my little Skyrim guy is a killer bc i haven't done the dark brotherhood quest line in a while and i missed playing a weird little murder hobo

zarathes is a drifter, always on the lookout for easy money, little to no sense of personal space. doesn't understand why people think he's after power, he just wants something to do and some pocket money while chillin. reads all of Cicero's journals without parsing that journals are personal and you don't read other people's, and then goes to tell him he really enjoyed the one where he posed as a fervent fan of the Grand Champion and merc'd the dude in the woods

It happens. Thank you so much @thequeenofthewinter, @mareenavee, @saltymaplesyrup, and @dirty-bosmer for tagging me into this. I am for once, on time, but only on a technicality. Tagging forward, @rainpebble3, @archangelsunited, @gilgamish, @thana-topsy, @tallmatcha, @inquisition-dragonborn, @elfinismsarts and really whoever wants to do one of those. From an as of yet untitled project, set in TES Oblivion for a change of pace.

I will tag @ihavethemindofamaster​, @becksterr​, @doodlin​ and @risualto​, but please, feel no pressure. If you prefer not to do it then that’s good too.

And if anyone else sees it and considers it fun then please have a go too. The more the merrier ^.^

Rules:

Fic authors self rec! When you get this, reply with your favorite five fics that you've written, then pass on to at least five other writers. Let’s spread the self-love!

Tagging forward: @dirty-bosmer, @thequeenofthewinter, @saltymaplesyrup, @polypolymorph, @archangelsunited and anyone else who has a sudden itch to tackle the self-promotional genre :>

WELP I'm failing on WIP Wednesday because it's that kind of week, but I can do this one. The problem with "recs" is that I'd much rather be recommending other people's stories, so instead of recs, how about "the ones that forced me to the page, for better or for worse?" These are all stories that just grabbed me by the throat, tumbled out, and wouldn't let me sleep for x amount of time.

Thank you for the asks, Winter!!! 1. "A fanon characterization that you love."

Ok! Let's go! This is impossible to pick because I have too many ridiculously talented writer friends who sell me on pretty much whomsoever they write, you and your Ulfric included (one of those "never did I ever, and yet here we are"). And then, and then... So we will end up with a list longer than my cat is ears to tail (and he is a large critter). So let's go with some abstraction: a fanon approach to a specific character I've seen enough to identify as fanon, and that I loved. Pretty much any canonically villainous or morally questionable character (Ulfric, the Silver-Bloods, Maven, Neloth, Mercer the list goes on) who is written as complex, or minimally complicated. One of my favorite things about fanfic specifically (as a genre or what have you) is when an author does the magic trick of "what you see in canon is the surface, but actually..." and seamlessly adds depth. It's magic.

11. Recommend a fic with an unusual/original headcanon or characterisation that you loved I will forever and ever plug my friend @ktyxdovahkiin's interpretation of Dovahzul, as a play onChina Mieville's Embassytown. It can't be helped, I'm a language nerd. Before the Dovakhiin Came found here. It'll make more sense if you've read Mieville's work, which happens to be one of my favorite books so I am not at all biased.

From this here gremlin repository

3. screenshot or description of the worst take you've seen on tumblr 21. part of canon you think is overhyped 24. topic that brings up the most rancid discourse PFFFT OK let's goooo

2.Tell us why you love one of your OCs or an obscure canon character (link to any fics/art you have featuring them!)  You wish me to pick ONE, @archangelsunited? Ok ok, let's play. Let's go with... Let's actually go with a sort of mixture of the two, which is to say an obscure OC LOL (Yes I have so many OCs at this point that I can afford to say some are obscure), and I just might have to pick Anman, Fihada's husband, from Gathering Souls. He was one of the first OCs in that story that just waltzed onto the page and took up residence. He was entirely unplanned. I needed an information broker for Teldryn to interact with in Solitude, and Anman was right there, behind the door of that shop, just...waiting.

I find it easier to show a character in text than to verbiate about them, so here's a little snippet:

"Is this a social visit, then?" Anman's tone was wry, but his expression stayed sharp. "I hear practicality is the root of all friendships," Teldryn parried. "Do you still trade in answers?" The Bosmer's eyes narrowed but he nodded. "I've always thought of myself as trading in better questions, but no matter. " "A coveted commodity these days, I'd imagine. And I assume Fihada's arrows are in equal demand." Teldryn looked around, letting his eyes linger over the overt signs of recently grown wealth. "Trouble with marrying a Redguard in the land of the Nords," Anman sighed, and folded himself into the chair on the opposite side of the small hearth. "The world could be crashing down around your ears, and he's happy as a pig in mud, because 'it could always be worse,' and 'you should've seen Hammerfell before we turned the tide'." A flicker of unease crossed his face. "Not that I'm complaining about trading pewter for silver, but it all melts the same. Wine? Don't worry, it's not poisoned."

5. Recommend three (or more) blogs to follow I will recommend ONE blog to follow because this question feels like some sort of trap. -pokes it with a stick- But you, specifically, might enjoy this one: That's Believable for your regular dose of totally unhinged, abstract humor.