#pre tes-IV

[sixdragonflies]

IN WHICH I WRITE AN OBLIVION FANFIC IN 2024 FORGIVE ME PLEASE!

Anyways, yeah. exactly that. I thought I’d let yall read, so if ya like Oblivion....here’s some content because I have been so fucking caught on what the hell happened to martin Pre-TES IV and I hope u wanna theorize with me and go along w me as I make this shit up lol.

MARTIN POV Pre-TES IV

Chapters: 3/? Fandom: Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Rating: Mature Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death Relationships: Martin Septim & Original Character(s), Martin Septim & Original Male Character(s), Martin Septim & Savlian Mathis Characters: Martin Septim, Original Male Character(s), Original Female Character(s), Savlian Matius Additional Tags: Daedra (Elder Scrolls), Daedra Worship (Elder Scrolls), Mages Guild (Elder Scrolls) - Freeform, Drunkenness, Drunken Shenanigans, Betrayal, Major Character Injury, Public Nudity, Emotional Hurt, Fighting, Drinking, Angst, Sanguine Rose (Elder Scrolls), Martin's POV, Kvatch (Elder Scrolls), Pre-Oblivion Crisis, Cyrodiil (Elder Scrolls), no beta we die like men, if u wanna beta pls message, bc i havent written since quizilla and have no idea how to ask Series: Part 1 of The Last Septim Summary:

A pre-Oblivion crisis look into Martin's life before he was thrown onto the throne, where he struggles with Sanguine and keeping his head attached to his body. From the POV of Martin.

[canneddolts]

(most of) the barney voice lines before the resonance cascade in half life vs. blue shift vs. decay

[witchspeka]

I think it's fun that you can usually tell a fanart is pre-anime by the colours they chose, like Minori being blonde or the Suzukis having green eyes

[bl00dh0rs3]

.

[anemos-orca]

Zhongli's Dragon, Part 1: Geo's Call

◆Ah apologies if i get anything to do with tumblr wrong, i am very new to this platform so it will take a bit of learning qwq◆

◆cw: smut ft dom!zhongli x sub!reader, reader is half dragon, breeding kink (?), size difference, probably more qwq

◆NSFW under "keep reading" :0

series tag: #zhongli's dragon

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◆A/N: For reference, reader is a dragon girl :D you have little horns on your forehead that point up and back, long thin fluffy ears on the sides of your head, sharp teeth, clawed hands, little dragon wings, and a dramatically long fluffy tail with two rows of dorsal spikes similar to te scutes on a crocodile tail.◆

"Zhongli..?" you said almost silently, peeking your head into his office with a shy look smeared across your face. Hu Tao had informed you that your boss requested you to join him in his office for a chat, and while it wasnt an uncommon event, your nerves never ceased to tighten each time you stepped into his office.

You had been working for him as an assistant for a few months now without incident besides the occasional flirt or tease here and there- though, you had always assumed that they were nothing more than mere jokes. However, you had to admit, you found your boss quite attractive. But then again, who wouldnt? He was tall, very tall, towering over your little form as though he were Mt. Hulao itself looking down at a fragile little Qingxin flower. Not only that, but his alluring voice, his intoxicatingly good looks, his formal verbiage, his intense yet kind gaze- wait, you were here for a reason!

Zhongli looks up from his paperwork, gently settling his writing quill back into the pot of ink before crossing his arms over his chest and sitting back in his fancy leather chair, "Ah, (y/n), thank you for joining me. Please, have a seat." He said as his hand motioned to the empty seat on the other side of the desk, the same seat you found yourself in each time he summoned you to his office. You nodded, nervously clasping your clawed hands together and wrapping your flowing tail over your lap before settling down in your familiar spot.

"Thank you, Sir. How may I assist you?" You asked quietly, your silky ears perking up in quite the adorable manner. A faint smile tugged at the corners of Zhonglis lips and he opened an arm over the desk, offering for you to take the pre-poured cup of tea if you so desired.

"Please, there is no need for such formalities this evening. I have merely summoned you as your friend, not your boss." Zhongli said, his voice buttering you up as always.

"As a friend, Sir?" You asked, your head cocking to the side and your wings tightening against your back in confusion- he had never said such a thing before. You gingerly sip your tea, graceful as ever. Zhongli nods slowly, his eyes momentarily shutting.

"Yes, my dear. I could not help but to have taken notice to your stress levels recently, so i decided it would be best to ask if you would like assistance in any way to ease your mind." He explains, his fingers pressing together as his piercing eyes open once more to meet yours. "Stress can be difficult to manage, especially for dragons. Although you are only half dragon, it is advisable to manage your stressors in order to avoid the dangerous, unwanted side effects."

You cant help but to blush a bit and begin to nervously fidget with the tail of your fur. Your ears push back in anxiety and your heart skips a beat. Had your stress really been that noticeable? You considered his sentiments for a moment, shyly looking down to your lap.

"I-I mean, i guess ive... been a bit more stressed than usual as of late..." you stammered, meeting his blazing gaze, "B-but its nothing to worry about, really! I-I... guess my human side mitigates the, er... side effects." You lied, shrinking back a bit.

Zhongli sat back in his chair once more, his arms crossing over his chest as a brow knowingly raises.

"Tsk tsk, my dear (y/n), you must know that I can tell if you are lying. You might as well turn green from spewing such heedless equivocations. There is no hiding such things, especially from your own kin." He lightly scolded you, your ears further flattening against your head as your cheeks blush brighter against your will.

You had known from the day you met him that he was also a dragon- after all, a dragons sense of smell is far better than that of a humans, so picking one of your own kind out of a crowd of hundreds was a walk in the park. It was something the two of you bonded over, being the only dragons in Liyue Harbor, and it was the reason you sought him out in the first place. After having job application after job application turned down due to the dragon features that graced your body and your vehemently quiet nature, you gathered the courage to ask Morax himself if he would hire you. He did so without hesitation.

Because you were both dragons, Zhongli knew what such high levels of stress could do to you- angry outbursts, heightened hoarding instincts, feral, animal like reactions to the smallest of inconveniences- and he knew that it would soon become a serious issue that would take a long, long break from work to fix, which he couldnt have. Despite having worked as his assistany for only a few months, you were his right hand- his most valuable peer within the work force of the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor- all due to the fact that you two could understand one another without so much as a word. It was common sense: dragons knew dragons best.

"(yn)." Zhongli cooed, snapping you back into reality and out of your flustered thoughts, "While I can not force you to take my advice, I highly suggest that we work together in order to find a way to manage this stress. There are several methods known to help with quick stress relief, though i believe there is a particular activity humans participate in on a regular basis to see the immediate relief of high levels of stress, and, from what i have seen and heard over the years, i can confirm that it is quite effective. In fact, I believe it to be the most effective method when dealing with such intense stress." He explained, lifting his hand to hold his chin in thought. "Though, i do realize that this activity is... something humans consider to be a sacred, private act."

Was he really saying this? Was this real? You were convinced this must be a dream or some kind of stress-induced hallucination. You knew what he was talking about, you knew what he was implying, and it made your cheeks flush a demeaningly bright red as your heart tried to escape the confines of your chest. "Sir- uh, Zhongli, I-I..." You tripped over every word, not able to get out a single coherent thought before being silenced by Zhonglis stern gaze. "It is not a requirement of you, as I do know how touchy this topic tends to be within the social conventions of humans, but if it is something you wish for, i may be able to lend a helping hand in this stress relief." He offered, his brows raising as he awaits your response.

You felt as though you were going to die right then and there. Did he know what he did to you every day? What his gentle touch and soothing voice put you through each time you interacted? He must, how could he not- he could read you like an open book considering the way your ears and tail reacted so strongly to each emotion you felt. They might as well be a string of lanterns hung up in the night sky with how well they spelled out each of your feelings.

You sheepishly looked up to him, your heart thumping as though it was on fire and your mind slightly fogged with apprehensive thoughts of both want and need, and you nodded.

"Ah, very well. I am pleased to know that you hold this level of trust with me. I shall do everything in my power to keep it that way." He gives a small smirk, lifting his head a bit as he looks you over. "Tell me, my dear (y/n), do I assume correctly that you have never been with a mate?" He asks.

