#ihq:task

[alkidemos]

athena & theseus.

sunlight to the river, moonlight to the sea, as false and as fleeting thou hast been to me. soft breezes! waft him not across the wide wide sea; ingulph, just waves of ocean! the wretch who flies from me.

[iliadshq]

          ‘ 𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐟𝐚𝐭𝐞 ? 𝐍𝐨 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐞𝐬𝐜𝐚𝐩𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐭, 𝐧𝐞𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐛𝐫𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐦𝐚𝐧 𝐧𝐨𝐫 𝐜𝐨𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝, 𝐈 𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐥 𝐲𝐨𝐮 — 𝐢𝐭’𝐬 𝐛𝐨𝐫𝐧 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐮𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐚𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐛𝐨𝐫𝐧. ’

                    As we are now open for plotting, we created this task to move things along ! After posting your character intros in the tag, we encourage you to delve deeper, but also delve beyond your own roles. A character sheet can be found under the read more. In its last section, you are encouraged to write a collaborative headcanon with one of the characters listed in your muse's connections. This headcanon should capture something that took place in the past in their relationship, whether unresolved, earthshaking or memorable, and it needs to appear in both your tasks. Happy writing, and don't forget to tag your lovely responses with ihq:task !

GUEST CARD

— ✹ FULL NAME — ✹ TITLE — ✹ BIRTHPLACE — ✹ LAND / KINGDOM — ✹ AGE  ( if applicable )

AFFILIATIONS

— ✹ PARENTS — ✹ SIBLINGS — ✹ LOVER(S)  — ✹ PATRON DEITY ( if applicable, can be found in skeleton ) — ✹ PROTEGE ( if applicable, can be found in skeleton )

INSIGHT

— ✹ VICES — ✹ VIRTUES — ✹ MORAL ALIGNMENT — ✹ PERSONALITY TYPE — ✹ MOST FORTUNATE MEMORY — ✹ AN  ACT THEY WOULD ERASE — ✹ BELIEF ABOUT FATE

RECOGNITION

— ✹ NOTABLE PHYSICAL TRAITS — ✹ NOTABLE QUIRKS, IDIOSYNCRACIES — ✹ REPUTATION AMONG MORTALS — ✹ REPUTATION AMONG GODS

MUTUAL HEADCANON

( if no connections are available, adress one of our admins' roles, we'd love to plot it out ! )

[ofartcmis]

GUEST CARD

— ✹ FULL NAME ;  artemis, isora, agroteia, locheia, potnia theron — ✹ TITLE ;  goddess of the hunt, the wilderness, wild animals, the Moon & holy chastity — ✹ BIRTHPLACE ;  on a barren island, delos of the shale & wolves, floating among mist — ✹ LAND / KINGDOM ;  olympus, the sprawling jungles reaching inland, the forests of the heights, the oceans of grassland & steppe in the north — ✹ AGE  ;  immortal

AFFILIATIONS

— ✹ PARENTS ;  zeus & leto — ✹ SIBLINGS ;  apollo as their twin & athena, ares, hermes, eris, helen as half-siblings — ✹ LOVER(S) ;  orion, tbd. — ✹ PROTEGE ; aeneas, tbd.

