Thanks @thana-topsy For Tagging Me, Such Events Are Usually A Goldmine Of Good Music.

Thanks @thana-topsy for tagging me, such events are usually a goldmine of good music.

My OCs are still largery in developement measure and I've made like 4 posts abt them but fack it lol I've got a perfect song for this occasion :3

Song: Death Magick for Adepts - Cradle of Filth

It's spectacular, a perfect background music for a badass wizard doing God-forbidden things in their dark necromancer lair. Has this profane quality that imo fits the House Telvanni.

Schisandra (my eccentric Telvanni mistress):

And bereft of compass, star or more Set out for this World's end Few at the prow, most slave below Painting coal a perfect gold

Galena (her bitter steward and metallurgist):

Blacker than the Ace of Rapes Dealt out by Death in dark-wood glades Our ship of fools, all boards handmade Sinks, dashed by seismic waves

Nzarek (I haven't introduced him yet, but he's this lil prodigial necromancer on some paintings of mine (and a son of Schisandra and Neloth)):

All damned in this inferno Where even Virgil averts his eyes From the black mass mutual gang rape Of Caesing hands and forced divides

I tag @the-sunlit-earth and I believe that everyone else I wanted to tag has already been tagged.

OCs as Lyrics

Hey all I decided to event this tag to get folks talking about their ocs and their favourite songs

Rules: Pick one of your favourite songs and assign a lyric that you think suits them, you can do as many ocs as you like!

Tagging: Since I invented this tag I get to tag everyone hehe @sheirukitriesfandom @akaviri-dovah @dirty-bosmer @thequeenofthewinter @nerevar-quote-and-star @your-talos-is-problematic @kartaylirsden @lucien-lachance @crysdrawsthings and if I missed you and you want to do this, consider yourself tagged <3

Song: Francesca by Hozier

Theodora: In any life // If I could hold you for a minute

Valeria: How could you think, darling, I'd scare so easily?

Rochelle: My life was a storm, since I was born // How could I fear any hurricane?

Sketching out some Dunmer funerary outfits, with bonus headcanons about funerary traditions below the cut. and personal insight with these characters' outfits and their interpretations of traditions.

ID in ALT, RB to Support an Artist :)

So lots of these initial headcanons are drawn from others on tesblr, I'll have links to the source if I can find the post. My own additions to the HCs are italicized until we get to funerary bits which are of my own thoughts from my special interest in after death care practices :)

(I can't remember who posted this HC but I love it extensively) The mourning colors for dunmer are white and grey, for Ash. Usage of black in mourning was introduced primarily to house dunmer by human culture influences. Red is a common secondary color, but especially for Ashlanders to represent blood and fire, as they have been met with much bloodshed and pushed to almost inhospitable volcanic regions of Morrowind that has caused a lot of death among them.

There is This hc collection by @jiubilant that features hair cutting as a show of immense grief and mourning. It began in chimer/early dunmer culture. It has persisted with the velothi, while with house dunmer it has evolved simply to cutting off a single lock, or an inch or two in general. In both cultures, the hair is burned with the body.

And @kagrenacs has a lovely HC about veils made of spider silk being very common during mourning, to give the idea that their mind is with the deceased who had passed beyond the veil. I've combined that with my own headcanon that daedric spider silk is a beautiful, strong fabric with an almost organza like weight and sheerness, but does not take to dyes very much, so it's commonly used in its plain white form. Perfect for mourning veils and other accessories.

I have my own headcanons for funerary differences between House Dunmer and Ashlanders as well. Across the board, it is often expected that the closer you are to the deceased, the more serious you must take your clothing and presentation for the funeral. There are exceptions, of course, but not frequent. For a society so entwined with death, Funerals are a very serious affair steeped in tradition.

For a House Dunmer that is not of the wealthy variety, it remains a formal event, but clothing is left more lax in how much white you wear. In wealthier families, it is much more rigid. If you don't own a mostly white ensemble you are expected to purchase or make one. The traditional funeral service is often a single day affair, but a long one. It is also typically not handled by next of kin, but guided through by the local Temple. Much of the service and memorial happens after the deceased has already been cremated. It is typically a day of fasting as well, thought a grand meal is presented at the end of service for mourners to have a small serving, the rest is burned for the deceased.

