#i am so normal about argonians

[atypicalacademic]

WIP Whenever

Thank you to @aria-i-adagio for the tag, and tagging @cleverblackcat @dirty-bosmer @dumpsterhipster @ollifree and @cumbiazevran for fun! Here is a bit of a little epistolary Skyrim fic I really would like to finish soon,

Egg-brother, Eel broth lingers on my tongue as I write. The good kind, mind.  Scoop it up with saltrice, and I could hear the trees whisper. This close. Smell the water, breath in my gills. The muck. The marsh breathing. And then I think of you.  How do you and Eilan bear this open sky? Too light around the edges, and spare. And this meat like leather, over-ripe.It teaches me how to make sweet-rolls and skin deer and pour mead. And you know to-. So I suppose I bear it too. And I suppose I shouldn’t assume it is the open sky you and I share, no matter how our sister thinks of it. Like the same quilt, she says. As though we were hatchlings of the same brood. I won’t ask. I’ve learnt that lesson all too well. I hope you’re eating well. I hope you’re ali well. -Talen-Jei * Egg-Brother, I drink the sap of not-knowing-why-I-bother-to-lie. Here, to myself, when noone’s looking. There’s an Orphanage, across the street from where I live. The old woman who runs it, a miserable hag. They say she died in her sleep, but I hear different. The guards talk when the mead flows. Found her with her throat slit. Blood everywhere. It isn’t the broth that makes me think of you. --Talen-Jei *

Egg-Brother, Our mother thinks I’ve grown rootless. Calls me an Ojei and yet she takes my money. But you are the pride. She says you feast on Ajum-Ei at the Royal Court. Honest work earns less than that. Asks for more. You wouldn’t know, would you? Sorry. Sorry. I don’t mean to resent. I never do. How could I, when you and I are of one root? Maybe Mother’s right, and all this salt crawls under my scales and turns me blind from the inside. And I don’t even know your face. Just your name, Veezara. --Talen-Jei

[littledragondork]

current mood: watching a video about genetics in Elder Scrolls

[dawns-beauty]

hey there! i wanted to ask you some more mod questions :) do you have any go-to mods you prefer for character customization? not necessarily ones for the same playthrough. this could be skin textures or cool presets or racemenu things. hope you’re having a wonderful day <3

Hi! Oh-h-h man, I use a TON of these mods for NPC design alone

Get ready for a big 'ol list of as many links as I can post XD Hopefully some of it is new or interesting to you!

First off, some QoL RaceMenu things:

Another Race Menu Rotation Mod - you spin me right 'round, baby, right 'round, like a record, baby...

Stand Still in RaceMenu (OAR) - mostly useful if you open RM after initial character creation, like me. Stops your character from moving, though it takes a little bit to happen for me

RaceMenu Overlays (my beloveds)

Freckle Mania 2 (works fine for Skyrim SE)

Lamenthia's Marks of Beauty

Skin Feature Overlays

Vanilla Warpaints Absolution

Koralina's Freckles and Moles

Koralina has also done some nice makeup mods, and Makeup Mods - Male Support has some invaluable patches for them and more

RM Sliders

Another type of mod I use from practically everything is Expressive Facegen Morphs. I tend to use the version packed into High Poly Heads most of the time, but if you just use the default heads the original mod is worth it. The amount of nice, subtle face sliders it adds are just *chef's kiss*

ECE Ear Shape Sliders for RaceMenu is a new one to me, but I am never going without it. It allows for waaaay more (and better!) ear shape variations than RM alone.

More Scars Slider adds a nifty way to layer different scar types. I highly recommend the Northborn Scars patch.

Hair

Mild Hair Colors is a nice replacement for vanilla hair colors.

I feel like I use every non-SMP hair mod in existence, and only like bits and pieces of each lol.

High Poly Vanilla Hairs was my standard default hair replacer (and I still think it is unmatched on braided styles) but I'm also using Vanilla Hair Remake more and more.

Beards

I like vanilla mashups more than completely new stuff like Beards of Power, so really just use Beards, SV Beards, The Art of the Beard, and Blackbeerd's Beards.

Brows

Kalilies Brows - offers some less perfectly plucked options

Blackmoon's Brows

LM's Eyebrows SSE

Body Textures

Right now for body textures I'm using Tempered Skins for Males, due to the fact it has an option without insane muscles (even has a smooth, ab-less abdomen!)

For the ladies, I'm using Reverie - Skin. I think the body textures are a little on the smooth side (pore/wrinkle-wise) for my preferences, but the elf face textures preserve the brow ridge, which I LOVE. With it, I also like Female Bosmer Normal Map Fix.

For race-specific stuff:

Khajiit

For Khajiit, I use Lioness Look (textures only) and Khajiit Male Lion Textures.

LM's Beast Teeth - excellent teeth for Khajiit and Argonians

3D Khajiit Brows

I like to use Khajiit Overhaul heads, though the default male head is pretty funky, so I use this preset as a base.

Separated Khajiit Earrings for Character Creation lets you add earrings to any Khajiit hairstyle

K.C.C.E Khajiit Character Creation Extended - like EFM for Khajiit: offers a whole lot of sliders

Orcs

For Orcs, I like Closed Mouths for Orcs, but if you like the bigger teeth default look, I recommend Orcodontist.

I also made a mod for making orc horns horn-colored and more.

Bosmer

For Bosmer, you can't beat Cuyi's Bosmeri Antlers (and perhaps Sharpened Teeth.)

Argonians

Probably my fave Argonian hair mod is Hott Argonians with Argonian Feather Hair (Hairstyles only.) It has awesome unique feather textures. I also like to use my whole series of Argonian mods XD

Argonian Creation Extension is like K.C.C.E. but for Argonians. Good stuff!

Color Matching Feathers for Argonian Tails

Kabu's Argonian Fins

Argonian Face Horns

Dunmer

Dunmer Scarification - I have some hesitation about recommending it, because right now the compatibility with different skin types isn't great. But! love the idea and hope to work with it in the future.

Bodies (nudity warning)

YMMV, I haven't tried all these in game, but I want a spot to save them anyways. I would like to set up the mod (AutoBody?) that uses presets to add variety to NPC body types at some point.

Tested and approved:

Argonians Are Not Mammals

Female Hands Redone

The Common Guy

Realistic Body Presets - CBBE

CBBE Barbarian

Untested:

Himbo Fat Preset

CBBE - Hefty Mama

CBBE Bodyslide Preset - Warrior Woman

CBBE Rugged

(If you know of any other good body presets for variety (especially male ones), lmk)

[strix-mix]

I am so normal about argonians and khajiit yes outlander you look so good gods your claws and teeth are so sharp

[thequeenofthewinter]

One Ship

I've been a little emotionally wonky lately, and so I haven't been working on my WIP. Instead I will offer this to the WIP Wednesday gods as my contribution. I was struck by this idea when I was pacing the floors of my kitchen, and it's the only thing I have been able to write recently. Tagging: @oblivions-dawn, @nocturnalswarehouse, @sneaksandsweets, @romantichore, @blossom-adventures, @rose-like-the-phoenix @dumpsterhipster and anyone else who would like to share something with me. I love reading what you all write.

As she walks down the streets of Windhelm, Dahlia hums with a smile on her face. Despite the fact that the crisp morning air of has chased most of the normal patrons of the market stalls away, she continues her perusal of the merchants’ wares and goods. The biting cold of the city’s airs only makes her feel more alive. For the first time in about a month, she has woken up feeling fresh faced and full of energy, and this is the perfect way to take advantage of the rare day she feels normal. Her confinement to the Palace has made her restless.

Of course, she brings Lydia along with her as she would get quite a lecture were she caught without an escort in her condition.  Still, despite this fact, she knows she’ll get an overprotective look from Ulfric and a lecture later. However, the time outside is more than worth it, and she has a secret weapon up her sleeve which is sure to pacify him. 

While she continues on her stroll, she greets the sparce numbers of citizens mulling about with a smile and a wave which they happily return. Although if asked, she would say that she was done nothing notable to earn their love as of yet; however, the people are fond of the new Lady of Windhelm: she has done more than she knows for their country alongside of Jarl Ulfric.

She continues her leisurely stroll, buying this and that as she passes, and dropping a healthy number of septims into each vender's till before she decides to take a turn down to the docks and to see the ships. It has been a while since she has been able to observe them and she has always been curious about taking a short trip on one. Maybe one of these days she’ll convince Ulfric to take her.

