#save me skyrim

[skyrim-forever]

when you're having a bad day

(sorry if this has already been done)

[depvotee]

Got the double whammy

[aaphra]

Skyrim Scenery 44/∞

[theyarnwizard]

PSA for crafters:

It's okay to not want to do your craft, just because you are a creative person doesn't mean that you need to be constantly creating and making!

Putting down a project that is driving you nuts and playing Skyrim for a week is OKAY!

Needing a break from your project is natural, even if it's just to pick up another one of your other hobbies.

The point of doing something you love is to enjoy doing it, so if you're not vibing, just take a break! It doesn't make you "less" of a knitter or crocheter or whatever. Be kind to yourselves, take a break and drink some water! 😚

[umbracirrus]

Okay, so, I have recently been thinking about axes and their importance in Nord culture in Skyrim, in part because I have something planned in a fanfiction that involves giving an axe and have been doing a little bit of research into it, and I have gone down a bit of a rabbit hole so please bear with me on this mini essay in which I have pulled together my thoughts/observations about axes in Skyrim and my two favourite Jarls, Balgruuf and Ulfric.

So, as anyone who has done the Civil War quests in Skyrim would know, there is a pivotal point in which the balance of power in Skyrim shifts either towards the Empire or the Stormcloaks based purely upon the player's alignment - when Whiterun either aligns with the Imperials or is taken by force by the Stormcloaks. Of course, there is one particular event which happens immediately before the battle begins, and that is the delivery of an axe.

However, at this point I would just like to bring up something which will become relevant later no matter what your alignment - at the point of the axe being sent, you have been named a Thane of Whiterun. Balgruuf won't hear anything to do with the Civil War when a dragon is attacking the Western Watchtower, so becoming both Dragonborn and a Thane is a prerequisite to the Civil War.

If you align with the Empire, it is Balgruuf who decides to send an axe. If you ask why, he gives the explanation that "if he returns it to you it means we have business to settle. If he keeps it, then we are at peace.", and if you ask whether you should say anything, he says that Ulfric knows what it means (also important for later!). The other dialogue option which isn't just 'sure, okay, I'll do that' also says that it is tradition, and that Ulfric honours traditions.

Obviously, Ulfric doesn't accept it and you return to Balgruuf with the news that he will be attacking Whiterun and suddenly, the city is under siege. When you win, Balgruuf personally thanks you for what you have done after his victory speech.

Now, on the other side of things, if you side with the Stormcloaks, it is Ulfric who gives you the axe to take to Balgruuf, but his explanation is much more... succinct. "If he keeps it, I will bide my time. If he returns it to you, it means war."

And as with the other side, because the game would be pretty boring is Balgruuf was to go "sure, I accept Ulfric's axe", he rejects the axe and that in turn means that you return to Ulfric with his axe, and he expresses his disappointment that Balgruuf had done so.

The two Jarls wanted the other on their side, but their views were fundamentally different they couldn't accept. 😭Sending their axes was just a formality, a way of saying 'this is it, we have to fight now'.

So what I am basically getting at, the civil war quest establishes that giving an axe is a way of determining allies and enemies, depending on whether it is accepted or rejected.

Coming back to what I mentioned earlier, in order to do the civil war quest and to talk to Balgruuf in order to either give him Ulfric's axe or to give his axe to Ulfric, you have to have become the Dragonborn and are a Thane of Whiterun. When you become a Thane in Skyrim, you end up receiving a weapon as a reward, typically named 'Blade of *insert hold name here*'. Except in two places.

Whiterun, and Eastmarch. In those places, you get either the Axe of Whiterun or the Axe of Eastmarch.

If I remember correctly, the blade weapons are randomly generated so have the potential to be axes, but these two are specifically named to be and are axes.

What else is in common with Whiterun and Eastmarch?

Their Jarls (Balgruuf and Ulfric) are the only two people in Skyrim who actively partake in and have knowledge of the tradition of the sending of axes.

When you become a Thane of these two holds, you are not just becoming a Thane, you are becoming a trusted ally of the Jarl, somebody who they can rely upon. Even more so with Ulfric, because you can only become a Thane of Eastmarch with Ulfric as Jarl if you are Stormcloak aligned.

Speaking of being Stormcloak aligned, how about a diversion back to the Civil War, specifically when the battle for Whiterun has reached its penultimate stages, Balgruuf has been defeated and has surrendered control of Whiterun. After an argument with Vignar (and I'll get into him later because he makes my blood boil), Balgruuf turns to you and says a line which absolutely breaks my heart - "And you. A Stormcloak? I'd thought better of you." 😭

Balgruuf thought you his ally, he had given you his axe, and you have just gone and stabbed him in the back (figuratively, and quite possibly literally depending on character build). As I said, it breaks my heart when he says that line.