For Ashlanders, it is jointly much more steeped in tradition yet also much less formal than their House counterparts. It is a multi day affair, typically, led by the next of kin (NoK) with assistance from the Wise Woman. The deceased is often carefully washed by NoK, and either dressed in their best clothes or wrapped in fabric. Plain scathecraw fabric is a common choice, but others may opt for imported linen or cotton, or even a nice silk. A small Wake is held if the NoK wants. This is typically where people will present offerings or gifts to be burned with the deceased. Hair trimmings, food, foliage, and on occasion, hand written notes are tucked with the body. This is an informal event, where the wearing of white is not required, but can be worn if desired. Food for mourners, music, and stories of the deceased are told to honor the life they lived.

The next day the deceased is cremated in a ceremony in the community center. It is a day where mourning is expected at it's peak, as is formality and tradition. Under the guidance of the Wise Woman, the NoK light the pyre. The Wise Woman leads the ceremony, primarily, saying prayers to Azura, Mephala, and Boethiah to guide them. If they are intending to be preserved as an ancestor ghost to be called upon, that ritual happens now as well. It is a day of fasting.

The next day is when the cremains are interred into the chosen resting place and is a very small gathering. NoK, close friends, Wise Woman, and sometimes Khans. They are allowed to dress informally, but most typically do not. Wearing some form of white is expected for a few months, unless one cut their hair short. The community typically cooks a large meal to be eaten upon the mourners return.

For personal explanations of these characters' clothes. They are both Ashlanders, at the cremation of their mother, who had a very untimely death. The girl on the left (my oc Nileyransi) is wearing very traditional clothing. It was her mother's. The veil and belt are both of Daedric spider silk. She wears more red than usual out of vanity than anything else. She worries all white will wash her out, with her white hair. She has cut hair hair a few inches to shoulder length as a show of mourning. Despite being the younger of the two, she has been leading ceremonies.

The one on the left (Massara) is wearing an outfit so untraditional with black and red being it's primary colors it would almost be disrespectful, if not for that fact that their mother made it. The skirt on the belt is of spider silk, and the jacket is traditional. They have cut their hair very short as a sign of intense grieving. The jewelry is of their own choice, as there's not much regulation on that.

I know that nobody asked, but here's some Telvanni lore for all the foodies.

Before you begin this culinary journey, check out this post about ash yams it's essential.

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Telvanni Cuisine

It’s obvious that Telvanni have an extensive knowledge of fungi.  After all, they live in huge mushrooms and collect and plant numerous species from all across the Tamriel to use them in their potions. It goes without saying that their cuisine is also quite fungal. The commonfolk at Telvanni settlements as most of the Dunmer source their protein both from fungi* and insect meat. But Telvanni nobles love nurturing peculiar worldviews and traditions that differentiate them from other races - or even other Dunmer. One of them is their distaste for anything that doesn’t grow in soil. They frown upon hunter traditions of Ashlanders and stock-raising of house Redoran and regard them as “primitive” in contrast to the delicate art of growing fungi. The alchemy ingredients are an obvious exception from this rule, but in general as their occupations don’t usually include menial work, their light and low-calorie cuisine perfectly matches their lifestyle. This resulted in traditional cuisine of the nobility being solely plant-, or more specifically, mushroom-based**, that contrasts sharply with the cuisine of Skyrim that is rich in venison and other animal-based foods***. Noble Telvanni shun debilitating ingredients such as alcohol and moon sugar in their everyday cuisine, as keeping their minds sharp is their main priority. In order to get an indulgent sweet taste marshmerrow is used instead. Telvanni rarely import vast quantities of vegetables from other provinces as house Hlaalu does. They use commonly grown foods like saltrice, ash yams or mushrooms as the base ingredients of the dishes. In some aspects they prefer to stick to the Dunmer traditions. The nobles, though, indulge themselves in expensive imported berries - not only because of their magic-enhancing abilities but also because of their extravagant taste. As the Telvanni ranks feature numerous alchemists the import of alchemical ingredients is obviously very common. Telvanni chefs gradually incorporated some of the exotic spices into traditional cuisine. Especially valued are the most characterful of them that fancy up the bland taste of mushrooms, such as juniper, ginseng or garlic****. * In real life mushrooms are a rather poor source of protein compared to legumes like beans and lentil. But since there are no legumes in TES universe (at least as far as I know) let's suppose there are some protein-rich mushrooms Telvanni can plant. ** It’s also worth mentioning that I’m a Telvanni-fixated vegan ass myself so that’s a more probable reason why I made my beloved house also vegan xD *** A lovely example of that contrast you can encounter in @thana-topsy ‘s fanfic “Breathing Water”. This would nicely explain Neloth’s preference for apple cabbage stew. **** This recipe for example resembles Telvanni cuisine, it was one of the inspirations from my imaginary dishes above.

