#Sydari Aralen

[changelingsandothernonsense]

Character Sheets!

got tagged by @nyarevar and @sulphuricgrin Thankies <3

Tagging @skyrim-forever @archangelsunited no pressure tags!

Right I filled out my three mains so here we goooo

Erra likes sheep. Hence the sheep scribbles. Second Edit- The list of notes on Joshi's sheet!

Intelligence- Josh is smart in technicality (ends up being an authority on the Dwemer) but he obscures it by doing a lot of dumb and impulsive shit. He has a tendency to lean into everyone's assumption that he's dumb as a survival mechanism because he's found that it's easier than having to explain why he has such a discrepancy in action. (He's written to have AudHD that is more ADHD forward).

Happiness- He struggles to feel this emotion. Especially as he's aged.

Animals- He has no experience with them and dislikes the smell.

Confidence- Josh puts on a cocky act to hide the fact that he actually has very low self-confidence. If he's acting full of himself, it's because he's terrified people will find out that he's actually incompetent. He hates people thinking he's incompetent. Dumb is fine but not incompetence.

Empathy- This is highly affected by Joshi's complex ptsd. He can be highly empathetic but often goes through extreme compassion fatigue. This has also been affected by his merger with Nerevar's Revenge Tulpa who completely lacks it. It is unpredictable as a result. This is a guy who makes it his mission to take down Morrowind's Slave Trade but will kill a civilian for a watch and some pocket change if he's desperate.

Higher Power- Josh knows that the gods exist. He just doesn't believe any are worth his devotion. He's been there, he's tried and it's only ended in disaster. The one exception Josh makes is the Urshilaku Ancestor Cult, where he takes its rituals very seriously. It also causes him a huge amount of cognitive dissonance due to the very obvious necromancy practices.

Home- Josh longs for the concept of "home" but he doesn't really know what that means. Every time he thinks he's found it something happens that makes him flee. As a result, he's given up on the concept entirely.

Truth- This is circumstantial, he cares in theory but prying anything out of him about his past is like trying to squeeze blood from a stone. Truth matters to him when it comes to things that don't involve him. He stands by the idea that "truth is relative" and if it benefits him more to lie then he's going to do it. He doesn't like it being done to him, however. He places more value in Justice and Revenge, as they serve him more than the truth. Valuing truth would mean he'd need to face his own reflection.

Fame- Josh would rather eat a hunk of Corprus Flesh and praise Dagoth Ur than experience being recognised in public.

EDIT! Forgot the template under a cut!

[changelingsandothernonsense]

Sujamma Morndas

(since I live in the future)

Tagged by @skyrim-forever thanks for tagging me in this. Tagging @sulphuricgrin @dayundying @archangelsunited @saltymaplesyrup @firefly-factory @nyarevar @pocket-vvardvark and anyone else who's interested. I struggle trying to tag people... Topic: This week, Sujamma wants to know about YOUR OC's special someone. What makes their relationship special? How did they meet? Were they enemies to lovers? Lovers to enemies? Lovers AND Enemies? Are they romantic or platonic? What's their favorite way to cuddle? Favorite date night? Anything and everything you can think of 💕

Josh has a bit of a complicated relationship with romance. He had a string of very close loves as the era turned, but a series of losses has left him with a metaphorical hole in his heart that he's struggled to fill for the past two hundred years. His general rule has been to seek out companionship purely for physical reasons and never moving past that. He knows deep down that he can't go through the prospect of losing someone again. When he gets attached there's no prying him off and he takes rejection quite harshly, death even more so. It takes a lot to make him feel safe enough to re-enter those waters but he's managed to do it four times in 200 years so we'll go over his major romantic entanglements.

Maralie Omani

Maralie was Josh's first romantic partner, though he's had crushes beforehand, nothing really eventuated more than a kiss or a date here and there. He met Maralie when he was 17 and was skulking around the servants quarters whilst his family was staying at the Omani Manor on Elmas Island. Maralie was a few years older than him, and had faked being sick to get out of yet another stuffy party.

Josh was liberating sweets from the larder when he ran into Velanda Omani's granddaughter, and the two hit it off. Social class (Josh being Velothi) complicated things and the two would meet in secret throughout their time together at that manor and would later fall into the same arrangement whenever they were in the same city. After two years of this, Maralie would find herself betrothed to a third cousin who lived in Narsis. Josh, heartbroken by this news, started making plans to elope with her because that worked so well for his parents after all. Unfortunately the couple were found out and this led to a series of events that would see Josh end up in prison in Cyrodiil after going missing for three years. (Servitude within the Camonna Tong).

He wouldn't find out why Maralie never came to the gate that final time until after he was released from prison almost forty years later. He's heartbroken that he missed seeing his son, Adren grow up.

