#tortulja

[whatoddities]

What Kind of Love are You?

Tortulja (Gloria) –– Love as a Threshold

Your love does not ask for much. Your love does not take. Your love is free, and unquestioned, and here for wherever needs it. When you fall in love, it is as gentle as a breath in the night. It is quiet, and it is effortless. It is tender. If your love was a house, it would readily welcome all who come through. If your love was a hearth, it would warm the hands of whoever stopped by, whether for a day, a month, a year, or forever. When you fall for someone, it is without strings, without conditions, without need. You love for the sake of loving, for the sake of caring for those who need it. You love with a giver’s heart and a giver’s hands and are made so much stronger for it. Being loved by you is to always feel at home. Your love may not always be well-received by those unprepared to linger, but it is unforgettable all the same.

[dalamusrex]

What is Dal's most unusual habit?

This one took a while for me to think of an answer for! For all of Dal's eccentricities, his general habits are surprisingly mundane.

He paces when he is upset. He self-soothes by pushing a hand through his hair. He touches his face, especially his scars, when thinking absentmindedly. He cleans his teeth every day and chews mint to make his breath smell nice. He makes the bed when he wakes up. He goes for a walk or run when he has pent up energy. Etc, etc.

But one thing stuck out to me: the way he speaks, and the way he addresses others.

Dalamus has a very particular way of speaking, and it is entirely deliberate! He does not use contractions in his speech. In general, he projects his voice clearly, and speaks at a measured pace. This is his way of making sure he always sounds as comprehensible as possible (there's no mistaking "can't" for "can" if he says "cannot" instead).

He also does not tend to shorten names, unless the name is given to him shortened and he is unaware of one's full name. One example is that he knows Tortulja's full name and addresses her as such, rather than her nickname Tort, even though he is aware of the nickname. But when meeting Oriinthel, she introduced herself as Ori, so that is what Dalamus calls her as he is not privy to her full name. It's just his way of making sure his speech is clearly understood and consistent.

In lieu of nicknames, he will use terms of endearment. His favorites are "darling" and "sweetheart", or occasionally "love" or "my love". "Darling" is sometimes used sarcastically, while "sweetheart" is most often genuine affection. "Love/my love" is typically used for a romantic partner but is not necessarily exclusive to them. Sometimes he will create his own nickname for loved ones, such as Tommy's nickname "Hla Shud" which means "little tooth" in Dunmeris on account of Tommy being a young werewolf.

If Dalamus does use shortened names or contractions, it is often an indication of severe stress or at the very least, surprise. Loved ones are acutely aware of this, but those who don't know Dal that well probably wouldn't connect the dots.

[themageandthemisanthrope]

👀

"ah yeah, I know the one. Tiny thing, like you. But a Nord. She's friendly, even to me...occasionally."

[tortulja]

"I don't want to do it." [Hjolrin]

[Prompt]

Of course he wouldn’t, and Tortulja would never force him. With how frequently Arlain was off - fighting dragons and saving the world - she knew it took it’s toll on Hjolrin, and she only wanted to try and distract him.

But asking him to stray away from home was too much.

“Then we don’t have to go far at all. We can set up right outside the house if you want and I can go get the supplies from town myself,” she offered, a small, hopeful smile on her face. “All you’d have to do is get a fire going and maybe put down a blanket for us to sit on. Is that okay?”

[beastlyburden]

#6 [Homesick] - Tommy

Tommy has discovered a pattern with his Wolf: that being the Wolf continuously takes him further and further west during his runs. The only thing the Breton can figure is the Wolf is attempting to head home, or at least somewhere more familiar, and it pains him to think of that.

After a open-hearted discussion with Tortulja, Tommy took to practicing his writing and letting some of his grief out by writing to his family.

Ma? Pa? Rowley? Haren?

…a friend said that y’all could hear me, up there in the Grounds, ‘n I’d like to think she’s right. She might work at a Hall for Arkay, but he seems to know a good deal about the dead himself, 'n I don’t see why Hircine wouldn’t let ya hear me. Y’all were always good Wolves for ‘im. Shame ya can’t say anythin’ back to me, though, cause I could use some advice. Or a lot of advice, really.

It’s… it’s lonely now. Empty. And it’s hard. Y’all bein’ gone. I know you always told us that one day you weren’t gonna be there ‘n we’d be on our own, but… it never seemed like it was gonna happen… the… the way that it did.

Ella’s safe. I made sure of it. She’s with Una ‘n Greda out at the mill, but she’s been talkin’ about maybe going up to that mage College in Winterhold. I don’t like the thought of her being so far from me, but Greda said it’ll do her some good. Give her some confidence ‘n help her grow up ‘n be an independent woman. I suppose they’d know more about that kind of stuff than I would, but I still get worried when I think about it.

The ones that took ya from us, they’re… they’re dead. I… I wasn’t the one who did it. Someone else had to. It don’t feel right that it’s how it went down, but… I dunno if I’d would’a had the strength to do it myself anyway. Didn’t bring ya back, though. Didn’t make me feel any better knowin’ they were gone. I mean… sure, they ain’t gonna be the ones hurtin’ folk like us anymore, but there’s always more, ain’t there?

