite food was cheese. His favorite dessert was snowberry crostata. His favorite drink is Sadri’s Sujamma. If he had a favorite flower, it would probably be Nightshade. His favorite song is likely a random tune Cicero was humming, he hears it often enough. His favorite time of the day is the middle of the night. Lastly, his favorite color is red.

9.) Who does your character trust?

Khiroth was skeptical at first but he trusts Cicero, with his life in fact later in their story, once he gained his resolve over everything that’s happened and what that meant for him.

He trusts his adopted siblings wholeheartedly. He used to trust the leader of the Dark Brotherhood Astrid, but that trust soon waned even before the end. He once trusted the other members of the Dark Brotherhood, more so as he earned their respect. He questions that now after Astrid’s betrayal, he couldn’t help but wonder who else spoke about him behind his back and felt the same as she did. He still trusts Nazir and Babette since they proved to be loyal to him.

10.) Can you define a turning point in your character's life? Multiples are acceptable.

You could say the turning points in his life were when he carried out the first contract to kill the cruel headmistress of the Riften orphanage, when he was chosen as Listener, and again when he decided to spare Cicero against orders. It could also be when it was discovered that he was Dragonborn. Or his real turning point would have been when he fully accepted those roles and became comfortable in them.

11.) Is there an animal you equate with your character?

For some reason I think of the Fire Salamanders from Harry Potter.

12.) How is your character with technology? Super savvy, or way behind the times? Letters or email?

He is up to date with commonly used tools and learns quickly, but he doesn’t know about  complicated arcane equipment or the advanced technology that was used by the Dwemer that well. Which is why he often asks Vyryor to go with him if he needs to delve deep into some Dwemer ruins.

13.) What does your character's bed look like when he/she wakes up? Are the covers off on one side of the bed, are they all curled around a pillow, sprawled everywhere? In what position might they sleep?

Moderately disheveled. The blanket and the pillow are still on the bed and almost in the same position as when he went to bed. He doesn’t really toss and turn. He sleeps on his side with an arm in front of his chest and the top leg slightly bent. How any troubled, guarded man might sleep.

14.) How does your character react to temperature changes such as extreme heat and cold?

His race originates from the ashlands so I would think he could withstand any harsh climate, considering he was raised in a tundra region since he was a boy. Dunmer have 50% resistance to fire, even though he is a vampire now, extreme heat shouldn’t bother him.

15.) Is your character an early morning bird or a night owl?

A night owl, he usually completes his contracts at night and sleeps during mid day.

16.) Are there any blood relatives that your character is particularly close with, besides parents and siblings? Are there any others that your character practically considers a blood relative?

He has no other blood relatives besides his parents, that he knows of or cares to know about, and they are on bad terms. He considers his adopted siblings and the Dark Brotherhood to be his true family.

17.) What's your character's desk/workspace look like? Are they neat or messy?

He does not have a workspace in that regard. He doesn’t even use the torture chamber. But he keeps his living quarters fairly neat with a few things out of place. He’s not a sloppy person and neither are his kills, except for the blood splatter.

18.) Is your character a good cook? What's their favorite recipe, whether they're good or not?

No, he’s not the best but he manages. Out of the 3 siblings he would be the worst at it. However, the food he prepares doesn’t taste bad. He likes to warm some cheese by the fire just to the melting point and eat it with a bit of bread or corned beef, sort of like a cheese fondue. Now he doesn’t need to eat, but has to feed on occasion.

19.) What's your character's preferred means of travel?

On foot mostly, sometimes riding horseback. It’s too easy to catch an assassin traveling by carriage, they are likely slow.

20.) Does your character have any irrational fears?

To be lost or to lose one’s self. Which may not be so ‘irrational’ at all since fate has decided to make him its play thing.

21.) What would your character's cutest feature be?

Personally, I think he’s cute but others might think he’s ugly. It could be because I’m his ‘mother’/creator. It’s not a physical feature but I think the cutest thing about him is that he has a soft spot for family and friends.

23.) Is your character superstitious?

No, not at all. He believes in supernatural things but that doesn’t make him paranoid or avoid anything no more than being careful when entering a tomb, which is common sense.

24.) What might your character's ideal romantic partner be?

Really ...I..don’t… know….. and it’s driving me CRAZY!!! Lol. I prefer all of my Ocs to have a pairing and for some reason I just can’t come up with anything for him. I imagine she would be dark, macabre, perhaps outgoing, easy-going, unpredictable, and sure of herself.

25.) Describe your character's hands. Are they small, long, calloused, smooth, stubby?

As a mer, his hands are bigger than a human’s but is average size for an elf. They aren’t rough since he hasn’t really done any hard manual labor, unless using fire magic or light weapons thickens the skin.

26.) Now dislikes!

Khiroth would never eat a goat’s leg or dog meat. He would rather not do public killings. He dislikes running, swimming, crowds, and judgment from others. He doesn’t really like any other alcoholic drink. His least favorite plant is the nirnoot because it’s prickly and the noise it makes bothers his heightened hearing. His least favorite time of day is high noon when the sun is most intense.

27.) Pick two songs that describe your character at two different points of their life, and explain why you chose them.

He has none surprisingly. Most of my main Ocs have them but not him yet, and it’s not as easy as you would think to find one. I will have to update this answer later.

28.) If your character's life was a genre, what would it be?

Maybe a mix between Horror, Action, and Drama.

29.) How does your character smell? Do they wear perfume or cologne?

I imagine he smells.. earthy? Getting dirt on you was very common and I don’t think dry blood has a smell… and he wouldn’t stick around long enough for his victim’s bodies to rot. There might be a slim possibility that he smells like burnt flesh. He does bathe fairly regularly, perhaps not as often as his brother Irolere but still.

30.) Write a letter to your character, from yourself.

My Khiroth,

I apologize for everything I put you through and that I’m going to put you through. I believe that it will only make you a stronger character in the long run and you will be better off for it. To be fair, it wasn’t all my idea, Bethesda is partly to blame. I am very proud of how well you endured and I support the decisions you made. Try not to brood as much and face the world with some certainty. Continue to rebuild the legacy of the Dark Brotherhood, and keep an eye on Cicero so he doesn’t get into too much trouble.

P.S. Please help me out in deciding a pairing for you, I’m at a loss..

                                                                                   Love Always,

                                                                                        Mother

[jean-the-traveler]

Greetings friends. It is I, Jean Pierre, a humble Breton at your service. With this device I hope to educate on my discoveries of this beautiful yet horrendously dangerous land that is Skyrim. I have decided to settle here after finding a husband, a man I cannot live without, and I hope to welcome you all with open arms.

As for myself, here are some facts about my personal life for those who are interested. My name is Jean Pierre. I am a Breton born in High Rock, but I lived most of my life in Cyrodiil with my parents, who were nobles and dealt heavily with politics. When I was a young man sprouting his first chin hairs I decided to set out on my own and travel, having no interest in a noble's lifestyle or politics. I wanted to see all of Tamriel and I've mostly accomplished just that, the only exception being the swamps of Black Marsh, for even I feared the deepest parts of it. But no matter, my favorite place had to be Skyrim. Something about the land just drew me in, and I found that something. A man named Farkas, a member of a guild in Whiterun called the Companions. Apparently they're the kin of Ysgramor himself! Farkas and I married shortly after meeting and live in a cosey house in Whiterun so that he may continue to hunt with his Shield-Siblings. We've even adopted a child, a little girl named Sissel who's father had a, shall we say, untimely demise. My housecarl Lydia stays with her whenever Farkas and I are out on the road.

I will try my best to decipher the secrets of this land, knowing it's far more ancient than even the Nords themselves. I hope to learn more about the people before known as the Ice Elves, or as everyone around here calls them the Falmer. I've made some discoveries, however not many. I will keep everyone posted on anything I can find about this mythical race. Wish me well, and I'll return once I accomplish something.

