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I Don’t Know What This Is

@wintercearig12

25 | Currently TES obsessed, with a sprinkling of Pokémon, Marvel and Star Wars
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wintercearig12
skyrim-forever
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libertineangel

The more I think about it, the more I think the Dark Brotherhood actually could work if it were written by someone with any idea how cults operate.

Like say they recruit like in Oblivion, they find people who've killed (or anyone with a sufficiently high bounty) and approach them out of the blue - with completely different dialogue & framing this could work so much better. You're probably on the run from the law, alone and vulnerable, that's prime cult recruitment fare, so instead of Lucien being all "muahaha you're evil like me" make him a smooth, comforting presence, he shows up and offers you sanctuary and a family who can protect you, make sure you're safe forever and nobody will ever come after you again. Don't even give the trial contract, just hand over the Blade of Woe and invite them to the Sanctuary, making it clear he expects your presence - if you don't show in a couple of days he'll come back and give you an oh-so-friendly reminder, and if that doesn't work then other members will ensure you never do. Let him show up in the middle of the night still too, just to make it clear that despite the friendly welcoming air he knows who you are, knows you're vulnerable and can reach you anywhere.

Then, all the early contracts should be easy, simple jobs against targets you're told deserve it - corrupt guards, abusers, that sort of thing - and your "family" are all so comforting and reassuring and encouraging, after all this isn't that different to what you did before, and your family are more experienced and always willing to support new members; after all, the rest of the world hates you now, so who else do you have for support?

When you're deeper in, the contracts start getting more difficult to justify to yourself, but what else could you do at that point? You can't just leave, you know very well by now that the family would be able to find you anywhere and even if it's never mentioned you know there's only one way out, and telling the guard would be confessing to enough murders to earn you an execution anyway. It's not until around this point that they even mention Sithis - before now it's just been a family that takes special jobs in a form of unspoken public service, it's only when you're fully entrenched and can't afford to question it (for your own piece of mind as much as anything) that all the truly dark religious aspects get brought in, and things only get more unpleasant and disturbing from there.

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libertineangel

Also it's crucial that the Sanctuary doesn't look like a goth club - it's above ground in a perfectly nondescript building, and has the interior of any other guildhall, lots of light and warm wood tones and generically pleasant rugs on the floors. There's a dining hall, a dormitory (no individual bedrooms), an open-plan room with a few desks for contract work and other admin stuff, and a big shared social space & training area, a building that is above all blandly welcoming and pleasant, somewhere to stay where there's always someone else around.

There's also an inconspicuous locked door leading to the basement where other members will nonchalantly tell you you're not allowed to go right now, but you will be once you're more established in the family; then at the above mentioned point where you're in too deep to mentally back out, that's where you're taken and shown what the Brotherhood really is. This is the bit that looks like a Hot Topic kink dungeon, and there's an altar to the Dread Father you're expected to kneel at and shed blood for and yeah it's disturbing but what are you gonna do, say no to the guy standing over you with a knife and run up the stairs into the arms of your fellow murderers?

It's at the end of your confirmation ceremony that they give you the leather gimp suit uniform too, and you had no idea this was part of the deal at all 'cause it's to be worn as an underlayer beneath your clothes or armour or whatever, and never to be taken off unless physically necessary; nobody else would know, obviously, but there's the unspoken understanding that the Dread Father would, and even if you're a sceptic who's never seen proof of Him or His will do you really want to risk disobedience after signing a blood pact?

#yesssss#dark brotherhood#tes#the elder scrolls
wintercearig12

I'm still ever so bitter about Festus, Gabriella and Veezara dying (I can take or leave Arnbjorn, sorry)

Festus being brutally killed after he finally starts to like and respect us, Gabriella being wonderfully sarcastic but yet still respectful towards the Night Mother (this is another point, Festus was too!), and Veezara, need I say anything? What a sweetroll

A true travesty 😢

#the elder scrolls#tes#veezara#gabriella#festus krex#dark brotherhood