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fallout-drabbles-n-stuff · 3 years

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Lately, everything has been terrible and stressful can I please get some fluff between sole and a married romanced companion doing married couple stuff?

(Heyy, I recognize you from my Skyrim blog! Hope everything starts getting better, whatever is going on)

(This is one of those things where if ya'll want a little drabble with a specific character..just ask! This may be more of a romantic fluff thing because i don't really know how to specifically make it about them being married //although I am thinking of writing wedding Headcanons// but you get the gist.))

Cait:

•She never thought she would ever find herself here. Surely, she thought, she would've been beaten to death or overdosed before love ever would've been in the cards. So, it would be a vast understatement to say she's sometimes at a loss for words when she looks at you. Her wife/husband..damn that felt good.

•Often times you are privileged to the more tender side of Cait, the side of her that allows her to be completely at ease. During these times, she'll allow you to kiss some of her scars- her face flushing a furious red similar to one of her hair. She usually isn't the sappy type, but if you tell her that you love them as much as you love her..cue the waterworks.

•It's maybe not the romantic gesture, but she finds herself consistently sharpening your knives when you aren't around- placing them back in your knapsack before you get home. Partially accredited to her want for your safety and otherwise well being.

•If you have long enough hair, she sometimes will braid it in one of those fancy four strand braids..you know..to keep it out of your face for combat.

•Bunch of nights spent on the roof of red rocket sipping crappy warm beer but neither of you caring, much too invested in each other's presence to be picky.

Curie:

•She keeps a very strict journaling of her research records...she also keeps one detailing every little aspect of you that she loves. She isn't exactly sure why she started doing this, but..it quickly becomes a post-war like scrapbook of the two of you. The biggest picture with tons of little hearts around it is the one of the two of you on your wedding day.

•You can sometimes find her uncontrollably grinning whenever she takes off her lab gloves and sees her wedding ring. She doesn't dare ever take it off.

•The second you get sick she is there by your side, the whole "in sickness" part of her vows surely weren't just for tradition.

Danse:

•Just as you wear his, Danse never parts with your dog tags. Between them and his ring, they may as well be a part of him. Danse also has your initials engraved on the gauntlets of his power armour.

•Danse is surprisingly physically affectionate. As such, there are many instances where your ever so serious husband will stop you, running his thumb over your cheek before randomly giving you a chaste kiss. Afterwards he almost always follows the action up with something along the lines of "I'll never understand how I've became lucky enough to be able to call you mine."

•Enjoys you keeping him company when he works on power armour or weapons. Even if you have no skill in blacksmithing, he will insist that you join him. Just imagine it- a warm wasteland afternoon, Dogmeat laying out in the sun, some tune playing over the radio while a sweaty, tank top wearing Danse getting you to mod weapons with him.

Deacon:

•Deacon easily becomes very protective over you, who can blame him? His luck with marriage hasn't been the best...but then again..neither has your's. The more serious side of your relationship will always be the lingering fear of losing each other..it's good enough to make you hold each other closer at night.

•Late night snack breaks while the radio plays and the two of you dance around together is a must have for each night.

•You two are now formally known as the only married couple of the Railroad. Congrats.

Gage:

•Totally has gotten a tattoo of your name. Let's face it, you probably have one of his as well.

•Loves spoiling you as much as he possibly can without crossing the line as your "right-hand" man. Gangs can't know too much. Well, they already know you're married..but you know..

��Doesn't drink very often, matter of fact he used to despise it. However, he soon sees the merriment in it via drunken antics with just you in your own privacy. Oh, expanding upon this..it's sort of a morning ritual for the two of you to watch the sunrise and drink some nuka-quantum to get the day going.

Hancock:

•The people of Goodneighbor view the two of you like some cool political power couple. It's neat. With that reputation also comes your husband seeking your counsel in political matters, let's just face it, he sometimes needs some guidance on how to be more strict without breaking his "code".

•Serves as a wonderful listener. I know, bare minimum- but seriously, he is incredibly wise when it comes to everyday strife. Plus, there isn't anyone else he'd rather listen to than his sweet sunshine.

•Often presents you with lavish gifts that you probably don't want to know where he got the funds for. Doesn't matter.

Macready:

•He probably will have warned you a thousand times over before marriage but by marrying you, Duncan has to come into the big picture. So, marrying Mac means adopting yourself another little one and becoming your own perfect family.

•As such, a lot of the fluffier times have to do with all of you bonding. Be it making some strange wasteland alternative to pancakes in the morning or going out together to go shoot cans off the fence- life is pretty good.

•Mac becomes at ease whenever he feels completely secure. This will bleed over into every aspect of him, meaning you'll often times find him being less awkward with flirting with you and he also isn't as guarded.

Maxson:

•Although the two of you both uphold your duties to a tee, you always make sure to have time dedicated to the two of you. Regarding this, Arthur is completely in awe during the first few months of your marriage. He knew he wanted you, he just didn't ever imagine it would happen like this, plus being such a young newlywed surely puts an extra pep in his step.

•On some of the off days where he can just have you all to himself: he likes to play chess, take walks, and simply cuddle the hours away.

•I also believe it's worth mentioning that Arthur occasionally leaves you heartfelt love letters around where you'll get them. So even in the days he can't spend devoted to you, at least you'll have that.

Nick:

•Slow dancing? Oh hell yes. Slow dances in the agency to songs like "Easy Living" are a common occurrence for the two of you.

•You'll never doubt how much he loves you, I can guarantee that much. Nick is nothing if not a romantic.

Piper:

•Date nights spent enjoying some power noodles as she screws with the robot vendor.

•Also a repeat offender of leaving love notes for you to find. Only she gets embarrassed if you bring them up. She's happy you like them, but..don't say anything.

•Nat is also a part of the family. Just so you know!

Preston:

•Regularly finds himself admiring you, not in the strictly surface way either. He just can't get over how wonderful you've made his life from the moment you entered it.

•Garvey loves taking you for some safe wasteland foraging, maybe not the most splendid married couple outing but, eh, it works!

X6-88:

•If given the opportunity, he'll sometimes play some songs for you if you happen to find a piano that still functions.

•The whole "married" thing sometimes confuses him. He loves you, but is he supposed to treat you any differently? Probably not- but he still wonders every once in a while

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ramblings-of-a-mad-cat · 2 years

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Blair Plays: Legends Arceus (Phase 3)

Mama, just tackled a man

Seriously what is even happening right now. This game is wild.

C-c-crafting?

Oh heck yes. I would jump for joy right now. I would honestly jump around Laventon's Office for about five minutes if this game actually had a jump button. Nah, you don't even know. Games like Legends are and always will be a massive timeeater for me and crafting? Is like 70% of the reason why. Most of my Skyrim hours are spent over the Alchemy table. I am a scientist for stuff like this. Does this mean I get to make my own steampunk pokeballs? Because if it does, this is the greatest game ever made.

Ah yes, the other thing that makes these games take forever for me to complete and enjoy every second of them. The side-quests. I'm a completionist, personally. Not really for any reason other than that I enjoy playing the game, and I know I'll like this kind of thing more than EV training or shiny hunting. The only question is whether or not this game will have more or less sidequests than Xenoblade. Probably less. Or is that an unfair comparison? Either way, I'll keep my eyes out for a wurmple.

It's a booklet!

It isn’t part of the Arc Phone, but an actual encyclopedia. Thank Arceus! Though that does make me wonder what the purpose of the Arc Phone is. Come to think of it, we should probably keep that hidden if we don’t want these people to start thinking we’re a god. I’ve seen Star Trek Next Generation, I know how this goes.

I'm definitely stealing that phrase and using it in the future. I have no idea what it's even supposed to mean but it's just so quotable. In other news, I can already tell that I'm going to waste all my time on side-quests, but unless something noteworthy happens, I'll stick to updates on the main story.

Because if there's one thing Pokemon needed, it's more Dark Souls.

Not kidding, by the way. The dodging mechanie is pretty awesome. In general, I like these mechanics. The reduced number of battles, the increased focus on capturing pokemon. Like, this was something I couldn’t stand about Let’s Go, but this time it kinda works for me? Because it’s a whole new world, with a new adventure with different goals that were introduced from the start. As opposed to being a typical Gym Challenge where the Gym Leaders randomly refuse to let you in until you catch fifty pokemon, like what even was that.

In other news, you can drown. I have a system, you see. With every new game I play. I always have to do three things. 1) Approach fire and see if it will actually burn me. 2) Attempt to harm NPCs to see if the game will let me, and if there are consequences for it. And 3) The first body of water I find, I have to see if I'm allowed to swim. Turns out, you are! Very, very slowly. For about five seconds. Then you drown.

I thought it was a joke. But no, he actually names his Wurple whatever silly nickname you suggest. Anyway, we stan Fred the Hero, who is totally not going to evolve into a Dustox or anything. Yeah, I've seen the anime, Legends. I know where this is going. At least this time I can buy that Wurple's branching evolution isn't common knowledge.

So it looks like the game is replacing the gym challenge with the star system. Works for me. Catching Pokemon is surprisingly addicting. I feel just like a real hunter in the wild, without any of the guilt for actually harming animals. On another note, the Survey Corps outfit is all kinds of badass. I know character customization is a thing in this game, but I may just stick with this outfit for a while. Except for that hat. Oh boy, that hat has to go.

Don't think I missed that line, game. Means nothing to Sybil, means a whole lot to me. The Diamond Clan, eh? Something tells me that there's going to be a Pearl Clan as well, and that somewhere down the road, I'm going to be asked to choose between them. I was always a Platinum kid growing up, so I don't have much stake in this, but I'm glad to see the plot is picking up!

#Pokemon #Pokemon Legends Arceus #Pokemon Screenshot #Pokemon Rei #Professor Laventon #Blair Plays

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electronicdelusionstarlight · 3 years

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Boethia’s Bidding

Many people remember Mephala’s cut quest from Skyrim, about Baalgruf’s kids being corrupted by the Daedric Prince’s whispers and slaying their own father. It leads to a general worsening for the hold since Baalgruf’s brother is a far worse Jarl than him, even if he does instantly join the Imperials as soon as he gains power, and ends with you betraying one of the few Jarls who trusted in you from the very start in a far worse way than you would be able to do in Vanilla by siding with the Stormcloaks.

Everyone knows about that cut quest.

But how many people even ever heard about Boethia’s Bidding till this post came along?

Boethia’s Bidding is a cut continuation quest for the vanilla Boethia’s quest, Boethia’s Calling. After slaying her former champion and gaining the Ebony Mail, the prince will appear to you and ask you one final show of power and loyalty to them.

You will need to go to Solitude, and slay Jarl Elisif as she’s wrecked by Paranoia and fear at the plots happening all around her.

It’s a very stealth/speech oriented quest. Boethia’s machinations have left Elisif a nervous wreck, locked up in her room and armed in fear of potential assassin, unwilling to see anyone, the security in the palace tripled.

You will either sneak inside (in which case if they find you in a “forbidden” zone the guards will turn hostile) or you can talk your way inside to the steward, and convince to let you talk to her as her friend/thane, or even become her personal bodyguard, all the while being escorted by at least ONE guard.

It seems like an interesting, stealth/assassin oriented quest honestly, but I’m not here to talk about this.

So, you get inside Elisif Room, posing as her bodyguard, and she tells you this.

Image Description: Elisif Direct Quote from the cut quest: "I'm glad they finally believed me. About the assassin I mean. It's been so hard since my Torygg passed. No one takes me seriously. So how's this work exactly? Do you just kind of stand there on the look out? That's what Bolgeir does. Well, he sort of looms more than stands. Bolgeir's loyal, but even he doesn't do what I ask. Case in point, this whole assassin thing. Well at least I have you now. Look at me ramble... Well, I guess I'll go about my business sulking in here. You can stand over there in the corner watching for assassins."

No one fucking takes Elisif seriously. Ever. The steward will berate her suspicions when you ask him about assassins, and everyone will simply go “grief must have make her go mad, poor girl.”

Everyone underestimates her and shit, and you MIGHT think this quest is trying to remedy on that, especially since her worries are funded, instead it seems the only way you can end this quest is by killing Elisif.

After you do it, Boethia will appear and congratulate you for your doing, and... seemingly give you nothing but their respect. Erikur (The thieves guild plant) will become the new Jarl of Solitude, hence him having Jarl dialogues and the Jarl title in game (I always assumed he was supposed to be the Stormcloak Jarl, but this makes it even worse somehow).

The quest is unfinished so we don’t know what would Elisif’s death bring to the also unfinished Civil War questline.

We have to keep in mind a couple things tho, such as Boethia’s shrine being very close to Winshelm, and Stormcloak Alligned guards and soldiers commenting on how their cause seem to have been favoured by “Daedric Nobility” itself... when they are not calling Elisif a bitch rotting in oblivion that is.

Since we know for a fact from Elder Scrolls Legends lore that Boethia was directly supporting the Thalmor War Effort, it’s not difficult to say who actually asked the prince for Elisif’s death, or why would they decide to support the Stormcloaks in such a way. Erikur, the new Jarl who has close commercial ties with both the Dominion, the Empire, the Thieves Guild AND the Stormcloaks, is ALSO heavily implied to have had an hand in the assassination, without however tying it to the Dark Brotherhood for some reason.

We can also be glad they didn’t decide to add this quest to the game either. Elisif is already an INCREDIBLY wasted character in Vanilla, to waste and ruin her even more by simply fridging her out of nowhere and with no reward, only to then have her be cursed by her enemies as the man who plotted her murder seats on her throne all smug about it.

There is also another thing we need to keep in mind however, and that’s for the possibility that this, again, unfinished quest is missing other possible options. Boethia tells you a very specific line when you finish this quest after all:

Image Decription: “Remember always this: You need answer to no authority, neither mortal, nor divine... As you will it, so it shall be.”

The divine part is particularly important. Boethia is demanding for you to do their bidding (title drop), yet at the same time they claim everything should be done by your own free will. Maybe there IS a way to finish the quest without killing Elisif, to spite the Deadric prince by your own free will and not kill her.

Erikur is involved, so say there actually IS an assassin in the Blue Palace among the many, seemingly useless thanes and housecarls in Elisif court, among all her servants or guards? Maybe you have to beat them to the time to kill Elisif, or in turn you can also save her from them. You save Elisif, expose Erikur who is put in Jail/executed, his sister becomes the new Thieves Guild Plant for their missions, and Elisif now either trusts you alot and is willing to follow your advice and shit, or better yet has finally understood that she needs to be her own woman and shit, meaning that if this happens before season unending in season unending she will be far more assertive and will be far more proactive alongside Tullius, but in case of Stormcloak victories she will also die (In which case Erikur gets in power) as she attempts to assassinate Ulfric and probably dies in the process. (which you can stop or not, in which case the rebellion is in shambles even if Skyrim is indipendent now, and everything sucks even more than it would under Ulfric since the next in line for the throne is Galmar).

Either way after you find the second assassin and actually save Elisif (Maybe have hearts and apples involved for some nice Snow White symbolism? Important for later), either gaining her trust or making her a shrewder ruler as a result, maybe even both, Boethia will appear to you when you are finally alone.

They will congratulate you to have “outplotted” the lord of plots, much like Hircine congratulates you for hunting the hunters during his own quest, and for having followed your own free will, especially after having literally murdered a guy who had started doing the exact same thing (following his free will rather than Boethia’s orders), which would make you either incredibly stupid or incredibly far sighted, since now Elisif is on the path to become a ruler following the spirit of Boethia’s teaching, if indirectly, and you will be her trusted advisor, the only one who believed her when she realized there was a traitor in their midst, giving you (and Boethia as her champion) much power in turn.