INSIGHT

— ✹ VICES ;  animosity, derision, presumption, vindictiviness, zealotry — ✹ VIRTUES ; fortitude, fidelity, devotion, justice-seeking, vibrancy — ✹ MORAL ALIGNMENT ;  chaotic good — ✹ PERSONALITY TYPE ;  tbd. — ✹ MOST FORTUNATE MEMORY ; apollo’s birth, a nebulous flicker, more sensation than thought, the way you drew their soul out into the world as if on a silver thether. orion’s hand in yours, his skin soft as vellum—nothing of the carnivore there, no huntsman in body, only in mind. polyphonte tipping their throat backwards to howl at the stars. siproites, grinning half-frenzied at their transformation, at the gift they wanted for so long—their delight splinters the darkness into kernels of light. you do not have one fortunate memory, you have an epoch of them ; your life is a monument to wildness, as it strikes you in joy, as it strikes you in grief. — ✹ AN ACT THEY WOULD ERASE ;  callisto, long-limbed & nimble, darting through the woods like the edge of a scimitar ; callisto, whom your brother loved, or lusted, or besmirched, & is there truly any difference in the end, when the brave girls are felled, when their sharpness is forever dented, when their last words become a keening that turns the forest selpuchre. callisto, the one you punished for a fault that was not hers, before you learned guilt & blame like an alphabet written in damask — ✹ BELIEF ABOUT FATE ; you obey the moirai, not out of piety but from a deep-rooted sense of justice, something that started as a fledgling branch & now became a gnarled, timeless oak inside your veins. your belief is the reason why you do not smite agamemnon, the cur, or the other myriad men that have borne his likeness across history, the man that cut down women like blades of grass. when you nip a soul’s thread without the moirai’s acceptance, you have to be ensured — no, fervent, about its deserving. but every now and then, you question the fate's judgement. doubt blooms in you, refracts like sunlight on the trembling surface of a deep, dark lake.

RECOGNITION

— ✹ NOTABLE PHYSICAL TRAITS ;  their vessel changes along with the age & the areas they are worshipped in the most—as is the wont of almost every god. — ✹ NOTABLE QUIRKS, IDIOSYNCRACIES ;  plaited hair, incessant pulling at the braids, tangling them in meshwork-knots & matted clumps ;  hands slapping against their sides, cracking knuckles, palming fists, creating a thunder of noise out of mute actions just as they can keep any movement stealthy, conceleaed in its own pelt of habit. — ✹ REPUTATION AMONG MORTALS ; at this moment, we stand in the age of heroes, which succeded the age of myth like a firefly after a forest fire, like the annotation to an implosion. in this age, the vessel artemis carries is named she, is named they, is named lady of quiet lakes, is named lady of gurgling rivers, is named silver huntress, tall she-bear, swift, incisive, bone-carved, birch-skinned, glorious. the best thing about goddesses they deem virgins ? no one mentions your body. it is ruling in absentia, it is a nameless, void phenomenon. the light falls elsewhere ; and how warm its touch. — ✹ REPUTATION AMONG GODS ;  what the hierophants do not say: athena is raging, and you are, too. she is raging, and each scream inflates your lungs like a wine-skin, disjoints your bones like tectonic movements, like the sliding of earth’s plaques beneath its varnish. no more of varnish, you say, no more of gilded enamel, poured and poured to hide the rot. what rises in the columns of smoke above the vestal temples:  not all women love. what stirs in the altar vases:  not all women see chastity as a refusal, but as a consecration. the sacral delineation of the space, the body, marring its fleetingness with forbiddance, rendering it permanent, everlasting, yours. what swirls in the dust motes:  not all women love their fathers. what you tell athena, gripping her shoulderbones raw:  we made rage holy. now let’s show them why.

MUTUAL HEADCANON

You first see him on a feast day, and holiness swirls around them, coagulating like tar. The feast is held in the aftermath of a resounding victory — the garrison of Troy has pushed the northern barbarians beyond the border. You are impassioned, neither wrathful nor honored by this triumph; some tribesmen did worship you, but their women bowed to another, and so you had bloodied no oath for their protection. Yet one thing does scratch at you, a pest trapped under the floorboards, clawing to get out ; the pest of war-bonds, of men caught in battle and rendered slaves or sacrifice without reprieve, without the right to choose proper death. At the feet of Trojans, the battle-earned prisoners lay huddled, the most pitiful sacrifice you have seen in centuries ; worse than the plague-touched animals, worse than the scraps thrown on the altar in times of famine. Your bile stirs, trickles into your mouth in steady succession. And then Aphrodite’s son enters the square. Clad in a thin coat, so benighted with blood it is almost translucent, he raises his hand. The earth falls quiet. ‘ You will have these souls delivered to the gates in such a state ? Offered to the one they call stainless, untainted ? ’ His voice is not filled with scorn, nor anger, merely consternation. The boy’s locks, dark against the glare of the sun, are matted after the struggle on the battlefield. You see soil & leaves embroiled in its strands, you see torn patches, misplaced scars, fringes of pain—none of it matters. He looks every bit a prince. ‘ Release them, my hetairos, my sworn soldiers. ’ The men scramble to obey. And just like that, in a starburst of fate, Aeneas became known to you. That night, you became known to him.

