Characters I'm Obsessed with #4: Lucien Lachance (Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion)

     I've said previously that M'aiq the Liar is the most interesting character in the Elder Scrolls series, but he certainly isn't my favourite character. In fact, he is probably 3rd on the list, with Lucien Lachance at #1 and Sheogorath at #2. In this post, I'll be covering Lucien Lachance, because the emotions are fresh from just finishing the Dark Brotherhood questline in Oblivion. Given that the Dark Brotherhood is my favourite "guild" in Oblivion and Skyrim, I will also go through what the Dark Brotherhood is about.

The Dark Brotherhood
Overview
     The Dark Brotherhood is a guild of assassins shrouded in shadow and mystery which has been active all over Tamriel. While their business is certainly not legal, their existence has typically been tolerated or ignored. Whenever an individual with legal authority takes an interest in their dealings, the Brotherhood relies upon a combination of bribery, blackmail, coercion and murder to keep their activities hidden. They have been bitter rivals of the Morag Tong since the Second Era. The Brotherhood is also known for their worship of the Dread Father, Sithis. Dark Sisters are accepted into the Brotherhood as equally as Dark Brothers.

Organisation

     Like any organisation, the Dark Brotherhood has some rules that all members must abide by, though the demand to adhere to them can vary with leadership. These interrelated rules are the Five Tenets: members must never dishonour the Night Mother, betray the Dark Brotherhood, disobey or refuse to carry out an order from a superior, steal the possessions of a Dark Brother or Dark Sister, or kill a Dark Brother or Dark Sister. Breaking one of these tenets invokes the Wrath of Sithis, which, it is rumoured, is not just a turn of phrase.

     In contrast to the Morag Tong's veneration of the Daedric Prince Mephala, the Brotherhood worship the Void - Sithis. However, they see their murders as more of a business, viewing their duty through the lens of economics rather than religion and honour. They are frequently viewed as being more pragmatic than the Morag Tong. These differences have caused bitter enmity between the two organisations.

     The leader of the Dark Brotherhood is the mysterious, elusive Night Mother. Some stories suggest that the current Night Mother is the ghost of the first, who became the wife of Sithis and murdered their five chidlren in his honour. Others say that the title is merely an honorific given to the current leader. Some even consider her to be none other than Mephala. Regardless, the most well-known and infamous method of acquiring the services of the Brotherhood is by performing the Black Sacrament, a profane ritual that purportedly allows those who perform it to be heard directly by the Night Mother. The Ritual involves stabbing some actual body parts (including a heart, skull, bones and flesh) within a circle of candles using a dagger rubbed with the petals of a Nightshade plant while whispering the plea, "Sweet Mother, sweet Mother, send your child unto me, for the sins of the unworthy must be baptised in blood and fear." Next in the command hierarchy is the mysterious Black Hand, which is composed of a Listener and four Speakers. The Listener, of course, listens to the Night Mother and relays her orders to the Speakers, who then dispatch a Brother to make specific arrangements and carry out the murder. Their identities are kept well-hidden, even within the organisation.

     For much of the Brotherhood's history, they have had a special relationship with Argonians, who form a special sect within the Brotherhood known as the Shadowscales. The Brotherhood usually recruits by directly contacting murderers who show promise, but in the Argonian homeland of Balck Marsh, those born under the sign of the Shadow are taken at birth and presented to the Dark Brotherhood. A Shadowscale hatchling is trained in the arts of stealth and assassination and lives a service to the might kingdom of Argonia. Any Shadowscale to comes of age is accepted into the Dark Brotherhood as a full member. If a Shadowscale deserts the Dark Brotherhood, the penalty is death. This tradition died out in the Fourth Era, following the war on Argonian lands.

Lucien Lachance

Overview

     Lucien Lachance is one of the four Speakers in the Dark Brotherhood in Oblivion, i.e. the Fourth Era. He is the character to induct the player into the Dark Brotherhood after a murder committed by the player. The murder must be conducted on a non-hostile character, after which the notice "Your killing has been observed by forces unknown..." will show on your screen. After sleeping in a safe location, Lucien Lachance will approach your character.

     Lucien Lachance is debatably the main character in the Dark Brotherhood's questline, considering the plot of a tragedy. The story line ends with his death, unfair and unjust, but the conflict is resolved. His memory is passed on into the future, 200 years into the timeline of Skyrim, where he becomes the Spectral Assassin, who can be summoned to help the player. The entire event was known as the Incident of Mathieu Bellamont.

Lucien's Story
     Lucien Lachance, an Imperial assassin, was a Speaker for the Black Hand of the Dark Brotherhood in the late Third Era. He was killed in 3E 433 (i.e. the 433rd year of the 3rd Era).

     In his youth, Lucien travelled to Skyrim and visited the city of Riften. He was once in possession of the Blade of Woe, which eventually became an artifact of the Brotherhood. He became the Speaker for the Cheydinhal Dark Brotherhood sanctuary in the region of Cyrodiil (seat of the Empire, homeland of the Imperials) when the previous Speaker was killed while fulfilling a contract. He took up residence in the abandoned Fort Farragut just outside the city and was responsible for recruiting new members to the sanctuary. He was also the one to order the Purification of the sanctuary in 3E 433 when the Black Hand discovered that the Brotherhood had been infiltrated by a traitor. He named the assassin who carried out the Purification the Silencer (i.e. the player), to replaced his previous Silencer, who had died carrying out a contract. He passed on his undead Daedra horse, Shadowmere, to the new Silencer.

