#he IS vain but because he actually does get admired and put on a pedestal a lot

[13eyond13]

I feel like some of the "Light is NOT socially adept" discourse rn is based on the fact that people just personally don't like him because of what he does secretly in canon, or don't find him as charming as he's supposed to appear to others in canon. I fall more into the category of people defending him as the opposite though, and that's mostly because I think the point of the story is to show how a guy who has everything going for him and doesn't actually have a tragic backstory or a lot of deep dark antisocial tendencies or problems could actually also wind up being one of the worst people you've ever met if he ended up with something like a Death Note in his hands at age 17. Right? Not necessarily because I think everything Light does is excessively polite or incredibly suave, but because I think he'd easily trick me with his regular politeness and good looks and achievements / the usual facade he puts up around others. One of the strongest things about this series to me is the lack of troubling backstory for Light. I think the story wouldn't really make a lot of sense or be as good if he was mr. socially oblivious and delusionally vain who can't actually make friends or impress anybody or fit in.

[platoniclokiimagines]

What if the reader finds out that Loki secretly loves to be held?

WC: 917

TW: None

A/N: I’m not entirely sure if this is what you were looking for, and this was supposed to be cute, but instead I accidentally made it mostly whump with a tiny but of soft Loki, I do sincerely apologize, and hope you enjoy, all the same.

Rainy days at the compound were, by no means, a strange occurrence. Upstate New York got just as much rain as any other place did, and personally, you enjoyed sitting somewhere you could hear the rain and occasional thunderclap while you enjoyed a nice book, and perhaps a cup of tea or hot chocolate.

Loki, it seemed, did not share your fondness for the darkened weather, something made obvious only by the way that they sulked across the room to the couch you were seated on, not without sending an almost comical scowl in the direction of the rain-spattered window.

You laughed a bit as Loki settled next to you, not close, but not across the entire couch as they usually sat when around other people.

“Something against the rain?” you asked, finger keeping your place on the page as you looked over at them.

“I suppose it does leave a bitter taste in my mouth, you could say.”

“Why, because it’s dark and disagreeable and secretly isn’t so bad as most people think that it is?”

Your jab at Loki’s personality did not go unnoticed, and you found yourself the recipient of the unenthusiastic scowl previously aimed at the weather.

“Yes, laugh all you want, you’re very hilarious, Y/N.”

You smiled innocently, but when Loki still looked a little unhappy, you frowned a bit.

“…it’s because of your brother, isn’t?”

“…I suppose it’s a bit silly, isn’t it? To dislike an entire weather pattern simply because it reminds one of their brother.” Loki was pointedly looking away from both you and the window now, and you knew Loki well enough to be able to tell when they were feeling a bit sheepish and embarrassed.

“I don’t think it’s silly at all.” You closed your book and set it away from you, turning to face Loki more fully in order to give them your full attention. “I imagine it was very hard to grow up in the shadow of someone like Thor. Even with your own strengths.”

“…that’s putting it lightly.”

You nodded slowly. “And… to put it heavily?”

While you and Loki had been close for a long while now, you still felt like you didn’t know nearly as much about them as they knew about you, and you’d certainly never talked about what it had been like for Loki to grow up in Thor’s wake, always two steps behind, no matter what they said or did. You hoped that the question wasn’t of offense to Loki, and the longer they were quiet, the more you were worried you had overstepped a boundary.

Eventually, to your slight surprise, Loki heaved a bit of a sigh. “…everyone loved my brother. I mean… everyone. Asgardians, Vanir… honestly, sometimes I think his own enemies in battle admired him greatly. And his… our father was always giving him the most attention. Always praising him, putting him on a pedestal, honoring him at dinners and balls. And then he wondered how Thor became so self-centered and vain.” Loki huffed out a bit of a tense laugh, but there was little real amusement in the sound.

“…but your mother, though? The way Thor tells it, she was much more fond of you than of him.”

“…there are times I believe that to have been true. She taught me everything I know, about magic and seidr and Asgard. But it’s crossed my mind that it might have been out of pity. A way to make up for being stolen away from my birthplace, so to speak.”

You frowned a bit, thinking for a long moment as you watched Loki, who was focused on their hands twisting together in their lap. “…I don’t think Thor thinks that. And I don’t think that you really think that, either. Mothers… They love their children more than anything. They’re supposed to, anyway. And the way Thor speaks of her, I don’t think she could have had any capacity to do anything but love you. You were hers. Even if not by birth.”

Loki said nothing in response, but their jaw was clenched in a way that you had come to learn was a last-ditch effort to not get emotional, and you nodded a bit to yourself before scooting a little closer, pulling Loki to lean against you as you wrapped their arms around them.

You expected Loki to tense up, but instead, they settled right into you, like it was something you’d done a thousand times before.