The two would rekindle their relationship as Josh led a group of Dunmer out of Morrowind as Red Mountain erupted (he leads out several). He started making some headway with Adren on this trip as well and thought maybe he'd get a second chance at actually parenting. Unfortunately, Maralie's husband finds out about the affair and sends Josh fleeing to Solstheim. He hears from his son a few months later that Maralie had succumbed to a sickness that had swept through the slums of Windhelm and that he was not wanted at the funeral.

It would be the last time Josh had an interest in a romantic partner until 4E199.

Ilaba'andul-Sul Erra'am Urshilaku

If you were to ask Josh who his first love was, he would tell you that it was Erra. The two had something that Josh has never found again. Some strange, all encompassing closeness that has Josh unable to tell where he ends and Erra begins. This connection is increasingly apparent in the centuries after Erra's death where Josh becomes a walking shrine to his memory.

The two met as part of a job Josh was running for the Blades. Cosades' initial Ashlander contact, Hassor Zainsubani, had recommended Erra's services as a guide and liaison. He would speak on Josh's behalf whilst he sort an audience with the Urshilaku Ashkhan and Wise Woman, respectively. Josh managed to make a terrible first impression with being several hours late to their meeting and then shirking Erra off to go drink with some strangers.

It all gave Erra a terrible headache the next day.

The two start to hit it off once they both clear things up with each other. Erra ends up risking breaking several customs just to help Josh succeed in getting the info he needs about the Nerevarine prophecies. He'd grown incredibly fond of Josh in the month they ended up spending together, and the two end up exchanging letters. They meet up in Ald'ruhn right before Josh vanishes for three months. Erra starts to think that maybe he had read Josh wrong and had decided to try and move on when he started being questioned by Imperial Agents on Josh's whereabouts. He decides to shoot Josh a final letter to and address he had given him in Suran and ended up getting a reply back from Josh's mother and later from Josh.

He had been sick, though Josh never detailed much more than that and the two would start sending letters again for a few more months until Josh just stopped sending them.

Erra chose to wait for a few weeks, concentrating instead on purchasing a house in Maar Gan. Eventually he did get another letter from Josh asking to meet and for an escort north.

The two would not separate again until Erra's death, though it would still take the two a few weeks and a severely injured Josh for them to actually admit how they felt. Once that happened, you'd rarely see them apart. They were so close that the Nerevarine legend peddled by the New Temple just ends up merging both of their exploits to the point that the stories resemble neither of them.

Erra and Josh end up marrying/linking ghosts outside the confines of the main tribe (same sex unions were not a thing within Ashlander society until after Josh and Erra force it). It was a contingency plan for the aftermath of Red Mountain, that Erra alone would have ownership over Josh's remains and Ghost after his death so that he couldn't be messed with (Josh's worst fear is being forced to inhabit a bonewalker after death.) Only things didn't go to plan and the wrong guy died.

Josh goes into several long periods of mourning after Erra's death, still choosing to wear full mourning gear whenever he acts as Ashkhan. Josh models himself after Erra in a lot of ways, from his choice to take on mercenary work, to his auxiliary work with the Redoran, to his choice of clothing. He becomes a walking shrine to those whom he's lost, it's just that he had more of Erra's stuff on hand whereas he'd lost most of his memorabilia of the next person on this list.

Saint Jiub!

He met Saint Jiub once, you know?

Okay maybe it wasn't once, and maybe it was over a period of six years, and maybe he thought he had finally found someone who loves him for him again.

Josh met Jiub on an Imperial Prison Ship en route to Vvardenfell. The two exchanged words, though Josh was busy acting as hostile as possible. They were released separately and Josh didn't think much on the encounter.

They would cross paths a few months later when Jiub was out running supplies between Redoran outposts on his Silt Strider. He ended up spying some poor idiot being attacked by cliff racers during an ashstorm and decided to help him out. Only Josh is a difficult mer to actually help.

He ended up loading a delirious Josh into the caravan and took him to his destination. This interaction went a little smoother, though Josh's awkwardness still muddied things.

They would not meet again for another four years, after Josh gets black out drunk in an alley behind Jiub's apartments in Kvatch during the third celebration of the Nerevaine's defeat of Dagoth Ur in the Dunmeri diaspora.

Jiub ends up patching Josh up and Josh just...doesn't leave. They fall into a comfortable domestic bliss. Jiub was busy writing his memoirs, and Josh was in serious need of anonymity. They decide to move south to Bravil only for the Oblivion Crisis to strike the night before their big move.

Josh lost everything that night, fleeing Kvatch with nothing but the clothes on his back, their matching engraved rings and a heart heavy with guilt over not being able to save someone he loved.

He would move into another period of mourning and still wears the rings they had carved for an eventual marriage ceremony on his left hand.

Sydari Aralen

Josh and Sydari have a bit of a complicated relationship. They clash a lot over the first two years of their on and off relationship. This is mostly because Josh keeps pulling away whenever things get too real for him. He's old by this point and he's bogged down in so much emotional baggage that Josh's ability to assess anything is strangled by his constant expectation that he'll be left grieving again if he lets anyone get too close.

