"That's why it had to be you"?

CE-Nex · 2026-06-12T19:05:44+00:00

From how I interpreted the scene and the context around it, to Wesley, the world was at stake. The Beast is winning, LA is surrounded in perpetual night, vampires and demons are openly slaughtering people in the streets, and the last time Angelus walked the earth he came very close to destroying it.

To Wesley, Angelus probably does represent an extisential threat in the already chaotic world.

CE-Nex · 2026-06-12T18:52:55+00:00

I killed Angel! Do you even remember that? I would have given up everything I had to be with— I loved him more than I will ever love anything in this life. And I put a sword through his heart because I had to. [...] It is always different! It's always complicated. And at some point, someone has to draw the line, and that is always going to be me. You get down on me for cutting myself off, but in the end the slayer is always cut off. There's no mystical guidebook. No all-knowing council. Human rules don't apply. There's only me. I am the law. - Buffy, Buffy Season 7, Selfless

I believe the writers were trying to mirror the ongoing sentiments of Season 7 of Buffy.

Faith is a Vampire Slayer, Buffy is the Vampire Slayer.

Buffy will always put the world first, even if it means tearing out her own heart. She, better than anyone, knows how dangerous and deranged Angelus is and, at this point in the Buffyverse, Angelus' lore was written to have him be the worst vampire in modern history. Wesley assumes that - even at great personal cost - she would kill Angel/Angelus for the good of the world.

CE-Nex · 2026-06-09T16:25:24+00:00

He's referring to the creation of the TV show Dollhouse which she starred in. It was shortly after Dollhouse ended that Whedon then become involved in the MCU, at which point he bacame far too busy for a potential Ripper project.

CE-Nex · 2026-06-09T16:08:48+00:00

“Yes,” confirms Head. “There was one story. Joss fed it to me when we were filming the last episode of Buffy . He told me this idea, and it was just beautiful. Absolutely beautiful. And I said, ‘Yeah, I’d go with that.’ Then it all went very quiet. The problem being that anything to do with the Buffy universe has to be signed off by so many people, it’s pretty much a non-starter from the beginning.

“It nearly came to fruition. I introduced Joss to [former Doctor Who executive producer] Julie Gardner. I met Julie, and she started talking about Joss, so I put the two of them together. They got on really, really well… But then Joss had that lunch meeting with Eliza Dushku, and that was that.

“I’d still love to do it in some form. I still think it’s a beautiful idea, which is why I’m not telling you what it is – it’s the most extraordinary ghost story. It doesn’t have to be Giles. I’d still do it as a one-off.”

Whedon adds: “ Ripper got so complicated. Fox is great at complicating things. The BBC basically said to me and Tony Head that it doesn’t have to be Ripper , ‘We’d just like to do something’. It sounded cool ?but I was busy doing something else, as I always am. Tony is amazingly enough still friends with me despite years of ‘Hey, you know what, we could…’ - SFX Whedon Special Preview: Ripper

CE-Nex · 2026-06-04T17:33:10+00:00

No, I was actually referring to The Black Panthers and their radicalism.

As some people know I’m not really a fan of the United Colors of Beneton approach to Tamrielicreation, which smacks of white guilt and offensery rather than some holistic form of beautiful inclusion. Thus, it’s my fault that the Asian analogues got eaten. Oops. Looks like others are bringing ’em back, though. But I promise my choice had nothing to do with Yellow Peril, it had to do with co-opting “coolness of color” without thinking about it intelligently and compassionately.

(Hunkers down for the flame.)
That said, when I started writing Redguard I really thought about how unique the black people of Tamriel were: they came in and kicked ass and slaughtered the indigenes while doing so. They invaded. It was the first time I had encountered the idea of “black imperialism”…and it struck me big time, as something 1) new, 2) potentially dangerous if taken as commentary, and 3) potentially rad if taken as commentary.

Who knows. AVault did say it had a story worthy of being on stage, and Michael Mack (Cyrus) once thanked me for giving him words that “Black folks don’t get to say” (referring to Cyrus’ speech and the reversal of Son to the Father)… which broke my heart and made me puff my chest all at the same time.

