Blackreach

Everyone in castle volkihar has a different relationship with their beast form, and you can see it etched into sunken bat-nosed faces and leering out from ancient eye sockets. Hestla looks almost human, her beast form slumbering next to the warmth of the forge. Feran Sadri wears his beastliness proudly across his face, embracing both forms without throwing his allegiance to either (and it makes sense, maybe, that he is the most amicable of the clan should you choose to walk the halls as a mortal).

Harkon’s beast strains at the surface without rest, obsessively gnashing and baring its fangs to assert its power. His skin shifts like living clay, daring you to flinch. (Do not flinch. Do not rise to the challenge. Do not give him an excuse to devour you.)

Valerica, too, has a face like a mask made of living clay (garden soil made smooth and lifeless in preparation for the kiln), but hers is so very, very controlled. Every movement of her body, every twitch of her eyebrow, every shift of her jaw is deliberate and precise. She wears her ancient visage of humanity as a display of uncanny skill. She is in control, and any threat to that must be rectified. You feel sloppy and inadequate under her gaze.

Serana looks human.

She looks so human that you forget that she holds the blood of an ancient and powerful curse. You forget the beast that dwells in her bones and in her veins. (Maybe it’s a product of all those years in stasis. Maybe in a couple of centuries she’ll look just like her mother and father. You don’t want to think about that. She doesn’t either.)

Serana never forgets her beastliness. It’s there in her every thought and movement because it is her. She is her beast form and her beast form is a reflection of herself. Its in the strength of her grip and the ice at her fingertips and the surprised little laugh she always gives after a quick victory. It’s a reflection of all of those powerful awful things that shaped her and pulled at her, and she embraces that so thoroughly that you forget there is anything to embrace.

Serana looks human. She looks more human than you, really, and you forget the beast that dwells in every fiber of her body. And then you’re facing Harkon, and she’s staring down the man who is her father, hand clenched around the blade she will use to kill him, and he makes to kill you and then she is her beast. Her face contorts like living clay into something awful and terrifying and she screams that he will not hurt you, and something in your chest swells with fear and awe, and you think that you would gladly die for this woman. This thing of teeth and snarling eyes and contorted muscles who is still so very, very human.

I'm curious--how do you guys go about creating your OCs?

Disney’s Pencil Test for Frozen (2013)

nobody:

me: serana's internal conflict isn't solved in the dawnguard questline and she isn't truly happy no matter what side you choose. her dead father still didn't love her in the end, and her mother isn't there for her anymore. she still feels like her ability to have a good family/life was stolen from her, which reflects what child abuse/neglect survivors go through in real life.

I WAS PLAYING SKYRIM AND I REALISED A THING

Serana spends a lot of time going, “I’m okay with the dark, but I’ve spent more than my fair share of time in caves already"

Which is fair enough but

This can sometimes be immediately before or followed by, “Are you seeing this? It’s fantastic,” showing that she does like caves

it doesn’t even have to be a very impressive cave for her to say that in

Serana loves caves

This vampire is just trying to hide the fact that she’s scared of the dark

Problems

Miraak attending the party at the Thalmor embassy with the Dragonborn

Malborn: Aren’t you supposed to be babysitting Miraak?

Dragonborn: He doesn’t need my help. He’s over ther dazzling the Thalmor agents.

Miraak: All dragons are at least 30% attracted to me

Miraak: Alduin cried the day I was born, because he knew he would never be better than me

Miraak: At any given moment, I’m thinking about one thing. The Greybeards, hunkered over, eating dog food

Miraak: I feel like I’m the Bromjunaar of people

Miraak: I’m exquisite

“Garrett Foster was murdered last night July 25th while attending a peaceful protest in Austin, TX with his disabled fiancée in her wheelchair. An unknown vehicle barreled into the crowd and this evil person shot and killed Garrett while he was trying to protect his fiancée. A great person was taken away from his fiancée, his mother, father, siblings and a host of loving family members. He fought against injustice, served in the military and was fiercely protective of his fiancée. They fell in love at 17 and were never apart. This fund is established to cover funeral , burial and other expenses in the days to come. We appreciate all the love, support and compassion during this emotional time.”

July 26th, 2020. Austin, TX. HONOR TO GARRETT FOSTER, HERO OF THE PEOPLE.

The vigil & memorial for Garrett tonight was full to the brim with grief and love. Everyone who’s been out to the protests in Austin has seen how he showed up every day, every night, to boost Black voices and especially to boost the voice of his incredible fiancée, Whitney, a Black disabled activist who has been there with him since the start. His passion for the BLM movement, the safety of his fellow protestors, and his commitment to the movement and to Black lives was an inspiration.

The media and the right are determined, as they always are, to put a spin on his murder and claim he was violent or threatening. He was not. A hateful person drove into the crowd with the intent to shoot. He stood to protect his fiancée, the Black protestors around him, and every single member of the family that comes out every day to fight for Black lives. We hold up the truth: that Garrett Foster’s murder was an atrocity, and he was not—will never be—at fault.

The fundraising efforts for Garrett’s end-of-life needs were hugely successful & further donations have since been closed. If you want to help him and his loved ones, take to the streets in solidarity with BLM as the protests continue in cities across the nation; beyond that, correct misinformation that he acted violently toward the shooter. We know the safety on his rifle was still on.

May his memory be a blessing.

Origins of the Divines

Did You Know: The Divines were named after beta testers or programmers?

Akatosh - Akatosh was named after beta tester Lawrence Szydlowski, who liked to sign “also known as the old Smaug himself” (the first letter of each word forming the letters “Akatosh”).

Arkay - Arkay was named after one of the original beta testers, R. K. Deutsch, who died in 1998.

Dibella - Dibella was named after one of the beta testers, Mary Jo DiBella.

Julianos - Julianos was named after Julian Lefay, project leader of Daggerfall and the following Elder Scrolls games.

Kynareth - Kynareth is not named after anyone, but was already present in Arena.

Mara - Mara was possibly named after beta tester Marilyn Wassermann.

Stendarr - Stendarr was named after beta tester Daniel Starr.

Zenithar - Zenithar was named after Stephen “Zen” Zepp, an Arena beta tester.

Pro-tip to young trans guys:

If a stranger misgenders you, please please please do not ever utter the phrase, “I’m a man.” It sounds very unnatural and immediately sounds overly defensive.

My advice? Just look at the person like they’re an idiot and, in the deepest voice possible, say, “Uh. Alright, then.”

Just act as though they made a huge and obvious mistake, and don’t get flustered. If you’re comfortable with it, handle the situation with humor and say something like, “Man, I know I’ve got a babyface, but I didn’t think it was that bad.”

really love how the college of winterhold only has three students, like just three of them in the entire college, and no one finds it weird or even worth mentioning.

Human … where is the milk?

In August of 2013, an Expedition 36 crew member took this image of a sunset over the Aleutian Islands from the ISS. The blue-white stringers we see above the sun are noctilucent or night-shining clouds, which are wispy, iridescent, and made of ice.

“I am a simple person with simple wants,” I say, scrolling through AO3 and ignoring fics for a variety of petty reasons

The Thalmor are terrifying, and here’s why

Skyrim players are familiar with the Aldmeri Dominion and its Thalmor agents, but what exactly are their goals? Why did they start the Great War? Doesn’t the worship of Talos seem rather trivial? The White-Gold Concordat was more than just the banning of a religion, or even a power-grab.

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