Sydari would have to smash down his walls by force.

Though the two technically met in the Retching Netch in 4E199 where Josh drunkenly makes an ass of himself, Josh does recognise her from somewhere. Namely a messy Azura propelled skooma induced vision that lead Josh out of a massacre about 90 years prior. Josh believes that skooma induced vision damaged his brain a little, making him easily paranoid (more so than he initially is). As a result, Nerevar's found more of a footing to feed into that paranoia.

This ends up pitting Josh and Sydari against each other whilst ultimately trying to get rid of the same problem and this causes a lot of mess to begin with. It was only as Sydari took it upon herself to figure things out that the two started working together. Josh falls very quickly, regardless of his attempts to stop it which sends him into a push and pull loop.

They get together briefly after Frossel only for Josh to mess things up with a freak out on his behalf. They are on and off for two years until Josh finally can't take the instability anymore and just lays his cards out on the table (well most of them). Sydari has been waiting for him to do that for a long time and the two finally get together...

Sort of...

Josh does this the same day that Sydari has to infiltrait the Thalmor embassy and ends up uncovering Josh's identity. The two have a huge fight and break it off. Josh ends up wandering Skyrim off his face for a month until Hircine finds him and Sydari spends her time avoiding Thalmor Justicars and picking up old men from the Ratway.

In that time Sydari gets Josh's dossier translated (or what could be translated, his journals are written in a code on a select few people know). From what she could gather, Josh hadn't been keeping his identity from her for malicious reasons. (Boi is 99% trauma responses). She writes a letter of appology to Josh, hoping it would make him come back.

He comes back, but not with the letter.

The two spend a week locked in Sydari's suite at the Sleeping Giant Inn. Partually because Josh needs a rest and partually because he's finally telling her everything.

They become completely inseperable afte that night. Which is why Josh takes Sydari's dissaperance so hard. Sovngarde takes her away for six years and he kinda loses his mind and bargins with the island of Solstheim trying to find her.

Gotta drop Josh and the Husbando art.

[changelingsandothernonsense]

Saw a meme, had to draw these idiots as a result.

Feel free to do the same!

[changelingsandothernonsense]

Wip Whenever

Hellooo it's Thursday morning and I should probably consider going to bed. So today we are gonna drop art and a little bit of writing. I'm kinda obsessing over Josh and Sydari stuff atm writing wise so you get some of that. Thank you to @skyrim-forever for tagging me. I started making this post when I got your tag :3 Tagging @viss-and-pinegar @vivifriend @saltymaplesyrup @archangelsunited @nyarevar @thescrolls-haveforetold

No pressure as usual. Just fun stuff for fun.

Now for wips n shit. Starting with arts-

Got more of his armour done and some deets on those blades. Posting a close up of his face because I'm happy with his pouty face. I just posted the chapter this art corresponds with the other day.

And a snippet of writing below the cut.

Today i'm posting a bit from chapter 18 of Serious Mistakes. Josh finally decides to ask for help from people he can trust. Only issue is that in order to ask for it, Josh must sit on ceremony. Part of it involves granting guest right to Sydari so that she can join Josh and Geldis at the Urshilaku camp. The chapter is Sydari's pov and i've chosen a section where Sydari is meeting the Ashkhan for the first time. She has mixed feelings. Josh hasn't been feeling so great over these last few chapters. ----

It wasn’t long before Geldis came back, though it was long enough for the smoking pipe to have done at least one round about the circle, and Sydari was feeling pleasantly buzzed. Geldis sat beside her and sighed as he reached once again for his drink.

“Go on,” Geldis grinned, “I know you want to know what happened.”

“I mean, sure?” Sydari shrugged as she reached for her drink again, “I’m assuming he’s just being stubborn about something?”

Geldis nodded, “Tel doesn’t want to use his stick and can’t get up by himself. Finally admitted that he probably shouldn’t have pushed it.”

She rolled her eyes a little, “Of course it was that.”

“It was a few things, Etana kinda offloaded a lot on him when he arrived,” Geldis sighed as he downed his drink, “Tel’s a bit emotional, to put it simply. He doesn’t like people seeing that.”

“So, what’s happening?” Sydari asked, her gaze still focused on the pipe that was being passed around the other side of the circle.

“Etana and I convinced Tel that no one cares if he’s got to use it,” He shrugged, sighing yet again, “We told him that the issues going on with the Urshilaku can wait until we’ve finished with Sigrun. I think it’s calmed him down a little. Just—”

“He’s a bit…” Sydari shook her head, trying to dislodge the image of Teldryn back in Glowstone Hall, eyes dead and vitriol spewing from his lips. The version of him that would hold a knife to her throat. Did the nomads know about that side of him? Or had he managed to hide it from them? She swallowed, anxiety welling yet again as the image changed and warped from Solstheim to the depths of Snow Veil Sanctum. She touched her hand to her throat before fiddling with the dark soul gem she wore around her neck. The vibration from the soul trapped forever inside brought her back to Nirn just as Geldis started speaking again.