     His Silencer was subsequently manipulated by the true traitor, Mathieu Bellamont. The Silencer then systematically assassinated half the Black Hand, and, unknowingly, framed Lucien as the traitor. By the time Lachance had stopped his Silencer, Ungolim, the Listener of the Dark Brotherhood, had already been slain. Lachance went into hiding while his Silencer attempted to clear his name, but the remaining members of the Black Hand tracked him down to an abandoned farmstead at Applewatch and murdered him. His Silencer took his place as Speaker, and was later named Listener by the Night Mother when Bellamont attempted to destroy her and failed. The Night Mother would later clear Lucien's name.

     In death, Lucien went to the Void to join Sithis, the Dread Father of the Dark Brotherhood. In 4E 201 (i.e. in Skyrim), his spirit was bound to the new Listener of the Dark Brotherhood. He could be summoned as a spectral assassin, to aid the Listener in combat or offer advice.

     I cannot think of another video game character that I had more emotional attachment to besides Lucien Lachance. His entire story is incredibly tragic but all the way till the end, he stayed loyal to his belief. The Dark Brotherhood is an evil organisation, yes, but it's members, especially Lucien, show a devotion to their "religion" that is seen only in the priests of the Nine. Despite all the wrongs done to him, dying in utter unfairness and stripped of all dignity, he continued to believe in the Night Mother and Sithis, coming to serve him in the after life.

     The story of Lucien Lachance and Mathieu Bellamont happened before the player entered the Dark Brotherhood. In Mathieu's youth, his mother had been killed by Lucien, who had been assigned to complete the contract given to the Dark Brotherhood by Mathieu's own father. In his rage, Mathieu blamed his mother's death on Lucien and vowed to kill him. After reaching adulthood, Mathieu was recruited by Lucien into the Brotherhood, who took pride in him and groomed him into an assassin. Lucien had no idea the fate that awaited him.

     

     His death came as a shock for players. While Archmage Traven of the Mages' Guild had also died, his death was more honourable. In the Mages' Guild questline, Traven sacrifices himself by binding his soul into the Black Soul Gem and ultimately led to your victory over the Necromancer Mannimarco. Lucien's death was nothing like that.

     Your player, in his/her stupidity, could not tell that her dead-drop contracts were switched, even though while playing, I saw the change in handwriting. Unknowing, she betrayed the Speaker she had sworn her life to serving, leading to his death. In the Dark Brotherhood, every Speaker has a Silencer, who is his personal assistant and favourite assassin. With all that trust given to your player, you realise that you had betrayed your Speaker unknowingly and strive to undo your mistakes. However, before you could show up at Applewatch Farm with the evidence proving Lucien's innocence, your Speaker was already dead.

     You reach Applewatch Farm, heart-pounding and shivering, riding on Shadowmere through the rain. You push open the door to a gruesome sight - a mutilated corpse hanging upside-down from the roof, the guts removed methodically, flesh torn, beheaded - clear signs of torture. You wish, in the depths of your heart that it wasn't true. And then the Altmer (High Elf), Arquen comes up to you to tell you not to worry, for the traitor has been gotten rid of. You realise with a plunging feeling that the corpse was that of your Speaker, who even in his last moments could not find peace. Arquen then tells you that she had feasted upon the flesh of the Speaker and for a moment, you wanted to turn around and stab her through the heart with your dagger. 

    Denial flooding you, you follow blindly through with the quest until you reach the Night Mother's crypt at Bravil. Nothing mattered anymore. Mathieu Bellamont, the bloody traitor, was next to you, but you were too late. Lucien was dead. When Mathieu pulled out his sword and you couldn't do anything but watch as he killed the other Black Hand members, except Arquen, you finally snap and murder him. You didn't feel any relief. Lucien was already dead, his body forever left to rot in Applewatch Farm.

     The Night Mother comes to you, congratulating you on fulfilling your fate. She tells you it is all meant to be and you cannot help the traitorous scream in your head - "Was Lucien meant to die? He was so loyal to you and you just sent him to die?" She names you Listener and you want to spit on that title. Do you care for leading the Dark Brotherhood? Do you care for the Dark Brotherhood at all? Lucien was dead. Lucien was what defined the Dark Brotherhood and without him, it never felt the same again. You walk into the Cheydinal sanctuary months later, new recruits everywhere, Arquen greeting you as Listener, but you just wanted to be Lucien's Silencer again.

Going into Skyrim

     And then a few days later, I pick up Skyrim and the moment I heard about the boy trying to summon the Night Mother, I rode to Windhelm faster than I have ever done anything. When the letter came to me, from a stranger in a black cloak with the words "We Know", there was a skip in my heart and I took the first carriage to Falkreath and into the Dark Brotherhood sanctuary. As you approach the Black Door, it whispers "What is the music of life?" and you reply "Silence, my Brother" and it was so reminiscent of Oblivion ("What is the colour of night?" "Sanguine, my Brother.").

