#5 days later : 'by talos this cannot be happening'

[spicyvampire]

A normal serie of events to happen in 5 days

MANNER OF DEATH (2020) EP. 1 Air date : November 30th, 2020

[blossom-adventures]

Happy Birthday, Winter!

This is a birthday present for @thequeenofthewinter who has been so lovely and supportive of me and my writing since I started sharing it.

Winter, Happy Birthday! I hope you have a lovely day full of love and hugs!

I’m so happy I’ve got to know you and you deserve all the love and support you get, I hope you have a good day and enjoy what I’ve done for you, it’s a long one so I’ve put it under a “read more” (I had a good idea and ran with it ☺️ also I hope I wrote Dahlia alright, it’s my first time writing someone else’s OC)

💙😘🎂

Mara’s Light

Dear Jarl Ulfric Stormcloak, thank you for getting in touch with me, as much as I would love to help you with a birthday present for Dahlia, the only copy of ‘Mara’s Light’ that we have in the library is a first edition print that cannot and will not leave the Arcanaeum. However I have heard rumours of ancient tomes being locked away in Shalidor’s Maze, I would recommend looking there for a copy, the author was a research fellow of Shalidor after all. I can also recommend a member of the Companions for you too, I have hired her in the past to collect books for me, I’m sure she would be more than willing to help you. Best of luck, Urag Gro-shub, curator of the Arcanaeum in the College of Winterhold.

Ulfric sighed as he set the letter down on the arm of his throne, it had been 5 weeks since the Companion had left on this job, Dahlia’s birthday was tomorrow and he had nothing to give her.

“Jorleif”

“My lord?”

“If that Companion doesn’t return by tomorrow, I’ll need you to run to Ilse’s bakery to get some danishes, it’ll be better than nothing after all”

“Of course my lord, but you mustn’t lose hope, that Companion has done jobs for me throughout the war, she’s reliable, she’s probably on her way back now”

“Or… she’s lying dead in Shalidor’s Maze, you saw how nervous she looked when I told her where to go”

“She’s a Companion of Whiterun, Ulfric, I’m sure she is more than capable of doing this job”

“It’s too close for my liking, with Dahlia’s birthday tomorrow,” Ulfric sighed “I wanted it to be special… Gods know she deserves it”

The next day, Dahlia’s birthday. Ulfric was pacing, Dahlia would be down from their room any moment now. He looked down at the plate of danishes on the table, and cursed under his breath, still no sign of the Companion or the book he had sent her to retrieve.

“Ah, good morning, my love!” He froze as he heard Dahlia’s voice behind him, “are you alright?” She asked as she approached him, he turned to greet her with a warm smile and a kiss on the lips

“Good morning my love, happy birthday”

“Thank you” Dahlia looked down to the table “oooh! Danishes!” She smiled brightly as she picked up one of them, her smile faded slightly as she saw Ulfric’s, he looked sad, maybe a little annoyed “Ulfric, what’s wrong?” He sighed

“My gift for you hasn’t arrived yet” he huffed “I was hoping it would, but…” Dahlia stopped him with a kiss

“Ulfric, you didn’t need to get me anything”

“No, but I wanted to, you deserve it, my Queen”

“Jarl Ulfric!” A woman’s voice came from the doors of the palace, both Dahlia and Ulfric looked over to see a woman in her mid 30’s with black hair and reddish-brown eyes, she was wearing thick leather armour, in her arms was a large item wrapped in tanned leather.

“Companion!” Ulfric approached “you cut it fine, I was worried something had happened, is that it?”

“It is, I’m sorry it’s late I got… delayed” she explained as she handed the package to him

“Delayed?” Ulfric looked a little concerned, the Companion shook her head

“It’s… complicated, could I explain to you later my lord?”

“Of course, Jorleif will arrange the rest of your pay”

“Thank you” the Companion bowed and made her way over to the steward, Ulfric saw she was carrying a limp that she didn’t have when she left Windhelm 5 weeks ago

“Are you hurt, Companion?” He called after her

“It’s nothing my lord, I was going to the Temple of Talos once I had delivered the gift” Ulfric nodded to her before returning to Dahlia.