“I don’t think he’s gonna change again if that’s what you’re worried about?” Geldis stated, his voice was quieter, almost soothing, “Ki, the Wise Woman, has a lot of tricks up her sleeve to keep Tel here. The Urshilaku have been helping him control it for a long time, girl. It’ll be okay.”

She nodded, her gaze falling to the woven carpet in front of her. They fell into a strange silence for a few moments, only ending as the murmuring from the crowd started to die down once again as the Wise Woman rose to her feet. She felt Geldis’ hand on her shoulder as he leaned in to whisper to her again.

“I think Tel’s finally ready.”

She looked towards the door just as the Wise Woman disappeared behind it. A part of her wondered if this was yet another problem stalling everything yet again. She noticed that everyone in the circle had stood, and she followed suit, letting out a sigh of relief as the door opened once again and both of the mer from earlier exited the tent and took their places within the circle, standing behind their seating cushions as the rest of the circle did. She listened to the Gulakhan speak, wishing she understood even a word of what he said. She started fiddling with her necklace again, arranging the thin, gold chain so that it wasn’t getting tangled in the decoration of her glass torc. Geldis nudged her a little as the Gulakhan stopped speaking and she snapped her attention back to the door just as it opened once again— a larger figure appearing just behind it.

“There he is,” Geldis whispered in her ear, “Tel’s gonna address everyone before we all sit down again. Just follow my lead.”

She nodded just as the figure stepped out into the light of the lanterns. She didn’t know what to make of what she saw standing before her.

Teldryn slowly made his way towards the circle, his long, thin fingers grasping the handle of an ornately carved walking stick that she didn’t recall him packing that morning. His skin— what was visible at the very least— was covered in a thin layer of what she assumed to be ash. The layers cracking around his joints a little. He wore a long, thick silk robe that was as red as his eyes and trimmed with gold thread. The sleeves looked as if they could skim the floor if the mer hadn’t rolled them up somewhat. He seemed to be wearing some sort of armour underneath the robe, dark like he usually wore though the material seemed different. Almost like the bonemold that the Redoran Guard typically wore. The darks and reds were accented by gold— the trim of his robe weaved into a set of brilliant, gold pauldrons that extended from his shoulders almost like a set of wings and she noticed he had to turn himself slightly as he made his way through the door.

She noticed that he had tied his usually messy, uneven hair into a smooth topknot, fastened with an equally brilliant golden headdress in the shape of a star. He paused for a moment once he reached the circle before taking a deep breath and stepping carefully over the large orange cushion, his knuckles flexing around the handle of his stick. His eyes locked with hers for a moment and she noticed that the skin around his sockets seemed a little puffy, with some of the paint on his face having been washed away a little, mixing with the dark kohl that she noticed he usually favoured whenever he left the Netch. The dark stains on his cheeks mixed with the bone grey of the ash reminded her of a spectre of some sort. Haunting and a little ethereal— he looked beautiful and a huge part of her hated to admit it.

Teldryn smiled at her for a brief moment before he addressed the group, using that same language that she didn’t understand save for her name. He nodded towards her before she noticed the Gulakhan and Wise Woman move to his side, grabbing his arms as they helped him sit down, slowly lowering him onto the cushion that the Gulakhan had placed down earlier. She followed everyone’s lead, sitting down silently as the group waited for their head to get himself comfortable. She watched the Wise Woman take Teldryn’s stick and rested it against the door behind them.

Teldryn cleared his throat, sitting as straight as he could. He spoke again in Ashland, his voice sounding confident with less pauses in his speech than when she had been speaking with him earlier. Almost as if he’d rehearsed this particular speech a hundred times. Though it could have entirely been because Sydari didn’t understand the language he was speaking. It was an interesting development nonetheless; she hadn’t quite expected any of this when he had first introduced himself at the Netch.

Teldryn Sero was a hard mer to figure out.

[changelingsandothernonsense]

✶Sujumma Morndas (Coz I live in the future)✶

Thank you @skyrim-forever and @sulphuricgrin for tagging me!

tagging @archangelsunited @nyarevar @saltymaplesyrup @pocket-vvardvark @dayundying @vivifriend @viss-and-pinegar @firefly-factory no pressure tagging is no pressures. [This week Sujamma has been brushing up on his literacy. It's hard being a humble Nix-Hound. Reading doesn't come naturally to him, but he's doing his best! This week Sujamma is hoping you will help him learn to read!

Post a favorite scene, favorite sentence, favorite dialogue, favorite anything from any fic you've written! If you haven't written any fic, feel free to share your ideas. If you don't have any, recommend a friend's fic!]