“…you’re not really used to this, are you?” you murmured, after a few long moments of silence.

“What, being held like a petulant little child?” Loki muttered, and you couldn’t help but roll your eyes a bit at Loki’s jab at themself.

“I was going to say being treated nicely in general, but… if calling you a petulant child gets you to relax and be calm, I can deal with that.”

Loki said nothing, and it was only when you’d been sitting in silence for ten minutes that you realized Loki had relaxed enough to actually fall asleep in your arms. Not having the heart to wake them up, be it intentionally or accidentally, you decided that perhaps a nice nap for yourself wouldn’t be such a bad idea, either.

As you dozed off, you made it a point to be much more affectionate with Loki in the future, if only to make sure they knew it was okay to let their guard down, even just for a bit.

[zeppelin-and-unicorns]

Character ask game Layla Hyde

I'm legit honored that someone asked about Layla! I love her so much!! Here it goes!

What I love about them: Layla has a very kind heart, and her romantic nature is something I love about her.

What I hate about them: I don't hate anything about her, she's so sweet! But she has her flaws. Layla creates too many expectations about people, like, way too much, and when people disappoint her... she gets really mad at them, which I know it's kind of unreasonable because no one asked her to create so many expectations and put people on a pedestal, but it's just something she does and she tries to work on it when she grows up.

She's also a little too vain sometimes, kind of like Jackie, but not really, because she doesn't put other people down. Cher from "Clueless" actually reminds me a lot of Layla, with some obvious differences, lol.

Favorite Moment/Quote: There are plenty of Layla moments that I LOVE. Her little moment with Hyde on the second chapter of TSG is one of my favorites. I just love how happy she is about her new baby brother and how Hyde makes sure to let her know that he loves her and that's not going to change. There's also a Layla quote from the TSG sequel that I love, mostly because it shows how much she admires her parents' relationship.

“Half of my friends’ parents are divorced,” Layla said “The ones that aren’t, barely talk to each other. We’re lucky our parents are in love, Dylan. So you should stop making faces at them when they kiss because they're really cute together”

What I would like to see more focus on: I'm literally the person who created Layla, so I don't think I can answer this question, lol.

What I would like to see less focus on: Same answer from the previous question.

Favorite pairing with: Mikey (Kelso's son). I really like them together, and I think you guys are going to like it too.

Favorite friendship: Well, I really love Layla's relationship with Brooke and her parents, but I'm not counting that, so...

Lizzie!! She's an original character I haven't introduced you guys to yet, but you're going to see her in the sequel. She's Layla's best friend and she's awesome.

NOTP: Anyone that's not Mikey, lol.

Favorite headcanon: I'm literally the person who created Layla, so I guess that there's no such thing as headcanons for me, lol. Technically, reality can be whatever I want it to be (read this with Thanos' voice).

I'd love to see if someone has Layla headcanons to share though, or any headcanon about any of my stories.

[mhysa-the-druidess]

The Arcana: A Mystical Fanfic Chapter II - A New Family

„What's the matter, already had enough?“, I heard Morga mock me as I found my face in the dirt for so many times that I have already gotten used to tasting my own blood mixed with the ground under me.

„ I'll give up...when you finally end me“, my words mixed with heavy panting as I made myself rise once again, only driven by sheer will power, since my body was on the verge of falling apart.

Morga's face lit up with a bright grin, I swear I could see flames in her eyes. She was pleased. „I would expect nothing less“, she said almost kindly, as she came at me once again.

This has become a common practice for the two of us, ever since I've started living among her tribe. I've enjoyed our „sparrings“, I've enjoyed how she always pushed me to my limits and made me expand them, more and more every time. I was bold to believe that she enjoyed them as well, she admired my will and spirit. Ever since I've joined them, she's been treating me like her own offspring. Now, don't mistake that for something loving and nurturing, no, not from a woman like her, a warlord. Her love was rough, intense, but great. The tougher time she gave me, the more I knew I was growing on her. She would never express emotions, except through her steel. Most of the people would think her cold and stark, but I knew her better than that, I saw through her rough facade.

I came to her tribe as a sorceress, to serve their every need in exchange for leaving my family and our land alone, but I became more than just that. I was never the type to sit on the bench while the others have all the fun, I craved action, adventure, unknown. Besides, what better way to get to know better the people I'm living with and their culture, tradition, beliefs, souls, than to ride side by side with them into battle?

Few years ago I've made this request to Morga, to train me in the ways of the warrior, and she will have me, not just because of our agreement, but body and soul too. She said she knew that it would turn out like this, during our first battle, she saw the spirit of a warrior inside me, and that she would be glad to strengthen it and get me to realize my potential.