[fallofparis]

GUEST CARD

— ✹ FULL NAME paris — ✹ TITLE prince of troy — ✹ BIRTHPLACE troy — ✹ LAND / KINGDOM asia minor — ✹ AGE  twenty four

AFFILIATIONS

— ✹ PARENTS king priam and queen hecuba — ✹ SIBLINGS hector, cassandra, helenus, deiphobus, troilus, laodice, polyxena, creusa, and polydorus. — ✹ LOVER(S) oenone. — ✹ PATRON DEITY aphrodite. — ✹ PROTEGE n/a.

INSIGHT

— ✹ VICES boastful, cowardice, uncompromising, desire, hindsight, selfish, naive, gullible, delusion, entitlement, deceit, obsessive, sexual lust. — ✹ VIRTUES virility, fidelity, friendly, gratitude, purposeful, even-tempered, idealistic, loving, caring, sensitive, faithfulness in the Gods, acts of service. — ✹ MORAL ALIGNMENT chaotic neutral — ✹ PERSONALITY TYPE ENFP-A, the campaigner. — ✹ MOST FORTUNATE MEMORY he thinks of days of forgotten past: visions of satyrs, fingers winnowing grain from the chaff, baby goats half-hidden by tufts of flowers - the light, golden cradle of life at the edges of great forests. — ✹ AN ACT THEY WOULD ERASE under the portico of troy, the familiar statue of hera seems to aim her finger right at him, and it sends him into a tremor. paris can only imagine oenone’s pure, concentrated distillation of hatred for him at not affording their infant son a proper goodbye. it is something he wishes he could remedy, but he persists on. — ✹ BELIEF ABOUT FATE the soil that fashions one’s body, the air that breathes life into one’s soul, the whisper that trains one to be unafraid of their own woods. fate is a straight line that unwinds slowly and ceaselessly to where one is meant to be.

RECOGNITION

— ✹ NOTABLE PHYSICAL TRAITS save for the occasional mark of where bulls had split his skin, his skin is smooth and white. lately, though, with the change of climate, the yellow undertone of his skin has become more prominent. the tail of his left brow grows in a cowlick pattern. of tall and of unassuming body, only the arms and broad shoulders that tended to the fields and animals of mount ida for many years give him a more imposing look. the contours of his biceps are evident, but he does not have the body of a hardened warrior. his hair is curly and brown and chopped half an inch below the ear. his beard is close cropped which lends to him a more youthful appearance. — ✹ NOTABLE QUIRKS, IDIOSYNCRACIES never indoors unless necessary. has specific sayings and metaphors of animals and nature that he says when trying to make sense of things (such as ”but once the cow’s been milked, there’s no squirting the cream back up her udder,” as famously said by olenna tyrell). the habit of carrying a bow and arrow has changed to him carrying a fine point dagger. insists on a metal allergy that impedes him from wearing any armor during training. this is obviously a lie, as paris is more than happy to wear the traditional headpieces that are customary to a prince as himself. his enthusiasm for such objects is less than his need for mobility and comfort - though it is with great aplomb that he wears rings of different gems in more than 6 fingers. all the pins that secure his clothes are in the image of the sparrow (for aphrodite). — ✹ REPUTATION AMONG MORTALS a shameless man who describes in minutest detail his states of mind, a joy when going on at length of his soldiers’ sinful adventures and run-ins with the queen of the amazons, someone who has turned the favor of a goddess into vanity. to those familiar to him, he is at once agitating and endearing. — ✹ REPUTATION AMONG GODS a nuisance, naive, out of touch with their capabilities that they have been bestowed with (or otherwise), but a means to an end all the same.

