In the stimpack shot, that is a very nice face study of Belle. She's quite attractive I think.

Neat duel between the gun and the spear!

Is that scorpion really supposed to be partly underground or is it a fun graphics anomaly trick like the Imperial Legion sometimes use in Oblivion to hide inside rocks and such?

Acadian: I reworked her from her original face, though she still has the same basic appearance. I guess I am just never satisfied.

Since Bellona is a melee weapons fighter, I have worked to avoid using any firearms with her. As it turns out, FONV does have throwing spears and throwing daggers, and they work off of your Melee Weapons skill. So they have been perfect for her.

Those submersible radscorpions are similar to the phasing Imperial Foresters. It is just a lot more prevalent in FONV with certain critters like the scorpions. The funny thing is, I have never seen it happen with radscorpions in Fallout 3, which FONV is ported from.


Up close

Meet Mr. Throwing Dagger

Bellona's flawlessness is unlabored

They love to watch her strut


I also took a little break from the Mojave, to revist an old friend in Cyrodiil.

Astarte does battle with the Daedra

This just looks rude

A light in the darkness

Astarte still has time for waterfalls

Showing the pinkskins how its done

Wow, Belladonna is very pretty. And those meat people look horrifying!

Astarte looks every inch the warrior queen. It’s great to see her again!

I love the way her armor looks in the Dagon shrine light. Very neat.

Astarte’s look contrasted with the waterfall and rustic bridge makes me think how natural she would look surrounded by fountains of white Ayleid stone with glowy crystals all over it. You did a great job with her.

She looks quite composed contemplating the sigil stone while the pinkskins mill around in the background. She kept them all alive! Nice work.

Okay, thanks. I figured the scorpion half underground was a graphics glitch spell like the Legion uses.

I can sure see why they love to watch Belle strut! She looks great. That's good news that you can apply her melee skill toward her throwing skills - sort of like how the BG Kensai can quite effectively use throwing knives/axes even though restricted from other ranged weapons.

Yay, good to see Cyrodiil and Queen Astarte again. Helping out with the Main Quest, I see. Light in the darkness is a very neat shot. Grits is so right that you’ve done such a great job with Astarte. She does indeed look fabulous sans helm in front of the waterfalls.

Pinkskinned yellowshirts from Bruma! Looks like Astarte is contemplating the possibility of repowering an Ayleid city with that buzzing stone.

Grits: Those meat people are Feral Ghouls. I think they are the creepiest critters in Bethesda's stable. Not just from their looks, but the sounds they make in the dark.

Astarte is like Persephone. I just can't quit her. I can't wait to get her to Mankar Camoran's Paradise, so I can see how she looks in an undecayed Ayleid site.

I found the way to keep NPCs alive in Oblivion is with a spell to heal others. After every fight you have to heal up every single NPC. Only then go off to the next fight. Persephone revisited Kvatch recently, and found not only all the Kvatch guard were still alive, but even those 3 Imperial Legionaries who turn up halfway through the fight were still there.


Acadian: I really liked the Kensai class in BG. When I do BG2 I might import my Kensai character Scathach for it.

It has been nice to spend some time in Cyrodiil again. By the Divines, I love the color. Everything looks more alive.


I spent some time in Cyrodiil playing Herja, a new Nord warrior.
Herja wants out!

Herja's gone Sideways


I also got back to Skyrim to visit with Persephone
A big ass sword...

...kills bugs dead

Hanging around

This is destined to be a desktop

It never occurred to me to pop the camera outside that opening cell in OB to look around. Neat to see, given that my last opportunity was several years ago when we started Buffy’s current OB playthrough. Herja looks great! Love her hair, and I’ve always liked good old iron armor.

Whoa! That shot of P-10 with her big sword raised is pretty much Buffy’s worst nightmare!

As soon as I saw the title ‘kills bugs dead’ I knew it had to be a chaurus that would be stuck on P-10’s blade.

Hanging around. Oh my. I must confess the first thought that came to mind was perhaps she was using that dwemer chest as . . . a chamber pot. Then I remembered that P-10 has probably moved beyond such mundane things. So ignore my potty humor.

Desktop indeed! Another shot that has epic written all over it!

Acadian: I took a look around at the start of that game, and went all the way up the stairs to find the Emperor and his Blades, and follow them down the steps. That was pretty neat.

I think it is safe to say that Persephone with that big sword is many people's worst nightmare! She definitely has the big iron on her hip...

No chamber pots for Persephone! She has not eaten in four thousand years...



Sofie Persephonesdottir and the two Larrys

A short vid of Persephone the Dragonslayer

It appears Persephone is not quite alone in Labyrinthian

Big or small, Persephone will chop them all

There is no stopping this dead girl

What do we have here?

Facing the monster

Persephone knows what to do with the Thalmor

Mages duel

Sofie and her pair of blue-eyed pals look great – and ready for business.

Thanks for the vid! What a showcase for your work with voicesets. Viconia sounds so perfect for P-10. That bony dragon never had a chance!

A collection of ghosts!

P-10 with her giant weapon vs druglord with a giant weapon – bet I know who won that one.

Neat lighting effect on Antler-head.

Woot! Looks like a new sword – and a two hander at that!

Facing down a dragon priest at close range! That’s a scary thought!

I must admit that killing Thalmer is great fun.

In the Mage Duel, I see the giant chaurus egg from Sarthaal in the background, so I know who’s at the business end of P-10’s spell.

Herja looks great. Sideways! There are so many awesome locations in Cyrodiil/Oblivion.