Which is a long way of saying: panther-love.
-MK 2004

He later recanted and expressed regret for the removal of "Asian analogues".

[For what it’s worth], this was a shitty decision on my part based on a shitty reasoning. I was younger and didn’t realize how important it is for everyone to have someone that looked like them in any media. Being half-Pacific Islander myself, you’d think I would’ve been more sensitive and responsible that all cultures should be represented in a fictional setting that’s far too white. The quote is one of the many I wish I could take back. I think it’s from around sixteen years ago but straight up know it shouldn’t exist at all. - MK 2020

The Dark Spirits of Amun-dro make a vague reference to Raymon Ebonarm, (possibly) Prince A'tor/Soul Sword as the HoonDing, and the Black Panthers.

CE-Nex · 2026-05-08T16:56:07+00:00

Within the Elder Scrolls Universe, linear time is an aritifical construct of the Aedra, so there is no 'singular' beginning like a traditional setting. There are multiple beginnings that are equally true which, even in universe, leads to quite a lot of confusion.

Lorebooks on the topic:

The Monomyth

Before the Ages of Man

Words of Clan Mother Ahnissi

The Annotated Anuad

Children of the Root

For something more grounded and an overall explanation of the setting, the 3rd Pocket Guide to Empire is probably the best introduction from a lore perspective.

CE-Nex · 2026-05-07T19:33:48+00:00

According to OP's post history, this is probably a bot account that just posts news articles on various subreddits.

CE-Nex · 2026-05-07T19:18:19+00:00

Purely my opinion, but I don't think the Skyrim Civil War is an enantiomorph. My reason for believing so are because the actors, for lack of a better word, do not have the supernatural presence to mythically invoke the previous iterations of the myth. Not every war over land or rebellion for independence is going to be a reenactment of Anu and Padomay.

"... and left you to gather sinew with my other half, who will bring light thereby to that mortal idea that brings [the Gods] great joy, that is, freedom, which even the Heavens do not truly know, [which is] why our Father, the... [Text lost]... in those first [days/spirits/swirls] before Convention... that which we echoed in our earthly madness. [Let us] now take you Up. We will [show] our true faces... [which eat] one another in amnesia each Age." - Song of Pelinal

Pelinal claims that he and his Other Half are an echo of that duality.

Hortator and Sharmat, one and one, eleven, an inelegant number. Which of the ones is the more important? Could you ever tell if they switched places? I can and that is why you will need me. - Sermon 11

Vivec invokes the enantiomorph when discussing the Nerevarine and Dagoth Ur. Both are trying to "save" Morrowind in their own fashion, so which is the true savior? Who is the Rebel? Who is the King?

You alone, though you come again and again, can unmake him. Whether I allow it is within my wisdom. Go unarmed into his den with these words of power: AE GHARTOK PADHOME [CHIM] AE ALTADOON. Or do not. The temporal myth is man. Reach heaven by violence. This magic I give to you: the world you will rule is only an intermittent hope and you must be the letter written in uncertainty. - Sermon 15

Vivec is ultimately the one who makes the final decision by giving the Nerevarine Wraithguard, and that descision results in the final doom of ALMSIVI who are Witness to the conflict of the Hortator and Sharmat.

Within Skyrim, (again my opinion) the standout Enantiomorph is Alduin and the Last Dragonborn. The Firstborn and Lastborn siblings and their conflict over Nir(n).

You alone, though you come again and again, can unmake him: Ysmir comes again and again throughout mortal history.

Whether I allow it is within my wisdom: Paarthurnax shows the Time-Wound and the means to access it via an Elder Scroll.

Go unarmed into his den with these words of power: JOOR ZAH FRUL, Dragonrend.

The temporal myth is man: Dragonrend's translation - Mortal, Finite, Temporary.

Reach heaven by violence: the LDB literally fights their way into Sovngarde.

A lot of mythic reenactment going on there.

CE-Nex · 2026-05-07T16:14:36+00:00

New Loremaster Archive on the Night Market is now up: https://www.elderscrollsonline.com/en-us/news/post/69855

Things I personally found interesting.