“Happy birthday, my love” he said as he gave her the present, she opened it and was left nearly speechless

“Oh… Ulfric…” Dahlia ran her hand along the intricate cover, Mara’s Light was carved into the leather binding “how did… Urag would’ve never parted with his copy”

“It isn’t his, I had the Companion there retrieve this copy for me” he said, nodding towards the armoured woman who was still talking to Jorleif. “And you deserve it, Dahlia. Before you say it’s too much, nothing is too much for you” he kissed her again

“I’ll have to thank you properly for this later”

“Will you?” Ulfric gave her a smirk, Dahlia kissed him on the cheek before walking over to the Companion

“Companion, what’s your name?”

“Jaina, my lady” she said with a bow

“Thank you, I’ve wanted a copy of that book for a while now” Jaina shrugged

“I’m glad I was able to help get it for you then,” she sounded a little embarrassed, it made Dahlia wonder how much gratitude the Companions would normally get when they completed a job

“Will you stay for the party tonight? Lydia and Ulfric have something planned but they won’t tell me what” Dahlia said with a glance over her shoulder to Ulfric, who acted ignorant to what she meant, Jaina went red in the face.

“I… I’d be honoured, of course, but I have nothing else to wear, and I need to see the Jarl about something… and I need to get my leg sorted at the temple and…” Jaina tripped over her words as she spoke, Dahlia held up her hand to stop the Companion

“Please, as a thank you for getting this book for me, I insist” Jaina looked a little lost for words for a moment before finally nodding

“Who am I to refuse the future High Queen”

“Excellent, come back tonight then, go and get your leg seen to, Ulfric will be gone for awhile anyway”

“Will I?” He asked as Dahlia walked back over to him and whispered something into his ear “alright, Jorleif, I’m… needed elsewhere for a while, I’ll be back later.” The steward rolled his eyes as Dahlia took her book in one hand and Ulfric’s hand in the other, leading him back towards their private chambers.

[elddansurin]

i filled out that entire got damn OC meme not once but four times for my main TES OCs because you know what? i have that power.

featuring: Gavriil, my dragonborn, Serras, the dragonborn’s weird boyfriend/travel companion, Lleris, my Nerevarine, and Gerrick, a non-vestige 2E OC who lives out the aldmeri dominion questline. this thing is long as shit behind the cut, but idc if anyone reads it, i did it for me. 

1. It’s a little unreasonable for everyone in a Middle Ages-esque fantasy to be perfectly literate, and writing with quills was considered legitimate labor! How well can your oc read and/or write? How detailed is their quest log/journal, if they keep one at all? -Gav: He's extensively literate and very well read. He keeps a pretty detailed journal going, though it's kind of a hybrid of field notes/emotions log. He does a lot of alchemical research when traveling, so he might have a few pages of notes on reagents, field sketches, etc, then another five pages of intrusive thoughts. His biggest fear is they'll be published after his death and everyone's just gonna be like "huh." -Serras: Just barely literate. He's got very childlike printing abilities, can barely spell, and struggles reading any big words. He's extremely self conscious about this. He doesn't keep any journals, but he writes letters about his adventures to his father every now and again. -Lleris: Again, quite well read. He does a lot more reading than writing, and his journaling is kind of the equivalent of writing notes on his arm. -Gerrick: I'd say he maybe has around an 8th grade reading level. He's got the core stuff down no problem, but as soon as technical jargon or anything too esoteric kicks off, his eyes glaze over.

2. How educated is your oc? Did their parents teach them, did they have a tutor or were they apprenticed to a master, or did they attend a university? What university? What are they educated in? How long did their education take? (Learned skills like blacksmithing count here too!) -Gav: Overly so. He has the education/research equivalent of phD, I'd reckon. All the best schooilng daddy's money could buy. -Serras: He was "home schooled" by a man with no resources undergoing a 30+ year nervous breakdown. So like, it's shitty that Serras is as uneducated as he is, but kind of understandable, given the situation. -Lleris: Also more or less home schooled, but at the opposite end of the spectrum. His aunt (the person who raised him), was a fucking genius. Balls-out eccentric, but a genius. -Gerrick: He was raised and educated by kind of an ensemble cast of characters, so his education is fairly well rounded and extremely based in practical over theoretical. He later joins the mages guild, but he uses that less as an opportunity to pursue higher education, but moreso a way to figure out how to sling a better lightning bolt