As she steps out onto the docks, Dahlia is assaulted by the bustling activity which is in stark contrast to the nearly-empty streets she just came from. Dockworkers of Argonian, Khajiit, and Nord heritage rush back and forth carrying large cargo crates full of supplies and trade goods; fishwives boisterously shout about the “freshest fish in all the White River” peddling their husbands early catches; and various riffraff stealthily seize the opportunity to make mischief.

“Dahlia, are you sure it’s a good idea to be down here?” Lydia asks with a frown pulled onto her face.

However, the Lady of Windhelm doesn’t pay her any mind. She is too busy admiring the wind blowing through the sails on the ships as it makes them strain against their main lines. It’s quite an awe-inspiring sight to see them all lined up with their flags flying the Stormcloak colors alongside their respective company’s. And as she strains her ears against the noise of the wind, to her delight, she can even hear the sounds of a few sea shanties spilling over from the decks of the vessels.

“Dahlia, I really think we should go back to the Palace before Ulfric or Galmar…”

“Stop worrying, Lydia. All anyone does anymore is worry about me. Let me be. We will go back soon. I just want to listen a little more.” She turns to her most-trusted housecarl, a look of annoyance plastered onto her face. 

“But—” 

“Besides, have you forgotten that I am the Dragonborn?”

Lydia humphs as Dahlia has clearly made her point.

She stands there for a few more minutes admiring the music and activity of the docks, which is so similar yet distinct from the movement she sees day-to-day in the Palace, before finally putting Lydia out of her misery and turning to go back home, singing under her breath the whole way. 

By the time both ladies make it back to the safety of the Great Hall, Dahlia has gone from vaguely humming to full blown belting out in song. The melody is beautiful, similar to what they just heard on the docks, and yet the lyrics are nothing like any of them have heard before.

“I’m a ship lost in deep waters, sailing in one direction”

She continues to sing, gaining the attention of some of the staff as they come to listen. 

“Always in one sea because that’s all I need”

The Lady of the Palace must be in a good mood to be singing like this. 

“Since I’ve met you, there was only ever one course for me, one sail pointing to you”

It’s almost as if she is calling out to Ulfric, and a few moments later, he appears, the sound of her voice echoing through the Palace summoning him to her. 

“Hello, dear wife of mine. Where exactly have you been this morning?” He asks, voice hinting that he is none too pleased with her absence this morning.

Dahlia continues to hum, twirling as she makes her way to her grouchy, overprotective husband.

“And what are you doing wearing my cloak?”

“What is yours is mine and what is mine is yours.” She sing-songs to her affectionately.

“If you think this is going to get you out of trouble then…”

She takes off the cloak slowly to reveal that she is wearing a rather fitting dress. It’s very different from the clothing she has taken up to wearing recently which has mostly been loose trousers and Ulfric’s tunics. However, what is most interesting to note and stops Ulfric in his tracks is the appearance of a small bump.

Up until now, neither of them has actually been able to see the evidence of Dahlia’s pregnancy.

“I was feeling well when I woke up for once, the morning sickness having left me alone, so I decided to go on a little stroll. Lydia was with me the whole time, and there was nothing for you to worry about.”

Ulfric is left awe-stricken, eyes gazing softly at the small swell of her stomach.

The sight brings a slight smile to her lips as she walks closer to him to place one of his hands on her stomach.

“Yes, I noticed this morning, and it’s quite the sight. I thought you might like to see it as well.” She tells him quietly and leans into him and places a kiss on his stubbly cheek.

“Have I told you lately that I love you?” He asks, eyes finally finding hers.

“Every day.”

"Then I will tell you once more because I do love you."

[iviin-855]

Two things have been bothering me about argonian lore and that is that their souls are given them directly by the hist and that their sex is determined by how many times they lick histsap as a hatchling. These things are bothering me because they imply that argonians can only be born in blackmarch, where the hist are. However I recently had an idea on how to get around this problem:

First the soul thing. The hist are trees and trees have roots. So I Headcanon that the roots reach all across tamriel. The souls are given through the roots but it is harder than with direct access so there is a higher rate of stillbirth outside of blackmarch. Because of this becoming parents often travel towards blackmarch so the proximity to the hist raises their chances.

For the second I have 2 ideas:

First that argonians are born without genitalia and will not grow them unless they lick hist sap. They will lead normal lives but they can't reproduce unless they go to a hist tree. I also like to think that the hist can change you back to that state if you ask them

Second idea is that after the age where they usually lick the sap argonians develop both genitalia. If food is abundant that is no problem but when resources are scarce its more efficient to only grow only one set of organs (that saving of resources is why lifeforms with separated sexual reproduction are so successful/abundant in our world). I also think that the hist would let you grow the second set of organs later in life if you wanted to and asked them

This is just my Headcanon how to reconcile those two lore things with how it never came across as if no argonians were born out of blackmarch. It could also be that I am misremembering the soul and the sap thing I haven't looked at the wiki for this post

[nightcoremoon]

female hyenas have penises. kinda. more on that later.

so as many people following me probably don’t know because I don’t talk about it a lot, I am a furry. when I was a kid some of my favorite games were ratchet and clank, crash bandicoot, spyro, gex, sly cooper, okami, dust: an elysian tail, pokemon… final fantasy 12. I also never played but love the design of banjo kazooie and starfox. I love night in the woods. I love aggretsuko. I love animal crossing. I love five nights at freddy’s…’s visual design. against all odds I love undertale. my default race in the elder scrolls swaps between khajit and argonian. the only races I ever main in WoW are the tauren worgen and pandaren (AND VULPERA)! king is my tekken main. dark souls’ crow demons... enough said. I love zelda and in its later years it started getting more and more furry with each major installment. I love sonic the hedgehog. twokinds is my favorite webcomic. beastars is probably my favorite anime of the 2020s. and none of it is sexual. I just really love anthropomorphic animal characters!

…okay maybe I have a huge crush on a few characters. rivet. coco. carmelita. fran. krystal. isabelle. roxy. blaze. others I won’t name because you’ll just make fun of me. but a whole lot of it is nonsexual. regardless I’ve always wanted to settle on a particular species for my fursona.

fox. cat. wolf. skunk. rabbit. raccoon. ermine weasel.

but every one of these choices has just been me settling. I looked at a list and thought well I might as well pick one of these because that’s what everyone else does. to be a normal furry I have to really vibe with a certain animal and align with that particular choice wholly. completely. like society tends to do for sexuality. you have to pick 1. no more, no less. so I kind of wandered around between them all not really picking any in particular and figured I’d get around to it eventually but as time went on it just didn’t go anywhere. until today.

so I just randomly realized that my name rhymes with hyena. and then I realized hey wait a minute I fucking love hyenas. so I did some research on the cultural impact of hyenas and… it’s really sad. the whole world hates hyenas. muslims hate hyenas. african tribal faiths hate hyenas. the greeks hate hyenas. jews hate hyenas. damn near every single culture in the region hates them. they’re vampires. they’re werewolves (er. werehyenas?). they’re the ghosts of cannibals (if only there was a single word for a creature that was the evil ghost of a cannibal). they’re the evil mounts that evil witches ride in the night. some real fucked up stuff. and I think that’s really sad, as I LOVE hyenas. they’re one of my favorite animals. the way they’re kinda dogs kinda cats kinda neither, the way they’re shaped like fucked up demented little monsters, the way they’re murdering bastards, the way they laugh. and I’ve heard that they taste very interesting. I’d eat em.

so I decided, them. hyenas. they deserve better and I would be one hot and sexy cute and adorable hyena. fursona selected, I’m a hyena now motherfucker!

and then my partner told me female hyenas have dicks. I was like bro what? and I looked it up. lady hyenas have an appendage that looks (if not functions) like a penis.

and I (dfab, trans, no desire or plans for surgery) thought

hell. yes. bonus points. I’m double over a hyena now.

is it culturally appropriative of African culture to pick an African native animal as my fursona? …nope. no it’s not. shut up fuck you do not pass go don’t touch my inbox. :)

[northwest-cryptid]

Here's the thing that no one seems to understand...

Living with chronic illness/pain, as a poor person; with medical problems like asthma. I am in permanent stealth mode not even intentionally, but because I live with it. You don't know unless I tell you.

I meet people every day who assume I'm just some able-bodied wealthy person who lives a comfortable life. Why? How?

