Her blizzard diversity sheet has her as a trans lesbian aquarius or possibly pisces who in the modern au would probably be a programmer or another safe job that makes good money, currently you can think of her as an heir to the Iron Throne If you wanna talk pathetic wet sopping characters holy god Bakri is pathetic but in a distinctly principled way where he doesn’t know it, Theo inspires pathos in that you want her to succeed and be saved and perhaps save her yourself, but she has a Garfield-like native dignity and charisma that evaporates patheticness But Petra is Pathetic and Knows It Saddest woman alive and does drugs about it I named her Aslani (aslan is lion in turkish) for cowardly lion symbolism Her characteristics are like hmmm I wanted someone really spineless and unwilling to speak up for herself or others Someone who's just comfortable enough to not advocate for change but uncomfortable enough to try and help those being hurt by the system they're all stuck in, but not uncomfortable enough to actually stick to her guns when she senses Someone Disapproves of Her She knows that the faff about Theo killing her dad is stupid but being self-aware isn't enough She hates imposing on anyone for any reasons, is deeply internal and intellectual in part to escape her body (Medical) transition is possible but frowned upon and Petra would rather die than be frowned upon, so she's just in socially-transitioned but medically-not hell and it's completely stunlocked her relationship with her body I'm making her sound bad she's not She's doing the best she can with her set of characteristics and truly wants everyone to get along and be happy forever And ofc this is a medieval world, Nayir is extremely enlightened in certain ways (no money) and not in others (feudalism) so for her time she's pretty progressive it's just that her beliefs and characteristics cause her to snap and screw Theo over so we start out hating her She's Theo's actual best friend and the only person who knew she wasn't dead and was in fact across the sea and in medieval France She crumbled under a small amount of pressure when people started investigating and that's what kicks things off In their past they were of equal rank as both were Princesses and therefore eligible to marry But marriage is for kids so they couldn't, so they both had to try and marry other people She's so miserable trying to find a partner to stabilize the familial line with because she was lowkey in love with Theo a bit Theo who sometimes has Swiss cheese for brains was like you can just marry someone + put kids in them + have me on the side! Nvm that adultery is a crime and grounds for a divorce, also Theo didn't think Petra was that serious because in her eyes everything that's not enforced with violence is optional Petra is like nooooo I can't do that :( I'll marry someone and be good and if you're gonna tempt me to do bad things we gotta separate Theo is like fine you're so uptight do what you want, but I'll escape at night to my little parties and you won't be able to stop yourself from coming with me Nayiri parties sometimes have opiates and Petra started using them to get out of her head and body, Theo did too but differently Too much at once, but she doesn't rely on them, she needs constant varying stimulation so she uses them unwisely but more in party-girl kinda way and thought Petra would be the same, so she had no problem getting them for her and encouraging her to try them to "relax" Petra started using them on a low-level but constant basis so she can be comfortable with her constant anxiety and upcoming marriage But ofc opiates and alcohol can't change that/dysphoria/leftover romantic feelings for a friend/guilt so her marriage is still unconsummated and she just tries not to talk about it and hopes her wife doesn't either The only time she dares to dream of something different is when she's high :( I think her story would end with her learning that she can, to some degree, choose her discomfort and choose to divorce and change herself so that she can face the future without cringing away or catastrophizing Also her reconciling with Theo I wanted Theo to be the one who was More In the Wrong in order to flesh her out better Theo constantly got Petra in trouble when they were growing up and didn't understand why Petra would get so upset They snuck off to a bath house in the city when they were 16 to have sex, which is bad form (Theo's idea) Theo snuck in after Petra got married to have sex because in her fumbly way she thought she was helping, thus indirectly endangering their marriage Theo convinced Petra to try opiates to relax, again trying to help but sending her down a bad path Like none of it is malicious and none of it means she deserved Petra letting slip that she was alive, but you understand why Petra would build up resentment and crack under pressure You also understand why Theo, who tends to be self-centered and pushy, would do that stuff