[curiouscarllee]

Hello, I'm making a list of my OCs with a bit of art and information! I am doing this because I feel as though I post a lot about my characters without ever providing any detail, so, here you go :) On top of this, I'd like to state that I am always intrested in hearing about your ocs as well, you are more than welcome to send me an ask about them or about my own characters :)

Fairlynn: My Main

Fairlynn is a bosmer, he is the Hero of Kvatch and also Sheogorath. He is a tad unpredictable and has some mental issues in regards to mirroring the mad god and myself. Fairlynn was 28 when he started with saving the world, only 29 when it ended and full of grief with Martin's passing. This drove him to the Shivering Isles in hopes that he could persuade a daedric prince to revive his beloved. That's not at all how it went down, upon noticing this realm was not one of a stronger prince, Fairlynn was tempted to leave the plane but found himself infatuated with it instead.

After a few years, the princes sensed a danger approaching, one in the form of an imperial male that had the possibility of defeating them. Therefore, they agreed to send one of themselves down to nirn in an attempt to stop it. Unfortunately, they chose Fairlynn to get the job done and yeeted him down where the bosmer began to gather enforcments in the form of other people which he thought would become allies when they grew older.. But what he didn't expect was the imperial managed to befriend every. Single. One. Of the people Fairlynn had set on course to hate the man, none of them truly did. That's the exact moment where he went, "if you can't beat em' join em'." And promptly joined the group in his mortal form without revealing to them who he was. Instead the group thinks he's just a skooma addict that is talented in the ways of fighting. They have no idea.

Ragnar

This is that imperial male stated in the last description. This man is destined to destroy the influence of the daedric princes on the mortal people, however, he has the intelligence of a box of rocks and everyone doubts this prophecy to be true. The only time one can possibly think this true is when he displays his power in the midst of battle, he was blessed by the divines at birth, each giving him power to defeat the evil of the world. He his bound to use it.. But he never uses it for good, I mean,, why would he? He could kill anyone he wants! No way he's gonna be the "good hero"! (Basically, this was my brother's character and he used mods to make him op so I had to improvise.)

Past wise, my brother and I decided to intertwine him with the lore. You rememeber the song Ragnar the Red? That was Ragnar's father. In truth, his name should be Ragnar the second or Ragnar Jr. but his mother, Matilda, said "hahahaha, no, your father was a mess and you shall not be him." and removed the second part. After his mother died of a sickness, Ragnar hesitantly moved towns in search of work. He missed his mother greatly and would give anything to have her back.

S'arra

Meet S'arra, she is a khajiit female and the heart of the group (along side another who you'll meet shortly). S'arra is the youngest, she may be sweet but she'll rob you blind if she sees a chance. S'arra came from a happy family in Elsywer, she was the child of F'awn and Ja'zaka, two khajiit with completely different sets of morals. Ja'zaka was a born bandit, he was wild and carefree, F'awn (My friends oc :)) was a gentle and caring woman, she loved to live. When F'awn got pregnant, her brother, J'ar, lost his mind. J'ar was fueled with anger towards Ja'zaka and at one point made an attempt at his brother-in-law's life. It was at that moment J'ar was kicked from F'awn's life, he ran from his home and joined a vampire clan/bandit group in Skyrim.

Only months after her birth, Ja'zaka disappeared. He ran and never came back. F'awn tried her best to raise S'arra, but one morning S'arra was taken from her by a rabid animal that invaded the town. The creature took off with S'arra and lead the small khajiit to it's den where a caravan traveling to Skyrim would soon find her and take her with them, raising her as their own on the roads of Skyrim. The caravan was killed and attacked by a certain bandit group/vampire clan (hahaha, yup, the one J'ar is in). S'arra joined the group in hopes of revenge, although, she'll keep that bit to herself. ;)

Adoren

Now this orc, oh he's amazing. He is an old man, a precious old man with a past of pain and betrayal. In order to introduce his past, we need to introduce his adpoted brother first:

Zanik

This is Adoren's adopted brother, Zanik (grandson of Nellie), a not so nice older man. Zanik was thrown out by his father a young age, more precisely, he was thrown in a river by his father in one of his father's crazed fits. Zanik can't swim, he hates water more than anything else in his life. The dunmer was washed to shore near an orc stronghold where he was picked up by Adoren and adopted by the orcs family. Zanik and Adoren lived happily for many many years, one day they went on an exploration to scout for different hunting grounds. It started to pour causing the two to take shelter in a dwemer ruin. That's when they heard soft groaning and sounds of pain coming from down one of the halls. Hesitantly, they explored. Only to find:

Kidawe

My most lore breaking character! Meet Kidawe, a small snow elf from one of the last remaining villiages of falmer! Now, yes, I am breaking the lore because, since when has canon lore stopped me? Kidawe lived on top of the mountains to the north of Cyrodiil and the South of Skyrim. His village is small and portable, in case they need to move, the tribe of elves is shrouded in mystery, they've managed to live this long and refuse to leave their mountain. Kidawe doesn't listen to that, he runs off each night in search for dwemer ruins, things he find more then interesting. The young elf holds no fear when he's in his element, and he loves to explore. One evening, while in a ruin he is attacked by a vampire/bandit named Raeferth (the leader) who pushes him to join the group, trying to convince the snow elf that his expertise is needed. Kidawe refuses and then engages in battle with the nord, he looses and ends up pinned under a fallen pillar that crushes his arm.

Upon waking up after falling unconscious from the pain, Kidawe is met with the sight of Adoren and Zanik standing over him. After many many months of trust building, the two get Kidawe to befriend them. Kidawe uses their help to fashion himself a new arm from dwarven parts found in the ruin. After a few years, Kidawe disappears. He was taken by force by Raeferth (the others do not know this). Adoren and Zanik are heart broken. They miss their friend greatly.

Adoren/Zanik Pt.2

After losing Kidawe, these two go off and join a bandit group.. Yes the same vampire clan group. Adoren thrives in the group, he his strong and more then willing to get his hands dirty. Zanik.. Not so much. Zanik is only kept around because of Adoren. They all know not to mess with Zanik or else they mess with Adoren.

After spending a few years with them, Adoren decides he can't continue this. Zanik begs him not to leave, trying to make the orc realize that this group will not let them go without hurting them. Adoren doesn't listen and leaves the bandits, later that day the stronghold is burnt to the ground. Adoren looses everything in the fire, his parents pass away, his friends and family. Instead of processing lose normally, he makes it up in his head that the reason Zanik was warning him was because Zanik had a hand in it. Therefore the two fight and Adoren punches Zanik, he's wearing a ring that catches under Zanik's flesh and pratically tears off his cheek leaving the dunmer with a horrible scar. Adoren warns Zanik never to speak with him again.

Which of course doesn't stand because after they grew up into old men, they cross eachother's paths once more. They both join up with the good guy group at different times, Adoren joins first after he finds them in his house, and Zanik joins when he is once again found washed up on the shore.

Zorlin

Not much on this boio, he was my first oc in the Elder Scrolls. He's an argonian heavy set warrior. Zorlin is silent and cut throat, he is a part of the Brotherhood and only joins the good guy group after his brother, Tu'ru is 'murdered' by Raeferth.

Tristane

There is so much on him. I'm just going to do bullet points:

Born in Skyrim 200+ years ago. He never knew his true parents and was instead brought up by a wealthy noble family. They more kept him around for labor.

He befriends 3 local kids, Mayrn (breton like him), Raeferth (nord trouble maker), and Lynik (Raeferth's brother).

They all cause problems and Tristane falls in love with Raeferth :D

One day Raeferth claims to have found immortality, Tristane instantly says "No, I'm not doing this." And leaves the friend group, trying to focus on himself.

He is then framed for a crime he didn't commit and sent to Cyrodiil's Imperial Prison. Then he is bailed out by the Emperor and sent to Morrowind.

Morrowind happens, Tristane changes from whining child to even whiner child with the ability to cast spells.

After Morrowind, Tristane travels to Solstiem where he is confronted with Mayrn and Lynik (both as bandit vampires).

Mayrn and Lynik try to force him back to Skyrim to see Raeferth and join them. Tristane, as he said before, says "no". So they kill him.

Now they don't really kill him, they use a method I made up called Soul Gem Reflection. This is something I completely made up but I like it so sue me. I can write an entire post on this alone so we're just gonne say, "Soul gem reflection is a method in which the targets soul is directed towards an object they held dear in life instead of dying. They're life essence is held in the soul gem, but they live in the object."