You nod, fervently fidgeting with the silky fluff of your dramatically long tail. "I-I..." you stutter, gulping hard. "Ive never done this before, s-so would you mind leading the way? I-I trust that you to know what t-to do..." you quietly coo, looking up to him with doe-eyes. Zhonglis small smirk turns to a sly grin as he oh-so majestically lifts himself from his chair and walks around the desk to stand in front of you.

"Is that so, (y/n)? Are you sure of this?" He asked, wanting to confirm that letting him take control was what you wanted. You lifted your gaze to meet his, your pupils blown out in arousal, and you nod a number of times. Unsatisfied, Zhongli reaches a gloved hand down to hold your jaw and force you to truly look up at him, "I must hear a verbal agreement in order to continue. So, my dear (y/n), tell me..." He slowly leans down, his mouth hovering dangerously close to your long, fluffy ear as his hot breath caresses your neck, "What is it, exactly, that you trust me with doing?" He teases. Without even seeing it, you can feel the devious smirk on his face.

You gulp hard, your breath hitching in your chest as you feel the fog of need shroud your mind- and you liked it. You slightly squirm in your seat, the heat and tension in your core becoming far more than noticeable as your wings begin to shiver against your back. "I-I trust you with my body, I... I trust you to mate with me."

Satisfied with both your response and the way you writhe under his breath just from talking alone, he hooks his arms under your knees and lifts you against his chest, earning a surprised yelp as your arms clamber to wrap around his shoulders. He sits you down on his desk, standing between your spread knees with your legs dangling over the edge. "I can confidentley promise you that once we are finished, you will not have the slightest clue as to why you were stressed in the first place."

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◆A/N²: I hope it was not too bad to read qwq i will continue this very soon :D◆

[elderscrollsconceptart]

This will be a long post but I've been thinking about this since last night.

I get a pit in my stomach when I think about the new Fallout TV show and the chance TES may get a show if the Fallout show is super successful.

I've been hearing the show has been pretty good, but ive also heard some grim rumblings and worries about certain directions Bethesda/Amazon are taking lore-wise in the Fallout show. Apparently Todd has said everything in the show is canon.

I've not watched it myself as I'm not a huge TV watcher in general, but I don't know if I want to see Bethesda or an outside studio make massive changes to TES lore which affect both past and future installments in TES purely for the sake of "making good TV".

I am most certainly not a "modern Bethesda" hater or of the opinion that modern TES/Fallout games are bad. I pretty much love them all. (I even enjoyed Starfield, huge glaring flaws and all!)

I genuinely believe they are trying their best to make fun games. I also understand they have had a lot of struggles over the past decade+, particularly in company direction and budgeting of necessary resources (pre-Microsoft acquisition).

The old Zenimax upper management was awful (Trumps brother was literally on the Zenimax board of Directors before he died). And infamously refused budget allocations towards serious game engine improvements that were desperately needed. Bethesda has had alot of struggles but I feel they have always tried to do the best they can, even if the final result is middling.

I am also not a Todd hater. Even if he's not necessarily the best game designer, he has a lot of heart and passion and seems to genuinely care about Bethesda and its employees. I am glad he seems to have a genuinely good relationship with Microsoft and I have high hopes for Bethesda's future in the long term.

All that said, there are just certain changes that can happen when "Hollywood comes knocking" per se., even if most of the main creative decisions still come from Bethesda. TV shows can be fantastic and lauded with praise but if they are based on an established property with established lore, they often ultimately go in creative directions which negates the lore and other non-TV entries in the series.

Just look at GOT. It started off amazingly, and GRR Martin had a direct hand in all the early series. It was the best show on TV until suddenly GRR was no longer involved directly and the show runners started making their own decisions. They started ignoring established lore and making "changes and improvements" which nose dived the series by the end.

Perhaps I am paranoid, but I can see something similar happening to Fallout if the show is big and keeps getting new series. Furthermore, I hold a deep dread that TES may be next. Just think, how many people talk about GOT anymore? How many people are hyped for the next book(s) in the series? The books didn't get bad right? Only the TV show did.

But that's my point. If Fallout or TES have these big smash initial hits on TV but begin to fail after a while, it damages the series as a whole, not just the TV show. Don't get me wrong, I'd love to see TES/Fallout TV shows be nothing but great. I just worry as I've been hearing of major major lore changes being made by the Fallout show. These changes are irrevocable and utterly change the lore of that series, and not necessarily for the better. I'll try to refrain from further judgment on that, but I'll leave with this question:

What if TES had a super quality and popular TV show which negated large parts of pre-Oblivion lore? Suddenly, due to the show, innumerable people/places/things which were iconic to the TES series were no longer around or perhaps not even canon anymore? What if those things were just lost or written off for the sake of a TV show?

As a fan of TES, and maybe even of that TV show, how would that make you feel?

I'm am not trying to stir controversy here, but I think we as a fandom need to have more public discussions about this. We also need to be prepared to not dump on any new changes to the series or lore without giving them a fair shake. Something being "new and different" does mean its awful. Changes can be good or bad but they must be carefully considered.

I hope this new Fallout show's premiere will provide us a good chance to consider the future of TES media and lore outside the games before any changes are announced or made.

[puhpandas]

MCR kill all your friends is soo beckory/gregory & tony

"well you can hide a lot about yourself" rab lying to tony (and ellis) about everything basically. being a normal kid and having parents and caring at all. especially in tonys case just lying and stringing him along

"cause you can sleep in a coffin but the past aint through with you" basically just like, everything with tonys dad being old news and the coffin line being about everyone putting it to rest, & "the past aint through with you" being tony never letting it go and letting it constantly affect him in the present and fuel him to solve mysteries

"cause its tragic with a capital T" just eveyrthing about Tony fr lmao. even in this scenario where he doesnt die the line fits his canon story. every single part of his character is tragic. can also apply to Gregory in this situation bc hes tragic af too

"cause we all wanna party when the funeral ends + and we all te together when we bury our friends" rab and vanny and the glamrocks and stuff after successfully stopping another person from getting too close to the truth by killing tony, his friend

"its been eight bitter years since ive been seeing your face" tony surviving the attack and spending a lot of time searching for gregory and ggy afterwards with no luck & it taking a long time to get leads & all that turmoil

"and youre walking away, and i will die in this place" tony in present time dying in the pizzaplex with gregory walking away

"sometimes you scrape and sink so low" can apply to both tony and rab with tony being in like the worst mental state ever and rabs reputation in tonys eyes being ruined by rab sinking so low as to kill to in tonys eyes just not get in trouble for hacking the plex

"im shocked of what youre capable of" the betrayal between tony and gregory with tony being shocked of what he did to him

"So, tell me all about your problems, I was killing before killing was cool" rab stringing tony along and listening to what he has to say and learning to understand him better than anyone else to keep him interested in him for cover, and rab also having been killing the entire time he was doing it + before tonys big ggy obsession

"You're so cool, you're so cool, so cool" tony liking gregory more than ellis and viewing him as higher above other ppl (because of the traits he shares with tony)

first half being a repeat of the era of tony searching for gregory with another year being added showing how long its taking and how crazy tony is. "youre walking away and i will die in this place" remembering the day gregory walked away from him and holding onto the memory with both hands to fuel him to search + nightmares and trauma, hes still mentally stuck in the pizzaplex experiencing gregorys betrayal

second half being tonys determination after surviving + escaping to get to the bottom of rab after he failed to take him down, PLUS gregory during SB after being freed at this point surviving his night at the pizzaplex

another repeat showing that tony is still in the trenches, with frustration being shown in the curse. pre meeting where they finally reunite after everuthing when tony is in the worst mental state of his life and gregory is traumatized from the pizzaplex. them metaphorically walking away in opposite directions from eachother but eventally finding their way back to eachother what would be post-song

[jartita-me-teneis]

@DaniMayakovski Una niña pales tina sedienta lame las últimas gotas de agua que caen debajo de un camión cisterna vaciado, en el sur de G aza.

Mientras, en Te l Av iv, los colonos sionistas hacen fiestas de agua donde desperdician cientos de litros solo por diversión.