Well you follow me on the website where I vent a lot so you don't often get to see me as I am, but as someone who lives with a ton of life crippling problems and who knows a ton of people who also do. Let me tell you right now that I don't go through my day to day life suffering. We don't like, limp around going "ooooh ow the pain and suffering; ugh I'm miserable 24/7; oh man it SUUUUCKS"

No, you'll find me in VRChat with my friends just fine, sure I'm absolutely dealing with muscle soreness, general neck pains which give me headaches; I'm likely very hungry and my stomach is in a ton of pain from a poor diet of "whatever we can afford" but I'm not going to like... express that all? We're in the middle of hanging out and we're having a great time, why the fuck would I just be like "oh man the thing I experience every day is STILL happening!"

I literally only do that to ask for aid, or to vent my frustration with the world in general on a very specific website (it's tumblr) but in my day to day life? Nah. I once got an ask that was like "buddy do you do ANYTHING other than complain?!" Which, like dude you're following me on the website where I word vomit; but the truth is...

This week I built a few desks to revamp my living space since I've not really unpacked or moved in despite living here for like 4 years. I cleaned my entire living space, I played a ton of Morrowind with my partner (we are playing through as Benny Biggershoes, descendant of Benny Bigshoes; we're an argonian mage it is very silly,) I also jumped into yet another unity project to do a bit of editing on my VRChat avi/world, got a bit of work done in Blender as well; played a ton of Once Human which I'm trying to figure out how the hell to stream since the game lags like crazy but has been a fun ride over the last few weeks. I'm also getting into MWO with some friends, I found some new bands/artists I'm really enjoying the sound of, my favorite DJ released a new track that was actually really solid and I was absolutely loving that. I've been successfully growing more plants in our garden, I even got a small greenhouse in my office now as well as an air purifier which is helping with my asth- oh fuck I can't mention that, if I mention negativity you'll suddenly forget all the other shit I talked about... uh, I practiced more art and made a new OC that's been fun to figure out how to draw since they're really stylized. I also worked a bit on my website which was fun; I'm enjoying figuring out how to make HTML do a bunch of silly stuff that I want my website to have. We've been cooking a lot more and that's been really fun; let's see what else oh right I also invented a new speedrun which I'm trying to get approved on Speedrun.com so that's cool.

Like, my point here is that yea I'm dealing with chronic pain, asthma, various horrible side effects of being poor (literally need to go to a doctor desperately to get meds but it's expensive and I don't have insurance yet, I've been sick with the same infection for upwards of like 4 months now.) It's all become normal, that doesn't mean it's okay, or that I need to be silent about it; not on my personal blog; not in my personal space. Yes I have a life outside of that all, but yes it is a constant in my life. I'd like to minimize that as much as possible.

It's upsetting to people because I don't LOOK disabled, I don't LOOK like I'm suffering, I don't LOOK like I need money. I don't LOOK like you think people in my position SHOULD.

So the people who would revel in my suffering can't, because I'm not; but those who seek to help me out of my suffering also see that I'm not constantly this pathetic wriggling mess and go "well guess they don't need my help, they seem fine!" Which is the worst because this results in me getting no help and also getting a lot of angry random anon hate about how I'm... uh, not allowed to vent about living with chronic pain, being poor, being disabled; living in a place where I can't afford to get on disability or benefits; and generally live in a shitty situation despite making the most of my life.

People don't like it when I'm happy because they think I'm supposed to be miserable, people don't like it when I'm miserable because that's not entertaining and they think of me as some kind of content creator to consume rather than a human being. Then when I play up a character people say I'm cringe, so like; man you really can't win with people ya know?

Fortunately, I'm winning with myself as best I can, it doesn't mean I wouldn't mind a hand up every now and then; it doesn't mean I don't need help, it doesn't mean I'm not still suffering from chronic illness, asthma (which I literally can't even get an inhaler for because I can't afford it), and a nearly 5 month long (as of now) sinus infection compounding with long covid.

Sure I have very real problems, and I gotta vent that sometimes; but I'm also not going to be some miserable sad sack 24/7. You find me in VRChat and you'd never know I have chronic pain that limits my mobility. You find me in an online game or out at the store or you ask me about unity on a forum and you'll never know I'm struggling to do everything that I do. Because it's normal to me, you don't mention how many times you drink water a day to stay hydrated, I don't mention how many times I need to sit down and rest or take anti-inflammatory meds; or pain killers. It's normal, but that doesn't mean I like it.

[theggning]

I Hate the Alternate Ending of Blind Betrayal, and Here's Why!

DISCLAIMER THE FIRST: Massive spoilers for Fallout 4 abound. This post discusses Blind Betrayal, a quest with suicide as a heavy theme. Content warning applies.

DISCLAIMER THE SECOND: This post discusses cut OFFICIAL content from Fallout 4 that has since been repurposed into multiple mods. I am not criticizing any modders or their implementations of this content. Mods are fun and people can enjoy whatever the hell kind of game experience they want with whatever mods they want.

I am ONLY interested in discussing the original cut content as Bethesda had written it, and how it would have impacted the story and lore of Fallout 4.

So, yeah, it seems there was originally going to be another way to conclude Blind Betrayal (BB).

As described in this Kotaku article (citing this post by Tumblr user tentacle-explosion,) there are unused audio files of Danse’s dialogue that show an alternate ending to his pivotal quest. These lines are the only evidence we have of this ending (suggesting that it was cut fairly early on, as no other actors/characters seem to have recorded for it.)

From what we can tell, in this alternate ending of BB, Danse comes up with a possible way out of the sticky situation re: his identity as a synth. According to the Brotherhood Litany, he is able to challenge Maxson’s authority as Elder via combat. If you agree to this idea, you go with Danse to challenge Maxson. The Paladin and the Elder duel one another, Danse wins, and Maxson dies. Then Danse names the Sole Survivor the new Elder-- or with a hard charisma check, you’re able to convince Danse to take the job himself. It is unknown how the main plot would have progressed beyond this point, as there is no other evidence of what being (or influencing) the Elder would have been like or what choices it would have given you.

There is understandable disappointment in learning that this ending was cut. Choices in games are great, and it could have been fun to have multiple different options for how to resolve the quest. In many gaming circles, people complain that this theoretical ending is superior to the one we got and shouldn’t have been axed. The Kotaku article calls it a “way better” ending, and you’ll see many players lamenting that it wasn’t implemented, saying Bethesda was bad at writing for cutting it, etc.

So why did Bethesda get rid of the Elder ending of BB?

In December 2020, after the Fallout 4 Cast Reunion, Danse’s voice actor Peter Jessop answered questions in a private signing session on his Instagram. Peter Jessop is an extremely kind and gracious man, an avid gamer, and a huge fan of Fallout. During the stream, he reflected on the alternate ending and remembered recording the lines, but stated the content was ultimately cut because Bethesda decided it was lore-breaking.

Peter Jessop is right. Bethesda was right. The Elder ending of BB is a bunch of dumb nonsense. It sucks, I hate it, and I’m glad they got rid of it. And now I’m going to tell you why!

SIDENOTE: King Shit of Fuck Mountain

There is no wrong way to play a single-player video game. If you are having fun, then you are accomplishing the task for which the game was made. Good for you! Play it on easy. Play it on hard. Mod it. Speedrun it. Make up an intricate roleplaying scenario. Perform “challenge” runs. Kill everybody you see. Ignore the story and run around collecting wheels of cheese. Games are meant to be fun and there is nothing wrong with enjoying a game however you damn well please. This is especially true for RPGs like Fallout, which are designed with player freedom in mind.

There is an RPG playstyle I like to call King Shit of Fuck Mountain: a naked power fantasy in which your protagonist is the most powerful person ever, even beyond normal RPG plot significance. Through brute strength, incredible charisma, or having completed tons of quests for world-breaking artifacts and weapons, your character wields godlike influence, able to control people, factions, and the fabric of the world itself. A game enables KSoFM gameplay when it allows the player limitless freedom to gain as much power as they like with zero consequences to plot or storytelling.

