#when she escaped it was cos she finally snapped saved someone from the dominion then ran away cos she believed she failed her main mission

[nerevar-quote-and-star]

I hesitated to send this because it feels wrong to criticize fanfiction to the writer directly, but it looked like on your blog you said you appreciate feedback. Leara comes across as far too tolerant of abuse given her background. She's an altmer Blade in her 60's, but she says nothing to Delphine's passive aggression and only occasionally sasses Bishop, not even addressing the incident where he puts his hands on her throat.

You're fine! I appreciate feedback, and you raise some good points! Criticism like this helps in thinking through the why's and how's of the characters and plot. Now if you'd bounced into my ask box to landblast me or the story, I'd just yeet the ask into the void. Unless you were landblasting Bishop. Then I'd agree with you.

Leara's tolerance for abuse is something I'm trying to address in Part II. She has an unhealthy threshold born from what she considers a "means to an end" kind of attitude. Her "willingness" to tolerate it stems from her tenure in the Dominion.

I think we all know that the Aldmeri Dominion conditions its agents. In Esbern's dossier, it's noted that Elenwen's predecessor was recalled to Alinor for "punishment and reeducation". As an agent within the Dominion, Leara would have been exposed to and likely gone through the grooming and supremacy doctrine emphasized by the Thalmor. This would have occured in an early stage of her life, between the ages of 29-38. By the time she escapes, it's a miracle she's retained her own mind and her loyalty to the Blades. I cannot stress enough how dangerous this espionage mission was, and how it failed in it's primary objective (to uncover and relay the Dominion's plans).

(N.B: if you've seen #oc: aurora orianus on my blog, then you know I have another Dragonborn. The universe where she exists is based on a continuity where Leara does give into the Dominion, becoming an indoctrinated Thalmor agent. "Vilya" is in charge of the Thalmor Headquarters (which I think is a sort of judicial consulate) in Solitude.)

Why doesn't she react verbally to Delphine? Leara escaped the Dominion before the signing of the White Gold Concordat and "disbandment" (massacre) of the Blades. Instead of returning to Cloud Ruler Temple, she ran away. The way Leara sees it, Delphine kept up the fight while she abandoned her order to hide in High Rock. She feels ashamed, like she's inadequate. This will come to a head when Delphine demands for the slaying of Paarthurnax. Leara will stand up and challenge her leadership then.

I'm looking for the trigger point, the part where Leara snaps from the Dominion's abuse conditioning, and retaliates against Bishop. The waking of the dragon, if you will. When she accepts being Dragonborn, she rejects being used. We haven't reached that point yet.