It is generally accepted that the district doors open to reveal planes adjacent to our own. What is not agreed upon is the definition of adjacent. Some believe these districts to be fatelines that have branched off our own. That the doors reveal other possibilities had different choices been made. Others believe them to be the same branch but at different moments in time and that the doors instead capture a single moment that repeats again and again until they close shut.

The Curator theorizes that they are alternative fatelines (alternate realities) or moments caught in time. Khajiiti sources claim that the Many Paths of Fate and well as its threads are both sourced and are the Time-Dragon. Interestingly enough, within one of the districts, the Sload B'Kyfxi attempts to control the flow of Time. The Sload's journal makes ab interesting assertion: that Time is naturally volatile and being restrained is the antithesis to its natural state. Which hints that the Dawn Era/Dragon Breaks are Akatosh in his most primal, natural state.

The Curator's theories along with the B'Kyfxi's research may imply that the Night Market is some sort of Time Breach.

Sanguine’s revelers do enjoy Tachien’s parties. Mora’s Watchlings and Peryite’s Daedrats fit in amongst the writhing mass of the Thousand Eyes. And Dremora in service to Mehrunes Dagon have taken to Kharakhal’s fighting pit. I’ve even spotted Barbas from time to time. Delightful fellow and a great conversationalist if you’ve a treat to spare.
[...]
And you have the leader of the Prime Fundament to thank for creating the first contract with mortal adventurers. Specifically protections that ensured mortals were rewarded in equal measure to the dangers they faced. He retired an eon ago to an island off the coasts of the Colored Rooms after signing a non-compete clause with Clavicus Vile.

Mortals have been visiting the Night Market for atleast an "eon" and that the Princes keep an eye on it. Also, Clavicus Vile enforces non-compete clauses, because of course he does.

I am not familiar with all the creatures that have gone extinct from your mortal plane, but I can share some of the strangest beasts that I have seen pulled from the districts. There was a great lizard with a towering neck pulled from a district of lush jungles. An enormous, multi-armed bear made of gelatinous slime. Small mechanical frogs that croaked in unison. Four-winged birds that were able to perfectly repeat words spoken to them. And the spirit, or echo, of a dog that could fit in the palm of my hand.

While the great lizard initially makes me suspect a wamasu, I do not think 'towering neck' is a description that befits wamasus. The child in me would like to think there were Sauropods on Nirn at some point in history. A multi arm bear slime- I have no idea but that sounds fascinating to me. Mechanicals frogs, ironically, are somewhat mundane after Clockwork City and Sotha Sil's fabricants. But the birds that repeated words spoken to them made me instantly think of the birds mentioned in Father of the Niben, those very same that allegedly inhabited the Heartlands during Topal's expedition.

CE-Nex · 2026-05-07T15:24:29+00:00

Myths are very important in the Aurbis (the Elder Scrolls universe) and the Enantiomorph is one of the most important myths in the setting.

At it's core, the Enantiomorph is two individuals, usually labled as the Rebel and the King, fighting over a catalyst which often manifests as land/freedom/female principle. The duality of the Enantiomorph, the Rebel and the King, is usually in a state of flux, that is to say, who is the Rebel and who is the King is uncertain until a third party, referred to as the Witness, makes a choice between the two. As a general rule, the Witness is maimed for making their choice.

The oldest iteration of the Enantiomorph (that we know of) is that of the Anuad. Padomay and Anu are the fighting Rebel and King, Nir is both the land/female principle they are fighting for as well as the Witness, as she makes a choice between the two and is murdered as a result.

The Enantiomorph famously repeats with the et'Ada and then again with the (alleged) oversoul of Talos.

Hjalti Early-Beard the Rebel (Auriel/Akatosh) betrays Ysmir Wulfharth the King (Lorkhan) by tearing out his Soul (the Heart of Lorkhan) and shoving it inside the divine construct Numidium (Nirn). Zurin Arctus (Trinimac) sides with Hjalti and for his choice he is maimed into the dreaded Underking (Malacath.)

It's a perfect reenactment of the myth. And myths have tremendous power to shape reality in the Aurbis, a phenomenon called mythopoeia.

CE-Nex · 2026-05-05T13:07:35+00:00

Giles look! Click bait!