Being a warrior also helped me ensure my security among these wildlings. Even though Morga was fond of me, her men were vile and savage, a drunken moment alone with any of them could cost me more than I could ever afford to lose. At first, during my arrival, I came up with a perfect white lie to help me protect my purity from the possible defilers. I've announced that my mystical abilities come from my virginity, and should I ever lose my chastity, the powers would also be gone with it. Morga said she would personally gut anyone who dares to compromise her sorceress with his filthy paws. This was effective, but not completely reassuring, so I had to make sure I felt safe, or at least safer around the men. I've seen how they watch me with something beastly in their glares, as wolves would stare at their next catch.  This was understandable and expected – I was different from their women, more gracious, delicate, almost royal as far as they were concerned. And I was an outsider.

There was one other thing that was threatening to compromise this whole charade I've created. Montag.

Montag, or Monty as everyone called him, was Morga's only son, and heir. In any other surrounding this would mean that he was probably extremely pampered and spoiled, but not here. This only meant that she was giving him the hardest time of us all. I knew this meant that she loved him most, but I was pretty sure he did not see it that way. Monty was different from all of them. While everyone's goal was just to raid, pillage, plunder and wreak havoc, Monty was above all that. He was destined for greater things, I felt that must be true. He was ambitious, he was a dreamer, he wanted more of life than what he had here, he just wasn't sure how and what exactly, because he knew little of the world outside his tribe. I've enjoyed telling him stories of kingdoms, cities, world beyond. About magic, about spiritual world, about everything I loved, I shared my world with him and we dreamed together of what life can be. He was kind of bubbly, loud, overly energetic. His emotions were as transparent as if they were written on his forehead. Those were all qualities I loved him for...and Morga scolded him for. She considered them to be a sign of weakness, of a weak future leader she never wanted him to become. She believed he would've never survived on his own, and she reminded him of that all too often. But I believed them to be virtues, to be his strengths, to be exactly the things that make him a great human being that I saw him for. I've tried many times to make him see it that way, but in vain. My word could never compare with his mother's, every letter cutting into his heart and soul like a tiny knife. He would've never showed it, though. To anyone except me, that is. I was his oasis, his escape from reality, from his fears, troubles, doubts. And he was mine.

Of course, we had to keep our little oasis a secret, because it could make people talk and compromise my safety, and neither one of us wanted that to happen. Regardless of our discretion, I was almost certain that Morga knew everything. There was just no hiding from her. She always knew...everything. Even so, she never disapproved. I wondered why at first, but the answer came to me one day, as we celebrated one of our many victories.

I held a little ceremony, semi-religious, thanking the great spirits and forces for giving our warriors the strength to subdue our targets and crush them under our feet. They loved these ceremonies, with the mystical forces gleaming and flowing all around, fire coming out of the great bonfire and embracing my figure, spirits rising from all around and dancing around them in the form of a ghastly fog,  filling their hearts with courage and sense of higher purpose. My magic has gotten even stronger during my time with the tribe, and I have truly become their seer, their sage. I would contact the Arcana for omens of victory or defeat, before battle I would encourage and bless the warriors using not only my magic and herbalist mixtures to enhance their potentials, but also motivational speeches to fill their hearts and minds with greatness and flames of passion and bloodlust. They were an unstoppable force, thoughts of defeat never even crossing their minds.

After the ceremony, we all got drunk together, danced around, sang and just enjoyed life to the fullest. I felt content, I've managed to accomplish a lot during these few years, I've managed to become a lot, a lot more than I could've ever dared to dream of. It was a lot of gamble and hard work, but in the end it payed off. I've just watched them all being merry and ecstatic, feeling of bliss filling every inch of me. They weren't the savages they once were, they were more than that now, they have evolved so much. I couldn't help but feel partially responsible for that, and I was glad. Murdering and pillaging was very hard for me at first, but I knew I had to do it to prove myself as one of them, as equal, to ensure my position. With my role as a sage, I was able to direct their attacks and actions through „omens“ and such, and protect the innocent people they would've destroyed as much as I could without seeming suspicious. Luckily, no one ever suspected a thing.

„So, are you just going to watch from your pedestal, oh great seer, or are you going to enjoy your victory with the rest of us?“, Monty cut me from my thoughts. I didn't even notice him coming, I was too lost in my own thoughts. He came up to me, giving me his hand, teasing me with his smirk, as he usually does.

„OUR victory, Monty. I couldn't possibly take all the credit, now could I?“, I smirked back at him, staring him right in the eye as I put my hand in his.

He pulled me into his strong arms, so hard I almost lost my balance, his eyes never leaving mine: „You're just being modest, as usual“, he continued mockingly. Staring into his unusually gray eyes made me lose my words, which was not something that happened to me often. I just let him lead me into the dance. This caused curious looks from the rest, but in that moment we trully couldn't care less. He was the only one there at that moment, his golden hair glimmering under the light of the Moon, flickering lights of the bonfire dancing on his pale skin. He wasn't much of a dancer, he was a much better warrior, but he knew a dance or two. Everything he ever did, he did so confidently, as if he was a god, no matter if he was actually good at it or not. I loved that about him, another one of his qualities I cherished.

