Achilles

• General design elements.
  • Red hair. It's wavy and well-kept, for the most part.
  • Sea-green eyes.
  • Pale and freckled.
• Mermaid-specific design elements.
  • They have fins on their ears.
  • They have a forked, green tail. This is a trait typical of saltwater mermaids, whereas freshwater mermaids have eel-like tails.
• Personality.
  • Achilles is a very kind person, and they tend to play the role of the mediator when faced with conflict.
    • To be honest, they sort of have an inferiority complex regarding playing a mediator. Years of doing so kind of convinces you that you're a background character in everyone else's story, which is disheartening to say the least.
  • They are very slow when it comes to the progress in a relationship, partially because that's just the culture they were raised in—New Atlantean romance is meant to be very idealistic—but also because, due to previous events in their life, they aren't too keen on investing themselves in a relationship only to lose it later.
    • That being said, their ideal relationship includes getting married and having a huge family which is kind of funny, considering it took them almost a year to kiss Andre and the idea of children between the two of them is impossible.
• Abilities + Talents.
  • Aside from a generally easier time swimming, Achilles has no real abilities exclusive to merfolk.

Belonging to a pristine royal family in New Atlantis, Achilles was doted on as the youngest. That is, until three years later, when their younger sibling Ianthe was born and doted on. This cycle would continue for the next four children, as mermaids typically have larger families, this would end with Achilles being the middle of eleven children. It went about as well as you would expect it to.

Achilles spent most of their life acting as the "good sibling," being the only person who could mediate an argument without becoming part of it and the only one who wasn't a constant source of scandal.

If they were asked about it, they would describe their time with family as somewhat exhausting, and often frustrating, but never miserable. They maintain the position that it didn't change who they were as a person, but they do severely underestimate how it has affected them in terms of self image and perception of inferiority.

However, instead of saying that they suffer a massive case of middle child syndrome, they would simply state that their sibling's antics could get a bit tiring.

In fact, New Atlantis life itself was tiring, specifically for someone like Achilles, who was more suited to quiet life. This natural aversion to conflict and grandeur would become an advantage, however, when Achilles caught the attention of Mercury—the third child of another royal family—and was promptly courted by them. This would take years, as is custom for New Atlantean courtship, but would lead up to the engagement of Mercury and Achilles—and later, the impromptu separation.

Achilles's unhappiness with their engagement could be attributed to a myriad of factors, including but not limited to new sides of Mercury (very leadership-minded, impractical sides) being revealed with the acquisition of political power, and a bit of an inferiority complex on the part of Achilles in the wake of it all. These factors along with others would lead Achilles to break off the engagement, and it would be the first and last scandal they ever really caused.

After an incident left them surfaced, Achilles would be taken into the custody of Nerys and Andre, two dedicated researchers of the supernatural.

At the moment, Achilles resides in a koi pond in the backyard of Nerys and Andre. Though it can get boring, they do really appreciate the comfort and peace that they are afforded when they aren't bombarded by ten dysfunctional siblings and their parents all the time.

Oh, and the people! Achilles could go on about Andre and Nerys forever. They find the two to be amazingly interesting, but they are a bit biased in that regard, as they maintain a good friendship with Nerys and a romantic relationship with Andre. It's a sweet deal, if you ask them.

Of course, it is only a temporary solution. Achilles will eventually be returned to New Atlantis as soon as they can figure out a way to return without getting lost. That task is remarkably difficult, considering the fact that Achilles is blind and would have no way of navigating themselves home. And there's one more complication—they aren't sure if they want to return home.

• Their blindness is a genetic trait shared by one of their parents and a few of their siblings.
• They, like most mermaids, are very environmentally adaptable. They have no trouble surviving in freshwater despite their saltwater upbringing, and their physiology experiences very minor changes.
  • Nerys is absolutely fascinated by this.
• They aren't supernaturally adept at singing like a siren, but they do have a nice singing voice.
• They're a late sleeper.
• They're actually a little lazy when allowed to be.
• They believe in and follow the Greek gods.
  • Particularly Hades. They correct a lot of misinterpretations others have of the god of the underworld.

• A good night's sleep.
  • For them "a good night's sleep" can go on well into the afternoon. They're naturally a very sound sleeper.
• Poetry.
  • They wouldn't consider themselves a poet or anything, but they do enjoy thinking about possible lines and concepts.
  • It's a casual hobby they never really explored in their younger days.
• Their boyfriend. ❣
• Their friends.
• Gossip.
  • They are actually embarrassingly nosy. They act as a casual observer to most of the other's actions, but they are absolutely enthralled with everything going on.

• People who can't admit they were in the wrong.
  • As an extension, people who refuse to help themselves.
  • Yeah, they aren't very fond of Z.
• Jealousy.
• Feeling lesser than others.
  • As a side note, being pushed to the background.
• Despite the inferiority complex, they don't like being the absolute center of attention, either.