     Imagine my disappointment when I walk in to see Astrid and the nonsense she made of the new Dark Brotherhood. Apparently before the Empire in Cyrodiil fell to the Thalmor forces, the sanctuary in Cyrodiil was raided. The last remaining sanctuary was, ironically, Cheydinhal sanctuary and the only survivor, Cicero, was travelling to Skyrim with the Night Mother's body. I wanted to scowl at the mention of the Night Mother, but what I scowled at more was Astrid's denial of the "old ways". Becoming the last remaining leader of the Dark Brotherhood, she began tearing apart the old traditions of the Brotherhood, denying the existence of the Night Mother. Is this what was left of the organisation? Is this what was left of the beliefs that Lucien died protecting?

     Lucien's death made me upset for weeks, but Astrid's death made me happy. In her dying moments, her words redeemed her at least, in my opinion:

     "I just wanted things...to stay the way they were. Before Cicero, before the Night Mother. Before...you. I thought I could save us. I was wrong. But you're alive! So there's still a chance. A chance to start over, rebuild. That's why I did...this. Don't you see? I prayed to the Night Mother. I am the Black Sacrament. I'm saying that you were right. The Night Mother was right. The old ways...they guided the Dark Brotherhood for centuries. I was a fool to oppose them. And to prove my sincerity. I have prayed for a contract. You lead this Family now. I give you the Blade of Woe, so that you can see it through."

     The bitch has the Blade of Woe! How Lucien's famous ebony dagger ended up in HER hands is outrageous. That blade was given to his Silencer, one of the only memories my character in Oblivion has of her Speaker. How dare that bitch take it?

My Fanfictions

     It may be overreaction, but I simply adored Lucien Lachance. A lot of my fanfictions revolve around the relationship between my character and Lucien and it isn't pointless smut. My character often take the role of an orphan, who spent her entire life fending for herself following the death of her parents. One incident ended up with a dagger held in her end, through a man's heart. Lucien Lachance was what came next and with him, he brought a Family, one not related by blood, but one she held dear. When she was ordered to purify the sanctuary, she could not disobey and carried out the murders as her heart broke. On the one hand, she blamed Lucien, but on the other, she clung onto him desperately - him being the last of the Family she was given. 

     Sometimes, I extend the fanfiction, the main character being a Mer and thus her ability to live beyond a thousand years. Following the death of Lucien, she could no longer stand the Dark Brotherhood, everything reminding her of him. She leaves under the protection of Nocturnal (my character is usually the Gray Fox of the Thieves' Guild) and ends up serving the Imperial Legion instead.

     After being posted to Skyrim to deal with the Stormcloak uprising in the Fourth Era (Skyrim timeline), she also becomes the Archmage of the College of Winterhold as well as the Guildmaster of the Thieves' Guild (due to Nocturnal's favour). While patrolling the Thieves' Guild territory of Riften one night, she is ambushed by an assassin, who she catches off-guard. He reveals himself to be the Listener of Skyrim's Dark Brotherhood and old memories are awoken. Unknown to her, the Listener is accompanied by a Spectral Assassin, invisible to all but his summoner. Lucien's spirit almost recognises her, but rejects the notion, believing that it was too much of a coincidence.

     It turns out that the Listener was under command by the Night Mother to hold an alliance with the Thieves' Guild, in preparation for a disaster unknown to the Listener. My character agrees to the agreement on the terms that the Listener follows her to Cyrodiil, in search of an Elder Scroll in the Imperial Palace. The Listener rejects at first, but is tempted by an offer to obtain a Seer's Orb, that would give the Brotherhood the protection they need against future events. As the two travel around Cyrodiil, my character's past is slowly revealed as her hidden identity comes to the surface. For example, while searching around Cheydinhal, she lets slip her knowledge of a hidden place underneath a boarded up house - the location of Cheydinhal sanctuary.

      The ending is fluffy, yes, but not after a lot of disaster. After discovering that she was the Listener who abandoned the Brotherhood centuries ago, the current Listener attempts to kill her while Lucien materialises to confront her. Lucien himself tries to kill her, thinking that she had betrayed him once more in betraying his teachings. However, she redeems herself by bringing them the Seer's Orb, but vows never to return to the Dark Brotherhood because even after 200 years, she cannot get over her Speaker's death.

      Did I mention? This guy has a gorgeous voice. Seriously, there's two kinds of deep voices - the extremely...arousing one, like the one that Lucien has, and then there's the very boring deep voice that everyone else has. Honestly, that pitch...it's not fair Bethesda! You can't create a character so bloody perfect and then kill him off!

Characters I'm Obsessed with #3: M'aiq the Liar (Elder Scrolls)

     I realised that I haven't done one of these for a long, long time and I actually have quite a few characters I want to talk about. Since I'm already done studying for this week (by cramping everything into the weekends in anticipation for a busy week), I'm probably just going to spend the whole day sitting here and blogging/gaming. I don't even feel like gaming today because I'm trying to clean the computer of the viruses my dad has installed. Seriously, I thought guys were supposed to be good at the computer?!

     In the Elder Scrolls universe, I have many characters I am obsessed with, mostly for very shallow reasons e.g. they look absolutely gorgeous, have amazing voice actors, have super good follower potential. However, if I have to pick one single character that I like, it has to be this obscure feline, M'aiq the Liar.

     I know that M'aiq the Liar exists in Elder Scrolls Online, but as every single fan of the Elder Scrolls series with a working brain, I will attempt to ignore the existence of that atrocity. I think if you want to understand why ESO is that bad, just watch this video from Angry Joe. He may be biased and slightly exaggerated but the points he brings up are all relevant. 