Of course, this is me giving Todd way too much credit. The quest was probably as set up as it was in the scripts to the letter because Bethesda can’t stand the thought of a Girlboss winning, it was just never implemented, and all this new way to end it was never intended to exist, but you know, it’d be really nice if we did something with Elisif outside of the way she’s already treated in canon.

It’d be cliche in a way, and it’d be not as well written as I wished it was, but it would still be SOMETHING MORE than the way she’s treated in canon.

You know... Elisif the Fair... becoming Elisif the Girlboss. Under Boethia’s blessing. And with the Dragonborn kneeling at her side as her vizier and enforcer.

A Wicked Hunter befitting of the Fairest Queen of them all.

Wouldn’t that be rad?

#skyrim #elisif the fair #elder scrolls #tes lore #skyrim lore #skyrim mod #there's a mod that puts the cut quest back as it is unfortunately #boethiah #boethiah's calling #boethiah's bidding

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blookmallow · 2 years

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skyrim time ft Cat Adventures im not making very much progress with my khajiit but heres some

talon-jei can i fucking help you

fjsdgjdsg so when you first come to windhelm brunwulf asks you what you think about the nords vs everyone else conflict, your options are, as a non-nord, “skyrim is for everyone” or “yes i think Outsiders Like Me shouldn’t be allowed here” which. i cannot imagine how you could possibly say that line in any way other than intensely sarcastic so i had ragweed say it and. brunwulf took it 100% seriously and now thinks. my khajiit. is a nord. who thinks he’s better than everyone else. i. what

i also don’t really understand why im just allowed to go wherever i want as a khajiit in skyrim considering all the other khajiit aren’t allowed inside the city walls. and rag hasn’t been around that long so he doesn’t have like, A Reputation for being a hero or anything because he’s just. a scruffy cat man who slinks around cities and disappears with everyone’s gold sometimes. ive never been caught so presumably no one actually knows that though. except for uh

i know you cant probably tell whats happening here at all but ok i left windhelm to go back to adventuring, suddenly got attacked by a group of hit men out of nowhere for apparently no reason, managed to fight them all off (my poor catboy is so, so low leveled right now everything is a struggle) meanwhile ALL OF THOSE GUYS OVER THERE JUST LIKE, STOOD AROUND AND WATCHED. ANYONE WANT TO MAYBE HELP ME OUT HERE. SOME GUYS TRYING TO KILL ME IN THE MIDDLE OF THE WALKWAY. GUARDS? HELLO?

oh it was one of the maids in the whiterun jarl’s palace lmfao god damn it how did she even SEE me

(i may have been committing small thefts. dont worry about it)

i dont understand how this happens, like, if someone sees you commit a crime you get a bounty for it and the guards are alerted. so if i never gained a bounty at all, and the guards are chill with me, and i never had a like “hey! that’s not yours!” reaction line for taking something. how did i get a hit put out on me :’ )

im debating whether ragweed would retaliate against her like, on the one hand, he Did steal from the palace, but also, she sent out SEVERAL hit men with the intention of murdering him for stealing like, a couple gemstones or something. which is way out of proportion and “you tried to kill me” is a reasonable situation to seek revenge on someone but also i dont think he’s the type to just like, kill her in her sleep or something

i dunno shes got it coming now though i dont know what it is but its coming

anyway. i decided to just go for it with sadri bc i had already fully decided he was gonna be ragweed’s husband and. there’s not really anything you can do to develop a relationship in skyrim beyond doing a person’s quests for them. so. whatever lmao

cute.....

hes so sweet actually

fancy kitty

this was the nicest outfit i could come up with for him and didnt realize until the wedding it was actually the same as sadri’s sdjgsdj

lydia is probably the only friend ragweed has but im laughing so much about that argonian lady showing up bc like. he had never seen her before and i literally ran into her on the way to the wedding and she asked for a health potion to help her with her skooma addiction so im like sure whatever heres a potion

and then she just. goes with him to his wedding. im imagining everyone meeting like revyn introducing his family and ragweed’s just like “this is lydia she’s a friend from whiterun. and this is. uh.... a drug addict i met five minutes ago in the street” “i... i see”

trying to have a heart to heart with fastred’s mother about her and she’s just standing directly between us making intense eye contact with me

i FINALLY saw the big execution you’re supposed to see when you first enter solitude that i managed to miss entirely

i dont know what the fuck i did the first time i came in from some weird side entrance ive never seen again and vaguely heard this scene going on somewhere but couldn’t really make out what they were saying and then everyone was like “ah, yes, you were there at The Execution” so i thought. they were talking about My execution. back at helgen. and i was like i dont remember any of you people being there what happened here

#lucy plays skyrim #well this drafted post is allowed to have more than 10 images in it so i guess maybe the ones i already have started might still work : )

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commander-hanji-zoe · 4 years

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Do you have any headcanons on veterans x reader on quarantine lockdown headcanons. Baking, Reading, Exercising?

Ohhhh I have so many! Thank you for this ask ❤️ One of these days I’ll master the art of answering a head canon question quickly and with shorter answers. But today is not the day! There’s a few nsfw bits under the cut. This is over 3k words....how??

Mike

Mike is fond of long lay-ins, it’s what he lives for at the weekend. He loves you so much and enjoys nothing more than being comfy and snuggly under a duvet with you. Eating breakfast, watching Netflix, just chilling and enjoying one another’s company. So during lock down there’s gonna be a lot of time in comfy PJ’s lazing around in bed.

Mike loves cooking and cooking shows! The two of you have a date night once a week where you cook together. You always light some candles, listen to jazz and have a glass of wine or two while cooking. One week you try making your own sushi, the next it’s Jamaican curry, then it’s pizza night! Trying new things is something you both love (both in and out of the bedroom *cough* more on that later.

When restrictions are eased a little and you’re allowed to sit outside/drive for exercise, the two of you take a long countryside drive together and find a quiet secluded spot where you can sit and have a picnic and watch the clouds go by.

I see Mike as a guitar kinda guy, so he’ll teach you if you don’t play and if you do, the two of you will enjoy spending some time writing songs together and playing along to your favourite rock and indie tunes.

You enjoy watching live acoustic gigs and concerts which are being streamed by artists and comedians etc. Mike encourages you to get dressed up with him, you have drinks while watching and often end up dancing as if you were at a gig in person.

Binge listening to podcasts together ‘The Magnus Archive,’ ‘Welcome to Nightvale’ and ‘MaMbBam’ being favourites.

Star-gazing. Sitting outdoors at night, during the day the two of you will spend time in your garden but it’s night time you really enjoy it the most. Sitting outside on a blanket and with another over you, you make sure all the lights inside are turned off so you can enjoy watching the stars, moon, planets, satellites etc above you. You often have a glass of wine or a cocktail as you sit out there, sometimes you fall asleep in Mike’s arms so he’ll carry you up to bed.

Finally Mike is very good at giving you personal space, while he loves taking up new hobbies with you and spending time doing things you love together, he also knows you both need your space. It makes the time you do spend together so much sweeter.

Erwin

Even though you don’t need to go out to work, Erwin is still up early. When he wakes he showers and then prepares for the day by making you both a delicious breakfast. Think poached eggs, grapefruit, french toast, yoghurt and fruit etc. He likes listening to the radio over watching TV first thing in the morning so you have that on for a bit.

You enjoy daily workouts together (with Saturday or Sunday off). Erwin takes them unsurprisingly seriously, however, he does make them fun. The two of you will have little competitions with one another and Erwin creates a workout playlist for you - it’s an eclectic mix and includes songs that you both end up singing along to.

Erwin loves to play the Piano but due to his work he only usually touches it a few times a month if that. With lockdown he starts playing daily, there’s a few times when you wake up and he’s already practising - it really is beautiful. Sometimes if he knows you’re watching he may stop playing, or at least change what he’s playing to something you know so you can sing along or join in. If you’re quiet though you can stand in the door for 5-10 minutes without him realising and he’ll continue to play classical music.

As well as the home workouts you try to go out once a week for a run, as much as Erwin just wants to get on he would never leave you behind if you’re struggling to keep up and will wait for you (he’s a gentleman after all).

Canvas painting, sometimes Erwin struggles with getting out or showing his emotions, after doing virtual tours of art galleries online you suggest ordering a canvas, some acrylic paint and palette knives. It’s amazing the level of emotion you see pour out of yourself and Erwin onto the canvas, it’s incredibly therapeutic so you order more canvasses.

The two of you really enjoy binge watching documentary shows - you know the second Tiger King came out Erwin was all over that. There’s this side to Erwin that not everyone gets to see, or at least when they do it’s very rare. But during lockdown you get to experience it more frequently, he really does have a great sense of human and likes to have fun. While he enjoys documentaries about WW2, science (Unabomber: in his own words is also on the list) things like Tiger King, Dark Tourist and Louis Theroux docs are also a guilty pleasure.

The two of you will spend some evenings laying chess by candle light with a glass of whiskey.

Levi

I feel to say that you’ll be cleaning a lot is a little obvious and I actually think that for the most part Levi would prefer to crack on with that on his own - it gives him peace of mind and it’s something he has control over. He enjoys it

Together however, expect DIY Projects or painting/decorating. There’s things the two of you have talked about doing for ages and never gotten round to, now you have the perfect excuse. From painting a feature wall in your living quarters to making a little step wooden step ladder for the garden that you can put potted plants on. The two of you use your time to get creative around the home.

Dancing - the form of fitness you decide to take up is dance. At first Levi scoffs at the idea but then when he realises what a work out it actually is and how much strength and flexibility is required for some of the tutorials you’re following, he’s game. The two of you end up choreographing a dance together - it’s super cute (and hot in places - oops)

You’re the kind of couple others are jealous of because you just work so well together, spending the perfect amount of time doing things together and apart.

Being a lover of tea, Levi decides to educate you on the many different types by subscribing to a ‘tea lovers’ subscription box. You take the time to sit with him and really enjoy each tea, just talking with no noise from the radio or TV.

Levi likes to put together tapas or cheese tasting boards, he chooses the food for the main, you put together a starter or dessert and pick the wine that goes with the flavours he’s mixing. Together it’s like a perfect harmony. You set the table, light candles, listen to jazz and it’s almost as if you’re at one of your favourite restaurants.

Watching Horror movies, you’ve probably seen every horror movie on Netflix, Amazon Prime etc. which is available to stream come the end of lockdown. Horror was actually how you met, you were at the cinema to see ‘Hereditary’ and none of your friends wanted to come with you so you went alone. Levi and his friends (the other vets) were in the same screen and sat next to you. So now Levi is strangely sentimental about horror movies. There’s cuddling up under blankets in the living room and plenty of popcorn along with movie themed cocktails.

Video calls to your friends, you do more of the talking but Levi sits by you throughout and occasionally joins in. He’s loathed to admit it but he really likes seeing everyone’s faces and hearing their voices.

Moblit

Moblit has a large collection of puzzles, a few were completed when he was younger but a lot of them aren’t. He used to get frustrated with them but always wanted to finish them so he could frame them and put them up around the house. When lockdown happened you think it’s the perfect opportunity for the two of you to work on them together and help him out. Turns out it’s actually a lot of fun and a pretty good was

Baking! You both love the Great British Bake Off, before lock-down you were always talking about how you wanted to give the recipes a try but of course something else always came along. Now lockdown is the perfect excuse to order some ingredients online and get baking! The kitchen often looks like a mess, Moblit gets flour on his face and even in his hair? You don’t know how it happens but you have a lot of fun doing it and hey what you bake usually turns out pretty good.

Subscribes to Disney+ the second it comes out - and the two of you binge watch your favourite Disney movies singing along to them (I get the impression Moblit would be a huge Hercules and Moana fan).

Watching Avengers Infinity War together and later on in the evening he turns to you and just says, “I love you 3000.”

Bike rides through the countryside (as long as it’s close to home of course and you can stay safe!)

You watch art shows together (like the still life drawing classes on TV or Grayson Perry’s art class). Shows which have been made specifically now for lockdown to help inspire people to take up new hobbies. Both of you are pretty inexperienced at art or drawing so you have a lot of fun watching the shows, following the instructions and seeing where your hand and pencil lead you. You both end up discovering your own unique style of drawing - this inevitably ends up doing a still life of one another (more on this later).

Hange

Hange really struggles with lockdown, it makes them feel pretty anxious and they hate not being able to be out and about exploring/doing their job/learning new things etc. So Hanji needs quite a bit of love and looking after, care packages for the two of you go a long way so you order nice things in the early days of lock down. Hanji’s eyes light up when you hand them what you’ve ordered.

Loads of gaming, you both enjoying exploring other worlds along with fantasy so everything from World of Warcraft, Skyrim, The Outer Worlds, Outer Wilds to the Final Fantasy games, The Witcher and Assassin’s Creed are all up your street. Sometimes you play alone, sometimes you watch one another play while reading magazines. Often when playing WOW you play together and share a mount, heading into raids together and working as a team. It’s not as good as being outside and exploring the world for real but it’s pretty close.

Loads of movie marathons with enough sweets to make you sick, especially the gummy kind like Haribo.

Hange - Arguments over who loves who more, it’s usually in the middle of a TV show that you’ve been really invested in but now with the impending end of the world, it’s so easy to get distracted. The ‘arguments’ usually end up in pillow fights and just laying in one another’s arms in silence.

Home made science experiments - yup, you knew this was coming. There’s so much you can try at home with simple house hold ingredients. Hange also orders kits online so you end up growing your own crystals (not the drug kind lol), making your own ‘volcano’, making slime, dying flowers etc. At first you rolled your eyes when Hanji suggested it but actually it turns out to be a lot of fun and it’s pretty interesting, so you end up learning something. Hanji also orders DIY Sweet kits which are as fun to make as they are to eat.

When it comes to heading outside to clap for key workers the two of you are gonna be dressed up to make the children smile. You’ll be banging pots and pans or possibly have a kazoo or tambourine.

Nanaba

There’s loads of Gardening, it’s something the two of you always liked but found you didn’t have the time you needed to commit to it as much as you’d have liked.

Cuddling on the grass in your garden, rolling around enjoying the sunshine and sun-bathing side by side.

The work out of choice for the two of you is yoga. You light incense and some candles as well as listening to mediation music and just take some time out to be alone with your thoughts - together. You both agree that stretching really helps you especially where you’re working from home, it’s so easy to get back ache!

The two of you love dancing

Nanaba decides to take up quilting and crochet. It’s something her mother and elder sister taught her how to do but is practically a forgotten hobby. You help one another to remember the basics and decide to make a giant patchwork quilt for your sofa. You work on it together so that there’s a part of both of you in it, you take inspiration from your garden and the world around you, even though it’s a lot smaller than it was before. If either of you prick your finger the other is there to kiss it better.

Preparing relaxing baths for one another, you enjoy much of the bath on your own but sometimes the other will sit on the toilet and read aloud or just come in for a chat. Lockdown makes you more open with one another than you were before.

Getting into bed early before the sun has set, you keep the curtains open so you can watch the sky turn orange. Plenty of time in bed means you have time to binge watch the latest TV shows and not feel guilty about it if you have work the next day.

Witchy things - tarot card readings, candle magic, little rituals in the garden and kitchen witch magic like making dandelion honey or moon spell cookies.

Below are a few nsfw thoughts (I didn’t write many but a couple kept bouncing around in my mind).