En G aza no hay 2 bandos, solo hay un pueblo sometido al ge noc idio desde hace 76 años por unos colonos su pre mac istas venidos de Occidente.

[heliosynchronisity]

TES still microwaves my brain constantly just haven't had a "main" char to focus on rn other than my current Yazara play thru. But while hanging around Markarth I've been thinking about making a Forsworn character. I'd really like to explore that part of the lore more and perhaps use it as an opportunity to rewrite and redesign the reachmen to be well.. less... ya know. Because I find them suuuper interesting and a part of elder scrolls and esp skyrim lore that could be so unique and interesting if actually given some time and thought.

My main thoughts abt what i'd do with them are;

Have their culture and appearance focus more on their connection to hagravens, folk magic and old pre-imperial gods.

Perhaps they wear primarily leather and animal hide because of bosmeri influence? (during the merethic era)

ehh thats all i got so far

im thinking for the oc i have in mind, maybe the daughter of a hagraven or witch who's invested in the politics of the reachmen issue. Also thought maybe could make a good LDB character, but idk if i wanna have two LDB as i would have to juggle different timelines. i feel like she would make a good adopted daughter of my ldb tho so maybe could do smth with that?

edit: for the record i havent read up on ESO's interpretation of reachmen yet, just going off what ive read/seen in skyrim. it'll be taken into account lol

[isabelopaque]

alright im giving in, im gonna write a hs joymac fic, i have the general idea in mind but if ur up to it,, lmk some hcs you have about young joyce that i can incorporate <3

GOING CRAZY JUMPIN UP AN DOWN!!!!! I have. So many young joyce hcs so ig it depends on what ur after! I think pre highschool she was a lot less worried about what othr people thought of her and it allowed her to express herself more openly gender wise. I think she really cared for animals despite her. Waves hand vaguely. Behaviors. I think she liked feeding the strays and putting birds back with their mothers. Ive said it before but i think highschool was a really big turning point in te joymac friendship and not in a good way. In middle school mac was still trying to suck up to people but he was also there to protect joyce physically from people who didnt like them, and then as he got older the internalized homophobia and issues an such on top of luther going to jail he tries so hard to emulate this badass energy that he kind of leaves joyce to the wolves in an attempt to be normaler. A kind of dynamic shift of we both aren't normal but we're together, to you're less normal than me and thus a stepping stone up to being cooler. I dont think mac purpoefully hurts her or anything they just kind of grow apart before dennis and dee enter the picture of their friend group. Idk. I have a lot of thoughts so lmk if theres anything specific u wanna know

[jiubilant]

avrusa and aduri sarethi!!

first impression: sorry if i'm repeating myself...i've told this story before i think...but if i'm remembering right—and this would have been sometime in 2017, before i'd come up with any of my characters—i went to sarethi farm in the first place because i'd looked up "romanceable skyrim npcs" in a desperate bid to find a wife for my current character. loved avrusa. spent several hours in blackreach finding nirnroot for avrusa. spent several more hours in the pale finding jazbay grapes for avrusa. finally married avrusa. guess who abandons her sister and her farm and says nothing but canned stock lines if you marry her? avrusa. reloaded my pre-blackreach save to spare from marital zombiehood my one true love avrusa. and that's how ravi is spiritually if not canonically divorced

impression now: the sarethi sisters are two of my favorite characters in skyrim. avrusa ma'am i'm sorry i ever thought you were straight

favorite moment: when i found the last fucking nirnroot

idea for a story: it's been years now since i touched it but someday i want to finish the one about aduri as the high queen's court painter

unpopular opinion: avrusa's hands-down the best-written marriage candidate in the game but almost nobody voted for her in that poll that was going around awhile back 😔

favorite relationship: one of the reasons i love these two so much is that they have so much backstory with sinderion...it makes them feel more fleshed-out than most other random characters that you meet around skyrim (and gives us one of the game's very infrequent callbacks to the events of tes iv!) but to add to that—

favorite headcanon: —i love their dynamic as sisters because it's one that's unique to mer in a fun thought-provoking way. if you're an elf it's completely possible to have a sibling that's a century or two younger than you. these two are the ideal canon characters with which to explore what that sort of relationship might look like

apart from that i do imagine them eventually selling the farm and pursuing their dreams <3 avrusa becomes master of alchemy at the college of winterhold and coaxes savos's old greenhouse back to life

[aquila1nz]

Shortland Street's Queer Women in 2022

We finished 2021 with an unexpected kiss between Samira and Francesca, plus two ongoing f/f relationships, and then 2022 turned out to be an absolute rollercoaster.

The new relationship between Samira and Francesca was very popular and absolutely lovely - and then went downhill very fast, as Francesca pushed too hard, then left the show. Samira immediately decided Marty was the love of her life instead, then promptly left the show without him.

Dawn tried to set Louis up with cosplayer Demelza but instead she kissed Dawn. Dawn was very flattered and is never good at saying no to people, but had to tell her she had been down that path before and it was not for her. Demelza turned out to be an ex of Maeve's (pre-Saskia) that she had a bad break up with which Maeve was apparently still harbouring a lot of anger over. I'm sorry Demelza didn't hang around after that.

Rosalyn left Leanne for a man who grew flowers; Rosalyn's side of the breakup all happened off screen. Leanne didn't swear off women forever (which would have been within character) but she did sleep with newly married Damo and then got involved with an evangelical church which would have drastic repercussions down the line. She did quit the church when her closest friend there proved homophobic, in time to prevent them fleecing her of all her money, so well done Leanne. Not sure if she'll get a girlfriend again but she has evolved a bit. Still trying to run Nicole's life though. And then at the end of the year Ros showed up for a funeral.

Nicole and Maeve have had a difficult year of never quite being on the same page, struggling with intimacy and whether the other really wants them. Which culminated in Maeve suggesting a threesome with a woman who had been flirting with Nicole because she thought that might make things better with Nicole. Nicole was not pleased but later trying to initiate a threesome with a man they worked with which Maeve said yes to but then freaked out about, and shortly after that Nicole decided their relationship had become too hard and asked Maeve to leave. Maeve did not take this well, got drunk a bunch and kissed Harper once. And then someone from Brightshine church killed Wilder, which briefly brought them back together in their grief, the year ended with them loosely together, Nicole obviously not happy about it, and Nicole was last seen in the IV as it burned down. Cliffhanger! On the one hand that's three f/f couples that have broken up on Shortland Street this year. On the other, that's a soap record, because no other soap has three unrelated (or overrelated) wlw couples to break up.

Saskia also returned for one episode for Wilder's funeral (not surprising - Amanda Tito had been doing some directing - including directing the episode where Nicole and Maeve first broke up).

Young Billy is still not quite up to full dialogue scenes, but has become more vocal with the addition of Marley, and there was a nice storyline where Marley wanted to wear a blue Frozen dress for Halloween to match Billy's princess dress. After Marley came home from school angry at being laughed at for wearing it to the school Halloween Drew also dressed in a dress to go trick or treating, leading to drama with a friend's parent who had unnecessary opinions. And Billy ended the year with a full sentence of dialogue!

In other news in November new doctor Gia Te Arakura was introduced when Jack employed her as a locum. Gia was avoiding meeting TK who had recently found out that the older child he was estranged from was dead, and it quickly became clear that Gia was that child, who had transitioned. And had also become a fully fledged doctor in the five years since she last appeared on the show as a teenager focused on rowing - we could solve the country's health worker shortage if we used Shortland Street's sped up training methods! Gia is played by trans actress Awa Puna.

So yes, a year with lots of ups and downs for the fans. Shortland Street is back from hiatus on Monday, it'll be interesting to see where they go this year.