Angry Joe's Review of Elder Scrolls Online

     ESO does not have the immersiveness of a single-player Elder Scrolls game, because it's not meant to be, but at the same time, it isn't good enough to stand out as an MMO. It is by no means bad, but it isn't good. It's lacklustre and doesn't live up to the hype. It has fans of the series (those that aren't blinded by the Elder Scrolls title) wishing that instead of spending time creating this horrific abomination, we would have gotten a new Fallout already, or even Elder Scrolls VI!

     Anyway, that is completely irrelevant here, since I'm here to talk about M'aiq the Liar, Bethesda's own little easter egg character. He appears in Morrowind, Oblivion and Skyrim.

1. Morrowind
     In Morrowind, M'aiq the Liar appears as a Khajiit rogue who can be found on a small island Southeast of Dagon Fel in the Sheogorad Region. Much of M'aiq's dialogue refers to many requested or anticipated features of Morrowind, which were not included in the final release of the game.

     If anyone hasn't played Morrowind, I think it is fair to mention at this time that the game does NOT have a fast travel system. The only things that come close are the Silt Striders and Boats, which can only bring you to certain locations based on where you take these "vehicles". Therefore, before the age of gaming on the Internet, there were many who have never met M'aiq the Liar, because, well, I personally have not explored the surrounding areas of Dagon Fel that much. He was a very obscure character.

     M'aiq the Liar in Morrowind provides easter eggs in the form of conversation options. True to his name, he can also be asked for information regarding people/locations in the game, but he will always lie about it, although not in a very direct manner. His words contain only some elements of truth and he does not directly lie to you.

     I have yet to meet M'aiq in my games, because I have little use for him and it's a pain getting to Dagon Fel in the first place. As a player who usually becomes a member of House Hlaalu or House Redoran, I'm usually loitering near Balmora or Ald-Ruhn respectively. My "Mark" spell is placed in the Ghostgate so you can tell that I don't go near Sheogorad Region that often.

2. Oblivion
     Oh yes, my favourite game in the series, probably because the character I have the most emotional attachment to is in this game. That particular character's death in the game had me crying for days.

     In Oblivion, M'aiq is a Khajiit savant who gives the player opinions about the game. All of his comments are arguably serious responses to various issues in the game; however, the majority are dismissing people who point out issues in the game as stupid, unlike his earlier appearance in Morrowind where most of his statements were lies or farcical comments that did not quite address the topic in the way you would have expected.

     He starts the game just outside of Anvil (western most city in Cyrodiil) and thereafter runs back and forth between Leyawiin and Anvil. Sometimes when you leave Leyawiin or Anvil, he will be standing at the entrance or near the stables. At noon, no matter where he is, he stops and looks for calipers for about 5 hours unless he has already collected at least 20 of them. He cannot be killed because he is an Essential Character, but he is not related to any quests.

     His only topic of conversation is rumours. He will give you a different rumour each time you meet him, but he only discusses that one during the encounter. After every chat, M'aiq will run away from you along road, usually much faster than you can run (his Speed and Athletics are 100). When he runs, he follows the road South for a while and then reaches the shore. There, he zigzags along near the beach and always ends up at the Strid River. At that point, he crosses into Valenwood and you, the player, obviously cannot follow him further.

M'aiq the Liar Quotes in Oblivion

1. "M'aiq prefers to adventure alone. Others just get in the way. And they talk, talk, talk."
     A reference to the discussion about Oblivion being a multiplayer game, and limits on NPC assistance. Multiplayer is one of M'aiq's recurring topics (another anti-multiplayer easter egg might be the Adoring Fan, the creeper that follows you after you beat the Arena because all he does is get in the way and talk).

2. "M'aiq believes the children are our future. But he doesn't want them ruining all our fun."
     A reference to discussion on the forums during development about whether children should be included in Oblivion. One group wanted children to be in to add realism; the other group argued that if children were added, then you would allowed to kill them and the game would be denounced as a child murder simulator. A counter to this would be to make the children invincible, but the opposition countered saying that doing that would ruin any initial realism. This was brought up in the next instalment of Elder Scrolls, Skyrim, where children wander, all of them impossible to kill without mods.

3. "M'aiq longs for a Colovian Fur Helm. Practical, yet stylish. M'aiq is very sad he does not have one."

     A reference to the Colovian Fur Helm that M'aiq wore in Morrowind, and the first piece of armour found by many in that game (on Tarhiel's corpse). Logically, a Colovian helm should have been available in Oblivion, as the entirety of Colovia is accessible. Furthermore, the Colovian Fur Helm is not part of a full set of Colovian Fur Armour, there is no such thing - perhaps a sign of why it was left out of Oblivion.

4. "M'aiq is glad he has a compass. Makes it easy to find things. Much better than wandering around like a fool."
     A reference to how Oblivion now has Quest Compass objectives. In Morrowind, you were simply given a quest journal and through conversation, you can gain directions to your quest. However, directions are often confusing and many players spend hours just trying to figure their way out to a location that is not even marked on their map. 

5. "I don't know why one would want to destroy a building. It takes time to make it. Much time."
     A reference to the fact that Oblivion features no destructible environments. M'aiq points out the fact that it would be incredibly time-consuming for the game developers to make buildings destructible. It is also reasonable to assume that destructible environments would have a negative impact on performance.