Erwin -

Sex first thing in the morning, the kind of lazy, sleepy sex that the two of you dream of having but never have time before work. Now, you do and Erwin intends to make the most of it.

Also shower sex, sometimes this follows the sex in the morning so by the time you finish work you’re already feeling tired. Often it follows the workouts you do and it doesn’t take either of you long to cum seeing as watching one another get sweaty and flex muscles - the tension is unbelievable.

If you get too distracted during the work day, either by Erwin or TV (or if you distract Erwin too much) they’ll be punishments in the form of spanking and rough sex from behind, hair pulling and all. It’s the first time you find yourself wanting to be punished.

Levi

Sex in spaces you’ve just cleaned, it’s sort of a punishment if you back-talk him as he’ll make you clean up afterwards. Secretly he loves dirtying the sheets, it’s almost like an ultimate fantasy for someone who is so clean and neat, but he really has to be in the right mood for that.

Lockdown is a chance for the two of you to explore some of the sexual fantasies you’ve discussed but never tried from light bondage (to start) and role-play.

Switching, in your relationship neither one of you is particularly the dominant or submissive one continuously, rather you enjoy switching, but when you are in the role you both take it seriously. Now you’re in lockdown and it’s easy to get bored, you both agree to really extent the roles on the day you’re both in the mood, you could lead Levi round on a leash and collar all afternoon and he won’t complain.

Mike

Checking in on you as you’re working and trying to convince you lunch break sex is definitely a thing that will help you concentrate on your important presentation in your afternoon video conference. But of course he leaves you a bit of a mess and without a minute to spare so you appear on camera looking like you’ve been dragged through a hedge backwards.

With Mike there’s also a lot of time to get creative in the bedroom, you have longer in the evening to take your time exploring one another and discovering new positions you’d never have thought possible.

When lockdown goes on much longer than anticipated Mike decides to turn up the creativity a notch. A rather large unmarked parcel arrives containing a latex bed sheet and sex swing, so you know you’re not going to be getting a lot of sleep for a while.

Moblit

Kisses that last for hours, the kind that start innocently and slowly you find yourself getting worked up and wanting more but Moblit continues to tease with those kisses and will pretend he has no idea why you’re worked up. However he does go weak at the knees if you praise him so that’s usually the way to get what you want.

The still life drawings of one another start off fully clothed and very quickly become nude studies. You can only take it seriously for so long before he pounces on you or you on him and it’s like ‘that’ scene from Titanic within minutes.

Endless, almost excruciating foreplay.

Hanji

Has always liked to have fun in bedroom, with lockdown it’s more of an excuse to dress up and play around, I’m thinking teacher & student or Doctor/nurse & patient. Hanji really gets into the role.

Science experiments continue to the bedroom, you decide to give the whole electro-stim thing a go.

Also with the DIY sweet kits there’s also a little left, so popping candy, expanding foam candy and more are used to adorn your bodies - it doesn’t stay on long as the combination of candy and sex is too irresistible to leave alone.

Nanaba

Sex outdoors, your garden is pretty secluded. It was something you talked about doing a lot but always found your weekends were too busy with friends and others that you just never got round to it. There’s grass stains on your knees and your clothes and you’d both wear them with pride outside the house if you could.

Bath tub sex, even if it’s a little uncomfortable it’s so intimate and personal that you don’t care how much of a mess you make or how many bruises you end up with. Lockdown hits you both hard mentally and bath tub sex is a way of feeling better and cleansed.

There’s also a chance for some sex magic which involves wax play, again, something new you’d thought about for a while and now you both just wanted something to make you feel alive.

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afni-fics · 3 years

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Elder Scrolls DC - A Reluctant Dragonborn: Chapter 34: Hot Springs

Elder Scrolls DC - A Reluctant Dragonborn: Chapter 34: Hot Springs by C_R_Scott Fandom: Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, Red Robin (Comics), DCU (Comics), Batman (Comics) Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence Characters: Tim Drake, Lucien Flavius, Kaidan (Elder Scrolls) Additional Tags: Crossover, Crossovers & Fandom Fusions, Skyrim/DCU crossover, Reluctant Dovahkiin | Dragonborn, Not Beta Read, Alternate Universe - Skyrim Fusion, Modded Skyrim, Skyrim Spoilers, Tim Drake is Dragonborn | Dovahkiin, Tim Drake-centric, Trope: It sucks to be the chosen one, Trope: Trapped in another world, Trope: Kidnapped by the Call

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Summary:

Along the way to Ivarstead, the trio happen upon a set of hot springs...

Despite how rocky things started off that morning, as Tim and his companions continued along the road leading towards Ivarstead, things mellowed out somewhat.

The most obvious quality of life improvement with Kaidan now travelling with them was that weaker threats like skeevers, small wolves, and the occasional small group of bandits that would've tried to take a chunk out of him or Lucien previously were content to keep their distance. Dressed in heavy steel armor with that giant sword longer than most men strapped to his back, Tim was honestly glad for the obvious visual threat deterrence Kaidan provided. After his argument with Lucien, and after spending half the night rescuing their new friend from the Thalmor, Tim was not in a mood to finish any fights started by the wildlife or wandering criminal population of Skyrim.

While Lucien focused on conversing with Kaidan for most of the morning, Tim enjoyed the newfound peace and quiet of this leg of the journey and having a few hours to observe his surroundings alone with his own thoughts. The further they went, the more mountainous and wooded the terrain became, and the more enamored he became with his surroundings

The young man took note of the types of trees and plants that grew in abundance around him. Idly he wondered which were useful, potentially edible plants and which were toxic. He also made it a point to be mindful of movements of the animals that wandered amongst the trees. If he was going to have to survive out here, he needed to learn know how to identify, at a glance, the harmless creatures from the more dangerous ones that would immediately see him and his companions as a quick meal.

"I should buy another journal, just for field notes, and pencils for sketching," Tim thought to himself. "I wish cameras were a thing here." There was so much... too much... to see and learn.

"Word is, the waters here are good for you."

The sun was starting to get affectionate with the horizon and Tim glanced backward to notice that Kaidan had paused to look at something just off the cobblestone path. He followed the swordsman's gaze to an interesting looking location on the other side of the river they'd been following towards their destination.

"What is that?" he asked

"Hot springs," Kaidan explained as he went to a better ledge overlooking the river and the pools beyond. "I've passed by every now and again over the years, but never indulged myself. The locals believe the water has healin' properties, and somehow they stay warm all year round."

"We have to camp here tonight!"

Kaidan and Lucien both looked at Tim curiously, who was staring at the hot springs with an expression of obvious longing.

"We 'have' to?" Lucien asked.

Tim whipped his head to his two travelling companions. "Yes! We 'have' to!" he insisted. Then, without even waiting for the other two to agree or disagree, Tim started making is way off the beaten path towards an obvious set of large stones that could easily serve as a makeshift bridge to across the river. After sharing a confused glance and a shrug of shoulders, Kaidan and Lucien both followed after him.

It didn't take Tim long to reach the outer edges of the hot springs ahead of his companions. The air was unfamiliarly warm and humid and there was a distinct medicinal aroma in the air. Tim took it all in with relish. As he got to the waters' edge, he tugged off one of his gloves and tested the temperature of both the sands on the shoreline as well as the water with his hand. He didn't even bother trying to mask the murmur of approval that escaped his lips.

"Are you seriously considering indulging in these springs, Timothy?"

Tim nodded at Lucien as he rose to his feet and tugged his glove back on. "I am not passing up this opportunity," he said as he glanced at the clearing just a dozen or so yards away from the water's edge. There was more than enough room to comfortably set up camp, and Tim was quick to set down his pack and pull out the things needed to set up their tent.

"Opportunity?" Kaidan echoed with with confusion, which was rewarded with an exasperated grumble.

"It has been literal weeks since I've been able to take a decent bath since I woke up in Skyrim," Tim told Kaidan as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "Not to mention it's cold all the damned time out here, especially at night! Every day the choice is either be clean and flirting with frostbite or stay decently warm but filthy." He glanced at Lucien, who was observing him with a fair amount of growing amusement.

"I think you're exaggerating a bit regarding how cold it is out here," the scholar chuckled.

"I probably am, but I don't care," Tim said matter-of-factly as he started setting up the tent as quickly and efficiently as he could. "You want me to not look for trouble tonight? Then this is your best chance for it, because short of a fucking dragon attack I am not squandering the chance for a hot bath and a decent night's sleep in a place that's actually radiating warmth instead of sucking it out of me."

While Kaidan regarded Tim with a fair amount of undisguised concern before borrowing an axe to collect firewood, Lucien just continued to snicker under his breath as he pulled out the cooking gear and ingredients from his own bag. It was his turn to cook, after all.

"I am never taking hot baths for granted ever again," Tim thought to himself with a content sigh once he finally sank chest deep into the springs after finding a spot where there was a natural stone ledge next to the water's edge that allowed him to lounge comfortably while submerged. After camp had been set up, the sun had set, and Lucien had just started cooking, Tim was adamant about enjoying the springs as early and as long as he possibly could. After assuring Lucien and Kaidan he'd only be a few yards away, Tim made his way to the nearest deep pool he could find, stripped off his gear and clothing, and stepped into the deliciously hot waters. After taking several minutes to actually clean his skin and hair, the young man finally settled into a mostly tranquil state as he stared up at the starry night sky with its twin moons. It was so warm and peaceful out there. One could almost forget that Skyrim was a wild mostly-untamed land full of a wide variety of things that wanted him dead.

Almost...

The subtle sound of something skulking in the shadows of some nearby trees behind him caught his ear. Without moving his head, Tim's eyes glanced towards the trees and recognized the outline of a man among the evergreens. Casually, Tim moved from where he was sitting and made his way back to the shore where his clothes were folded. He rummaged through his bag and pulled out a length of linen cloth he was planning on using as a towel.

A feint.

From beneath the cover of the linen cloth, Tim slipped several throwing stars into his hand. Then, as quickly as he could, he threw the stars at the evergreens right where the shadows looked most man-shaped. They whistled through the air and embedded themselves in the trunks of the trees with solid "THUNKS".

"What the fu--?!" the man in the darkness shouted as he quickly stumbled away from where the wickedly sharp metal stars had nearly clipped him. Unfortunately for that poor soul, the stars themselves had been another feint.

While the stranger was distracted, Tim had wrapped the linen cloth around his waist and recovered his metal quarterstaff. On the silence of bare feet and without the weight of his own armor slowing him down, the vigilante rushed his distracted stalker and struck him with a headshot and a couple of body blows from his staff before finally taking him completely off his feet, where he crashed to the sandy shore with a clatter of metal.

Wait... Metal?

"What in the world is going on?" Lucien called out as he rushed to where Tim stood with a lantern in hand. As soon as the light was close enough to chase the shadows away, it was clear who Tim's unfortunate victim was.

"Kaidan?!"

Their new swordsman, flat on his back on the sand, groaned as he brought a hand up to his head. "What the Oblivion was that?"

Tim relaxed his defensive stance. "Were you... spying on me?!"

"Guardin'," Kaidan muttered as he gingerly eased himself up into a seated position. "Least, that was the plan. To keep watch your back while you were... vulnerable." He glanced at Lucien. "I thought you said he was bad at self-preservation?"

"I did, but I meant that in the way that he frequently throws himself into dangerous situations without any concern for his own health and wellbeing." Lucien shook his head, set down the lantern, and cast a quick healing spell over their swordsman. "When it comes to actual combat, Timothy's really quite skilled."

Tim leaned against his staff as he watched Lucien finish his healing. "Y'know Kaidan, you could've just told me you were worried about my safety before I went into the water."

"You wanted to bathe. I figured you'd tell me to sod off for privacy."

"I would've said, 'Do what you want. I don't give a fuck.' I can watch my own back just fine though." After taking a moment to retrieve his throwing stars from the nearby tree, Tim turned back to the pool. "Now if you guys don't mind, I'm going back to finish my bath."

Now that Kaidan was upright and he could see Tim more clearly in the lantern light, the swordsman took a moment to get a good look at the lines of the young man's body that had previously been hidden beneath layers of leather armor. Though he'd originally assumed he was a noble or scholar based on how Tim spoke and carried himself, as well as how he interacted with Lucien, Tim's body told a different story. His muscles were lean and well defined, looking like they'd been built over years of training for speed and finesse, rather than raw power and brute strength. His pale skin was also a map of scars scattered across both his torso and his limbs.

As Tim walked off, Kaidan noticed something that made his breath catch in his throat. It was the sight of Tim's burn scars consuming nearly the entirety of the young man's back and part of his left upper arm.

--- NOTE:

Indulging in little slices of life as Tim, Luci, and Kai travel towards Ivarstead. I'd forgotten initially during the playthrough that the hot springs were along one of the main paths to Ivarstead, so when Kaidan commented on it in-game I couldn't resist the pit stop.

It's been in the back of my mind that Tim has been missing a lot of modern conveniences since waking up in Skyrim. Motorized vehicles, computers, and cell phones/communication devices have been obvious ones. However, it occurred to me that things like regular access to hot baths would also be sorely missed too, especially in a region as cold as Skyrim, especially when you're spending days to weeks on end out on the road or in the wilderness.

#elder scrolls dc#fanfiction#tim drake#skyrim fanfiction#red robin#batfam#crossover#lucien flavius#wip#kaidan skyrim#afewnovelideas

#elder scrolls dc #fanfiction #tim drake #skyrim fanfiction #red robin #batfam #crossover #lucien flavius #kaidan skyrim #wip #afewnovelideas

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braylonofthedragons · 4 years

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Going Mad (Day 2)

Today was just like any normal day. I awakened from my sleep feeling well rested at around 6 am, Middas Morning. I got up, ready to get to work on the farm. Working on the farm was quite peaceful in the plains and not too much happened, despite our open location. After putting on my clothing, I went into the dining room and was greeted by my mother and father. Mother had cooked a nice breakfast, sweet rolls with kwama eggs and mammoth snout steak; yes we love to chow down on mammoth snout first thing in the morning! We ate our food, as my father discussed what was to be done on the farm that day and chatted about life in general and what was to possibly come of our future. However, there was never any talk of changing location, something I secretly wished they would mention. It did not really matter, though, it was a lost cause. They loved it here and were here long before I was even born.

After my meal, I headed out to gather all the necessary tools from the barn, in order to begin completing my daily chores. This has been my routine since I arrived and was of age to walk. An endless limbo, every morning, with not much excitement along the way. Do not get me wrong, I was happy to be here, however, I can’t help but ponder on my past and the “stuck” feeling I’ve often felt. I wanted to know more about myself. I’d never taken time to , I guess, “ find out who I am" or what I am capable of, because I’ve been going with the flow of life here. I wanted to learn more about my actual parents and why I was discarded as if I were mere trash.

I have always wondered and sought answers that I knew I’d probably never get but the thoughts are becoming more apparent. Perhaps I was just a young adult ready to leave her nest. Ah, anyways, I’ll spare you the farm duty details, unless you’d like to hear about how our cow, Betna gave birth.

After finishing up, I decided to take a trip to Rorikstead to visit a close friend of mine, Erik. Erik and I were childhood friends and met many ages ago in the city of Whiterun.

We meet up after working to catch up as much as we could at our favorite place in town, the Frostfruit Inn, which his parents owned. Don't get me wrong, Erik is a gentleman and does sometimes come by to visit me often, but we do like to change up things sometimes.

