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PLAYER INFO

Name: Lausanne.
Age: 30.
Contact: blackspire

CHARACTER INFO

Character Name: Eliot Waugh.
Canon: The Magicians.
Canon Point: Season 5, Episode 6.
Appearance: Tall (6' 2") and quite lithe looking, brown eyes, dark brown curly hair, a prominent nose and a cleft chin.
Age: 28.

Character snapshot: On the outside, Eliot seems fairly basic. He likes to dress up and look good, and he's not the sharpest crayon in the box, and he loves a good party. He's deeply troubled, though, having quite severe issues with addiction and self esteem, but when someone manages to get past all that they'll see he's a lot more than that. He's caring and kind, loyal to his friends, and surprisingly selfless when the moment calls for it.

World description: Eliot's world is basically exactly like the current world. It's 2018/2019 and you'd honestly think there was nothing peculiar about it, except that magic is very real and is often right in plain view of non-magicians. He attended a magic graduate school hidden from the world, dragons live in famous rivers like The Hudson River, and other, magical dimensions exist. He spent a while as king in a seemingly fictional world called Fillory, that's like a very backwards and not at all child friendly fairy tale land (think Narnia but with Millennial humour).

History: He was born and raised in rural Indiana, to a family that didn't like him at all because he was clearly very different than them. He was bullied throughout his youth and ended up in upstate New York for college, which he more or less dropped out of, before he ended up at Brakebills School for Magic. That's where he met the most important people in his life, and it's how he ended up in another world called Fillory. Eliot, it turned out, had the blood of the High King in him so he was saddled with ruling the kingdom until his people turned on him. While all of this was happening, Eliot helped his friends save magic (which was essentially going extinct), but all things come with a cost and he ended up possessed by an ancient entity known as The Monster. Luckily, he survived in a part of his consciousness so he was able to come back to his body. And if that wasn't enough, while Eliot was dealing with the death of a friend after all of that, he was also dealing with Fillory being overtaken by a Dark King and still somehow managed to save the world from the moon exploding.

What are your character’s mental/emotional strengths?

He's actually quite intelligent. Not in a way that he could be called smart, but in an intuitive way - Eliot naturally picks up on difficult magic and is quick to come up with solutions to bizarre problems. He does a number of simple castings without having to think about them, but he also created a portable party, as well as helped to create a portal from a very warded school to an entirely different country.

Eliot has a large capacity for empathy. In the same vein as his intuitiveness, he has a knack for being able to put people at ease. Sometimes, it's simply about a well placed, and maybe self deprecating joke, but then there are times where Eliot will expose something raw and personal about himself (like telling Quentin quite early on about accidentally killing his bully in high school). This also extends to him caring a lot about the people close to him. Despite his own grieving, he kept a lot of things to himself regarding his relationship with Quentin to avoid upsetting or hurting Alice following Quentin's death, which is quite poignant given the rocky history he and Alice have.

With tendencies towards bravery, Eliot can be remarkably selfless, putting those he cares about before himself. From the extreme of killing someone he loved to save his friends to something as simple as championing their victories at the expense of a loss to him. He didn't blink at the idea of spending a life time away from what he knows if it meant (sort of) saving the world, and he faced what should've been his death with a resigned dignity.

What are your character’s mental/emotional weaknesses?

He's detached and aloof from most things going on around him, including his studies. Eliot, by his own admission, doesn't really try. He says on several occasions that he either failed classes or used sources such as wikipedia and Spark Notes, and has many "all beauty, no brains" moments.

Eliot suffers from very obvious and very severe dependency issues. His alcoholism goes beyond his Life Of The Party persona, as it's his preferred way to bury his emotions (he carries around a flask that's been enchanted to never go empty). Eliot enjoys that drinking, along with the occasional drug use, means he can blame his choices on the booze. He also enjoys the numbness that alcohol offers. Eliot is described as an addict by others in the show for a reason, and this isn't just limited to substance abuse.

Another major dependency Eliot has is on people. He admits that he gets attached easily and that he tries not to, because, as he says, "things aren't usually worth caring about." His fear of commitment comes from a fear of feeling he'll inevitably mess up a good thing, like when he got scared about actually living life with Quentin so he rejected him. When Eliot decides to open up to a person, they become a crutch for him. Eliot seeks out strength in them along with approval. He finds a large degree of his self worth in what these chosen few see in him, which is why it hits him hard when his friends openly say they don't expect him to step up and save them/the day.

Eliot is a master of compartmentalization. Just like he uses a good drink to put a stopper on feelings, he's quick to brush things off in a dry and somewhat cynical manner. There are several indications that Eliot wouldn't even feel bad if he were to die, and it's this lack of real self-esteem combined with his casual indifference that causes things to build to a point where Eliot usually starts to spiral or let his emotions get the best of him.

What events or circumstances in your character’s past have impacted them the most?

The death of his high school bully. This is when Eliot discovered his telekinetic abilities, when he accidentally made a bus hit the other boy. It was not only the beginning of Eliot seeing that "magic comes from pain", but it was just one more thing that made Eliot feel like he didn't fit in anywhere.

Living an alternate life in Fillory with Quentin. It's not the first time Eliot was ready to live a life in Fillory, but unlike when he became High King, this time Eliot wasn't reluctant about it. He thrived in the domesticity and it was one of the few times Eliot seemed genuinely happy and at peace. It's a memory that he holds near and dear and carries with him throughout the series.

Being possessed by The Monster and, subsequently, facing his own fears and regrets in an attempt to regain control of his life. This was when Eliot began to see that he could learn from what he considers his mistakes and grow, and that running away from his problems wasn't taking him anywhere. Even after his possession was over, Eliot still had to learn to face one more fear, and that was the fear that the Monster was still lurking somewhere inside of him.