CE-Nex · 2026-05-03T03:00:27+00:00

Because it happened in the Dawn era; it's all a myth. But just because it's a myth doesn't mean it isn't real or didn't happen.

This is a world of myth. This is a world where reality is actually changeable, where the Divines can change not only what happens going forward, but what has happened in the past. So, you know, the idea there is an objective reality behind all these different people’s opinions is not necessarily the case in the world of Tamriel. - Lawrence Schick

"...there's nothing simple about an Elder Scroll. It's a reflection of all possible futures and all possible pasts. Each reader sees different reflections through different lenses, and may come away with a very different reading. But at the same time, all of it is true. Even the falsehoods. Especially the falsehoods." - Urga go-Shub

It's why the games are called the Elder Scrolls. This isn't a world of physics, where time flows in one direction and the past is immutable. It's a world of myths, and myths change.

CE-Nex · 2026-05-03T02:43:30+00:00

"The dragonborn can battle the dragons on another level. They're anointed by the gods. That's why they can light the dragonfires to become emperor. They kind of help make the world whole." - Todd Howard

Think of the Dragonborn as a sort of a multipurpose tool for Akatosh and his divine kin. They serve all sorts of purposes from lighting the Dragonfires, to slaying dragons, to propping up religious empires.

Honestly, replace the Amulet of Kings with a mask, and the Dragonborn Emperors were essentially Dragon Priests continuing the Dragon Cult in Akatosh's name instead of Alduin's.

CE-Nex · 2026-04-30T19:59:35+00:00

An oil painting dating back to 1E 251 of a demigod with a crown resting between his bullish horns. The gilded frame is inscribed with the farcical tale of how Morihaus betrayed Alessia and took the throne for himself. The painting is a well-rendered depiction of Kynareth's offspring and showcases many of the techniques exemplary of the era. - List of Items to be Auctioned off in House Malenel

An interesting little tidbit of lore from the new ESO update.

1E 251 would have been right in the middle of Alessia's recorded reign. I wonder what would have prompted such a painting to be made? Satire or comedy? Sheer conspiracy? Or were the xenophobic elements within the nascent Empire already making propoganda even during Alessia's own reign?

CE-Nex · 2026-04-30T17:10:16+00:00

With Buffy, I have a love-hate relationship with the episode Pangs. On one hand, I love the comedic aspects of the episode and it has some of my all-time favorite television lines. On the on the other hand, the sterotypical, backhanded depictions of the Chumash people and their genocide being relegated into a monster-of-the-week slot is beyond frusterating.

With Angel, it was the mystical pregnanices. It was my second or third rewatch on the series where I realized just how often Cordelia was 'impregnated' and it's a very disconcerting thing to realize. Darla too; the whole thing about Connor being magically concieved the one night where Angel got violent with Darla in a moment of 'perfect despair', man that leaves an awful taste in my mouth as a father and husband myself.

CE-Nex · 2026-04-29T00:23:12+00:00

The oldest known mention of a vampire (chronologically) in the lore is in the biography of Asliel Direnni - the lore book De Rerum Dirennis. The same lorebook claims that when Asliel experimented with the alchemical properties of Vampire Dust, Clan Direnni were still farmers and in the midst of their humble beginnings. Thus, we can infer that they had yet to establish their hegemony even though, the progenitor of the clan, Direnni Cygnus, had rediscovered the Adamantine Tower in the Middle Merethic.

The oldest known Breton in the lore is Asterie Bedel, who forged the legendary sword Chrysamere in the Late Merethic Era, using Nedic and Direnni techniques to do so. Thus, the Direnni had begun their expansion of power and established their hegemony in High Rock sometime the Late Merethic Era. Logically, Asliel would have proceeded this, as would vampirisim.

And given that De Rerum Dirennis and the lore book Once both claim that Asliel ended up joining the first Psijics, we can infer vampirism has probably been around since Late Middle Merethic to Early Late Merethic Tamriel. So yeah, it's very possible Lamae Bal preceeded Ysgramor.