Going to post a snippet from the one shot "The Myriad Realms of Revelry" or that time Josh joined then ran a Cult of Sanguine out in the Alik'r. The section I'm sharing doesn't involve smut but I will drop a NSFT warning on the fic itself. It's about a sex cult and Josh getting caught up in a massacre as a result. This is the point in his history where his brain gets a bit skooma addled, so...

Josh kills some Vigilants and escapes a ruin with a familiar face below the cut.

His ear was ringing something awful as he struggled to sit up, something heavy seemed to be preventing him from moving his legs. Teldryn wiped the dust out of his eyes and looked around him, struggling to understand the scene before him.

Fire was what stood out to him the most. The flickering of orange flames surrounded him, and dust floated through the air…or maybe it was smoke? Teldryn couldn’t tell, there was too much going on around him.

Screaming slowly began to replace the ringing in his ear before the whole scene cleared in his mind. It took one of his followers running past him, robe burning as he ran towards the ancient fountain that sat in the centre of the hall. For him to realise they had been ejected from Oblivion by some extreme force.

Teldryn looked down and was met with the lifeless form of his favourite sprawled across his lap. Her green eyes glazed and unfocused as they stared up at the ceiling. Her mask was broken and blood dripped from her mouth, nose and ear.

This was not what he wanted.

Teldryn leant down and kissed the girl on the lips as he closed her eyes. He carefully moved her to the side as he stood. He would find out what the fuck had happened and he’d fucking kill whoever did it!

He looked around him the room choked by a thick black smoke. His followers were strewn across the hall, some struggling to their feet, some staring about in shock. Most of them were just lying about the room. Still and lifeless, some missing limbs and suffering deep wounds from whatever had caused the blast. He saw a small, delicate hand lying at his feet. He knew who it belonged to.

Teldryn still felt stunned as he took in the whole scene before him. He noticed there was something a little off amongst those Revellers who were still standing. Namely, that several of them were dressed in armoured mages’ robes. The faded teal fabric stood apart from the scarlet decor that his followers had covered every surface with. He watched as one of them ran a blade across the neck of one of his screaming followers, the Redguard falling to the ground as he held his hands to the gaping wound across his throat.

“Stendarr’s Mercy be upon you, for the Vigil has none to spare!”

FUCK!

Those fanatical fuck heads had found them! It was just a question as to how. Though maybe that didn’t matter anymore, everyone was dead. Teldryn felt an intense rage take him, he had not wanted this! The cult was just supposed to continue without him. Find a new leader and keep up Sanguine’s praises. Instead, the bodies of those whom he had spent decades with lay mangled at his feet. Some were so burnt that he couldn’t tell who they used to be…some were still breathing.

He pooled his magicka into his palm and unleashed a jet of fire at the Vigilant, engulfing her in flame. He walked towards her as the fires died down, taking the blade she had dropped to the ground and holding it to the dying woman’s throat. A charred hand reached for his ankle as he placed a foot on her chest, gurgling something as he smiled down at her.

“Pray to your god for mercy,” Teldryn hummed as he plunged the blade into her throat, “For I have none.”

He withdrew his blade from the woman’s throat, twirling it in his hand as he flicked the excess blood from the weapon. The thing was a standard-looking steel sword. Not his favourite weapon but it would do until he got back to his chambers. Teldryn raced out of the banquette hall, and up the set of stairs that led to his living quarters. He dodged the carnage as he raced through the hall, slicing at whichever fuck it was that came at him. Honestly, he couldn’t quite tell who it was half the time! Friend or foe he didn’t fucking care! Everything was just a blur, and the sheer amount of moon sugar he had ingested earlier that night certainly wasn’t fucking helping things!

He had finally gotten back to his private chambers and hurriedly set about gathering his things. Teldryn grabbed his ebony scimitar and slung his pack over his shoulder. He had placed his set of netch leathers in his bag and threw on a pair of boots. His armour would take too long to put on, and he was already feeling light-headed from the lack of air. He coughed as a thick, black smoke began to fill his room. He had to get out of here. Now!

And then something moved out of the corner of his eye.

Teldryn looked up, expecting a Vigilant, weapon ready to take him in combat, which would have been a stupid idea on that fuck’s behalf. He was even more dangerous with a blade when he was off his face and didn’t know which way was up.

Instead, he was met with what looked like one of his followers. Though it couldn’t have been, he was the only Dunmer here. He’d have remembered seeing her around, surely. Had he really become so numb to everything around him that she simply joined without him noticing?

“We have to get out of here!” he wheezed as he staggered towards the door. The girl only nodded, her silver mask glinting in the light of the inferno that surrounded them. A nightingale, the feathers detailed in silver. She smiled at him, before turning, her long, auburn hair swaying behind her as she slinked down the hall.

Her eyes had reminded him of Gidain’s. Amaranth, bright and beautiful.