A great example of this is the Dragonborn in The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. If the player chooses to pursue every questline in the game, one single person can become Harbinger of the Companions, Archmage of the College of Winterhold, Listener of the Dark Brotherhood, Nightingale and Guildmaster of the Thieves’ Guild, hero of the Imperial/Stormcloak army, the chosen one of like, 11 different Daedric princes, a bard, a Blade, and otherwise just, absurdly goddamn powerful in completely unrealistic ways. And that’s not counting DLCs. A fully-kitted-out Dragonborn is King Shit of Fuck Mountain.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with playing KSoFM if you like to. But I’m not a big fan of this style, personally. Sure, my first Skyrim character became KSoFM while I was figuring out the game, but after my first playthrough I preferred my characters become coherent figures in the story of the world. I pick one or two character traits and things that my Dragonborn is good at, focus on them, and make them part of some overall story. My honorable Imperial paladin werewolf is in the Companions, and hunts vampires on principle. My Argonian sneaky archer is a gleeful thief, but would never jive with the College or the Dark Brotherhood. I like creating protagonists who fit into these settings immersively. I don’t care about power fantasies or being in charge. I don’t WANT my character to be all-powerful, because that ruins my immersion and my little story.

Additionally, in a plot-driven story-focused game like Fallout, KSoFM tears the narrative apart. Skyrim is fairly light on story, so the Dragonborn can be the leader of the Companions and the Dark Brotherhood and whatever other factions without any of them noticing or caring. But FO4’s themes, faction drama, and the main thrust of the plot don’t work at all if the Sole Survivor is able to become too powerful or too influential. The Sole Survivor cannot become the leader of every faction, solve every problem, or eliminate every inconvenient bend of the conflict because it makes the lore of the entire setting implode. Thus, the game forces you to choose between factions. You cannot be with the Minutemen and the Nuka-World Raiders. You cannot be with the Railroad and the Institute. And you cannot become Elder of the Brotherhood of Steel.

So if you’re the kind of person who loves playing KSoFM, if you like plots that your character can “solve” with relative ease, or if you just think it would be super cool for your Sole to become Elder regardless of surrounding storytelling, then you might think the Elder ending sounds super cool. You are absolutely allowed to disagree with me here. Install all the mods and write all the fic and have all the headcanons you like. I respect that. There is no wrong way to enjoy a single-player video game. Have fun!

But if you’re a big nitpicky pedantic lore nerd like me, a fan of cohesive storytelling, or if you just want to hear how the Elder ending of BB absolutely fucking ruins Maxson, Danse, the Brotherhood of Steel, and the entire plot of FO4 from a narrative perspective, read on!

1. The Synth Thing

The Elder ending requires the stupid plot contrivance of the BoS forgetting about Danse’s synthhood.

One of the biggest problems with the BoS as an institution is their strict and dogmatic beliefs, which include a widespread dislike of non-human species. Perhaps more than any other non-humans, the BoS hates synths. Synths are, in their eyes, machines given free will, a violation of the sanctity of human life and the ultimate example of technology run amok. To them, synths are not sympathetic, they are not slaves, and they are not victims of circumstance. They are weapons that left unchecked will destroy all of humanity for a second time. Synths are anathema to everything the BoS stands for, and finding out that one of their most beloved and trusted Paladins is one is an earth-shattering blow to their integrity and sense of security.

It is completely absurd that the BoS would allow a synth within their ranks, particularly as they are waging war against the Institute, who created synths in the first place. It is even MORE absurd that they’d allow one to influence their Elder, or even worse, to become Elder. It completely undermines their mission in the Commonwealth, and the core tenets of their extremely rigid beliefs. No matter the Elder, no matter the Litany or obscure BoS law, no matter how valuable the Sole Survivor is as a soldier or how much influence they wield. Danse is a synth. He’s the enemy. He is physically the embodiment of everything they hate.

Not only wouldn’t they trust a synth in general, but the BoS specifically believes that Danse is an infiltrator for the Institute. Even Danse believes that he is a danger, that the Institute may be able to take control of him and use him as a weapon. Sure, we know none of this is actually true, or possible, but the BoS don’t know that. And given how quick they are to order Danse dead without even the possibility of surrender, I don’t think there’s any charisma in the world that’s going to convince them otherwise.

According to Peter Jessop, this, ultimately, is the reason why the Elder ending was cut. He talks about it around the 11:30 timestamp in his Instagram stream, linked above:

“We recorded an ending where you keep Danse alive and you take over the Brotherhood. But there was a question of content… there’s no way the Brotherhood, once they knew he was a synth, would let him be even the right hand of the person in charge.”

Bethesda correctly recognized the incredible narrative contrivance for the BoS to shrug off the reason they’re trying to execute Danse in the first place. Whatever other beefs I have with this ending conceptually, they all come in second to just what a big dumb leap it is to get beyond this first and most important problem.

2. The Complete Death of Conflict

The Elder ending of BB destroys the conflict of the quest, and potentially the conflict of the entire game.

Greed is a poison. There is no such thing as a perfect ideal or a perfect organization. Power corrupts. Humanity has the choice to build back better. War never changes. The Fallout games are full of themes, depicted by the characters and quests and factions we play out.

Blind Betrayal is rightfully praised as one of the most powerful quests in FO4. Not only is it well-acted, but it puts the player in a very difficult position. The BoS has given you clout and glory and free power armor and lots of firepower, but now you see the price: unquestioning obedience. You are ordered to execute your friend and mentor Danse for the mere fact he is a synth. Are you going to follow that unjust order? Are you willing to give up your principles on command? Or is this where you can no longer stay quiet and stay in line?

To be honest, I’ve always thought the fact you can talk Maxson out of killing Danse but still remain with the BoS in good standing was a cop-out. BB goes 90% of the way to forcing you to choose between a companion and a faction, and then chickens out at the last second to let you have both, if your charisma is high enough.

(I believe this has the fingerprints of Skyrim’s development on it-- Bethesda’s writers got nervous about doing another Paarthurnax choice involving the fan favorite Brotherhood of Steel. That’s right. Danse is the Paarthurnax of Fallout. Frankly, I understand why they chose not to go there, but damn, wouldn’t it have been wild? You want to run with the BoS? Then kill your friend and feel the burn. THIS is what it means to follow orders without question.

As for me, I’d pick Danse every time and sleep soundly without the company of shitty bootlicking dieselpunk LARPers- but I digress.)

Anyway, you know what would have REALLY been a copout? If the game asked you to make a difficult thematic storyline choice, and you solved the problem by just not choosing at all.

You are supposed to feel uncomfortable when Maxson orders you to kill Danse, because the game is telling a story about how it is maybe a bad thing to thoughtlessly follow orders without question. It is asking you to think about what the BoS is, what they are doing, and how they are going to run things, if you choose to let them “win” the Commonwealth. It is pointing out that there is no room for gray in the BoS’ black and white. That a good, loyal man may die because of the way he was made, through no action of his own. That soon, you’ll be killing other people on command. The Railroad. Fleeing Institute synths and scientists. Others, down the line. It all depends on who’s giving the orders. Are you going to follow those orders?

Eesh, that sounds thought-provoking and unpleasant and difficult! Let’s just skip it by killing Maxson and making ourselves the boss. Now we get to tell everybody else what to do!

It’s unknown what powers the Elder ending would have granted the player, or how it would have interacted with the other factions. There is speculation that you’d have been able to ease back on the BoS’ dogmatism, or change some of the later events of the game. For instance, perhaps you could talk the BoS down from attacking the Railroad, sparing popular characters like Glory and Deacon who must die in the normal BoS storyline. Perhaps you could have made the BoS a kinder, gentler faction and directed them to run the way you want them to.

If this was indeed the case, then the Elder ending would not only suck the gravitas out of BB, but torpedo the entire main plot.

If you can get rid of any and all downsides to siding with the BoS, why in the hell would players side with anybody else? With the player given total power, the BoS becomes a perfect faction with no drawbacks, no weaknesses, no tough decisions to be made. Screw slumming it with the Railroad or the Minutemen, let’s take over the BoS. Free power armor and a giant robot! Forget the whole intolerance thing, I hereby proclaim the BoS No Longer Problematic! Now to force all the factions to get along, completely removing all conflict and nuance from the plot!

That’s some real anticlimactic “tell Legate Lanius to go home and then he does it” bullshit right there. King Shit of Fuck Mountain!

Look, it might be nice if there was a perfect path like that to take through the game. It would be cool if our characters could be that powerful and the game was that tailored to our individual choices. On the other hand, “I change all the factions to suit my exact liking” might be a fun idea for a fanfic, but it’s an incredibly boring plot for a video game. “I get to make everything in the world exactly how I want it” is Minecraft, not a story-driven RPG with a complex and intricate plot.

