update from the dig: the morrowind save file i mentioned in passing was actually fine. plugged the disk in, copied the .ess file, dropped it in the saves folder, loaded right up. character is a level 14 dunmer mage with 12 unique soul gems and zero memory of why she has 12 soul gems. apparently past-me had a plan.
things i had forgotten:
- you can hand morrowind a 2GB pile of mods and it will refuse to load any of them in a different but interesting way each time
- the music is a load-bearing structural element, not a soundtrack. if you mod the music wrong the game becomes 30 percent worse
- past-me was a HOARDER. one chest, one farmhouse, 4 kg of ash yams.
going back in. report saturday.