3. Does your oc have any kind of crafting skills that either aren’t in-game or don’t have as much importance in-game as they would in real life? (For example, can your oc sew or weave, etc? Are they skilled in any kind of art? Can they make jewelry or work glass? Are they musicians? etc) -Gav has a practical knowledge of most crafts necessary for a sad bachelor life. He can cook well enough to keep himself fed, he can patch up most of the wear in his gear, but nothing that would really impress anyone. I'd imagine, in another lifetime, he played the lute. Not sure he'd remember how at this point, though. -Serras is extremely crafty. He'd an extremely resourceful cook, he can repair just about anything, and he's a natural outdoorsman. Dude's had a lifetime of learning how to do a lot with very, very little. Art is kind of a hobby for him that he doesnt get to indulge in quite as much as he'd like. -Lleris can barely function on his own. He cannot cook a damn thing, when his clothes tear he throws them out, and he almost dies of exposure on more than one occasion. It's a sad sight to behold. -Gerrick is fond of roughin it. His life skills are exactly as honed as they need to be. Not much, but enough to keep him alive and scrappy.

4. What pantheon does your oc worship? If they worship the Cyrodiilic/Imperial pantheon, does that include Talos? If they secretly worship Talos, how do they justify hiding it?   -Gav: Pretty straightforward believer in the Altmeri pantheon. He's especially devout to Mara, though he's got a long way to go toward internalizing the whole "love yourself" thing -Serras: He's never really figured out what to believe in. Way back in the day, his family was heavily involved in House Indoril, and when the Tribunal kind of fizzled out, they were all pretty lost and not exactly stoked to go back to worshipping the "good" daedra. That more or less carried down to Serras, although he's not even aware of his ties to House Indoril or any of that Tribunal stuff. He has a learned fear of any sort of daedra, courtesy his father. -Lleris: He's pretty tight with Azura, natch. -Gerrick: Dude straight up does not care, but will absolutely pay lip service to Auri-El if it makes him look good.

5. How religious is your oc? Do they come into conflict with others over their beliefs? If their patron deity told them to do something extremely undesirable or against their moral compass, would they do it? Would your oc sell someone’s soul for a corn chip? -Gav is devout enough to have taken a shake at becoming a priest. Didn't pan out, because he couldn't deal with the pressure of being any kind of authority figure, and he's been kind of having a crisis of faith in the midst of his most recent extended nervous breakdown. As soon as he starts clearing his head again, he pretty much goes back to being pretty dang devout. -Serras is struggling to figure out his moral compass on his own. He wouldn't mind being religious, but growing up in a non-religious setting can make it hard to just start believing in something. -Lleris becomes way more into Azura worship as the whole Nerevarine thing plays out, and he would absolutely fuck things up in her name. His sour opinion of the Tribunal is absolutely influenced by Azura’s grudge. -Gerrick, again, does not care. His morals are his own, and no one's going to talk him into doing something that doesn't align with his own beliefs about life.

6. Does your oc have a family of origin? How many members of their FoO are still living? Do they have a good relationship? How much contact does your oc have with their FoO? How in-the-loop is your oc’s FoO about your oc’s being Dragonborn/HoK/Nerevarine? -Gavriil's immediate family are all still alive (except his sister, who died before he was born), and they have not been in contact in like, 200 years. None of them even know if he's still alive until a few years after the whole Dragonborn thing starts making its way back to Auridon. His parents are just kind of like "huh." and then continue to never bring him up in conversation. His younger brother eventually seeks him out to try and forge the relationship they never got to have. -Serras has a codependent relationship with his father. They love each other a lot, but their relationship was very, very unhealthy. That's the major reason why he ended up leaving home, because he finally realized the only way to heal the unhealthy dynamic was to learn how to be his own person. He has a pretty good relationship with his (maternal) aunt. His mother is still alive, and he has three half-siblings he's never met. None of them ever end up meeting. His mom never does figure out what happened to her firstborn. It is what it is. -Lleris is completely on his own at this point. His parents died when he was barely a year old, and he went to go live with his wacky aunt abroad. Those two were thick as thieves, but when she passed, Lleris was legit on his own. -Gerrick and his weird pirate family are all still on good terms. Both of his parents are still alive and although they dont see each other often, it's a grand old time when they finally do.