He raced after her, following her as she ran down the halls and through the ruin. She almost seemed to move right through the chaos, as if the dead and dying were nothing but illusions. Her robe reminded him of starlight as she raced through the halls and then she was gone. Her form lost in the thick, black smoke that threatened to choke the life from him.

Teldryn sank to the ground, choking on the thick smoke. The heat was growing unbearable and he found himself lost in the chaos. His vision began to tunnel as he lay down on the stone floor, heated by the inferno that raged around him.

And then she returned, amaranth eyes bright and sparkling behind that silver mask. She smiled at him and the look made his heart slam against his chest. Who was she? Teldryn took her hand and let her help him to his feet. She let go and started running through the halls again, her form disappearing into the darkness.

‘Follow her!’

It was the first time in decades that Nerevar said something that he actually agreed with.

He set off after the girl, catching up to her as she seemingly ran through a Vigilant, their mace at the ready as Teldryn ran straight into it. The thick steel connected with his ribs and knocked the wind from him. He grabbed at the area that had been hit as he sunk to his knees, trying his best to suck in a breath as an intense ache radiated through his chest. The Vigilant approached him, raising his mace for a final swing.

He wasn’t sure if it had actually connected with his head. Honestly, he didn’t quite know what had happened though he suspected that Nerevar had something to do with it. He could feel a sharp pain behind his eye that told him he must have well and truly spent his miserable stores of magicka. A cool breeze rustled through his hair as he stared at the vast, open night sky. He tried to suck in a breath of air, the act causing his chest to throb, and he cried out in pain.

Teldryn looked down at his abdomen, his fingers brushing painfully against the area on his right side where the mace hit. The skin looked like it was beginning to bruise, the thick, gnarled scar that webbed across his torso oozed that thick, black substance from the small lacerations caused by the edges of the weapon. He was certain that bastard managed to crack his ribs. Fucking fantastic!

Teldryn struggled to his feet and gathered his things, slinging his bag over his shoulder and grabbing his scimitar. He looked around him, hoping that maybe someone else had escaped that inferno. His heart sank when he realised he was alone. Standing half naked in the middle of the fucking desert, covered in soot.

[changelingsandothernonsense]

Things Josh hasn't told Sydari about himself that she ended up finding in his Thalmor dossier.

He was imprisoned for 36 years and still hasn't served his whole sentence (55 years or execution)

The reason he looks and acts the way he does (scars and inability to sleep, taste, etc) is because he's the only known person on Nirn who still has Corprus Disease. (One that is slowly reactivating come 4E201).

Oh...he's the Nerevarine!

He's technically a Blade but also wanted by them for going AWOL.

Said Blade work was done via conscription.

He's the Nerevarine!

He used to have a nose ring.

He committed Treason against the Septim Empire twice. And twice against the Tribunal Temple.

He founded Raven Rock.

Apparently he's the fucking Nerevarine!

[changelingsandothernonsense]

I'm still learning about your OCs so I don't have much on headcanons. So instead, I hope it's okay I ask questions so I can learn more! c: Answer for Josh, Sydari, or Erra, or all! Whichever you prefer. Would love to hear you yap about them!!

Do they have any unusual traits/behavior/habits?

2. What is their most controversial belief or stance?

3. How would their closest companion describe them?

Hello! Thank you for the questions!

1. Do they have any unusual traits/behavior/habits? Sydari: Outside of having the power to shake the earth with her voice (when it's not worn out thanks to damage done to her vocal cords), Sydari tends to appear crushingly normal. This is all by design, of course. She's found over the years that drawing attention to one's self can have very negative consequences, particularly in her line of work.

She's worked hard on maintaining a visage of normalcy whilst pulling at the underworld of Riften in the shadows. As far as Skyrim is concerned, the Nightingale and the Thane of Honeyside/Dragonborn are two different people and she'd like to keep it that way. She's so unsuspect that it's suspect. Erra: Erra would not consider the way he looks to be unusual but he tends to stand out a lot when wandering around House Dunmer settlements. This is mostly to do with Erra having a very obvious Ashlander appearance, despite having technically left that life behind. Firstly, he has his coming of age scarification, a series of small, circular scars that frame his face as well as a pigment filled scar that cuts through his bottom lip when he completed the Trial of the Warrior. Ritual scarification in this manner is generally an Ashlander thing, with a few Redoran influenced sects of the Tribunal Temple practising their own versions with different ceremonies. Erra tends to follow a different grooming routine than settled Dunmer. This can mostly be seen in how he wears his hair, which he prefers to keep long, or the fact that he keeps body hair untouched. Cutting one's hair is a sign of mourning in his culture so he finds the idea of cutting it into one of the more popular styles to be a bit odd.

He has a very thick Ashlander accent and is very soft-spoken.

Josh: Josh looks like a Velothi from the Eastern Ashlands (because his father was) and has been treated as such his whole life. He is generally taller than your average settled Dunmer by a lot, and he tends to have a love hate relationship with his Ashlander side up until he meets Erra. He ended up with a lot of very particular scarring after trying to get his corprus cured. During the height of his fame as the Nerevarine he could generally be identified by the hand shaped scar on his left arm in particular. That and the ring that he can't take off.

