For gold and glory...

I didn't realize until I logged in and found a message from @angeredmisfits that I kinda just dropped the pneumonia post and dipped, and that wasn't cool, so let me just say that I am healthy (ish...no more pneumonia, but still reigning in the asthma it triggered. What worked at 14 doesn't work at 32, apparently), and I'm very sorry for worrying anyone.

I am also currently preparing to move (finally!) to a new apartment, working to make up for the two weeks I missed at work (gotta hit those goals, ya know? Met goals mean rent money), and working on several personal projects whose deadlines are now on the 6mo horizon.

Skyrim's intro is perhaps the most misunderstood and confusing intro to any video game. Ten years later, a lot of players are still trying to figure out why the game starts with you heading north from Cyrodiil into Skyrim with a prisoner that should have been heading south out of Skyrim. Well, here are the facts and hopefully this will make things clearer! Ulfric was ambushed in Darkwater Crossing which is near Windhelm. He was then transported to Cyrodiil, likely for a trial in the Imperial City, the road south of Helgen is the only border crossing to Cyrodiil. A couple of letters during the Civil War questline reveal that the Pale Pass is closed and inaccessible due to an avalanche, this is also the excuse Bethesda uses to explain why the Stormcloaks are able to hold off the Empire, the Empire can't get reinforcements as the letters state. So Tullius makes the decision to return to Helgen which is an imperial outpost, he knows the Stormcloaks are coming for Ulfric so the safest solution is to kill him while they can to end the war swiftly. The Dragonborn gets caught sneaking past a closed border into a war zone, the decision to execute the Dragonborn isn't very surprising, you can hear the imperial captain trying to act quickly. Alduin appears in Helgen because of the time wound on top of High Hrothgar which is very close by, he is not summoned by the Dragonborn or by Lokir's stupid prayer, he is actually summoned because Ulfric fulfilled the prophecy of the Dragonborn when he murdered the king. Bethesda tried to make this clear by giving you the Book of the Dragonborn in the torture chamber in Helgen so that should be the very first book you find and hopefully read. "When misrule takes its place at the eight corners of the world When the Brass Tower walks and Time is reshaped When the thrice-blessed fail and the Red Tower trembles When the Dragonborn Ruler loses his throne, and the White Tower falls When the Snow Tower lies sundered, kingless, bleeding The World-Eater wakes, and the Wheel turns upon the Last Dragonborn." This prophecy is brilliant as it ties together the previous Elder Scrolls games. Misrule: imperial battle mage Jagar Tharn used illusion magic to disguise himself as the imprisoned Uriel Septim VII. Several wars followed due to this. Brass tower: represents Numidium and the genocide of Altmer as the Aldmeri Dominion was brought down in the second era. Thrice blessed: was the tribunal, Almalexia, Sotha Sil and Vivec, Red Tower of course is the Red Mountain, the giant volcano you see from Solstheim. Dragonborn Ruler: the end of the Septim bloodline (play Oblivion), White tower represents the White Gold Tower in the imperial city Snow Tower: represents the throat of the world where the time wound is, but also the center of Skyrim which now lies “sundered, kingless, bleeding” why? Because of Ulfric, why did Ulfric kill the high king and fulfill the prophecy? Because of the Talos ban, and why did that happen? Look back to the Brass Tower. All the pieces fall into place! World eater of course is Alduin, the Wheel is Aurbis and the Last Dragonborn is some cat that leads a bunch of thieves and is married to a lizard, or whatever you make of your Dragonborn. Finally, the reason the Seal of Akatosh (or as some people call it, Empire logo or even Skyrim logo) has a missing piece of the wing, is to illustrate that it is an old book. Yes, Skyrim's main cover is the Book of the Dragonborn, you really should have read it your first time around. I hope this clarifies things.

1. who does your muse hate?

2. how does your muse handle grief?

3. what is your muse’s biggest regret? 

4. how many scars does your muse have?

5. how long can your muse hold a grudge?

6. how does your muse handle loneliness? 

7. what is one of your muse’s greatest fears?

8. what does your muse fear losing the most?

9. does your muse think violence is ever warranted?

10. what is the worst illness your muse has ever had?

11. what would your muse consider their worst failing?

12. does your muse tend to push themselves too hard?

13. how does your muse outwardly express their anger? 

14. what is the worst injury your muse has ever received? 

15. what might others consider your muse’s worst failing to be?

16. does your muse have a short fuse when it comes to temper?

17. who does your muse wish they had said goodbye to, but didn’t?

18. does your muse suffer from nightmares? how often? what about?

19. out of everything your muse has lost/given up, which hurt the most?

20. what is something your muse wants to tell others, but is too afraid to? 

21. how hard is it for your muse to open up to others? what holds them back?

22. looking back, what is one thing your muse wishes they had done differently? 

23. does your muse tend to be hard on themselves when they do something wrong?

24. does your muse lean more toward “forgive and forget” or “resent and remember?”

Feel free to add context if needed! Add "Reverse" to any action to swap the roles!

[BRUSH] Sender offers to brush receivers hair

[STYLE] Sender offers to style receivers hair

[ADJUST] Sender straightens/fixes receivers clothing (Tie, coat, hair accessory, etc.)

[FASHION] Sender brings over an outfit for receiver to try on

[EAT] Sender brings receiver food while they're focused on another task.

[KISS] Sender kisses receiver on the cheek

[FOREHEAD] Sender kisses receiver on the forehead

[HUG] Sender suddenly hugs receiver

[REST] While out on a walk, sender guides receiver to sit down somewhere and rest.

[OPEN] Sender opens something for the receiver (pickle jar, package, etc.)

[GIFT] Sender gives receiver a small gift (Make sure to name what it is!)

[PAY] Sender pays for receivers meal

[HOLD] Sender hugs receiver and holds them close.

[LIFT] Sender picks up receiver princess style

[HIGH] Sender gets something off the high shelf for receiver

[WATER] Sender brings receiver a water bottle

"When you really think about it, all the Princes are a bit silly. Hircine has the clumsy head of an ungulate. Sanguine is an inveterate drunk. It's precisely these eccentricities that make the Princes a source of endless fascination for Daedrologists such as myself. Unlike the stuffy and aloof Aedra, the Princes suffer from the same neuroses, flaws, and childish fixations that trouble men and mer. They are more like us than we care to admit. As for me? Of all the Daedric Princes, Clavicus Vile is my favorite—and it has everything to do with his loyal hound, Barbas."

"So you wish to venture into Black Marsh, yes? A foolish endeavor for all but the scale-covered Argonians. The land is cruel and inhospitable compared to even the harshest regions of Tamriel."