OOC post: tesserae and moustaches

So, why did I manip tesserae today, and remove a moustache from an ancient Byzantine mosaic in order to get Teja a period icon?

Well, there is this mosaic in Constantinople, in an old Byzantine palace, dated back to the emperor for whom Narses defeated the Goths. It is supposed to show a conquered Goth king, Wikipedia tell us.

Now, contrast that face with Felix Dahn's first description of Teja:

Truly, from the a man of highly remarkable appearance was approaching.

The full light of the torch fell on a ghostly pale visage that appeared almost devoid of blood; long, shiny black locks hung from the uncovered head like dark snakes, tumbling messily to his shoulders. High-arching black brows and long lashes shadowed melancholy dark eyes full of banked fire, a hooked nose descended sharply towards a finely cut mouth in a smoothly shaven face that was haggard with resigned suffering.

Figure and bearing were youthful still, but the soul seemed matured by pain long before its time.

He was wearing body armour and greaves of black iron, and in his right hand, a battle axe on a long, lance-like shaft was glittering. Briefly nodding his head, he greeted the others and stood behind the old man.

Now, they're all there in that mosaic portrait -- pale face, black hair, melancholy dark eyes, full mouth. We don't know that the suspected 'conquered Gothic king' on the mosaic was supposed to be Teja: - but I'd rather say that Felix Dahn knew the picture from some illustration or early photograph, description in a book on art, or the like, when he decided what Teja was to look like.

Minus the moustache -- he is adamant that Teja is clean-shaven! Some of his characters have beards, but as moustaches go, rather popular in 1876, he doesn't seem to have liked them any more than I do, to have mentally manipped it away from the picture for the description of Teja.

Then, there was the movie - an Italian sword-and-sandal movie from the late sixties that I only got to see ages after I'd read Teja's canon up and down until the book fell apart. There was re-run season every summer in some movie theatres in Mainz and Wiesbaden, but we were always gone somewhere when it was on.

I was terribly disappointed. Teja, my favourite character from the book, was hardly more than a walk-on extra, and he had that horrid, horrid HORRID moustache, out of the blue, for no good reason that I could see.

Did I mention I don't like moustaches?

Now, looking at the mosaic portrait, I think I know where that seemingly random moustache came from - the mosaic, of course! They put it 'back' - thinking that, if that is Teja, he should look like his portrait. But it isn't necessarily Teja - it's merely some random Goth king that Felix Dahn ued for Teja's physical description. Minus moustache. And as I play Teja firmly from that canon - nothing would remain if I took the canon as an excuse to play him from history! - the moustache stays off, manipped off with PSP's clone brush, just as Felix Dahn had manipped it off mentally 130 years earlier.

I think it's legitimate to not like moustaches.-