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β’ current timeframe: 1927-, Paris, France / Rome, Italy
β’ b. June 1900 as Elisabetta Paolo, illegitimate daughter of a seamstress and the famous actor who wouldn't acknowledge Elisabetta as his own
β’ had a difficult relationship with her mother and ran away from home at age 15, making it all the way to Paris where she exchanged her given name for Eloisa
β’ 27 years old, unmarried though a fair few have attempted to propose to her and been laughed out of the room, a prominent stage actress in Paris β’ especially well-known for her Shakespeare repertory, has been called the French Juliet of the ages and a Hippolyta Force Majeure
β’ keeps a handful of her patrons very close, allowing them to bring her along to parties and letting them have sex with her afterwards
β’ sees 'her men' more as tools she has a use of than actual lovers, she has never been in love or truly felt she loved anyone
β’ eventually falls in love with Sylvie, the younger sister of her richest benefactor and patron, Charles Gallard
β’ due to her affair with Sylvie, she ends up relocating to Italy once more, leaving Paris and the other girl behind
β’ backtagging is good
β’ no ooc triggers or warnings
β’ warning for the possibility of period-typical homophobia, sexism, etc.
β’ open to timey-whimey jamjar interaction, historical scenarios and, to some degree, straight-up modern au
β’ shipping is f/f primarily, though i'm good with casual f/m if the chemistry is there; otherwise i love gen interaction and especially friendship!
β’ pm for contact, cest/cet time zone
β’ default canon point is post-novel
Eloisa (Elisabetta) Paolo was born in Rome as the bastard daughter of a poor seamstress and a well-known actor at the time, who wouldn't acknowledge Eloisa, then Elisabetta, as his own.
Growing up with her struggling, single mother, they had a difficult relationship and Eloisa dreamt of a better life for herself. Finally, at 15, after a particularly bad incident with her mother, Eloisa quite simply upped and left, jumping on a train to France and starting over there under a new name: Eloisa Paolo.
In Paris, she soon caught the eye of a theatre manager who thought she would be winning on stage, and she was, she had a natural affinity for acting and soon rose to prominence in the field. Throughout her twenties, she established a reputation of being the Shakespeare interpreter in France at this time and she had her pick of patrons and lovers who would do anything for her.
In secret, she also made her way into the underground lesbian environment in Paris, becoming the lover of one Giovannina Roux, a wealthy widow who held "ladies' club nights" where the girls in Paris who were so inclined could meet and engage with each other in the safety of her town house.
At age 27, having had the wealthy "Coffee Baron", Charles Gallard, as her patron and lover for a while, he introduces her to his younger sister and Eloisa is instantly attracted to the sweet, innocent girl. After a midnight kiss, the two quickly stumble into a secret affair with each other, while Eloisa remains the brother's girlfriend on the side.
However, when Sylvie is being pressured to get engaged and desperately tries to convince Eloisa to run away with her, Eloisa knows the act is over. While she agrees to run away to England with the other girl, she secretly plans for a quick escape to Rome instead, where she will try to start over, take roles in Italy under a new name and a new identity, Elvira Paolo.
First and foremost, Eloisa is greedy. She wants the stars and the moon and the pretty girls and the rich men, she wants all of it and she will do anything necessary to get it, too. She has run away from home and worked her way up from the gutter in a new, foreign city to be where she is now, she can do so again and will do it, if necessary. However, she also loves luxury and to indulge, alcohol, sex, no doubt drugs, anything that enhances the enjoyment of life. She is a hedonist, thatβs the long and short of it.
She has a sharp personality, laughing in the face of men who hold her fate in their hands, who pay for her whole future, happily making crude comments, teasing and joking and making fun of people. She is intelligent and observant, able to quickly tell what a person is about and how she might use that to her advantage. She loves Charles Gallard, the Coffee Baron, because they are alike. She loves his sister, Sylvie, because they are very, very different, but in both instances, she feels that she has them figured out.
Vanity and egocentrism are distinct aspects of her personality. She not only basks in compliments and praise, but aggressively seeks it, expecting others to feed her ego. Although she loves Sylvie in her own way, it is a selfish love that has more to do with what Eloisa herself has lost in her life and, therefore, now sees in the other girl than with anything Sylvie is truly bringing into the relationship. They are learning experiences to each other, and in the end they will both β in each their way β move on enriched from the few months they had together, but it will also cost.
To conclude, Eloisa is a completely apolitical chaotic neutral agent who goes where the currents take her, whenever she has started a tsunami that sheβs no intention of stopping, herself. Let others do it for her, she did her part, that should be enough. If you ask her, that's how acting works.