I love Perseph’s big ass bugsquisher. Steel with frost, Nord approved!

Neat to see that projected map in Hanging Around.

Gosh, the desktop one is gorgeous!

I see that Sofie is not letting you forget her while you spend time with her mom! Your idea to play the kids has given me so much enjoyment in my games and in following yours. (I realized that the Bulsakh and his lovely Sylgja also adopted a Sofie. If that Sofie ever gets a game her first act will be to change her name!!)

Oh, I love Persephone’s voice! What a great addition for her. Silly dragon, using frost. It was fun to see her in action.

The picture with all of the Labyrinthian shades is my favorite. That’s just beautiful.

Persephone got to chop all kinds of undead in this adventure! What a neat pose with her blocking.

It looks like Persephone found a truly useful helm for a dead girl, but sadly it would mess up her hair.

Ooo, great shot with the dragon priest. That staff is gorgeous but I could never figure out if it actually works later in combat.

Slaying Thalmor x 2, nice!! I love the Estormo skewer. The brief interaction with him is one of my favorite moments in that questline.

I love how the big glowy orb looks in the background with Persephone’s Ward on the right in the last shot. Really neat!

Acadian: The bony dragon went down so quick that I did not even realize it was dead! Persephone was still hitting it even when it was falling down!

I had forgotten about those translucent blue ghost draugr. The only place in the game you can find them is in Labrynthian, and of course you have to take the College of Winterhold questline to its conclusion to get into there.

She didn't pick up that helmet or sword. They just looked good like that.


Grits: Sideways Cave is an example of what I love about the ES games: the wonderful worlds that Bethesda creates, filled with twists and surprises.

Thanks to that rename mod you linked to, Persephone's sword is named The Chill Of The Grave.

Maybe instead of changing Sofie Sylgasdottir's name, spell it differently, like Sophie, or Sophia, or Sophitia (she was always one of my favorites from Soul Caliber).

The Staff of Magnus is broken in the vanilla game. But I have a mod that fixes it. Not that I have ever had a character who used it beyond that big battle at the end of the questline. Persephone (like Aela), left it in the Arch Mage's quarters afterward. In both their games that was Tolfdir. They figured he ought to have it.

Estormo went down quicker than the Titanic! Two hits and he was dead. The fight was literally over before I realized it had started.


Persephone lets her hair down

Persephone tries to remember what it was like to possess the love of the Divines

Sitting on top of the world

The world at her feet

Cats of Skyrim

One of Persephone's adventures on the Sword Coast

Persephone looks lovely with her hair down.

That pilgrim looks like he is offering his ale like a True Nord. I love Persephone’s thoughtful posture in this picture.

What a beautiful day at the top of the world! The picture with the sunset is another one for the desktop. Beautiful!

Cats! I made the caravan guards into Cathay-raht, so in my games Khayla is one big kitty.

Sword Coast Golf Links? Whoa, that dragon poses quite a hazard!

P-10’s doo looks great. I like the longer styles on her and, as ever, her color is perfect!

Aww. . . forsaken by the Eight plus One for so very long.

Love the shot of her sitting at the top of the world – a perch usually occupied by dragons.

World at her feet is a beautiful shot – the scene, look on her face, sky coloring. . . all of it!

Woot! Kitties! I simply love those caravans and am always delighted to see them set up outside some of the cities.

And a BG shot! That looks like Keldorn in the orange armor about to retrieve The Holy Avenger from the bowels of that dragon in BG II?

Grits: I finally started using the hair down wig that I picked out a long time ago with the ponytail one. I just wish it didn't clip in spots.

I was thinking the same about the Nord and his ale. It is only a sacrifice if you are parting with something dear to you. So that Nord is really devout!

Cathy-Rahts are the big ones? I cannot keep track of all those different breeds, except for the Alfiq. Did you just change their scale, or is that from a mod that actually changes their race?

That dragon was a big hazard! Unlike the dragons in Skyrim, the ones in the Baldur's Gate games are among the biggest boss fights in the games. You can expect to lose half your party fighting them.


Acadian: I tried on black versions of the same wigs, and they didn't look very good. They just contrast too much with the rest of her. So it looks like I will be sticking with the white hair.

Persephone gets a ton of bonuses for being undead. So not being able to use shrines or holy amulets helps balance that out in the game. Not to mention not being able to eat or sleep. But even more, it really brings the roleplaying alive (pardon the pun), knowing that the Divines will not look upon her.

That is indeed Keldorn, and it is that uber +5 Holy Avenger laying there in the dragon's gullet!



After experimenting with Enhanced Character Edit, I now now how Persephone would look if she were alive

Persephone sets out to reclaim the fragments of the Gauldur Amulet

Doing battle in Shalidor's Maze

On the lookout for Swamp Folk

Helping Anska retrieve her scroll

Night falls

Don't look now...

River crossing

Back in black (and white)

The Gauldur Amulet reforged

A pair of aces

Very interesting to see an alive version of P-10. She looks nice. . . but in all honesty, I’ve grown to really like the look of the undead P-10. You’ve done such a wonderful job with her.

Arvak! What a perfect steed for P-10!

I like that forlorn swampy area north of Morthal – very moody and I should think our undead lass feels right at home there.

I loved the Anska quest! She was a hoot!

And Gaulder’s amulet is reforged. It’s not a bad looking amy, but I see from one of the other threads that P-10 gave it back to Gaulder.

Darryl is so kewl! He continues to be the perfect consort for P-10. And that looks like an amazing sword he’s carrying.

