Ma'sud (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
dovahkitty) wrote2012-04-16 02:57 am
dovahkitty) wrote2012-04-16 02:57 am
Info Post/Profile
Name: Ma'sud
Race: Khajiit
Sex: Male
Age: 20 (don't let the thick facial hair fool you, it grows quickly)
Home Province: Cyrodiil
Class/Build: Stealth Fighter/Thief (Favors Sneak, Archery, Lockpicking, Speech; also uses One-Handed, Light Armor; rarely uses Pickpocket)
(Items in blue denote Special Edition version equipment/shouts)
Weapons: Ebony Bow of Animus, various arrows (most commonly Dwarven), a pair of Fine Elven Daggers.
Armor: Hide Boots of Minor Sneaking, Thieves' Guild Gauntlets, Elven Armor,
Jewelry: Various divine amulets (usually has Dibella's, Kynareth's or Arkay's equipped, sometimes Talos's), Circlet of Archery
Shouts:
Unrelenting Force: Fus Ro Dah
Whirlwind Sprint: Wuld
Become Ethereal: Feim
Slow Time: Tiid
Clear Skies: Lok Vah Koor
Fire Breath: Yol
Dragonrend: Joor Zah Frul
Call Dragon: Od Ah Viing
Storm Call: Strun
Active Standing Stone: Thief
Thaneship: Whiterun, Hjaalmarch
House: Winstad Manor
Spouse: None
Children: Lucia
Profile:
Ma'sud is not what most expect of a Khajiit: He speaks with human syntax and as much a Cyrodiilic accent as a Khajiit's mouth can produce. He doesn't behave the way others expect a Khajiit to behave (most of the time), nor does he behave the way a Khajiit expects a Khajiit to behave. Largely cultureless, he doesn't quite fit in to Tamrielic society at large, clumsily making his way around everyone's expectations and his own.
Ma'sud is many things. Ma'sud is Dragonborn, a member of the Imperial Legion, a member of the Thieves' Guild, and the end result of one Dunmer's ambitious vision for the cultures of Tamriel. Each and every one of these guides and shapes the others, and shapes him.
Most importantly, Ma'sud is, simply, Ma'sud, and that is where we will start.
Ma'sud as Ma'sud:
Nelis, a Dunmer bard living in Cyrodiil, doesn't run an orphanage in the sense that he wants to raise the orphans he takes in himself, with his biological son Seris. He has a reason, you see. Back in Morrowind, a handful of centuries ago, he did a lot of work with the Twin Lamps, a group dedicated to freeing the Khajiiti and Argonian slaves the natives kept back then. He came away from his work with an incredibly strong conviction that racial discrimination had no place in any culture. And how does one spread such a view that runs counter to the grain of most of society? By starting at the grain, of course...
Nelis believes most morals are purely personal, with the exception of two he believes to be universal: The aforementioned view of discrimination, and that murder for the sake of murder is wrong. These two things, he tries to impress on every child he raises, along with the idea that they must decide what "right" and "wrong" mean for themselves otherwise.
Ma'sud grew up the youngest of ten, one of the largest groups to live with Nelis at any time, and one of the most diverse. With man, mer, and beast living and growing under one roof, hearing tales and songs of the suffering of slavery and prejudice, none of them ever really let go of the idea of racism as evil. It was hard to imagine racial prejudice in such a household.
Ma'sud took away from his time with Nelis both of the Dunmer's "universal truths" and an additional one: The idea that every person has a story. He's a friendly, social person, and will gladly strike up a conversation, asking questions of people and loving to hear their stories - in return, he's often glad to help them rather than only lending an ear to their troubles.
He's been the "little one", the underdog, all his life. While he's confident and keeps his wits when he's sneaking and taking aim, when spotted he panics, flailing at his opponent with twin daggers until they fall. Relatedly, he's often meek and skittish under implied threat. He's managed to temper this somewhat over time - killing dragons has a tendency to boost the self-confidence. He gets downright cocky sometimes, even. Though he still has a big heart when it comes to people.