MUTUAL HEADCANON

— ✹ WITH @lovegcddess​

every fortnight, in a manner that is always contemptuous, and always fruitless, hector begins his tirades in front of the council. there are always small variations to the account of the same facts, theatrics of interspersing pauses, several hyperbolic anecdotes, and gestures that grasp for an offense that would match the one served to his honor, to his weakening image of the king, and his intolerance for paris.  

paris says nothing. no one is more blind than someone who chooses not to see. love must be just that: a spark that strikes like lightning, an illusion of your heart’s desires that fails to perceive its shadows.

he does not see aphrodite’s shadow when she appears to him.

he feels the heat of vision, the soft coos of sweet words and pleasurable entreaties, a scale caked with dirt and blackened by blood from the strange fruit that has been weighed from above the altar, for she has come to him with an offering.

“what says the signs?”

“that usefulness acquires by being used. that i need all of you, paris. this will not be won by halves.”

“everyone knows he will one day be king.”

“what does a faithless prince know about being king?”

when she looks onto him, so lovingly so, he feels powerful coils squeezing into the cavity in his chest. sadly, like a note out of tune, a tear rolls from his eye as his head is knelt down in submission.

at once he rises. he does not offer a challenging look in response, simply a resounding question: “could this be meant for me?” their gazes meet and hang on by a taut thread.

if such is so that she desires, then so may it be - the scale now tips in his favor. 

[ofachilleus]

GUEST CARD

— ✹ FULL NAME: achilles — ✹ TITLE: hero of phthia — ✹ BIRTHPLACE: phthia — ✹ LAND / KINGDOM: phthia, thessaly — ✹ AGE: twenty

AFFILIATIONS

— ✹ PARENTS: thetis, sea nymph & peleus, king of phthia — ✹ SIBLINGS: none — ✹ LOVER: patroclus — ✹ PATRON DEITY: thetis (has an affinity also with athena) — ✹ PROTEGE: n/a, though he has take numerous myrmidon boys under his wing on the training yard

INSIGHT

— ✹ VICES: impatience, anger, vanity, pride, hubris — ✹ VIRTUES: ambition, charm, loyalty, persistence, humour — ✹ MORAL ALIGNMENT: chaotic neutral — ✹ PERSONALITY TYPE: esfp — ✹ MOST FORTUNATE MEMORY: it is not a particularly interesting memory, nor an exciting one, but he’ll never forget it so long as he lives. it was some lazy afternoon in phthia, lying in a shady olive grove with patroclus; achilles’ head had been resting on their thigh, and accepting olives from their hands with little kisses left to fingertips as payment. he’d told patroclus he loved them that afternoon, and sealed it with a kiss that tasted of the tart, rich fruit of the grove. he thinks about it often, and holds the memory as one of the greatest treasures of his life. — ✹ AN  ACT THEY WOULD ERASE: the last time he saw his mother, he cried. her constant departure from him rips him up inside - he misses her, he needs her, and yet she cannot stand to be around him, and the stinking mortality of his world for any longer than necessary. he cried when they last said goodbye, showed his weakness like a helpless child, and bared his humanity in a way that had made her skin crawl.  — ✹ BELIEF ABOUT FATE: he understands fate, and believes it to be a very real presence in his world, but he wants both glory and happiness so much that there is something in him that wonders if his sheer, visceral willpower can shift the tides of fate.

RECOGNITION

— ✹ NOTABLE PHYSICAL TRAITS: sea blue eyes that tie him to his nereid mother, one dimple on his left cheek handed down to him by his father, curly golden hair, the height of a man whose blood is mixed with ichor — ✹ NOTABLE QUIRKS, IDIOSYNCRASIES: bites the inside of his cheek when he’s nervous, rolls his shoulders when he’s angry, talks in his sleep — ✹ REPUTATION AMONG MORTALS: the songs sing of his legendary abilities with a weapon, of his good looks, and heroic deeds, and they reach every corner of the known world. of course, those who have met him, or crossed him, like to speak of the way that has all gone to his head. — ✹ REPUTATION AMONG GODS: he has angered enough of them to be constantly sleeping with one eye open, and is favoured by enough that the other eye can rest, so to speak. achilles imagines he must be a rather divisive figure on olympus, not that that does anything but please him.