6. "I have seen dragons. Perhaps you will see a dragon. I won't say where I saw one. Perhaps I did not."
     Dragons are idolised at the forums and everyone hoped they would make regular appearances in Oblivion, but they did not. The Avatar of Akatosh counts as a single sighting, but M'aiq prefers not to spoil your game. Of course, M'aiq may say this before the Avatar appears. Dragons exist in Elder Scrolls lore and this could be an allusion to Skyrim.

7. "People always enjoy a good fable. M'aiq has yet to find one, though. Perhaps one day."
     Perhaps a reference to how the game Fable was perceived to stack up poorly to its legendary hype. During development, Oblivion was often compared to Fable. While I do think that the first Fable was good, although no where as immersive as Oblivion, the Fable series experiences an obvious downfall, with each one getting easier and less interesting. 

8. "Feet are for walking. Hands are for hitting. Or shaking. Or waving. Sometimes for clapping."
     A reference to various complaints about limits on the ranges of uses for limbs available to the average adventurer, including the inability to kick. But why would you want to kick a goddamn Daedra? Pull out your sword and fight! Or blast it with magic. Or you could be like me and backstab it for 6x damage.

9. "I do not wish to fight on horseback. It is a good way to ruin a perfectly good horse...which is, to say, a perfectly good dinner."
     Before the release of Oblivion, the news that mounted combat would not be possible created considerable controversy in the forums, culminating a petition asking Bethesda to reconsider which included 500+ signatures. Even so, mounted combat was not included in the game. "A perfectly good dinner" is a reference to one of M'aiq's lines in Morrowind, where he states that he likes horses "especially with good cream sauce", which is itself a reference to fan complaints about the lack of horses in Morrowind.

10. "Levitation is for fools. Why would we want to levitate? Once you are up high, there is nowhere to go but down."
      Yet another feature Morrowind had that Oblivion does not are the levitation spells; jumping height was restricted as well. Oblivion's major cities are in separate cells from the world and the appropriate content (either the inside of the cities, or the wilderness outside) is not loaded if you enter a new cell without using the door. An earlier variation of this concept is found in the Morrowind expansion Tribunal, where levitation is not allowed in Mournhold.

11. "So much easier to get around these days. Not like the old days. Too much walking. Of course, nothing stops M'aiq from walking when he wants."
     M'aiq dismisses complaints over Oblivion's Fast Travel system which replaced the myriad transit systems found throughout Morrowind. This helps integrate newer players into Elder Scrolls, the ones used to Fast Travelling, while older players are still allowed to walk everywhere if they choose to do so.

12. "Some people want special bows that take too long to load and need special arrows called bolts. M'aiq thinks they are idiots."
     Reference to a heated discussion in the forums that occurred when one of the developers confirmed that neither crossbows nor throwing weapons would be included in the game. While those did add variety in Morrowind, I found them not as necessary since normal Longbows worked fine.

13. "Why would one want to swing a staff? A mace hurts more. Or a sword. Can't shoot a fireball from a sword, though."
     Since staves were blunt weapons in Morrowind, some folks didn't like it when they discovered they would only be used as "spell launchers" and not melee weapons anymore. This also applies in reverse, where melee weapons could only have "on strike" enchantments, rather than "on cast" or even "constant effects".

14. "M'aiq thinks his people are beautiful. The Argonian people are beautiful as well. They look better than ever before."
     An answer to complaints that the beast races looked better in Morrowind, and to people who do not like the "beast races". How could you like them in Morrowind though? They could not equip boots and they walk all retarded-like.

15. "Some people wish to throw their weapons. That seems foolish to M'aiq. If you hold your weapon, you only need one."
     Referring to the lack of throwing knifes, darts and stars in Oblivion.

16. "It is good that people wear clothing. M'aiq wears clothing. Who would want to see M'aiq naked? Sick, sick people. Very sad."
     A debate was launched in the forums about if nudity should be in the game or not like it was in Daggerfall -- and in fact, a minor media storm ensued when it was discovered that females Oblivion can go around bare-chested with a special mod. M'aiq also commented about this in Morrowind. It may also refer to the appearance of naked Khajiit and Argonians in Morrowind."

17. "Werewolves? Where? Wolves? Men that are wolves? Many wolves. Everywhere. Many men. That is enough for M'aiq."
    Another widely expected feature was were-creatures since werewolves made a stellar appearance in Morrowind's expansion "Bloodmoon". Because of development time related issues, they were not in Oblivion.

18. "M'aiq wishes he had a stick made out of fishies to give you. Sadly, he does not."
     This is a reference to the Fishy Stick meme on the official forums.

3. Skyrim
     M'aiq the Liar is a Khajiit well-known for his (often humorous) comments on the Elder Scrolls series, as he has also appeared in both Morrowind and Oblivion. He will make witty comments about the game's strong points, smart remarks to common complaints about the game, or just general references to different aspects of the game. A wanderer, M'aiq may be found in a number of random areas, either around cities or roaming the wilderness. When encountered, he may say a multitide of different things. Since he is part of the "random encounters" in the wild, some players may never meet M'aiq if they do not spend time outside cities often or are just plain unlucky.

M'aiq the Liar Quotes in Skyrim

1. "M'aiq once walked to High Hrothgar. So many steps, he lost count!"
     A possible to Todd Howard's claim that he would count all 7000 steps to High Hrothgar. Also a hint that there isn't actually 7000 steps to High Hrothgar and the number is in the hundreds.