In this case, Tristane was reflected in his journal.

Lynik felt horrible for doing this to his friend, he felt guilty and returned the journal which he unknowingly relfected the breton in, and gave it to Tristane's family who in turn stuffed the journal in the basement.

Fast forward 200+ years and Adoren buys the manor, finding Tristane's journal inside and opening it. Surprise! Out springs a ghostly figure of Tristane who then convinced Adoren to take him along with the group!

Other Characters:

This is J'ar. He's mentioned above.

Also, here's some more character that aren't affiliated with the group:

-Baendil and Baendal are bosmer brothers, they were abandoned by their parents and instead found by cranky altmer father Kornan. They're bandits (not related to vampires at all). They're bad, not morally wrong but actually just bad at being bandits. They couldn't rob you even if you asked them to.

-I will add more later I'm sure.

[ms-katonic-of-tamriel]

Saw a fic tagged Lady Miraak/Lucien Flavius the other day. 

Oh my god.  That poor man.  He’ll be eaten alive.

OTOH Lady Miraak?? Have some courage and make it male Miraak.  Miraak’s bi as anything, he’ll take one look at this sheltered young Imperial desperate for knowledge of the Dragon Cult and... think things.

Bonus points for Very Sheltered Lucien at one point going “you know, if I were a girl, I’d be really nervous about now!  Because... because you’re a bit terrifying!” (Spoiler alert: Lucien Flavius is really nervous, and Miraak is grinning at him like a born predator.)

Miraak chuckles and tells him to report back for his first lesson the next day then goes off to track down the annoying but definitely Not Straight jester, also from Cyrodiil, because he has to ask, have the norms around same-sex relationships changed that much??

“No, no, only Cicero fears that Mr Flavius is... how can Cicero put this.  Sheltered.  Naive.  Barely twenty years old.  The only child of doting parents.  Has spent his entire existence in academic libraries.  Is likely untouched.  It is entirely possible he has managed to go his entire life blissfully unaware a relationship between two men is even possible.”

Miraak finds this hilarious and decides to have fun with that idea, and Dovahzul and history lessons are interwoven with VERY seductive body language, near-unmistakeable innuendo, getting Lucien all hot and bothered while not actually touching him then backing off immediately.  Eventually Lucien snaps and talks to Kaidan of all people, because he’s confused as all hell, because it’s weird, it’s wrong, he doesn’t understand it, if Miraak was a woman, he’d know it was flirting but Miraak’s a man, men don’t do that to other men, do they?

Kaidan the other bisexual facepalms, wants to know just how they ever let Lucien out on his own, tells him yes they do in fact do that, just as women often go out with other women, it’s perfectly normal and not remotely rare.  And yeah, Miraak’s seducing you.  Or trying to.  Do you need me to have a word with him, because First Dragonborn or no First Dragonborn, he doesn’t get to hassle you.

“No!  No?  I need to think about this.  A lot.  Oh Mara.”

Cicero is the next port of call.  Did you know about this, Cicero?  Men going out with other men?  Cicero stares at Lucien, puts down the anatomical diagram of pain nexuses that he’s been colouring in, looks at him long and hard and then bursts out laughing for a good minute before drying his eyes and nodding.  Yes, Flavius.  Yes, Cicero knew.  Cicero thought everybody knew.

“I didnt know!  Oh gods.  Miraak’s interested in me.  Oh gods.  Cicero, what do I do?”

“You are asking me for romantic advice??  Oh by Sithis... I don’t know!  Are you interested in him or not?”

“I don’t know!  He’s terrifying!”

“Good or bad terrifying?”

“Good... there’s a good terrifying??”

Cicero realises he now has to explain kink as well as queerness and wordlessly gets some books out of his personal collection. 

“Some people like having power removed from them and being rendered utterly helpless while a ruthless, ravishing brute does whatever they like with them.  Other people like taking helpless yet willing victims and having their way with them.  It does not surprise Cicero that Miraak is among them.”

“Which kind is he??”

“He just had five thousand years of Mora rendering him helpless, he’s either VERY keen on it or has had enough.  For you, boy?  Assume it’s the latter.”

Lucien whimpers.  Takes the books.  Runs.  Liriel gave Miraak’s mask to Dragonborn Gallery without hesitation and he’s been bare-faced ever since, with piercing blue eyes and long blonde hair and a smile that could tempt an Aedra to sin.  She let him keep the robes though, having had replicas made for her museum, the originals cleaned and mended, and then returned, and the First Dragonborn had been wearing those whenever Lucien had seen him.  Without the mask they were low-cut, to well below his collarbones, and while they weren’t tight-fitting, it was clear Miraak had muscles under there, and Lucien knew first-hand Miraak could fight with blade as well as magic.

Miraak was terrifying. That was a given.  But Lucien had to know for sure.

Next lesson, Lucien enters the safehouse, sees Miraak sitting by the fire, and Miraak only has to look to know something is wrong.  Different.  Lucien is staring at him and not coming any closer, and Miraak realises that after three and a half months, he’s finally fucking realised.

About time.  Now, what will the young seeker after knowledge do about it.

Silence and it is Miraak who breaks it.

“Is something wrong, goraan?”

“No - yes - have you been flirting with me??”

Bless him, his young student has finally graduated.

“You have finally noticed!  Well done, goraan.  Yes, I have been... how does Tamrielic put it.  Pushing my luck.  Nudging at the boundaries.  Wondering which will fall first.  Note I have not laid a finger on you.  Merely left suggestions in the air.  And despite becoming ever more blatant, you still come back for more.  Why is that, goraani?”

Oh gods, he’s changed to the possessive tense.

“I’m not your... I’m leaving. Right now!  I’m not coming back!  I’m not paying for Dovahzul lessons in sex!”

Surprise on Miraak’s face.  “It was never the intent you should, goraani.  Ah, krosis.  I took advantage of your naivety.  It was wrong.  I apologise.  If you wish to stop the lessons, I understand.  But if not, I will continue - only I promise to behave this time.  You have my word as an Atmoran.”

Atmoran honour and the swearing of a vow were covered early on.  Lucien doesn’t entirely trust him, but at length he sits down and the lessons resume.  Except they’re different.  Miraak is a respectful three feet away at all times.  No breathing down the back of his neck without quite touching.  No innuendo or purring or that damn smile.  Just Miraak being calm and professional and, and... Lucien hates it.  Hates every fucking second of it because walls have gone up, part of Miraak that was on display is now shut off, probably forever and Lucien... Lucien misses it.  Lucien misses the feeling of feeling scared out of his wits but safe at the same time because Miraak wouldn’t really...  Miraak apparently would.  If Lucien asked him.  Lucien does not know how to ask.  Or what to ask for.  But Miraak behind him, trailing a finger down the back of his neck, Miraak’s chest on his back and his arms round his waist... With arms like that, Miraak probably gives really good cuddles.

“Goraan.  You are clearly not paying attention.  If your mind is elsewhere, you are welcome to discontinue until it returns?”

“No!” Lucien gasps. Raised eyebrow from Miraak who wants to know where exactly his thoughts are flying if they are not here, and Lucien can take it no more.

“You. Utter. Bastard!”

Miraak doesn’t even look shocked.  “I am, yes.  Which of my many sins are you referring to?”

“You can’t just... you can’t just do this to me!  You can’t just spend months being all up close and personal and then just... just switch it off like it meant nothing!”

Strange look on Miraak’s face.  “Krosis, Lucien.  I was under the impression my attentions were unwelcome and you wished me to stop.”

“No!  Oh gods.  No.  You utter, utter bastard, I hate you so much, please don’t stop.”

Silence, Lucien’s face going bright red as he realises what’s just come out of his mouth, and he can barely look at Miraak.  Then the chair creaks, Miraak’s footsteps are on the stone floor and then gauntlets are removed, hit the table, and then Miraak’s hands are in his.

“Lokaaliin.  Is that your wish?  Truly?  For me not to?”

Miraak’s voice is gentler than Lucien has ever heard it and he finally looks Miraak in the eye to see the softest smile, one he’d not thought the man capable of, and Miraak’s reaching up to stroke his cheek, cupping his face and Lucien can’t stop himself leaning into his touch. 

“I’m scared, Miraak.”

