#xanguine

[geckoodles]

A mini gift batch of Ardaka headshots for @xanguine from @xaallo !

[skxrbrand]

@xanguine​

“Choking...”

The daemon strokes his long, long beard.

“Choking is...good.”

Speaking of blood, this one smells faintly of it. Skarbrand tilts his head a bit.

“ You stink of blood, white one. Could it be that you serve the bloody god?”

[xaallo]

xanguine

"Drinking from you feels like I'm getting injected with a foreign needle in an alleyway." — you can guess

“ Being bitten by you is far more unpleasant, I can assure you.”

[luckydxy]

21, 25

Character Development Questions ;; Accepting

21. What kind of relationships do they tend to intentionally seek out versus actually cultivate? What kind of social contact do they prefer, and why?

Ara leans towards givers.  She’s unaware of this & tends to classify herself as the open-minded, or even charitable, sort but at the end of the day if you don’t have something of value on offer- she’ll drift away. This isn’t necessarily a monetary thing- typically emotional.  Her relationships tend to be one-sided as a result. With the opposite party being expected to give much more than she herself is willing or able to offer.

As I mentioned, Ara is very much unaware of this & it gets to be a strain in every relationship of any kind. She is the one who will destroy groups from the inside out. The one who will love-bomb a vulnerable soul & leave them an emotional wreck once she's tired of them. The toxic friend you have to cut out of your life if you don't want her dragging you down with her or stepping on you to get ahead. She's truly volatile at times & the danger lies in how unassuming she is. She's sweet. Generously affectionate. She can be loyal. She could remember your birthday & even save your life. It's not that she wants to hurt these people she calls friend or partner. It's that she can't stop herself. She thinks this is how relationships work.

Ara seeks out the righteous. The kind-hearted with unwavering morality. She craves the stability of their presence & the praise that they recieve as a result of their natural good nature. She tries to mimic them & blend in. Look at her friendship with Martin Septim for example : she puts on a show of heroics throughout the Oblivion Crisis to impress him. In hopes that he'll think she's like him. She wants to be like him. But deep down ? She knows she can't.

So in reality, Ara attracts & keeps company with thieves, liars, murderers & the morally corrupt. She's trapped in a vicious cycle of seeking goodness, clawing at it, & destroying it in her desperation for acceptance. Again & again until the height of her reign. At which point she at least comes to terms with the fact that she has a negative impact on most of the people around her & starts to wear it as a twisted badge of pride. Armor, even.

Ara might of had a chance to recover & learn how to interact with people in a healthy way before Sheogorath got ahold of her- but the very moment she fell into his hands it was over. The indoctrination she faced in the Isles was simply too much. She was so susceptable to his every whim & he used her needs & desperation against her. Ara thinks she came out of this situation on top, a throne isn't something to scoff at afterall, but that's a testament to how badly Sheogorath actually twisted her psyche. Years, decades, & eventual centuries of direct enabling from Haskill & the citizens of the realm only cemented the work Sheogorath had begun. By the events of Skyrim, pointedly the coming of the Dragonborn, Ara is beyond hope & a danger to all around her.

25. What do they need and want out of relationships, and how do they go about getting it?

I guess I sort of mentioned most of this in the previous question, but I'll try to briefly list specific traits she seeks out versus what she actually needs.

WANTS : attention, affection, praise. individuals who make her look good by association. individuals willing to look the other way. aka unquestioning enablers. to be the best & brightest in a room. the most loved. the most important. to always be thought of first. to be looked at as someone with a brilliant future. reverence teetering towards worship.

NEEDS : a stern but level-headed voice of reason. a stable consistent. a broad perspective. an open-minded friend. someone willing & able to tell her no or that she has gone too far. honesty. actual love rather than performative. tough love. a genuine familial bond. a priest.

[geckoodles]

Behold: a gift Zovariy from @xaallo for @xanguine !

[geckoodles]

Cuddlepile hour, for @xaallo / @xanguine / @precognitor !

[xaallo]

Redraw of one bitey boi for @secodont / @xanguine !

[skxrbrand]

@xanguine​

“The arm I consumed... It contained the blood of many creatures. Some I have tasted, some I have not.”

Skarbrand leers at Ardaka suspiciously.

“ You must have travelled many worlds to get such a mixture. How did you do it.”