Ma'sud as Dragonborn:
When he first visited the Greybeards and learned more about this power and what it meant, he spent an entire afternoon in their courtyard, Whirlwind Sprinting back and forth, then pushing a bottle of wine around with Unrelenting Force, until he overdid it and threw it off the edge of the mountain. He sat quietly in front of the fire, letting his mind and throat rest, and letting it all sink in.
It seemed like a normal reaction to such a thing. It was normal. And then he killed more dragons. He got involved in the civil war, and found himself more useful and more powerful than he'd ever been. Nelis would tell anyone who asked that Ma'sud likes not being disliked too much to have demanded something extra from Anuriel when he blackmailed her - Nelis would have guessed that Ma'sud would have done the job as asked and nothing more.
But he did. Is this an ordinary power trip born of going from meek underdog to semi-competent dragonslayer in the span of a month or so? Or is it the draconic desire for power awakening with his confidence? Or, more controversially, perhaps...
Ma'sud as a Khajiit:
The man who once felt sick after killing a man in self-defense found himself much better able to steel himself for killing after a few organized battles with the Imperial Legion. An author writes that the Khajiiti mind is not made for self-reflection. However, the author is a native-born Khajiit and Nirn lacks the technology to study this empirically, so it's hard to say whether this is biological or learned - if it is inherent, then Ma'sud has taught himself to reflect on his actions, and the more he must set this aside, the easier it becomes to do so, very quickly. Does he adapt quickly, or is this because he's predisposed?
Additionally, when Ma'sud is stressed or shaken, he'll often loot a room of any loose gold, lockpicks, potions, or sometimes food it may have: the act of methodically searching drawers and sacks calms him and helps him think and reflect. While he tends to do this with rooms that aren't owned, such as the captain's quarters in a recently-claimed fort, he'll steal if there's no choice - after Sheogorath's quest, he rested at an inn and walked away with a healing potion that didn't belong to him.
Is this "calming theft", this tendency to take rather than just look, a product of theoretical racial instinct, or one of living in poverty for a long time and associating wealth with security?
Ma'sud as a member of the Thieves' Guild:
Ma'sud had never intended to join the Thieves' Guild. But he was blackmailed into joining when searching for information on Esbern's whereabouts. His love of helping people worked against him; he felt bad for the struggling guild and continued to go along. Though, his kindheartedness shines through even here. He dropped the ring and didn't condemn Brand-Shei, and immediately bought back double the amount Keerava gave him in his first mission for the Guild. He'll steal from the rich if asked, but stealing from the poor or condemning innocents aren't his idea of a good time.
He's very sensitive to the racial stereotype he's now formally stumbled into, and imagines his guildmates are thinking to themselves, "We needed a Khajiit." Nobody has said it aloud, but he's sure it's on their minds.
Ma'sud as a product of Nelis's activism:
He doesn't care if he's called a cat. By now, he's getting sick of hearing he'll make a fine rug, but he shrugs it off; he's heard it so often it's not even a decent threat anymore. In all, discrimination directed at him is a mild annoyance at most; particularly when a Stormcloak guard spits, "What do you want, cat?" when he's the only man walking away from a fresh dragon corpse, his pack loaded down with its valuable bones. It's the more general insults, the insults to his intelligence or ability, that affect him personally more than anything.
But racism against others, particularly on a larger scale, does more than annoy him, and the worst of his hate is directed at sentiment against Dunmer - he was raised by one, after all. He might have been more moved by Ulfric Stormcloak's words and manner if he hadn't found himself in the Gray Quarter first. There weren't any words of discrimination, but the air of the place was so much heavier. By the time he'd spoken to everyone he encountered in the Gray Quarter, exploring every inch of its narrow alleys with growing disgust, it was one more reason to not regret joining the Legion. He kept his tone civil as he spoke to Ulfric, but at the very end, gave a bitter, "We'll be seeing you soon," before returning to Whiterun to fight with the Legion.
