Eadgith would have been living in a shelter after running away from Leofric once he'd beat her and she would have taken out a protective order against him.

Right now, I can't think of anything else.

*assembles pieces of shattered skull*

I could write about this topic for ages, so I think I had better limit myself to a few thoughts for now. I also need to write the next chapter.

Obviously the Pill and condoms would have made a huge difference in the lives of quite a few people. AIDS too. (You may have noticed STDs in general are absent from my world... I just don't want to go there! Poor Lady Eadgith!)

There would have been no arranged marriages (assuming modern day England or America or whatever) so Leof and Eadgith would probably never have been married anyway. But if they had been, I think he would have turned out OK. He would have been living in a society where a man literally ruling over his wife was not tolerated so much, and he would have had a lot more pressure not to hit her. Maybe he would have anyway -- lots of men do -- but somehow I think Leof might not have. Sophie's husband, yeah, but Leof is kind of a gentle guy in a big, lustful, angry body. I think he would have learned how to control it better. He also could have got counseling or treatment for depression or something after his baby died, which kind of started the whole downward spiral with him.

Alred would definitely be getting treatment for depression. Elfleda probably too.

There would be less kids, but less deaths of kids too. Alred's baby daughter and Wyn & Mouse's baby would have died (crib death) but lots of others probably wouldn't -- Harold and Catherine, Siggy, most of Cenwulf's children -- also Cenwulf and Colburga themselves.

Egelric would have gotten a vasectomy long ago I'm sure. He's always so "careful" and he doesn't seem interested in having lots of kids.

I love the idea of Matilda and Alred showing up late to a party, all flushed and tousled and giggling, and everyone rolling their eyes, except I think that was always the case with them anyway, even in the 11th century.

Matilda would almost certainly still be alive -- she had some sort of gestational diabetes if you haven't guessed -- and Leia wouldn't have been born either because Matilda and Leofric both would have known how to prevent that. She might also have been treated for her depression after her last miscarriage, which might have prevented her affair with him in the first place.

Sigefrith and Eadie would have been an interesting case though. How (seriously) interested would he have been in her if it had been in our times and she was what? 14? We still don't really know whether Sigefrith has a particular attraction to very young teens, or if he's just attracted to girls of a marriageable age according to the laws of his society. In the latter case there's not really anything deviant at all going on with him, and in our time he wouldn't have seriously considered a relationship with her and moved on to some other pretty face. Maybe we will learn more about that aspect of his character later.

Also they might have had one less problem in their marriage now, since if she has problems conceiving there are things nowadays they could do about that.

I keep imagining Alred in his penthouse, drinking champagne out of the bottle, writing poetry with a pen in one hand and a cigarette in the other. In his bare feet. No! In silk pajama bottoms. Because he couldn't sleep and just slid his arm out from under Matilda to go write a while. God bless Alred, he still writes by candlelight and uses a fountain pen.

And Egelric the drifter with his tattoos and his GED that he got while imprisoned for aggravated assault. Leaves his family and ends up working on a ranch in Nevada where no one cares whether the name he gave was his real one. Still has the impenetrable black beard. Rolls his own cigarettes. Sends grimy wads of cash back to Elfleda in envelopes without a return address. Every few years tries to go back home and only lasts a few months. Never did meet Lili in this life.

Leofric... no must stop! Must write about Leofric in the 11th century!

Cassie, your idea for Ethelwyn shall be the Official 2008 Ethelwyn, it is so perfectly him. With the additional detail that he gets his nails done. And you forgot to mention the yacht club.

I am not at all sure about Vash. The 2008 Vash might have some of the constraints lifted from his life, unless elf culture is exactly the same except for the clothes. If 2008 Vash could pick his own wife and do his own thing a little before he inherited the throne -- like a young British royal say -- he might have been happier and less mopey. Or maybe he would feel free to come out of the closet. Either way, WIN!

Also, 2008 Malcolm? He has a motorcycle, I just know it. Legs like his were meant to straddle.