Yep, Cathay-raht are the big ones. I just made the individual NPCs taller and thicker in my general tweak mod to suit my imagination. Lol, I was hoping that would be a shot of your Alfiq pair!

Alive Persephone is lovely, but like Acadian I’ve grown to love her unique undead look. Her white hair and dark eyes with a light in them give her an otherworldly beauty.

Yay for Arvak! That’s a neat shot with Windstad Manor in the background.

Oh my gosh, the Shalidor’s Maze battle looks awesome! What a great shot!

If the Swamp Folk have any sense they moved on when Persephone moved in! I love the colors in that picture.

Those are some neat magic effects in the Anska picture. I had to look her up. I know I’ve gotten that reward at least once, but I have no memory of Anska.

Night falls is lovely. Persephone is a twilight beauty.

Don’t Look made me grin! That carriage driver must have felt a chill on his neck.

Pair of aces is my favorite. Darryl is a great undead companion for Persephone. They look neat together.

I loved the story about Persephone and Archmage Galdur. I remember it every time I see an amulet piece in someone’s inventory.

Acadian: I was actually thinking that after Persephone finally explores every location in Skyrim, and does every quest she is going to, that I might resurrect her and start her over again, as the living, breathing Kore. I was thinking I could RP it by doing Meridia's quest last, and instead of rewarding Persephone with Dawnbreaker, Meridia will return her to life. Or I might do the same with Azura and her quest. It would be a nice opportunity to change her style in some larger ways. New armor, new weapons, new color scheme. Maybe that SPOA Knight Armor. Or maybe the black version of the Eisen Platte. I might even try doing the main quest with Kore *gasp*. Or of course I could just reboot Persephone as her regular undead self. Or both.

I still don't much like the horses in Skyrim. I have been using Arvak to shuttle back and forth between places that Persephone has already been and cleared of bad guys. It makes a nice alternative to fast traveling for what would be a long, uneventful trip.

Anska was fun. But Persephone was not thrilled with those fireballs she was slinging around she was nose to nose with the baddies!


Grits: I think Persephone has been my crowning achievement in Skyrim. I have never made a character whose both look and story resonated so strongly with me. I think it is her rise from the darkness and into the light. I was thinking about it this afternoon at work, and I realized that her journey parallels Joseph Campbell's Hero Cycle rather well.

I felt kind of sorry for that carriage driver. That probably took a decade off his life!


It's man-time in Markarth

Arvak has gotten a makeover

Friendly Forsworn

The Aetherial Forge

Persephone by aurora

Arvak by starlight

Funny you should mention to Grits how significant P-10 has become as a character for you. I was just thinking the same thing the other day. The undead girl has something special going on indeed and I’m so happy she found you!

That is funny when you see half dozen guyguards going to work at one time. I see that sometimes in Whiterun.

Give that horse a bone! Arvak looks fabulous. Just perfect for P-10.

Great shot of the friendly forsworn. Looks like horn-head on the left there is not at all sure what to make of our undead horse and rider. And the Stormie open face helms are kind of neat as well. . . I like the mystery of the closed face but being able to see their facial expressions sure is nice.

I know I mentioned it in one of the other threads, but I really enjoyed that Aetherium Forge quest and Katria. Nice to see P-10 bring things to fruition. Has she been randomly attacked by Katria’s old apprentice after the quest yet?

A beautiful shot of P-10 in the Rift under the northern lights.

Wow, Arvak’s impressive by night – puts out his own eerie light. I imagine old blue eyes (Darryl) does sort of the same.

Acadian: It took me three cracks at an undead character to get it right. The first was Hela, when I tried using the Playable Draugr mod. Then there was Revansch, and finally it all came together with Persephone. I guess it shows that good things take time and effort.

I love Open Faced Helmets, I don't think I could go back to playing the game without it. It changes the guards from being faceless mooks into people.

It is funny you mention the treacherous apprentice! After leaving the forge, Persephone looked around for him, but couldn't find him. She even waited several hours to see if he would turn up. After it was clear he was not going to show, she shrugged her shoulders and headed off west to go back to exploring the Reach. She was nearing Haemar's Shame when she saw the line of people coming near. At first I thought it was bandits. Until the one in the lead mentioned the Pure Aetherium in Persephone's circlet... Then it was kicking butts for goodness time.

The Frost version of Arvak has a neat glowing effect, and what looks like frost wafting off of him, that is hard to capture with a still picture. That mod really worked out perfect for Persephone.

A Cave Bear teams up with Persephone and Darryl to smite some bandits.

Before

After

Can you spot the living dead girl?

A Forsworn Troll?

Persephone found Sky Haven Temple (but the collision boxes all around it prevented her from going in)

That is one big head

The setting sun adds a little color to Persephone's cheeks

What an intimidating trio when you add the bear!

Hey the Before/After baddie didn’t need his head anyway. . . .

There’s P-10 sneaking up to detorsitate the baddie (is that what you call cutting someone in half at the waist/torso?). Is there a kill move for that? Little Miss won’t-touch-melee wouldn’t know of course.

Wow, that troll really does look like he belongs with the Forsworn.

Heh, I had to search for Sky Haven Temple to make sure I knew what it was. . . .

Big Head – Is that the ghost of all of P-10’s decapitees blended together?

Oh, you’re right on the setting sun's color. It really does look wonderful on her. Great shot!

Man-time! I always enjoy the changing of the guard. That’s a fun spot to watch them all stroll past.

