thoughts on dumag gro-bonk
Mar. 2nd, 2024 10:51 amso understand why now especially writers want say that gayness is just normal and acceptable thing in elder scrolls universe , but that still do not explain away some little things .
in this case think about dumag gro-bonk . dumag gro-bonk is in shivering isles - new sheoth's bliss , to be exact .
and of course , to get in shivering isles means to pass by gatekeeper - which in self means , to have sheogorath's blessing , to be in some sense mad .
what is mad about dumag gro-bonk then ? dumag gro-bonk is openly gay , and will flirt with male player characters , while speak with admiration to female ones . there is ... not much else to go off .
is gayness then madness ? is this only mad because of how open dumag gro-bonk is ? because enjoy flirt ?
… none of that seem any good !!!
so then what could be answer ?
one theory is that dumag gro-bonk might have some kind of cognitive disability - maybe mild form of intellectual disability - and people outcast for this slowness . this feel sort of weak as theory though , because really only come from dumag gro-bonk talk about mother fondly as mama and come off as just somehow " simple " … or worse , " childish " .
kossai theory so far is ... perhaps , dumag gro-bonk's mother was one to go . young dumag gro-bonk just along for this ride , as gatekeeper accept mother into realm ... and for one reason or another - sympathy to child ? potential of child ? - dumag gro-bonk allow to follow .
dumag gro-bonk might then not be mad in usual sense , not have any mental illness or disability , but still grow within world and culture of shivering isles so that normality is illusion , and madness is home . mad by proxy , one might say .
think this is more likely because of this line :
Where has Sheogorath gone? Mama always said, "The Prince of Madness is a basket of riddles."
maybe this quote was from before journey , or after - either way this suggest some familiarity with sheogorath , and certainly enough that dumag gro-bonk also know enough to ask questions about sheogorath in childhood .
there could be other answers , of course - maybe just do not see dumag gro-bonk enough to know what lie under surface , maybe trauma and shock of mother's sudden or possibly horrific death drive dumag gro-bonk to isles as adult , or so on .
but think with what information is in game , really like this one - mad by proxy as child who grow up in shivering isles . fun , unique position !