Application - Agoge
Dec. 7th, 2017 08:00 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
macgingerPLAYER
NAME: Masa
CONTACT: dammitmasa @ plurk
ARE YOU 18 OR OLDER: Yes
CHARACTER
NAME: Mad Sweeney
CANON: American Gods (TV)
AGE: Over 3000
CANON POINT: Season One, Episode Seven - just after the ice cream van flips over
HISTORY: Here and Here.
The wiki does an adequate job covering his in-show involvement, but glosses over his backstory. From what we do know, he was a Guardian of the Mount some three thousand years ago. His legend evolved over time and he was, at some point, an Irish king of Dál nAraidi in the 7th century by the name of Buile Shuibhne. In this time, he was supposed to fight in the battle of Mog Rath, but he saw his own death in the flames (potentially some madness from Saint Ronan of Locronan). He abandoned the battle and went into a life of wandering afterwards. A tithe he was meant to pay was kept to himself, which seems to be the origin of his special sun-crested gold coin.
By the 18th century, he was still considered a guardian of the mound but his legend had been conflated with that of fairies and trolls thanks to the Christianization of his country. One fervent believer was Essie McGowan whose life landed her in America which landed Sweeney (or another incarnation of Sweeney) to end up there as well. In this ‘new world’, there were few enough people to provide him much belief to sustain him. Although he calls himself a leprechaun, it is a version of those people that predate even historic understanding of the word (which is why he’s very tall rather than very short).
PERSONALITY:
Sweeney is the product of three thousand years of existence, belief, reinvention, and neglect.
On the surface level, Mad Sweeney is a mishmash of Irish stereotypes as the angry redheaded drunk. To some extent there is some truth to that, given that he is a creature born of belief. He inhabits a persona that’s expected of him, while at the same time actively flouting these traits (preferring southern comfort over Guiness and no longer having an Irish accent). The fact he labels himself a leprechaun and fetches gold coins from the air does little to help his case in breaking stereotypes.
Taken at face value, Sweeney would have you believe he doesn’t give a fuck about much of anything. His attitude his toxic, his demeanor unfriendly, and his general outlook on life is bleak. He is not the kind of man who opens up easily, which isn’t uncommon for old gods. By nature they prefer their own kind, often associating with their own pantheon and rarely working with outsiders. But Sweeney has been very much alone for a long while since he was first brought to America and it shows.
His relative unimportance has landed him working with other more notable old gods like Wednesday, though he doesn’t relish it at all. This can be seen when he keeps trying to talk Shadow out of making a pact with Wednesday, even despite having played a part in arranging all of it. But this marks a fundamental difference in Sweeney’s outlook on mortals and gods as opposed to a more traditional god like Odin. Sweeney isn’t a being of worship, but is still a creature of belief who can expect tribute from humans but not in the way of sacrifices. Sweeney holds a clear disdain for high stakes worship like many of the old gods crave and in his own time, operated on a more equal footing with his believers in how he shared his blessings.
But what truly gets at the heart of Sweeney’s frustrations and anger is not that he’s been forgotten or that leprechauns are little more than cereal box mascots, but the knowledge of his own failings that date back to the very reason he earned his name in the first place. The battle of Mog Rath was where he was supposed to fight, but he abandoned that battle to save his own life. He was said to have wandered ever since in madness according to the tale, but the reality of it is that Sweeney feels as though he owes a ‘final battle’ which he does not see himself surviving. He knows that he must atone for that cowardice, but he remains reluctant to that fate and it makes him volatile as a consequence.
Yet for a god that’s over three thousand years old, he’s terrible at making good choices. He is from the fairy folk and is a trickster by nature, but he’d mostly account for a lot of his decisions in the past as being downright fucked. Most recently this centers around the death of Laura Moon, which Sweeney himself was the cause under orders by Wednesday. Despite having the immortal’s long view of mortal, he felt guilt over the act which was only exacerbated by having to deal with a revived and zombie-like Laura as a traveling companion. This culminates in a moment of angered clarity when he has a chance to reclaim his coin. "Why does the shit always happen to me? Have I not suffered enough? I am not bad! I am not!"