White Arvak looks really neat.

It’s man-time part II in the hills with those Stormcloaks and Forsworn standing around. Odd to see them not fighting.

The forge picture looks great. I hardly remember those quests, so it will be fun to do them again. It’s a shame the Crown isn’t silver and opal to suit Persephone’s coloring.

Ooo, Persephone looks beautiful in the aurora picture! And Arvak looks frosty-cool in his starlight pic. What a great pair!

I love the picture with Darryl and the cave bear! Horns, claws, and blades up in the air. That’s my favorite!

Great catch with the beheading! I like how the Elven armor looks with the frost effect on it. (And I guess that elf got to see it as her head rolled away. )

Lol, the living dead girl is going to give that guy quite a scare. I would never have seen her!

That’s a good look at a troll. I like their three fingered hands. Those Forsworn and their wacky pets!

Ah, Sky Haven Temple. I’ve never had a character who felt comfortable there. I’m trying the Paarthurnax Dilemma mod with Jensa’s laptop game, so maybe she will make peace with the Blades and want to return there.

It’s the Face of Boe!!

What a pretty shot in the twilight. I like the way her eyes look in that soft light with just a touch of color. Ah, Persephone!

Acadian: Too bad there are not any undead bear models out there...

There isn't a torso chopping kill move. Though it might be good for an axe wielder! Mainly it is either head-chopping, head-smacking, or stabs.

Sky Haven Temple is one of those places my characters don't often go, as it takes use of the console or mods to get them into there. It is hard to ignore it when it is standing right there though!


Grits: I had a few cases of confused Forsworn forgetting to attack everyone else when Persephone gave the Reach an enema. She let those ones live, so I suppose their lack of aggression was a sign of intelligence!

I felt sorry for that poor guy on the carriage. That was right after Persephone came out of Solitude, and literally leaped into the back of the wagon from the wall above it.

I don't like the inside of Sky Haven Temple. It is too dark, dusty, and dank looking. The exterior on the roof is nice tough. I tried modding it into a campsite, but there is a weird wind that blows everything off the top of the mountain. It must be something that gets turned off when you do the main quest and get inside legitimately.

I always think of Captain Jack Harkness whenever I see that head too! I think he was hitting on Persephone...

I love the sunsets and sunrises in Skyrim. They add a wonderful touch of warm color to everything, even the skin of 4,000 year old Deadwalker like Persephone.

Persephone vs. Mini Me

Swinging for the fences

Persephone doesn't need a weapon to kill

It is always man-time in Persephone's game

The Queen of the Dead

This will be another desktop

Aww, Mini Me is almost cute. Somehow, I don't think that'll keep him alive for long though.

There's Persephone is, cleaning up Azura’s Star. No place to hide in there!

The men are drawn to Persephone like moths to a flame.

Queen of the dead is a really pretty shot. Is that part of the Potema stuff?

Desktop quality indeed! Wow! Love the light, trees, grotto feel. And Persephone looks great. I can imagine even at 4000 years old, she’s still pretty awed by the sight ahead of her. Odd what strikes us sometimes. Little things/simple pleasures? I was completely struck and taken by how her hair and claymore so beautifully intertwine with nary a hint of clipping. That just mesmerized this simple paladin.

Look's like Azura leases her Star from Kal-El. Supes ought to be more careful about letting in the riff-raff!

I guess Persephone is just irresistible to the opposite sex. It seems that wherever she goes, it is raining men!

The Queen of the Dead pic was indeed from the first Potema dungeon. It is from right at the end, at the top of the tower. That glow above Persephone is Potema's protean matter. I never noticed before that it has a human shape.

I too love how the ponytail in that one hairstyle fits so perfectly under the crossguard of her sword, and then snakes around the blade lower down. It just fits perfectly.


I am still not positive that I have entirely finished Persephone1's game. But I did start Persephe2.0 a few nights ago. Unlike the White Persephone, Black Persephone's game will have dragons in it, and she will be the Dragonborn. Though I still plan to keep random dragons always turned off. I am not sure if I will disable all the dragons out in the dragon lairs or not.



Daddy's Home

Hot!

Ralof looks a little uncertain about who he teamed up with

I need to think of a name for Persephone's new bound sword

She packs a bound bow as well

Meeting an old friend

Back to the light

I'll be back when I have time to linger over the details, but I have to say Oh My Gosh Persephone's new bound sword looks awesome!!

Old news: Raining men! Reminds me of a scene from dear Teresa’s fic where it was raining wood elves! Since you've been posting those shots, I've really begun to notice how often a gaggle of man-guards can be found going to work. I've seen them in Whiterun, Markarth and Solitude. Anyway, P-10-2.0 looks great!


Yay! I love it when that beautiful heroic dragon swoops in to rescue you by cooking and eating all the humans!

Yup, I guess Ralof knows trouble when he sees it. . . . I usually end up pairing up with Ralof during the tutorial as well. After all, the other dude clearly felt following unjust orders from his harpy captain was a priority. So I leave Helgen with a bit of sympathy for the Stormies. That evaporates completely with the first visit to Windhelm though. Then, upon talking to Sybille Stentor and Jarl Elisef in Solitude, it is easy to really become torn between the two valid but flawed sides. Skyrim is really good in that regard.

Love the bound weapons (of course). Since I’ve never summoned a bound sword though, I’m guessing that you ‘bound’ the normal very cool sword she tends to use – ancient rune sword or such? Anyway, the result looks fabulous. Will she be using that bound bow for ranged damage instead of fire/ice/lightning? The sword looks like its name should be Lucifer or Lucius to me.