Josh fidgets a lot, either by drumming his fingers on things or tapping his foot. He's an extremely restless guy and can't sit still for very long without something to occupy him. Oh and he has a huge knife collection. That and the even bigger web of lies he's constructed to hide his identity after the Second Battle of Red Mountain.

2. What is their most controversial belief or stance? Sydari: "Every interaction is a business exchange. This includes making deals with the gods." Erra: "Not every tradition must be followed to the letter. Our people cannot grow if we do not choose to be better". Josh: "Slavery is wrong and you should burn for allowing it." (Josh and Erra are products of late 3rd Era Morrowind, where vanilla takes were controversial.)

3. How would their closest companion describe them?

Sydari: From Joshi's POV: I wish I was as sure of myself when I went to face my destiny. The truth is, Miluth never needed my input or advice. She's doing far better taking on the whims of gods than I ever did. She makes me want to be better, more present, to not run away. I'm terrified that I'll fuck up again and lose her forever this time. Erra: Joshi's POV again: You ever seen someone skewer a cliff racer at a five yurt pace through the neck with a single arrow? Then you have no ability to understand how fucking brilliant he is! Like yeah, there are good archers out there, but not one has compared to what I've seen him do.

Then I get to have him all to myself because everyone else is a cunt and doesn't deserve his embrace. Josh: From Erra's POV: Teldryn is a very different mer if you take the time to get to know him. He puts on a tough exterior that is a little callous at times but that is not truly him. Not in my experience.

If you want to see the Teldryn I know, ask him about his letter chart. I do not understand any of it, I do not speak the language of the Old Elves but he does. He believes he can crack something from what he has found written in stone. I believe he used the term "Reconstruct". I am constantly distracted by the light in his eyes when he speaks on it. That and how he bounces when he makes progress on his project.

From Sydari's POV: Tel tends to be very closed off, aloof would be an apt description. It takes a lot of effort to crack him and actually get a straight answer from the guy. If I'm honest, I've almost given up on a few occasions. It's strange how compartmentalised he can be, even more so than myself. It's like he's wrapped in several advanced puzzle locks, and each one requires a riddle to solve.

If you don't find the master key, that is.

I still wish Tel had told me who he was before I found his dossier, but I guess a part of me understands why he keeps his identity a close guarded secret for so long. I really don't think he associates who he is now with the title of Nerevarine. There's a new side to him once you unlock the truth that is extremely vulnerable and scared. I wish I could see what he was like before the gods crushed his spirit. There's hints of an excitable, very intelligent mer behind the layers he wraps himself in. I want to help draw that out of him as best as I can.

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Donut and champagne for both Josh/Erra and Josh/Sydari

Hellooo!!! This should be fun :3 🍩 | their favourite snack to eat together *An aside- after corprus Josh loses his sense of taste and doesn't receive hunger signals properly. He often forgets to eat and doesn't snack as a result. Josh x Erra The two travel a lot and Josh has a lot of food intolerances. Anything with Kwama or Dairy is out. This includes Nix-hound meat. Thankfully, the Ashlanders don't make a lot of use out of either (scrib jelly is used in alchemy but it's expensive). As a result, the main source of protein amongst the Urshilaku is farmed Guar or the odd hunted Alit. Fish can be affected by the ash from Red Mountain, so it doesn't appear in many Urshilaku dishes. Saltrice and whickwheat make up staple grains in the north. There's a dish the Ashlanders eat on special occasions that's similar in nature to Pilaf made with saltrice, guar meat and spices. It's meant for communal eating with a whickwheat based flatbread that's sometimes stuffed with the same spice mix. Josh eats like a bird, so getting him to sit and share a meal is a rarity. He will sit down for this. Erra takes charge of making most of their food. He likes a style of sweet fried dumpling coated in a marshmerrow syrup. He appreciates it when Josh shares some with him. Josh x Sydari Skyrim presents a lot of challenges food wise for Josh. Most meals involve cheese or milk as an ingredient and thats...not the best combination. Sydari usually takes charge when it comes to ordering food for the two of them. She usually orders Josh some sort of roasted meat or stew. Her favourite snacks are taffy treats but Josh can't really taste them. Sometimes when the two are having a rest day she'll pull together an assortment of cured meats, cheeses (on her board only) fruits and nuts for the two to snack on (usually whilst making use of the large baths that Sydari has in a few of her properties). It's best to get Geldis to cook. He's known Joshi's palette for 200 years. Joshi's comfort food is saltrice congee with guar floss and a liberal pouring of chilli oil. 🥂 | what would happen if they got drunk together

Josh x Erra Answered here but in short- boast battles until it turns into a sparing match which then turns into something else... Josh x Sydari

Josh is a functional alcoholic at this point and it's generally best to not encourage his addiction. However Sydari wasn't aware of this when she first met him. She likes to play drinking games and Josh likes to get into drunken brawls. The two don't mix well... especially when the two are trying to maintain the facade of "just friends".