[effervescentdragon]

15, 17, 21

te quiero MUUUUUcho 🐮🐮🐮🐼

como una vaca 🐮💖💖💖💖💖💖

15. How do you come up with titles for your fics/chapters?

barely 😹 its usually either sth feom a quote or a lyric that i appropriate/misquote, or sth feom the fic, a phrase i use or so. then i go and forget what i named it forever bcs im just hashtag Like That 🙈

17. What’s something you’ve learned about while doing research for a fic?

uhhh a LOT of things, off the top of my head lets see. pre-ww1 geography of africa amd how much time it took to travel all around the world back then and how. specs for many many many weapons. prehistoric plant genii. phrases in italian, spanish and russian. organisation of navy in victorian times. history of tea and coffee. catholic prayers and random holidays (feast of immaculate conception you will always be famous). i could say a lot about star trek but honestly ive known that shit already. how to construct words, names, and sentences in quenya and sindarin both. names of things in forges. like. so many things.

21. Have you ever deleted an entire scene after spending hours laboring over it? If so, why?

a couple of times, i think. usually because the tone didnt really fot the rest of the fic or chapter, so i leave it in the doc to see if i can reword it or put it somewhere else. I usually have the opposite problem, where i finish a fic and then go AKSHCHULLY i could add this tiny lil 3-5k scene in 😹

[devoted-tales]

Namira Explained

{tldr: Namira is the Ancient Darkness, who is a devouring mother-goddess, exerting entropic influence in physical and psycho-spiritual ways to bring everything that exists to nothing}

Namira is spirit whose sphere is the Ancient Darkness, not like Shadow or Night—both of which necessitate Light or Day to be—but closer to the Primordial Void or even Pre-Light. J.R.R. Tolkien’s description of Ungoliant’s potency works well for a comparison to Namira: “A cloak of darkness she wove about them when Melkor and Ungoliant set forth: an Unlight, in which things seemed to be no more, and which eyes could not pierce, for it was void” (The Silmarillion, Ch. 8: Of the Darkening of Valinor)—emphasis on “Unlight.”

If one accepts that the Aurbis runs on a kalpic cycle, and if one accepts that a circle has no beginning or ending, then the point of the close of one kalpa is the opening of the next, and it is Darkness. The Ancient Darkness is both the womb and tomb of the Aurbis, and the Reachfolk seem to best comprehend Namira as the aware spirit of that Ancient Darkness: “Namira, the Spirit Queen, rules over the infinite realm of spirit […] Reachfolk see Namira as the avatar of all primal dualisms. Life and death, beginnings and endings, possibility and entropy—all fundamental competing forces flow from her realm of spirit” (Great Spirits of the Reach: Volume 3 by Vashu gra-Morgra).

Other cultures acknowledge this aspect of Namira’s Darkness too. The Khajiit call her “the Eldest Spirit” and “the Void,” as well as “the Great Darkness” (The Dark Spirits by Amun-dro), and their stories describe that Great Darkness as an apparently pre-existant place, where Fadomai birthed Lorkhaj (Words of Clan Mother Ahnissi to her Favored Daughter by Clan Mother Ahnissi); this nods to the Ancient Darkness being the womb of the Aurbis. In Cyrodilic accounting, Namira’s plane of Oblivion is called “the Scuttling Void” (Imperial Census of Daedra Lords by Imperial Geographic Survey), which nods to the Ancient Darkness being the tomb of the Aurbis; her realm scuttles (i.e., destroys, wrecks) the world until it is void (i.e., nothing).

So, Namira’s “function” in the Aurbis is entropy or decay. From the Ancient Darkness all spirits came and to it all spirits return, and she works to ensure the Ending of what Began. But she isn’t usually considered in impersonal language, in the way that, for example, Raj-Sithis as Change(r) is sometimes described by Saxhleel.

Namira is almost universally associated with negativity and abjection: “associated with spiders, insects, slugs, and other repulsive creatures which inspire mortals with an instinctive revulsion” (The Book of Daedra); “Wheedle knew that Namira was the Daedric lord of all thing gross and repulsive. Diseases such as leprosy and gangrene were her domain” (Beggar Prince); “Namira is the Lady of Decay, the Daedric Prince of spirits and shadows. She's the patron of vermin and squalor” (Tree-Minder Nexith). And this is even the case for those who worship her: “place of blessed darkness. A holy place where we may worship in our wretchedness […] Hallowed ground, home of the Forgotten Ones. A deep hole of shadow and despair. A truly wondrous place” (Hjolfrodi the Harrier, respectively, re Namira’s shrine and Anga); “Many used to come to these caves. The forgotten. The wretched” (Eola re Namira’s shrine in Reachcliff Cave). Even more brazenly, Namira herself outright proclaims it: “They worship me from the dark, basking in their misery and filth” (Namira re the Forgotten cult in TES IV); “I am frequently reviled by townsfolk. It pleases me to be recognized for my attribute, if not for my name” (Beggar Prince).

The process is a psycho-spiritual outworking on the Ancient Darkness’ entropic and decaying influence on/within the psyche of a grieving Khajiit named Dak’radhi, whose wife (Tuhada) has died of illness and whose son (Vijari) is sick with the same illness. Namiira comes to Dak’radhi while he prays to Khenarthi, and Namiira begins to warp the cat:

Dak'radhi: "Khenarthi. Please. He is a boy. He is our only boy …. If you must take someone, take me!"

Shadow of Namiira: "She doesn't want you."

Dak'radhi: "W—who's there?"

Shadow of Namiira: "She never wanted you."

Dak'radhi: "Shut up."

Shadow of Namiira: "Or your wretched wife."

Dak'radhi: "Shut up."

Shadow of Namiira: "Or your wretched son."

Dak'radhi: "Shut up!"

Shadow of Namiira: "She's forsaken you. But I haven't. There's a place in the Dark for all you cast off, forgotten souls."

Dak'radhi: "You—you will save Vijari-ma?"

Shadow of Namiira: "No, lonely creature. You will."

Under the influence of Namiira, Dak’radhi mixes a paint with ingredients to be applied to a mural sacred to the community and hallowed by their faith in Khenarthi. As Dak’radhi prepares the mixture, Namiira dictates to Dak’radhi a specific point of view about each ingredient (the ingredients themselves being neutral things, thus able to be viewed as good or bad or neutral—all within the eye of the individual), a point of view that undermines his stability and hastens Dak’radhi’s deterioration (or scuttling) into a dro-m’Athra.

Dak'radhi: "Dak'radhi brought what you asked."

Shadow of Namiira: "Pour it all into your art."

Dak'radhi: "Blood of a flightless bird."

Shadow of Namiira: "Too terrible and ugly for Khenarthi's sky."

Dak'radhi: "Petals, blue as the sky."

Shadow of Namiira: "Numbing dreams are as close as you'll come."

Dak'radhi: "The skin of her fallen children."

Shadow of Namiira: "Torn down by her own wind and claws."

Shadow of Namiira: "Come, my lost cat. Paint your mark for me and we'll dance on Khenarthi's graves."

The result of this process is Dak’radhi becoming a dro-m’Athra, and he begs his son to join him—for his own good: “Vijari-ma! Dak'radhi feels you near! Come to him! Come be free of this world! […] Vijari belongs with us! […] Dak'radhi can take his pain away! […] Dance with me, Vijari! Down in the Darkness where death cannot find you. We will never be separated again!”

The quest is truly a wonderfully haunting encapsulation of what Namira is all about, as she offers consolation that is actually desolation to a soul, and thereby makes him her child. And to be a dro-m’Athra is a harrowing and dreadful existence. The player can know this via their dialogue: “Khajiit craves the taste of misery […] Fill their veins with bile and True Cats go astray […] Poach the blind, the sickly, and the lame. They belong with us. […] The Great Darkness has come to swallow Nirni up […] We hide Khajiit from the false light of the Moons. […] Namiira will devour the Lost Cat's suffering.”

Namira is the devouring mother, and she exerpts physical entropy via decay on the world and psycho-spiritual rot via subversion, shame, loathing, despair, and revulsion on the psyche to scuttle all that is unto void. And she will consume to sate her “hunger” (The Dark Spirits by Amun-dro). Once more, J.R.R. Tolkien’s description of Ungoliant works well for a comparison to Namira: “There she sucked up all light that she could find, and spun it forth again in dark nets of strangling gloom, until no light more could come to her abode; and she was famished” (The Silmarillion, Ch. 8: Of the Darkening of Valinor).

[nine-blessed-hero]

OCs - Who the hell is: Kellandra Rhiannon Lorinda Rue

(A "short" Original Character primer)

➼ Universe:

TES IV: Oblivion (vanilla)

➼ What does she look like?

