Aphrodite

Olympus Falls

You seem to be influencing the masses with your writing style, @Impaqt. Not too sure I'm going to follow suit, though. Variety is the spice of life, eh? I'm writing my introduction now.

Also - I'm from Tennessee! Represent.

@RomanAria hope to see you in another roleplay, darling. <3

Olympus Falls

I'll be posting in the IC later today hopefullys.

Olympus Falls

Finally finished! Not sure how happy I am with her, though. Still slightly frustrated, but she'll do for now.

Olympus Falls

Aphrodite & Eleanor

Aphrodite

Eleanor

God Name: Aphrodite

Human Name: Eleanor

Human's Age: 19

God's History:

Aphrodite
Aphrodite II

There are two main myths as to how Aphrodite came to be - in this case, I'm going to use the one where she springs up from the ocean from Uranus's genitals a grown woman (yes, ha ha, I know).

As for Aphrodite's personality, although she was the most beautiful, she was described as weak, frightful and vain - three things I attempted to counter in Eleanor.

Human's Biography:

A rosy cheeked, milky eyed girl with copper curls was born to a homeless Irish immigrant in a sterile clinic in the middle of London and left in a dank alleyway not two weeks later. An elderly beggar found the babe hours later, delighted at his luck of finding a bundle of fresh blankets simply lying beside a dumpster - until the bundle cooed, that is, and a chubby fist waved in the air. Remembering his own pauper childhood, he determined that he would take the child in and raise her as his own. With trembling hands he pushed a checkered blanket away from the babe's face, saw the delighted look upon her face, and decided upon naming her Eleanor, for his late wife's name had been Eleanor and she too was a lion among sheep with cloudy eyes.

And so after that no one saw the old man without first a bundle in his arms, then a chubby copper haired toddler tugging on his hand. The little girl grew to love the old man like a grandfather and he loved her like a grandchild, taught her to navigate the alleyways of London, tiny hand pressed against cold bricks as she memorized twists and turns and cramped spaces not even the police knew existed.

Yet it wasn't Eleanor's skills in navigating London with the touch of a hand and footwork that made her special but her fearlessness in doing so. Just as the old man predicted, his adopted sire had grown into a lionhearted girl unafraid of making a wrong turn, ending up in the wrong part of the city, for it was all she had ever known; the smell of sewers and cigarettes comforted her. Where the vilest of London lived she called home. The most repugnant scents welcomed her - the strong smell of whiskey and shoe shiner means that old man Jenkins is working again, the aroma of rotten fish had her breathing in deeply, for that meant that her favourite market stall was again throwing out scraps, and her old man loved fish.

Where others blossomed in the opulence of the more expensive districts of London, Eleanor was a street rat with an adoration for that which others called repellent.She thrived on the streets, but her old man did not. Where her freckled cheeks stayed rosy and her body plump and glowing even under the harshest of conditions, his frail bones continued to deterioriate until it was not he leading the little blind girl around anymore, but the homely blind woman leading around her saviour. Though a clumsy thief, she stole for him - wallets from men that stopped to admire her beauty that she did not care for, bottles of medicines from pharmacies - even though more often than not she knew not what medicine she was stealing for they were all in similarly shaped bottles, and she gave him something he had no use for.

It was during one such excursion, Eleanor palming a bottle in her hands in an abandoned alleyway, breathing heavily from sprinting away, that a darkness enveloped the world. But she, so used pure blackness, was not bothered... not until she heard screams of fright, of "Where has the sun gone? What has happened?" and she was frozen, a bottle of birth control clutched between her fingertips and she could've swore she heard the chirping of doves before no more.

Olympus Falls

My husband and my lover reserved? Perfect. ;)

Apologies, I know I said I would get my CS up asap but university takes precedence. Will edit this post to add my baby children when I've finished and then shuck her off to the character tab when accepted.