“It is all right to be.  I have... not had a lover in a long time.  But I have not forgotten how to give pleasure.  I will give it to you if you ask.”

“I don’t even know how to - I’ve never had one!  Oh gods.”

Miraak just smiles and kisses his hand.  “It is all right.  I will take care of you.  It is your wish to move our lessons to a more intimate footing?”

Lucien nods, because Miraak makes him flushed and breathless and eager for... he doesn't even know what for.  Miraak takes him by the hand and leads him to the bedroom upstairs, promising nothing below the waist will happen yet, they can just talk and cuddle, yes?

After all the frantic worrying, for it just to be that is a blessed, blessed relief.  Miraak sheds his circlet, outer layers, strips down to his trousers, kicks off his boots and lies down on the bed, arms open for Lucien and Lucien hesitantly takes off his outer coat and his own boots and goes into Miraak’s arms, and from the moment skin touches skin, it is safety, reassurance, a throbbing strength that allays his fears as Miraak pulls him into his arms and holds him tight, and it takes Lucien a moment to realise Miraak is shaking.

“Are you all right?”

“Krosis.  Yes.  I am well.  I just... I have had no one in my arms like this in millennia.  Ah, goraani, I’m sorry.  Be patient with me.”

Lucien hadn’t expected that.  For all he’d seen Miraak as the scary First Dragonborn, he’d not even realised there was still a human being in there with feelings and vulnerabilities.  That... was a lot less scary, or rather it was still scary in a different way. Goodness, what if he hurt Miraak?  He’d never even thought of it that way round before.  Well.  He’d just need to be gentle, wouldn’t he.  Just as Miraak was presently being with him. 

It would be a few weeks more before sex actually started to happen.  Rather more before they finally told other people they were seeing each other.  Round about the time Liriel takes them both in her party, Lucien’s swarmed by Falmer, and then Miraak promptly immolates them all so fiercely you can’t tell flesh from chitin any more and when all the foes are dead, is frantically checking Lucien over, healing his wounds and then holding him so tightly no one can miss what’s up. 

Liriel has strong words for Miraak, but sees Lucien leap to his defence and at length decides, what the hell, anyone to be a reforming influence on Miraak is a good thing, and Miraak does seem to genuinely care.  Still, she does promise that if he hurts Lucien, she’s coming after him.  Miraak just smiles.  He’d expect no less.

Not so very long after that, Lucien moved into the safehouse with Miraak, and then it turned out his father got him a lead to this Dwemer ruin on Solstheim of all places and who better to go and have a look with him than a Solstheimer?  That led to a whole series of adventures, including that one time Miraak nearly broke up with him for remantling the Dwemer-Daedra entity that had tried to kill Miraak and possess his corpse... but eventually Miraak forgave him.  Even if he decided that if Lucien now had a demon horse, he was getting one, and acquired a Storm Atronach in horse form as his mount.  At least it wasn’t tentacled.

[hyunjin-bun]

The  Good Mistake {Bokuto x Akaashi and Kuroo x Kenma}

synopsis: Where Akaashi and Bokuto have to come to terms with how they feel and Kuroo and Kenma have to discover their feelings.

pairings: Bokuto x Akaashi and Kuroo x Kenma

genre: FLUFF! (or at least trying to be) crack (but like it wasn’t supposed to be that’s just what happened) mutual pining.

warnings: swearing that’s it i guess? (🚩for this chapter there’s a slight panic attack at the end.)

note: Chapter 5 finally..🙌 slighly angsty again but it’ll end happily I promise, and with the way this is going I might end up making it 7 or 8 chapters when my original idea was going to be just 6 but hey ho I’m excited and I hope you are too😄

If you’d like to be tagged just send me an ask (or a message if you feel to awkward with asks cos same👀💛) Enjoy!💕

Reaching Out

They had watched a total of 4 movies and saved a horror for last since it was becoming evening and the best time to watch a horror movie is at night. Or so Kuroo thought. He liked horrors and watched them regularly with Kenma. 

It’s just that sometimes they could get too scary for his liking or just straight-up gory. It was one of the scary ones they were watching tonight and Kuroo found himself flinching every time he heard a screech or saw a shadow in the film.  

The last scene was especially terrifying and he practically jumped. He heard Kenma let out a small snicker next to him, if you could even call it that, it was basically a soft huff of air but Kuroo knew the meaning behind it. “Oh shut up that was scary.” He said as he nudged Kenma’s side. 

Kenma hid it well but he agreed with Kuroo that it was quite scary. He wasn’t a fan of movies that took place underground, and with things that reminded him of the falmer in Skyrim, just grosser, made it worse. Yet he kept his composure a lot better than Kuroo.  

He was a big baby with things like this and Kenma revelled in being able to handle something Kuroo couldn’t, among other things. He smiled to himself while Kuroo snuggled closer. He side-eyed Kuroo and noticed that even though he was scared he was still very interested in the story. 

The dedication of this man made him all warm and fuzzy on the inside even if it was just while watching a movie. He let Kuroo snuggle up to him and it actually made up for the breakdown he had earlier.

When Kuroo had asked him if he was okay earlier he got really scared. The last thing he wanted to do was have to unload his feelings onto Kuroo directly after crying. Yet Kuroo stayed, probably expecting him to talk but even though Kenma didn’t say a word he still stayed. 

He was the most amazing friend anyone could ask for. Kenma tried to imagine what it would be like to be able to be his boyfriend. He couldn’t, he didn’t have the right words to describe how amazing that sounded.

At that moment he thought, fuck it, and put his head on Kuroo’s shoulder. Kenma felt him tense up just a little bit and he almost pulled away thinking he’d overstepped it but in a split second Kuroo relaxed. He stayed like that until his eyes started to feel heavy and he struggled to stay awake and eventually he lost the battle. 

Kuroo felt his face fire up completely when Kenma put his head on his shoulder. He thought he was going to explode when he heard soft little breaths coming from Kenma. Oh my god, he’d fallen asleep on his shoulder.  

Kuroo had recently noticed something about himself during the long hours of working through the countless cases. He missed Kenma, so much. And he’d realised some feelings popping up whenever he looked at him. 

It almost felt the same as when he would go into a volleyball game in high-school or when he stepped up to the front of a courtroom to plead someone’s case. It was butterflies.  It just added extra fire to how much he missed him

This movie-night finally gave him some time to be with him but he wasn’t expecting the guy to fall asleep on his shoulder. Kuroo was starting to get tired too and the movie was finishing up so he decided to take advantage kind of. When Kenma slept he slept like the dead. 

There was no waking him up once he fell asleep so he decided to carefully manoeuvre Kenma into his arms and picked him up to move him onto the bed fully. Kuroo moved the desk back to its original spot and went back to the bed and laid down next to Kenma facing him.  

This allowed him to observe Kenma. He’d done so in the past but not this freely. He had to stop himself from reaching out and running his hand down his face. He looked more peaceful while asleep than when he looked awake which is saying a lot since he looked high most of the time. Eventually, he fell asleep alongside the boy for whom his feelings were growing intensely.  

When Kenma woke up he looked at the clock on his wall and saw it was about 1 in the morning. He got a bit of a fright because when he opened his eyes he saw Kuroo lying close next to him so without waking Kuroo he got up to boot up a game on his pc and opted for headphones so he wouldn’t make too much noise. 

He tried to remember what happened after put his head on Kuroo’s shoulder but as usual, once he falls asleep he down for the count and doesn’t wake up till his body decides its time.  

He opened his game manager and decided on Overwatch and sunk into the game quickly. After about 2 hours of that, he wasn’t feeling especially tired but he had a headache and decided to go back to bed. 

He crawled under the sheets next to Kuroo. He decided to reach out and touch Kuroo’s cheek very lightly just to see how it might feel. His skin was so soft under Kenma’s fingertips; it was enough to send a jolt of surprise through his spine.  

Kuroo squirmed slightly and moved onto his stomach causing Kenma to pull away quickly but Kuroo was faster to open his eyes and caught as Kenma’s hand started to move away. 

Seeing the look of surprise on his face he pulled up to lean on his elbows, “Kenma what’s wrong, are you okay?” Kenma looked at his hand which he had let fall next to him in the space between him and Kuroo, “I-I’m fine.”  