7. What social class was your oc born into? Did they change classes at all? How? -Gav: Super, super upper-crust. His family was nobles marrying nobles all the way back, and Gav just couldn't cut it in that world. His slump into absolute poverty is gradual, but pretty vicious. He does eventually pick himself up out of the gutter, but I'll go more into that a few questions down. -Serras: He was born into a weird, backwoods cult and spends the next 30-something years of his life living an extremely hand-to-mouth existence either in some slum or the legit middle of nowhere. Dude wasn’t exactly born into privilege. -Lleris: He was born into House Telvanni and lived a pretty well to do life until he was in his early 20s. After his aunt passed, he lived a few months as a street urchin before being arrested, then he slogs across Vvardenfell for like three years, "re-joins" House Telvanni and starts living a cushy life again, then gets tossed onto an Akavir-bound boat with a bag over his head. Takes a bit of a while before he lives the high life again after that. -Gerrick: Outlaw from birth. He was the son of the ship’s captain and her then-lover, and he was raised by the entire crew, more or less. He grows up to become, of all things, an Eye of the Queen. Yeah.

8. How politically active is your oc? Are they obviously influential, or is their influence more subtle? -Gav willfully keeps his head in the sand when it comes to politics, especially in places he doesn't think of as home. It's not an accident that he started moving further and further away from Summerset as the Thalmor became more entrenched in local politics. He absolutely does not touch the Imperial/Stormcloak tension. And honestly, even when he was at the height of his Dragonborn influence, no one wanted his opinion about the war, because not a single person in Skyrim wants to hear what an Altmer has to say about Nord politics. -Serras has a lot of opinions about the way Nords treat non-Nords, but he has pretty much no political agency. -Lleris starts out mostly entangled in Telvanni politics and helps his bff Aryon sack Gothren. He also tries and mostly fails to rub elbows with Neloth, because Neloth. Later on down the Nerevarine rabbit hole, he starts getting more and more vocal in general Morrowind politics, which culminates in him "volunteering" to go "explore" Akavir. -Gerrick, surprisingly for someone born a pirate, he canonically carries out the Aldmeri Dominion questline from ESO, so yeah he's just a little bit involved in politics.

9. What unplayable faction would/did your oc join, if any? Why? -Gav is associated with the Mage's guild, or I guess was associated. Which by the way? Bullshit that the guild was written out. But also, since I absolutely headcanon that enough of House Telvanni survives the Red Year to rebuild outside of Vvardenfell, I also imagine Gavriil worming his way into House Telvanni after he busts ass out of Skyrim. He never becomes very involved in House politics, he's more interested in going back into academia. Which he does. He more or less spends the rest of his days chillin in a mushroom house in Morrowind, writing books about levitating and shit. -Serras briefly had a stint with the Skyrim thieves guild, but he cuts ties pretty quickly because he is pretty disgusted with robbing from the poor to give to Maven Black-Briar.  -Lleris has always had ties to House Telvanni, though he does have a brief stint with the Mages Guild before they are like holy shit, please leave us alone forever. He later swings by Solstheim as an old man to bother Neloth, who is like holy shit, please leave me alone forever. -Gerrick may not actively be a pirate anymore, but he is on pretty good terms with a bunch of them.

10. How trustworthy is your oc? Would they ever change opposing factions? -Gav: He's pretty much your lawful good kind of guy. He's decently loyal, even if only due to constant, overbearing guilt. At very worst, he'll just disappear rather than fulfill an obligation, but he'd sooner die than double cross anyone. -Serras: This is a guy who's mostly looking out for himself and the ones closest to him. In otherwords, Gavriil and/or his father. Probably not wise to put too much trust into him otherwise, because he's not exactly loyal if he's not actively benefitting from the arrangement. That said, he's not too much of a double-crosser, but don't trust him not to steal from you then lie about it. -Lleris: His loyalty can be bought. He won't feel too many qualms about changing sides if it benefits him more. So far, no one's offered him a better gig than being a champion of Azura, so it'd take a lot to get him to betray her. -Gerrick: His trustworthiness is super situational. He's in tight with Ayrenn, because you can't get much better than being the queen's go-to guy. He's smart enough to know not to betray her or the people involved with her. For the average person that he meets? Might be best to sleep with your eyes open around him. Patty is pretty much the only other person he wouldn't stab in the back at the drop of a hat. Outlaw roots, and all.