‘Old Friend’. Aww, I was so hoping to see Darryl’s brother.

Can’t go wrong with a nice areola aurora shot of P-10’s night lights! Seriously, I’m liking her darker side just as much as her light side.

This:

That is exactly the dilemma Alise finds herself wrestling with. I suspect Julian would be inclined to go with the Imperial side, until she gets to know Skyrim a little better. It certainly isn't the Skyrim she served her Legion years in well over 200 years ago! Sometimes I think about creating a Skyrim character based on Julian, then I debate whether to create the Legion Julian (aka Treydog's version in BOTM) or to create a post-Oblivion Julian as a mage healer with old battle scars.

But I've been having too much fun with Alise to go there. Speaking of which, I haven't played either TES game for over a month now - too much going on IRL. Oh well.

SubRosa, I really love the bound sword Dark P10 is carrying. It looks totally awesome with those runes! I take back what I said about making them blacker than the sword.

Catching up with Persephone the White:

That teeny Falmer is disturbing. You just never know what you’ll find!

Those pictures inside Azura’s Star are really neat. I rarely have a character who goes for that quest, and I love to see the pictures.

It’s a flock of Falkreath guards!

Queen of the Dead looks awesome! I’ve never looked up to see the source of all that light. What a great find!

Ooo, Shadowgreen Cavern is definitely desktop material. What a beautiful place, and it’s great to see Persephone looking relaxed and peaceful there.

And Persephone the Black:

Daddy’s home – nice! That’s a rare sight in your games!

Great action shot with Alduin. I think he looks pretty impressive.

I laughed at the look on poor Ralof’s face. I can imagine him saying “we should split up” and really meaning it! Persephtwo looks beautiful with dark hair and brows. I know she has the same face, but being able to see her brows gives her more expression. (As a blonde I confess to lifelong brow envy. )

Oh my gosh still LOVE that bound sword!

And you know, the detail in her bound bow looks neat with the detail on her armor.

Ah, the head after Bleak Falls Barrow. Every bone she sees must remind her that everyone else from her old world is dead.

Beautiful shot with the aurora. It’s exciting to see Dark Persephone come to un-life!

Acadian: Fast Traveling is what usually gets me those great man-packs of guards. But sometimes I run across them while simply walking from one city to another.

Thankfully that nice dragon did show up to save the day! Things would have gone very badly if he had not. Persephone will have to thank him if she ever meets him again.

I used to feel the same way after my first trip to Windhelm. Until I read the diary of Suvaris (the Dunmer woman being picked on by Rolff and his bud). She is no different, so now it just feels like karma to me. Then after finishing the East Empire Company quest, and learning that she is responsible for the deaths of an untold number of people (trying not to be too spoilery), well, Rolff chopping her head off would be karma. I find many things are like that in Skyrim. The more you scratch the surface, the more warts you find on the people you thought were 'nice'. Like the orc who works at the Solitude sawmill. He will tell you he avoids going into Solitude because of how the people treat him. The truth is, everyone is Skyrim is just as racist as everyone else, and Skyrim is no different from the rest of Tamriel.

I have settled on the name of Lamentation for Dark Persephone's new bound sword. That took hours!

Unfortunately, Dark Persephone cannot summon up Darryl's other brother Darryl yet. But soon enough she will be able.


haute ecole rider: Ask yourself how Julian would feel about Titus Mede giving Hammerfell to the Dominion, after destroying the Thalmor's army at Red Ring Road. Then the Redguards fighting off the entire Dominion all on their own. I suspect Julian might start wondering what she had fought for. Would Julian defy the Emperor and fight for Hammerfell's freedom? If so, why not fight for Skyrim or High Rock's freedom as well?

As I mentioned in another thread, Ulfric and Galmar were in the Imperial Legion as well. Ulfric gave up being a member of the Greybeards to fight for the Empire in fact, and wound up being captured and tortured by Elenwen for his patriotism. It is one of the reasons they are so pissed at the Empire. After all they went through, Titus Mede gave away everything they fought to defend, and threw the Redguards to the wolves to buy Cyrodiil a little security. Until the Dominion comes knocking again in a hundred years or so (another generation of elves). Then who will the Empire sell out to appease the Dominion next? This Empire isn't the same one we knew from Oblivion. Martin Septim died to save the world from Dagon. The Medes sacrifice everyone else to save themselves.

For Persephone it is not difficult. She fought and died in Alessia's revolution to free herself and other humans from elven subjugation. Alessia would make peace with elves, peace always comes after war after all, but never at the cost of freedom. Seeing Altmer dragging humans off to be tortured just hits all of her buttons, and the Empire gives the Thalmor free rein to do that to whomever they please. Persephone doesn't know much about this Talos Schmalos fella, but she understands that he replaced Lorkhan in the whole scheme of gods. Lorkhan was always the champion of humans in their fight for freedom from elven domination. So if the elves want to get rid of Talos, then humans helping them do it is a pretty stupid thing to do. But even beyond that, it is the duty of every leader to defend their people, and the Empire has betrayed its people to her enemies.

I never did the civil war with White Persephone because it is very repetitive, and gets dull pretty quick. Plus it is harder to do without doing the main quest. You need to use the console to advance the right parts of the MQ to make the civil war work, which is a real pita. I might get the gumption to do it again with Dark Persephone, since I am actually going to try the MQ with her *gasp*. Mainly it is because I found a mod that keeps the original hold guards uniforms after the war is over. I never liked seeing half the province either in Imperial manskirts or Stormcloak blues. It looks nicer when every hold has their own outfits.


