Chat I already know I spoke about Martin and HOK being soulmates but-
Todd Howard was literally a GENIUS when he made Oblivion.
Hell I'd argue [in my own opinion] that Oblivion is one of the most poetic games to exist, solely because of the main storyline.
Like, ik it has a reputation for being the funny haha game because of all the bugs, coding errors and what not- but the story is genuinely like reading a tragic poem about how fate is cruel.
HOKs story kinda reminds me of this one trolley problem pic I had seen.
"There is no lever, you cannot stop it, you are only forced to stand by and watch."
HOK starts off as just a prisoner, bound to a cell for an unknown crime. Then you meet the emperor himself where your cell just so happened to be the one his escape route was in, he claims he's seen you before- that fate had brought you to him. Before he dies he instructs you to find his son, to close shut the jaws of Oblivion & then you watch him die.
Mind you, you don't HAVE to do this. Thinking on it, you could've just delivered the amulet and fucked off- or saved Martin & went back to whatever life you had before.
You aren't anyone special, you don't have any power that would've been needed to save the world [like say the Nerevarine or the Dragonborn.] You are just a normal person who got caught up in this, so you could've just walked away..
Fate drags you back to the bastard son [whom you don't even really know mind you.] You become his blade, his protector, his friend & in some interpretations [that I enjoy] his lover.
Everything you do in the Oblivion crisis isn't even just for you, it's for HIM. "Oh but Bambi, the Oblivion crisis would affect us to!" Obviously, but as stated above- you could've just left at any given moment. There were many who didn't fight alongside Martin, we don't even know HOKs past. But most likely they weren't any sort of warrior before this, HOK wasn't forced to stay- but they did to not only save all of Tamriel but to save Martin.
Like ik there's not much to say this, but I feel like with HOK staying that they WANTED to protect him. He is the one you talk to the most during the main quest line after all, which makes what I'm about to say even more tragic.
The games timeline is also meant to be somewhat fast paced, I don't remember if we have a canon timeline for Oblivion but I've always imagined the events taking either months to an entire year for everything to unfold [me personally I go with the year.] So, within that timeframe you become his most trusted blade, the person he confides in, the one he worries about the most, the person he reminisces with, his best friend & again in some interpretations the one he ends up loving.
Which if we think on the romantic interpretations that's just so... So sad. HOK and Martin barely knew each other, cause no matter how much time passed HOK was mostly out closing Oblivion gates & running errands. Yet somehow HOK and Martin still find a way to love one another, to ground the other during the crisis.
Hell I almost wonder if that's something that was meant to be implied, that maybe there were some feelings that never were spoken. Cause HOK and Martin found comfort in one another, they ground each other, he ran to HOK whenever they were victorious, they worried about each other. It wouldn't surprise me if they had been yearning for each other that entire time, but never said anything because what lied ahead was uncertain.
It's always made me tear up seeing how Martin treats HOK as if he's known them since his childhood, he reminisces about things involving you that probably happened only a month ago. Like how he reminisces about meeting you, and he talks about it as if it happened years ago.
Gods and the ending, literally the definition of "fate is cruel"
Cause there was hope for just a moment, that Martin would live, the Oblivion gates would be shut & everyone would be okay. And if I remember correctly [correct me if I'm wrong] he assures you of such [once again always finding HOK in every situation to speak to, & again cause you're just a normal person who got caught up in this.]
And then that hope is diminished when Mehrunes Dagon appears earlier than expected, and you end up accompanying him to stop the Deadric prince.
He could've asked for anyone else to accompany him, to order you to do something else- but no. He wanted you to be with him, as he already had a feeling these would be his last moments.. And he was right.
Which that scene will always make me cry.
The way he just accepts his fate, how you're the only person to see his last moments. His goodbye to you
"I do what I must do. I cannot stay to rebuild Tamriel, that task falls to others. Farewell. You've been a good friend, in the short time that I've known you. But now I must go. The Dragon waits."
And you're unable to move, like genuinely. You can't save him this time, you can't pull out your sword and fight Dagon yourself. You're literally forced to stand there and watch
[Bringing back the trolley problem]
"There is no lever, you cannot stop it, you can only stand by and watch."
And in the remake how Martin looks back at you one last time, gives you one last smile as if he's saying one last goodbye- or maybe trying to reassure you one last time.. And then he turns into a fucking statue.
And that's all you're left with, no body to bury, no piece of him to keep with you, no body to hold as you weep. You're just left with a statue of a dragon, not even of Martin.
And how tragic is it [depending on your interpretation] that HOK becomes Sheogorath. Like if I remember correctly it is canonized that default!HOK is the Sheo we meet in Skyrim, but again up to your own interpretation.
Like I still think about that, cause sure it could've just been HOK trying to help with the quest. But no normal person is stepping into a Deadric princes land just to do some quest, hero or not. HOK was probably in such a bad place mentally that they just didn't care anymore, that the Shivering isles was just the best place to go.
And HOK becoming Sheo in the end will always be so tragic to me, cause now HOK has pretty much ensured they will never see Martin again. Given Sheo is immortal until someone else comes along and mantles the title.
It's kinda poetic too in a way, how you and Martin had fought against a Deadric prince, how Martin spoke about his own past with a completely different Deadric prince & now his own best friend has BECOME a Deadric prince.
And also given how Martin [temporarily] was a vessel for Akatosh [an Aedra] while HOK fully mantles Sheogorath [a Deadra] they end up on opposite ends after everything.
Then in Skyrin we see Sheo who is most likely HOK speaking to a Septim, they talk about Martin, about things that happened during the Oblivion crisis. Which is just.. Wow considering how long it's been, and how HOK has now most likely succumbed to madness. Even after 200+ years they still think of Martin, they still talk about Martin & not even going mad could make them forget the friend/lover they couldn't save.
The only person they couldn't save besides themself.
Alright rant over, sorry chat just- thinking about these tragic blorbos again.
Martin and my HOK below, my tragic lovers 💔