As for 2008 Egelric, he is arguably even sexier than the 1085 Egelric, and that is probably not a coincidence since I was the one who came up with him. Oh dear. Bad Egelric with tattoos and beard. Such a heartbreaker, and we love him anyway. *sigh*

It just occurred to me that -- since I possess these Sims -- I could dress them in any clothes I like...

NO!! MUST WRITE!

I always thought Sela would have been a wild Bohemian hangin out in Coffee shops reciting poetry that she wrote.
Egelric would have been a bad boy wearing a leather jacket and riding a harley motocycle. He and Sela would have been an interesting couple.
Gwynn would have probably watched soap operas and read romance novels all day.

Aia would have been a mom working in the corporate world.

And Lili, never mind....

I was only teasing her character when I called her that. Lili would have been that flirty popular ditzy girl whom you would only expect to marry well. Only in my dreams Aia would work in a corporate world. But she would be a great nurse or social worker and she would be married to a successful business man.
Sela would have loved living in the village here in N.Y. with other bohemians.

Sela yeah.... print skirts and beads and a scarf wrapped around her head. Also frequently to be seen stapling flyers on telephone poles saying "STOP _____ NOW" or "_____ Pride Festival". Vegan. Rolls her own joints and stopped shaving her legs at 17.

Imin, sleazy little fellow with shirt unbuttoned to the bottom of his breastbone, and a fat silver chain. Works in sales, makes a good living on commissions. Tight pants, but admittedly a cute butt. Flashy sports car. Ruins the effect of his expensive aftershave by wearing too much of it. Annoying habit of publicly cleaning his teeth with a toothpick after every meal. Spends his Saturday evenings in a café where he totally does not fit in, listening to a hairy-legged bohemian girl in a scarf reciting poetry. Calls radio stations she never listens to to get them to play sentimental Top-40 songs she'll never hear. Yeah.

As for Egelric, I don't think he would have had a Harley. That's a rich man's bike, and Egelric has enough of the frugal Scot in him not to waste his money when a lot less would get him a machine that would just as readily get him from point A to point B. Also, he is not one to engage in activities that would call attention to himself, which is kind of the point of a Harley.

And while he may have had a motorcycle or two at points in his life, I don't think he would keep them long. You can't sleep in a motorcycle. I see Egelric in something more like an old Jeep Grand Wagoneer, brown say, rather beat-up on the outside but still running well since he fixes it himself. Yeah. You knew the grease under his fingernails had to come from somewhere.

I don't think Gwynn would have watched soaps, she's too literary for that. Instead she would have read tons of Austen and Bronte sisters and Baudelaire. She would definitely feel like she didn't belong in the 21st century, and probably would have been thrilled to have been swept back to her 11th century life. (Until the filthy reality of it hit her.) Pretty as she is, I think she might have had a tough time at school. She is too innocent and naive to play the game. Margaret though would kick junior high's ass and make it carry her books for her.

Aia would have had quite a different life since she would have had corrective surgery and leg braces and so on, and she might have gotten by with only a limp. Nobody would have dreamed of killing her at birth. Probably working with kids in some way... or lots of ways. Social worker, teacher maybe. She asks for so little out of life, she probably would have been very happy, and made other people happy as well.

I think Hetty and Lili would both have gone to an exclusive private school and then an exclusive all-girls college. Hetty would have waited a year or two so she could go at the same time as Lili, unless Lili got accepted early because she was so damned brilliant. (How did Lili end up seeming ditzy again??) Hetty gets a nice little English degree and Lili tries seven majors before she settles on math and classics. Hetty falls hard for one of her professors and gets pregnant in the last months of her senior year, and marries him right out of the box, and gets her heart broken because he goes on having affairs with other students of his. Lili goes straight to Hollywood and becomes a reasonably successful actress, though always in supporting roles. Dies young in a fiery small plane crash over Nevada. Egelric thinks it was a shooting star...

You think Lili is actually book smart I mean her getting Sohie and Stein to marry was smart but I would say she was survival or street smart.

"Dies young in a fiery small plane crash " that reminds me of what happened to my favorite female singer Aaliyah.