Grits: My characters rarely do the Azura quest either. For starters, the inside of the star is one tough room! As soon as you step inside the fireballs start flying.

I think that was the first time I took a really good look at the glowy light above the necromancers doing their ritual in Wolfskull Cave. It is neat how it has a human shape. You can see Potema taking form in there.

I haven't seen that black dragon in years! I just wish I had paused the game and used the TM command on that second dragon pic. I didn't realize it at the time, but now I see I left the crosshairs in it.

I think Ralof was serious about splitting up too! It was one thing slugging it out with baddies in the keep. But once out in the daylight, I think he noticed how pale Persephone's skin was, and how she never seemed to breathe...

That is what I was thinking about the skull. Persephone knows that everyone she meets today, is going to look like that in just a blink of an eye. While she goes on, eternal and dead. Everyone she loves is dead, or will be.


Shooting it out

Stab

Lamentation

Bandit on a spit

Vampire on a spit

Charging in

Invisible stab

Shooting it out with a bound bow!

Lamentation is a great name for her beautiful blade.

I love the blue aura on the victims in the stabity shots. I'm guessing the blue effects are because it's a bound weapon? I know Buffy's bound bow lights up foes real pretty when she's close enough to actually see it.

Charging in. . . and is that Darryl’s little brother?

Took me a minute to figure out what was going on in invisible stab. But your title and the dead hell hound helped me out. Invis didn’t protect that vampire from getting ‘laminated’ by Laminator Lamentation!

Acadian: I have been thinking of perhaps creating a custom bound bow like I did with the sword. Finding a regular bow and adding the bound bow fx over it. I just have not gotten around to it yet.

I am not sure what is causing the blue sparkly effects when Persephone hits someone. Maybe it is a property of it being a bound weapon, or maybe it is the Insubstantial magic effect I am using.

That is indeed Darryl's little brother Darryl. Fear not, we will be seeing Darryl himself soon enough!

That was indeed an invisible vampire being lamentated at the end. I almost did not see her, but her glowing purple hands have her away!


It seems that fences are just guidelines for Skyrim cows, not actual barriers...

The obligatory sword cleaning pic

Persephone gets educated about Talos

Persephone is tempted to 'educate' this pompous wizard with her fist

The fires of battle

The fire of a dragon

Incoming

Combined arms

Coup de grace

Something strange

It is so funny to see the exotic Persephone pictured next to such a mundane and pastoral thing as a cow pasture. Don’t need no stinking fences!

Sword cleaning – nice touch to add the icicles above. Beautiful sword.

Oh that annoying monk can blather on! Perhaps Persephone could do us all a favor and use that nice sword of hers to remove his tongue!

I agree; Farengar is a pompous fop.

Persephone the dragon slayer. What a neat package of pictures. The dragon breathing fire was magnificent, as was your action captures of the arrow in flight and soldier with bow fully drawn. Coup de grace – she’s got some stones to get that close to a dragon that’s still alive! Something strange. . . were there even dragons when Persephone was born?

Acadian: Persephone vs the Cow was a nice touch of the simple life of the undead. Well, maybe not.

One fun thing about the Civil War, when you do the Battle for Whiterun, Heimskr's house get's destroyed!

The people who run Whiterun really annoyed Persephone to no end. I thought about buying Breezehome, as Persephone could use a place to store some of her loot. But Persephone just dislikes the Jarl, his wizard, and huscarl too much. Maybe she'll buy Helajarchen Hall again. It is nice and cold and remote. Or perhaps I will mod her a new lair, like a nice cozy tomb?

The dragons are a lot older than Persephone, but I am not sure if there were any around back in the First Age. I think they were mostly roaming around in the age before the first age (the Merethic Age? The Mythic Age?). So they are probably as strange to her as everyone else.


Everyone I Love Is Dead

Meeting a pilgrim on the 10,000 Steps

Greybeards

Under the aurora

He's back!

Slugging it out with a necromancer

He used to be an adventurer like Persephone...

Ice Dragon

Three Way

Persephone has new town clothes

A short vid of Persephone taking on the dragon of Eldersblood Peak

‘Everyone I love is dead’ - Oh my. This simple shot brings so much powerful and poignant imagery to mind. . . . Who wants to live forever when everyone you love must die?

A wonderful collection of MQ related shots. You are so adept at capturing all kinds of light, beit night sky or action shots replete with impressive magical effects.

Great to see the Big D back!

He used to be an adventurer like Persephone? Methinks he has a few more thousand years to survive before he can say that.

Yay for the Triss outfit!

No matter how good a dragonslayer Persephone is (and she is good), it is still a heartpounding encounter!

Catching up:

Gosh, Lamentation is the perfect name for Dark Persephone’s sword! I love it! I would like to read a whole story about an undead warrior who names her sword Lamentation.

Persephone’s bow is also perfect for her. I love her look in that armor. That simple hairstyle sets it off well, I think.

Invisible stab is a great catch. Even with the little red vampiric drain effect it took me a minute to figure it out. (Then I saw the dead deathhound. Aha!)

In Riverwood: I guess in all those centuries cows have not gotten smarter.

Persephone does not look impressed with the loudmouths of Whiterun.

Those dragon fighting pictures at the watchtower are spectacular! The two of Mirmulnir in the air are my favorites. The light is just beautiful.