It would be great if complex conflicts could really be solved that easily and effortlessly, but hey, you know what? War never changes.

3. The Assassination of Arthur Maxson (Literal)

Arthur Maxson’s death is too significant and fundamentally disastrous for the Elder ending to make any sense at all.

Hero, villain, leader, monster, tortured soul, brutal dictator, immature twerp, bearded sex hunk. However you personally interpret Arthur Maxson, there is no denying that he is a venerated, popular, beloved figure in the BoS. He is the blood heir of the organization’s founder, a powerful warrior, a brilliant tactician, and a charismatic negotiator. He is responsible for reuniting the East Coast BoS with the Outcasts, leading the new, stronger BoS with a sense of shared purpose. There is a damn good reason his name is Arthur and he named his ship The Prydwen, echoes of King Arthur and the legends of his glorious kingdom of Camelot. Arthur Maxson is so beloved that many view him as a demigod, a messiah sent to lead the BoS into a mighty and prosperous future.

So I’m sure nobody’s going to be upset when some wasteland jackass recruited a month ago stumbles in with a synth, kills him, and takes over his job. Right?

It doesn’t matter that it’s “honorable.” It doesn’t matter that it’s done “by the book” via obscure BoS rules. There is no codex or litany or rule so binding that it’s going to overcome the cult of personality around Maxson. There is no way that the BoS is going to accept the death of Arthur Maxson, a man whose reverence borders on worship, especially not when he is immediately replaced by a wastelander, or a synth.

The death of Arthur Maxson removes the unifying glue that’s been holding the BoS together since mending the rift with the Outcasts. Maxson’s death eliminates the one person that both sides of that conflict agreed could steer the organization in the right direction. Some level heads may try to keep the focus on the mission and the Brotherhood tenets, but Maxson loyalists will never forgive the new Elder for his death, and that amount of passionate righteous anger will not be quelled by appeals to the rules. The new Elder’s war on the Institute is basically over before it begins, when the forces splinter and start infighting over the change in leadership.

And this is if the new Elder lives long enough to actually give any orders. I give them around 24 hours after the duel before some angry Maxson loyalist “accidentally” pulls the trigger and “tragically” empties a clip into their back.

24 seconds, if it’s Elder Danse, the dirty synth abomination.

4. The Assassination of Arthur Maxson (Figurative)

The Elder ending of BB falsely pretends that Arthur Maxson is the biggest and only problem with the BoS.

In the Elder ending, as written, the conflict of BB is considered completely and totally solved by the death of Arthur Maxson. The core problem, that Danse is a synth and considered an enemy by the BoS, has not gone away. But by getting rid of Maxson, this apparently no longer matters. Nobody else is going to take offense to Danse’s nature or protest his presence. Nobody else is going to attack him or try to follow through with Maxson’s prior orders. Nope, that meanybutt guy who gave the order is gone, and everybody else is going to welcome Danse back into the fold like nothing ever happened.

I touched on this a little bit on an ask about Maxson a few weeks back, but a lot of people seem to believe that the FO4 Brotherhood of Steel is the way they are purely because of him. That he is the one making them treat non-humans as second class citizens at best, and enemies to be slaughtered at worst. That it’s his fault the BoS is so vehemently against synths and the Institute. That he is the one influencing their imperialistic tendencies, and treating the Commonwealth like territory to be conquered and people to be ruled over by their betters.

He’s not. That’s the Brotherhood of Steel, guys.

The charitable, altruistic, virtuous BoS that many of us met for the first time in FO3 were outliers. Lyons’ group was literally disowned by the rest of the faction because their kindness to wastelanders had gone so far astray from the “core” tenets. The BoS as a whole has always been exclusive, isolated, and seen themselves as “superior” to the average wastelander. They have long disliked or outright hated non-humans (and even Lyons’ BoS in FO3 use ghouls, feral or not, for “target practice” if they get too close!) The rigid dogmatism of the BoS is not something that Arthur Maxson started, but has always been part of their fabric.

Now, it’s true that Maxson is absolutely going hard on the BoS tenets, and extremely dedicated to upholding them. His BoS are the way they are and act the way they act because he believes that this is the way it should be. Is it possible that a different leader may be a little more flexible? Absolutely. Could a skilled Elder eventually show them the benefits of a softer approach and a more generous worldview? Totally. Is getting rid of Maxson and replacing him going to make that happen overnight, or going to make the rest of the BoS who supported him shrug and follow suit?

Nope.

Blaming Arthur Maxson for everything unsavory about the Brotherhood is unfair to him and also foolishly ignoring the deep, massive problems that are far older than he is-- problems that plenty of its members wholeheartedly believe are not problems at all. Getting rid of Maxson does not make the BoS kinder or gentler. Even pretending Maxson isn’t as personally beloved as he is, any new Elder who steps in and starts trying to fundamentally alter the way the BoS operates and what they believe in is going to face some major, immediate pushback.

Like, a full clip of bullets in the back type of pushback.

In the face if it’s Elder Danse, the godless freak of nature.

5. The Un-Redemption of Paladin Danse

Last, and my personal least favorite!

At first glance, Paladin Danse is a steely jackboot, a die-hard Brotherhood loyalist who fully and firmly believes in their cause. Many immediately dismiss him as a humorless brute, or completely ignore him because they think that’s all there is. But if you spend any time with Danse at all, you’ll notice a sort of weariness in him. He is tired, overworked, and his years of service are starting to weigh on him. He has watched friends, comrades, and mentors die in horrible and gruesome ways, and he suffers from PTSD. Though he has always been told that his own sacrifices, the sacrifices of his brothers and sisters have been” worth it,” he’s starting to question if that’s true.

After telling of the incident where he personally executed his best friend Cutler, who’d been turned into a super mutant, the Sole Survivor is able to console him:

Player Default: You did the right thing. Danse: {Somber} It's what I was taught. I don't know if it was right.

This line is an excellent summary of Danse’s entire character arc. He learns to question whether to believe what the Brotherhood has taught him, or to believe in himself. His gut feelings. His sense of justice and his own ideas of what’s right and wrong.

(In the interest of not turning this into an essay about Danse’s character, I won’t even get into how this also applies to his beliefs about his worth as a person. But keep in mind, that dimension is there, Danse just covers it up by making everything about the Brotherhood.)

During Blind Betrayal, after getting the orders to execute him and hearing Haylen’s plea for mercy, we may expect Danse to be ready to fight back or flee. But when you confront him in the bunker at Listening Post Bravo, he’s compliant and suicidal. Danse is so deeply poisoned by the BoS’ rhetoric that his own feelings or will to live don’t factor into the conversation. He demands that you follow your orders and execute him, because he believes, as the BoS does, that all synths are dangerous and must be destroyed.

Danse: {Stern} Synths can't be trusted. Machines were never meant to make their own decisions, they need to be controlled. Technology that's run amok is what brought the entire world to its knees and humanity to the brink of extinction.

{Confident} I need to be the example, not the exception.

Through various dialogue options, if your charisma is high enough, you are able to talk Danse off the ledge. He is able to consider, at least, that the BoS’ merciless judgment of him is wrong and that what he was taught isn’t right. He is a thinking, feeling, self-aware synth, and that makes him as much a person as any human. Danse is no danger to humanity-- and maybe, most synths aren’t either.

Danse is an example, not an exception.

Later on, if you manage to get him out of BB alive, Danse shows further acceptance of his nature. His approvals about synths begin to soften slightly (or many of them do, at least… it’s not perfect.) He is still struggling with his identity and reconciling it with his former hatred, but his dialogue suggests that he’s on the road to being more open-minded and understanding. Along with this, Danse learns that he has value as a person beyond the Brotherhood. He no longer needs to define himself with BoS beliefs or judge himself by how useful he is to them. He learns that he is worth caring about, worth being friends with or being loved because of who he is-- not what he is, in any regard.

[SIDENOTE: Many players, myself included, are frustrated that Danse’s arc leaves off sort of midstream there. Due to the open-ended nature of the game, we don’t get a real conclusion to his arc-- even though much of his idle dialogue doesn’t change and he still espouses pro-BoS sentiments ( an unfortunate by-product of writing for a video game) there is every indication that he’s started down the right path, but understandably has a ways to go.

Also, Peter Jessop agrees with us.]

Meanwhile, in the Elder ending, Danse doesn’t get a redemption. His entire character arc, actually, hits the skids and does a total 180.