Besides, I don’t mind a little adventure on the roads of Skyrim, even if that includes being mugged by slimy bandits, which, might I add, I have no problem handling with my favorite dagger. Anywho, Erik worked on his parent’s farm as well as I and also did what he could at his parents’ inn. Today, we had a particularly interesting conversation and mentioned something I wasn’t expecting from him. I will do my best to duplicate the conversation as it was spoken:

“Erik! My favorite Nord!”

Erik: “Ah Braylon! My favorite cheeky little Breton! You don’t know how good it is to see you at the moment!”

I was mildly taken aback. We are good friends; however, he has never shown such eagerness to see me after we had only just seen each other a day ago. He tightly hugs me, sighing as he continues sweeping the floor. I give him a worried look.

Me: “What’s the matter Erik? You seem a bit off, you know I can always tell.”

Erik: “Oh, I’ve got a lot on my mind, I’ve been meaning to ask you about something, you know, friendly advice.”

Me: “Of course, anything you need to say, get it all off of your chest.”

He hesitantly stared at the floor for a moment and glanced over at his father who was busy writing in his ledger. He moved closer towards me and began to speak.

Erik: “Well, you see, I’ve been growing tired of this town! I am tired of living the same humdrum life. Day in and day out,” he says while hastily sweeping the floor. “I need to get out of here, explore Skyrim, I-I want to be a fighter, hell, I’d like to see just what the entirety of Tamriel offers. But my mother, she refuses to let me go and my father does not take me seriously,he thinks I am some kind of coward.

His words echoed within my head. I think I had been feeling the same way and, at the time, I was not really expecting to hear this from him. I had always assumed he loved living here and wanted to settle here eventually with his own family.

But oh, who am I kidding, Ivarstead was somewhat depressing. Then, it dawned on me that he said he wanted to become a fighter. I chuckled a bit. I looked at him slightly embarrassed. After all, I did not mean to laugh at his concerns.

Erik: "And what's so funny about that," He snarled. "I don't know what people find so funny about a man in distress, you know"

Me: “I'm sorry Erik, I don't mean to laugh at your plight but you've never been of the fighting variety! I mean you don't even have any armor and how would you survive months away from the shelter of the town, you still ask your mother to choose your clothing for the day I just-"

He cuts me off.

Erik: “Oh for Talos' sakes, you sound like my mother Braylon. I'm being serious. There's only so much a man can take. I can't see myself staying here any longer, the town is driving me mad woman!"

Me: "You know what, I completely understand Erik. If you feel it is time you left, then I think you should. No point in spending your life unhappy just to appease others. To be quite honest, I've been thinking of leaving for some time now myself and I know my mother and father would rather I stay around to take over the farm, but I feel like I'm missing out on something by staying here. I just didn't expect this from you, I guess I'm a bit worried about what may happen."

He looks at with a big smile, relieved and sort of shocked.

Erik: “Ah Braylon I should have known great minds really do think alike! I knew I was right in confiding in you. I was so afraid of leaving behind my family and friends, especially you but I'm glad to know you feel the same. Besides, I think we could go, together, there's nothing to be afraid of! Actually, I think it was time we spoke to our parents, Braylon, it's the least we could do--the least that I could do before I actually made any rash decisions. It would mean the world to me if they approved, I can't stand the thought of upsetting them."

He was serious and he was really intent on leaving. He was right. I was afraid of my parents' reactions and as mush as I wanted to go, I was afraid deep down inside of what might come with being out in the open, without my parents' aid. Despite my own internal struggle, I knew it was time to talk to them. The last thing I wanted to do was just up and leave and drive my mother sick wondering where I had gone.

#skyrim #skyrim rp #roleplay #the elder scrolls #skyrim mods #skyrim stuff

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sheirukitriesfandom · 5 years

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In Defense of Savos Aren

Today I wanna talk about my favourite sad old elf again. I often see threads across the internet about how Savos doesn't care about the students and that he's a terrible archmage or even the worst of the four guild leaders.

Now, this post is not meant to portray Savos as a cinnamon roll or to make him seem like he's somehow the greatest archmage to ever grace the College of Winterhold, but rather an attempt to show why Savos might not be as bad as people make him out to be. This contains some speculation, but most of it is supported by canon.

1. Time

Now, first off, we only get to see a small bit of his time as archmage. While we don't know how long he's been archmage, but we have two dates that serve as a loose timeframe. In the midden there's a letter about the great collapse written by archmage Deneth, so Savos wasn't archmage yet in 4E 122. The prima guide also tells us that Savos "took threats seriously and secured the college grounds" after the White Gold Concordat, which means he's already been archmage somewhere around/in 4E 175, so by the time of Skyrim (4E 201) he's been archmage for roughly 26 years, however, the guide mentions him having been "archmage for a very long time", so he's likely had that position for longer.

2. The Circumstances

What is clear though is that Savos got the position at a difficult time. After the Oblivion Crisis mages were shunned even more while at the same time, the mage's guild was disbanded, leaving only few independent places where one could study magic almost without any limitations. And to top it all off, the great collapse happened, destroying most of Winterhold and leaving its citizens resenting the college for something it may or may not have had a part in. Bottom line, Savos got the position at a time in which every diplomatic decision could potentially mean the college's certain doom. Taking this into consideration, it's not at all surprising that he is hesitant to actually lead the college. Not to mention that the last time he actively lead something 5 of his friends got killed (I'm not even going to dive into the toll that must've taken on his mental health).

3. Keeping The College Apolitical

Now, what could be meant by "took threats seriously and secured the college grounds"? Well, it could be taken literally, meaning that he had the college locked up, but given his insistence on the college being apolitical, it might also mean that he made sure that the college doesn't fall to the Thalmor or the Thalmor controlled empire. But if that's true, then what about Ancano? Well, to be honest, I don't think that Ancano has been there since the Concordat as that would imply that, in 26 years, Tolfdir never mentioned the Augur of Dunlain - unlikely since Savos asks the LDB if Tolfdir has been telling stories AGAIN - and Ancano never ventured into the midden dark before, which is also fairly easy to access. It would also imply that Ancano has been living in a storage closet for 26 years... I think it's more likely that Ancano was deployed when the civil war started. But even so, trading an obvious Thalmor spy for the political independence of the college is a small sacrifice. Savos’ refusal to share any important information with his supposed “advisor” points to Ancano being a calculated risk.

4. Reputation Then there's the problem with the college's reputation. The college is, as stated, resented in Winterhold. However, Savos apparently managed to get a powerful friend on his side: Kraldar. Who's that, you ask? When you first come to Winterhold, Kraldar is ""just"" the last remaining noble of the city, however, if the DB joins the Empire and conquers Winterhold, Kraldar becomes the new jarl. And all of a sudden, the college is in a much better position. We know that Kraldar isn't just partial to the college, but specifically a personal friend of Savos Aren which he reveals in both his dialogue regarding the college and a dialogue between him and his servant, in which he wants him to invite Savos to dinner. Savos himself says "I hope my work as archmage may help" in relation to the college’s reputation. So he's not been as inactive as people claim!

5. “B-But The Students!” "But he doesn't care about the students" I hear you say. Quite frankly, that's rubbish. One of the first things he says to you is that he doesn't tolerate experiments that harm the other students. Yes, there's the line "Don't tell me another apprentice has been incinerated. I have enough to deal with right now.", but considering the previous group of apprentices did meet a grisly end, it's not surprising. Could Savos have prevented their deaths? I doubt it. All corpses were found outside the college’s premises; if anyone is to blame for not supervising them it's the teachers since they were in charge of the group. If anything, you can blame Savos for not making sure they do their work (Remember, he’s not involved in the day-to-day activities). And since guards are stretched thin as is, do you really think they'd help locate the missing students? In Stormcloak territory? Should the teachers forsake the college and look for them divines know where? Post a bounty in a town that’s already at their throats? Sad as it is, there's not much that could've been done. 6. The Eye Then there’s the issue with the Eye of Magnus. I believe taking it to the college was the right step in a civil war-torn, bandit infested Skyrim. What happened next is something that Savos probably couldn’t have foreseen. Think of it from Savos’ perspective: You’ve seen that thing before, on the Staff of Magnus and you know where that staff is. So even if people figure out they need the Staff of Magnus to unlock the eye’s power and manage to locate this mythical artifact, they still have to get it. From this point onward you have two options: give them the torc and enter Labyrinthian again, this time being prepared for what’s to come, or not giving them the torc and letting the figure out a way to enter Labyrinthian, potentially ending their search or, if they succeed, set Morokei free. Regardless of which he would’ve chosen, “My stupid advisor shooting lighning at the eye/ having some unexplained Deus Ex Machina magic” probably wasn’t on his list of things to consider. That being said, Savos is absolutely at fault for prolonging the search for the staff. Can’t entirely absolve him from his mistakes. Conclusion: So, is Savos a good archmage? Probably not. His hesitance to actually lead the college makes him less than ideal for the post and did lead to dissent between his subordinates as well as a lack of control over college activities, however, I still think he’s a better guild leader than Mercer “Killed the former guild leader, drained the guild treasury, pissed off Nocturnal and tried to kill the LDB” Frey.

#savos aren #Elder Scrolls #Skyrim #TESV #College of Winterhold #tes #The Elder Scrolls #This is probably the longest thing I've written on him

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clayfaced · 4 years

Text

POSITIVE 20 QUESTIONS TAG GAME

ily @hopeisthewholepoint i was doing this a while ago and then the draft didn’t save so this is about 30 years late by now whopps. ily thanks for tagging me tho. ❤

1. Name 4 fictional characters who showcase your personality the best, with explanations if you want.

My girl Edrisa Tanaka from Prodigal Son bc we’re both socially awkward but at least she’s unapologetic about it. I want to say I have Sam Wilson’s humor and I too do what everyone else does just slower. Raymond Holt because I love fluffy bois and I’m down to fight anyone who says anything bad about my pets. Ben Wyatt because we’re both human disasters and I like making dumb stuff when I’m bored.

2. Aesthetic

Playing pool terribly with friends, peanut butter and banana sandwiches, colorful rain jackets. Balloons, music playing from car radios, collecting movie ticket stubs. Painted nails, open windows, and fish stamps on postcards. The smell of fresh basil.

3. Favorite musical/play? (If you’ve never seen a musical or play, one you’d be interested in seeing?)

Come from Away. Hands down. Though I will say I saw recordings of the National Theater’s Frankensteins recently and both are very good but the Miller-as-the-creature version is especially good.

4. What is the best compliment you’ve ever received?

Okay this is a bit of an unfair question bc I die at any and all compliments. But one that I thought of today /a couple days ago/ a long time ago when i started writing this that made me happy again was when someone I'm in a club with let me borrow his camera to take pictures during a performance. I hadn't taken pictures in a while and I had so much fun and I don't really contribute to the club so I finally felt like I had purpose. It was hard to see how they came out on the camera but the next time I saw him he said they came out really well and someone else said that he's normally picky when it comes to photos but he liked mine so that made me feel even better and it was overall a very nice time. It wasn't even really the compliment (I mean, it still was but) it was also just the gesture to offer a camera when he heard I liked taking pictures. I didn't have my camera with me until after this and it really made me remember how much I liked it. Anyways he graduated and hasn't been in the club since last semester so I never see him but it made me v happy.

5. How many times have you been in love?

Miss me with that romantic love but I fall in love with friends and people and every little thing everyday.

6. Embarrassing story or fact about yourself that makes you laugh now?

Bold of you to assume I've recovered from anything embarrassing ever.

This is a bit of a cheat bc it was always funny but my middle school PE uniforms had words and definitions on the back of the shirts (no i don’t know why) and mine said “final: adj. last in place” or something like that and you know what? it was RIGHT.

7. Favorite Disney/Pixar movie?

Probably Up. Idk I don’t really have one.

8. Favorite flower or plant?

Probably triostar plants because they’re cute and pink.

9. What’s your favorite holiday?

Halloween 🎃! I love the idea that kids are going bonkers and getting candy and having a good time. And I love that it gives not-children people a chance to dress up and have fun and take themselves less seriously for a day.

EDIT: NO ONE TOLD ME I MISSED QUESTIONS 10-14. NO ONE LOOK AT THIS .LOOK AWAY. IM FIXING IT. HOW DID I MISS FIVE WHOLE ENTIRE QUESTIONS. SMH.

10. Name three things that made you laugh or smile this past week.

This meme dee just sent me a minute ago. I had a socially-distant dinner with a couple of my friends whomst I love a lot on Saturday and it was very nice to see their beautiful faces in person again and I love them a lot. Time isn’t real I don’t know what happened this week. I set up the Xbox again and I’ve played a little little bit of Assassins Creed (which Im very bad at) and Skyrim (which im only a little bad at) and that’s been fun. Bonus answer of dee, nina, and I have been watching 911: Lone Star together and it’s v v fun.

11. What song would you play to introduce yourself to someone?

That is way too hard of a question to definitively answer. My music taste varies so wildly and my favorite song is usually the one I've obsessively listened to the last. Using that logic: Bang! by AJR or Wake Me by Bleachers. Or Chris Martin’s cover of Shelter from the Storm by Bob Dylan. Yeah. The last one.

12. Name something that truly makes you feel peaceful even at your most stressed moments.

Being a passenger in a car with music playing though that doesn’t really happen when I’m stressed. I wouldn’t say peaceful because when I’m not good at that when I’m stressed and most of the time when I’m stressed I have too much stress inside of me so I would rather get it out than be peaceful. So I just put earbuds in and listen to music too loudly so I don’t have to hear anything around me and I can just sort of release all pent up energy with the music and calm down.

13. What do you, did you, or would you study at college?

I’m studying film! I’m technically undeclared but I’m hoping to declare soon. :-). Yes I’m going to be unemployed and leech off of dee for the rest of our lives thanks for asking.

14. This is kind of a weird one, but which outfit of yours makes you feel most like yourself?

Um. Definitely sneakers (by default my white ones because I only have one pair) because I like being able to Move. Same reason for my black pants bc they’re not restricting at all and comfy. And then probably my gray sweatshirt which dee will murder me for saying bc it means I have zero (0) colors in my outfit but it comfy. I like having colors but I feel more comfortable in more neutral colors.

15. What is a quote you live by?

Oof oof I don’t know. I think there are a lot of quotes I want to live by and then I forget about them so if I am living by a specific quote, it’s not consciously. I reblog a lot I like to my words tag or text tag, and this one:

“‘Do you fall in love often?’ Yes often. With a view, with a book, with a dog, a cat, with numbers, with friends, with complete strangers, with nothing at all.” (Jeanette Winterson)

explains me very well. I don’t know that it’s something I live by because it’s just a state of my existence but it me.

16. Name the funniest playlist name you have.

I wish I had funnier playlist names. One of them is living room couch alone for a very specific mood when it's after 10 o'clock and everyone else is asleep and I'm in the living room alone on the couch and I'm not tired and time doesn't feel real. It's a good mood. I also have one called new york times which isn't funny I just like it.

17. Make a reference to an inside joke you have with someone you love with zero context.

“you know why we do this?" *snap with one hand* "because we can’t always get our arms free to do this” *dramatic arching snap with both hands*

But that one’s not with dee ( @mrrmiracle ) so give me one sec to think of something else too. Ok here we go:

"that Andrew Garfield movie"

18. What is a message you would give your younger self if given the chance?

Stop overthinking and start doing. You can’t sit at home sad your friends aren’t hanging out with you if you never ask them to hang out. Initiate things. Its not as scary as it seems. Also for the love of all things holy please form good habits now. Form all the good habits I have none and I’m tired.