Race: Khajiit
Sex: Male
Age: 20 (don't let the thick facial hair fool you, it grows quickly)
Home Province: Cyrodiil
Class/Build: Stealth Fighter/Thief (Favors Sneak, Archery, Lockpicking, Speech; also uses One-Handed, Light Armor; rarely uses Pickpocket)
(Items in blue denote Special Edition version equipment/shouts)
Weapons: Ebony Bow of Animus, various arrows (most commonly Dwarven), a pair of Fine Elven Daggers.
Armor: Hide Boots of Minor Sneaking, Thieves' Guild Gauntlets, Elven Armor,
Jewelry: Various divine amulets (usually has Dibella's, Kynareth's or Arkay's equipped, sometimes Talos's), Circlet of Archery
Shouts:
Unrelenting Force: Fus Ro Dah
Whirlwind Sprint: Wuld
Become Ethereal: Feim
Slow Time: Tiid
Clear Skies: Lok Vah Koor
Fire Breath: Yol
Dragonrend: Joor Zah Frul
Call Dragon: Od Ah Viing
Storm Call: Strun
Active Standing Stone: Thief
Thaneship: Whiterun, Hjaalmarch
House: Winstad Manor
Spouse: None
Children: Lucia
Profile:
Ma'sud is not what most expect of a Khajiit: He speaks with human syntax and as much a Cyrodiilic accent as a Khajiit's mouth can produce. He doesn't behave the way others expect a Khajiit to behave (most of the time), nor does he behave the way a Khajiit expects a Khajiit to behave. Largely cultureless, he doesn't quite fit in to Tamrielic society at large, clumsily making his way around everyone's expectations and his own.
Ma'sud is many things. Ma'sud is Dragonborn, a member of the Imperial Legion, a member of the Thieves' Guild, and the end result of one Dunmer's ambitious vision for the cultures of Tamriel. Each and every one of these guides and shapes the others, and shapes him.
Most importantly, Ma'sud is, simply, Ma'sud, and that is where we will start.
Ma'sud as Ma'sud:
Nelis, a Dunmer bard living in Cyrodiil, doesn't run an orphanage in the sense that he wants to raise the orphans he takes in himself, with his biological son Seris. He has a reason, you see. Back in Morrowind, a handful of centuries ago, he did a lot of work with the Twin Lamps, a group dedicated to freeing the Khajiiti and Argonian slaves the natives kept back then. He came away from his work with an incredibly strong conviction that racial discrimination had no place in any culture. And how does one spread such a view that runs counter to the grain of most of society? By starting at the grain, of course...
Nelis believes most morals are purely personal, with the exception of two he believes to be universal: The aforementioned view of discrimination, and that murder for the sake of murder is wrong. These two things, he tries to impress on every child he raises, along with the idea that they must decide what "right" and "wrong" mean for themselves otherwise.
Ma'sud grew up the youngest of ten, one of the largest groups to live with Nelis at any time, and one of the most diverse. With man, mer, and beast living and growing under one roof, hearing tales and songs of the suffering of slavery and prejudice, none of them ever really let go of the idea of racism as evil. It was hard to imagine racial prejudice in such a household.
Ma'sud took away from his time with Nelis both of the Dunmer's "universal truths" and an additional one: The idea that every person has a story. He's a friendly, social person, and will gladly strike up a conversation, asking questions of people and loving to hear their stories - in return, he's often glad to help them rather than only lending an ear to their troubles.
He's been the "little one", the underdog, all his life. While he's confident and keeps his wits when he's sneaking and taking aim, when spotted he panics, flailing at his opponent with twin daggers until they fall. Relatedly, he's often meek and skittish under implied threat. He's managed to temper this somewhat over time - killing dragons has a tendency to boost the self-confidence. He gets downright cocky sometimes, even. Though he still has a big heart when it comes to people.
