#Astrid Skyrim

[skyrim-forever]

[absolutly-not-an-alien]

A small disagreement in the Brotherhood

(Meanwhile the listener is peacefully stalking Gaius Maro)

[areggos-art-dump]

seasons greasons

[charactersmashorpass-2]

"her voice is so sexy i have to take my earbuds out when she speaks to focus on what she's saying"

[stellarsightz]

I mean, you really expected the guy who’s been ogling that jester ass 24/7 NOT to do that? This is all your fault, Astrid 🙄

Bonus: a non-blurry version of the blorbos sucking face

[dazzlerazz]

Maybe I said it before but it DESERVES to be said again, Cicero was ABSOLUTELY in the right and it’s even told to us at the end of the storyline but also Astrid fucking broke EVERY SINGLE RULE the Brotherhood ever stood for OVER THE COURSE OF THE GAME, further proving she was never qualified to be a leader in the first place

Tenet I. Never dishonor the Night Mother. To do so is to invoke the Wrath of Sithis.

A good majority of the questline focuses on Astrid not respecting the Night Mother in the slightest, she doesn’t even welcome her into Sanctuary to begin with

Tenet II. Never betray the Dark Brotherhood or its secrets. To do so is to invoke the Wrath of Sithis.

Astrid betrays the entire brotherhood and has their Sanctuary burned to the ground because she ratted the player out to the penitus oculatus

Tenet III. Never disobey or refuse to carry out an order from a Dark Brotherhood superior. To do so is to invoke the Wrath of Sithis.

After the player is revealed to be the listener, they effectively become Astrid’s superior. She tells the player not to go to Amaund Motierre after the Night Mother explicitly told them to. Astrid’s exact words are “No. No! Listen, I don’t know what’s going on here, but you take your orders from me. Are we clear on that?” Eventually, she does come around, but it’s undeniable that she refused the order from her superior. And it’s not as if she didn’t know, the player had to tell her the words the Night Mother told them to confirm that they were indeed the Listener. In Cicero’s journals, it tells us that nobody but higher ups such as himself and Astrid knew these words. Cicero as her keeper, and Astrid as the leader.

Edit: Passage from Cicero’s Journals, in reference to what I said about only Higher Ups knowing the words

4th of Evening Star, 4E 189 Today, Rasha declared himself Listener, claiming the Night Mother spoke to him at last. But when questioned, he could not name the Binding Words. Liar! Deceiver! His charade must not stand.

Tenet IV. Never steal the possessions of a Dark Brother or Dark Sister. To do so is to invoke the Wrath of Sithis.

Astrid tells you to go through Cicero’s room and steal his journals. That’s how we know he went to the Dawnstar sanctuary.

Tenet V. Never kill a Dark Brother or Dark Sister. To do so is to invoke the Wrath of Sithis.

Need I even say it? Astrid commands you to kill Cicero at the Dawnstar Sanctuary, which you may or may not do as the player.

I love the writing of the questline, it’s chefs kiss

[makalyta]

"What matters is: I ordered you to kill someone, and you obeyed."

I don't get all the hate this woman gets. I mean, she isn't the only questionable character in the game (?). Real girlboss, love her. Absolute queen.

[thapunqueen]

Arts been hard to finish bc of the holidays but perhaps the skyrim girlies that follow me will appreciate this instead

[rosiesmcposies]

Redoing some old headcannons so here is

Dark brotherhood birthday!

General headcannons with GN reader sfw and fluff

Pre falkreath destruction

If anyone were to throw a birthday party in the dark brotherhood it would be Cicero

I think he just looks for any excuse to hang out with the fellow members due to the fact he’s just lonely tbh

Cicero tries to make it a surprise party and frankly I think most of the members go along with it. The only people I think would be against it would be Nazir or Arnbjorn

Even then Nazir and Arnbjorn would come around tbh

Cicero hires some bards but Astrid does not let them in so he tries to play something and it sucks

Like I think he can play the flute but of corse they don’t have any on hand

I don’t think any member would be like expecting a party but i think most would enjoy it

Personally I don’t think anyone would throw Cicero a party so he just throws one for himself

Post falkreath destruction

At this point I think they appreciate eachother more

The burning of the sanctuary brings everyone a lot closer, learning to appreciate what they have and what they could have lost

Nazir tolerates cicero more than before surprisingly

He still dosent like the guy but he is still apart of their messed up little family

They actually do throw a party for Cicero for his birthday

They don’t go all out but he at least gets a cake and maybe a gift or two

Cicero would be really happy either way with literally anything he gets, he’s just happy he was remembered at this point

I think it’s also an excuse to just drink and party

I don’t think it gets to crazy unless the listener is involved with the planning

Idk maybe sanguine shows up and we get another night to remember

[hvarra]

they 🤡

[cosmictyto]

Things Gabriella has Knitted (or Crocheted) for Everyone:

First, (nearly) everyone has gotten a pair of socks from her as a “welcome to the brotherhood” gift.

(In alphabetical order)

—

🐺 Arnbjorn: A bright red knitted sweater as a wedding present. He’s only worn it once. (He jokes that it's not his style but he secretly loves it. He doesn't want to ruin it on accident.)

—

🔪 Astrid: A black and red striped knitted cowl. As a wedding present. Also a matching pair of gloves.

—

🩸 Babette: A crocheted doll to better help her "innocent child" ruse + several knitted dresses in many colors. Gabriella loves trying out new patterns. And because Babette’s small, she doesn’t need as much yarn. Win win.

—

♥️ Cicero: Nothing. Though she was working on her “welcome to the sanctuary” socks for him before he attacked Astrid and Veezara.

—

☄️ Festus Krex: Black, knitted fingerless gloves (his hands get cold and stiff sometimes.) They look simple at first, but actually have a quite complex stitching pattern on them. Also a black scarf and hat (with string pom-pom.)