All The World's A Stage (Shakespeare Modern AU)

Gertrude von der Maase

"O Hamlet, thou hast cleft my heart in twain.. "

Origin
Queen Gertrude from Hamlet

Name
Gertrude von der Maase, Duchess of Glucksbierg

Age
43

Gender
Female

Personality

lascivious
Consumed with love for absent family and only temporarily charmed by mindless extravagances, Gertrude extends her affection and charisma in the only other way she knows how - sexually. Inclined to low cut silk blouses and wanton, sultry eyeshadows to attract the attention of which she had so much of in her youth that she now lacks in truant husband and cruel son, she exhibits a sensual need for physical pleasure, yet a reluctance to follow through with any flirtations due to devotion to her family.

motherly
Some people are born to be leaders, speakers or warriors; Gertrude was born to raise one. Stifled by a lonely childhood and unintentionally inattentive parents, she threw herself into mothering a son that would grow up to be vicious and bitter. Without a child to smother, Gertrude is forced to find other outlets to unleash her maternal instincts such as giving piano lessons to the children of Stratford. It is only an added bonus to these lessons that her manor and her afternoons are again filled with the bewitching sounds of a child's laugh.

materialistic
Those born of immeasurable wealth know not the pangs of hunger but of emptiness instead - a void inside of her that Gertrude fills with fancy trinkets and exquisitely designed jewelry. Not once is the lady of the manor seen without impeccably manicured nails, perfectly coiffed hair and silk and satin ironed to perfection, clinging to her willowy body. The need for such opulence is perhaps influenced by her otherwise barren life, devoid of familial love or true, deep emotional connections.

liar
White lies escape matte lips, bittersweet in their intentions, for Gertrude does not lie just to be lying. She lies for what she believes to be the good of those around her. And though she may be shallow and indifferent to most physical ailments, those of the heart she attempts to be mindful of, careful in the words she chooses so that they may not cause another sorrow whether they be true or not.

self-sacrificing
Gertrude may be blind to certain things - some intentionally, some not - but one thing she will never close her eyes to is the security of her family, especially her son. Though perhaps she wouldn't have been opposed to the idea had more time passed, it was against every fibre of her being to marry so soon after her dear husband's death, and to his brother at that - but at the cost of her son's inheritance, she had no choice, and she would sacrifice her very love for the child she bore.

Biography

An only child of an unimportant but fairly wealthy politician and his homely, beak-nosed wife, Gertrude was unexpectedly stunning in appearance. The combination of her father's pert nose and naturally flaxen hair with her mother's angular bone structure and willowy frame was to the little girl's advantage. Though her family's influence and power was mostly weightless in the grand scheme of British nobility, her golden curls and beautific steely grey eyes led to countless suitors of varying importance.

The most charming of these men was a Sir Hamlet von der Maase, a relatively important Duke of Glucksbierg ironically enough not even of British origin. Gertrude met him while studying in London as a preparatory school girl - he, a suave man with a charming Danish accent studying in England abroad at the behest of his father. She was smitten with the foreigner and not only for his handsome features and charismatic personality. He showered her with fine gifts and luxurious holiday trips. Gertrude was utterly spoiled.

When the British beauty graduated and began university, everyone knew it was only a matter of time before her older beau proposed - and propose he did, with only one request of her.

"Come back with me to Copenhagen, darling. I'll make you a Duchess, just as you deserve." And how could she refuse such a simple request when he offered her the world in return? So she went with him.

But even Gertrude, so accustomed to luxury and splendor, did not expect the opulence that awaited her in Denmark - nor did she expect the seething jealousy of her soon-to-be husband's brother, Claudius. His elder brother had laid claim to the family's fortune, but did he too have to bring home such a lovely, rosy cheeked bride as his own? But the younger brother hid his stormy thoughts underneath an appealing smile and Gertrude, ever so accustomed to men attempting to attract her attention and wanting desperately to impress her new family, thought nothing of Claudius.

"He's always felt in my shadow." Hamlet would later inform her softly, as if it were a secret. "He has everything he needs but wants for what he hasn't earned. He will grow into a man soon enough."