His hand was shaking. Why was his hand shaking? He started to panic a little. What if Kuroo noticed? What if he asked enough questions to get Kenma to spill what was on his mind? 

Noticing the slight distress coming from Kenma, Kuroo slid closer to him and took his hand, “Hey, hey Kenma it's okay. Don’t worry it’s okay.” With the sudden close contact Kenma practically burst into tears and pulled closer to Kuroo.  

Kuroo took this as a sign to wrap his arms around the crying boy and just hold him. He put his hand in his hair and quietly whispered into his ear, “It’s okay Kozume.”

He continued to hold him as the boy in his arms sobbed. The feeling made Kuroo’s heart clench, “Just let it out, Kozume. You know that if you need to talk just come to me and even if you don’t want to talk just know I won’t force anything out of you even though I really want to know what’s happening with you when you say you’re fine. Because I can tell you’re not,” Kuroo had tears forming now because he hated seeing his best friend in such obvious turmoil.

He held him until Kenma stopped crying and his own tears dried up. He realised only after the whole ordeal that he was holding Kenma close to his chest and felt his soft breath on his throat. 

He cared so much for Kenma and was starting to realize it was growing stronger with every passing minute. He didn’t just want Kenma to be his friend anymore, because he wanted him to be his and his only.  

Tagging: @gabbywubby  @shou-kunn @super-noya @thequeenofpotatoeunicornss @pudding-head-kenma @thirsthourdemon @thesecretlifeoflilly

[nightingaletrash]

ESO: Riften Rewrite

Because I don’t particularly care for the Rift storyline in ESO, I decided to completely overhaul it and do something completely different because I can :)

It’s a very long post, so under the cut it goes. Mobile Users, you have my sincere apologies.

No Reachmen

We have enough zones featuring ‘evil Reachmen’ so the Rift won’t feature them. Taking their place is the Daggerfall Covenant, namely soldiers who had served under General Serien and had escaped the taking of Fort Virak by fleeing north into the Rift. They hid out there undetected, and were later discovered by the Worm Cult. The two groups formed an alliance, and began to make plans on how to topple the Pact presence in the region.

Officially the Covenant has declared them deserters and will officially have nothing to do with them, but the soldiers are (mostly) convinced that they're acting in the interest of the Covenant.

No Companions either

I’m not a huge fan of how the Companions are handled in the Rift, or of Ysgramor’s whole deal so the Companions are no longer a major faction in the Rift. That also means no Wuuthrad and no Sinmur; the whole story is being reworked.

Major/Returning Characters

1. Naryu. Obviously.

In my Pact Rewrite, Naryu remains involved with Eastmarch’s storyline after Fort Amol, using her knowledge of alchemy to help stabilise King Jorunn after he’s poisoned, and taking down Fildgor. In the Rift, Naryu - who is now responsible for a positive boost in the Tong’s reputation - has been sent to hunt down and eliminate key figures within the Covenant-Cult Alliance to further improve the Tong’s reputation, helping to facilitate their formal return in Morrowind.

2. Holgunn One-Eye

After finding a suitable successor for leading the defence of Stonefalls, Holgunn is reassigned to oversee the defence of the Rift as he has prior experience with the Covenant and necromancers. He thinks its funny that the last time he saw you, he was your Commanding Officer, and now you’re the Champion of both a Living Goddess and the Skald King.

3. Walks-in-Ash

Walks is also reassigned to the Rift given her experience with the Covenant and necromancers, though she notes that she would have gone with Holgunn regardless. She's a main quest giver, and often provides the Player with direction, and oversees the Pact mages in the Rift.

4. Aera Earth-Turner

She serves a similar role as she does in the in-game questline, serving as a Tracker for the Pact and an inside agent for the Worm Cult, as they promised they could bring back her dead family members. The Player has different options for how they handle Aera throughout the zone up until her betrayal is discovered; they can be cold and dismissive over her struggle, or they can be kind and reassuring.

Depending on how Aera is treated, she will either surrender herself willingly to Pact custody when she is confronted, or she will attack and the Player will be forced to kill her. If she surrenders, there are three options on how to deal with her:

Execute her

Exile her

Pardon her

If she is pardoned, she will be present for the rest of the zone; otherwise she will be absent.

5. The Vanos Siblings

Rather than showing up in one side quest, the Vanos Siblings serve a more major role in the storyline. Kireth sometimes accompanies the Player on missions, while Raynor offers a Researcher role, and both siblings end up attaching themselves to Naryu. She pretends to be exasperated, but she does genuinely like the two of them, and tells the Player that they remind her of some people she knows.

Story Quests

1. Shor’s Stone

Upon arriving in the Rift, the Player arrives at Shor’s Stone and finds it under attack by zombies. Walks-in-Ash is leading the defence; she explains that the undead came from the woods, and that the scouts she sent to investigate haven’t returned. She asks the player to search for them, and discover the source of the zombies.

After battling through the woods and following the trail, the Player will discover Covenant Soldiers murdering and resurrecting the scouts as zombies. Only one survivor is left, and the Player manages to save them by slaying the necromancers. The scout explains that the Covenant has been abducting travellers and the like for some time to accumulate enough bodies to make an army. This ritual site is simply one of many hidden in the region, and the attack on Shor’s Stone was part of some kind of experiment.

After sending the Scout back to Shor’s Stone to report to Walks, the bodies need to be burned and the ritual site destroyed (breaking stones, burning ritual components etc) so that it can’t be used again.

After doing so, the Player returns to Walks who then sends them with one of her mages to capture a zombie. Her reasoning for doing so is that only some of the zombies fell after the ritual site was destroyed, and that some must have been raised at other sites - using a ritual, she could trace the magic and discover the location of another ritual site.

Walks performs the ritual and it succeeds, and the zombie is destroyed. Walks then informs the Player that the next site is close to Riften, beneath Fort Greenwall.

2. Fort Greenwall

Walks sends the Player to Fort Greenwall and sends word to Holgunn, who is overseeing the Rift’s defence from Riften and will be able to send soldiers to help clear out the Fort before the necromancers can launch an attack on the city.

The Player heads south to the Fort, only to find that the soldiers are struggling to get inside. It is evident that the Fort’s entrance has been magically sealed and the gates only open to periodically unleash the undead from within - it is uncertain where the necromancers are getting the bodies they are using as they aren’t collecting the bodies of Pact soldiers.

The Player begins to search for an alternate way inside when they are approached by Naryu Virian; she has been sent to improve the Tong’s relationship with the Pact and bolster their reputation further. She then explains that the Covenant aren’t working alone and are in fact allied with the Worm Cult. She has been given a list of targets to eliminate - officers and high ranking cultists - and she’s tracked one of them to Fort Greenwall. She’s found an alternative way inside, but needs a distraction or else she’ll be discovered too quickly. The Player proposes that the soldiers launch an assault on the Fort to serve as a distraction, and that they’ll join her inside. She agrees that its a good idea, and she’ll wait until the battle is underway before she heads inside.

The Player returns to the Pact camp and explains their plan to the Officer in charge. Some of Walks’ mages have arrived in the meantime, and they have an idea for overcoming the Fort’s magical defences. When the assault begins, the Player needs to protect the mages as they perform their rituals - once complete, the wards keeping the Pact out will break, and the assault force is able to enter the Fort.

After passing the first level of Fort Greenwall’s interior, the Player will catch up to Naryu just as they reach the Falmer Ruins that the Fort was built on top of. The ritual site is clearly situated here, and it becomes apparent where the necromancers are getting their corpses from.

Naryu will now join you as a follower.

Upon reaching the ritual site, you will find Naryu’s mark, a Covenant Officer who served directly under General Serien and swears revenge for his death. The Vestige and Naryu then kill them and destroy the ritual site.

After exiting the Fort, Walks-in-Ash arrives; she explains that the rest of the undead attacking Shor’s Stone have fallen. Though you report your success in taking down the ritual site, she is pleased by expresses concern that the threat to Riften has not yet passed and that she has heard rumours of strange happenings. She asks you to go to Riften and discover if there is any truth to the rumours, as well as report the retaking of the Fort to Holgunn.