Persephone got the head-jumping kill cam! That one always scares me, since at first it looks like the dragon wins.

Latest set:

Everyone I Love Is Dead is a heartbreaker. I expect she sees the skull under peoples’ faces when she meets someone she may like. It’s far worse for her than it is for high elves who become attached to humans. Dark Persephone seems more melancholy than her Light incarnation. No wonder the Darryls are such great companions for her. They will never leave her. Well, they will always come back unchanged when she calls.

The Greybeards must have been a bit disappointing for Persephone. To her they are young pups.

Lovely aurora picture!

Woo, it’s big brother Darryl! Love that guy.

I expect that necromancers would be satisfying kills for Persephone. I bet they’d love to get her under their thrall.

That nervous sideways look from the recovering knee replacement patient made me laugh.

Yessss, a frost-spitting dragon! I love the way they look in your game.

Persephone’s town look is outstanding. That cloak is a great touch, and a circlet has never looked prettier. She’s beautiful.

Great fight at Eldersblood Peak! It’s easy to get into trouble there. Sophie Mikkesdaughter and teen Braith got their tails kicked by the trolls when they wandered up the path. Fortunately for them there wasn’t a dragon. Persephone’s voice really suits her.

Acadian: I was actually thinking of the song by Type O Negative for the title of that pic with the skull, but the Queen song is another good one. You can never go wrong with Queen.

It is good to finally have gotten Dark Persephone's Conjuring and Magicka up high enough to summon Big Darryl. The other brother Darryl just doesn't look the same.


Grits: I actually have a character based off of Persephone (Phereinon, from the Greek pherein phonon, "to bring death", another etymology for the name Persephone) in the literary version of Seven I have been working on. If I can ever get things how I want it.

I was watching Underworld the other night, and was pleased to see that Kate Beckinsale has basically the same haircut. It made me realize that she would be a good pick for the movie version of Dark Persephone.

Necromancers are of course still Persephone's most hated enemies. Never mind that she summons the dead herself of course...




I haven't been playing Skyrim lately, but do have a few pics leftover from when I last did.

Persephone finds nothing but a note at the end of Jugsy Windcaller's tomb...

I created Persephone her own new bound bow


Instead I have been playing Wasteland 2. Here are my Greeks: Venus (the Face and techie), Mars (the muscle), Mercury (the thief), and Hecate (the sniper). Tagging along is Angela Deth (an NPC)

The Greek Squad discovered the game console shrine

What a mess

I see what you mean on that song. That is indeed a good choice that is darker but less poignant than the Queen song. Darn you! Every time Buffy encounters an old skull or skellie on display, it now makes sadly her wonder if they knew Persephone way back when they were alive.

Poor P-10. All that horn hunting and she comes up zip. Oh well, I'm sure whoever left the note will be a delightfully helpful person. . . .

Your bound bow looks magnificent! Nordic is a great choice for a base to work with.

I'm glad you're enjoying Wasteland. Just don't forget about us TESters.

Ooo, Kate Beckinsale would be perfect! I haven’t watched Underworld in a long time, but I remember that she looked awesome throughout. How exciting that Persephone (or the idea of her) has another life as Phereinon.

Yikes, I pity the fool who took that horn! I would not want to annoy Dark Persephone.

I love Persephone’s bound bow! Like Acadian said, the Nordic bow was a great choice. I like how the detail gives it dark and light areas, and the combination of angles and curves works well with Persephone’s armor.

Wasteland 2 looks neat. I would probably enjoy a game that provides detailed dialog and gives you time to read it.

Acadian: I was thinking of between Nordic and Ebony as a base for the bound bow. I went with Nordic because it has more 'stuff' going on in the mesh. It looks like a true composite bow, made up of many different pieces, rather than something carved from one single thing.

I will be back to TESting eventually. But for now the Wasteland is in serious need of Rangerin'.


Grits: Behold the awesomeness that is Kate Beckinsale.

I get the feeling that a certain pair of Blades might not live to see the end of Skyrim's main quest. Persephone is not as forgiving as Jerric is...

Wasteland 2 is a throwback to the games of yore - like the Neverwinter Nights and original Fallout games - so there is plenty of text-driven dialogue. What I like best about that is I can always scroll back to see what was said and by whom.


The wasteland does have cuddly puppies

The team found an old computer game!

The team picked up a new sidekick - The Night Terror. He has 8,000 hit points (my regular characters have about a hundred and something).

It's Saturday Night Fever in the Arizona Wasteland.

A M.A.D. Monk goes nuclear.

I’m glad you chose the Nordic bow – it looks great! I just enjoyed overdosing on Kate! I’m sure it’s because Buffy’s up to her hips in the Dawnguard right not, but the shots of Kate with bright blue eyes remind me of Buffy (the eyes) and Serana (the hair).

Heh, I can imagine that P-10’s initial meeting with Delphine to recover Jurgy’s blowhorn would not go well for Delphine. Unlike Jerric though, I'd sort expect P-10 would give Delphine more than a Liz Hollow punch in the mouth!


It is nostalgic in a way to see your shots from Wasteland 2, for the influence of the older games shows delightfully. Is it sort of BG/NWN meets FO3/FONV? I laughed when I saw the cuddly puppy is actually called a cuddly puppy! I’m glad you’re enjoying your time there, and thanks for sharing some shots from your game!

The Night Terror is hilarious. I love to read the stuff in whatever that box on the right is called.

Acadian: It may be difficult to do the main quest playing Persephone. She might kill some of the people she needs to complete some of the quests!