We were so lost in the moment, that we've barely noticed the dance has stopped. He made a little clumsy bow at me, something not characteristic for his people's customs, but as I've mentioned earlier – he was above all that. I responded with the same curtsy. I've desired him so much for so long, and if I could've taken him with my eyes at that moment, I would've. It was so hard keeping the whole chastity act together all of this time. I wanted to be his, I wanted him to defile every inch of me right there on that spot.

As we stared into each other’s  eyes with such incredible passion, we were interrupted by a familiar voice: “Mhysa, a moment in private. Now. Follow me”.  Morga. Both Monty and I were startled and froze like kids after making a mess and getting caught in act by a parent. ”Y-yes, of course”, was all I could muster, after which I followed in silence. Monty only stood there awkwardly, like a statue.

She led me away from the crowd, into an isolated part in the woods. We stopped when the party sounds got far enough. She didn’t turn to face me, she looked into some distant  spot as if lost in her own thoughts. After some time of chilling silence, she spoke: “My son and you…are acting very friendly lately, spending every possible moment together, alone”. My heart skipped a beat. What if she thinks we were intimate? What if, by my foolish behavior, led by emotions, I have finally blown my cover and now she is going to expose me and this will be the end of me? I couldn’t breathe and the thoughts kept running through my head, I had no idea how much time has passed before Morga spoke again, it could’ve been seconds, years, it was all the same to me. “Look, I know I’ve always been…hard on him. It might seem like I don’t care for him, but that’s not how it is. I do it BECAUSE I care. This world is cruel, especially our world, and if you’re not the toughest dog around, the other dogs will devour you. And he…he is so delicate and carefree, it’s making him weak, he is weak. And I won’t always be around to protect him, and when I’m gone…” I swear, this is the first time I’ve seen Morga open up to anyone ever and show…feelings? I wasn’t even sure if she was able to do that at all. The unease and worry were clear in her tone, she stopped for a moment, like she was catching breath, letting out a loud sigh before turning up to face me for the first time since we came to this place. I now understood she must’ve been ashamed to look at me while showing her own weakness and fears. The fact that she was now facing me, staring me right in the eye, confirmed just how brave she actually was. It’s easy facing enemies in battle while wielding a spear and charging in a leather armor, but to show your naked feelings to someone, completely unarmed and open, to let them see the real you, your true self – that takes real courage. “I am well aware that he is vulnerable and weak, clueless even. Maybe one day he will change, maybe he will not. Either way, I don’t want to take that chance. He’s…he’s my only boy. I don’t want to see him devoured by rabid wolves that surround him. However, I will not always be able to protect him. So, what I’m saying is…I need to know that you are going to look after him. I need you to promise me that”, she finished, words still heavy on her tongue. The look in her eyes was…almost pleading. Underneath that cold and rough exterior was an actual caring mother, genuinely worried for her son’s well-being. “Morga, I swear to you, I swear on my life that I will never let anything bad happen to Monty while I still hold breath”. “Good”, she let the single word out with a sigh of relief. I could swear I saw something resembling a smile on her face. Second later, the mask was back on, as well as her standard grin: “Well then, we have a party to attend, let’s not keep the eager people waiting any longer”. As she passed me by, she slapped me on the back so hard it pumped the air from my lungs. I’ve let out a short chuckle and followed.

[margridarnauds]

Berenice, Bianca, Elektra

(Finally getting around to this, woohoo!)