19. Who is your favorite family member? (If you have no good blood family members, feel free to mention someone in your found family)

um my cats :// im just kidding it’s @mrrmiracle obviously.

20. What’s a secret dream of yours?

Um lol to not be alone. To be employed doing something I enjoy and make enough money to support myself. If I put lol will this sound less sad.

I’m tagging @mrrmiracle, @grayson-dick @valleydean and @daredeviil and if anyone else wants to do it just say i tagged you and i’ll edit it to include you 👀. i just get anxious tagging people bc i don’t want to annoy people and i never know who wants to be tagged or not.

#thanks for tagging me!!#ilu nina #tag game #you dont have to do it if i tag you obviously i just didn't know who to tag #uhh lemme know if you do or dont like being tagged and i'll continue or stop tagging you #not fandom

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eeveevie · 5 years

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15. Catching the other before they fall for Bryn and Fiona, please?

falling

Fiona literally cannot with her feelings. Brynjolf’s grand romantic gesture only further complicates matters. Falling in love is inevitable, it seems.

:D play on words! :D

Brynjolf x f!Dragonborn (Fiona)

2524 words (under a cut) | Ao3

“Never thought I’d ever see you without ol’ Bryn attached to your hip!”

Fiona’s ears perked at Vex’s teasing voice, watching as the Breton slid into the vacant seat next to her at the Flaggon bar. There was something else in her tone—a little more taunting than playful, but Fiona chose to ignore it, knowing better than to take the bait Vex was trying to lay. Instead, she motioned for Vekel to serve them another round and smiled at her Guildmate.

“And where’s your shadow? Did Devlin decide to leave you alone for once while you bathed tonight?”

Vex breathed a laugh, taking a short swig of her ale. “Only because I threatened to depart him from his most valuable jewels if he followed me to the river,” she explained, gesturing to the dagger on her belt. “Delvin is different. I don’t want his attention. You and Brynjolf on the other hand…”

“We’ve been though this before,” Fiona grumbled as she took a long sip of her drink.

“You two sure have an interesting relationship,” she grinned, obviously noting Fiona’s discomfort with the word. “We all get a kick out of watching the two of you dance around each other, flirting.”

“And?” Fiona probed, wondering where Vex was leading this conversation.

“I’m curious to know if you had any intention of…taking it seriously with him or not,” she replied.

Fiona raised a brow, lowering her tankard slightly to peer at the other blonde with skepticism. “Is this some sort of pep-talk? ‘Break-Brynjolf’s heart and I’ll kill you?’” she asked. “Or…are you jealous?”

Vex huffed in offense, rolling her eyes. “No. Most definitely not either of those things,” she began again. “I’m asking so you don’t accidentally hurt yourself.”

“Excuse me?”

“We both know Bryn’s reputation, how many women he’s—”

“Yes, we’ve been thought this before, as well!” Fiona repeated, voice curt, teeth clenched.

She liked Vex, respected the shit out of her. Hell, even called the woman a friend. But Divines—she was a stubborn bitch sometimes. Yes, Fiona was perfectly aware of Brynjolf’s repute of a ladies’ man, but she was in no position to judge, or to be jealous. He was a handsome man, with an excellent physique—whatever he wanted to do with said body was his choice. Fiona had her fair share of fun and while that had slowed since her arrival in Riften, that didn’t mean everybody she knew had to stop having sex.

“Why are you bringing this up again?” she questioned.

“Look, I’m only saying this because I like you and I want you to stick around and not be scared off by his stupidity,” Vex sighed, eyeing the contents of her tankard. “Did you ever think that maybe Brynjolf really is after one thing with you?”

“Yes,” Fiona answered, surprising Vex. “I’m not daft.”

Before she could continue to explain that it wasn’t what she truly thought, at least not recently, Vekel came by with a refill for Vex. He was shaking his head, lips poised in a pensive frown.

“Have you given any thought that perhaps ol’ Bryn has changed?” he asked.

“Pfft,” Vex waved him off as she practically inhaled her second ale.

Vekel peered at Fiona with a softer expression. “I’ve known Bryn a long time and Vex is right about one thing—we enjoy watching the two of you,” he smiled warmly and something about it that made her cheeks flush. “But because I don’t think I’ve ever seen Bryn act so…carefree. Around anyone, let alone a woman.”

“Ugh,” Vex groaned, clearly unhappy with Vekel’s sappy comments. She continued to drink.

“I also see and hear everything that happens in these Guildmember’s lives, regardless if they like it,” he made a lingering glare at Vex as she silently mocked him. “And I haven’t seen Bryn sneaking off to be with anybody since you’ve arrived. No rumors or gossip from the Bee and Barb or the bunkhouse either. Taking in the time before, that’s a considerable dry spell for him! Must account for something.”

“Sure, air out all of Bryn’s sex issues,” Vex mumbled.

“He’s not getting any younger,” Vekel continued, ignoring the other woman. “Not one’s first reason for wanting to slow down and rethink how to go about love and romance, but perhaps he’s outgrown the wild days of his youth.”

“That’s a load of horseshit and you know it,” Vex argued, face scrunched up.

Fiona meanwhile felt her gut clench at Vekel’s use of the word love. He probably didn’t even realize he had used it, but it had resonated so deep within her that the rest of their conversation fell away. All she felt was an overwhelming sense of dread. Sure, she liked Brynjolf—really liked him. She liked having his attention, his flirtations, his company, and everything in-between. But the thought of anything more, was terrifying. The thought of anything less—being reduced to just another roll in the hay? That was somehow entirely worse. What was so wrong about keeping their dynamic the way it was?

Without another word she stood up, the sharp squeak of her barstool causing the two to stop whatever they were saying to stare at her in confusion. Fiona shook her head—she wanted to say something to fill the quiet, to offer some excuse, but her mind was so muffled that all she could do was sigh and walk away, defeated. She hoped the two wouldn’t read into her silence as she departed through to the Cistern.

It was out of habit that Fiona tried to find Brynjolf as she crossed through the walkway, her eyes darting across the waterways to spot the familiar auburn of his hair. Vex and Vekel’s words would continue to cause her turmoil until she could see him, speak to him about all of this. Either directly, or by some other means. Maybe it would put her mind at ease. Or ruin everything. The contingency plan Fiona always thought of when her anxiety flared flashed through her mind—run—but she pushed away the idea. She was past running away from her problems. Well…sort of.

Instead, all she found were the usual Guild members and Delvin, who was perched up on the counter next to the alchemy lab. He was flicking through a small notebook, lips twisting up into a smirk as he noticed Fiona approaching.

“Ah, there’s my favorite girl,” he greeted.

Fiona chuckled, shaking her head. “Your favorite? What, this week?”

Calling his bluff, Delvin copied her laugh and shut his book to give her his full attention. “Hmm, but I can tell I’m not the man you’re looking for,” he said pointedly. “Bryn isn’t around, unfortunately. Left this mornin’ on a job for Mercer.”

While Fiona tried not to react to this information, she must’ve frowned enough for Delvin to notice, his eyebrows perking up curiously. “Why? Upset he didn’t take you along? Mercer didn’t really give him the option—”

“Nothing like that,” Fiona interrupted. She understood that there were some jobs that Brynjolf had to take on his own, being the Second for the Guild. As she was still working her way through the ranks and proving her worth to the Guildmaster, she couldn’t expect to always be by his side on every job.

Delvin leaned forward, still interested. “Then what is it?”

Fiona reluctantly divulged the basics of the situation to Delvin, carefully observing his features for even the slightest hint of humor or mockery. She trusted Delvin—maybe more than anyone else in the Guild besides Brynjolf—and valued his opinion, even if he was the most lecherous of them. In the months that she had known him, he had always offered the soundest advice in a straight-forward and blunt way—something she appreciated. Hopefully now he could do the same when it came to affairs that were a little more delicate.

“Well, well,” he sighed with a grin, reaching up to scratch at his jawline. “I must say my little Vex is being quite the sweetheart looking out for you, even if she’s completely baseless.”

Fiona widened her eyes, slightly shocked. “What?”

“There’s some truth to what Vekel says,” he started. “Bryn’s been acting…I wouldn’t say strangely, just differently. A good different.” Delvin’s smile grew as he thought of his friend fondly. “I’ve known that bastard longer than anyone here. If this new side of Brynjolf is here to stay, then good.”

“Even if it makes him a big ol’ romantic softy,” Delvin continued.

That alarmed Fiona. “Delvin, do you know something?”

“Hmm?” he shrugged. “He’s been going on about doin’ something nice for you, after all the good luck you’ve given us—grain of salt dear, we were about six drinks in when this topic came up.”

Regardless, this information didn’t settle right with her. If anything, it only made her feel more anxious than before. Of all the times for Brynjolf to not be in the Cistern or Riften. But he had only just left and maybe she could track him through the forest paths—she’d always been good at that. Delvin only flashed a knowing smile as she slinked away, headed for the graveyard exit.

“And where do you think you’re going?”

Fiona paused, an unpleasant shiver crawling up her spine as Mercer slowly stepped to prevent her leaving. She faced him with a neutral expression, holding back the urge to shove him out of the way. She wasn’t sure what was wrong with the Guildmaster, but she knew that Mercer was not a man to be trusted. Her instincts hadn’t failed her yet when traveling Skyrim, but she had to be careful now that she was seeking refuge in Riften.

“I have a job from Delvin,” she lied, knowing he must’ve seen her speaking with the Breton. “Falkreath. Should be back—”

“It will have to wait,” Mercer interrupted. “I have some work for you here in the city, so you won’t be leaving.”

Fiona didn’t appreciate his tone. If only he knew that she could tear his body to shreds with one simple shout from her lips. It would be so satisfying, but ultimately her undoing. Instead, she breathed out and nodded, taking the missive from his hand.

“We’ll be watching you.”

A threat that only had Fiona feeling more conflicted than ever. She exited the Ratways into the misty evening of the Riften courtyard, eventually finding her way to the Bee and Barb. She ordered a hot meal and mulled over her limited options as she read over the list of menial tasks Mercer wanted done. By the time she was finished, she decided to spend the evening in one of the available tavern rooms. She was aggravated with Mercer, but there was that lingering feeling that while Brynjolf was away, the Cistern was not the safest place for her to be. Dragonborn or not.

It was the middle of the night when Fiona awoke, suddenly sensing that something wasn’t right. She could hear the quiet sounds of the tavern downstairs—nothing sounded amiss—no brawls, no panic, yet her heart was hammering in her chest. The room was practically pitch black, save for the sliver of light coming in through the bottom of door. Fiona squinted, noticing the light was obstructed. Something—someone was outside her door.

She exhaled and slowly began to move. Feet on the ground,she first reached for her dagger on the nightstand before silently creeping towards the door. An assassin? Would Mercer really stoop so low to remove her from the Guild? Worse thoughts wormed their way through her mind. Had destiny finally caught up to her by sending the Greybeards to fetch her away? There was a special irony in finding them more frightening than assassins.

Fiona carefully removed the chair she had wedged under the doorknob (she never trusted tavern locks) and then quietly unlocked the door. She jerked the door wide open but before she could drop back into a defensive stance a body came tumbling through the doorframe back-first with a loud yelp—a familiar body. She scrambled to catch Brynjolf, dropping her dagger, but the combined weight of his body and the sheer shock of his appearance had them toppling to the ground.

Fiona leaned herself up and looked down at him—flat on his back, wide eyed but smiling that ever-ridiculous smile. Her eyes flicked to where his hands were clutching a bunch of parchment wrapped flowers. Her chest tightened and she gulped. Her heart was racing again, this time for an entirely different reason.

“Brynjolf?”

“Help an old man up, will you lass?”

She forced a smile and pushed herself off the floor, reaching down to tug on his free hand to pull him to his feet. Simultaneously she moved to light the oil lamp on her nightstand while he closed the door. Finally, she snatched up her night-coat from the storage-chest tugging it across her shoulders much to Brynjolf’s disappointment as she covered up the exposed skin her nightgown showed. His eyes still flickered as he looked over her form, silently drinking her in.

They met halfway, standing near the foot of the bed. Fiona didn’t feel uncomfortable, per-say, just nervous. “What are you doing here?”

“I could ask you the same thing,” he said. Her gaze danced across his arms where the bundle of flowers was, and he softly laughed. “I brought you these, I hope they are to your liking.”

She gasped when he handed them over, their color visible now in the light. Yellow-mountain flowers. Incredibly rare and her absolute favorite. Fiona racked her mind trying to recall when she had ever told Brynjolf about them when she was hit with a sudden wave of collected memories. Falkreath—months ago now, when they barely knew each other, and were making an effort to learn more. But they had been drinking, and she didn’t think that he was paying attention, let alone that he would remember.

“Brynjolf, I—” she breathed, overwhelmed. “I don’t know what to say.” When she looked at him again he was smiling, a mix of self-satisfaction and wonderment as he watched her reaction. She found it incredibly difficult to focus on the shine of his eyes. “This seems like quite the grand gesture, even for you, Bryn. Where did you even find them?”

“It’s a secret,” he teased. “I’ll take you there one day.”

All of Fiona’s earlier emotions came crashing down, causing an incredible ache to her chest. She blinked hard to prevent the sting of tears that threatened to develop, not wanting to cry in front of him. Not over something like this.

“What are you doing, Bryn?” she asked, bluntly. She decided direct honesty would be best this time. “Whatever it is, I like what we have now. I don’t want that to change.”

Brynjolf’s demeanor didn’t change, as if he hadn’t just been rejected—to some degree. He shifted closer, hands covering hers. She didn’t pull away.

“I think it’s a little late for that, lass.”

The worst part was that he was right.

#elder scrolls: skyrim #skyrim #brynjolf #brynjolf x f!dovahkiin #brynjolf x f!dragonborn #otp: I Shall taunt you a second time #fanfic #rhetoricalrogue #potato answer

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betterbemeta · 6 years

Note

Give us the real hot take on Preston, I always liked him a lot even though people got annoyed at him for his constant quests.

I have always liked Preston too! Honestly a lot of problems with Preston have to do with how the game uses radiant quests– something Bethesda tried out in skyrim but went hog-wild with in fallout 4. But that’s a take we’ve probably heard before, along with the ‘people don’t like him because they’re racist’ take, even if it’s true.

I want to point out something related, but slightly different. Maybe it has a little to do with the kind of people who I’ve seen hate on Preston most fiercely– dudebros who weirdly suspect him of using them, for example.

But I seriously think that if Preston Garvey was a white woman, Preston would be much more accepted. Yes, even with the whole annoying radiant quest thing.

And that seems like a no-duh point because white female characters tend to be more accepted than characters of color, short only of of white male characters. But what I am trying to say is that Preston’s traits or behaviors are considered not only suitable for fictional white women but actively desirable:

Preston is subordinate. He is the last survivor of a philanthropic organization and delegates the responsibility of leading it to you. He does not command the respect of the player at any time, which is a safe position to be if you don’t know what gender the player is or what the player would like to get out of the game other than it being their game where they are the hero. This isn’t the first time actually a character has gotten hate for being this way– Alistair from Dragon Age:Origins did almost the same thing and many of the same types of fans hated him, too.

Preston needs your help. I personally believe you should be helping him, but like all other parties in Fallout 4 he takes a backseat to your actions. Technically, nothing in the world happens without your help. But as any white lady stranded on the side of the highway will learn, there’s a lot of social baggage that revolves around asking for help and white women are often priority one. Black men, at least in the USA, are not. Furthermore, needing a rescue is one of the common ‘nonthreatening’ ways female characters are introduced. Many people feel weird when the ‘damsel’ is a man, especially a black man.