11. What is your oc’s main source of income, if they have one besides plundering tombs and adventuring? If they’re mercenaries, are they part of a company? Does your oc own their own business, and if so, what is it? -Gav has no source of income. Most of what he earns in his time in Skyrim is from acts of charity. For a few months, he pulls a legit job copying old texts for a bookseller in Solitude, but that only lasts as long as his precarious mental state will allow. Apart from that, he's pretty reliant on Serras's money. -Serras steals almost impulsively. He doesn't exactly keep a steady income, but its enough to keep both him and Gavriil in good supplies. Mostly. That they're both living off the land a lot does help. -Lleris does a lot of odd jobs where ever he goes. That and he has a bit of a history of pawning high ticket items that don't exactly belong to him. Keep your eyes on your soul gems when he’s in your house. -Gerrick lives the high life when he's actively working for the queen, but between Queens Eye stints, he's mostly earning a mercenary's salary. And he picks a lot of pockets. Why do I have so many thief-y characters?

12. Is your oc good with finances? Bartering? How long can they keep the money they make? -Gavriil: Not at all. At least not anymore. His parents never really taught him the art of finance to begin with, and his whole "functional" alcoholism thing makes it a bit hard to hang onto his money. He does get a bit better with time, but it DOES take time. -Serras: He's very good at knowing what things generally cost. Not worth the risk of stealing something that doesn’t get a good return. -Lleris: He can spend pretty loosely, but he also earns a fat cut with all the daedric weapons he gets his hands on. Him and that mudcrab merchant are pretty familiar with each other. -Gerrick: Generally earns a lot more than he spends. His standard of living is not particularily high, so even when he's "living large," he's not living THAT large.

13. Does your oc have any particular rivalry or mutual dislike with any NPC? -Gavriil has a really reluctant relationship with Delphine. He doesn't particularily respect her, and she's not impressed with who he is and who he chooses to be. That said, they do both realize they have some level of dependence on each other, right up until Delphine gives him the ultimatum about New BFF Paarthunax. After that he's like "lol bye" and they never see each other again. -Serras hates pretty much everyone in Skyrim for some reason or another, but they're all extremely one-sided relationships, because no one knows who the fuck he is. -Lleris is in the shit with virtually everyone in the Mages Guild, as well as anyone in every other great house. Both because of his connections with House Telvanni and, well, Lleris can be hard to be around sometimes. -Gerrick had always had a bad feeling about Estre and the fucking second she shows her ass, Gerrick's all “I FUCKING KNEW IT.” Estre wishes Gerrick would just die because who the HELL is this half-Maormer pirate asshole who's suddenly playing way too big of a part in Summerset politics.

14. How well-liked is your oc? What is their reputation, if they’re well-known? Are they simply liked/disliked, or are they respected but feared, or personally liked but not taken seriously, etc? Do major factions consider your oc an important player? -Gav: People have such mixed reactions to him. They usually hear about him well before they meet him, and at first they're like oh shit!!! Dragonborn!!!! Then they meet him and they're like uuuh he's a weird homeless dude with blatant unaddressed trauma. Kind of wish he wasn't the one who was going toe to toe with all these dragons. -Serras: Who? -Lleris: House Telvanni loves him. Except for like, Gothren, who gets killed by him. And Neloth, who never did get that robe of drake's pride. And Dratha. As for the rest of Vvardenfell, people start slowly warming up to him as he becomes more certifiably Nerevarine. Then they get real sick of him again. -Gerrick: His reputation is tied firmly with how someone feels about Ayrenn. If they like her, then Gerrick is unconventional but damnit, he gets the job done. If they oppose Ayrenn, then Gerrick is symbolic of everything that's wrong with Ayrenn and her foreign policy.