Above I’ve come up with some examples of what noble Telvanni would eat on a daily basis.

Thanks for reading that and take care :3

When I escaped the dragon and safely arrived to Riverwood Faendal was the first living being to greet me (well, except the chicken of course xD). He stood there, basking in the sunlight, waiting with his quest. In the distance loomed a vision of our forthcoming adventure in Bleak Falls Barrow.

Fic Lines! Tag Game~

Thank you to @dirty-bosmer @kookaburra1701 @elfinismsarts @friend-of-giants @mareenavee @ehlnofeh and... anyone else who tagged me that I might have missed. It's been hectic irl for me, and I haven't gotten a chance to devote a lot of time to Tumblr Tings, but this seemed like a lot of fun.

I'm gonna try to pull from "Breathing Water" and "Liminal Bridges", since I'm currently working on the latter -- so I'll include some unpublished stuff from that as well!

The rules are to share:

A line from your fic that makes you laugh

“You’re in a mood,” Neloth declared through a chuckle. “And you’re distracting me. Which is not helpful, mind you.”  Teldryn leaned in a bit closer. “Is that a bad thing?” “Shoo. Away with you.” Neloth flapped a hand at him. “Let me do my work. Unless you had a terribly important reason for coming to find me.”  “Maybe I just missed you.”  “Yes, well, absence does make the heart grow fonder. So go away.”

(from Liminal Bridges) Neloth and Teldryn's banter makes me laugh a lot.

A line from your fic that makes you sad

“I do…” Neloth began, and Teldryn jumped ever so slightly. Neloth’s voice was so ragged that he felt a little startled himself, barely recognizing the sound. He cleared his throat. “I do… feel.” He twisted the stiff bedroll between his fingers. “I do.” Teldryn said nothing, continuing to look straight ahead.  “It’s just…” He didn’t know where he was going with this, but the words were clawing their way out of him, like some kind of sick, emaciated animal emerging from a cave. “I don’t think I… feel… correctly .”

(from Breathing Water)

A line from your fic you're proud of

For a long moment, all he could see was darkness. Then, the shimmering light of his spell began to catch the edges of shapes, vague and distant. Dozens of ships, scattered like the splintered bones of giants across the ocean floor.

(from Breathing Water)

A line from your fic you think could have been better

Neloth hadn't quite gotten used to the new way of things.

(from Liminal Bridges) I actually went in and altered this line to read: "Neloth had difficulty adapting to the new way of things." but I'm still not entirely satisfied with it. Bleh... best not overthink it too much, I reckon.

A line from your fic that makes you want to punch a character

“It’s not like you even teach me,” Talvas argued. “You just use me as a–a slave.”  “I’ve owned many slaves, my dear boy. If you view the meager work I assign to you as akin to slavery, then there’s no doubt you are just as weak as I previously anticipated. You would have found yourself in shackles had you lived in Morrowind not two hundred years ago.” He sneered, beginning to turn away. “But very well. Get out of my sight. Such spinelessness is unbefitting of anyone who wishes to carry on the legacy of House Telvanni.”