He never leaves the BoS. So scratch the need for Danse to ever think about himself as separate from them. He never needs to question what they’ve taught him or whether they’re right or wrong. He never needs to find any worth in himself beyond his use to the BoS. Why would he? He might be the Elder. The BoS is all he needs to care about anymore. The BoS is all he ever needs to be, ever again.

And I think, most horrifying of all, this Danse never needs to change his mind about synths. On the contrary, one of the surviving dialogue files includes Danse’s speech to reassure the rest of the BoS of his stance:

Danse: I want to make one thing clear to everyone. This body might be synth, but my heart and mind belong to the Brotherhood. The Institute is still a tremendous threat to the Commonwealth. They possess technologies that need to be confiscated or destroyed. And even if that means I have to pull the trigger on my own kind, I’m willing to make that sacrifice.

Elder ending Danse doesn’t grow more understanding on the nature of synths. He doesn’t accept that synths are people, or anything more than technology run amok. He won’t even accept that for himself. Elder Maxson wasn’t wrong about synths-- they’re the enemy and they need to be destroyed.

But, see, he was wrong about Danse. It’s okay for Danse to exist in spite of his nature. It’s okay for him to never fully accept his own personhood, and to outright deny it to his kind. Because his body is a machine, but he’s different from the rest because his heart and mind belong to the Brotherhood.

He’s the exception, not the example.

CONCLUSION:

The Elder ending of Blind Betrayal is dumb, contrived, stakeless, character-derailing powergaming crap at its finest and I’ll happily dance on its grave.

People give Bethesda a lot a shit for their writing-- whether it be stuff they left out, stuff they left in, or stuff that they never, ever could have made work due to the limitations of writing for a video game. Plenty of it is well-deserved, or at least worth a discussion. But from the minute I found out about its existence, I have always wanted to extend a congratulations to Bethesda for cutting the alternate Elder ending of Blind Betrayal. It was a good choice. A very good choice to cut a very dumb plot that would have fundamentally altered the story they were telling, and characters that I’ve grown to love. I think the writers deserve some credit and a hearty handshake for the wisdom of this decision.

Now as for why Nick Valentine isn’t romanceable--

[friend-of-giants]

25 Days of TES Cheer - Day 25: Decorate

@korvanjund

I whipped this up in less than two hours. Featuring a sick Dragonborn and her caring "family". Be warned, it's kind of stupid and kind of fluffy. Also, endings are the bane of my existence.

(also this is the first piece of writing I've ever posted haha)

“Guess what I’ve got!” Lucien Flavius practically danced through the doorway of Honeyside with a large burlap sack, calling out in a singsong voice. A burst of cold air rushed in with him before he shut the door, and the Dragonborn shivered as she huddled in front of the fireplace.

She gazed up at him briefly and wrapped her thick bearskin blanket around her. “I hope it’s a strong drink,” she growled. Her normally bright eyes were dull and glazed, and her skin was a more ashen shade than usual. Dusky gray hair hung limp in front of her face, unkempt since she had fallen sick a few days prior.

“Don’t be silly, Wren! Here, look at what I found in the marketplace!” He pulled a long strand of pine garland from the bag, adorned with bright red and gold baubles. “That Argonian fellow was selling these at half price, now that the New Life festival is underway.”

“Great, thanks,” she drawled sarcastically. “That’ll really help me feel better.”

Lucien knelt next to her, his brow furrowed and a small pout forming on his lips. “I know you want to be out on the town with everyone, I am so sorry. That’s precisely why we’re bringing the festivities back here to you!” He rose to his feet, garland in hand, and began draping it over her furniture, humming a little tune as he did so.

Wren rolled her eyes and sniffled, watching as the young Imperial cheerfully rushed around slinging the greenery about her home. She held her hands to the fire, shuddering, wishing she could breathe and that her aches would dissipate. Not even the strong potions she had made were helping much; this illness would simply need to run its course. Though her mind was clouded from the cold she had acquired, she couldn’t help but to grin at Lucien. Not once had she seen him unhappy, his lively spirit was almost inhuman.

The front door flew open again, and the other two members of her ragtag family marched in, accompanied by another blast of frigid air. Inigo dragged a small tree in behind him, light snow falling from its branches and melting on the floor, while Teldryn strode in last, carrying a bag in one hand, and a steaming mug in the other. Inigo went to work setting up the tree, his long tail waving behind him as his claws picked through the branches, giving them a thorough fluffing.

“For you, sera,” Teldryn said, handing the mug over to her. Wren grabbed it eagerly and tried to give it a sniff, but could hardly smell it. She took a sip, noting a bit of cinnamon and a distinct kick of brandy, even through her dulled senses. The drink warmed her almost immediately, bringing a smile to her face. She took a few gulps and kept an eye on the activity around her. The little tree was dropping needles all over the floor as Teldryn and Inigo hung an assortment of handmade ornaments on its branches, while Lucien hovered over their shoulders.

“You’re missing that entire section over here,” Lucien scolded, gesturing to one half of the tree. “You two don’t know anything about trimming a tree, do you?”

“If you think you can do any better, by all means, feel free to take over for me,” Teldryn griped, and Lucien swooped in to adjust his shoddy work.

“How are you feeling, my friend?” Inigo glanced over his shoulder at the Dragonborn, who had turned around to supervise the sudden festivities.

“Like shit.” Wren smirked and took another sip of her drink. “But now that I’ve got you guys and a warm drink in my belly, I suppose it isn’t so bad.”

Inigo chuckled and sauntered over to her, offering a paw to help her up. She hesitantly took it and staggered to her feet, letting the blanket drop to the floor behind her. “I wish you could smell it in here, it is like we are outside, yes?” He took a deep breath and exhaled with a smile. “Ah, the pine! Like a crisp winter’s morning. All we are missing is a bear, I think.”

Her eyes widened in suspicion. “By the three, if you have a bear chained up outside, I’ll-”

Inigo raised his paws. “No, no bears! I was only joking.”

Behind him, Teldryn shook his head. “There’s a bear outside, don’t listen to him.” The corners of his mouth tugged into a grin, and a laugh escaped him in a rough wheeze. Inigo and Lucien burst into laughter, and Wren covered her mouth, trying to hold back her own.

“There!” Lucien stood back from the tree at last, hands on his hips, admiring his handiwork. “Look, Wren, isn’t it marvelous? Almost as good as the one in the market square! I sure know how to decorate,” he bragged.

“Aye, you do,” she agreed, looking around her home. The garland and the neatly decorated tree were rather pleasant additions to her home, the baubles reflecting the light from the fireplace in dancing spots of light around the room. It really was a beautiful sight, she thought, or maybe it was just the brandy talking. “Thanks, guys. I appreciate what you’ve done here.”

“Anything for you, my friend,” Inigo purred, patting her on the shoulder. He pulled his lip back in a mischievous grin. “Now about that bear…”

[daggerfall]

Wow, looking back, I dont know why I was stressing so hard about dungeons. The solution was in front of me the whole time: specialize into roles. Now that I am a solid 100% healer, my mom is a solid 100% tank, and my sister is a solid 100% dps, we steamroll the normal base-game dungeons.

We did Blackheart Haven and Tempest Island today without looking up guides and strategies, and didnt die a single time. (The first miniboss in blackheart--the pale argonian iron heel man--had a hilarious curb stomp mechanic that sent my mom and sister flying off the cliff accidentally, so we probably should have consulted a guide beforehand, purely to give us warning for a mechanic like that. Luckily, tanks are literally built to absorb damage and our squishy dps happens to be a wood elf.

Thank you for all your help in making us confident in our builds and abilities. I will DEFINITELY change my tune when we do more of the DLC dungeons, and come crawling back. SO if you get tired of fielding my questions, I promise to not be mad if you say "look up a guide, dumbass," you are also 100% allowed to not answer

I will always consider you the Greatest ESO Player Of All Time

(Also, I dont know if the pic will actually send, but heres my character in the "lizardly four fabric" outfit, she's got thighs thick enough to imply she climbs mountains for the sole purpose of clobbering wizards with her staff, just straight-up "Gandalf the White hitting Denethor on Faramir's Pyre" levels of smackin)

i honestly cant tell you how nice this feels to read. it's been great to hear how far you all have come and the fun dungeon stories you've all had! bc that's what eso is to me at least, having fun with the people you care about and overcoming challenges together :D and noooo i promise i don't mind answering questions!! i like helping others, and my brain is a sponge for dungeon mechanics and advice and i love to share :3

the blackheart haven boss that sends you flying is my favorite part of that place, besides constantly calling shifty tom "shitty tom" on call with my palaroos ("come on shitty tom hurry up!") and trying and failing to do the optional stealth part for absolutely no reason

(also very nice toon!)