Full Name: Berenice. Gotta love the Greeks for keeping it simple. I have a vague idea that her name might have been something else at some point, but it’s always just “Berenice” or “Berenice of Alexandria” when I’m talking about her. (Funny story, though: The inspiration for her character came from my first Webkinz named Beatrice, so you could count that as an alternative name, I guess. Now read the rest of this entry with that knowledge. Go on, imagine a Webkinz doing all of this.)Gender and Sexuality: Female/Possibly straight (All her love interests have been men, but I also take a Sims approach to sexuality with my OCs so…)Pronouns:She/Her. Ethnicity/Species: About a quarter Persian, three quarters Macedonian. She’d probably be white passing by modern standards, but, considering the way things worked in her time, I’m not sold on her being considered fully “white” by ancient ones.  Birthplace and Birthdate: Alexandria, sometime around 38 BCE. Guilty Pleasures: She’s a full blown Epicurean; she doesn’t have guilty pleasures. The closest thing I can think of is her affair with Bran, but that’s because (1) He’s a barbarian, (2) She was married at the time, and (3) He has *history* with her people, so it was more worry than guilt. She was perfectly happy to tap that; she just wasn’t sure about the fallout. Phobias: Deathly afraid of heights. Is also paranoid over assassination attempts, though, considering her track record, I’d say it’s not so much paranoia as taking the right precautionary procedures. What They Would Be Famous For: She’s one of the most influential, intelligent, and glamorous women of her time, and that makes her both famous and infamous. To her allies, she’s The High Queen and so is held onto this kind of pedestal as the daughter of a respected king who’s kept them from further civil wars since her accession and, later, as a symbol for their cultural continuity even after defeat, as well as a noted patron of the arts and natural philosophy. To her enemies, well… They put every single negative stereotype of women, particularly “Eastern women” onto her, making her into some oversexualized, decadent, vain sociopath who regularly twirls her mustache as she gleefully celebrates the downfall of civilization. (I lean more towards her being a little of both.) Either way, she’s an absolute icon as a ruler, for better or worse. What They Would Get Arrested For: Multiple counts of murder, including murder of at least one minor, treason, and, considering the time period, adultery. That one would actually probably be more likely to have serious consequences than the other two. OC You Ship Them With: Bran. I also lowkey ship her with Eleanor, and if Marcus weren’t so aggressively ace, I’d probably go with it. OC Most Likely To Murder Them: Well, Elektra and Theron certainly gave it their best try, with John Hawtrey and Emma continuing the grand tradition of father-daughter pairs trying to kill her. In the present, Diane is probably her biggest threat, but I don’t think she would really kill her because, on some level, she admires her too much and doesn’t see how much of a threat Berenice is even when she’s been stripped of most of her power. Favorite Movie/Book Genre: She loves tragedies with her favorite, naturally, being Agamemnon. (She’s particularly fond of the ending and might or might not have commissioned at least one writer to write fix-it fic for Clytemnestra’s fate.) I also like to think that, in the modern AU, she has a soft spot for the Sword and Sandal films, the more cringe inducing the better. Yes, including (especially?) “Alexander.” Least Favorite Movie/Book Cliche: Hates black and white morality, especially when it comes to female rulers and how they’re perceived. Like, she knows she’s a monster, she owns up to it, but she’s tired of insipidly sweet princesses triumphing over evil queens. Her take on power struggles like that is that, while they’re inevitable (she killed most of her father’s and her husband’s concubines and children to keep her own power,) they involve the princess transforming into the evil queen, not defeating her. “Virtue rewarded” narratives just don’t appeal. Talents and/or Powers: Very intelligent, witty, and manipulative. She can effortlessly go from one mode to another, adapting her mannerisms to each one. Like all of her people, she has an expanded lifespan, as well as the ability to switch between her animal form and her human one. (Though the animal form is little used by her considering it’s also very conspicuous.) Oh, and she knows, like nine languages. Why Someone Might Love Them: In a time when women aren’t expected to rule in their own rights, she managed to seize power. She has a policy of religious and cultural tolerance, appointing the best people for a given position instead of strictly keeping to Macedonian or even Hellenistic in general citizens. Despite her claims that she’s gone cold over the years, she still obviously has a spot spot for her old childhood companions, showing more of her true self in their presence than she does around almost anyone else. Why Someone Might Hate Them: She’s absolutely ruthless in the measures she takes to keep her power. She’s literally killed babies and betrayed the love of her life to the tender mercies of their enemies. Like, come on. If you’re not ready for that kind of darkness in a character, particularly one who, at least as of this moment, has had no serious repercussions (ie death) for it , that could be jarring. I do think she’s troubled by it in her own way, especially the latter one which completely broke her for a while, but, at the same time…the girl’s dark. I’ve tried to not tone down what royal women of this time did to survive, for better or worse. I’d understand hating her 100%. How They Change: The first half of her character arc (losing her father and brother, taking her revenge out on Theron for their murders, the civil wars that resulted from not having a clear line of succession, marrying her uncle to ensure that she wasn’t swept away by the power struggles, participating in the murder of her half-siblings, having to marry Theron’s nephew, saying goodbye to her childhood friend and protector, throwing Bran to the wolves, and then orchestrating the murders of her husband, his other wives and concubines, and his children by them) is about her essentially having to lose touch with her human connections in order to survive. The second half of it (saving her old childhood friend, helping Eleanor in her rebellion against her brother, devoting a considerable amount of time to Bran’s recovery even when she thinks that he’s never going to forgive her for it, offering Ada a place at her court so that Atria will be happy and then protecting her when her past comes to haunt her, deciding against taking power from Eleanor despite it potentially playing to her advantage) is showing a possible restoration of those connections and the possibility of changing how things are done. I don’t think she’ll ever get a full redemption, because I’m not sure there can be a full redemption for all she’s done, but she gets the closest thing to it that I can imagine. Why You Love Them: She’s basically my love letter to the great Hellenistic queens, specifically Olympias and Cleopatra VII, with traces of the others threading their way throughout her backstory and characterization. It’s an absolute thrill bringing the best and worst of that time to the fray and getting to write someone as complex as her from the beginning of her character development to the end. She’s the kind of female character I’ve always latched myself onto, the ones who have grand schemes and ambitions and who manipulate and scheme their way into fulfilling them (I’ll give you a hint: The first female character I can remember loving was Anck-su-Namun from “The Mummy,” the second was Cleopatra, the third was probably Morgan le Fay) and I finally have the chance to have her run free and do her own thing without having to tragically die at the end. She also makes such a fantastic foil to Eleanor, with Eleanor ultimately deciding not to go down the path Berenice went down despite being exposed to similar traumas, though I don’t think I ever want to see them set up in a traditional protagonist-antagonist way. I prefer the two of them bouncing off each other, one the older, more Machiavellian queen, the other the more humanistic queen, with both kind of drawing closer to each other by the end. 