Sorry...Josh is horny on main all the time.

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Last Lines!

Tagged by @skyrim-forever TY

Tagging @archangelsunited @nyarevar @sulphuricgrin @redyn-nerevarine

"It was obvious that Teldryn was trying to change her opinion of him and she hated to admit that it was working."

It's been almost a month since I left off this chapter, I left everyone at a banquet.

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Disaster ship!

Got tagged by @skyrim-forever and @nyarevar <3

tagging @archangelsunited and @nyarevar again coz I said I was gonna do that so ha!

anyway we have both JoshxErra and JoshxSydari

Template under the cut

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Designing 4E 227 costumes is fun and didn't take 8 hours.

...or Joshi is struggling with it being 200 years since the Nerevarine thing and sending his kid to college.

also Azura is annoying him…a lot

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1, 2, & 4 for josh, erra, and sy!

Hello!!! Thanks for the asks! I'll have to answer this in multiple posts since Tumblr has taken issue with the post itself.

1. What is the character’s go-to drink order? (this one gets into how do they like to be publicly perceived, because there is always some level of theatricality to ordering drinks at a bar/restaurant) Josh: If it's available, he'll order matze infused with jasmine. If not whatever gets him blind drunk the quickest. He dislikes mead and Nordic style beers, though. Considers them to be little better that piss water. Erra: Erra tends to go for sujamma, it's closes to a similar brew that his Tribe makes and it reminds him of home. Sydari: She has a taste for expensive Cyrodiilic wines. She ended up accidentally facilitating the complete take-over of Skyrim's alcoholic market by Maven Blackbriar. This makes mead super cheep and means that her beloved imports are buried in tariffs. She regrets it, though she can pay for the imports, she, like most elves just don't like Maven's product.

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OC Languages list

Figuring this out for fun.

Josh:

Living languages: Dunmeris (Redoran dialect- first language), Cyrodiilic (Nibenese dialect- speaks with a strong Blacklight accent particularly after being back in Morrowind), Ashlander (Urshilaku dialect- learnt after 3E 428), High Elvish (Blacklight accent kinda messes with his enunciation).

Classical languages: Ald Aldmeris (the equivalent of learning ancient Greek or Latin), Dwemeris (Vvardenfell dialect- first asshole to crack their code, released a thesis on it under the name Talerion of Sunhold. He thinks Dwemeris is different depending on the province with a shared writing system which is something he starts working on during the Dragon Crisis), Chimeris (Nerevar specifically, Josh is not fluent).

Erra:

Fluent: Ashlander (First language- Urshilaku/North Western and Zainab/North Eastern dialects), Dunmeris (Redoran dialect)

Knows just enough to get him by- Cyrodiilic (Nibenese, he can introduce himself and ask for payment. He carries a Dunmeris to Imperial dictionary around).

Etana:

Fluent: Ashlander (First language- Urshilaku/North Western dialect), Dunmeris (Redoran dialect).

Sydari:

Fluent: Cyrodiilic (Nibenese influenced Nordic dialect), Dunmeris (First language- Windhelm dialect, based off of the Hlaalu dialect. Has a very obvious Nordic accent when speaking Dunmeris).

Yani:

Fluent: Ashlander (First language, Erabenimsun/South Eastern dialect), Dunmeris (Telvanni dialect).

(a huge part of his depression when he, Maera and Josh lived in Cheydinhal was that he couldn't communicate with anyone outside of his immediate family. He tried learning Cyrodiilic but didn't have a lot of success before he died).

Maera:

Living languages: Dunmeris (First Language- Redoran dialect), Cyrodiilic (Nibenese dialect), High Elvish (has a much clearer enunciation than Josh.)

Classical languages: Ald Aldmeris

Semi fluent: Ashlander (Erabenimsun/South Eastern dialect with some Urshilaku).

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Fun fact:

Sydari was never at Helgen. She finds out she's got the thu'um by accident on the way back from Markarth, stolen Falmer key in hand.

She was recovering from having her throat slit up in Winterhold when rumours of dragons started filtering in.

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Thought I'd draw the Nerevarine and the Last Dragonborn again. :D

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Josh remembering how he once tested the idea of "surface tension" when he was really off his face once. He's left alone at Honeyside whilst Sydari goes out on Guild business. He's bored and goes out onto the balcony to look at the lake. He likes watching the dragonflies walking on its surface. later that night he's drinking himself stupid and gets a wild idea that he could try and see if he can use Wild Levitate to do the same. Is it possible for him to not break the surface?

Well he forgot to cast Levitation before stepping onto the lake. Sydari finds him swearing as he's trying to pull himself out of the water.

No Josh you can't be a dragonfly.