But as Wednesday observed, he is handicapped by being a ‘fucking idiot’. Age has not made Sweeney mature, only cynical. So this self resentment he feels comes out as being ill mannered and harsh, constantly peppering his language with curses and acting volatile to others. He is entirely about the moment and is very susceptible to the vices and escapes of the mortal world, be it cigarettes, drugs, alcohol, or whatever else falls in his lap. They are his coping mechanism for a life of doomed irrelevance and a growing cynicism for humanity and himself. This is in stark contrast to the guardian who used to be, who played the part of a devoted god to Essie McGowan whether it was offering her good fortune, keeping her company in prison, or personally escorting her to her afterlife at the end of her days.
Sweeney is a man on a path, but he’s reluctant to stay on it. He knows exactly where it will lead and he’s torn between accepting his own death and whatever might come with it and trying to live what little of a life he can lead to its fullest. Despite his attitude, he’s a loyal companion despite having once been a traitor. He’s a real bastard on the outside, but is an honest man trying to get by as best he can. He’s trapped in a world with little magic, despite coming from a land of fairies and other such folk. Quick to anger and slow to forget, but otherwise a contradiction to himself. It’s little wonder they call him Mad.
POWERS:
Summary:
Sweeney is a godlike person whose strength and power is influenced by belief. He is baseline more durable and stronger than humans, but far from invulnerable.
He can pluck coins from the ‘Hoard’ and seems to be able to access an unlimited supply.
Thanks to a coin he possesses, he has the ability to affect luck as well as being endowed with superhuman strength.
Elaborated:
Although counted among the ‘old gods’, Sweeney is less a being of worship and more considered to be a member of the supernatural fairy folk. In the context of his canon, being counted among that crowd has a few implications. Chiefly it’s that he’s immortal as long as some shred of belief in him is still around. Belief is fundamental to his power and so the more people who believe in him, the more power he has. Sacrifices made in his name (be it a blood sacrifice or just leaving food out for him) are an even greater source of power. Being that he is in a time traveling game, Sweeney’s own influence and power will depend on the closer he is to the peak of his influence (pre-Christianization) and to Ireland. Gaining new believers could also contribute as well.
In his current form, Sweeney is physically not that much more than a man. He is a bit more durable and seems to be able to take more abuse and recover quicker than a normal person would, but he can still be killed. Although he doesn’t age, he is very much still vulnerable. In the books, another forgotten god is killed by being run over by a car. His book incarnation dies of exposure during a cold winter, although he seems to continue to ‘live’ in a spirit like form afterwards. But given his role as a former guardian, he’s built more for fighting than other gods might be. He can pack a punch.
At the height of his power, Sweeney has a power over fortune both good and ill. In the life of Essie McGowan, he increases her fortune when she faithfully pays tribute to him, but her luck turns sour when she lapses in those habits. In his diminished modern day incarnation, his power over probability seems to be diminished significantly. However he does maintain a knowledge on how to reach the ‘Hoard’. Gods are able to access other realms connected to the main one and in Sweeney’s case, this is him being able to pull coins from a realm called the ‘Hoard’ that has some connection to the sun. There is a seemingly endless amount of these gold coins and he can make them appear and disappear at will. In the novel, he retains this ability even up to his death when he is at his most diminished state.
Finally, Sweeney is in possession of a unique coin associated with the sun. The origins of it aren’t entirely spelled out in the novel, but it’s implied that it was meant to be paid as a tithe to an ancient king whose service Sweeney abandoned. The coin itself provides a variety of different abilities. Chiefly it affects Sweeney’s ability to affect probability, as his luck (and those around him) instantly turns to shit once he loses the coin. It also seems to provide superhuman strength and the ability to give life as seen with Laura Moon, who is brought back from the dead and endowed with superhuman strength. It’s likely that this same coin is how Sweeney was able to survive even though there was no one left who would believe in his tales to otherwise sustain him.
SAMPLES
1ST PERSON: Here and here
3rd PERSON: Here
MISC
PLANS: Sweeney isn’t particularly concerned with preserving human history since he’s personally witnessed so much of it and it’s all fucked. However going from one era to another may inspire him to try to ‘build’ his own legend in earlier time periods more prone to influence to better sustain himself. Also he might just plain mess things up for the sheer hell of it since being so old, he isn’t going to be that worried about a butterfly effect having much impact on him personally.
ITEM: The gold sun coin mentioned above.
