bakerstreet | Is your princess in another castle?

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Is your princess in another castle?

courtly.

Courtly love or domnei was a medieval European conception of nobly and chivalrously expressing love and admiration. Generally, courtly love was secret and between members of the nobility. It was also generally not practiced between husband and wife.

The "courtly love" relationship is modeled on the feudal relationship between a knight and his liege lord. The knight serves his courtly lady (love service) with the same obedience and loyalty which he owes to his liege lord. She is in complete control of the love relationship, while he owes her obedience and submission.The knight's love for the lady inspires him to do great deeds, in order to be worthy of her love or to win her favor. Thus "courtly love" was originally construed as an ennobling force whether or not it was consummated, and even whether or not the lady knew about the knight's love or loved him in return.

The "courtly love" relationship typically was not between husband and wife, not because the poets and the audience were inherently immoral, but because it was an idealized sort of relationship that could not exist within the context of "real life" medieval marriages. In the middle ages, marriages amongst the nobility were typically based on practical and dynastic concerns rather than on love. The idea that a marriage could be based on love was a radical notion. But the audience for romance was perfectly aware that these romances were fictions, not models for actual behavior. The adulterous aspect that bothers many 20th-century readers was somewhat beside the point, which was to explore the potential influence of love on human behavior. The behavior of the knight and lady in love was drawn partly from troubadour poetry and partly from a set of literary conventions derived from the Latin poet Ovid, who described the "symptoms" of love as if it were a sickness. The "lovesick" knight became a conventional figure in medieval romance. Typical symptoms: sighing, turning pale, turning red, fever, inability to sleep, eat or drink. Romances often contained long interior monologues in which the lovers describe their feelings.

tl;dr characters are in a fantasy/medieval setting and having a courtly romance.

How to Play
- Comment with your character, preferences, etc. Also, be sure to include what "role" your character will be taking on in this little affair.

Lord/lady
Knight (gender neutral, of course)
Prince/princess
Bard or poet
Servant
Commoner (for the ultimate "forbidden romance")

-Comment to others, using the RNG to determine your fate.

Prompts

When I First Saw Your Face: You are meeting your liege or your knight for the first time. What you see takes your breath away.
Lovesick: Your pining for your beloved has made you ill! You can't eat, you can't sleep, you're in loves throes.
Playing Hard to Get: If you're of nobility, you at least have to pretend you're not interested.
You're So Coy: The art of flirtation is just getting started, but you have to be subtle about it.
In Your Honor: Be it a jousting match or a battle, you're going to win this for your lord/lady's name!
A Token: You must give your knight something for good luck.
A Gift: This is the reverse of the above. You must give your love something.
Keep a Secret: Kisses behind columns, holding hands under the table. You must sneak away little moments together, but you have to keep others in the dark.
Back from War: Your knight has been away in combat, and now they've returned. You want to shower them with affection.
Consummate: Believe it or not, courtly love could have a physical angle, as well. Sometimes physical afairs happened.
To Defend Your Honor: Someone has insulted your fair lady or lord. You know what that means! DUEL.
I'll Protect You: The lands are under an attack, and you must protect the person you love!
Breaking the Rules: You've decided to abandon the pretense of courtly love and actually be with this person, even if that means running away.
WILDCARD

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(Likely a prince, knight, or general servant. I'd love to do 1, 8, 9 and 12, any of the prompts are fair game.)

Edited 2017-10-13 00:14 (UTC)

[The Lady]

[Pretty open to all of these roles, actually.]

Edited 2017-10-13 00:48 (UTC)

(Very unlikely he'd be the lord-type in any situation, but many of the other prompts are fair game.)

[Open to both castmates and cross-canon. Can play him from either film. Any role above.]

( negl I live for this shit.

Serenity is the only child and heir of a powerful, ethereal queen. All of her life, she's been greatly sheltered, leading to her not knowing much of the universe outside her castle walls. Her personality is that of a sweet, albeit naive and sometimes childish young woman whose love for those around her is ultimately her greatest strength - and downfall. However, it seems that a degree of melancholy is present in her; her story, after all, is ultimately a cosmic tragedy.

tl;dr Slightly prim, a little proper, mostly emotional. Kindhearted but with an air of sadness. Otherworldly. Tends to love fast and destructively.

I'm here for all your dramatic, torrid affairs of the heart involving royalty, rival factions, commoners, knights, princesses, class differences, messy emotions, and potential bloody tragedies. Let's AU our characters into whatever world you'd like to cook up. I can provide prompts if you'd like.

Additionally, something I'm really interested in is playing up her more inhuman, unearthly qualities. What comes to mind is spinning her into a pagan god-queen where she retains her kindness, yet her proclivity towards unbridled emotions can spill out into ruthlessness. My general framework is something of a mother goddess meets Daenerys from Game of Thrones. IDK, IDK, I'm just thirsty for a different twist. )

[Lord or Prince]

[ Lucia would be a lady or princess, if we're kind of true to canon. If we're mixing things up, anything goes. ]

[ a travelling dancer part of a theatre troupe! but can also be a lady or a princess. ]

Edited 2017-10-13 05:39 (UTC)

[ literally a knight. technically a prince? ]

[ the lady. celeborn for canon, m/f for cross-canon. ~~i had to~~ ]

(the knight, could also be the prince or a servant)

[ooc: more likely a rogue~]

[ She is a princess in canon! ]

[ bard, princess, or lady. ]

[ lady/princess. m/ffor shipping, ota for gen. i would dearly love to thread out something between friends, like gossiping or bonding over their respective prospects, but i'm open to anything. ]

[a poet.]