I just…really love Ber as a character, okay? She’s probably one of my all-time favorites. 

Full Name: Bianca CostaGender and Sexuality: Female, demisexual. Pronouns: She/Her. Ethnicity/Species: White/HumanBirthplace and Birthdate: Since they’ve been magicked off to another world by the Fae, time and dates don’t work the same, but going off of the 1580 starting point, she was born sometime around May 1, 1616 in the New Papal States. (Essentially, where all the Catholic colonists clustered together to get away from the Protestant colonists and the new pope was selected, according to them, by divine revelation.)Guilty Pleasures: SweetsPhobias: ThunderWhat They Would Be Famous For: She’d probably be right up there with Anne Boleyn and Marie Antoinette on the list of popular tragic queens, though, considering she didn’t die, she’d probably be best remembered as Eleanor’s mother. What They Would Get Arrested For: Adultery and treason. OC You Ship Them With: Duncan, happiness. OC Most Likely To Murder Them: Diane. Like with the Ber/Elektra example, she’s certainly tried enough times. Favorite Movie/Book Genre: The old Chivalric Romances are her jam, especially Amadis of Gaul and Lancelot, the Knight of the Cart. She’s not particularly fond of Tristan and Iseult, though. Least Favorite Movie/Book Cliche: Romanticized abuse in any form, especially when it’s claimed by the writers to be “just part of the times.” I can see her viewing session of a *certain* time traveling romance being put on hold shortly after beginning, with her needing Dunc to hold her and reassure her for an hour or so afterwards (at least) that she’s safe with him and he’d never treat her like that. Talents and/or Powers: No real powers that I know of; I’ve toyed with giving her an interest in alchemy, but that comes a little too close to Atria’s whole “natural philosophy” shtick and even though I’m all for more female characters in STEM-like (okay, as close as you can get in Early Modern England) concentrations and even though historically, there were a number of women involved in alchemy, I just don’t feel it as much. I still like the idea of her as an expert horsewoman and hawker, so there is that. I especially like the hawking, as then you have the whole symbolism angle + historical accuracy and that makes me feel good about myself so yeah. In some ways, I think I’m still waiting for her to “click” with me as a character. Why Someone Might Love Them: Like her daughter, she has a great amount of spirit, though, also like her daughter, she’s very subdued in showing it. Years with Giles have only made it worse, but she still keeps fighting for her daughter, despite everything. I often tie a lot of Eleanor into her more distant ancestors, with that whole “Heroic Lineage” thing often coming up, but I think that a good portion of her strength comes directly from her mother. Why Someone Might Hate Them: I can see people hating her for having an affair, despite Giles being explicitly abusive, especially since that affair brought a child into that kind of situation. She and her husband’s illegitimate daughter, Cat, do not get along, and sometimes she can be overly sharp with her as a sort of revenge by proxy. We’re not looking at Snape levels of spite here, but she is supposed to be the adult despite the horrible circumstances both of them find themselves in. How They Change: She started off as this very spirited young woman, optimistic, innocent, and absolutely sure that people were as they appeared. She fully believed Giles when he presented the image of the perfect prince to her, only for him to turn on her after their marriage. Now, that spirit’s mostly gone; she’s more or less sedate. Her faith in humanity is certainly gone, her faith in society even more so as she’s watched them turn a blind eye to what their king’s been doing for the better part of two decades. Duncan, who had helped sustain her in the early years of her marriage, is distant out of fear of the consequences for her if Giles found out. She’s basically become lost from herself after all this time and, with Diane’s treatment of her daughter, it only gets worse from there as her anxiety and guilt preys on her. Like with Ber, I would like to build her up from this point, I would like to see her start to recover and learn to trust again, I’d like to see her relationship with her daughter grow after Eleanor learns the truth of her parentage, I’d like her to forgive herself, I’d like to see her start a new family with Duncan. I’m not sure how much of that I can do, considering I’m feeling a strong tug towards a bittersweet ending for them, probably in the vein of the old Chivalric Romances since so much of their relationship’s already been inspired by them, but I also have a hard time giving any of my ships a bad ending, particularly not the ones like this where both parties have already been through Hell to be together. Why You Love Them: I like that she’s not a perfect mother or a perfect person, that she makes mistakes, that she snaps at her husband’s daughter at times, that she’s catty with his mistress. I don’t like writing paragons, I don’t like writing models of ideal femininity, and she’s certainly not. Writing an abuse victim from a historical angle is very complicated and it’s something that I try to be sensitive about,and it’s one that I’ve tried to take in as realistic a direction as I can, so that is interesting to take on as a challenge. Sobering, depressing, but also interesting, especially dealing with her after Giles’s death when she’s nominally free and trying to rebuild. She’s also a religious minority (Catholic) in a very Protestant country, and seeing how she deals with that is interesting to deal with. 