Preston is morally good. Preston acts as a voice of morality, rebirth, even tenderness in a game where the ordinary social contract has dissolved and the majority of the population has seemingly become violent and hostile. Sensitivity is considered a ‘traditionally feminine’ value and by that parameter, we could consider the wasteland has been ‘masculinized’ by violence and ego– even if maybe this shouldn’t be the case. But this element of Preston, even his little bit of naivete, is deeply valued in white women who are expected to be society’s nurturers and moral guides.

Preston is there to assist you personally. Tutorials are often the realm of female game characters. I think game developers have figured out that people have more patience with women than men in this situation. But Preston bears the full brunt of what happens when people get tired of someone who doesn’t please them being the station conductor for the second half hour or so of the game.

Preston’s relationship with the player is based on praising the player. A lot of companions do. But with Preston it’s pretty overt and authentic rather than masculine-detatched. This behavior is tolerated if it’s a woman, like a lot. it’s considered a woman’s job to flatter men, and sometimes even other women. But Preston just does it, and maybe even more overtly than a lot of the female characters do. I don’t have to say who doesn’t like this, or who doesn’t want to be flattered by another man.

Preston self-destructs by putting others first. I was surprised to hear this made-sense-of in my old Women and Anger course in college, but women's anger or depression is commonly expressed not as ‘going crazy’ but actually as a compromise of boundaries and self-preservation. To keep helping without care if oneself might be harmed, to keep working and caring until one falls apart, to even welcome the bitter end so long as a person goes down in a way onlookers might say was selfless, etc. Preston dealing with his grief and desperation after Quincy is not an exclusively feminine story. But to say it out loud would be considered typical for women, especially white women. But to some fans it ‘feels weird’ that a man would admit something like that, even to a trusted friend or even potential lover.

I guess what I am saying is that the way Preston was written (quest giver of a faction, tutorial helper, early game companion, moral example) is not the way people nessesarily expect from someone who looks like he does, and many people do not like the attention he gives them because he is the ‘wrong’ kind of person to be giving it to them.

Which is why I love him, tbh, because who the fuck thinks it’s necessary to have these hangups after the apocalypse? Let the boy be a sweetie.

#thecacklingcreep #fallout 4 #long post #preston garvey

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finsaraan · 6 years

Text

i just want you to know - this is the abridged version. i wrote something longer. and it was really prosey fancy and vaguely like an actual ficlet, but i felt like, there isn’t a chance in hell of anybody finishing this unless i file off at least a few paragraphs and fill it with the amusing use of casual language and luis-from-ant-man-style retellings to juxtaposition the setting and theme of the story being told

anyway @kohledtouch @championofstendarr @laelaloola (especially u u agreed to this and u didn’t even kno, this is a lesson in looking before u leap) y’all enabled this, gotta face the consequences of ur actions hit me up w/ how many paragraphs u got in before ur soul left ur body and idk what i’ll owe u but i’ll owe u something LMAO

Well he’s Titus Mede II’s son and his name is Alexandros and his mum is Olympias the emperor’s second wife and she married him when she was 17 bc her family wanted the power and she’s a descendant of a usurped Septim emperor from way yonder through the mists of time. So she has this baby boy, hooray, he’s adorable with his wavy blond hair and his odd eyes, one’s blue one’s green, and he spends his childhood frolicking barefoot through the White Gold Tower’s private gardens which it would realistically have as the home of the royal family, and chilling with the soldiers in the barracks, and the grooms in the stables, learning filthy language and all about war. His parents don’t get on because his mum doesn’t take shit lying down and doesn’t and never did love her husband, so if he’s remotely rude to her, which he can be because he’s just like that but also stressed all the time, she snaps right back and then he snaps back because he’s a proud man and not good at apologising and then it spirals out of control.

One day in particular when Alexandros is four, it’s soon after the death of his older sister, who was the crown princess and very capable and absolutely doted on by the emperor who’s distraught about it still, he goes to his mum’s room late at night only for the emperor to come in soon after absolutely sloshed, immediately getting his kit off, and Olympias, hoping to make him go away and also shield her baby’s eyes, hides Alexandros and says ‘no we can’t do the do it’s that time of the month’ but he’s like ‘you said that a week ago you HAG’ but now that she has her baby she’s feeling very protective so she snaps right back more viciously than usual so they start a proper shouting match until Alexandros bursts out screaming SHE HATES YOU GO AWAY GO AWAY, only to be grabbed by a stunned and horrified and slightly embarrassed (bc hes naked) emperor and tossed quite violently from the room. He’s caught by the guard on duty who takes good care of him while he screams because honestly that was a pretty traumatic experience. Once he’s put to bed and then up the next morning he doesn’t remember it, but it does scar him psychologically. The marriage goes downhill quite badly from there, it was their worst argument yet, there were a lot of insults, Titus feels very attacked by his now-crown-prince son’s apparent hatred of him, Olympias is livid that he handled her baby so roughly - it all makes everyone bitter.

Now when Alexandros is seven his education has yet to start and he’s a bit too cosy with the common soldiery that man the Tower, as someone puts it ‘he speaks as if he was conceived against a barrack wall’. Also, he hasn’t had a lot of interaction with his father, who doesn’t have time for children really and is still kinda put off by That Incident and by the very guarded way his son looks at him when the boy’s brought up for inspection days that let Titus see how he’s doing. So Titus thinks, to get him away from his mother’s influence, because she’s probably turning the boy against him (tbf she is), he’ll send him off to Cloud Ruler Temple to be mentored by this Penitus Oculatus commander called Leonidas. Leonidas thinks Alexandros is a spoilt brat. He has the child doing a soldier’s training from dawn until dusk, feeds him two spare meals a day, gives him shitty blankets and makes him sleep outside if he’s been disobedient (and if it’s not gonna kill him), and while this does mean that Alexandros is really good at taking hardship when he’s older - his soldiers will love him because he’s known for refusing to take food, water, or shelter if there isn’t enough for every single man - it’s also frankly irresponsible on Leonidas’s part, because he chronically underfeeds a growing boy, and Alexandros ends up significantly shorter than average for the rest of his life.

Now he’s twelve and his training with Leonidas is done, so he’s back home. He sings at a court banquet and a grumpy Titus Mede - who thinks he sounds a lot like his mother when he sings and is REALLY put off by it - humiliates him in front of everyone by telling him it’s a stupid waste of time for a prince to learn an instrument. Alexandros runs away and blackmails a soldier he knows, who's travelling home to sort a blood feud, into taking Alexandros with him. There’s a battle between two tiny villages and Alexandros makes his first kill, takes the head home, and feels a lot better knowing he is officially A Man at twelve when his dad didn’t have HIS first kill until he was sixteen. Now Alexandros gets his own retinue, a bunch of generals’ sons around his age, and he meets HEPHAESTION. Hephaestion is a babe, they hit it off immediately, and it’s barely any time at all before they’re completely inseparable. They’re soulmates. The same day that they meet, Alexandros makes another lifelong friend - the stallion Bucephalus, who nearly tramples some people in a panic at a horse fair, but Alexandros realises it's been mistreated and gentles it until it lets him ride it, ooh ahh very dramatic and you bet your ass Hephaestion is swooning in the background.

Fifteen years old, Alexandros is sent off with his friends to study some real important shit like philosophy and morality with a former Psijic monk (who isn’t actually former he says that but actually he’s an active Psijic - they sent him to try and influence Alex to take a good and wholesome path) called Aristotle. Alexandros never gets the hang of magic but he likes medicine and learning about nature and discussing abstract topics. Supposedly, doing this all in some chateau out in buttfuck nowhere is so he doesn’t get distracted but once again, Titus wants to separate Alexandros and his mother. The only time Alexandros leaves is to be summoned to various battles or sieges around the provinces for experience and because he and his father get on quite well when they’re out on campaign, they think the same tactically and Alex does admire his father really, he just feels guilty because his mother’s a woman with drama and flare running through her blood (descended from Tiber Septim rememeber), and lets him know when she feels betrayed. It’s a very emotionally scarring situation, because he can’t please one parent without angering the other. But on campaign it’s ok. He flourishes, he’s clearly got the knack, and the soldiers really love him ‘cause he comes into the healers’ tents to talk to the wounded men and tell them how brave they were. He’s got an incredible memory for names and faces, he never forgets anyone he’s met, and it’s a big thing when you’re just some lowly soldier and the crown prince remembers you and says he saw you, first up the wall in that siege, terrific job mate. He really craves the adoration of his people, it’s so much simpler than the mess his family is in. Be nice, make an effort, the lads love you. No nonsense there.

Sixteen now, he’s left as regent (of the entire empire!) when the emperor goes off on a longer campaign, but has to embark on his own one when there’s an issue with a big load of Forsworn. He does insanely well. He’s sixteen. Sixteen! Half of the enemies he comes across can’t even take him seriously, until he slaughters them. You stop laughing pretty fast when Alexandros’s legion comes at you. More than that, he gets there from the Imperial City faster than the soldiers sent from actual Skyrim, and they show up half way through like ‘whu?’ but Alexandros ropes them in no-nonsense and as they incredulously ask the Imperial soldiers ‘how old is this guy?’ they’re just given a knowing look and told ‘wait ‘till you see him in action, then you’ll know’.

At seventeen (he’s up to a lot now) his mum is pestering him to start churning out bastards because he’s unusually celibate for his age and status. She’s feeling very insecure because she’s engaged in some political fights and frankly the only reason she’s alive is because she’s wife of the emperor and mother of the crown prince; if she looses that status, she’s a goner, and at the moment the only reason she’s still married to Titus is because if he divorces her he weakens Alexandros’s claim to the throne and that could be chaos if Titus were to unexpectedly perish. So a potential heir from Alexandros would strengthen her position, and also give her another baby, which she wants because she’s feeling very excluded from Alexandros’s life. Rather than inevitably fail to walk the tightrope between his parents, he’s taken to only speaking to them when summoned, and confiding in Hephaestion for everything instead. After Alexandros dodges a series of prostitutes sent by his mother to get him producing and maybe separate him from Hephaestion a little, he pretends he slept with one to get his mother off his back, and ends up, in the aftermath, getting jiggy with Hephaestion for the first time instead. They’re as madly in love as ever. All their friends can tell It’s Happened, and some bets are finally won.

Now shit goes terribly wrong, and it’s about to get convoluted - the emperor takes a fancy to the daughter of one of his generals, Attalos. If she becomes his mistress, and has his children, and Titus really takes a shine to her, her noble birth makes her a really strong candidate for marriage, PLUS, Attalos is rumoured to be a Thalmor informant. That would put Olympias and Alexandros in the doghouse and in serious danger, but take a big weight off Titus’s shoulders, because he no longer has a mortal enemy in his house and a son influenced by said mortal enemy. Alexandros just tries not to rock the boat. On the return from a state visit, father and son and entourage are hosted by Attalos at his villa on the road. Attalos gets drunk and alludes to the potential union, suggesting any children from it are better than a child of Olympias, and then he insults Olympias a lot, thinking he’s being subtle, but he’s not, because he’s completely smashed. Alex is pissed. When he calls Attalos the fuck out, Titus gets pissed at him and tells him to check himself. Alex calls out him next, telling him to stand up for his own heir, unless he’s a desperate old man who’ll lick Attalos’s feet he’s that thirsty for the man’s daughter, who is frankly much too young for his old ass - also, they all know the rumours, Attalos is a filthy Thalmor informant, so he’s probably trying to suck up to them as well.

(The retelling of this gets him a lot of points amongst Thalmor-haters and if you hear it retold in certain places the string of inventive insults that prefix ‘Thalmor’ is about as long as the entire rest of the story.)

Titus is pissed, as you would be, to the point of drawing his sword, maybe a bit extreme, but he trips and falls on his face. Alexandros utters the immortal line ‘look, men, who the people thought would cross the tyrants for them - and he falls crossing from couch to couch’. Alexandros then has to book it, taking Olympias to her relatives in High Rock, then disappearing himself into the Druadach Mountains. He pisses Titus off for a bit by making it seems like he might be gathering allies in the mountains to go to war, but eventually messengers get sent back and forth and after a lot of debate, a peace is agreed to, and Alex and Olympias are welcomed back to the Imperial City. Things are still hella tense. Hoping to fix this, Titus sends Alexandros into Skyrim to deal with this civil war business that’s popped up, planning on following along later because his health is real fucked up just then. He’s been in a lot of battles, he’s like swiss cheese at this point.

Now at this point if I’m feeling indulgent, this is the point at which Alexandros turns out to be the Last Dragonborn and has to deal with all that shit. Otherwise, he just shows up and does his Alexandros thing, which is kicking ass and actually trying really hard to come to a peace agreement. The emperor wants to crush the Stormcloak rebellion entirely, but if Alexandros were to get his way - you know, like if he were to suddenly and unexpectedly become emperor himself - his offered treaty to Ulfric would be a formal apology for the failure of his father to honour his title as protector of the realm and chosen of the Divines; an offer of total religious autonomy, total autonomy in the deciding of any High King or Queen; and a getout clause that lets Skyrim legally secede from the empire if the jarls together decide that the current emperor/empress is failing in his or her duty to protect the rights and well-being of the citizens of Skyrim, failing to honour the gods that put them on their throne, offending egregiously the cultural beliefs of the people of Skyrim, or proving themself unworthy of the respect and power of the Ruby Throne.

Alexandros is real fucking confident. And he enjoys the enormous ‘fuck you’ he’s sending to any future rulers that don’t live up to these standards, because even if the treaty focuses on Skyrim, is they were to pull that getout clause and secede, everyone would follow whether it applies to them or not.

Back in Cyrodiil, while Alexandros is either being Dragonborn or not, the emperor is making plans to divorce Olympias and marry Attalos’s daughter but with legislation that secures Alexandros’s position as heir, hoping it’ll placate him even though his mother’s just been slapped in the face essentially. And on top of that, there’s a member of the Elder Council called Pausanias Orestes - he and the emperor were bang-mates, once upon a time, but Pausanias got dumped for a younger, hotter bloke. Pissed, Pausanias calls the guy a lil’ bitch, and the guy goes and gets himself killed being extra in battle to prove that he’s not. His kin, upset, have their revenge on Pausanias in a very dark and disturbing way because they don’t want to kill him because he’s still on fairly good terms with the emperor. Pausanias entreats the emperor to get him justice. Titus makes Pausanias head of his bodyguard, which is a very big favour, but doesn’t punish them that abused Pausanias. Eventually, Pausanias becomes a member of the Elder Council. Now here’s the thing; who’s the man that did that to Pausanias? It’s general Attalos, father of the girl emperor Titus Mede wants to marry, the man that’s about to achieve a real big power boost just by getting his daughter to bang the emperor. Oh dear. And guess who was with the entourage that stayed at Attalos’s villa the night of the bust up that Alexandros ended up having to flee; who had to stay in the house of the man that had wronged him and never been punished for it? Pausanias. Alexandros noticed this incredible cruelty at the time and apologised to Pausanias for it. Pausanias likes Alexandros for that reason. So when someone comes to Pausanias and says; we want to assassinate the emperor, and Alexandros is in on it, will you go to Skyirm and hire the Dark Brotherhood? Pausanias says yes. The thing is, Alexandros isn’t in on it; he’s far too pious to ever consider killing his own father. But there are those that thing the Medes are getting a little out of hand and if they all happened to die then that would be very handy for certain point-eared control-freaks who have a violent need to be absolute cunts and are the Tamrielic equivalent of that person who comes into your inbox and nitpicks your TES lore knowledge in a very condescending way, especially over things that are honestly subjective.