Ma'sud as Dragonborn:
When he first visited the Greybeards and learned more about this power and what it meant, he spent an entire afternoon in their courtyard, Whirlwind Sprinting back and forth, then pushing a bottle of wine around with Unrelenting Force, until he overdid it and threw it off the edge of the mountain. He sat quietly in front of the fire, letting his mind and throat rest, and letting it all sink in.
It seemed like a normal reaction to such a thing. It was normal. And then he killed more dragons. He got involved in the civil war, and found himself more useful and more powerful than he'd ever been. Nelis would tell anyone who asked that Ma'sud likes not being disliked too much to have demanded something extra from Anuriel when he blackmailed her - Nelis would have guessed that Ma'sud would have done the job as asked and nothing more.
But he did. Is this an ordinary power trip born of going from meek underdog to semi-competent dragonslayer in the span of a month or so? Or is it the draconic desire for power awakening with his confidence? Or, more controversially, perhaps...
Ma'sud as a Khajiit:
The man who once felt sick after killing a man in self-defense found himself much better able to steel himself for killing after a few organized battles with the Imperial Legion. An author writes that the Khajiiti mind is not made for self-reflection. However, the author is a native-born Khajiit and Nirn lacks the technology to study this empirically, so it's hard to say whether this is biological or learned - if it is inherent, then Ma'sud has taught himself to reflect on his actions, and the more he must set this aside, the easier it becomes to do so, very quickly. Does he adapt quickly, or is this because he's predisposed?
Additionally, when Ma'sud is stressed or shaken, he'll often loot a room of any loose gold, lockpicks, potions, or sometimes food it may have: the act of methodically searching drawers and sacks calms him and helps him think and reflect. While he tends to do this with rooms that aren't owned, such as the captain's quarters in a recently-claimed fort, he'll steal if there's no choice - after Sheogorath's quest, he rested at an inn and walked away with a healing potion that didn't belong to him.
Is this "calming theft", this tendency to take rather than just look, a product of theoretical racial instinct, or one of living in poverty for a long time and associating wealth with security?
Ma'sud as a member of the Thieves' Guild:
Ma'sud had never intended to join the Thieves' Guild. But he was blackmailed into joining when searching for information on Esbern's whereabouts. His love of helping people worked against him; he felt bad for the struggling guild and continued to go along. Though, his kindheartedness shines through even here. He dropped the ring and didn't condemn Brand-Shei, and immediately bought back double the amount Keerava gave him in his first mission for the Guild. He'll steal from the rich if asked, but stealing from the poor or condemning innocents aren't his idea of a good time.
He's very sensitive to the racial stereotype he's now formally stumbled into, and imagines his guildmates are thinking to themselves, "We needed a Khajiit." Nobody has said it aloud, but he's sure it's on their minds.
Ma'sud as a product of Nelis's activism:
He doesn't care if he's called a cat. By now, he's getting sick of hearing he'll make a fine rug, but he shrugs it off; he's heard it so often it's not even a decent threat anymore. In all, discrimination directed at him is a mild annoyance at most; particularly when a Stormcloak guard spits, "What do you want, cat?" when he's the only man walking away from a fresh dragon corpse, his pack loaded down with its valuable bones. It's the more general insults, the insults to his intelligence or ability, that affect him personally more than anything.
But racism against others, particularly on a larger scale, does more than annoy him, and the worst of his hate is directed at sentiment against Dunmer - he was raised by one, after all. He might have been more moved by Ulfric Stormcloak's words and manner if he hadn't found himself in the Gray Quarter first. There weren't any words of discrimination, but the air of the place was so much heavier. By the time he'd spoken to everyone he encountered in the Gray Quarter, exploring every inch of its narrow alleys with growing disgust, it was one more reason to not regret joining the Legion. He kept his tone civil as he spoke to Ulfric, but at the very end, gave a bitter, "We'll be seeing you soon," before returning to Whiterun to fight with the Legion.