 THANK YOU for asking about Elektra. When I first put her up there, I wasn’t sure about much besides maybe 1-2 traits. She was a dead backstory character, a little roadblock in Ber’s character development. Now, it looks like we’re together for the long haul. That being said, I kept in all my old remarks + added in some new ones in parentheses as my way of marking the character development. 

Full Name: Elektra (See above about the Greeks and naming and how convenient it makes my life.)Gender and Sexuality: Straight, though, like with Ber, the Sims Rule of Sexual Orientation applies. (HaHahahahaHAA no. Girl’s either bi, pan, or lesbian, with her marriages being a way of keeping power. That was so cute that I used to think she was an evil straight girl.)Pronouns: She/HerEthnicity/Species: White/Shapeshifter. Birthplace and Birthdate: Athens, September 12, sometime around 37-39 BCE. Guilty Pleasures: I like to think that, for all the crap she gives Berenice about drinking unmixed wine *like a barbarian*, she indulges from time to time herself. Berenice knows, of course, and is endlessly entertained by it. Phobias: Honestly, I wasn’t sure about this one, but I think she’s afraid of being abandoned. Like, her father was never a particularly good parent to her, though he sometimes threw her a gift or two, her mother didn’t care for her, and then her father abandoned her mother for a girl her own age. Which is far from the worst thing he did. And I think she takes a lot of that with her in her revenge quest; it’s like she feels that if she can avenge his death, she’ll have the love she’s always wanted and she’ll be able to move on. What They Would Be Famous For: She is, unfortunately, the Cleopatra Eurydice to Berenice’s Olympias, so she is going to remembered either as (a) one of the poor, innocent victims of The Bad Queen or (b) as a necessary roadblock, the “other woman” that got in the way of Ber being happy and who had to be removed. None of these stereotypes are true, she wasn’t innocent but Ber and Arion would never have been happy together even in an Elektra-less world. Her marriage to Arion just sealed Ber’s disgust for him, as she considered it to be a personal betrayal that he married the daughter of the man who killed her father. What They Would Get Arrested For: I mean, attempted murder? She and Ber would probably have to share a cell. OC You Ship Them With:  I don’t know, she’s only with Arion, who’s the closest thing she has to a love interest, for the power and to hurt Ber. (Don’t worry, I figured it out.) I suppose I could ship her and Ber in the right AU. (Incidentally, I’m still down for this.)

Her and Khensa would be an interesting enemies-to-lovers ship, with Khensa being so absolutely devoted to Ber’s success as a queen, Elektra being devoted to tearing Ber down, and both of them having unresolved issues with their fathers’ murders. (Yes, there is a theme here and I’m aware of it. Some people work out their daddy issues by long talks and a lot of therapy, I work it out by inflicting a bunch of dead and/or useless fathers on my characters so they can suffer too.) There could be a lot of great opportunities for hatesex there, and, in a fluffier AU, the possibility for them to work out their issues. When Ber finds out, she’s completely speechless, at first thinking that this is a prank Khensa’s pulling on her and, after Khensa assures her that she’s 100% serious, she probably faints. It takes her an additional three days to process the information, even longer to accept it, and she never fully trusts Elektra, but she realizes the value of having her as a potential partner in Khensa’s spying operations, especially given her own relationship with Bran. (And because Khensa’s too valuable to alienate by ordering the relationship terminated or by having Elektra assassinated, especially since her usual hitwoman’s the one with hearteyes.) The two of them then proceed to pretend to hate each other’s guts during the day so that potential rebels would be drawn to Elektra while making out behind every pillar they can find at night. 

Ah, if only things had been different.  