The wedding was set, and soon Claudius left Gertrude's thoughts. She was to become a wife and have a family, something her lonely childhood lacked. She thrived on the thought.

When her sweet baby boy was put in her arms, though, that was when Gertrude knew her life was complete. His father's eyes stared up at her, blinking drowsily, and though strands of hair stuck to her forehead and her dressing gown was falling off of her shoulders, she was complete. Her baby Hamlet was home, and oh how he would be spoiled - he would know the love of a parent that she herself had never known. Through all her faults, there was one thing Gertrude truly knew she was meant to excel at - motherhood.

The sounds of Gertrude's tinkling laugh and sweet baby Hamlet's innocent giggles filled the manor for years. She doted on her son unabashedly, and to her surprise, so did his Uncle Claudius. The man often made rounds to his sister-in-law when his brother was out, sneaking his young nephew candies as he more often than not snuck Gertrude little trinkets as well. The woman was delighted - she knew no better than a man attempting to find his way back into a family after spending so much time away, but young Hamlet was more perceptive. He threw tantrums whenever Claudius came round, refused the sweets offered to him despite his love of candies - somewhere in his little heart he knew something was wrong. Uncle Claudius was trying to take his mommy away.

As Hamlet got older, Gertrude's doting did not cease but his warm reception to it did - he became cold, refusing his mother's affection. This hurt Gertrude greatly, the woman that had done nothing but live for her son and family. She hadn't the faintest idea of why he acted so distant, but the answer lay in the pearl broach she wore on her blazer, gifted by Claudius with a glint in his eye.

One final blow left Gertrude staggering. When Hamlet was away at boarding school, his father and Gertrude's dear husband was shot and left for dead. It was thought to be a mugging at first, but they soon realised his wallet was still on him. It appeared he had just been shot to die. Gertrude was devastated, but one person was her pillar throughout it all - Claudius. He sorted through the funeral arrangements with her, held her when she cried and brought her tea and sat by her when she had no tears left.

Of course, when the family threatened to take the fortune from her - the fortune she thought was rightfully hers, the lifestyle of which she had become so accustomed to - and give it to the new heir of the estate, Claudius, Gertrude knew, even through her grief, what she must do. For the good of herself, for the good of her son and the hope that he would earn his birthright when he came of age, she married Claudius. It was only shortly after that that Claudius proclaimed to her that they must move.

"Copenhagen has not been very kind to me." The man explained. "Nor has it you. I believe that, after being so many years gone, home in England will do you much good. A small market town, Stratford. I've purchased an extravagent manor, designed to your tastes." The move was hasty and unexpected - if Gertrude had not had blinders on, she might have realised it to be something to do with the police closing in on Claudius related to the death of his brother, but the woman was blissfully ignorant of what she did not want to see, so again she uprooted her life in the name of her family.

Her son was furious, of course. The cold exterior he had once extended to her was now icy, biting in its chill. He held back none in accusing his mother of incestruous relations, a whorish personality - but Gertrude took the pain and loved her son even more because of it. She begged him to come with them to Stratford but he refused - he was going to continue his studies at university in Wittenberg.

Now, it's been three years since she's moved to Stratford and became the lonely lady in the large manor, alone so often that some believe she to be widowed, visited by her son not once and, although doted upon Claudius whenever he is home, left alone more often than not when he is off to attend to unsavory things she has an inkling upon, but no wish for it to be true. Gertrude asks for not much but the love of her son again - a love that has not been extended to her in years.

Other
If anyone wants to grab another character from Hamlet just tell me and I'll adjust Gertrude's biography accordingly.

Olympus Falls

Well I obviously want Aphrodite and I'm flattered she was freely given to me. <3 Will get my CS up soon-ish.