MUTUAL HEADCANON

( achilles + agamemnon ) for two years, achilles and the myrmidons have been a regular part of the king of mycenae’s contingent. sacking cities, winning glory, is all well and good for achilles of phthia, but it is merely a stepping stone to something that one day will have voices in new languages, in unknown lands, singing his praises. even at eighteen, achilles identified agamemnon as a stepping stone to his ultimate goals of glory, and knew that his skill was a coveted enough commodity that his sword would not be turned away. he walks a line with the king of mycenae, bathing in his praises, but never risking too much without getting something in return. it is a relationship of mutual gain, though achilles is too blinded by his own ego to realise that agamemnon laves positions and praises on him to keep him loyal, rather than for any recognition of his prowess.

[kidemxnas]

— ✹ FULL NAME penthesilea

— ✹ TITLE queen of the amazons

— ✹ BIRTHPLACE themiscyra

— ✹ LAND / KINGDOM themiscyra, land of the amazons

— ✹ AGE  thirty-six

AFFILIATIONS

— ✹ PARENTS ares, god of war, and otrera, late queen of the amazons

— ✹ SIBLINGS three sisters; hippolyta, antiope and melanippe

— ✹ LOVER(S) none of current note

— ✹ PATRON DEITY ares & artemis

as the daughter of the former and a warrior queen herself, she owes much to her godly father (and grandfather) for the structure of her nation and the amazons themselves. the very first temple in themiscyra was built in his honour, with yearly celebrations in his name. personally, however, she finds him quite irritating.

artemis, however, is more of a chosen deity. worship is given freely rather than owed. penthesilea’s mother, otrera, is responsible for founding a shrine to artemis in themiscyra and the cult in her honour. perhaps a little more favour is shown here, as the temple of artemis would become one of the great wonders of the world.  

INSIGHT

— ✹ VICES adversity, boastful, disrespectful, crude

— ✹ VIRTUES hopeful, determined, compassionate, valorous

— ✹ MORAL ALIGNMENT neutral good

— ✹ PERSONALITY TYPE ENFP - The Campaigner

— ✹ MOST FORTUNATE MEMORY

unity was bountiful in her youth. awash with fond memories of sisters in blood and arms, training, competing, fighting and winning. there were squabbles, of course, but she remembers the day the temple was built. a great ceremony heralded it’s completion, the honour of its leadership given to her. it would not last for long. scarcely half a decade. but the trust in her, and as such a young woman, made her feel so valued, so whole and so loved.

— ✹ AN  ACT THEY WOULD ERASE

the death of her sister was the darkest moment of pentheselia’s life. it cemented the wasteful nature of war, and in the ensuing rumour, the chaos of battle. seeing her body crumple, she rushed to her sister’s side. peppered with arrows, she had been finally felled with a sword to the gut. the woman was in agony, finally succumbing to her myriad wounds. every moment slowed further than the last. it was panic that drove her, removing the sword from her chest, desperate to protect her as hands flew to stem the bleeding. precisely what every bit of medical training had demanded she avoid. but what could be done against such a mortal wound? with nothing to stem the bleeding, it was over in moments, with pentheselia helpless but to watch the life and blood drain from her sister. others saw the princess rush to the queen. they saw the queen fall, the sword removed and the princess ascend. detail of emotion was lost in the battle.

— ✹ BELIEF ABOUT FATE

prophecy is just a possibility. there is always something that can be done to change destiny, to change the path a person must tred. how can a person simply step back and submit to what has been foreseen, and change nothing to prevent a devastating tragedy? this is precisely the situation pentheselia finds herself within sparta; as the opponent of fate.

RECOGNITION

— ✹ NOTABLE PHYSICAL TRAITS

a slim yet muscular figure, sporting a warriors physique on a frame of medium height and perfect posture. discipline is different among amazons. formations are not held for pomp or ceremony, nor the pride of a commander. they are practical, a warrior’s posture and outfit beholden of their honour.

practical, leather armour with bronze accents weaves perfectly with vibrant colour to outfit the amazon. joy is taken with her appearance, from jewellery picked up from across the empire, skirts woven in plain, bold colours. these may be hitchen into greaves at a moments notice, but her best armour makes better use of shorter fabrics, an amazons shield, spear, bow and arrow kept perfect for presentation.

dark skin, full lips and cropped hair make up her most prominent features. her ears are dotted with tiny gems for the sake of vanity.