#( ;; ooc )#( ;; mun speaks )#What Have I Done #honestly? if anyone's device doesn't do the readmore and makes them see the whole post on the dashboard #TELL ME #i'll fuckin get rid of it #u dont deserve that #long post for ts #in case #also like that shit abt pausanias 100% tru alex the greats dad got shanked by his former bf #what a way to go

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soulstealer1987 · 6 years

Text

Arc 3, Chapter 4

Ziist Grozein

Gallus might not be spending too much longer with the Companions for a while, but while he won't be in as much danger of becoming a werewolf... well, he might just have gone out of the frying pan and into the fire. Eh, he'll be fine... probably.

Crossposted from AO3. Masterpost is here.

Arc 3: Live by the Sword

Arc 3, Chapter 3 ~ Arc 3, Chapter 5

“Hey, Gallus,” Ria says a few days later, and just when Gallus has stopped feeling on edge around the Companions he knows to be werewolves, too. Gods damn it. “You should come with me on a job in Darkwater Crossing.”

“Sure,” Gallus says, and shrugs. “Any particular reason, or-?”

“Because we need to talk,” she says. The confusion must have been quite evident across Gallus’ features, because Ria quickly adds, in a much lower voice, “About what happened in Dustman’s Cairn. And I don’t want to risk anyone overhearing us.”

By anyone, Gallus is pretty sure she meant Aela and Skjor. Skjor was out on a mission near Windhelm with Athis and Njada - and considering how much those two visibly despised each other, he couldn’t say he envied Skjor having to deal with both of them at once - but Aela was around here somewhere. He’d guess sleeping, except that werewolves, apparently, don’t sleep.

“Sounds good to me,” Gallus says. “I guess… I haven’t exactly been down in the Rift really at all. Maybe I was from there, who knows?”

Ria grins cheerfully.

“That’s the spirit!”

Despite Ria insisting that the entire reason she wanted him to come with her was to talk about what went down in Dustman’s Cairn, she doesn’t actually bring it up for a while, not until they are almost to Darkwater Crossing.

Then, right as they’re coming up to the town, she says, “I’m pretty sure Aela knows that I know they’re all werewolves. I’m… not a good liar.”

“And I am?” Gallus asks.

“Yes, actually, but that’s not the point. I might as well just tell her, and… I don’t know, I think I might give the beast blood a try. What about you?”

Gallus stops in his tracks. Surprised doesn’t even begin to cover how he feels at this point, but then again, while he’d interpreted her silence back when he was asking Farkas about basically every single aspect of lycanthropy he could as being uninterested… maybe she wasn’t. Maybe she was seriously considering it, and thought he was seriously considering it, too.

“I mean, it’s your choice,” Gallus says. “Tell Aela I wasn’t there when Farkas transformed if she asks. I’d really rather not deal with that.”

“Wait, what?” Now it’s Ria’s turn to look surprised. “I thought-”

“I’m interested in how it works,” Gallus says, “but that doesn’t mean I want to become a werewolf. Besides, I’m not even an actual Companion.”

“Why not?”

Gallus shrugs, and says, “I’m not really sure. I just don’t want to.”

(In truth, there’s a nagging feeling in his gut that becoming a werewolf would be an extremely bad idea for him specifically, and he doesn’t know why. Maybe he’s a vampire, and becoming a werewolf would trigger something bad.)

(Well, he’s pretty sure he’s not a vampire, but his point still stands.)

“That’s fair,” Ria says, “but I was talking about being a Companion. I mean, why not become one? I know it’s not that you’re not strong enough, you are, and-”

“Because I don’t want to be tied down to Jorrvaskr forever,” Gallus says, and takes a deep breath. This next part might not necessarily be a good idea to say, but to Oblivion with it, he needs to say it to someone and out of all the Companions, Ria’s probably one of the least likely to eternally shun him for it. “That, and I’m a mage.”

Ria doesn’t speak again for some time, and in that time Gallus decides to continue walking. He can hear her footsteps behind him after a few moments, which is honestly unsurprising. Most of the Companions aren’t much for stealth, and Ria herself is no exception. On the other hand, Gallus… has always been naturally quiet, for some reason or another.

He suspects that whoever he was, before his amnesia, had spent quite a lot of time practicing being stealthy, because being quiet shouldn’t come this easy in light armor or mage robes. That, combined with his knack for lockpicking and influencing people… well. He’s not sure he wants to know the truth, but he has a bad feeling he might already know.

“Being a mage isn’t that bad,” Ria says after a moment. Gallus sighs.

“My point exactly,” Gallus says. “Listen to yourself. ‘Being a mage isn’t that bad.’ It’s almost funny when you consider that one of my friends back up in Winterhold, when I said I was going to go find the Companions, said almost the same thing: ‘Being a warrior isn’t that bad.’ There’s something called moderation, and nobody in Skyrim seems to use it. Not the Companions, not the College of Winterhold, nobody.”

Ria doesn’t speak again, not until they reach Darkwater Crossing. The job is an animal extermination because, apparently, a bear had gotten into someone’s house. Gallus still isn’t sure how that happened, and he’s not sure he wants to know, but it doesn’t take long to bring down the bear.

However, it could have gone a lot worse. The bear focused on Ria, for whatever reason, and was prepared to maul her to pieces, or try to, anyway. Considering that she was and is wearing decent armor, it probably wouldn’t have done a terribly good job, but Gallus reacted fast with a Calm spell from his off hand.

The bear turned around, looked him in the eyes with that confused-but-happy look that Calm spells always resulted in. Gallus met the bear’s gaze, and cut its head off with one clean slice. Clearly, his practice had been paying off.

He probably was never going to be able to forget how he’d met its eyes before killing it, and the fact that he was able to do that was concerning in itself. At least he’s pretty sure he couldn’t do that if he had to kill a person. Illusion magic is… not fun, when you consider its effects.

Either way, Ria could have died there. They both could have died there. And Gallus wasn’t about to let her forget it.

“This is why I need to become one of them,” Ria explains over a freshly-purchased mead in the local tavern. “I need to be strong enough to not depend on others. I need to be strong enough that others can depend on me.”

“Fair enough,” Gallus says. For whatever reason, he doesn’t feel like drinking, so he doesn’t buy one today. Maybe the fact that it’s the middle of the afternoon has something to do with it. “Are you sure you can keep me out of this?”

Ria gulps down her mead, and that’s answer enough. Even so, she says, in a small voice, “No.”

“Maybe… I can make myself scarce for a few weeks,” Gallus offers. “There’s a fairly big city in this Hold, isn’t there? Riften? Maybe I was from there.”

“I hope not,” Ria says. “That’s where the Thieves Guild is.”

Gallus frowns, but doesn’t voice his suspicions. Instead, he says, “It’s at least worth a shot.” He offers Ria a smile, stands, and pushes his chair in.

“I’ll see you around,” Gallus says.

“See you,” Ria nods, and Gallus heads out, past the hooded figure by the door.

One of the locals is more than happy to give him directions to Riften, along with a warning to not take anything he doesn’t want to lose there with him. That’s more than a little concerning, but probably nothing to be too worried about. The city can’t be that bad, can it?

Unfortunately for Gallus, he never makes it to Riften. Maybe if he’d stuck to the roads, he would have been alright, but Gallus very quickly got very, very lost. Just being lost would have been fine, if he hadn’t stumbled into the middle of a skirmish between the Stormcloaks and the Imperials.

Gallus would have been fine if he’d sneaked away immediately, but he was just a little too curious. There’s an old saying (that may or may not have been made up by J’zargo on the spot a while back) that goes, curiosity killed the Khajiit. Gallus might not have been a Khajiit, but he stuck around just a little too long.

When he turned to leave, something or someone hit him on the back of the head, hard, and it all went black.

#skyrim #ziist grozein #zg update #live by the sword #elder scrolls #gallus desidenius #karliah #galliah #the companions #ria #darkwater crossing #dovahkiin #dragonborn #pov: gallus #skyrim fanfiction #elder scrolls fanfiction #skyrim fanfic #elder scrolls fanfic

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electronicdelusionstarlight · 5 years

Text

A brief recounting of the events of Elder Scrolls Legends, and of the Forgotten Heroes that saved the Empire when no one else could.

The Argonian, The Myth, The Legend...

SWIMS-AT-NIGHT!

SMUGGLER, WAR HERO... AND THE MOST LOYAL OF FRIENDS.

Self-Proclaimed "Greatest Smuggler in Tamriel," Swims-At-Night was just a simple smuggler during the Great War, stealing his cargoes from the Thalmor controlled Cyrodill, traversing the treacherous seas to later sell it off to either the resistance in Hammerfell or the Thalmor themselves, to them at 5 times the original value and at half the quality, not really out of any patriotic duty as much as for the cold and shiny siren call of gold. A daring, dangerous life, that made him make contacts with all sorts of people, that however ill fitted his true calling.

For you see, for while he was indeed without equal in his smuggling and his ability with poisoned blades was without match... Swims-At-Night was a lore nerd at heart. Especially if he could turn a tidy profit from said lore nerding.

But let's keep things in order.

Everything in Swims-At-Night's life changed one fateful night, during that same Great War he was profiting from... When he met two figures.

One, was Tyr.

This Beefcake of a Nord was one of the few remaining blades, captured by the second in command of the Thalmor Warlord and Daedric Follower Lord Narafiin, and left to Rot and fight for his life in one of his dungeons/daedric lair/underground arenas, only to one day escape with the help of another... mysterious figure.

THE FORGOTTEN HERO! WAR CRIMINAL! BACKSTABBER! MASTER OF DISGUISE! GENERALLY GREEDY ASSHOLE! THE WORST OF FRIENDS! DID I MENTION BACKSTABBER, LIKE, SERIOUSLY, THIS FUCKER BACKSTABS A LOT.

Basically TESL Robbie Rotten. At least he hates Nazi elves tho.

Anyway, back to that one faithful night. Tyr and the Forgotten Hero, from here on TFH, had recently escaped their captivity, and were searching for a lift to reach Skyrim, so to warn the emperor, who had retreated there after the fall of the imperial city, of Narafiin’s Daedric Dealings, and also so they could scoop up a friend of Tyr along the way, so that she could shine a Light upon this mess.

So, in the middle of the night, in the middle of a Port patrolled by Thalmor Justiciars searching for both them and the Argonian’s stolen Cargo, Tyr and TFH decide to steal Swims-At-Night’s boat...

RIGHT. FROM. UNDER. HIS. GILLS.

Needless to say, it was friendship at first sight.

After discovering the 2 vagrants trying to steal his shit and a quick sword fight with the Forgotten Hero, the Trio is found by one of the aforementioned Thalmor Patrols, and therefore, seeing how they too were being hunted down by the Nazi Elves, he goes “what the hell, the enemy of my nazi enemy is my new best friend, let’s go guys, this trip is on me!”, scoops them up on his ship, and departs from the port toward northern shores.

They later shipwreck. Because dude might be the “Greatest Smuggler in Tamriel,” but I challenge you to steer a ship during one perfect storm with one bloodthirsty Breton pirate ship trying their best to board them and sink his ship at the same time. Not even (spoilers) Sails-Trough-Storms herself could do it, I say.

Anyway, they shipwreck, have some zany adventures in High Rock with some mudcrabs and some spriggans, find a wolf cub TFH might or might have not abandoned to his fate rather than take in and nurture as his new pet LIKE THE ASSHOLE HE IS, and finally, in the middle of a ancient ruin, surrounded by angry goblins who had just come in and killed the cultists that were trying to kill her...

She appears, in all her majestic might...

LAANETH! MISTRESS OF MAGIC! SCHOLAR AND RESEARCHER AMONG THE MOST PRESTIGIOUS COLLEGES AND MAGES GUILDS IN ALL OF TAMRIEL, AND EXPERT IN DAEDRIC ARTIFACTS AND LORE!

Anyway, they save Laaneth from a Goblin assault straight out of Goblin Slayer, and she informs them that her latest research was around a semi obscure prophecy called The Culling (II), a cautionary tale about how people shouldn’t standardize and destroy their Battle Royal Games for greed and get rich schemes, and about how, during a particular cosmological event, the veil between worlds will be weakened, and will be easily breached by anyone committing a sacrifice big enough (Like, for example, the entirety of the Imperial City Population) to reawaken the now forgotten Oblivion Gates, so that the maws of Oblivion will be able to be opened one last time, to unleash hell upon Nirn, so to hasten the deterioration of reality and the breaking of the world, thus destroying creation and possibly but most definitely not allowing the Thalmor to ascend to godhood in the ensuing chaos.

You know, standard Nazi Elves plans.

This is even more concerning of Lord Naarafiin simply having Dremoras and other Daedras in his armies, especially after it is revealed that some major entity, perhaps even a Prince, must be edging their bets on this thing happening, so they decide to quickly reach the Emperor’s Camp all together to give him the grave news, and see what to do next.

(If i may take a moment, I would like to point out how Swims-At-Night, his ship destroyed and his cargo now in the seas, without a single prospect of coin in sight, is still there, ready to fight and die for his newfound companions and freedom, because he might be a scoundrel and a Smuggler, but he is a Honest Smuggler goddammit, mass genocide and daedric outbreaks are a big no no for him.

He also probably already knitted some new best friends sweaters already for him and his bros and is already probably preparing one for his new nerd elven friend, and probably didn’t want them to go to waste, so there’s that).

Anyway, our heroes got to Skyrim. Some more shenanigans ensue, a bar fight, some imperial deserters, a High Elf Merchant that was trapped by giant spider and had NOTHING TO DO WITH THE THALMOR TFH might have just been plain old racist too and left for dead rather than help, the ghost of another merchant asking for revenge against some other, human bandits that killed him and his family for their gold, and all that...

Anyway, they reach the Emperor’s Camp, where we meet the last members of this ragtag bunch of misfits...

GENERAL CASSIA! SECOND IN COMMAND DURING THE GREAT WAR UNDER EMPEROR TITUS MEDE II, AND MOSTLY THE ONE WHO HAD TO DO THE DIRTY WORK FOR HIM IN THE FORM OF DISCIPLINING DESERTERS AND ALL THAT NASTY SHIT.

Anyway, a plan is formed. Our Heroes must return to the Imperial City, disguised as Gladiators, and will use a secret passage near the Arena, the SAME passage the Hero of Kvatch used all those many years before to escape the imperial prison, courtesy of Swims-At-Night, the History Nerd him, to reach into White Gold Tower, and steal the greatest treasure of all.

THE ORB OF VAERMINA!

For you see, Lord Naarafiin indeed had the help of Daedric Princes, ready to spring up at the occasion of the walls of reality getting thinner, and Vaermina was among them. The Warlord was using the Orb to spy on the Imperial Troops movements and plans, easily outwitting them and laying waste along the country, committing one atrocity after the next, reading the field play for the final sacrifice, and our heroes needed to get the sphere away from him, so to better prepare a effective attack plan against the city before it was too late.

So, our heroes reach the Imperial Capital, passing as gladiators, and go into the secret passage, now swarming with perilous undead after many years from the 3rd era...

And with a mysterious altar, appeared out of nowhere, whose burning light, as bright as dawn breaking upon the fields, shone against the undead hordes, aiding our heroes in their time of need as it scorched them to a crisp.