I admit, I thought of you and Smith, Cassie. Indeed, Hetty would be the type to fall hard for the slightly naughty prof who refers to "God or Google Earth" and says "Fuck" on the first day of class.

Lili might have taken double majors at Smith. She definitely would have majored in some sort of language.

She then would go on to work as an interpreter at an Embassy.

Imin would be a poser-pimp. *snicker*

Elfleda & Maud still could have committed suicide. Not all people are treated for depression successfully. Just like not all birth control is successful, so Matilda stil could have gotten pregnant with Leofric. He would still be a slut-puppy even if he wasn't a wife beater and could have still managed to seduce Matilda.

Malcolm could take a break from his motorcylcle straddling to straddle me! *drools at the thought of all that hotness on a bike*

What would Wulf and Gils be like in 2008? Maybe Gils would have been able to talk to a specialist about his problems.
I think Lena would have been a model.

Yeah I don't see any reason why Wulf and Gils would have been much different, except if their family life had been much different, which would probably be the case given the life I have described for Egelric. However if I really start going off on what characters would be like as a function of the 2008 actions of other characters, we'll never get anywhere. I guess that goes to show you how much who we are is a function of what happens to us.

It's spooky, Cassie, I too was drawing a total blank with Lar. He is such an enigma, that guy. I can't see him fitting anywhere into 2008 America. But then I had the thought that he would fit in well in something like the Basque paramilitary separatist organization ETA. He's so fully engaged in his fight that he doesn't have a family and doesn't have a life outside of that, which is probably why I can't imagine him just getting up in the morning and going to work, whether it be in on a construction site or in an investment bank. And he's not just a randomly violent person, so he wouldn't be in prison for miscellaneous rape or assault or robbery... if he was in prison it would be for assassination or blowing up a police station or some other terrorist act.

So I don't know... it's SO hard to imagine him as he would have turned out if he had been born and grown up in a stable environment where there was no war or genocide or terrorism or murder of his family members and friends. He seems to be a pretty noble guy in spite of everything so he might have been a great man. Or elf.

I think that's what I was getting at by mentioning his "nobility". He's a natural leader, and a big dreamer. A lot like Sigefrith, actually, so maybe we should be wondering what Sigefrith would be doing in 2008, and it's possible the kinder, gentler, happier Lar would have been doing the same. Politics or law sounds about right.

Of course, Sigefrith has a family and friends... maybe Lar would too. Or maybe he would always be a loner, or at least someone who neglects his family in his pursuit of his world-changing activities. I can see an unhappy wife for him, if he has one.

Lar is more guarded and intense than Sigefrith in some ways, so I wonder how much of that is due to his life experiences. In any case I can see Lar getting frustrated and disappointed with the way politics plays out in real life. He might end up blowing things up anyway.

In 2008 Lar would have been in jail for killing Sela and raping Cat. Probably would have been some muscular guy's bitch to.

Oh my! Look at the discussion I've started. This is good. Let's keep going. There are oh so many characters we can continue to think of.

First off, I'm loving the thought of Alred getting out of bed in the middle of the night to go write some poetry. The idea of it all is making me swoon. Silk pajamas, a penthouse, writing by candlelight even in the age of electricity. Goodness! I imagine that after the affair with Leofric, Matilda and Alred would have broken up. It would have shattered him nearly as much as we're seeing now. I'm certain he wouldn't have tried to kill himself with a sword though, but thinking of something just as tragic. I imagine that he would have run into Hetty at a certain coffee shop (with a certain bohemian reciting poetry as usual, because Alred is always so interested in poetry and maybe reciting his own on certain occasions), especially after finding out her husband has been at it again with yet another student of his. She needed to clear her head. She and Alred would have unexpectedly sat at the same table and had a lovely conversation, most likely initiated by Alred. They would have started talking long after many of the patrons had left. Being the chivalrous gentleman he is, he would have offered to walk her home, or at least hail a cab for her. They would have both loved talking to the other, in order to get their minds off of their crumbling relationships. Following her quick divorce from her husband on grounds on abandonment, they decided to continued speaking and eventually dating. But, of course, Alred would still be on Matilda, as he is now. Part of him would be insanely miserable, long after having broken up with her. I don't know how long it would have taken Hetty to realize it, but probably in the same scope it took her to realize that he doesn't love her as much as she thought. It would be heartbreaking but better for the both of them to part ways (on Hetty's suggestion, on of the few brave times she would have voiced her opinion and stood by what she said) and hopefully remain friends. Maybe this is how Lili and Egelric could have met. I still need to think of how Alred and Egelric would have met in 2008 in the first place...