2. "Once M'aiq got in trouble in Riften, and fled to Windhelm. It is good that nobody there cared."
     Refers to crime being tracked separated for each area of Skyrim, and thus guards no longer try to arrest you for a crime you committed in another hold.

3. "It does not matter to M'aiq how strong or smart one is. It only matters what one can do."
     References to the fact that Skyrim characters have no Attributes, such as Strength and Intelligence like all the past games did. Instead, all characters have perk points in different skill trees.

4. "M'aiq does not understand what is so impressive about shouting. M'aiq can shout whenever he wants."
     Just a very simple reference to dragon shouts. I like Fire Breath, Aura Whisper and Throw Voice the most.

5. "M'aiq has heard that people of Skyrim are better looking than the ones in Cyrodiil. He has no opinion on the matter. All people are beautiful to him."
     Referencing the completely revamped and improved character designs in Skyrim.

6. "Some like taking friends on adventures. M'aiq thinks being alone is better. Less arguing about splitting treasure."
     The newest iteration of a classic quip by M'aiq, in which he criticises the popular fan complaints about the lack of multiplayer and cooperative play modes in the Elder Scroll games. Look how well ESO did. M'aiq was right, wasn't he?

7. "Don't try blocking if you have two weapons. You will only get confused. Much better to hit twice anyway."
     Reference to the impossibility of blocking while dual-wielding.

8. "Werebears? Where? Bears? Men that are bears?"
     A reference to one of M'aiq's lines of dialogue in Oblivion which referenced werewolves. This is also a reference to the presence of werebears in pre-existing Skyrim lore, which led some fans to the hope that players might be able to become werebears in Skyrim. Dragonborn adds hostile werebears as well as the ability to summon one of your own. But come on, being a werewolf is much cooler.

9. "M'aiq was soul trapped once. Not very pleasant. You should think about that once in a while."
     Referencing the soul trap spell a player can use to trap a dead enemy's soul in a soul gem.

10. "M'aiq saw a mudcrab the other day. Horrible creatures!"
     Probably a reference to criticisms that the NPCs in Oblivion would often have inane conversations about Mud Crabs.

11. "Some say Alduin is Akatosh. Some say M'aiq is a Liar. Don't you believe either of those things."
     This refers to the common notion among non-Nords that Alduin is simply the Nordic name for Akatosh, rather than a distinct deity or creature. The second sentence is in reference to how many of the random quips M'aiq has said in the past that have either come true or are easter eggs.

12. "Too much magic can be dangerous. M'aiq once has two spells and burned his sweetroll."
     This refers to "Dual Casting", which overcharges double-casted spells. Also, the "sweetroll" is a running gag occurring in many Bethesda games, being mentioned in both Elder Scrolls and Fallout games.

13. "M'aiq carries two weapons, to be safe. What if one break? That would be most unlucky."
     Referencing the dual-wielding system introduced in Skyrim. Additionally, he may also be referring to the fact that weapons (and armour) no longer wear down as they did in previous games.

14. "What does it mean to combine magic? Magic plus magic is still magic."
     This and the next line reference changes to the magic interface. This refers to pre-release talks that the new dual-wielding system might also include the ability to combine spells, a feature that is not present in the game.

15. "Nords are so serious about beards. So many beards. M'aiq thinks they wish they had glorious manes like Khajiit."
     References to the possibility of adding facial hair such as beards to your character, something that was not possible in Oblivion.

16. "M'aiq is always in search of calipers, yet finds none. Where could they have gone?"
     In Oblivion, M'aiq would stop whatever he was doing at noon each day to spend five hours lloking for calipers, which do not appear in Skyrim.

17. "M'aiq loves the people of Skyrim. Many interesting things they say to each other."
     Reference to Oblivion's lack of different voice actors and diverse and fluent conversations, a major complaint of the community and critics of Oblivion. Skyrim has seen much improvement in this area.

     Yeah and there are many more quotes he has. I think he is generally a very interesting character to stumble across and I always get really excited when I see him around. I'll just ignore the dragon flying overhead and get out of sneak mode to see what he has to say this time.

     Also, M'aiq is a Khajiit and I like Khajiits a lot, especially in Skyrim. I like making a white tiger or black panther out of my Khajiit characters and they indeed look much better than in Oblivion and Morrowind.

Characters I'm Obsessed With #2: Sakamaki Reiji (Diabolik Lovers)

Sakamaki Reiji (Diabolik Lovers)
     I'm usually not a fan of reverse harems and I'm certainly not a fan of this one. I know what exactly it is about them I don't like and no, it's not because of the Shoujo category. Before I go on to explaining this preference of mine, here are some definitions for people who don't really have an affinity for anime and thus, don't understand the terms. I will be explaining other terms as I go on.

Reverse Harem: Reverse Harem is, as the name suggests, the reverse of Harem. In Harem, there is the main lead, who is always a male, surrounded by females. Thus, the opposite is true in Reverse Harem, where a female is the main character and she is constantly surrounded by good-looking men, i.e. Bishies. These men will compete for her affections for the most part, though this is not always the case.

Shoujo: "Shoujo" or "少女" is a term in Japanese that refers to girls between 7-18 years old. The genre of Shoujo in anime thus refers to any anime whose main intended audience are teenage girls. Common themes of this genre are romance, friendship, comedy, etc. with romance being the most common theme.