The Mountain of Ghosts. Eliot had a choice to take the easy way out. He could have sent a letter back in time and maybe that would have saved Quentin's life, but instead he followed Alice while she went to put Quentin's soul to rest. It's a pivotal moment because it's the start of Eliot opening up to others, not just about Quentin but about his feelings in general, and he allowed someone to see a raw, vulnerable part of him (not just Alice, but opening up to a total stranger, as well). Alice also gave Eliot a lot of validation, assuring him that Quentin did love him, and also calling him brave - something that he wasn't used to hearing from his friends.

What impressions do others tend to have of your character and how do those impressions differ from who your character truly is?

Upon first impressions, Eliot is a bit extra. When he enters a room he is immediately the centre of it, something he goes out of his way to make sure of, and there's something particularly peacocky about him. It's not just his manner of dress, which is always immaculately tailored, or his flair for the dramatics, but his flippant attitude that aides Eliot's air of self-importance. It's easy for people to assume he's got no substance to him at all. Most of what Eliot presents to the world is just a front. For as comfortable as he is in his own skin, he is also incredibly aware of himself. He knows all his flaws and doesn't shy away from them, and he's the friend you want in your corner when the going gets tough. Like Josh says when the world is about to end, he's not worried because he knows Eliot will figure out how to save them.

What motivates your character?

Eliot strives to get approval from those around him. He doesn't necessarily want to be the best, but he's always seeking acknowledgment or recognition for his efforts (even if he doesn't outwardly say it - whenever someone puts him down or disregards his actions, he always retreats back into bad habits). He genuinely wants to do the right thing even if he doesn't know how to do it.

How does your character handle crisis or adversity?

It depends on the crisis. When it comes to something personal, or something that hits close to home (such as the death of his boyfriend, Mike, or Quentin), Eliot shuts down. He relies heavily on his vices, drugs and alcohol, to push him through it. It's not something he'll emerge from until something happens to distract him - whether that's something good, or another, bigger crisis.

A crisis involving his friends or the world on a larger scale, Eliot surprisingly jumps into action. His mind finds focus it seems to lack at other times, and he uses that clarity to do whatever it is he needs to do to help save the day (killing Mike when he was possessed by the Beast, following through on the quests for the seven keys even when he was being sentenced to death, etc.).

Skills, abilities, and physical weaknesses:

Eliot's magic abilities are pretty broad reaching. Unlike a lot of popular magic fiction, this isn't something you can wave a wand over and say the right words. Eliot's magic is dependent largely on a series of elaborate hand gestures that need to be practically perfect to achieve the desired effect. It does mean, however, he can do extremely mundane tasks to much more intricate, niche spells. For warping purposes, the magic will sort of "flicker" in and out, working sometimes but never consistently and never with the same amount of power behind it.

Beyond just having magic, Eliot's particular, personal discipline is telekinesis, which manifests primarily during difficult emotional circumstances. Save for the one instance where he openly spoke about first noticing it in his teenage years, this is a part of Eliot's powers that remains relatively unseen and unused. When it comes to warping, it will either happen in flickers of smaller instances or leave a physical toll on Eliot in the wake of something major.

Eliot's other skills include dressing well, being diplomatic, and mixing a great cocktail.

Inventory: One outfit (a button-up shirt, a vest, pants, a belt, shoes, socks), as well as a few rings.

HORROR INFO

What aspects of your character are you most interested in exploring in a horror setting?

I really enjoy the psychological aspect of horror, and Eliot is a character that has a lot of trauma and self-imposed guilt to work with. I'd really like to pick at all those insecurities and draw up a lot of that pain, then explore the mental fall out that comes with it. Eliot already has a great foundation for a personal struggle between letting himself get consumed by it or fighting against it, so that's what I really want to delve into.

What is your character’s mental state upon entering the game?

Eliot is actually coming into the game at one of his stronger points, mentally. He's dealt with his grief and the feelings of loss he had, as well as realizing he's not to blame when it comes to recent events. He just recently dipped back into one of his ultimate low points (a spiral in which he felt helpless and alone), but came out of it by facing all of that head on. He was ready to accept what he thought was The Monster back into his life, he stayed away for endless hours to try to experience mood madness, and on the other end of that he saw that he had more strength in him than he would have previously acknowledged. He's reached a moment where he can openly say he can't always deal with his things on his own and he wants to make amends for that.

What unsettles and frightens your character? What sort of encounters would chip away at your character’s psychological stability?

A lot of things unsettle Eliot. Being faced with his own failures, especially if it's being used to blame him for the pain/death/failure of others is a big one. His past being known by others without him telling them is another one. Eliot takes a lot of care in burying a large part of his life and having those memories, particularly the people involved (like his father or his high school aggressors), on display somehow would deeply unnerve him. In general, people or beings who can see through Eliot's walls don't sit well with him.

When it comes to being frightened, putting Eliot's friends and loved ones in danger is the ultimate fear for him. He doesn't have much regard for his own life, but if he was in a situation where his friends were in serious danger and he couldn't help, that would scare him a lot.

What horrifying events or genre elements would you like to see utilized in the game?

I love the psychological stuff. I also love possession plots, or things like not being able to sleep / experiencing intense nightmares upon sleeping, ghosts (a solid classic), and phobias.

SAMPLES

Test Drive: https://villagememes.dreamwidth.org/323.html?thread=111939#cmt111939
Log Sample: https://villagememes.dreamwidth.org/323.html?thread=112195#cmt112195
Log Sample: https://villagememes.dreamwidth.org/323.html?thread=111171#cmt111171