— ✹ NOTABLE QUIRKS, IDIOSYNCRACIES

her expression is easy, never hidden or masked for the sake of another’s pride. her voice is accented greek, spoken straight forward and clear as a bell.

honesty is a well kept policy, with the exception of dramatic enhancement or comedic effect. it is clear she comes naturally from a tavern, for she pleases a crowd, but not an individual. as much may pivot on a knifes edge to make way for cutthroat confidence in command and fast action in the face of pressure or adversity. serious matters had better be held as such.

never an early riser, she takes breakfast just before noon and enjoys the camaraderie of an evening at play or the peaceful solitude of quiet streets just as well.

it is not an amazons nature to marry, but in her case, it is clear why. she does not tarry with men. not to embolden or encourage, pity or pander to. all the same, their kind are prone to fault as with any, but they form her fiercest allies and bawdiest drinking fellows. she makes no secret, however, that that is all they will ever be. to her, the connection between two women runs deeper in every way imaginable.

— ✹ REPUTATION AMONG MORTALS

she is mortal, strictly speaking. though a demigod herself, she views herself as amazon before mortal, and therefore a separate entity altogether. these are foreign lands to her, occupied by foreign people. perhaps a reputation of her prowess in battle and rank among the women warriors of the black sea proceeds her. perhaps she is a stranger among them.

— ✹ REPUTATION AMONG GODS

the daughter of ares, supplicant to the gods of both war and hunting, she may be known to some more than others. the gods are not close to her, and they do not impress her, for she knows their game. no matter her reputation now, she intends to be known to them soon, with no mistake.

MUTUAL HEADCANON

once a fervent follower of artemis, her faith has fallen by the wayside along with her respect for the gods. the dirty still holds a place in her heart, however, as they hold a fondness for her. there is much to admire in a figure of feminine power and independence, lacking her father’s coarse love of chaos and therefore any grim reminder of death. they are a protector, a companion, and, she likes to think, so alike her in so many ways; a strong, sapphic, independent guardian marks only one side of pentheselia’s godly duality, but it is without question the side she prefers.

[repulson]

trigger warning : suicide ( hanging )

GUEST CARD

— ✹ FULL NAME Menelaus — ✹ TITLE Prince of Mycenae — ✹ BIRTHPLACE Μυκῆναι / Mycenae, Argolis — ✹ LAND / KINGDOM Μυκῆναι, Argolis — ✹ AGE   τριάντα  /  Thirty

AFFILIATIONS

— ✹ PARENTS Atreus and Aerope of Mycenae — ✹ SIBLINGS Agamemnon ( older ) — ✹ LOVER(S) Helen of Sparta ( kinda ), tbd. — ✹ PATRON DEITY Zilch, though continuously searches for one — ✹ PROTEGE Zilch, tbd.