     To make this more interesting, instead of pointing out the character blatantly like I usually do, here's a video of the anime's opening theme. It reveals the main characters, albeit very briefly, so you can form your opinion about them first. Also, you can guess which one I like.

     In order of appearance, the male characters are Sakamaki Ayato, Sakamaki Kanato, Sakamaki Raito, Sakamaki Shuu. Sakamaki Reiji and Sakamaki Subaru.
   

     Yes, this is an anime about vampires, as you can clearly see from the fangs on Reiji. It's nothing like Twilight, I assure you, or I'd rather gouge my eyes out before I watch even a minute of this anime. 

     It doesn't surprise me at all that I like Reiji, given the anime stereotype that he fits in so well with. In fact, in anime, there is a character stereotyped accurately named "Spectacled Sadist". Reiji isn't just a Megane (Spectacled) character, but is also one of the biggest sadists. Well, all the Sakamaki brothers are sadists to some extent, but Reiji is that kind of hidden sadist, who is extremely prim and proper on the surface, but has some very, very strong sadist habits.

     Well, a little more on his character, from the Wiki page:

     "Sakamaki Reiji is the second eldest son of the Sakamaki household. Reiji and his older brother, Shuu, are the sons of Beatrix, second wife of Karlheinz, the Vampire King.

     Reiji has refined manners. Though he might have a polite, sophisticated way of speaking (which the creators describe to be "butler-like"), his words tend to come with a biting edge. He values rules and demands that they are followed by others, but he creates many strange rules. Despite how rigid he may seem, he still has some sense of humour (albeit a dry one).

     Although Reiji is the second son, he takes it upon himself to keep the house tidy, to manage household affairs, and to keep his brothers in line. His role in the family combined with his seemingly polite, gentlemanly posture often causes him to appear more like the eldest instead of his older brother Sakamaki Shuu.

     Shown by how he values rules, Reiji is a strict person towards both himself and those around him. He is an arrogant, prideful person who demands perfection and dislikes submitting to weaknesses. Though his words may be harsh, they shouldn't always be taken at face value. He is an extreme sadist, like the rest of his brothers, and his particular phrase is schadenfreude (pleasure derived by someone from another person's misfortune). Sometimes, he does or says something in order to get a reaction that amuses him.

     Along with his passion for experimenting and making potions/drugs, he loves to collect tea sets and kitchenware. His brothers sometimes use Reiji's love for kitchenware to coerce him into cooking for them by saying that they'll use the kitchen themselves - his brothers have a penchant for destroying it when they use it. Due to his love for collecting, Ayato often called him a tableware otaku."

     The problem with the anime is that, in a Reverse Harem, you would expect that at one point, every male character will have a sexual encounter with the main character. As a part-Yandere, that pisses me off.

Yandere: A combination of the words "Yan" and "Deredere", which means "Sick" and "Infatuation". Yandere refers to an anime character who is extremely affectionate, loving, merciful and gentle to the one they love, but can be brutal, psychotic and deranged. They are often easily jealous, leading to extreme acts of brutal murder.

     In other words, when I see this...

     I become like this...

     In other words, I would love to watch Diabolik Lovers to its finality, staring at Reiji the whole time with tons of fantasies in my head, but I would go batshit insane if Yui goes one step close to him. I don't know why but I have stronger Yandere tendencies towards anime characters than towards real-life people. Probably the fact that I can own an anime character in my mind, but not a real-life person. Am I Yandere? Partly. Though I can be quite Tsun too.

     Still, I really want to watch the anime, because when this happens...

Only in anime: Megane characters look good without their spectacles.

     I'm basicaly this person...

     Well, I'm basically done, so what's left is just me spamming pictures and Tumblr stuff related to Reiji.

That's basically how I felt, except that I knew that I have an obsession with Megane and sadist anime characters. Therefore, I don't feel that bad about it.

That is the face of a sadist thinking dirty, sadistic thoughts. As much as I fancy myself an S (sadist), Reiji is probably one of the few I would go M (masochist) for.

OMG, I'm officially married to Reiji! My life's purpose is fulfilled! Not.

Now that you mentioned it...*stares*...MMMM...nope, you're not the only one.

Characters I'm Obsessed With #1: Charles Xavier (X-Men)

     There are many fictional characters that I seem to have an unhealthy obsession with. Of course, more often than not, these characters are simply gorgeous men, but the obsession goes beyond appearances. There's always something about the character's personality that I admire greatly, a personality that I wish that I could have.

     I have never read any of the X-Men comics, shame, but I don't really have the time for it. Still, I guess I could call myself a hardcore movie-verse fan, because I'm literally a walking Encyclopaedia on the subject. Then again, for many things that I like - favourite movies, books or games - I pride myself in becoming such an Encyclopaedia, knowing way more than is necessary.

     One of such characters that I am unhealthy obsessed with is Charles Xavier from X-Men. Both the old and young versions, I mean. Of course, the obsession leans towards the younger version more, because he was much more relatable back then, not to mention that his actor, James McAvoy, is just bloody glorious with his stunning blue eyes.

     Did I ever mention how much of a sucker I am for blue eyes? It's to the point that it doesn't even seem like I have a choice. There's this quote I've seen online, which was meant to be a joke, but it's pretty relevant here. "A brain is an amazing thing. It starts working from the moment you are born and never stops, except when you die or when you see an amazingly attractive guy." Given that a relatively cute guy on the street can make my brain blank out for seconds (sadly these guys don't exist in school...or it's blessing in disguise), James McAvoy's blues makes me all kinds of brain-dead. Funny, because Charles Xavier is a telepath, the furthest thing from being brain-dead.