Rin, like many redguards, is tall, well-built, and has dark skin. She uses a combination of lye and citrus juice to bleach her hair, for backstory reasons.

She's most comfortable in her armour and tends to stick to the Knights of the Nine full-plate mail. However, when she's performing alchemy, she prefers to dress in whatever light robe or clothing is available. Usually, this is her Apprentice Robes (another stain or two won't make a difference), but she's also been known to wear the Light Blue Regalia too, as this is what she considers to be "civilian" clothing.

➼ What's she like?

Rin is very forthright, law-abiding and stern. However, she also has a penchant for not understanding sarcasm, being awkward in social situations, and taking instructions very literally.

Despite being very intelligent, she's not very worldly-wise (unsurprising due to her cloistered upbringing) so she's missing a lot of "common" knowledge. This cloistered upbringing and an abusive father also means she has some self-esteem issues, and often feels she's in the way or taking up time and resources that she shouldn't be.

➼ Who are the main important people in her life?

Marz – As the Healer in the Chapel of Mara, Marz is the one who taught Rin the basics of alchemy, against her father's wishes. Marz was also one of the few positive influences in Rin's early life, and Rin looked to her as a mother figure. Rin was devastated by her death at the hands of Umaril's Aurorans, far more so than when Rin learned of her father's death.

Methredhel – Rin and the thief became fast friends after going out for some "no hard feelings" drinks after their competition to get into the Thieves guild, and have remained close – and maybe a little more – ever since.

Baurus – As a fellow redguard whom she's "allowed" to become close with, Rin looks up to Baurus a lot and often takes his word on redguard culture as gospel.

➼ Can you give us a highlight reel of her life?

A foundling of Bravil, Rin was adopted as a toddler by Soliril 'Rue, a priest of Mara.

As soon as she could hold a broom, Rin's life was duty, subservience, and toil.

In her pre-teens, Soliril enrolled Rin in Castle Bravil's Junior Guards*, so learning weaponry and warfare were added to the already strenuous list of activities expected of her. It was here she saw the power of Alchemy in Marz's hands.

Rin didn't get the courage to speak to Marz about it for another few years. They spoke while at Chapel, and Rin was amazed at the power a few leaves and petals could have. Marz then began techning Rin in stolen moments.

Eventually, Marz thought Rin was good enough to enter the Mages guild. She spoke to Ardaline, the Bravil Chapter Alchemist on Rin's behalf. Ardaline, not knowing this was a secret, spoke to Soliril, who became furious that his "stupid" daughter was trying to learn magic. He flew into a rage and beat Rin. She fled the city and was caught on The Green Road trying to steal food from an Imperial Guard. He took pity on her distress at being taken back to Bravil, so she was dumped in an empty cell in the Imperial Prison.

After meeting Martin, she was plagued with nightmares of his death. That, and her sudden freedom, was what turned her from further helping in the Main Quest for a while. Instead, she finally joined the Mages guild. While in Anvil, she heard the prophet, and back in Bravil she looked through the mysterious door – but didn't stay long**. Likewise, she became ashamed of herself for being drawn by the allure of the Grey Fox and never got higher than Prowler. After taking the pilgrimage again, Rin turned her attention to the ever-growing threat of the Oblivion gates, eventually returning to Martin and joining the Blades in their fight.

* I don't have a better name for what this might be, so hush for now...

** I'm retconning a lot of stuff mentioned in Not Alone to better suit how the character has developed. At some point, I'll rewrite that story.

➼ What points in her life are you writing about?

From the start of the game forward. I haven't really felt inclined to write much about her backstory.

➼ Who is she in real-world development terms?

Rin is an offshoot of my main playthrough (Rowan/ This-Page-Left-Blank-HoK being the other). Over the past few years, Rin and Rowan have diverged considerably, and I now consider them to be very separate characters, each taking a different path through the quest lines.

As the two characters diverged, I realised Rin needed a real name. My character name in-game is Dru I (I somehow forgot this wasn't a hardcore game and I wouldn't need to re-roll a dozen characters and name them Dru II-XII), so I decided to reuse a name which has blessed many of my characters. Unlike the others, this K'Rin L'Rue prefers being known as Rin or Rhiannon. I don't yet have a good lore explanation for her long-ass name, though it could be related to the Aldmeri tradition of lengthy full names (even though her name is only passingly lore-friendly in that regard – if you tilt your head a squint a bit).

Re: Rin's unusual hair – I have a habit of setting my character's hair to be the lightest possible so I can find them in games, forgetting entirely that Oblivion is a First Person rather than a Top Down game, so I wanted to find a lore-friendly reasoning for why it's that colour... and ended up with racist father...

[a-z0-9-i-n-gram-completionist]

1:    0 1 2 4 8 9 a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z    32/36    (26/26)    (6/10)

2:    08 11 18 19 41 42 84 90 ab ac ad ag ai aj ak al am an ap ar as at av aw ay ba bd be bi bl bo br bs bu by ca cc ce ch ci ck cl co cr cs ct cu cy da dd de df di dl dn do dr ds du dy ea eb ec ed ee ef eg eh ei el em en eo ep eq er es et ev ew ex ey fa fe fi fo fr ft fu ga ge gh gi gl go gr gs gt gy ha he hi hn ho hr ht hu hy ia ib ic id ie if ig il im in io ip ir is it iu iv iz jo ju ke ki kn ks ky la ld le lf li lk ll lm lo ls lu lv ly ma me mh mi mo mp ms mu my na nb nc nd ne nf ng nh ni nk nl nn no ns nt nu nv ny oa ob oc od oe of og oi ol om on oo op or os ot ou ow ox oy pa pe ph pi pl pm po pp pr ps pt pu qu ra rd re rg ri rk rl rm rn ro rp rr rs rt ru ry rz sa sc se sh si sk sm sn so sp sq ss st su sw sy ta te th ti tl to tr ts tt tu tw ty ua ub uc ud ue ug ui ul um un uo up ur us ut ve vi wa we wh wi wo wr xc xe xi xt xu yb yg yl ym yn yo yp ys yx ze zo    290/1296    (282/676)    (8/100)