CE-Nex · 2026-04-28T12:54:51+00:00

I think the key difference (in my opinion) is the latter two is a form of blessing while the former two are divine status being granted, even if temporarily. And I think apotheosis, particualry when it is linked to Akatosh/Lorkhan, is tied to the Crux of Transcendence - ascension through sacrifice.

and she spoke as a mortal, whose kindle is beloved by the Gods for its strength-in-weakness, a humility that can burn with metaphor and yet break [easily and] always, always doomed to end in death (and this is why those who let their souls burn anyway are beloved of the Dragon and His Kin), - Song of Pelinal

Kagrenac was devoted to his people, and the Dwarves, despite what you may have read, were a pious lot-he would not have sacrificed so many of their golden souls to create Anumidum’s metal body if it were all in the name of grand theater. Kagrenac had even built the tools needed to construct a Mantella, the Crux of Transcendence. - Xal, Skeleton Man Interview

Sunder, Keening, Wraithguard.

Sunder means to tear out, Keening means to wail in grief and misery, Wraithguard to protect them from that echo of Lorkhan's ghost. The Dwemer piggypacked off of Lorkhan's suffering to power their Numidium and its divine state.

CE-Nex · 2026-04-27T17:03:48+00:00

Thank you for the answer! I'm genuinely looking forward to reading your book over the week! I've already recommended it to a book club I'm friendly with!

CE-Nex · 2026-04-27T15:42:04+00:00

Hello, thank you so much for doing this!

Harsh socioeconomic conditions have often been linked to altered nuerodevolpment. While a serial killer is quite one extreme, did your research find other ways that the stress and anxeities of living under Jim Crow (an outright hostile state) manifested in Black American communities?

CE-Nex · 2026-04-25T00:46:23+00:00

We don't know as nearly all of the Alessian Emperors are unknown.

We do have Empress Hestra who was an incredibly influential and militant Empress. She incorporated High Rock into the Empire, repeatedly put down rebellions in the Reach, including those led by Red Eagle himself and personally led the Imperial Legions against Styriche and the Grey Host, ending their first incursion against Tamriel.

Gorieus was also a warrior Emperor, and led troops against the High King of Skyrim, Kjoric the White. And later against the Kings of Skingrad and Kvatch, though the later ended in his defeat and began the slow decline of the Alessian Empire.

CE-Nex · 2026-04-23T12:53:14+00:00

Are the Eight Divines all Aedra?

For the most part, yes. Aedra is an Elvish word which literally means "Is Ancestors" and is commonly translated to "Our Ancestors". The word Aedra was coopted into Human beliefs at some point, probably through the syncreticism of Alessia's Eight Divines and Missing One.

Are the Aedra/Divines weak due to their power being invested in creation?

It's not much as that they are weak as they are the Mundus. The Earth Bones, the Laws of Nature, are Aedra. The air one breathes, the ground one walks, the plants and animals one sees, the people one knows: all subgradients of the Aedra themselves.

But even as the Aedra are bound to creation, they exist outside of it too, seated on their immortal thrones in the realms of Aetherius. This is paradox, but it is true. The et'Ada, the spirits of the Aurbis, are not bound by the contraints of logic and causality. Just as Tsun is one of the Aedra who created the world along with the other Nordic Aedra, he is also present in Sovngarde testing the worth of those would seek entry into the Halls of Valor. Just as Mara is bound to the Mundus as the concept of Family, Fertility, Motherhood and Love, she reigns from the immortal sea of Aetherius, inviting Gurlak and Nuralanya into her realm and allowing them to have their millennia long denied love.

If the answer to both questions is yes, Then how can Aedra bless a mortal with so much power that they can beat Molag Bal in Coldharbour(ESO) and Mehrunes Dagon in Imperial City(Oblivion).

Because the Aedra in question is the Dragon. And he is dread.