For it seemed, not all Princes were in favor of Naraafiin’s plan of destroying the world.

Or maybe Meridia just wanted to scorch some Mummies, who knows with her.

Anyway, our heroes reach the highest floor of the Tower, where the Orb is left unprotected...

And where they are promptly ambushed by Naarafiin second in comand!

REIVE! THE BLADE MASTER! THE PAIN-SINGER! THE LORD OF THE ARENA!

He was him who had captured Tyr and TFH back at the start, and with a swift move, he has now taken Tyr Hostage, the gleaming point of his blade ready to slash the man’s manly and muscled chest at a wrong move.

BUT THAT’S NO ORDINARY BLADE I SAY!

(Yeah, only found this image for the card art, sorry)

THAT’S GOLDBRAND! THE SWORD OF BOETHIA, DAEDRIC PRINCE OF PLOTS! FATHER OF MYSTERIES! MOTHER OF SHADOWS! AND A BUNCH OF OTHER VARIOUS TITLES WITH OTHER VARIOUS GENDERS! AND THE REAL DAEDRIC PRINCE BEHIND THIS MESS!

For what better plot, than to plot to destroy the world, after all?

TFH has however been also fast, and has already nicked the Orb for himself, the kleptomaniac little shit. He is now presented with a choice. Keep the Orb, and watch his friend and companion die... or Give Reive the Orb, and get his friend back... “unscathed.”

And TFH, the absolute bastard and backstabber... chooses to keep the Orb.

(I mean, yes, technically, you can decide to spare Tyr... Except dude still dies during the ensuring fight as he shows his massive balls of nordic steel and SMASHES A DAEDRIC ARTIFACT TO PIECES RIGHT IN FRONT OF A ANGRY HIGHER DREMORA, and it is canon that TFH used the orb at least 10 times in his life if we go by Achievements, which he couldn't really do if he let Tyr smash it, soooo...)

Anyway, Tyr dies, Reive is Angry (And so are Laaneth and partially Cassia, like, dude was Laaneth’s friend more than he was anyone else, they had HISTORY, she is understandably angry with TFH, and he was working in close quarters with Cassia due to their ranks in the imperial army and shit...), and a battle ensues. TFH manages to overpower Reive and kill him, thus gaining the favor of Goldbrand and perhaps Boethia’s Themselves given their great betrayal and show of strength, since that’s how Boethia Rolls...

Anyway, They daringly escape the Imperial City, everyone a bit more somber after the whole ordeal, even despite the victory, and reach the Emperor’s camp nearby, reading for the next day siege, right in time for the Culling... BUT OH NOES! A Thalmor assassination deep cover team (which is composed entirely by Bosmer for some reasons... what, are Kahjiits not stealthy enough for your deep cover assassinations?) has attacked the Emperor in the night!

The assassins have been repelled, and Titus Mede II is safe, but the Emperor is now no longer fit to ride the next day. This will surely be a deep blow to the morale of the army, even now that has been bolstered by new and fresh recruits from Skyrim, and Cassia isn’t sure anymore they are going to pull it through...

And it’s here, that our “hero” truly unleashes his inner Robbie Rotten, as a dastardly plan is formed, I’m 99% sure after Swims-At-Night’s Counsel.

The emperor will remain in his tent, in the middle of the camp, unseen and unheard as he rests, as TFH wears his armor, and rides into battle on the front lines with his army, disguised as the emperor, keeping the Morale High as he valiantly fights of the Nazi Elven Scum, his Golden Blade in one hand, his mystical sphere of dreams in the other, as he conquers more and more ground, his friends leading 3 other different fronts in a 4 way attack on the imperial city, crashing trough to stop the massacre from happening...

And yet.

It’s too late.

Naaraafiin has already killed the entire population of the Imperial City, and the Gates of Oblivion are opened. He meets what he thinks is the emperor, his personal guard at his side, as all manners of Atronachs and Dremora are unleashed upon the city, and soon the world, as the Oblivion Gates open once more and the walls of reality are weakened.

TFH has to think fast, and so, attacks the Warlord, who easily counters TFH with his magic, now overpowered by the think layers between realms and his own, general overpowered Final Boss Magic, blasting shit left and right at a frankly insanely low magicka cost...

And yet, perhaps, this overpowered magic will be Naaraafiin’s Downfall, for the Orb of Vaermina cannot just enter the dreams of your enemies to spy on their plans, but can steal mirages of powers and creatures from your opponent mind, and use them against them.

And so, witnessing his prowess with the sword, and finally recognizing Goldbrand as Goldbrand, and the “Emperor” as the one who had killed Reive, as he steals one of his massive blast right from under Naarafiin’s mind, and uses it against its own master...

Naaraafiin falls. Pushed by his own arcane magick, perhaps still alive, perhaps not, inside one of the holes in reality his culling had created, the link between him and the fracture of reality severing, as the Dremoras and Daedras vanish into Oblivion, and the gates close.

The battle is won. The Imperial City is taken back, if destroyed and with little to no population left.

And the Thalmor are retreating.

TFH and his friend go back to the emperor, who congratulates with them about the victory, for the man really knows when the delegate, and gifts TFH his armor, as the 4 companions depart, each for their own road, perhaps to never meet again...

And so the story ends, with a empire saved from the brink of destruction, yet irreparably damaged, a friendship betrayed, and terrible memories people will never forget.

But when the story ends...

Another begins.

For to paraphrase Marvel:

SWIMS-AT-NIGHT WILL RETURN...

In Elder Scrolls Legends III: Return to Clockwork City!

(Tho there’s the Fall of the Dark Brotherhood first, probably going to do that first, gotta show you just how much of a Asshole TFH can be).

#tes #tesl #the elder scrolls #the elder scrolls legends #tes lore #long post #wanted to do this in a while #swims-at-night #the forgotten hero #(don't really know how else to tag it really)#elder scrolls legends #elder scrolls

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franeridart · 7 years

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I don't know if I like what the manga is doing with the eri story wise right now. Like, after the new chapter, if eri's quirk ends up doing what I think it does, it will probably be a huge loss for the manga story wise. (I love mirio and nighteye, but in this situation, to get them back this way, would probably feel like a huge cop out)

Ah, can’t say you find me on your side on this, anon - generally I’m a positive person! And I like bnha because it’s a positive story! So, yeah, if Eri’s gonna fix it and avoid deaths and permanent damages all around I’m not gonna mind it one bit. I understand your position on this tho, and I’m pretty sure you’re not alone on it. I guess it’s about what you’re looking for in a story, and what the point the story means to bring across is to begin with - you say that having an all around positive outcome to this arc is gonna be a loss for the manga, but bnha isn’t snk. It’s not Tokyo Ghoul, or D.Gray-man, or any other story made to drive across the point that life is sad and sad things happen and you just gotta deal with it as best as you can. The general point of HeroAca, since the very beginning, is that luck exists! Things can turn out for the best! Look at it, our protagonist didn’t even have a quirk and now he’s got the best one out there. Literally became the successor to the greatest hero alive without doing anything aside from being a nice guy

I mean. I get why you’d wish for a... more real story, I guess. I get that you might like the angst and the realness of life being shitty and bad things happening and all that jazz. But that’s never been bnha’s point? Since the very start? Deku’s whole arc is turning into a fight to show you that you should never lose hope and that even set futures can still be rewritten - and, about that, there’s also how big part of this arc is still about Nighteye and what he saw in All Might’s future, and about Deku wanting to prove that he doesn’t have to die, so a girl that can literally rewind said future to make it go some other way? That’s exactly what you need to counter Nighteye’s quirk. Deku might talk about twisting fate all he wants, but considering how Nighteye’s quirk works and how precise and definitive it is, without something that can make what Nighteye saw happen just to bring it back and change it there was no way Deku could have done much.

As I said, I get why you’d be disappointed in the possibility of a total fix-it, but as far as bnha’s plot goes I don’t think the story’s gonna lose anything with simply keeping up the positive-to-a-naive-point look on life it has always had, if that’s what it decides to do. You might end up finding the story less good then you’d been expecting, but that’s because you were seeing bnha as a genre it has never even tried to be. This is still a story in which at some point holding hands saved the day, after all haha

Anon said:you always thanks horikoshi for your life but seriously, thank you, for my life

sob you’re so sweet oh my GOD ;O; thank you so much, I’m so so happy you’re liking my stuff!!!

Anon said:YOUR LATEST KIRIBAKU COMIC KILLED ME AND I THANK YOU FOR THAT YOU TALENTED HUMAN BEING

WAAAHHHHHHHH I’M GLAD YOU LIKED IT OH MY GOD!!!!!!!!!

Anon said:Would you ever draw anything nsfw or at least a little bit steamy?? I would love to see some of that in you style

That’s actually answered in my faq! But yeah to keep it short the answer is nope, I try to keep my blogs as sfw as I can manage! Also why would you want to see that sorta thing in my style omfg hahaha I feel like it would just end up looking wrong lmao

Anon said:im legit crying over this kiribaku comic 😭😭😭 bless you

I’m super happy you liked it but please don’t cry omfg !!!!*hands you tissues*

Anon said:......LISTen!! !! ! I LOVE U SO MUCH!!! !! ! and thank u for the super quality content b l e s s u p! ! !!!

AAAAHHHHH I LOVE U TOO THANK YOU SO MUCH !!!!!!!

Anon said:I rambled about it and I'm still blown away by it but that comic made my day so so so so so much I feel blessed. I was so excited when I saw how much there was and all of it!!! Was so good!!!! The art was consistently amazing and gosh u blow me away ur so good!!! I know it must've taken a lot and doing all that and SO WELL in 3 days??? I rlly appreciate the effort u put in and I wanted to let you know I think it was incredible C: I hope ur having as lovely as a day as that comic made mine

I’m gonna legit start sobbing, thank you so so so so much ;O; it did take a whole damn lot of work, but with how nice you’re being I feel like it was 100% worth it!!!

Anon said:your comic totally made my saturday, kiri is so cuuute wtf?? and baku so hella pretty? i mean, the way you draw him?? i cant rlly explain it but thank you for this beauty on my dashboard. i have all those warm mushy feelings when i see your stuff

Thank you!!!! and I’m happy I could make you feel the mushy feels hahaha feeling mushy mush is good I’m always glad when I’m told I managed to convey that !!!!

Anon said:your comics were so cute and so well drawn!! your art always puts a smile on my face :)

And your nice words put a smile on mine so now we’re both smiling and happy!!!!!! I love that!!!!!! :D

Anon said:bless you and thank you for the kiribaku content, you're making my day every time dude

You’re all!!!! so kind!!!!!!! aaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! thank you

Anon said:dRAW KIRISHIMA'S BLACK HAIR SPIKY OMG

That’s actually a nice idea, but can I maybe ask you to come around again with a “please” and “could you”? I’m sure you didn’t mean anything bad by it and I love the enthusiasm, but I prefer it when people are being polite when asking for stuff out of me

Anon said:Okay, how bout this? Bakushima Skyrim AU. This might be a little too close to the fantasy AU but hear me out. So Bakugoi Katsuki is a Breton Spellsword who is commanded by his lord (Aizawa) to go help the Empire with the Stormcloak Rebellion, he is then sent to Helgen by General Tullius to investigate its sudden communication silence. He then meets Kirishima (Eric the Slayer) at Rorikstead who is immediately fascinated by him, they end up traveling together and discover that Bakugo is dragonborn

I mean!!! That sounds like an incredible concept!!! But I’ve never played skyrim in my life before and I could barely manage to follow this ask all the way through, so I’m probably not the best person to suggest this to haha

Anon said:is momo your first option for our lil rocker lesbian or is it mina?

What a question! And one I don’t have a proper answer to, actually - I like both of them equally but for completely different reasons? MomoJirou is the type of ship I sorta see as more or less canon, like, they’re pretty damn obvious aren’t they? And they’re besties! And the aesthetics work so well! So generally I’m like, if I gotta pick one person for Jirou, basing the decision solely on canon stuff, I’m gonna pick Momo. They’re soft and warm too, have sort of a coffee-shop-AU feel to them, I love it

On the other hand Jirou and Mina don’t really have a significant relationship in canon yet - they’re friends and chill together now and again, but haven’t really interacted much in a proper way for me to say “yes, I can see it, this is a ship with some serious foundation” like I can with Momo. But. I understand this ship in a way I can’t seem to manage with MomoJirou. What Jirou would love in Mina and what Mina would love in Jirou, why they’d love each other, how they’d spend their time together and what the general feel of their story would be - the mood of it and the reasons behind it, I understand them, and I can’t seem to manage to do that with Momo yet.

So the actual answer is, if it’s about which of the two gives me more of a “this might actually be canon” feel, then it’s Momo. I do believe they love each other and their relationship is lovely. But if it’s about which of the two I have more fun thinking about, then Mina. It’s two very different ships with very different moods, after all haha

Anon said:your latest warm up my heart!!! man i love how you draw izuku and eri and mirio and well all of them but you dont often draw izuku especially congrats i never want to look away from it

I’M GLAD YOU LIKED THAT ONE I’m actually weirdly proud of how that Izuku came out since usually I can barely manage to make him look like himself, so!!!! thank you!!!!!!

Anon said:Fran, hi! I saw some drawings of you (like, YOU) and I got under the impression that you're really tall??? Would you mind telling us your height? If it's too weird and it gets you uncomfortable, please, just ignore!

I decieved you, anon lmao I’m ~160cm, more or less like my girl Mina! Still the tallest girl in my family, but a small bean none the less in the grand scheme of things haha

Anon said:EVERY AU WHERE ALMA LIVES AND IS TOGETHER WITH YUU BEING HAPPY AND LOVED IS A VERY VERY GOOD AU!!! 💕

WHAT A CONSTANT ETERNAL MOOD THO

Anon said:Looking at your art reminds me that there still are good things to look forward to. Thank you.

This is such a soft ask??? Oh my god???? Thank you so much for the kind feeling!!!

Anon said:you did!! A background on the momojirou!! And I LOVE IT!!

I’M HAPPY YOU LIKED IT!!!!! It’s just flowers, tho haha

Anon said:Your art is so nice to look at, it's really soft and pretty and looking at it makes me really happy!! I fell in love with your style the moment I saw it. Thank you for making such lovely art and posting it here, I really appreciate getting to see it ♡♡♡

;O; thank you so much oh my god!!!! I still feel like it’s sort of all over the place, but this ask makes me feel so much better about it aaah!!!!!!

Anon said:minajirou!! i never thought about so thank you fran bcause its so cute!! and soft!! and bright!! my best girls yess

THEY’RE GOOD AREN’T THEY bright beautiful ladies they make me so happy hahaha

Anon said:Your blog has changed my life for the better. thank you

I’m sure that’s an exaggeration omfg but I’m happy I can make you happy!!!

Anon said:Gosh Fran, I just wait for Kirishima with his hair down to be animated. Thank god you indulge us with your doodles of his fluffy hair down while we wait! On another note... I love how you add some random details in your drawings (like Kiri's tag sticking out lol).

THANK YOU for noticing even the small things like that hahaha some details like that are more for my personal amusement than anything else, but it’s nice to know some people pick up on them too hahaha

#fran answers #taking a break from drawing today to let my hands rest #and my back too #sometimes i should think about this sorta stuff as well #........................#then again tomorrow and the day after i won't be able to draw as well so #maybe i'll indulge a bit later #who knows #!!#anonymous

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