3. Riften

(Honestly, the original premise for the Riften quest fits pretty well with my rewrite, so I’m keeping it.)

When reporting to Holgunn, he’s relieved to have you there, as having Fort Greenwall back will ensure Riften is better protected. He will confirm, however, that there are rumours of missing people and he shares Walks’ concerns that they’re not safe yet. He asks the Player to look into the rumours, and indicates that you should speak with Aera Earth-Turner, as she’ll have some idea of who to talk to.

Aera is pleased to see the Player again, and reveals that she had a breakdown after the deaths of her family members in Bal Foyen. She now works for the Pact, and has been trying to investigate the disappearances with little success. People are either unwilling to talk or don’t know anything. She points them to Captain Viveka, as she might have some new leads since Aera last spoke to her.

Captain Viveka informs the Player that her cousin, Yiri, supposedly saw something the previous evening when her father disappeared, but won’t speak. The Player then goes to visit Yiri, where they can choose how they encourage her to talk.

Purchase White Moon Tea from a trader in the market.

or

Use [Persuasion] to gently coerce Yiri into speaking (because you don’t slap traumatised people zos)

Yiri will then confess that she saw her father being dragged under the water and that whatever grabbed him was purposefully drowning him. She has refused to go near the water ever since.

The Player goes to investigate the canal and finds a trail of wet footprints leading into the Ratway. Following the trail through the sewers eventually leads the Player to another ritual site where the necromancers are resurrecting the bodies of the missing people. After killing the Necromancers, the Player discovers that the zombies are lurking in the canals and Lake Honrich, ready to attack at any moment. Additionally, there is a force to the east of Riften that is preparing to attack.

The Player is then attacked and knocked out from behind by a Worm Cultist.

Upon awakening in a cell, the Player is rescued by Naryu who teases them for being caught off guard. She then reveals that Riften is under attack and that the dead are rising from the water. The Player then tells her that another force is coming from the east. She goes on ahead to inform Holgunn while the Player fights their way out of the sewers to help repel the undead at the docks.

After repelling the initial attack, the Player is informed that Holgunn has mustered a defence at the Eastern Wall. The Player arrives to find Holgunn, Walks, and Naryu readying for the assault; Holgunn can send a warrior with the Player, Walks can send a healer, or Naryu can send an archer.

The C-C Alliance’s force arrives and the battle begins. The Player has to survive three waves of undead monsters and cultists before facing off against Naryu’s next target, a high ranking member of the Worm Cult. After killing them, the C-C Alliance force scatters and Riften rejoices their survival. However Walks is still concerned and her instincts tell her that something is still amiss. She goes into the city, determined to discover what they have missed.

Upon rejoining her, Holgunn, and Naryu at the Jarl’s Keep, it transpires that the attack was a ruse. An artefact was stolen from the Jarl’s vault: a Dragon Priest Mask.

The Jarl explains that the Mask is a relatively new addition to their collection, and explains that the masks of Dragon Priests are said to possess powers, with each being unique to their owner, and that the power of this particular Mask must be why the C-C Alliance wanted it so badly. The Jarl, however, has no idea what the Mask’s power might be and hadn’t even identified which Priest it belonged to yet.

Holgunn and Walks agree that they must track down the Mask before its too late. Naryu disagrees and decides that its more important to hunt down the cultists and officers leading the C-C Alliance, and that their deaths will cause it to crumble. She then departs to hunt her next target. 

Holgunn will thank the Player for their efforts, and decides to have people try to track down the Mask. In the meantime, Walks will focus on locating more ritual sites and destroying them, and that she’ll need your help.

4. Nightingale Hall

Walks will direct the Player to the west, as her students have determined that there is another ritual site in that direction. However, she explains, there is something interfering with their magic that prevents them from directly locating the site and she is concerned that the interference is Daedric in nature.

The Player heads west and tracks where the undead came from, and eventually tracks the trail to a jet-black standing stone. There, they are approached by a Stranger dressed in black armour who accuses the Player of being with the cultists who have taken the Hall from them. The Player explains that they are tracking the C-C Alliance and trying to destroy a necromantic ritual site. The Stranger then apologises and explains that the C-C Alliance has usurped their ‘home’ and they haven’t been able to drive them out.

The Player offers to help the Stranger, as they both stand to gain, and the Stranger first needs to be fully convinced that you can be trusted.

[Persuade] the Stranger into believing you.

or

Eliminate a Deserter Officer and retrieve their signet ring

After convincing the Stranger to trust you, they will reveal Nightingale Hall on the terms that you never tell anyone about it. They then lead the way inside.

The Stranger will fight alongside the Player, and you will have to fight your way through to the chamber at the back of the Hall. There the Player and the Stranger take down the cultist leading this cell of the C-C Alliance and destroy the ritual site. Nocturnal will then appear and congratulate the Stranger, her agent, on finally clearing out the filth. She will then ask to speak with the Player.

The Player discovers that the Stranger is in fact a Nightingale, and has been struggling to retake Nightingale Hall for some time. Nocturnal doesn’t thank the Player, but does inform them that she knows of a much larger, more powerful ritual site in Vernim Woods and indicates that they should head that way. She also warns that they will be betrayed, but refuses to identify who.

The Nightingale will then thank the Player for their help and asks that they maintain their discretion, as the Nightingales are a secret order. They will not explain much about what it is they do, but when asked why Nocturnal didn’t just explain herself, they state that she’s simply ‘like that’ and that she was grateful, or else she wouldn’t have appeared. They then thank the Player before resealing Nightingale Hall, rendering it inaccessible.

5. Vernim Wood

Upon arriving at Vernim Wood, the Player reunites with Aera who is now working together with Naryu to hunt down the cultists who stole the Dragon Priest Mask. The Player can reveal that they learned of a larger, more powerful ritual site, and Aera agrees that Walks has confirmed that something strange is going on. Naryu complains about standing around, but Aera gently berates her and insist that they need to do things properly.

First, the Player has to locate any survivors in the woods which leads them to discovering the Kireth Vanos. She’s grateful for the help, but is insistent on finding Raynor, as he was dragged off by the cultists instead of killed like everyone else. The Player sends Kireth back to Aera and Naryu, and goes to search for Raynor themselves.

The Player comes across Lieutenant Belron, a Pact mage who went undercover inside the Worm Cult. He saw Raynor’s abduction and has deduced that they want to have the young scholar activate the powers of the Dragon Priest Mask. The Player - if they have assisted the Vanos siblings previously - points out that Raynor specialises in the Dwemer, not Ancient Nord history, and Belron rationalises that when the C-C Alliance realises this, they’ll kill him.

Belron then explains that it’s not currently possible to free Raynor, as he is trapped behind a magical Shroud in the barrow, and that they’ll need the knowledge of the Worm Cult to cross it and rescue him. In the meantime, Raynor will have to play things smart and keep himself alive. 

Belron has the Player gather the hearts of three particular Worm Cultists to discover how the Shroud works so that they can bypass it. Notably, each Cultist is found at a ritual site, and together each site forms a sort of circle within the woods, which the Player can note to Belron. He notes it as something of interest, but is more interested in finding a way past the Shroud.

Once that is done, Belron explains that they have two options; 

Gather three ritual ingredients (bone meal, zombie flesh, and a cultist’s heart) to create a potion that will render the drinker ‘undead’ for a short time

or

Track down and kill an elusive Cultist Assassin and take the charm that enables the living to pass through the Shroud

If the latter option is taken, the Player can talk to Naryu and Aera for advice on hunting down the Assassin. 

After creating the potion or obtaining the charm, the Player is able to pass through the Shroud and ‘deactivate’ it. Naryu, Aera, Kireth, and Belron will then join the Player in entering the barrow to rescue Raynor and put an end to the ritual.

As you venture further inside, however, you discover information about the experiments the C-C Alliance has been performing. Shor’s Stone was to experiment with distance, and Vernim Wood is to experiment with ritual scale. Another unspecified experiment will take place once the Mask is confirmed to be the one they seek. 

Upon reaching the central burial chamber, the Cultists have realised that Raynor doesn’t know anything about the Mask and has been bluffing the entire time. Belnor sacrifices himself to protect Raynor, and Kireth gets her brother away from the fighting. The Player, Aera, and Naryu then take on the Cultists - one of them escapes with the Mask however.