3:    184 190 842 908 abd abl aca acc aci ack acr acs act ade ads age ain ajo ake aki ale ali alk all alm alo als ame ami amp ana anc and ane ang ani ans ant anu any ape app ard are arg ark arl arm aro arr ars art ase ask ass ata ate ath ati ato att atu ave avi awa awr ayb bab bac bal bas bdo bea bed beh bel bet bey bio bis bit ble blo bly bod bon bou bow boy bra bre bst bul bur but cal can cav cce ccy cee cen cep che chi cia cie cin cks cky cle clo clu coc com con cos cre cri cru cti ctu cul cut cyx dar dda dea dee den deo dep der des dfi did die din dis dle dne doe dom don dor dul dur ead eak eal ear eat ebr eci ecr ect edd edi eed eei eem een efe egi egs ehi ein eir eit ela ele elf ell elo elv ely ema eme emo emp ems emu enb enc end eng enh eno ent env eos eou epo eps ept equ era ere eri erl erm ern err ers ert eru ery erz esc ese esn esp ess est eta ete eto etw ety eve evi ewh exc exe ext exu eyo fam far fat fem fer fes fib fie fif fin fir fis for fos fra fro fth fur fus gap gel gem ges ght gic gif gio gir gla glu gol gon gou gre gro gth gys han hap hat hav hea hei hem hen her hes hey hic hig him hin hip hir his hit hiu hna hol hot hou hro hum hus hym ial iar ibe ibi ibu ica ice ich ick icu ide idf ied ien ier ies iet ife ifi ift igh ila ili ill ima imi ims ina inc ind ine inf ing ink ins int inu iny iof ion ior iou ips ird irs isc ise ish iso isp iss ist ite ith iti its itt ity ium ive ize joi jor jus jut ked kel kes kin kiv kne kno ksc lan lar lat lde leg len les let lex lia lie lif lis lit lli llo lls lly lmo loa log lon loo lop lou low lso lue lun lus lvi lym lyp mag maj mak mal man mar mas mat may mel men mer met mew mil min mit moo mor mos mou mph mpl mpr mse mur mus myg nac nad nal nat nbo nce ncl nde ndi ndn ndo nds ndu nec nee nei neo nes nex nfr nge ngs ngt ngy nhn nim nky nly nne nop nor nos not now nox nse nsi nst nsw nta nte nti ntl nto ntr nts ntu nuo nus nve oac oat oba occ oce oci odi ody oes ofi oft ogi ogo ogs oin old ole olo oma ome omi omp omy ona ond one onl onn ons ont ool oos oot ope ops opt ora org ori orm ors ose osi oss ost osu ota ote oth oti oto oug oun oup ous out owe owi oxi oyl par pat pea pec ped pel per pho pic pin ple pli pmh poi pos ppa ppe ppo pre pri pro pte pti pub qua que qui rac rai ral ran rap rat raw rdl rea rec red ref reg rel rem ren res ret rev rge ria rib rig rin rio ris rit rki rks rly rma rmi rmo rms rns roa rob roc rog rom rop ros rou row rpr rra rro rru rsa rse rsi rst rte rth rti rto rts ruc rum rus sac sal sam sav say sch sci scl scr scu sec sed see sel seq ses sha she sid sim sio sis sit siv siz ske ski sma smo soc sof som sop sor spe spi spo squ sso ssu sta ste sti stl sto sts stu sty sua sub suc sue sup sur sus swe syn tai tak tal tan tar tat tea teb ted ten ter tes tha the thi tho thr thu thy tib tic tid tin tio tip tis tiv tle tly tom ton too tot tre tri tsi tte ttl tty tua tud tur tus twe two tyl typ ual uar uat ubi ubs uch uco udi uea uen ues ugh uit ula ume und ung unt unu uou upp ups ure uri urn uro urp urr urs urt usc use usi ust usu uta ute uts vel ver vic vid vil vit war wee wel wer wha whe whi who why win wit xcl xem xio xte xtr xus ybe ygo yle ylo yme ymp ymu yno yon you ypi ypm yst zoo    802/46656    (798/17576)    (4/1000)

4:    1842 1908 abdo able ably acce acin acru acti actu adep ages ainf ajor akes akin alis allo alls ally almo alog also amil ampl anal anat ance ands andu aneo ange anim answ ants anus aped appa appe area aren arge arki arks arly arms arou arra arsa arte arti arts ased aske atar ated ater athe atid atio ativ atom atte atty atur avit awar aybe babl back ball base bdom bear bedd behi belo betw beyo biof bitt blog bodi body bone boun boyl brat brev bsta bula burr bute call cavi ccen ccyx ceed cent ceps cept cher chiu cial cien ciet cing cles cloa clus cocc comp conn cons cont cosu cret crib crum ctio ctua ctus cula cuta dard ddar deal deed denb denc deos depo dept desc dfis died dies diet ding disp dnes does dome domi dors dula duri eaki eall ears eart ebra ecia ecre ecti ectu edda edin edis eedi eein eems efer egio ehin eing eith elat elet elop elow elvi emal emel emen emor empl emur enbo ence endi ends engt engy enhn enop enor enti entl entu enve eous epos epti eque eral eran ered eres erio erly ermi erru erse ersi erte erti erto erus escr espe esti esty etal etat eton etwe ever evic evid ewha excl exem exte extr exus eyon fami fatt fema femo femu fest fibu fied fift find firs fish form foss frac frog from furt fuse gely geme gest gica gion gird glan glue gold gona gous grea grou gyst hape have head hear heir here hert herz hese hich high hims hind hing hips hird hite hium hnac hole hoto houg hroa hume hyme hymu iall ibed ibio ibul ibut ical icep icks icky icul idea iden ideo ides idfi ienc iety ifes ifie ifth ight ilar ilia illi imag imal imil imse inal incl inde infr ings inky inse insi inst inte into ints inuo iofi ions ious irdl irst isch ishe isop ispo issu ists ites ithe itio ittl itty ivel join jori just juts kele king kink kive knee know ksch land larg larl late lati latu lden legs leng leta leto lexu liar lier life lifi litt llie llow lmos loac logi logo lond loos lope lops lowe lowi lung lusi lvic lymp lypm mage majo make male mall many mark mass mati mayb mely meno ment meru meta mewh mila mili mina mite moot mora most moun mous mple mpli mpri msel murs musc must mygo naci nads nali nalo nato nboy nclu ndee nder ndin ndne ndon ndul nect neit neou ness next nfro ngem ngth ngys nhna nima nnec nopt norm nost note noxi nsec nseq nsid nsis nste nswe ntai nter ntin ntio ntly ntri ntua nuou nusu nvel oaca obab occy ocee ocie odie oesn ofib ogic ogou oint olde olog omat omen omew omin ompr onad ondo only onne onse onsi onta onti ontr oolo oose ooth oped oper opte oral oria orit orma ormo orsa oses osit osso oste osto osty osus otal oted othe otic ough ound ount oups outs ower owin oxio oylo pare part patt pear peci pelv perl phot pica pine plex plif poin pose posi post ppar ppea ppos pred pris prob proc prop pter ptid pubi quar quea quen ques quit ract rain rang rans rapp rate rath rawr rdle real reat rect redi refe regi rela reme rent rest rete reve revi rgel rges rial ribe ribu righ ring rior rise rity rkiv rksc rmat rmit rmou roat roba roce rogs rope rost roun roup rowe rpri rran rrou rrow rruc rsal rsed rsio rstl rteb rter rthe rtic rton ruco sacr sacs sals same save sche schi scie scle scri scul secr sect seei seem self sequ shap shes side sidf simi sion sist siti sits sive size sked skel skin smal smoo soci soft some sopt sori spec spin spos sque ssor ssue stan stea ster stic stin stio stly stom stot stud styl sual subs such supp surp surr swer syno tain take talk tanc tane tars tata tead tebr tend tera tere teri term tern than that thei them ther thes they thig thin thir this thou thro thus thym tibi tica tick ticu ting tinu tiny tion tips tiss tive toma tomy tons tota toti trem trib tsid tter ttle tual tuat tudi ture turn twee tyle typi uall uart uate ubis ubst ucos udie ueak uenc uest uite ular ulat umer unde undi undn ungs unus uous uppo urin urns uros urpr urro urth uscl uscu used usio usiv usua utan utsi velo vely verr vers vert very vice vide vill vity ware ween well were wers what when whic whit whol wing with xclu xemp xiou xten xtre ygol ylou ymen ymph ymus ynos

yond ypic ypmh ysto zool    815/1679616    (813/456976)    (2/10000)