(from a yet-unpublished chapter of Liminal Bridges!) I want to punch Neloth often. It's why I love him so much.

A line from your fic that makes you go 'aww'

“Cold are you?”  “Damn you,” Neloth retorted, looping a leg around one of Teldryn’s. He was as hot as a furnace and Neloth groaned at the warmth, wriggling his frozen toes beneath Teldryn’s calves.  “Aye!” he yelped, trying to jerk away. “You have icicles for feet, you bloody frost troll!” “It’s your duty as my partner to warm my feet,” Neloth argued, tugging the covers up around his shoulders and shifting down to press himself against Teldryn’s side.  “Partner, is it?”  Neloth looked up, a flicker of panic catching in his chest. He’d said that, hadn’t he? Partner. Teldryn was looking down at him with soft eyes, the barest hint of a smirk playing at the corners of his lips.  Neloth cleared his throat. “Would you prefer a different term?”   “No.” Teldryn slid further beneath the covers, wrapping a warm arm around Neloth’s waist. “No, not at all. I… I like that.” He pulled their bodies together, no longer flinching away from Neloth’s cold feet. “And I certainly need to uphold my duties.”

(from Liminal Bridges)

A line from your fic that's full of symbolism

Neloth said nothing, chewing nervously at the side of his tongue as Teldryn slipped a hand beneath his linen undershirt, running a warm, smooth palm across his sides. What on Nirn had possessed him to say ‘partner’? It was supposed to have been harmless banter; their usual back-and-forth. Now, the future stretched before him in branching uncertainty, sprouting delicate buds of possibility that could so easily be clipped or stunted by the cold.

(from Liminal Bridges) A continuation from the scene that "makes me go 'aww'". Honestly it took a while to pick a snippet. I write in unintentional symbolism all the time, or so it's been pointed out to me lol. That, and I love metaphor.

A line from your fic that contains an Easter egg

“For now, we need to try to talk our way out of this. I don’t think I’ll be able to cast any time soon.”  Teldryn let out a low chuckle. “Well, luckily, that’s something I can do.” He unstrapped his bracer and pulled his right glove off. On his middle finger sat a glimmering ring – a moon and star. “I can be incredibly convincing.”

(from Breathing Water) The Moon and Star ring has a charisma boon -- it fortifies personality and speechcraft LMAO.

A line from your fic that's shocking

He looked down at his own body and a wave of sickness washed over him, coupled with the feeling that what he was seeing couldn’t possibly be real: a sword protruding from the center of his stomach.

(from Breathing Water)

A line from your fic you want to talk about more

Agatha huffed a laugh under her breath, removing an empty alembic and replacing it with a kettle on her alchemy workbench. “Your charisma is one of your greatest strengths, Mister Sero. You would make a good diplomat.” “I beg to differ,” he scoffed. “Look at all the good it did me in the First Era.”  A sudden coldness settled behind his breastbone at his own words. An odd slip-up. He’d taken great care throughout his life to separate himself from Nerevar. The phantom memories that came to him in dreams, the loyalties he couldn’t seem to shake, the opinions that seemed to spring from his head fully formed, as if crafted by decades of experience… No. It was the result of knowing his history—knowing Morrowind’s history. Teldryn Sero and Indoril Nerevar were not the same person. To imply otherwise was too frightening.

(from an unpublished future chapter of Liminal Bridges!)

The difference between past Topsy writing Breathing Water and current Topsy writing Liminal Bridges, is that I've actually PLAYED Morrowind now and have a lot more insight into the whole Nerevarine business. And I really wanted to dig a little harder into Teldryn's relationship with being the Nerevarine, specifically what that means for him psychologically. I know there are 100 different ways to spin the reincarnation, but I've settled on the shape of "He's literally just Nerevar".

I tag @vidvana @trickstarbrave @tkwritesdumbassassins @daedrabait and anyone else who wants to jump in and hasn't already been tagged!

https://youtube.com/shorts/AVQ3XsIQfC8?feature=share3

Meloth

This is canon