(Note:This is actually what made me change my mind about her, but it’s so hilarious in hindsight that I’m keeping it all as-is. Khensa x Elektra [Khelektra? Elensa?] is 100% canon. And still angsty because why not.)

OC Most Likely To Murder Them: Ber murdering her is (Not!) canon at this point. Alas, poor Elektra. I didn’t know you well and I didn’t particularly like you until having to fill out this meme, but that was a harsh one. (Well, safe to say that’s been scrambled, though Ber’s still the most likely. I mean, it wasn’t for lack of trying.)Favorite Movie/Book Genre: Like Ber, Tragedies. Unfortunately, unlike Ber, who recognizes her role and adapts and learns from it, she refuses to see herself as anything other than the hero in her given story. (Which is why we have characteeeeeeer develoooooopment. And necromancy.)Least Favorite Movie/Book Cliche: I think “If you kill him you’ll be just like him” has to be near the top. From her point of view, she could never sink as low as Ber has and would bristle at the suggestion that she already has. (Still agree with this.)Talents and/or Powers: She’s a very accomplished witch, having taken up the dark arts recently. As such, she has command over a vast array of powers with the proper ritual, including raising ghosts to do her will. (Believe me, this comes in handy. And is also part of the New!Elektra, in case anyone cares about chronology here.) Why Someone Might Love Them: In another story, she could have been the heroine looking for revenge for her father’s death against an evil queen who puts on a facade to fool those around her and kills her enemies mercilessly. Unfortunately for her, she wound up in the wrong story, the evil queen was just as much a victim as she was, and her father was the reason she started off on that path to begin with. The fact that she was (not!) murdered while she was pregnant only adds to the tragedy, as well as the fact that, unlike with her father, there’s no one left to avenge her. There’s something tragic about it, really. Why Someone Might Hate Them: I never intended for Elektra to be a sympathetic character, so I’d actually be more surprised by people liking her than not. She absolutely refused to listen to the evidence of her father’s guilt, even when it was absolutely conclusive. After she finally accepts that he was a serial killer, she defaults to saying that “It was just whores,” denying his role in the deaths of Ber’s father and brothers and refusing to believe that her father was completely, utterly evil. I actually understand her on this one to some extent (no one wants to believe the man they loved and trusted is a monster + cultural norms regarding prostitutes and their status coming into play,) but I can still see her being labelled “the stupid bitch,” especially given that she made the vital mistake in her final scene of gloating to Ber over her pregnancy. In her defense on that one, she had no way of knowing that Ber’d had an abortion a short while before and the whole situation with Bran (I mean, she knew about it, but she didn’t realize the extent of the mushy feelings involved) and so Ber being unstable enough to just stab her right there wasn’t something she’d calculated in. As I mentioned above, I can also see people misblaming her for the failed marriage between Ber and Arion, with people probably labeling her a homewrecker or a whore (while probably ignoring that Bran is also a homewrecker by those standards), when the crux of the conflict between the two women isn’t over Arion; it’s over power and the cycle of revenge. (Elektra’s father murdered Ber’s father, Ber killed her father, and so now the two of them aren’t going to be happy until all traces of the other are wiped off the face of the Earth.) The fact that they also happened to share a a husband and that he happened to prefer Elektra was just a bonus. 

(Now, with me deciding to have her survive Ber’s little stabbing spree and get a redemption arc, there’s a new set of problems developing, as in any case of redemption. Like, both Ber and Elektra have a casualty count at this point, and any talk of “redemption” is always going to be a polarizing thing.)

How They Change: I think that Elektra’s development is running counter to Ber’s, so that while Ber’s slowly gaining her humanity back, Elektra’s slowly losing it. The measures she takes to get rid of Ber become even more desperate, until she’d probably be willing to kill herself if it could hurt Ber in any way. (Surprise, surprise, now I have her isolating herself from society/separating herself from the figures in her past as being her victory while Ber’s is re-integrating herself/reconciling with the figures in her past, so good call Past!Me)Why You Love Them: There are very few characters who I can say were decent adversaries for Ber and, even though Elektra ultimately lost, she at least gave Ber a run for her money. On some level, I think she more or less becomes the standard that Ber compares later enemies to (”Elektra wouldn’t have done this”). As much as I love Ber, I also love anyone who’s capable of slapping her into the next stage of character development. 

(Also, in the present, the fact that she grows and learns and is able to somewhat reconcile with Ber after everything both of them have done to each other (and team up together to defeat the loser on Ber’s throne) is really cool to see, especially since this is all on her. It’s not really on me; I’d been happy to leave her lying in a puddle of her own blood in a marble room. So, props to her for making me realize what I was missing out on. 

Oh, and she’s a witch. Like, writing a historically accurate Greek witch is everything I ever wanted but didn’t know I needed.)