CHARACTER @ID SUGGESTIONS: @Colmain
HOW DID YOUR CHARACTER JOIN COST? Mad Sweeney doesn’t remember, but he assumes that because he has his coin back that they bought his services that way. (In fact he picked it up after the accident, but his memory is a little foggy on that point.)
NAME: Masa
CONTACT: dammitmasa @ plurk
ARE YOU 18 OR OLDER: Yes
CHARACTER
NAME: Mad Sweeney
CANON: American Gods (TV)
AGE: Over 3000
CANON POINT: Season One, Episode Seven - just after the ice cream van flips over
HISTORY: Here and Here.
The wiki does an adequate job covering his in-show involvement, but glosses over his backstory. From what we do know, he was a Guardian of the Mount some three thousand years ago. His legend evolved over time and he was, at some point, an Irish king of Dál nAraidi in the 7th century by the name of Buile Shuibhne. In this time, he was supposed to fight in the battle of Mog Rath, but he saw his own death in the flames (potentially some madness from Saint Ronan of Locronan). He abandoned the battle and went into a life of wandering afterwards. A tithe he was meant to pay was kept to himself, which seems to be the origin of his special sun-crested gold coin.
By the 18th century, he was still considered a guardian of the mound but his legend had been conflated with that of fairies and trolls thanks to the Christianization of his country. One fervent believer was Essie McGowan whose life landed her in America which landed Sweeney (or another incarnation of Sweeney) to end up there as well. In this ‘new world’, there were few enough people to provide him much belief to sustain him. Although he calls himself a leprechaun, it is a version of those people that predate even historic understanding of the word (which is why he’s very tall rather than very short).
PERSONALITY:
Sweeney is the product of three thousand years of existence, belief, reinvention, and neglect.
On the surface level, Mad Sweeney is a mishmash of Irish stereotypes as the angry redheaded drunk. To some extent there is some truth to that, given that he is a creature born of belief. He inhabits a persona that’s expected of him, while at the same time actively flouting these traits (preferring southern comfort over Guiness and no longer having an Irish accent). The fact he labels himself a leprechaun and fetches gold coins from the air does little to help his case in breaking stereotypes.
Taken at face value, Sweeney would have you believe he doesn’t give a fuck about much of anything. His attitude his toxic, his demeanor unfriendly, and his general outlook on life is bleak. He is not the kind of man who opens up easily, which isn’t uncommon for old gods. By nature they prefer their own kind, often associating with their own pantheon and rarely working with outsiders. But Sweeney has been very much alone for a long while since he was first brought to America and it shows.
His relative unimportance has landed him working with other more notable old gods like Wednesday, though he doesn’t relish it at all. This can be seen when he keeps trying to talk Shadow out of making a pact with Wednesday, even despite having played a part in arranging all of it. But this marks a fundamental difference in Sweeney’s outlook on mortals and gods as opposed to a more traditional god like Odin. Sweeney isn’t a being of worship, but is still a creature of belief who can expect tribute from humans but not in the way of sacrifices. Sweeney holds a clear disdain for high stakes worship like many of the old gods crave and in his own time, operated on a more equal footing with his believers in how he shared his blessings.
But what truly gets at the heart of Sweeney’s frustrations and anger is not that he’s been forgotten or that leprechauns are little more than cereal box mascots, but the knowledge of his own failings that date back to the very reason he earned his name in the first place. The battle of Mog Rath was where he was supposed to fight, but he abandoned that battle to save his own life. He was said to have wandered ever since in madness according to the tale, but the reality of it is that Sweeney feels as though he owes a ‘final battle’ which he does not see himself surviving. He knows that he must atone for that cowardice, but he remains reluctant to that fate and it makes him volatile as a consequence.
Yet for a god that’s over three thousand years old, he’s terrible at making good choices. He is from the fairy folk and is a trickster by nature, but he’d mostly account for a lot of his decisions in the past as being downright fucked. Most recently this centers around the death of Laura Moon, which Sweeney himself was the cause under orders by Wednesday. Despite having the immortal’s long view of mortal, he felt guilt over the act which was only exacerbated by having to deal with a revived and zombie-like Laura as a traveling companion. This culminates in a moment of angered clarity when he has a chance to reclaim his coin. "Why does the shit always happen to me? Have I not suffered enough? I am not bad! I am not!"