INSIGHT

— ✹ VICES addicted, arrogant, agitating, bully, dependent, disrespectful, excessive, exploitative, grasping, hoarding, irresponsible, immature, impulsive, impatient, lustful, manic, nagging, naive, needy, overconfident, troublemaker, unfair, — ✹ VIRTUES bravery, ambition, companionship, determined, generosity, hopefulness, loyal ( in certain terms ), merciful, zealous, adventurous, articulate, enthusiastic, genuine, spontaneous, youthful, athletic, confident, dynamic — ✹ MORAL ALIGNMENT chaotic neutral — ✹ PERSONALITY TYPE sanguine - choleric / entj-f — ✹ MOST FORTUNATE MEMORY boyish memories are rare and few between for the small child that once resembled menelaus, after all, menelaus landed upon sparta’s shores under the watchful eye of their cucked king at the sprightly age of seven years old. before this, the relationship that blossomed between brothers had been strained and different compared to their ages but after the move and wardship attained by sparta, the brothers melted together. alone in the world and the sole heirs of myceanae menelaus and agamemnon began their thread of storytelling. even though his older brother was everything more than what menelaus was, he seemed to offer some companionship to his younger brother. playing was meant for children of carefree natures. god-fearing, sweetened, beloved so when it came to the orphaned brothers of the cursed house menelaus took their playful moments with a treasured and cherished approach. one most fortunate memory lies in the bed of late night flurry of sparta. there, he hid between large and imposing collumns - shivering with an elation of a small boy hiding from his seeker. his nostril flared, he curls his toes into the marble floors and cold stone of the spartan court. “you will never find me, brother!” he would call, his voice soft and electric with excitement. yes, his most fortunate memory surely comes from times of play with a brother who was so often seen as brooding and cold to anyone else. if only such a relationship could last forever. — ✹ AN  ACT THEY WOULD ERASE he was freshly born at the time of his exile, sent from island to island with his father, mother and grandmother who cried with salt-ridden tears. still chubby from figs and honey you spent your days tottering after agamemnon who always had seemed to be born fully grown. he was stronger, taller, larger - his brain was fully formed, you were still soft and maluable. at some point, not long after his first month of exile, he walked in on your grandmother screaming of a cursed line and tortured children. his father did not shriek - for he had already taken life within his hands. his mother was not present, she was far too simple and still mourned her sister who was now a personal spring for hermes himself. within the shadows he does not see agamemnon, the brother he had sought for. all you see, with bright blue eyes, is hippodamia of pisa ( grandmother, thin skin, wrinkled features and hoarse screams ) swing by her neck. to see death before your eyes so young and infant scars you for eternity. from that moment in the shadows, fat and greedy for your mother’s breast, you see death as a companion - it walks alongside you in both terror and companionship. and though menelaus, in secret, wishes to erase the memory, perhaps it is this that makes you a fearsome and bold warrior on the field of warfare. — ✹ BELIEF ABOUT FATE born to the cursed line of atreus, menelaus was raised to believe that fate and glory comes from manmade powers. an orphan by the age of seven he was given only his older brother as a paternal figure; agamemnon, who carved his own lineage from the moment they watched their grandmother swing by her neck. fate is useless, for you must grab and snatch everything you wish for - the gods, as present as they may be, give little in terms of mortal lives. why else, had hermes turned his aunt into a spring? why had they not stopped aterus and his twin from killing their younger brother? menelaus has forever watched agamemnon create his own fate and story… and so, he believes fate simply belongs in the eager palms of ambitious men.

RECOGNITION

— ✹ NOTABLE PHYSICAL TRAITS  wide-set, protruding eyes ( crystal blue, bright, aware ), straight faint eyebrows, milk thin skin ( scarred from battle ), wolfish face structure with high cheekbones, button nose, narrow rosebud lips, a few days’ growth of beard, tousled sandy blonde hair, bulky shoulders, athletic stature and slim legs, strong sturdy hands with ragged nails. — ✹ NOTABLE QUIRKS, IDIOSYNCRACIES highly extroverted, slob, an awful lier, short-tempered, odd sense of humour, loves to eat and drink, willing to try anything, hardly ever needs to rest, horrible sense of direction, unpredictable reactions, obsessive personality. — ✹ REPUTATION AMONG MORTALS before you meet menelaus you may only think of his line of tortured souls. father, grandfather, aunts, uncles… though in recent years you may know more of his older brother, agamemnon.  but in terms of this brother, who grows in the shadow or glory, hate and blood is a boy fattened by leisure yet lean from battle cries heralded by his family. to anyone outside, he is loud and pompous, to be ignored in favour of agamemnon or another. in reality, he is soft and malleable. — ✹ REPUTATION AMONG GODS he is no hero, he even knows that. but he does wish to be. brought up on the tales of forefathers descended from titans and primordial gods, menelaus always thought that such patrons of celestial meaning were simply relations of his own. but as he grows he realises that he may not be on the side of gods and heroism and rather grows beneath the imposing, carved out shadow of his brother who acts as zeus rather than boy turned man. the gods, no matter their power, may look down on him for his pompous attitude but others may only look to the prince with a saddened gaze. for after all, his life has only been fueled by misinformation and distrust.

[samplays]

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