15. Does your oc have a horse/other mount? A pet? How did they get this animal? If they were given the animal, do they have the money to maintain it? How careful/careless are they with their animal? What do they do with their pets while adventuring, especially on dangerous quests? -Gerrick is the only one, and he has a giant stag mount that kind of comes and goes. He also has a constant clannfear familiar, which is, you know, conjured.

16. Does your oc take their time as they travel, or are they purposeful? How do they survive in the wilds, especially if they aren’t hunter-types? How dependent is your oc on civilized society? -Gav and Serras both spend ample time in the wilderness, even if civilization might be available. Gavriil enjoys keeping a low profile more and more as the whole Dragonborn affair goes on, and toward the end, he's keeping his head down as much as possible. Serras is fine with it because that's just what his life's like. -Lleris makes a beeline from town to town and will take silt striders whenever possible. He doesn't know how to hunt or dress game, he can barely pitch a tent, and more often than not will just sleep on the bare-ass ground like an idiot. Again, he has almost died of exposure on more than one occasion. -Gerrick could disappear into the wilderness for months and be just fine. He could be equally fine spending months in the middle of a major city. He's flexible.

17. What does your oc like to eat? How much food do they eat? Can your oc cook, and can they do it well? -Gav used to be a super picky eater in his earlier years. Now he'll eat anything that'll keep him alive. Too much grain alcohol has dulled his sense of taste. He knows how to decently fire-roast small animals, but he's not exactly an inspirational cook. -Serras is a fan of good food. One of the biggest inspirations for him teaching himself how to cook was so that he could eat good food on the reg. He can make a little go a long way, in terms of quality of ingredients. -Lleris is the kind of guy who'd burn spaghetti. -Gerrick is a pretty decent cook. His specialty is hearty campfire shit like stews and chowders.

18. What does your oc wear in the city/settlements? In the house? When travelling, but not adventuring or expecting combat? Do they vary their clothes depending on what hold/city they’re in? If they don’t, why not (e.g., if your oc wears the same outfit to tend their garden or lounge around the house as they did to meet Ulfric or Elisif, why?) Does your oc have a good or bad sense of fashion? How many clothes does your oc have? -Gavriil has one outfit, the same tunic and threadbare enchanted robe he's worn for the past dozen or so miles. It's all he's got, babey. -Serras has more outfits than you'd expect from the kind of guy who lives out of a tent 10 months out of the year. He likes to look cute. Also, he's almost always wearing a scarf, because he's pretty sure that's just what Dunmer do. -Lleris's outfit of choice is flowing, elegant mage robes, daedric boots, and pretty much nothing else. Naked under your robes seems like a pretty Telvanni thing to do, if we're being honest here. -Gerrick wears roguish pirate garb fairly often during the adventure phase, but he does have some fancy threads when he's in the company of royalty.

19. How picky is your oc about their gear? Do they have different equipment for different adventures, or is it the same suit of armor for everything (not counting upgrades like from steel to ebony)? -Gav, again, has one outfit. He does swap out his tunic after one is shredded/absolutely drenched in his own blood, but the robe has been with him for years at this point. He cannot be assed to enchant a new one. -Serras is not particularily picky about what his kit looks like. He's usually fine with a bit of leather armor, but he opts for pauldrons more often than not as, again, he's convinced that's just what Dunmer do. -Lleris won't wear it if it's not cute. -Gerrick is surprisingly discerning about his gear. He has a very high standard for what his weapons should look like, and everything needs to be properly enchanted if he's gonna be using it.

20. How does your oc acquire their clothes, and from where/whom? -Gav's robe is an old piece he enchanted himself when he was a bit more put together, and the rest of his outfit is more or less charity. Like hey, couldn't help but notice you got nearly torn in half by a dragon, can I offer you this shirt? -Serras's clothes were all honestly bought with money he earned from pawning stolen goods. Hmm. -Lleris will always make the time to shop for cute outfits when he gets to a big city. The boots? Conjured. -Gerrick's things were mostly honest purchases, but not all of them. He's not above pulling a pair of nice boots off a dead man's feet.