Basically, what I am getting at, is that the depth of such a simple tradition in Skyrim is immense and I wish that there were more things like it (beyond the duel to the death for the throne thing, looking at you Ulfric) or saw it used more in the game. And that Balgruuf and Ulfric are by far the best Jarls in terms of character development and just how much their homeland and traditions mean to them. And I wish that there was a way to keep Balgruuf as Jarl even if you are Stormcloak aligned because fuck Vignar, and you know what? Fuck Maven Black-Briar too, she sucks. Laila is pretty incompetent as Jarl but at least she isn't Maven and that's a rant for another time. But not having Maven as Jarl is main reason I join the Stormcloaks more often than not. Balgruuf is usually the main reason that I join the Imperials on playthroughs.

Now... Vignar Gray-Mane. When you make him Jarl of Whiterun and he names you Thane, he gives you the Blade of Whiterun, not the Axe of Whiterun (yeah, I know I said that I think the blade weapons can be randomly generated as axes, and no doubt it was given to stop you from having multiple axes of Whiterun, but I just don't like Vignar soooo....). That's mean. Especially after we protected the city and helped him become Jarl too. There's another layer of insult there if you've rescued Thorald, his nephew, from the Thalmor. At least Brunwulf Free-Winter gives you the Axe of Eastmarch when he is Jarl if you defeat Ulfric for the Imperials and complete that shitshow of a quest 'Blood on the Ice'. Brunwulf is a bro, not Vignar. Hmph.

[spinchboli]

[Pitifully drags myself across the floor and pulls this out of my briefcase]

Strangler fig, a carnivorous tree that cannibalizes the nutrients from other trees- a human trapped with the soul of a beast, their hunger only sated by cannibalizing their own, the leviathans cross - a symbol of brimstone and sulphur, a symbol of hell and the devil, ouroboros- a serpent locked in a ceaseless cycle of devouring eachother or itself in a display of cannibalism - there is no beginning or end.

Pomegranate, a hard shell with fragile pulps containing the ichor of the gods, the red snake of fate- Miraak's obsessive need to control storm's fate from her doom even if it means confronting hermaeus mora once more

The dragonborn both tethered together with a cannibalistic urge to devour the other to feel complete, to complete that desolate and empty half of their monstrous soul. They're too angry to love, to prideful to change from their stagnancy so they settle for eachothers violence and gate, until it bleeds into tenderness

Strangler fig by the crane wives my beloved

[the-ace-of-fools]

Miraak kept silent. The stars glistened and his eyes glistened with them.

Time stood still.

[bougainvillea-and-saltwater]

I'm in tears at how Jia tells Miraak in their first interaction that "she'll grant him a death more glorious than Alduin's" but Jia killing Alduin actually looked like this:

...yeah that's Jia for you. That's the smudged warpaint all over her face and her pathetic wet cat expression because her shoulder is broken and uneven and she's in pain.

[hypnofrogs]

[acrowwithakeyboard]

Sorry for skipping dialogue but Gore was really gearing to attack since we found our new friend in the basement. I don't think he could have waited longer

[skyrim-forever]

my lawyers advise I don't answer that

[argisthebulwark]

I need to (remembers that suicide jokes are detrimental to my mental state and hurt those around me) delete my Skyrim mod list and start from scratch

[shhheep]

babys first tes game

ok like its just easier for me to throw in an au version of ocs i already have than make a new one okkkk

[poly-mc]

This is me Aya.. ‏🇵🇸

Imagine you wake up with nothing left.That's exactly what happened with us .we moved from having everything to having nothing.In a blink of an eye ,we lost everything, our house ,dreams, memories belongings and our works. We are starting from zero and need your help to climb the leader step by step from scratch.

All the positive words cannot express how generous you are, especially in sharing my posts to inform other donors about the people of Gaza who are still suffering from the terrible conditions caused by the unjust war on Gaza!

Please continue to support us by donating directly or by sharing the link to let others know. Don't hesitate to help people in difficult and miserable times until the dark days are over. 🙏🏻🍉

https://gofund.me/c4c2cf82

💛

[shadow-monster]

This is my legit rant. I tried following an understandable tutorial but i started getting lost, and saw that they were doing files that I didn’t need for my own replacer. I wanted to kill myself because I got all of their set up, and took hours to fellow them, and I hated it all. I’m contiplanting to just hire someone to make the personal present I have and just make it into a file I can download, cause this shit is just too hard.

I hate that I.m too stupid for this.

[venacoeurva]

he…