5:    abdom accen acing acrum actio actua adept ainfr ajori aking allow almos alogo amili ample analo anato andul aneou angem anima answe appar appea arent argel arges arkiv arksc aroun arran arsal arter artic asked atars atera ather ation ative atomy atter ature avity aware bably balls based bdome bdomi bedda behin below betwe beyon biofi bitty bodie bound boylo brate brevi bstan burro cally cavit ccent ceedi centu cepti cherz chium ciall cienc ciety cloac clusi coccy compr conne conse consi conta conti contr cosus crete cribe ction ctual cular culat cutan ddard denbo dence depos descr dfish dings dispo dness doesn domen domin dorsa dular durin eakin eally earts ebrat ecial ecret ectio ectus eddar eding edisp eedin eeing egion ehind eithe elati eleta eleto elope elops elvic emale emely ement emora empli emurs enboy endin ength engys enhna enopt enorm entio ently entua envel eposi eptid equen erans erest erior ermit erruc ersed ersio erteb ertic erton escri espec estin estio estyl etata etons etwee evers evice evide ewhat exclu exemp exten extre eyond famil fatty femal femor femur festy fibul fifth first fishe forma fosso fract frogs furth fused gemen gical girdl gland golde gonad great group gysto haped heart herto himse hnaci hough hroat humer hymen hymus ially ibiof ibula ibute icall iceps icept icula ideal idenc ideos idfis ience ifest ified ilarl iliar illie image imila imsel inali inclu indee infro insec insid inste inter inuou iofib irdle irstl ischi ishes isopt ispos issue ither ition ittle ively joint jorit kelet kinky ksche lands landu large larly later lativ latur ldenb lengt letal leton lexus lifes lifie littl llier llowi lmost loaca logic logou londo loose loped lower lowin lungs lusio lusiv lymph lypmh mages major makes marks matid matio maybe menop menti merus metat mewha milar milia minal mites mooth moral mount mplex mplif mpris mself muscl muscu mygol nacin nalis nalog natom nboyl nclus ndeed nding ndnes ndula necti neith neous nfrog ngeme ngyst nhnac nimal nnect nopte normo nosto noted noxio nsect nsequ nside nsist nstea nswer ntain ntere ntinu ntion ntrib ntuat nuous nusua nvelo obabl occyx oceed ociet odies ofibu ogica ogous oints olden ologi omati omewh omina ompri onads ondon onnec onseq onsis ontai ontin ontri oolog operl opter orial ority ormat ormou orsal ositi osits ossor oster ostot ostyl other otica ounde oundi oundn outsi owers owing oxiou oylou paren parti patte pears pecia pelvi perly photo pical plexu plifi point poses posit poste ppare ppear ppose predi prise proba proce prope ptera pubis quart queak quenc quest quite racti rainf range rathe reall rectu redis refer regio relat remel rentl resti rever revic rgely rgest ribed ribut right rkive rksch rmati rmite rmous robab rocee roper rosty round roups rower rpris rrang rroun rrowe rruco rsals rsion rstly rtebr rther rtica rticu rucos sacru scher schiu scien scles scrib scula secre seein seems seque shape sides sidfi simil sists sitio sivel skele small smoot socie somew sopte soria speci spine spose squea ssori stanc stead steri stick sting stion stoma stoti studi style suall subst suppo surpr surro swere synos tance taneo tarsa tatar tebra tendi tends teral teran teres terio termi their there thert these thigh thing third thoug throa thymu tibio tical ticks ticky ticul tinuo tions tissu tomat total totic treme tribu tside ttern tuall tuate tudie turns tween typic ually uarte uated ubsta ucosu udied ueaki uence uesti ularl ulatu umeru under undin undne unusu uppos uring urost urpri urrou urrow urthe uscle uscul usion usive usual utane utsid velop verru verse versi verte verti vicep viden video villi wered which white whole xclus xempl xious xtend xtrem ygold ymeno ynost ypica ystom zoolo    622/60466176    (622/11881376)

6:    abdome abdomi accent action actual ainfro ajorit allowi almost alogou amilia amplex analog anatom andula aneous angeme animal answer appare appear arentl argely argest arkive arksch around arrang arsals articu atarsa ateral athert ations attern bdomen bdomin beddar behind betwee beyond biofib bodies boylou brevic bstanc burrow cavity ccentu ceedin centua ceptid cially cience cloaca clusio clusiv coccyx compri connec conseq consis contai contin contri cribed ctions ctuall cularl culatu cutane denboy deposi descri dfishe dispos domina dorsal during eaking ebrate eciall ecrete ection eddard edings edispo eeding either elativ eletal eleton eloped emoral emplif enboyl ending engyst enhnac enopte enormo ention entuat envelo eposit equenc eresti ermite erruco ersion ertebr ertica escrib especi esting estion estyle etatar etween everse evicep eviden exclus exempl extend extrem famili female femora femurs festyl fibula firstl fishes format fossor fracti furthe gement girdle glands glandu golden gonads groups gystom hearts herton himsel hnacin humeru hymeno ibiofi ically icepti icular idence idfish ifesty ilarly illier images imilar imself inalis inclus indeed infrog insect inside instea intere inuous iofibu irstly ischiu isopte ispose jority keleta keleto kscher landul largel larges latera lative lature ldenbo length letons lifest lified little llowin logica logous london lowing lusion lusive majori marksc mation menopt mentio metata mewhat milarl miliar minali mplexu mplifi mprise muscle muscul mygold nacing nalogo natomy nboylo nclusi ndness ndular nectio neithe nfrogs ngemen ngysto nhnaci nnecti nopter normou nostot noxiou nseque nsists nstead nswere nteres ntinuo ntribu ntuate nusual nvelop obably oceedi ociety ofibul ogical oldenb ologic omatid omewha ominal ompris onnect onsequ onsist ontain ontinu ontrib oologi operly optera ormati ormous ositio ossori osteri ostoti ostyle otical ounder oundin oundne outsid oxious parent partic patter pecial pelvic plexus plifie points positi posits poster pparen ppears predis probab procee proper pteran quarte queaki quence questi ractio rainfr rangem rather really rectus redisp region relati remely rently restin revers revice ribute rksche rmatio rmites robabl roceed roperl rostyl rounde roundi roundn rowers rprise rrange rround rrower rrucos rtebra rtical rticul rucosu sacrum scherz schium scienc scribe scular sculat secret seeing sequen shaped sidfis simila sition sively skelet smooth societ somewh sopter sorial specia sposes squeak ssoria stance sterio sticks sticky stomat stotic studie sually substa suppos surpri surrou swered synost taneou tarsal tatars tebrat tendin terans terest terior termit therto though throat thymus tibiof ticall ticula tinuou tissue tomati totica tremel tribut tually tuated tudied typica uarter ubstan ucosus ueakin uestio ularly ulatur umerus unding undnes unusua uppose urosty urpris urroun urrowe urther uscles uscula usivel usuall utaneo utside velope velops verruc versed versio verteb vertic viceps vicept videnc videos villie xclusi xempli xtendi xtends xtreme ygolde ymenop ynosto ypical ystoma zoolog    446/2176782336    (446/308915776)

7:    abdomen abdomin accentu actuall ainfrog ajority allowin alogous amiliar amplexu analogo anatomy andular angemen answere apparen appears arently arksche arrange articul atarsal atherto bdomina beddard between biofibu brevice bstance burrowe ccentua ceeding centuat clusion clusive compris connect consequ consist contain continu contrib ctually cularly culatur cutaneo denboyl deposit describ dfishes dispose dominal ecially ections edispos eedings elative eletons emplifi enboylo engysto enhnaci enopter enormou entuate envelop eposits equence erestin ermites errucos ertebra ertical escribe especia etatars eversed eviceps evicept evidenc exclusi exempli extendi extends extreme familia femoral festyle firstly formati fossori fractio further glandul goldenb gystoma himself hnacing humerus hymenop ibiofib iceptid icularl idfishe ifestyl imilarl inclusi infrogs instead interes iofibul ischium isopter isposes keletal keleton kscherz landula largely largest lateral ldenboy lifesty llowing logical lusivel majorit marksch mations menopte mention metatar milarly minalis mplexus mplifie muscles muscula mygolde nalogou nboylou nclusio nection neither ngement ngystom nhnacin nnectio noptera normous nostoti noxious nsequen nswered nterest ntinuou ntribut ntuated nusuall nvelope nvelops oceedin ofibula oldenbo ologica omewhat ominali omprise onnecti onseque onsists ontinuo ontribu oologic opteran ormatio osition ossoria osterio ostotic oticall ounding oundnes outside parentl particu pattern peciall plified positio posteri pparent predisp probabl proceed properl pterans quarter queakin questio raction rainfro rangeme redispo relativ resting reverse revicep rkscher rmation robably roceedi roperly rostyle rounder roundin roundne rrangem rroundi rrowers rrucosu rtebrat rticula rucosus science scribed sculatu secrete sequenc sidfish similar skeleta skeleto society somewha soptera special squeaki ssorial sterior stomati stotica studied substan suppose surpris surroun synosto taneous tarsals tatarsa tebrate tending teresti termite therton tibiofi tically ticular tinuous tomatid totical tremely tribute typical ubstanc ueaking uestion ulature undness unusual urostyl urprise urround urrower uscular usculat usively usually utaneou veloped verruco version vertebr vertica vicepti vidence villier xclusiv xemplif xtendin xtremel ygolden ymenopt ynostot ystomat zoologi    297/78364164096    (297/8031810176)