Cleaned up the house, locked it up too, but… I dunno if we’ll ever be able to go back inside. Maybe someday, but… but not anytime soon. It still hurts too much. It hurts just thinkin’ about it.

[wandererfromthenorth]

‘ no, but you promised yourself, and that does count. ’

"Only a little," she conceded, giving a noncommittal shrug. Halldis stared pointedly at the floor, unwilling to look Tort in the eyes, "I'd rather let myself down than someone else."

[askdusty]

❛ What are you looking at ? ❜

“Ah!” Dust blinks, seeming to realize now she was staring. “I apologize, dear. Didn’t mean to gawk. I just rarely see eyes quite as beautifully green as yours - they’re quite lovely.” 

[boarchasers]

“Clearly there needs to be some ground rules established.”

‘Ground rules? Are you serious? Do you still not trust me? What more do I have to–’

At which point reason, priestly vows, and the knowledge that anything he said might be reported back to Hjolrin or Frithjofr later cut Haaki short. He closed his eyes and breathed in deeply until he was able to look at Tortulja without gritting his teeth, although his hands remained knotted into fists at his side.

‘I mean, of course. Whatever you say. What ground rules did you have in mind?’

[therunawayscamp]

“Which would you choose?”

R’khan had been watching his crew unload a series of crates onto the docks from his perch atop a barrel, making conversation with Tortulja as a passer-by, something to fill in the time while Azareth counted off their goods. Now he shifted his legs and chewed the stem of his pipe, as his head turned to study Tortulja properly for the first time.

‘Now, why’d a pretty young lass like you want advice from a salty old dog like me?’ he asked. He removed the pipe and gave her a cheerful smile. ‘Is it because mebbe you already knows what you wants, and you just needs to hear someone else say it?’

[southronsongbird]

“You look vaguely familiar…”

“I do?” Bergitte asked, both surprised and intrigued. No doubt there were many red-headed ladies in Solitude, and she was often out and about. She studied the woman, trying to recall if she’d seen her before, but found herself drawing a blank.

“Um...you may have seen me playing the flute with Pantea at the Inn. Or at the festival a little while back. All the students from the College were there,” she paused, tilting her head in thought, “I work at Radiant Raiment too...”

[lifesadogfight]

“You look tired. Need a place to stay or a meal to wat?”

[Prompt]

“Uh, no, I’m just gonna get to Tort’s an’ sleep there,” he said, not wanting Llaara to see the state he was in. It wasn’t bad - a few scrapes and bruises here or there - but he had mud and dirt smeared all over and he was planning on washing off in the lake before going inside to sleep.

“Thank ya, though. I appreciate it. I just don’t wanna bother no one.”

[whatoddities]

Friendly reminder that I no longer have access to the following blogs thanks to Tumblr:

Arlain - dragonbornguard (created 9 years ago, 31 pages of content) Tommy - lifesadogfight (created 6 years ago, 41 pages of content) Arlow - notalwaysthiscuddly (created 8 years ago, 39 pages of content) Sibby - sibjorn (created 9 years ago, 61 pages of content) Signy - eternaltaxidermy (created 9 years ago, 33 pages of content) Cyril - riftenriffraff (created 8 years ago, 24 pages of content)

I do still have access to the following, but some of them may be replaced or merged with a blog I lost:

Tortulja - tortulja Shad - honortoprove Bo - bloodshonor Bart - quickerpickerupper Asher - scoundrelsfolly Thias - bolstertheranks Dram - bedlamdram Nelle - gravecuriosity Arlow and Tommy - beastlyburden

[dalamusrex]

@whatoddities @tortulja

It's been a while since I've drawn Tort :)

[telltalethief]

“Is that your date?”

“Hmm?” Llaara quickly turned to look at who Tort was referring to, and upon seeing it was Tommy she felt a slight heat rise to her cheeks. “Oh, um… I don’t know? That’s kinda terrible to say, but I really don’t know,” she said in a quiet tone. “I mean, I did go here with him, but I also went here with Bo and Halldis.”

Suddenly something seemed to dawn on her and the blush darkened. "Do you think he believes so?” She asked, lowering her voice further.

[tortulja]

“ i’m all done, do your thing.”

[Prompt]

Tortulja stood back and gave what appeared to be a critical eye to the work Halldis had done. After what seemed like too long, a smile broke across her face and she gave the fellow Nord a gleeful pat on the shoulder.

“No, there’s nothing I need to do, you did great!” she exclaimed, motioning towards the cleaned and flowered headstone. “Look how beautiful those dragon’s tongues look with the yellow and red mountain flowers. So simple, but so elegant.”

[vvardenfellcat]

“So what all have you done so far?”

The Khajiit giggled, gently pushing Ghost’s nose away from his tankard, the mare insistent on having another drink.

“Food, drink, that’s about it. Might try a contest later, depends on how sober I am when it starts.” He took a drink from his tankard, grinning when his horse decided that nibbling on his ear was the best way to get his attention. He licked his lips.

“Y’should try some! They got really good stuff. Iunno what’s all in this, but it’s really good, and then there’s this roast pork and apples, venison, loads of pies… I don’t think my stomach is big enough to try everything, but it’s worth a shot.”