I get much the same feel from the writing in Wasteland 2 that I do from playing the BG games. They all have a tongue in cheek style, a willingness to make fun of themselves, and acknowledge that they are games. For example, I just left off tonight's session at the Leve L'upe Mine. There is an NPC in California who reminds me a lot of Noober from BG1.


Grits: I love The Night Terror! He/She/It is kind of creepy looking, and his idea of 'candy' is human or animal body parts. He isn't really any use in a fight as he never attacks. But does have 8,000 hit points, so he's pretty much impossible to kill. Instead he's my team's cheerleader. He's always saying things like "I love the Rangers!" and "Friends are fun!" I think he's one of the coolest parts of the game.


Players of FONV might recognize these robots...

I got inspired a few nights ago, and rolled a new team of toons - Team TES

Teresa calms the savage beasts

Aela vs. Raider

Aela's technomancy makes short work of the thug

That Night Terror does look creepy in sort of an ET cuddly kind of way.

Toon Team TES! I recognized Teresa and Aela right away. Oh, I see Methie now. Who else is on the team?

Wow, Teresa’s Bosmeri calm critters mojo works on gila monsters!

I’m so glad to see you enjoying this Wasteland game!

Acadian: I thought it was kind of strange to see them called Gila Monitors. I am used to them being Gila Monsters. Though I suppose they are monitor lizards.

The final member of Team TES of the Desert Rangers is none other than Tadrose Helas, the team weaponsmith and door-kicker-in

Teresa has discovered the Secret of NIMH

War Games


I also made a little visit to Skyrim tonight.

Persephone in her town clothes

Persephone sees how the other half dies

Look where you are standing

Oh, I didn’t even notice the gila monster/monitor difference. I just saw gila and my mind read monster I suppose. Monitor is a cool change.


And a two games for the price of one update!

Woot! The T&T team takes on the Wastelands!

Persephone the Dark looks good in the dark Triss outfit with cape.

Is that P10 as a ghost?

Look where you are standing – I absolutely love when foes are so cooperative as to stand in oil with fire pots above just asking to be dropped. Buffy uses her bow to drop those fire pots; does P10 do the same?

Acadian: The ghostly P10 is from when Persephone explored the barrow next to Ivarstead. She found the phantom potions within, and tried one out to see what looking like a ghost was like.

I love dropping those fire pots on critters. If you note in that pic, the pot is falling through the air, and you will see Persephone's arrow still caught up in the rope above it...



About a week or so of pics, of several games, first off Wasteland 2.

One of the late game bosses, the Scorpitron

The Night Terror is really popular with the mini-scorpies

Endgame, the bad guys are exterminated


Back in Skyrim Dark Persephone continues her adventures.

Alduin returns

Resurrecting a dragon

Un-resurrecting a dragon


Finally, to the Mojave Wasteland

Annie Mosey is hanging out

Settin' for a spell with Easy Pete

Old news: Oh yes, I remember that ruin by Ivarstead and those potions. I recall Buffy didn't try one though. Neat to see how it looks.

*

As ever, I envy your ability to switch among not only characters, but games as well. You’re fun to watch!

Wasteland – Ugh! I don’t mind spiders or snakes, but the other S word really gives me the creeps! Yay! T&T + Aela + Methie – what a great team!

Skyrim – Hmm, looks like Delphine’s first quest maybe. “Join me in death, Dragon!” That second pic (Resurrecting) is spectacular the way you have the resurrecting column of light against the northern lights of the sky - with the dragon perfectly captured in action.

FONV – Annie is adorable!

Persephone’s town clothes look very nice. I wonder if she would like an ebony diamond circlet? (The screenshots do not do it justice.)

Ah, she looks like a ghost! Thankfully not a shriveled-up draugr.

Skellies about to go boom! That’s a fun spot to be an archer. And she hit the rope! Nice.

Neat to see Team Cyrodiil in Wasteland 2.

Persephone’s dragon resurrection pictures are beautiful. What a gorgeous night for that adventure!

Annie Mosey is super cute!! I love her!

Acadian: You didn't pick the best place to live, if you have a dislike for scorpions! I cannot say I much like arthropods. But I don't mind scorpions too much, it's the ones in the Fallout games - that are bigger than trucks - that I don't like! OTOH, I do love snakes. Within them I feel the primal, chthonic forces of death and rebirth.


Grits: I downloaded that circlet. Though I have not had a chance to try it out yet. I think I will be in the Nevada desert with Annie (renamed Annie Ley Oak) for a while

I actually used the console to change the weather for those pics, to add the aurora. Otherwise they would have been the ordinary, colorless Skyrim nights.


Annie is a Riflewoman

Girls night out

Annie is packing a new M4 Carbine

...and a raspberry beret

Tonight I smithed her up a new home in the court of Novac's motel

The inside

I continue to think that Annie Oak Leaf is simply adorable!

What great shots, especially the first one – nice capture of the fire coming from her rifle. Girls night out at the bar. Hmm. . . that’s a really tough call – as much as I like that raspberry beret, I really love her big hair showing too. And a new home!

Acadian: I like her big hair too. But the beret looks good on her. It also gives a bonus to getting critical hits, so it is handy in a tight fight. Still, I found a new cowboy hat that I think I like better.


Always look first before using the bathroom...

Annie is seeing the sights

Giving the Legion a surprise

Annie puts her space suit to good use

Radioactive gunfight

Annie found a new hat

War face

Annie has joined the fire department

Taking the doctor's order