All The World's A Stage (Shakespeare Modern AU)

Alright, Gertrude is done. I'll wait until I get the okay before I move her to the character tab, though. Cheers ~

All The World's A Stage (Shakespeare Modern AU)

Hider

"O Hamlet, thou hast cleft my heart in twain.. "

Origin
Queen Gertrude from Hamlet

Name
Gertrude von der Maase, Duchess of Glucksbierg

Age
43

Gender
Female

Personality

lascivious
Consumed with love for absent family and only temporarily charmed by mindless extravagances, Gertrude extends her affection and charisma in the only other way she knows how - sexually. Inclined to low cut silk blouses and wanton, sultry eyeshadows to attract the attention of which she had so much of in her youth that she now lacks in truant husband and cruel son, she exhibits a sensual need for physical pleasure, yet a reluctance to follow through with any flirtations due to devotion to her family.

motherly
Some people are born to be leaders, speakers or warriors; Gertrude was born to raise one. Stifled by a lonely childhood and unintentionally inattentive parents, she threw herself into mothering a son that would grow up to be vicious and bitter. Without a child to smother, Gertrude is forced to find other outlets to unleash her maternal instincts such as giving piano lessons to the children of Stratford. It is only an added bonus to these lessons that her manor and her afternoons are again filled with the bewitching sounds of a child's laugh.

materialistic
Those born of immeasurable wealth know not the pangs of hunger but of emptiness instead - a void inside of her that Gertrude fills with fancy trinkets and exquisitely designed jewelry. Not once is the lady of the manor seen without impeccably manicured nails, perfectly coiffed hair and silk and satin ironed to perfection, clinging to her willowy body. The need for such opulence is perhaps influenced by her otherwise barren life, devoid of familial love or true, deep emotional connections.

liar
White lies escape matte lips, bittersweet in their intentions, for Gertrude does not lie just to be lying. She lies for what she believes to be the good of those around her. And though she may be shallow and indifferent to most physical ailments, those of the heart she attempts to be mindful of, careful in the words she chooses so that they may not cause another sorrow whether they be true or not.

self-sacrificing
Gertrude may be blind to certain things - some intentionally, some not - but one thing she will never close her eyes to is the security of her family, especially her son. Though perhaps she wouldn't have been opposed to the idea had more time passed, it was against every fibre of her being to marry so soon after her dear husband's death, and to his brother at that - but at the cost of her son's inheritance, she had no choice, and she would sacrifice her very love for the child she bore.

Biography

An only child of an unimportant but fairly wealthy politician and his homely, beak-nosed wife, Gertrude was unexpectedly stunning in appearance. The combination of her father's pert nose and naturally flaxen hair with her mother's angular bone structure and willowy frame was to the little girl's advantage. Though her family's influence and power was mostly weightless in the grand scheme of British nobility, her golden curls and beautific steely grey eyes led to countless suitors of varying importance.

The most charming of these men was a Sir Hamlet von der Maase, a relatively important Duke of Glucksbierg ironically enough not even of British origin. Gertrude met him while studying in London as a preparatory school girl - he, a suave man with a charming Danish accent studying in England abroad at the behest of his father. She was smitten with the foreigner and not only for his handsome features and charismatic personality. He showered her with fine gifts and luxurious holiday trips. Gertrude was utterly spoiled.

When the British beauty graduated and began university, everyone knew it was only a matter of time before her older beau proposed - and propose he did, with only one request of her.

"Come back with me to Copenhagen, darling. I'll make you a Duchess, just as you deserve." And how could she refuse such a simple request when he offered her the world in return? So she went with him.

But even Gertrude, so accustomed to luxury and splendor, did not expect the opulence that awaited her in Denmark - nor did she expect the seething jealousy of her soon-to-be husband's brother, Claudius. His elder brother had laid claim to the family's fortune, but did he too have to bring home such a lovely, rosy cheeked bride as his own? But the younger brother hid his stormy thoughts underneath an appealing smile and Gertrude, ever so accustomed to men attempting to attract her attention and wanting desperately to impress her new family, thought nothing of Claudius.