—

🦋 Nazir: some hard-soled slippers and a deep red tote bag (with black hand print artfully knitted in.)

—

🦎 Veezara: Bright, garish horn cozies. It was a gag gift. He loves them.

—

Bonus round

🐈‍⬛ Sajjah (OC:) A thick n’ chunky, mottled black & gray blanket (crocheted.) as well as a matching cowl + gloves set. They were working on a hat design but couldn’t figure out how it would work with her ears before the sanctuary was attacked.

[t00thpasteface]

i'll take the bullet... but not the blame!

[whitegoldtower]

How hugging my least favourite NPCs would go:

Harkon: he wraps you up in his arms and sways you from side to side, and it would be nice if only you didn’t know that you were being lulled into a false sense of security. He tells you sweet things, he tells you he’s so proud of you, but you know that he is only saying such things because he views you as his prized possession. You’re not a person, you’re an object. You’re his object. He might tell you that he loves you, but you can see it in those hollow, unfeeling eyes that whilst he appears to be looking in yours, he’s admiring his own reflection. Because mirrors do not work.

Isran: as your arms close around him, you feel cowardice and rage emanating from him. You are merely a means to an end, a dog to do his dirty work. He only holds you to be polite, and you regret thinking that you could squeeze any sort of affection out of him, for his embrace is colder than that of any vampire. He is stiff and unforgiving. You can feel that he doesn’t care, and that your sentiment irritates him.

Astrid: She leans into you out of cordiality, yet something tells you that she feels threatened by your very presence. She squeezes you, holding you in such an uncomfortably tight embrace that you feel as if any tighter, and your ribs would crack. You get the impression she is trying to assert some sort of dominance over you, and when you lean back, she simply says “Brother/Sister.” And plasters on a very rehearsed smile. It would be a lovely smile, if it reached her eyes. If her eyes weren’t black as the night. If she didn’t look at you like a blood-sniffing shark. You’re sure that if you were truly alone, you would have pulled back to find a blade running you through.

Ulfric: He pulls you in and roughly slaps your back with all the grandiose machismo of very worst of men. His embrace exudes a false sense of equality and brotherhood, but he doesn’t believe that for a second. He believes that you are thick as thieves, that you’re his friend. He reeks of ale and mead, and somewhere underneath all of it, you feel a peculiar sort of emptiness. He might be a broken man, masking it all with a need for control and a drive for power. He thinks your love for him is unconditional.

Orthjolf: Of all the vampires in Harkon’s court, he is the worst, next to Harkon himself. The way he grips your arms is a threat, and if you weren’t already dead, you’re sure he’d leave bruises. He doesn’t ask you if you’re loyal to him. He tells you. You feel insecurity radiating from him somewhere underneath it all. Insecurity and disgust. Whether his disgust is aimed at you, or himself, you will never know. Over your shoulder, he is looking at Harkon, and you feel his envy, his idolisation of the Vampire Lord. He wants to be him. He wants to be Harkon, he wants that power over everyone, including you, and he wants you to be his favourite pet. You’re nothing more than a blood-bank to him, and someone to validate his heinous personality. You’re a fool if you think he loves you.

Mercer Frey: He lets out an uncomfortable parody of a friendly laugh. He reeks. He stinks of ale, of body odour, of damp corridors and muggy rooms. There’s something slimy and underhand about his body language, and you realise that - as you painstakingly hold him - he has never felt the touch of a man or woman. His hands are tempted to wander, to claim. His breath would make you recoil in disgust if you weren’t so polite, remnants of vomit from the morning’s hangover clinging to his lips. He smiles at you, and his teeth are caked with filth. He almost refuses to let go of you, and for a moment, you feel like you are in danger. He tells you not to be a stranger, and your guts roil with repulsion. You are left feeling somewhat violated.

[maxispaxis]

Astrid drawings…………

[stellarsightz]

Reject my leadership of our murder cult like one of your french girls. or something

(Halfway done with the skyrim animatic 🫶)

[frosty-talks]

Astrid is Dead

Idea comes from @nerevar-quote-and-star, thank you so much for the help!

"Astrid is dead."

Delvin met the eyes of the new leader of the Brotherhood. The cistern, normally warm and inviting with the smell of mead and fresh food made by Vekel, now creeped deep into his blood. His bones. His very soul. His hands trembled at his side-why? He never had to worry about what to do with them before.

"Dead?" Delvin couldn't but to bark out a laugh. "That's rich. I know your sanctuary was found but Astrid would have never allowed herself to be caught."

The new leader's eyes narrowed. How he wanted to wipe that look off their face. "I'm afraid that it's the truth. Astrid didn't make it out and she passed on the mantle to me. We finished the contract in her, as well as our other fallen brothers and sisters, honor."

Delvin scowled and crossed his arms, not wanting to think about his hands anymore. "And you're here just to deliver the news?"

"No, I'm here because we need to furnish our new sanctuary. We got our reward and we left the old one after the razing, all that's needed is to make the new one a home."

Home.

A home.

Of course, the old sanctuary couldn't be used anymore. It was discovered. The Imperials knew about it. And they'd most likely keep an eye on it for future activities. But that sanctuary had been his home for a time. Back when he'd caught heat for the murder of a citizen, a robbery gone wrong. He hadn't left the damn place for months.

Astrid had made it a home for him when he was desperate.

"Try coming back tomorrow." They tried to argue, their mouth opening to fight the dismissal. "I said: come back tomorrow. I will get your supplies together, believe me. But I need time to figure it all out."

They stood there. Feet almost melded into the damp stone. But they turned and left. The door leading out of the Flagon crashed to a close with a sound that threatened to shake the ceiling loose.

Astrid was dead.

He needed a drink.