[tastesoftamriel]

Okay, so we've heard the worst... what about the best (assuming you haven't stated this earlier and I've somehow overlooked it)? That food from each race which you could gladly imagine savoring for the rest of your life and never tire of it, your unquestioned favorite that you consider the most iconic example of each culture's style of cuisine.

I've written a list of my favourites before here, but I've got so many favourite foods that one list just simply is not enough. Here we go again! ~Talviel

Bosmer

Most people find wood elf cuisine to be rather bland, but for me there are a few standouts and traditional comfort food is one of them. My guilty pleasure is a good, old fashioned Valenwood-style stuffed meat roll, or "Y'ffre's roll". It's usually whatever the meat of the day is (often poultry or venison), which is then stuffed with cheese, wrapped in ham or bacon, and rolled in a buttery hoarvoar-carapace crust. Oh, it's also deep-fried in lard, and is normally about the size of a large skeever. Ingesting more than one of these annually is not recommended, especially for non-Bosmer.

Altmer

I'm going to get boxed for this back home in Skyrim, but I admit it. The Altmer are truly the pastry masters of Tamriel. My recent favourite has been an absolutely to-die-for sponge cake from Shimmerene. It's a wonderful tiered slice of soft sponge soaked in cherry blossom liqueur, delicate pistachio cream and fresh strawberries, and topped with a fresh, pitted lychee. I would swim all the way back to Summerset for another slice if I could.

Redguard

Could I ever get sick of Redguard cooking? No. My current obsession is braised goat-and-camel stew. I thought the camel thing was a little weird at the beginning too, but the meat is pulled to tender perfection, along with hearty boneless chunks of flame-roasted goat. It's served in a hot, garlic-based curry with okra, harissa and cumin, and is the perfect blend of fragrant and spicy. It's usually served with chickpea flatbread or couscous on the side, and is best washed down with a cold goat-milk lassi (or several).

Nord

Even though it's summer, I've been craving one of my favourite Nord winter dishes. I'm sorry to disappoint if you're expecting something fancy, but a big bowl of creamy rice porridge with a good dollop of butter, cinnamon, and sugar is one of the most satisfying foods on Nirn (doubly so if you have snowberry preserves). I'm not biased, you're biased!

Khajiit

Since I first went to Elsweyr, the people around me tend to comment that I eat a lot of pilau. It's not because it's the only food I like or anything, but just because it's so good. Pilau is a deliciously fluffy basmati rice dish, which is cooked with saffron, butter, moon sugar, and nuts. It's usually a side dish for the Khajiit, and while I'm happy to eat mine plain, it's customary to have with both meat and vegetable dishes.

Argonian

There are precisely two races on Nirn who consider frog to be a food: the Bretons and the Argonians. Why the other races don't want to join in is beyond me, because by Dibella's sweet milky melons, I think frog legs are delicious. In Black Marsh there are a few different ways of cooking them, my absolute favourite is stir-fried frog legs with swamp ginger, oyster sauce, fiery marsh peppercorns, and loads of garlic and onions. They're meant to be eaten with your hands in a group, with everyone sitting around a large bowl. The gravy at the bottom is served with hot steamed barley, and I absolutely recommend Argonian garlic frog legs to all non-picky eaters who aren't afraid of flavour!

Orc

Orcish cuisine is another of those off-putting areas even for Tamrielic food aficionados, but those who know where to look will find some true gems. While I'm not normally a fan of horker or chub loon, I have developed quite an appetite for Old Orsinium-style barbecue skewers. I don't even know what goes into most of these mystery skewers, but I've had stronghold chefs and Hearth-wives tell me that depending on what's available, any game is game from echatere to venison, horse and even wild mammoth. Meat chunks are stacked with peppers, turnips, potatoes, and other root vegetables. The entire skewer is basted with a secret frost mirriam-based barbecue sauce, which varies between clans and regions. The trick to getting these meat skewers so delicious lies in the sheer heat of the roasting fire, which is in this case actually in the forge!  Barbecue skewers are usually a staple when Hunt-, Forge-, and Hearthwives have a good relationship with each other and work together, and it's said that a stronghold with a good meat skewer is one that's ruled well.

Breton

I've been dreaming about the lovely pine-nut, cheese, and spinach giant tortelli from High Rock lately, and for good reason. Take your average tortellini, made with a fresh egg dough, and make it about the size of a palm. Stuff it with a fragrant blend of pine nuts, ricotta and pecorino cheeses, seasoned minced spinach, and serve with a rich browned butter sauce and more pine nuts. A timeless classic that's both simple yet satisfying.

Dunmer

It may be the influence of my friend @lisandrelovesyams , but I went from being rather skeptical to rather fanatical about ash yams. I have quite a fondness for the Grey Quarter staple: jacket ash yams. The biggest ash yams are baked to perfection, and filled with whatever the day's produce is. A typical jacket yam comes stuffed with stewed bantam guar or smoked seafood (usually salmon or crab), Eidar cheese, spicy saltrice mash, and if you're lucky, a good dollop of scuttle on top. It's a Skyrim-inspired take on Dunmeri cuisine and is an absolute delight on a cold day, washed down with a mug of shein.

Imperial

Ah, my beloved Cyrodiilic fare. Now that summer is here, I am very much enjoying cooking with all the lovely fresh vegetables currently in season! One of my absolute favourite dishes is a classic risotto with mushrooms, sundried tomatoes, rocket, and a good measure of Surilie Brothers pinot grigio. Top it with a good amount of cave-aged West Weald parmesan and crispy pancetta, and you have an instant winner that even vegetable-haters will love!

[electronicdelusionstarlight]

So, Khash the Argonian

1) First ever fully voiced Argonian follower. The fact she is, again, the FIRST and ONLY fully voiced Argonian follower, created on the September of 2020 should tell you a lot about what kind of followers the Nexus prefers.

2) To begin, here’s a couple memes based on the height difference of the character with my own, slightly larger than usual Argonian to whom everyone is Manlet sized:

3) That being said: The Mod states MULTIPLE TIMES that Khash is a teenage girl. Your first reaction to meet her is literally you calling her “kid” and questioning her age. She uses a very specific body type created specifically for the mod so to make her look smaller than a normal Argonian. I have had only an hour of gameplay with her as of now but I’m not seeing anything that would warrant me to worry over my character preying or spying on her at her most vulnerable like it would happen for stuff like Rigmor of Bruma or M’rissi. This is actually a huge relief.

4) To reiterate, This isn’t like that one follower mod where you meet Miraak’s 17 years old daughter and start dating her, this seems like a legit old mentor/spunky surrogate daughter scenario, without the needless angst of modern day old mentor/spunky surrogate daughter a la Last of Us, which is what I was hoping M’rissi was going to be, before the whole “dialogue line where you are horny for this underage catgirl abomination and want her to become your slave or some shit” thing.

5) Khash is a very early game friendly follower, in the sense that she is weaker than you by a lot even if you both start at level 1 (Starting with a whooping 50 health bar for starters), but supposedly raises her level alongside you. Think of her as a not overpowered Inigo, especially since they both use basically the same fighting style with either bow or one handed weapon.

6) She has the best personality among ALL female followers I’ve ever found on the nexus, directly beneath her probably the ones who direct lift from the Witcher series like the Ciri or Yenn mods using outright assets from the Witcher 3 to work. Her voice acting is also quite good and fitting of her as an Argonian.

7) The mod is here. The page claims to have adult content which is what was worrying me at first but I think they had to tag it as that due to the fact the only body sliders they could use to make her short were the ones from CBBE and I think those are supposed to be tagged as adult by default, but I’m not sure.

8) She was also apparently created by @rabbittwinrithings​ here on Tumblr so there’s that.

9) All in all a good mod and a great follower. Only issue I have is her not being able to wear stuff from Immersive Armors and similar stuff due to the fact they don’t come in “kid size,” (On the bright side, she will not wear the Berserk Armor like all other followers I ever had, the probably skimpiest armor in the history of non-skimpy armor mods), but that’s still an incredible way to handle it lore wise tho. She also froze up for a couple minutes on the bridge in the mine near Riverwood, couldn’t move from her spot and was stuck clapping for some reason, but a quick reload unfroze her so there’s that.