Whew! That was lengthier than I thought. But it was completely fun thinking it up.

Ach, I have to go. I had some great thoughts about Eirik and Sigi. More later, hopefully.

Can't wait to hear your ideas on Sigrid and Eirik, Choco. (I loved your Alred and Hetty description, too - I can definitely see that happening. And then him eventually getting back with Matilda at the end, because nothing can really tear those two apart.) I have a feeling Eirik and Sigrid in modern times would be just as full of awesome as they are in medieval England.
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I'm romantic, literary, cynical, and a diehard Alred Sebright groupie.

Oh dear, oh dear. It seems I've given off the impression that I would have gotten Alred and Matilda would have gotten a divorce. I could never imagine that happening, either. If they ever did separate (God forbid), I would hope that they would be a couple who had been dating a few years and not married...yet. I was in a rush when writing it. I met to imply that Hetty and her professor husband would have been the ones getting a divorce. After all, he has a name and reputation to protect and the sooner this is put away with, the better. I get this idea mostly because of the chapter Hetty has from remembering her husband and how all his love was reserved for his dark-haired mistress and that she was simply a womb in a gentlewoman's body. I thought that was rather heart-breaking. It seems like this would be as close as I could get to her story, as described, more or less.

As for Eirik and Sigi, here's hoping I can do the Alred and Matilda of Their Time (because everyone loves and cheers for them, even if it isn't exactly like Alred and Matilda) some justice. I imagine that they would still have been in the situation that they're in now. At least in terms of Sigi falling for an older guy's lines, giving it up to him, and being pregnant from it. I'm thinking about them being in high school/secondary school because of their ages at the time. A lot like their medieval versions, Eirik would have been a major jerk about finding out that he got Sigi knocked up and may have even denied it for quite a few months. Obviously, she'd be scared but hopeful that he would turn around and do the right thing and admit that the baby is his. There would be moments that he would be tender and show concern for her, ask her if there was anything that she might have needed to take care of herself. But, like all too-cool-for-school bullies and jerks, he would immediately change his tune as soon as his cohorts came to the scene (i.e., Hilda and her ilk). Eventually, she'd have given birth to a beautiful blonde baby boy and he would have been pressured to do the right thing, especially with an annoying older brother breathing down his throat. After the dear, sweet baby was born, Sigi and Eirik would have most likely gone through a big period of fighting. She would have wanted him to stay more involed and not leave her to do everything by herself. He would want to kick back and be one of the guys and not have to do any of this "parenting crap." Probably after a few months or a year, he would gather up his brass ball sack and mature. But I keep getting this vibe that Eirik would have gotten himself into a lot of trouble, and Sigi being there would have to continously bail him out. She would have gotten better luck with it in 2008 than 1085 but I'm sure there might have been some harassment along the way. Oh, if only things have changed that dramatically. Of course, I don't think the two of them would have married the second she got pregnant. But I have high hopes for them in the future. I could see it being a struggle with Sigi, wanting to keep Eirik around for her son's sake but wanting to get rid of him and any bad habits that he might bring along with him and teach his son, whether directly or indirectly. I assume that after a lot of Eirik's trouble making caught up with him in some way, Sigi would have been terribly upset and would tried to end it with him, at least as much as possible as two people can end it when they have a child togehter. This would have prompted Eirik to get his act together, leave behind as much of his trouble-making cohorts behind (like Hilda, as we all know that she would still be alive today. And besides, we saw how much Estrid outgrew Hilda when they got older). I doubt he would have gotten himself a 9-5 job, at first anyway. He does have a rather large and boisterious personality. He also seems like he could be a charismatic fellow, though. I mean, he wouldn't have gotten as far and well-known as he did in the sailor/pirate circle as he is now without some of that. But I would hope it would be something much more legitimate. You know, void of plundering and pillaging. Maybe it would give Sigi some hope that he could turn his life around and provide for his family. Maybe he could even pursuade Sigi to make an honest man out of him. Besides, who else could make Eirik stand by a fire just to cool the front of himself?