Kireth is relieved that Raynor is safe, and he admits that he was terrified that they were going to call his bluff before help arrived. He’s somewhat in shock over a complete stranger giving his life to save him, though Aera admits that Belron’s time undercover with the Cult must have left him with regrets that he felt the need to redeem himself. Kireth and Raynor are escorted to the surface by Aera, while the Player discusses their next step with Naryu.

She admits that the Mask might be a problem after all if the C-C Alliance are experimenting with their rituals, and that they were lucky that they didn’t get to complete their experiment in Vernim. She then tells the Player that she will be heading to Taarengrav. Another Covenant Officer is apparently operating in the area, and needs to be taken out. Aera, on the other hand, is headed after a Worm Cultist in Nimalten. 

Naryu then confides that she has concerns about Aera and recommends that the Player looks out for her as sometimes she seems like she’s ‘somewhere else.’ 

6. Nimalten

Upon arrival, one of Aera’s soldiers approaches the Player and informs them that there has been an attempted assassination on the Thane and Aera suspects the Worm Cult. The Player is then directed to talk to Aera, who is glad to have the extra help.

First the Player speaks with the Thane about the attack and asks about her Housecarl, the one who attacked her. The Thane is dismissive of the Player and Aera’s efforts and insists she can protect herself. She does inform you that her Court Mage and her Advisor are investigating the Worm Cult presence in the town.

The Player investigates the Housecarl’s home and finds a Worm Cult missive. The contract details that there is an archive under the town that should help them to identify the Mask, but the Thane needs to be removed as there isn’t enough of the ‘potion’ that they purchased to also replace her, and she won’t join the Cult.

The Advisor is dismissive of the threat but incorrectly identifies the Court Mage. When called out, he grows defensive and sends the Player away. The Player then goes to investigate his home and finds the bodies of the Advisor and the Housecarl and empty bottles. Provided Shadowfen has been completed, the Player can also identify an unusual cut on their chests and recognise that the Housecarl and Advisor were both replaced by Skin Stealers. Otherwise the Player will simply recognised that the Advisor and Housecarl have been replaced.

Upon returning to the Thane’s Manor, Aera reports that the Court Mage has been assassinated and is uncertain how the Cultists got inside in the first place. The Player goes to investigate and discovers a magical trinket the Mage was trying to hide at the time of his death and finds his final message.

The Mage discovered that the traitors were inside the walls and were trying to identify an Ancient Nordic Artefact of some kind by making use of the archives beneath Nimalten. The Player descends into the archive, only to be attacked by the ‘Advisor’ who accuses them of being a Worm Cultist. The Player says they know the truth about the Advisor and Housecarl, and, if Shadowfen was completed, that the Cult purchased whatever was left of the Skin Stealing potion from the Dominion Deserters.

The ‘Advisor’, knowing he stands no chance against the Player, teleports them deeper into the archives. The Player fights their way out and kills the Skin Stealer, before returning to the Manor where they find the Thane recovering from a new attack - she claims that Aera attacked her. The Player reports that her Advisor and Housecarl had been replaced by Skin Stealers, and that Aera probably has been as well. 

The Player goes after Aera and pursues her back into the archives. However, Aera confirms that she’s no Skin Stealer and was indeed working for the Cult out of a desperate hope of having her family back. She will also reveal that the Mask has been identified as having belonged to Vosis, a Dragon Priest that had been buried in Forelhost. However, she doesn’t know what his Mask does.

Aera will then either engage the Player in combat if they treated her poorly, or will turn herself over for her betrayal. She is brought before the Thane, who then asks for the Player’s advice in how Aera should be sentenced (see above).

Regardless of the choice made, the Thane is grateful to the Player for ending the threat to her life and for restoring her Housecarl’s honour. 

If Aera is alive and is allowed to continue working as a Tracker for the Pact, she will thank you for giving her another chance and she swears to learn as much as she can about Vosis.

7. Taarengrav

Upon arriving at Taarengrav, you will encounter the Vanos siblings. Raynor is still anxious after his abduction, but feels much better with the Player and Kireth around. The twins tell you that Naryu has been trying to find the Covenant Officer leading the operation in the ruins, but hasn’t come back yet. In the meantime, they ask you to help rescue the dig team who were investigating the ruins, as some of them are friends of their’s.

The Player goes to rescue the dig team survivors and kill some of the Covenant Deserters. After the Player clears the way, Holgunn arrives with reinforcements to help retake the ruins. However, the Covenant have sealed themselves inside and now the Player needs to find a way inside.

Raynor and Kireth ask the Player to gather up the dig team’s research notes, as they believe that they can figure out the way inside from those. The Player searches the dig site and delivers the notes to Raynor who works out the means of opening the doors. He is reluctant to go into the ruins, and a choice must be made:

Convince Raynor to accompany the group

or

Allow Raynor to remain outside with the soldiers

If Raynor remains outside, the Player can ask him to look into the Dragon Priest, Vosis, which he is happy to do if he can stay out of the ruin.

Kireth will accompany the Player either way, either to look out for Raynor or because she trusts that he’ll be safe with the soldiers. She wants to explore and to ensure that Naryu is okay. 

The group venture further inside and come across Naryu battling the Covenant Officer in possession of Vosis’ mask. The Officer then raises three Bone Colossuses at once and the group joins in the battle. The Officer is slain and the Player retrieves Vosis.

If Raynor is present, then he will note that the Mask’s power seemed to amplify the ritual’s power, allowing the Officer to summon multiple creatures at once. He will then discover a tome belonging to the Officer, and learns that Vosis was a necromancer.

If he stayed outside, he reveals that Vosis was an unusually powerful necromancer. When informed that the Officer wearing the Mask summoned three Bone Colossuses at once, he theorises that Vosis amplifies necromantic magic.

The Player then talks to Holgunn and reveals what they have learned of Vosis:

He was buried at Forelhost

He was a necromancer

His mask makes necromantic magic stronger

Holgunn is concerned and informs the Player that the Jarl has been doing their own research but made little progress and instructs the Player to speak with them.

8. Forelhost

The Player returns to Riften and tells the Jarl what they have learned. The Jarl decides to look up Forelhost and realises that Vosis is not the only Dragon Priest who was buried at Forelhost. Another, Rahgot, was entombed there and the C-C Alliance must be trying to obtain his Mask as well.

The Jarl decides that they need to march on Forelhost and stop the C-C Alliance from obtaining Rahgot’s Mask. Holgunn accepts the order, and goes to rally the troops.

The Player arrives to find Holgunn, Walks, Raynor, and Riften’s Jarl preparing for the assault.

The Jarl is relieved to know that the Player has secured Vosis’ mask, though is concerned about bringing it to Forelhost if it really does amplify the effects of necromantic magic. They then explain that Raynor has discovered that Rahgot’s mask boosts the wearer’s endurance to an inhuman level, and is unsure why the C-C Alliance wants it so badly.

Naryu, Kireth and Aera (if she is alive and not in exile) have gone to scout ahead and the Player is sent to catch up. There is an optional objective of disrupting the C-C Alliance’s operations by burning supplies and such.

After catching up to Naryu, Kireth, and Aera, they reveal that the C-C Alliance isn’t after Rahgot’s Mask, but rather they’re after the Dragon Priests themselves and plan to resurrect them both. As Vosis was already slain by the adventurers who sold his Mask to the Jarl, the C-C Alliance is in the process of resurrecting and binding him, but they have yet to reach Rahgot.

They and the Player then go to disrupt the ritual and prevent Vosis’ return. However the ritual goes wrong and Vosis returns unbound. He engages the Player in dialogue, but he proves impossible to talk down and he attacks them, taking back his stolen Mask.

If Aera is alive, then she saves Kireth from being killed and heals her off to one side, leaving Naryu free to fight alongside the Player. 

However if Aera is dead or in exile, Naryu saves Kireth and the Player has to fight alone.

Once Vosis is defeated and killed for good, the Player recovers his Mask and returns to Holgunn whilst Aera/Naryu takes Kireth to safety.