8:    abdomina accentua actually ainfrogs allowing amplexus analogou angement answered apparent arkscher arrangem articula atarsals atherton bdominal biofibul brevicep burrower ccentuat ceedings centuate clusivel comprise connecti conseque consists continuo contribu culature cutaneou denboylo deposits describe disposes dominali edispose emplifie enboylou engystom enhnacin enoptera enormous entuated envelope envelops eresting errucosu ertebrat escribed especial etatarsa evicepti evidence exclusiv exemplif extendin extremel familiar formatio fossoria fraction glandula goldenbo gystomat hymenopt ibiofibu icularly idfishes ifestyle imilarly inclusio interest iofibula isoptera keletons landular ldenboyl lifestyl lusively majority marksche menopter metatars mplified muscular musculat mygolden nalogous nclusion nections ngystoma nhnacing nnection nopteran nostotic nsequenc nteresti ntinuous ntribute nusually nveloped oceeding oldenboy ological ominalis onnectio onsequen ontinuou ontribut oologica opterans ormation ossorial osterior ostotica otically oundness parently particul pecially position posterio pparentl predispo probably proceedi properly queaking question rainfrog rangemen redispos relative reversed reviceps revicept rkscherz rmations roceedin rounding roundnes rrangeme rroundin rrucosus rtebrate rticular sculatur sequence sidfishe similarl skeletal skeleton somewhat sopteran speciall squeakin stomatid stotical substanc surprise surround synostot tatarsal terestin termites tibiofib ticularl toticall ubstance unusuall urostyle urroundi urrowers usculatu utaneous verrucos vertebra vertical viceptid xclusive xemplifi xtending xtremely ygoldenb ymenopte ynostoti ystomati zoologic    189/2821109907456    (189/208827064576)

9:    abdominal accentuat analogous apparentl arkscherz arrangeme articular bdominali biofibula breviceps brevicept burrowers ccentuate centuated clusively connectio consequen continuou contribut cutaneous denboylou described dominalis edisposes emplified engystoma enhnacing enopteran enveloped errucosus ertebrate especiall etatarsal eviceptid exclusive exemplifi extending extremely formation fossorial glandular goldenboy gystomati hymenopte ibiofibul inclusion interesti isopteran ldenboylo lifestyle markscher menoptera metatarsa musculatu mygoldenb ngystomat nnections nopterans nostotica nsequence nterestin oceedings oldenboyl onnection onsequenc ontinuous ontribute oological ormations ostotical particula posterior pparently predispos proceedin rainfrogs rangement redispose revicepti roceeding roundness rrangemen rrounding rticularl sculature sidfishes similarly skeletons sopterans specially squeaking stoticall substance surroundi synostoti tatarsals teresting tibiofibu ticularly totically unusually urroundin usculatur verrucosu vertebrat xclusivel xemplifie ygoldenbo ymenopter ynostotic ystomatid zoologica    112/101559956668416    (112/5429503678976)

10:    abdominali accentuate apparently arrangemen articularl bdominalis brevicepti ccentuated connection consequenc continuous contribute engystomat enopterans especially etatarsals exclusivel exemplifie formations goldenboyl gystomatid hymenopter ibiofibula interestin isopterans ldenboylou markscherz menopteran metatarsal musculatur mygoldenbo ngystomati nostotical nteresting oldenboylo onnections onsequence ostoticall particular predispose proceeding redisposes reviceptid roceedings rrangement rticularly stotically surroundin synostotic tibiofibul urrounding usculature verrucosus vertebrate xclusively xemplified ygoldenboy ymenoptera ynostotica zoological    60/3656158440062976    (60/141167095653376)

11:    abdominalis accentuated arrangement articularly breviceptid connections consequence engystomati exclusively exemplified goldenboylo hymenoptera interesting menopterans metatarsals musculature mygoldenboy ngystomatid nostoticall oldenboylou ostotically particularl predisposes proceedings surrounding synostotica tibiofibula ygoldenboyl ymenopteran ynostotical    30/131621703842267136    (30/3670344486987776)

12:    engystomatid goldenboylou hymenopteran mygoldenboyl nostotically particularly synostotical ygoldenboylo ymenopterans ynostoticall    10/4738381338321616896    (10/95428956661682176)

13:    hymenopterans mygoldenboylo synostoticall ygoldenboylou ynostotically    5/170581728179578208256    (5/2481152873203736576)

14:    mygoldenboylou synostotically    2/6140942214464815497216    (2/64509974703297150976)

Why are rain frogs so round? What's /inside/ of them around such an itty bitty skeleton?

So it turns out this is a really interesting question.

The first thing we must be aware of is that rainfrogs as we see them in videos of them squeaking are not quite the same shape as they are when at rest:

[x]

But you are quite right, they are very round. This is exemplified by the skeletal photo you refer to:

[X]

So what are we seeing?

Well, firstly, note that the body cavity in these frogs actually envelops the femurs, such that only the tibiofibula (fused in frogs) and the tarsals and metatarsals are outside the body. The arms are quite similarly enveloped, but a bit of the humerus does extend outside the body cavity too. This predisposes them to a rounder body shape.

Next, note the ilia - the U-shaped bone in the pelvic region. These in some breviceptid frogs are synostotically fused with the sacrum - that is to say, they are bound by bone-based connections to the bow-shaped vertebra at their tips. This whole joint seems to be quite smooth, and as a consequence, the back of the frog is quite smooth. The other thing we can see here is that the urostyle (i.e. the frog version of a coccyx) juts quite far beyond the ischium and pubis. This extends the body cavity beyond the hips. Note also that the pelvic girdle seems to be largely below the spine, rather than the typical position for frogs behind it and continuous with it. This makes the legs sit below the spine, rather than at its end, enhnacing the vertical roundness of the animal.

Next, let’s talk some soft tissue. Now, I’m not as familiar with soft-tissue in frogs as I am their skeletons, so you’ll have to bear with me a bit (rawr). Beddard (1908!!) studied the soft tissue of Breviceps verrucosus Rapp 1842. It seems that the majority of the body of these frogs is actually muscle. Beddard noted that muscles join the leg at the knee that extend into the body cavity, such that the inclusion of the thigh in the body cavity is further accentuated by musculature. The rectus abdominalis muscle is unusually large, extending from the lower abdomen up and around the sides of the body. Indeed, this large size appears to be the pattern with all of the major muscles, though in the throat the typical arrangement of large and small muscles is somewhat reversed. On the lateral side of the head, there is a substance that is not muscle, but appears to be loose tissue in which sits what is apparently the thymus gland.

There is a very large gap between the end of the urostyle and the anus (one fifth of the total length of the frog), in which there are almost no muscles, save for the one surrounding the lower cloaca. On either side of this area, between the posterior-most muscles of the thigh, lie two large ‘lymph-hearts’, as described by Beddard. These are between one quarter and one third of the total length of the frog. A further lypmh-sac sits between these lymph-hearts and the skin of the femoral region, and they are thus probably analogous to the femoral lymph-sacs of other frogs.

I find it interesting that Beddard (1908) did not mention any glandular formations in the dorsal region. As is evidence from many images (see below), these frogs are able to secrete a white, sticky, noxious substance from their skin (which they actually have to use during amplexus, as the male is too small relative to the female to mount her properly, and so he sticks himself to her with his glandular glue… kinky).

[x]

These glands do not apparently take up a great deal of the cutaneous tissue, and so I suppose are of no consequence to the size of the frog, especially relative to its enormous muscles.

The diet of these frogs consists almost exclusively of hymenopterans and isopterans (ants and termites). Neither of these insect groups are particularly fatty, so it is little surprise that their bodies appear to contain no large fat deposits - fatty bodies extend from the gonads up to the lungs and heart, but these comprise only a tiny fraction of the frog’s mass, and don’t contribute to the round shape. Instead, their bodies are extremely muscular, allowing them to be adept burrowers, ideal for their fossorial lifestyle.

So TL;DR: rain frogs are little balls of muscle (maybe the largest muscle mass relative to body mass of any vertebrate? science just doesn’t know).

Ref:

Beddard, F.E. 1908. On the Musculature and other Points in the Anatomy of the Engystomatid Frog, Breviceps verrucosus. Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London, 1908:11-41 [x]