Dear Lord, I seem to get taken away by all of this. This doesn't seems as fresh as when I was on my boyfriend's computer typing up my last response. Ach, it's needing polishing, I'm thinking. But it's also 6:40 in the morning and I've haven't gotten any sleep at all. So at least I have that excuse.

I do agree that Eirik and Sigrid are the Alred & Matilda of their time...I've always felt that way. Such an intense, passionate relationship...just so insanely in love. I agree that it has a kind of Alred & Matilda transcendence to it. A kind of love on a higher plane.
I love that idea of the inner city love story. I can so see that from Sigi.
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I'm romantic, literary, cynical, and a diehard Alred Sebright groupie.

Oh, Karen! I can so see that. His character just begs for that sort of work, it's true. Putting his special abilities to good use. He would look great in that uniform, too.
What do you think 2008 Iylaine would be like?
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I'm romantic, literary, cynical, and a diehard Alred Sebright groupie.

Karen that idea for Eirik & Sigi's young marriage + divorce + eventual bigger and better and stronger marriage is just perfect. That describes their life together pretty well, except of course in the 11th century they couldn't really get divorced.

I think Malcolm would be President Sigefrith's most trusted Secret Service agent -- bodyguard and spy and confidant. No uniform, but still sexy in his black suit and black sunglasses.

Iylaine is harder to pin down. She would be home alone most of the time since Malcolm would be jetting around in Air Force One. That's mostly what she likes though. They would have a nice little house far back in the woods in some ultra-exclusive area where the rich and powerful have their summer homes.

I don't know what she would do. It seems like she ought to be some kind of free spirit, painting or writing poetry or something out there all alone, but Iylaine has proven herself rather shallow and uninterested in what we might call intellectual or cultural pursuits. Maybe she would work on her garden and ride horses, galloping so wildly over woods and fields that it would seem she's almost trying to break her neck.

When Malcolm is at home he would try to take her into society, and she would silently endure it but make Malcolm miserable by making it known that she is miserable. I think they would eventually divorce, and Iylaine would get together with Vash......

What was Vash doing again?

Edit: I like Karen's idea for Malcolm & Iylaine too!

Omg this is such a funny idea. I can totally imagine badass Egelric with tatts and a leather jacket.

I think Maud would have just ridden off on the back of Malcom's motorcycle and then got joint custody with Sigefrith for the kids. She probably would have never gone loopy. Sigh. Or maybe she would have, I can kind of see her sitting in the garden of a mental institution in those white pyjamas staring blankly. Malcom would come and visit her sometimes with the kids but mostly he would be off with other women.

I can imagine Brede and Estrid living in a trailer and screaming at each other all the time with the kids crying in the background. Estrid would definitely have curlers in her hair.

I just love the idea of Egelric thinking Lili's death it was a shooting star. That makes me so damn sad. There is an interesting theory about parallel universes, each one spawning every time a new decision is made. I don't really believe it by I find it interesting to think about how things could be different for me in another world where I had decided to eat toast instead of cereal for breakfast one day and my entire life had been completely different.

I can so see the Egelric/Ilyaine story going pretty much exactly as it did. She would be the abandoned daughter of one of his girlfriends who was a junkie that ran off. He would take her from place to place as he roamed the country. They would do everything together and be everything to one another. Then at some point he would decided she was better off without him and leave him with an old friend and drive off into the sunset. But he would never forget to send her a birthday card and he would show up on her wedding day to walk her down the aisle and then disappear again. *sniffle*.

And in 2008 the Vash/Malcom/Ilyaine road trip would have to happen! "Climbing up on Solsbury hill..."

I like your projection, Desi.