So, I think of it like this. Paarthunax, the blades, and everyone else tells you dragons have a natural instinct to conquer. And Paarthunax decided to conquer himself.

My favorite TES theory is that the player is Lorkhan getting reincarnated to wander the world he created over and over again, attempting to hold it all together

“I’m sick of them putting Skooma in the water and making the friggin Mudcrabs gay” - Alexious Jonesius, Imperial ‘Theorist’ circa. 4th Era

Of course Fallout and Elder Scrolls are in the same universe! It's quite simple really. The Godhead goes to sleep after a dark fantasy movie marathon, then dreams up a crazy fantasy world. The next night, he watches tons of World War II and Cold War documentaries, then dreams up a crazy alternative timeline of the earth. On night three, he watches Star Wars, then dreams up an over massive and barren galaxy. BOOM! Bethesda!

4:46 miraak didn't play the main quest, because Herma mora gave him the forbidden knowledge of mods

"miraak never played his main quest" bro lmfao

Alduin had to be stopped not because he wanted to destroy the world and start new Kalpa. He had to be stopped, because he went away from his fate path and wanted to simple rule as dragon king.

Odahviing and many other dragons see "The Way of the Voice" as "tyranny" not because Paarthurnax himself is a tyrant, but because it's a violation of what dragons are by nature. Paarthurnax personally claims that Alduin needs to be defeated because he became corrupted with greed and didn't destroy the world, so Paarthurnax does want the world to be destroyed, either way he would live on into the next Kalpa. If you want to make this theory make sense, it would be that Paarthurnax is still ultimately loyal to Akatosh, who does want the world to end, so if you do not want the world to end, Paarthurnax is your enemy.
On the other hand, the far more likely theory is that The Last Dragonborn is Ysmir, the bodily reïncarnation of Akatosh, which means his actions are ultimately guided by Akatosh's will, which means The Last Dragonborn also serves to bring an end to the world. Him and Paarthurnax are thus natural allies.

And if you want to get into Schizo territory, we know that the Thalmor want to collapse the pillars of reality in order for them to become gods, but the Thalmor ultimately serve Auriel as well, which basically means that Auriel/Akatosh has multiple plots going on at the same time to bring an end to the current Kalpa, which has already lasted much longer than it should have. At the moment everything seems to be set up for the Thalmor to become the ultimate villains, but what if the great enemy was in fact Akatosh playing both sides all along.

Paqrthunax didn't keep dragonrend to himself, dragons are utterly incapable of understanding dragonrend and therefore he can't reach you it, and the greybeards don't teach it because it is a word forged through hate and revenge, which the dragon toung isn't inherently evil or hateful. You needed the elder scroll to see back in time to hear one of the warriors say it themselves to get it because the only people who know about it either don't understand it or never learned it

22:30 An orc who believes he's a dwarf and is obsessed with their ruins and artifacts is a great playthrough idea.

Falmer counterpoint: nothing says the falmer are a unified force; if anything they fight with each other more than the surface. Surface dwellers don’t come down often enough to necessitate choke points and weaponry in their own camps, but rival Falmer would always be a threat

13:35

From my understanding of Skyrim's main quest, Paarthurnax doesn't seem particularly bothered about the potential end of the world. In fact, a conversation I remember having with him involves an argument in favor of the fact by dint of it being the natural order. Of course, we as the player can contest it with "The next Universe will have to take care of itself", but that's neither here nor there.

The point is, knowing this, I don't believe that Paarthurnax would betray Alduin out of self preservation. Additionally, I was led to believe that Alduin was shunning his duty as the world eater, choosing instead to reign over the current world as opposed to helping to prepare for the next.

Ehh people already wrote plethora about Partysnax but for me personally the most compelling proof of him not playing some sort of shady long term goal was when I actually decided to listen to Delphine. Partysnax had many dragons around yet when you announce your decision to end him, he quite literally doesn't move a muscle. He does accept the fact that his past sins may also be atoned by his death.

I may be totally wrong, but i believe the Prisoner is not aware of the Godhead, rather the Prisoner is a cosmic force not bound by fate, the only person in a given moment to be able to say “maybe” to the universe and defy the Godhead’s dream.
I believe knowing you are in a dream is more in line with CHIM

"Paarthunax acted out of self-interest to survive¹, since Alduin was going to destroy the world²"

1 - Dragons are immortal. And, by virtue of being metaphysically linked to Akatosh, are eternal. They, by nature, can't comprehend mortality. That's being the very reason that Paarthunax couldn't teach the Dragonborn the Dragonrend shout. A creature that cannot die* cannot have survival instincts.

Even looking at the Aurbis as cyclical thing, there's no reason for the dragons to fear the end of the world. I mean the son of the admin has "Devourer of Worlds"*² in his birth certificate.

2 - The dragon wars started with a human rebellion against their dragon overlords. Which implies that the Dragon Cult was some form of governance. With this in mind, and the fact that Dragons naturally seek to dominate and conquer, i really don't think that Alduin was going to destroy the world. He pretty much would try to conquer it.

*With the exception of a Dragonborn, but even considering that Alduin and the dragons knew about the DB, there was none in the Dragon Wars.

*²And in both cases, Alduin betrayed his purpose of Devouring the World, either as a natural disaster or a inevitable part of the cycle, since he enjoyed ruling more than destroying.

But in the event that he indeed were to destroy everything, that doesn't change anything for Paarthunax, since y'know, immortality and all'at.

It’s only natural for a dragon to call the Parthurnax’s way of the voice “tyranny”. No dragon would willingly become a pacifist, it goes against their very nature. Forcing such an ideology on them would easily be viewed as tyrannical.

Fortunately Par doesn’t emphasize it’s strength or power, but it’s “rightness”, showing that he does truly believe in it.

14:00 technically, Paarthurnax didn’t teach the dragon born dragon rend, he actually says that he can’t possibly know it. We have to learn it from the elder scrolls.

One extra funny thing about Miraak as a potential Prisoner: He was only stopped on Nirn by one uktra strong dragon priest. Vahlok. Vahlok the JAILER!!!!!!

To add on to the Elder Scrolls and Fallout theory, I believe Michael Kirkbride intended Pelinal Whitestrake to be a robot (possibly from the future/past). This was also used as a base for the Fallout Theory.

Regarding the Fallout theory I think it’s another example of how people often conflate fun easter eggs with actual references and connections. Assassin’s Creed is a good example of this, there’s a difference between a clear case of connectivity with Watch Dogs directly having a character appear, have their job, affiliations and actions referenced unambiguously, being killed and then that death being referenced in a later game in the subsequent AC entry, and the white robed corpse found at the foot of a windmill in a pile of hay in The Witcher 2 that’s not acknowledged any further. One is thought out connectivity and the other is a fun nod you’re not supposed to pay any more mind to than the brief amusement you feel on discovery.

At a certain point shared universe theories based on silly fleeting references feel like just saying because Marvel has an infinite multiverse technically every single piece of fiction exists in the MCU