10) (As a side note I put up the PC Headtracking mod that allows me to give my character a voice and then boot up the Shyvana (Half Dragon from LOL) custom voice for my character. This to say that I am having a chill time walking to the woods only to turn toward one of my friends and talk to them triggering the “greet friend” requirement for the mod and here’s my character screaming in a dragon like voice how she’s going to bathe in their ashes as a friendly greeting. It’s funny but also quite annoying at times).

[curiouscarllee]

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

Fairlynn: My Main

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

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

Ragnar

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

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

S'arra

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

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

Adoren

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

Zanik

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

Kidawe

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

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

Adoren/Zanik Pt.2

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

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

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

Zorlin

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

Tristane

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

In this case, Tristane was reflected in his journal.

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

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

Other Characters:

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

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

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

-I will add more later I'm sure.

[talldarkandroguesome]

2nd of Last Seed, Morndas

It took several days, but at last a dream walker was called.

I had a brief fear it may have been the same one who I dealt with in Coldharbour.

Not that she was not good at what she did, I simply did not wish to have her try and open back up those old wounds again. I have had enough of that for quite a while, thank you.

A young Argonian man with an earnest look was brought before me and it took a few exchanges of conversation before I realized that this was him.

Nabine and Avon took the children away for a trip to visit the Velothi while I stayed behind for the dream walking.

I felt better knowing the children and my beloved Nabine were far from harm’s way. And that Avon was with them only served to allay my anxieties that much further. They will all be able to care for one another without fear of repercussions of my actions here in the meantime. 

And so I had a short interview with this dream walker. And a meal. And a soak in the baths.

Then we went up to my chambers and he told me to get comfortable. I disrobed down to my undergarments and then laid in the bed.

The dream walker was given permission to lay on the other side when the need arose. He thanked me for it. It was strange given how freely people take up a spot on that side of the bed, for anyone to ask permission. I understand why, but it was certainly unusual.

I was given some sort of potion and it was explained that it would induce a deep sleep. I could hear the mages ceasing their chanting as I fought for the last throws of consciousness. 

Dreams began to form, though I cannot for the life of me recall what exactly they started as.

Then I saw the dream walker. He told me that he would be there with me and to fight this Dremora at my side. He explained that I must let myself dream normally at first, just to see if anything should occur.

I began to dream of being on a very long bridge, crossing the peaks between mountains on what I knew, in that strange dream’s way, that this was the Veloth Mountains. Of course, it was not something that range has, nor did it look like the Veloth Mountains in any way. But I was making my way across the old and creaking bridge, even as a heavy fog clung to my ankle and wisps of fog began to creep upwards towards my face, like a long, thin, boney finger. It was beckoning. 

As I tried to fight it, my legs continued to move forward and into the fog.

Of course, that is when those glowing eyes began to shown brighter and brighter. And I could feel the warm curl of purring words, soon to be caressing my ear. I knew, somehow, what was about to occur. That this was the Dremoa, come to take me away for punishment for my disobedience. And not in the fun way.

My body moved without my control, stepping ahead on the dilapidated bridge slats, disregarding my inability to see them properly and the instability of each wooden board.

Then the fog began to form into a figure. It stood before me as though solid. I knew it was her.

Just as those long arms began to wrap around me and pull me further towards the Daedra, a mantra began to chant from behind me. I turned to fid the dream walker. He was posed dramatically, the winds blowing his head feathers as he stood tall and proud before me.

They seemed to rage at one another in Jel. Great slews of words poured from both of them, as though they were rival wizards, dueling to the death.

Then I saw the dream walker signal at me. I almost looked as though it was unintentional, but I knew it as the sign to act.

So I rushed forwards and tackled the Dremora, wrapping arms and legs around her.

Below me, she thrashed, rolling about like a scared animal. She would occasionally strike out in my direction, but I simply held on tighter.

The fog wrapped around the Dremora and then, all of a sudden ,as I continued to try and hold on,  the Dremora gave a horrendous screeching. 

Then with a grand gesture, both the Dremora and the dream walker vanished.

My dreams shifted to accommodate a more pleasant manner of conduct.

When I came to, there was a sigil circle with a screaming creature inside. It was the Dremora. She was difficult to calm, continually attempting to break free.

All attempts to learn more from her, also failed, consequently.

In the end, Plays-With-Fire and I put our plan into motion.

As she was held in place by the circle. Plays-With-Fire cast the trapping spell.

And as soon as the glow seemed to catch her, I leapt forward, and plunged my dagger into her throat. 

After another hellish scream, she crumpled to the ground and told me that if I was truly a follower of the one I claimed, that I should would have faced her properly.

Then her body went completely limp and a glow eminated from her body and traveled into the gem stone that Plays-With-Fire held. It was done.

I am thinking I shall use her to charge my weapons with enchantment. At least she can provide a positive impact on Mundus.

Despite the sleep, my body is exhausted. I have finished more wine than I can normally handle. I believe I need to sleep this off.

[dross-the-fish]

How do you feel about Ulfric as a character?

Well, ‘Non. Like with the civil war my feelings about Ulfric are pretty complicated. As always I don’t make any claims that I am an expert on TES lore, a lot of my opinion is based on my observations during playthroughs and I’m open to hearing feedback 

 Ulfric, as a military leader is very charismatic and very passionate and his cause is, arguably, a just one. It’s easy to see why people would fight and die for him. That said, he is not someone I would normally want to support, and if I do support him in play-throughs it’s because I think the Empire is worse as a whole and not just for Skyrim, but for all of Tamriel. 

For me it’s not really a matter of “Ulfric good/Empire bad” and more “enemy of my enemy...” Also, idk if it’s the voice actor, the writing or some other thing entirely, but I don’t 100% TRUST Ulfric, he makes a lot of speeches that really sound good and he says All The Right Things ™ so I’m always left feeling like there’s something manipulative about him. He seems almost rash at first but if you really watch him it becomes apparent he’s got a cunning streak and I do have my suspicions that he’s not as honorable as he presents himself. 

I think Ulfric was well aware that Torygg wouldn’t stand a chance and that killing him would not result in Ulfric becoming the new High King. I think killing Torygg was a very cold, calculated, and intentional maneuver on Ulfric’s part. But to what end? What does he stand to gain from killing someone who would ostensibly have sided with him? This leads me theorize that Torygg is more valuable to Ulfric dead than alive. After all, Ulfric does his best to paint Torygg as a weak-willed puppet king, made soft by the empire. What better way to illustrate that than to kill him? 

Ulfric sent Balgruuf an axe because he thought there was a chance Balgruuf might join him but from what I can tell in-game, no attempt was ever made to see if Torygg would be open to supporting the Stormcloaks. I don’t think Ulfric ever had any intention of negotiating with Torygg because the image of a broken, slain, puppet-king, served more purpose than having a political ally who was considered by many to be very young and naive. If Torygg had joined Ulfric it’s highly likely that the Empire would simply have placed a different High-King on the throne. It can reasonably be assumed that Torygg’s support would not have been a huge political gain for Ulfric. So Ulfric went with a display of power. On a technical level what transpired was a duel that lined up with Nord tradition, on a strategic level, this was a political assassination. 

Now personally, I love cunning bastard characters with big ambitions and big personalities, so why do I not love Ulfric Stormcloak? Well... let’s address the issue of the grey quarter. Because that is absolutely an awful thing I could have done without. Ulfric is apathetic at best to the plight of non-Nords and while I can believe the Dunmer  who settled in Windhelm are a bunch of belligerent shits who are rude to everyone who isn’t from Vvardenfell (that’s basically just Vvardenfell culture in a nutshell) that doesn’t explain the Argonians being forced out to the docks. Even if Ulfric isn’t doing it personally, he doesn’t do anything to make things better and there’s no indication that he will once the war is over and he becomes High King.

Ulfric strikes me as the kind of person who will only care about the Nords, even so Skyrim is a diverse place with citizens of all races making up it’s population. I don’t trust Ulfric to be fair and objective in his ruling of the non-Nord citizens, nor do I believe he would serve his people with compassion and temperance. Ulfric is the kind of person who is a good general but I don’t think the qualities that make him apt to lead during a war make him an ideal king. 

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