     For anyone who hasn't seen the films (shame on you), I'll try to explain Charles' character without spoiling much. 

     Charles Xavier is a mutant, which is a species that possesses superpowers due to a mutation in a certain gene (I forgot what it's called). His superpower is telepathy or the power to read minds and project his own thinking into other people's thoughts. Charles is an exception telepath, if telepaths aren't already amazing enough, whose telepathic range is extremely wide, but such powers doesn't come without a cost. Before he could control his powers, his telepathy caused him to sense and feel other people's emotions and thoughts without regulation. This meant that he constantly heard voices in his head and he felt people's pain and suffering on top of his own. Charles believes that mutants and humans should live as equals and his goal in life is to show and make this co-existence possible.

     There's the premise of my obsession with the character.

     I would think that as a telepath with uncontrolled powers, everyday of my life would be a nightmare. Despite the triviality of most of the situations I've been through, the agony I get from such situations is almost unbearable. Take that kind of pain and multiply by hundreds upon thousands, since as a telepath, you can hear other people's sadness too. When people hate you, you can't unhear it either, because their accusations sound as clear as daylight. Living in the universe of X-Men, where many humans show so much hatred towards mutants, it is inevitable that, even as a child, Charles knew and was able to see the injustice in the world and the cruelty of humans.

     Yet, when compared to Erik Lehnsherr, whose hatred of humans comes from a personal grudge, Charles is ever the optimist, always believing the best of both humans and mutants. Of course, in Days of Future Past, you see that drunken and hysteric Charles, who has turned to drugs and all, but even then, he shows care and concern for humans beyond what they deserve - considering the humans are trying to kill them and all. 

     I don't understand why many people like Magneto more than Professor X. Yes, I often like the villains more than the goody-two-shoes, but I think in the later movies that have shown Charles in his youth, you see the vulnerable side of Charles. You see his struggles, having his dreams fall apart around him and being abandoned by his only family and best friend. Yet, you think to the old Charles and how he still continues to live his dream of harmonious relationship between human and mutant.

     The key difference between him and Magneto is that Charles' hatred of anything is directed at himself, while Magneto takes it out on people around him. While Charles seems like a desperate and pitiful creature at the start of Days of Future Past when Logan just arrived, it is important to note that as much as he is abusing himself, Magneto is instead taking his brand of hatred out on humans and shedding blood everywhere. 

      It's an inspiration, really, that I draw from Charles Xavier as a character. That no matter how the world seems to be against him the whole time - destroying the school he created, Raven and Erik leaving him after Erik broke his spine with a bullet, his inability to control his overly strong telepathic powers leading him to alcoholism, etc - in the end, Charles never let go of his ideals. Magneto's ideals are very much shaped by his anger and hatred, and while Charles seems more naive (which I doubt because...he's a telepath), his ideals make him a much more likeable character.

      So it's the appearance of the character. He has beautiful blue eyes and while he is less masculine-looking than Michael Fassbender, James McAvoy has a sweeter appearance, in my opinion at least. It's also his superpower. Telepathy is by far my favourite superpower and while I understand the dangers and cost of it, it doesn't deter me from wanting a power like that. Of course, in X-Men, a telepath is also an empath, since there seems to be no distinction between reading thoughts and emotions. It doesn't matter to me if it'll make me feel the pain of others...no, that is actually a gift. 

      But more than anything, it is the personality of Charles Xavier that makes him a character that I'm just utterly obsessed with. Although I'm not going to turn to drugs or alcohol any time soon, since I'm experiencing nothing as painful as he seemed to be going through between First Class and Days of Future Past. I want to be able to hold as much faith as he has towards his dreams, so much so that even in his darkest times, they are still present within him. 

     Also, have I mentioned how as a powerful telepath, he is capable of enslaving humankind by bending their thoughts? But Charles is no such person. He uses his telepathy to understand others and guide them, but never purposefully intrudes upon others' thoughts. Perhaps once, he used to manipulate people, out of care for them, but after the events of Days of Future Past, he also came to understand that while he can guide others to a good path, sometimes they have to find it themselves. That makes me like him even more. He is a mutant with the ability to dominate the world in the blink of an eye, but attempts to achieve his goals through other less intrusive means. His high morals, present even in his darkest times, makes me like him even more.

     Charles is a character who is arrogant, as in when his younger self was first introduced, but possesses understanding and acceptance beyond a normal person's - helping and believing in humans despite all he probably knows about their hate of mutant-kind. He holds himself to high morals and never imposes his ideas on people, even though it is extremely easy for him to do so. All he has to do is to introduce that suggestion into a person's thoughts. He can even make Magneto (without his helmet of course) believe that Charles' cause is his cause, but he doesn't, because he believes in leaving other's free will intact.

     I believe I've ranted enough. Despite all the apparent dislike I have for Magneto, I do believe that Charles is probably able to make him a better person, if the circumstances were different. That's the reason why Cherik - Charles x Erik - is one of my favourite shippings of all time. Sure, there isn't romance between them in the movies, but there is a brotherly love between them that is extremely apparent. You can even see that in the first few movies, in their older selves. Take for example, these quotes from the movies.