21. Can your oc swim, and how well? Have they ever swam in the ocean, or only lakes/rivers? Remember, it’s much harder to swim in the ocean than in a lake! If your oc is an Argonian, do they take special advantage of it somehow (e.g., do they go diving for fun/for profit, do they instinctively hide in the water, etc)? If your oc is a Khajiit who can swim, how do they get their fur dry? -Gav was born by the sea and as long as the water is warm, he loves to swim. The rivers and lakes in Skyrim are all too damn cold for him, even in the summer, so he water walks more often than he swims. -Serras is a decently strong swimmer, though he's never actually seen the ocean. Rivers and lakes, though, no big deal. -Lleris can barely swim and will water walk 99% of the time he encounters water. Even though he knows a water breathing spell, he's never actually used it. -Gerrick was born on a boat and is half Maormer. He fucking knows how to swim ok.

22. How easy/difficult is it to rob your oc? Pickpocket? Bribe? -Gav: Too easy. He's got nothing of value to take, so his guard is at like, 0. -Serras: He's a pickpocket by trade, he knows all the tricks. You'd have to be pretty fucking crafty to life something from under his nose. Even if you did, you can be sure as shit he'd steal it right back. -Lleris: He's been robbed a handful of times. -Gerrick: It wouldn't be impossible to pick his pocket, just very difficult and very unwise.

23. If your oc is part of one of the more morally questionable or outright evil factions, how do they justify it to themselves? Do they still consider themselves as morally good? How well known is their affiliation to these groups? Do they have separate personas (e.g. Dragonborn to some people, Listener to others)? Do their family/friends know? If they have separate personas, how do they keep their less than righteous activities secret? -Gav, despite being provably morally good, deals with a lot of completely unjustified guilt. He doesn't think of himself as that great of a person, because he feels too selfish. -Serras doesn't really hide that he's a thief by trade, at least to anyone who knows him. He's had his shot at honest work, and he just couldn't cut it. And well, a dude's gotta make a living somehow. He tries to keep his mind clear by only stealing from people who can afford to have things go missing. Or just if he hates them. Either way. -Lleris is very hush-hush about any work he's done with the thieves guild. He doesn't consider him to be affiliated with them, moreso that they stay in fleeting business arrangements, arrangements which become less and less frequent the more involved he gets in Telvanni politics. -Gerrick having pirate roots is something of an open secret. Part of his appeal as an Eye is his roguishness, and it's not exactly hard for him to work with shadowy sources. He'll never deny his heritage to anyone who directly asks. Not many people have the gall to do that, however, so rumors do fly.

24. How helpful is your oc, and why? Are they helpful or kind even during difficult situations? Are they pragmatic, or do they have a hero syndrome? -Gav has a weird obligation on/off switch. He feels guilted into helping people in certain situations, while he can walk away from others with a clear conscience. When the guilt hits, he will go so far against his own interests to help people, even if he's actively suffering as he does so. Even then, god does he hate being recognized as some kind of hero. Nothing he does in Skyrim makes him feel like a hero, and he actively lives out the world's most aggressive case of imposter syndrome even after Alduin fucking dies. He immediately leaves Skyrim after Alduin's death, because he can't live with the recognition he feels he fell dick first into. No one knows or cares who the Dragonborn is in Morrowind, so he busts ass to the eastern border the second his ass gets back to Nirn. -Serras historically doesn't go that far out of his way to help people, unless they're someone he already cares about, or who he owes some kind of debt. Part of his Growth is slowly taking up his father's mantel as a healer, and dedicating the rest of his life to helping people. Big claps for Serras! -Lleris has such a bad hero syndrome. The fucking second he gets the impression that he might be Nerevarine, that's how he's introducing himself to people. He does get to play big damn hero for a little while after the events at Red Mountain, but the novelty does eventually wear off, at least for the people around him. Well into his second or third century, he'll still bring up that time he was Azura's champion and killed not one, but two living gods. For like the thousandth time. -Gerrick can help or hurt. When he's helpful, he's super fucking helpful. He's your fucking MVP. But the second you cross him, he’ll be out for blood. And while he does have a reputation that often precedes him, he doesn't exactly milk it.