blindwatchersees

(Pumpkin Hollow IC inbox)

PLAYER
Name: Nimbus
Age: 29
Contact: redheadednimbus on Discord
Permission Post: [Here]
Reserve: N/A

CHARACTER
Name: Sheogorath, Lord of the Shivering Isles, Prince of Madness, Lord of the Never-There, the Skooma Cat, Father of Music, Lord of the Creative and Lord of the Deranged, Father of Metamorphosis
True Name: That gets a little complicated between how the ship works vs how TES lore works, so we'll just say... Macaelius. Macaelius Athatel.
Canon: Post TES IV DLC
Age: Timeless
History: [Here]

Powers/Abilities/Weaknesses: (DISCLAIMER: All powers with the exception of self-shifting will be strictly opt-in) Metaphysically speaking, Sheogorath isn't really a person. Or he is, but that comes second to being madness. A shapeshifter and a powerful spirit, Sheogorath is chaotic even by Daedra standards, his moods and his whims ever-changing, and it's not a tall order for him to turn things (and people) into other things. He can also read people's minds and incite or intensify certain emotions. He's also able to wield typical elemental magic, but that's really not his cup of tea. Sheogorath thrives on chaos, and it's his cosmic duty to trick, test, and question.

Sheogorath is not just madness, but brilliance as well. He is the self-proclaimed "Lord of the Creative and Lord of the Deranged." He has a natural gift for music (some stories say he's the spirit that invented music in the first place), and it's not unusual for him to manifest as a whirl of color or a storm of butterflies or an undulating cloud-layer stained gold and lavender by the sunset's rays. Or, you know, whatever is inspiring at the moment.

Per his title "Lord of the Never-There," Sheogorath can see things and people that no longer exist, though it's difficult for him to distinguish between a real "un-vision" versus something that is purely a hallucination. Actually, is there any difference?

He also explicitly and canonically can turn into a cat. Tiny cat with a tiny vest. No yarn is safe from him.

Sheogorath is repulsed by the idea of perfect order. Natural order, sure, he likes that, he thinks it's great! But perfect order, the idea that literally everything can be predicted, that everything from the origin of the universe is predestined and nothing is left to chance- the thought makes him want to turn his skin inside out (when he's wearing skin). Unfortunately for him, he was once crammed into the same existence with the Daedric Prince of Perfect Order, Jyggalag, and forcing him to remember being Jyggalag is a quick and easy way to get him to capitulate.

Being a spirit, Sheogorath can be summoned (and in fact, he loves being summoned so much that he'll even show up when the summoner is trying to call someone else), and with the right conditions, he can be bound. This Sheogorath is already bound in a sense, his manifestations confined to a given place and his powers limited. His powers are also limited purely by the fact that he is not in his own realm, which is a reality where he holds absolute sway, and he's cut off from his realm as a wellspring. Therefore, this manifestation can bleed and die like anyone else.

He's also surprisingly easy to distract. Depending on his form, there's usually something you can give him that will steal away his attention. By extension, doing so will usually take the edge off your own anxieties or doubts.

Oh, and Sheogorath was also once a mortal elf, but the universe he comes from isn't allowed to know that. Don't tell him and don't remind him, sometimes he's worried that the elf is planning to assassinate him. Actually, depending on the day, he might become incredibly on edge around mirrors- he sees them as doorways that the elf might come through. This is moot on days when he's manifesting AS the elf, but... look, just don't expect consistency from the Prince of Madness and you'll be fine.

Again, when dealing with him, it's important to remember that he's a concept-person. He has his own wants and needs, but first and foremost, he is the culmination and animus of madness, creativity, and the general chaos of the mind. How he behaves, how he appears, these things change depending on who he's talking to. He is a reflection of an individual's fears, or thoughts, or musings, or traumas, or any combination of those things. Interacting with Sheogorath means interacting with different aspects of an individual's own mind, albeit that interaction is given a face and a voice and a jaunty step.

Inventory: The Staff of Sheogorath, the Wabbajack, his signet ring, the Sword of Jyggalag, the Fork of Horripilation, the Figment Blade (a glass dagger with a flaming enchantment on it, it actually deals either imaginary, visible wounds or very real, invisible ones, depending on the intentions of the wielder), a very old wedding ring, a tiny metal box filled with sunlight and teeth, a once-animate teaset named Pliny that has ceased to be 'alive' since coming to the ship

Job History:

-Prince of Madness

-Lord of the Never-There

-Retired Metaphysical Prison Warden

-Provides Up to Date Information to a Network of Freelancing Individuals

-Expert Marksman

-Cheese Connoisseur

-Entertainer

-Master Artisan

-Passive Income Generator (currency: madness)

Suppressions: Sheogorath is a strong advocate of free will in a world where almost everything is destiny. He cannot be convinced that anything is set in stone, but you can certainly try, and you might even make him squirm.

Sheogorath also pushes back against his old identities, for fear that they will reclaim him, though unlike his counterpart, Jyggalag, who avoids alluding to their previous existence arrangement at all costs, Sheogorath will still allude to the strangeness that is the wigglyness of reality. You might just have to push him a little.

Oh, and if you push the matter too much, he might try to break your mind to keep you (and him) from thinking about it too much. Getting too into contemplating metaphysics can actually force him to "reset," where he'll have a breakdown and promptly forget a large chunk of the conversation as far back as several hours. Considering you can wink out of reality in his world if you realize too much about reality, it's an important defense mechanism, but it's really jarring.

Greatest Fear: Turning back into Jyggalag- perfect, gleaming metal armor tearing out of him from the inside like so many times before, his passions and dreams and ideas all turning grey and cold and rigid.

Greatest Desire: To form as much of a relationship with as many mortals as possible. He adores mortals, he finds them fascinating, and they can be such fun!

Greatest Regret: Daedra Princes don't really have regrets. If there's something they don't like, they change it. But somehow, Sheogorath still wonders at times if things would have been better if a certain elf had never stumbled through the portal to his world, or if it would have been better if that elf's husband had never stumbled into the waiting arms of a volatile, unpredictable deity...

Sample: [A gad about with Erin Peters]