Upon returning, however, the Jarl informs the Player that Holgunn and Walks have already gone to try and stop the Cultists who are trying to reach Rahgot. The Player then informs her that the Cultists are trying to resurrect Rahgot, not obtain his Mask. The Jarl is horrified, as Holgunn and Walks have no idea that they could end up facing off against a bound Dragon Priest.

The Player, Naryu, and Aera pursue Holgunn and Walks who have already chased after the necromancers who have successfully accessed Rahgot’s tomb.

However navigating the tomb proves difficult, as Rahgot had several passages collapsed when the tomb was besieged by enemies. The cultists have established portals to link parts of the tomb in order to navigate it, and the Player has to follow the path they left behind.

Eventually they reach Holgunn and Walks just as they are taken down by the final remaining Commanders of the C-C Alliance; recognising that the Player is carrying Vosis, they try to bind Rahgot as he is rather than slaying him first. The proximity of the Mask indeed makes the process easier, and so the Player must stop the ritual before the binding is complete.

If Aera is present, she will tend to Holgunn and Walks while Naryu and the Player engage in battle

If Aera is dead or in exile, Naryu will tend to Holgunn and Walks and the Player is forced to fight alone

The ritual is stopped either way, finally putting an end to the threat of the C-C Alliance and the revived Dragon Priests. 

Rahgot, in spirit form, speaks with the Player and is ungrateful to them as their bringing Vosis’ Mask with them nearly made his binding possible, but he acknowledges that they rectified their mistake and for that he won’t annihilate them or their companions. He then returns to his rest, needing to re-accumulate the strength he lost fighting the binding ritual.

Walks and Holgunn are grateful for the timely rescue. Walks opens a portal and returns everyone to the base of the mountain.

The Jarl is grateful to the Player for their actions and decides that Vosis would be safest with the Player, as it is unlikely to fall into the wrong hands while they possess it, adding the Vosis Memento to the Player’s Collections.

Naryu is happy to have helped save the Rift, not in the least because it really helps the Morag Tong get back on the up and up, and could lead to the group making a comeback.

The Vanos siblings decide to take a break from adventuring for a short while, as they’ve had a lot of excitement recently and could use a break.

If Aera is alive and not in exile, she decides to look up her surviving family for a rain check, as she needs to remember what it is she has and not just what she’s lost.

Holgunn and Walks thank the Player for their efforts and state that when they get around to making things ‘official’ you’ll be at the top of the guest list. 

The storyline ends, which begins Messages Across Tamriel.

[kansasvenomoth]

Fanfiction Friday: Fire Emblem Awakening x Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim - Chapter One

Like it would most any other morning, the sun had slowly risen over the ashen streets of Raven Rock. For the most part, the settlement was fairly quiet; with the exception of the Redoran Guard wandering the streets, it was silent. No one had yet left their homes or their beds in the Retching Netch Cornerclub, though in the Severin Manor not far from the center of town, the owner had been wide awake doing his usual studies. Ja'vassa, the Khajiiti Dragonborn famed for his skills as a mage and mercenary was preparing to do some field research on the island. His aim was to learn more about Miraak, his uprising, and to see if his uprising had anything to do with the way the other Dragon Priests treated their subjects. After gathering a few journals, along with stocking up his satchel with a number of potions, poisons, food, emergency clothes, soul gems, and a few coin purses; once everything was together, he would focus on getting dressed; throwing off his old robes and throwing his travel robes on along with his ebony gauntlets, boots, and of course, the mask of Nahkriin. Throwing the mask on along with his dual ebony war axes, he was about to head outside, though was interrupted by an unexpected force.

Out of nowhere, slimy tentacles and disembodied eyes began to materialize around the Khajiit, though it was unexpected, Ja'vassa kept his composure as he realized it was the Daedric Lord he called master; Hermaeus Mora himself. It was a bit surprising that Ja'vassa would be contacted before he even left town, though he figured it had to be important. After several moments of the disturbing materialization, the Daedra had spoken. "Come closer, my Champion... bask in my presence." He spoke in a disembodied, metallic sounding voice. "I've got a new task for you, one I believe you'll find comparable to your skills. Return to the Summit of Apocrypha where you defeated Miraak and the path shall be revealed. Complete this task for me and you will be richly rewarded, Dragonborn..." As quickly as the Prince appeared, it had disappeared, leaving Ja'vassa confused, but curious at what his new task would be.

Fortunately for him, he already had his things ready and all that was left was reading the Black Book he kept hidden in the Manor. After reading the book, he had been transported to the tower where that fateful battle with the First Dragonborn occured, though that ordeal was long behind him and now it was time to focus on the new task. Moments after dropping into Apocrypha, his Master had shown up. "What is it that you need me to do, my Lord?" Ja'vassa asked, keeping his usual monotonous, serious tone. Usually, Hermaeus Mora's work often led the Khajiit into exciting, but dangerous adventures; the life risking ventures with amazing rewards... the first encounter led him to visiting his first Dwemer ruin in the pursuit of the Falmer Blood and more importantly, the Elder Scroll. Eventually, that expedition in Blackreach not only rewarded him with an Elder Scroll, but with the Oghma Infinium as well. Months later, Ja'vassa found himself on Solstheim, again in the presence of the Daedric Prince of Fate and Knowledge, that time in pursuit of the First Dragonborn.

"As you are no doubt aware, the planes of Oblivion are infinite.. Mundus is infinite.. Aetherius is infinite. Not many are aware that more hide beyond these realms, though difficult to access, it is not completely impossible. Being an immortal Prince has its perks and I've had plenty of time to figure out how to access it." Hermaeus Mora started; while the Dragonborn was an incredibly intelligent Khajiit, the stuff being explained to him was effectively flying over his head. He mostly, or at least he assumes he understands the realms of Mundus, Oblivion, and Aetherius, but this was new. Despite his lack of understanding as to what was being said, he nodded anyways, interested in this realm beyond Aetherius. "I will be sending you to this realm, I cannot tell you what you'll find, but I can assure you that you'll arrive there alive. You are to go and collect any form of knowledge you can find... books, scrolls, journals, anything you can find. Study it and return it to Apocrypha through the Daedric servant you obtain prior to Miraak's defeat. Do this for me and I shall see to it that you're richly rewarded."

Thinking about it for a moment, Ja'vassa weighed his potential options. It usually isn't a good idea to argue with a Daedric Prince, especially in their own realm. If Miraak was to be an example, arguments or rebellions would likely end in a painful death. There was also the idea of him leaving behind every single person he's ever known; his fellow mages in the College of Winterhold, his Family in the Dark Brotherhood, his Volkihar Vampires, and the many others he's formed bonds with. The fact that his Lord hadn't a clue about what waited for him was a bit alarming, but that was likely the least of his concerns. On the upside, this new world would likely be more accepting of his kind, and maybe he'd be able to start over. Since losing his little sister all those years ago, Ja'vassa has gone down a less than favorable path, with his connections to the Dark Brotherhood, Clan Volkihar, and the Thieves Guild putting a huge stain on his reputation. This new world might give him what he needs to start fresh, to be the hero his sister would want him to be. Not to mention, his curiosity was getting the better of him; it wasn't everyday someone got to explore beyond Oblivion and he wasn't about to let this opportunity slide away. Weighing his options, thinking of the risks involved and the potential rewards that come with it, Ja'vassa nodded in confirmation. "I'll.. I'll do it." He said, wondering if he made a mistake with that. His response seemed to have been favorable with his Master as a strange, violet portal had slowly opened up.

"Prepare yourself for whatever awaits on the other side. When I deem your progress satisfactory, I will bring you back to Apocrypha." And with that, the Khajiit had cautiously entered the portal, his left hand resting on the handle of one of his axes. As he entered the portal, a brilliant flash of light enveloped him and rather than dropping him in some terrifying realm like he had expected, rather he landed in what appeared to be an expansive desert. Once the light disappeared, he looked around curiously; "It's almost like I landed in Hammerfell, but.." He muttered, though his attention was stolen by what appeared to be an army approaching from the north; all clad in blue and to the south, a number of what he could only assume to be mages dressed in red. "Stormcloaks? Imperials...? Is this just an alternative Tamriel?" He asked himself, deciding to hang back to see just what would happen.