But as Wednesday observed, he is handicapped by being a ‘fucking idiot’. Age has not made Sweeney mature, only cynical. So this self resentment he feels comes out as being ill mannered and harsh, constantly peppering his language with curses and acting volatile to others. He is entirely about the moment and is very susceptible to the vices and escapes of the mortal world, be it cigarettes, drugs, alcohol, or whatever else falls in his lap. They are his coping mechanism for a life of doomed irrelevance and a growing cynicism for humanity and himself. This is in stark contrast to the guardian who used to be, who played the part of a devoted god to Essie McGowan whether it was offering her good fortune, keeping her company in prison, or personally escorting her to her afterlife at the end of her days.
Sweeney is a man on a path, but he’s reluctant to stay on it. He knows exactly where it will lead and he’s torn between accepting his own death and whatever might come with it and trying to live what little of a life he can lead to its fullest. Despite his attitude, he’s a loyal companion despite having once been a traitor. He’s a real bastard on the outside, but is an honest man trying to get by as best he can. He’s trapped in a world with little magic, despite coming from a land of fairies and other such folk. Quick to anger and slow to forget, but otherwise a contradiction to himself. It’s little wonder they call him Mad.
POWERS:
Summary:
Elaborated:
Although counted among the ‘old gods’, Sweeney is less a being of worship and more considered to be a member of the supernatural fairy folk. In the context of his canon, being counted among that crowd has a few implications. Chiefly it’s that he’s immortal as long as some shred of belief in him is still around. Belief is fundamental to his power and so the more people who believe in him, the more power he has. Sacrifices made in his name (be it a blood sacrifice or just leaving food out for him) are an even greater source of power. Being that he is in a time traveling game, Sweeney’s own influence and power will depend on the closer he is to the peak of his influence (pre-Christianization) and to Ireland. Gaining new believers could also contribute as well.
In his current form, Sweeney is physically not that much more than a man. He is a bit more durable and seems to be able to take more abuse and recover quicker than a normal person would, but he can still be killed. Although he doesn’t age, he is very much still vulnerable. In the books, another forgotten god is killed by being run over by a car. His book incarnation dies of exposure during a cold winter, although he seems to continue to ‘live’ in a spirit like form afterwards. But given his role as a former guardian, he’s built more for fighting than other gods might be. He can pack a punch.
At the height of his power, Sweeney has a power over fortune both good and ill. In the life of Essie McGowan, he increases her fortune when she faithfully pays tribute to him, but her luck turns sour when she lapses in those habits. In his diminished modern day incarnation, his power over probability seems to be diminished significantly. However he does maintain a knowledge on how to reach the ‘Hoard’. Gods are able to access other realms connected to the main one and in Sweeney’s case, this is him being able to pull coins from a realm called the ‘Hoard’ that has some connection to the sun. There is a seemingly endless amount of these gold coins and he can make them appear and disappear at will. In the novel, he retains this ability even up to his death when he is at his most diminished state.
Finally, Sweeney is in possession of a unique coin associated with the sun. The origins of it aren’t entirely spelled out in the novel, but it’s implied that it was meant to be paid as a tithe to an ancient king whose service Sweeney abandoned. The coin itself provides a variety of different abilities. Chiefly it affects Sweeney’s ability to affect probability, as his luck (and those around him) instantly turns to shit once he loses the coin. It also seems to provide superhuman strength and the ability to give life as seen with Laura Moon, who is brought back from the dead and endowed with superhuman strength. It’s likely that this same coin is how Sweeney was able to survive even though there was no one left who would believe in his tales to otherwise sustain him.
SAMPLES
1ST PERSON: Here and here
3rd PERSON: Here
MISC
PLANS: Sweeney isn’t particularly concerned with preserving human history since he’s personally witnessed so much of it and it’s all fucked. However going from one era to another may inspire him to try to ‘build’ his own legend in earlier time periods more prone to influence to better sustain himself. Also he might just plain mess things up for the sheer hell of it since being so old, he isn’t going to be that worried about a butterfly effect having much impact on him personally.
ITEM: The gold sun coin mentioned above.
CHARACTER @ID SUGGESTIONS: @Colmain
HOW DID YOUR CHARACTER JOIN COST? Mad Sweeney doesn’t remember, but he assumes that because he has his coin back that they bought his services that way. (In fact he picked it up after the accident, but his memory is a little foggy on that point.)