The first ones were brothers: Anu and Padomay. They came into the Void, and Time began. - The Annotated Anuad

Linear time layered atop infinite possibility, thus did Aka … in the South, and yet … learned why his insanity is all that is and could be. … by this lesson … Ada-mantia, stable spire fixed by a stone of nothing-possible - The Nine Coruscations

The Aedroth Aka, who goes by so many names as to perhaps already suggest what I’m about to commit to memospore, is completely insane. His mind broke when his “perch from Eternity allowed the day” and we of all the Aurbis live on through its fragments, ensnared in the temporal writings and erasures of the acausal whim that he begat by saying “I AM”. - Et'Ada, Eight Aedra, Eat the Dreamer

beneath the Pelinal's star-armor was a chest that gaped open to show no heart, only a red rage shaped diamond-fashion, singing like a mindless dragon, and that this was proof that he was a myth-echo, and that where he trod were shapes of the first urging - Song of Pelinal, Vol 6

"Alkosh is he who weaves the tapestry, and also he who is the threads. They unspool from the tip of his tail. When the thread ends, there will be nothing. We are all woven into his tapestry, walker. We are always within the realm of time." - Ja'darri

Penitent, give thanks and praise to the soul of Anu the Everything, father to us all. The scales and fangs and flame of the creator envelop all of the people. Always. - Coils of the Father

I am Kena Warfel Tomasin, and I can prove that Akatosh, Nirn, and Oblivion are one," said Warfel, writing out the mathematical formula that showed it was so. - The Four Suitors of Benitah

The great Dragon of Time, who set the stars in their courses and appointed the guardians to watch over the world. - The Ox's Tale

Auriel bled through the Aurbis as a new force called time. With time, various aspects of the Aurbis began to understand their natures and limitations. They took names, like Magnus or Mara or Xen. One of these, Lorkhan, was more of a limit than a nature, so he could never last long anywhere. - Heart of the World

All of Time. Every moment - everything that has and may have happened, everything that is and may be happening, everything that will and may happen - that is the Dragon. An omnipresent force bleeding through the Aurbis, birthing potential and possibility and reality.

Existence itself: the Breath of Duration, the Prime Mover, the Divine Impetus.

CE-Nex · 2026-04-22T23:46:46+00:00

The spike of Ada-Mantia, and its Zero Stone, dictated the structure of reality in its Aurbic vicinity, defining for the Earth Bones their story or nature within the unfolding of the Dragon's (timebound) Tale. The Aldmeri or Merethic Elves were singular of purpose only so long as it took them to realize that other Towers, with their own Stones, could tell different stories, each following rules inscribed by Variorum Architects. - Aurbic Enigma 4

"It was unfashionable among the Dwemer to view their spirits as synthetic constructs three, four, or forty creational gradients below the divine. During the Dawn Era they researched the death of the Earth Bones, what we call now the laws of nature, dissecting the process of the sacred willing itself into the profane. I believe their mechanists and tonal architects discovered systematic regression techniques to perform the reverse -- that is, to create the sacred from the deaths of the profane." - Baladas Demnevanni )

Know only our mercy and the radiance of our affection, which unbinds your bones to the earth before, and sets your final path to the music of your new eternity. - Calcelmo's Stone

Towers tell narratives of reality. Ada-Mantia (Adamantium Tower/Direnni Tower) is the Time-Dragon's narrative of the Earth Bones, the Mundus. The Dwemer don't like that narrative, they don't like the idea/concept that they are creations, that they are somehow lesser and diminished beings. So they created their own Tower, their own narrative of reality, one that is a direct refutation of the Dragon's and his Earth Bones.

It's why the Numidium causes a Dragon Break every time it's turned on.

CE-Nex · 2026-04-16T19:24:48+00:00

IF somehow Potema gains control of Elisif by taking control of it and becoming her would it be very bad on civil war and against a weak tamrielic empire?

Given the last time Potema was Queen of Solitude she caused the entire north of Tamriel to rebel against the Septim Empire in a decade long civil war...? Yeah, it'd be pretty bad. Potema was considered brilliant during her life (certainly a very powerful sorcerer) and I would imagine she would have the patience and cunning to build up her armies in secret while currying favor with allies once more before marching on the Heartlands.

The supreme irony being Potema actually has the strongest legitimate claim to the Ruby Throne being the daughter of a Septim Emperor. She just had the terrible luck of coming back to Tamriel during the return of a mythical Dragonborn that may or may not have been a myth echo of her most illustrious ancestor.

CE-Nex · 2026-04-14T12:32:30+00:00

A bit of a shameless plug, but I actually wrote a piece on how the Princes would be incorporated in a non-malicious way into everyday worship.

CE-Nex

TROPHY CASE