"He's always felt in my shadow." Hamlet would later inform her softly, as if it were a secret. "He has everything he needs but wants for what he hasn't earned. He will grow into a man soon enough."

The wedding was set, and soon Claudius left Gertrude's thoughts. She was to become a wife and have a family, something her lonely childhood lacked. She thrived on the thought.

When her sweet baby boy was put in her arms, though, that was when Gertrude knew her life was complete. His father's eyes stared up at her, blinking drowsily, and though strands of hair stuck to her forehead and her dressing gown was falling off of her shoulders, she was complete. Her baby Hamlet was home, and oh how he would be spoiled - he would know the love of a parent that she herself had never known. Through all her faults, there was one thing Gertrude truly knew she was meant to excel at - motherhood.

The sounds of Gertrude's tinkling laugh and sweet baby Hamlet's innocent giggles filled the manor for years. She doted on her son unabashedly, and to her surprise, so did his Uncle Claudius. The man often made rounds to his sister-in-law when his brother was out, sneaking his young nephew candies as he more often than not snuck Gertrude little trinkets as well. The woman was delighted - she knew no better than a man attempting to find his way back into a family after spending so much time away, but young Hamlet was more perceptive. He threw tantrums whenever Claudius came round, refused the sweets offered to him despite his love of candies - somewhere in his little heart he knew something was wrong. Uncle Claudius was trying to take his mommy away.

As Hamlet got older, Gertrude's doting did not cease but his warm reception to it did - he became cold, refusing his mother's affection. This hurt Gertrude greatly, the woman that had done nothing but live for her son and family. She hadn't the faintest idea of why he acted so distant, but the answer lay in the pearl broach she wore on her blazer, gifted by Claudius with a glint in his eye.

One final blow left Gertrude staggering. When Hamlet was away at boarding school, his father and Gertrude's dear husband was shot and left for dead. It was thought to be a mugging at first, but they soon realised his wallet was still on him. It appeared he had just been shot to die. Gertrude was devastated, but one person was her pillar throughout it all - Claudius. He sorted through the funeral arrangements with her, held her when she cried and brought her tea and sat by her when she had no tears left.

Of course, when the family threatened to take the fortune from her - the fortune she thought was rightfully hers, the lifestyle of which she had become so accustomed to - and give it to the new heir of the estate, Claudius, Gertrude knew, even through her grief, what she must do. For the good of herself, for the good of her son and the hope that he would earn his birthright when he came of age, she married Claudius. It was only shortly after that that Claudius proclaimed to her that they must move.

"Copenhagen has not been very kind to me." The man explained. "Nor has it you. I believe that, after being so many years gone, home in England will do you much good. A small market town, Stratford. I've purchased an extravagent manor, designed to your tastes." The move was hasty and unexpected - if Gertrude had not had blinders on, she might have realised it to be something to do with the police closing in on Claudius related to the death of his brother, but the woman was blissfully ignorant of what she did not want to see, so again she uprooted her life in the name of her family.

Her son was furious, of course. The cold exterior he had once extended to her was now icy, biting in its chill. He held back none in accusing his mother of incestruous relations, a whorish personality - but Gertrude took the pain and loved her son even more because of it. She begged him to come with them to Stratford but he refused - he was going to continue his studies at university in Wittenberg.

Now, it's been three years since she's moved to Stratford and became the lonely lady in the large manor, alone so often that some believe she to be widowed, visited by her son not once and, although doted upon Claudius whenever he is home, left alone more often than not when he is off to attend to unsavory things she has an inkling upon, but no wish for it to be true. Gertrude asks for not much but the love of her son again - a love that has not been extended to her in years.

Other
If anyone wants to grab another character from Hamlet just tell me and I'll adjust Gertrude's biography accordingly.

thought i'd post this now and add the personality later and tweak the bio until i finally like it. i apologize to anyone in advance that reads her entire biography, someone needs to teach me how to stop

Olympus Falls

Considering my name, I'm pretty obviously interested.