[ooc: Either be a commoner, a Knight or a Knight in training, or a royal and has no clue that she is one.]

[ Day one, and already he can think only about getting his gold and leaving.

It is not even the gold of the master of the house that will line his pockets, but the man's father, in an attempt to make his fifth son less of what has been described to him as "a shameful woman of a man." His instructions are clear: train the duke's son in the ways of the warrior and the huntsman, so that he might be prepared to defend their county against any further uprising of the Muslims — and that he might bring less embarrassment to their house. All of this is detailed to him as he meets with the Duke at his son's estate, a lavish castle far from any town of note. The more he sees of it, the clearer it becomes that little of this is due to the son's success. He is cared for, lauded with trinkets to keep him quiet and out of sight. This is made even more evident by his exotic and dark-skinned wife.

He sees her only in passing, across the courtyard and surrounded by her maids. Were it not for the pallor of her face, he would not know her to be any different than the others of this county; she dresses in the finery of a noblewoman, with pearls and frills and lace-lined gloves of fine velvet. Briefly she lifts her gaze, and he looks away before he catches her eye. Disgust bubbles in his chest, but he buries it down. There is work to be done here, and he will speed through it so he might be gone just as quick.

But it is not quick, because the Duke's son is a goddamned buffoon.

For weeks Sesi works with him, riding out into the forests of the estate to teach him to hunt and track, showing him how best to handle a sword and saber. He is passable at best, and shameful at worst, clumsy with a blade and fumbling with bow and arrow. Through grit teeth he encourages and instructs, and despite his failures, the duke's son seems to believe himself a true man of war. His trips to the capital to meet with this father grow more frequent — and yet Sesi remains retained. In the castle he stays, with Spanish food and Spanish servants, fine linens, and the bought and converted wife of a pathetic embarrassment of a man.

It is five weeks in, and Sesi, under the Christian name Samuel, is ready to leave. The Duke's son is away, seeing to business at the capital, leaving him to his own devices on the castle grounds. He has free reign — the lord is quite fond of him, after all — but keeps to himself, mostly in the courtyard where he prefers to train. ]

[ Said "bought and converted" wife, Hajirah, was christened Anita de Granada at the end of her empire-- just before her marriage to a Spaniard. There was a time when these halls were filled by others like her, dark-skinned and dark-eyed, who believed as she did. Now it is only her.

It should go without saying, then, that this man who is the only one in the castle more conspicuous that she-- he is worthy of investigation. Her lord husband had previously seen to the monopolization of the stranger's every waking moment, but oh, how he spoke of the man later! Hajirah said nothing of the blisters on her husband's soft hands, how she had the same when she was a child and first holding a blade of her own.

But her husband is no longer here, which is why she wears a mid-length robe and trousers, in the fashion of her people, while softly trailing down the stairs that lead to the courtyard. Samuel cuts a striking figure there, wielding a blade with the power and grace of the rolling tide. She watches with fascination from the landing above him, her arms folded along the rail as she leans over the side, before calling out to below. ]

You would have my lord husband believe that there is nothing that you cannot master. Is it true?

[ His blade swings in an arc across his torso, coming down in a backwards swing to strike the log pounded into the dirt. It cuts deep into the wood, a mark matched by dozens. The lord he teaches the saber; for himself, something heavier is preferred. The weight soothes him.

The lady of the castle's voice draws him from his meditative reverie, and he is immediately irked. At first he does not respond, quietly hoping that she might simply lose interest and leave. She doesn't. With a sharp twist on his heel he brings the blade to the wood again, sending a piece of it flying to the dirt. His gaze never lifts to her. ]

Your lord husband pays me to train him in all that I know. I do not argue what he assumes me to be capable of.

[ His tone speaks more than his words: Of course it is true. What of it? ]

[ A quiet laughter bubbles in her chest as she smiles in a maddeningly private manner. If she detects his ire, then she does a fine job pretending otherwise. Or perhaps she's just accustomed to such things, ever on the outside and looking in. ]

Then it must be your intention to stay with us for some time. If so... perhaps you are in want of another student?

[ It takes considerable effort not to roll his eyes at the lilt of laughter above him. Whether she is being obtuse on purpose or is just an empty-headed fool hardly matters; he wants nothing to do with her one way or another. He's smart enough not to say so to the lady of the house, however, and so holds his tongue... until he grasps exactly what she's suggesting. Appalled at the mere suggestion, he finally turns his head her way. ]

I hardly—

[ His words trail off as he catches sight of her, startled. She wears not the garb of the Spaniards, but something exotic — something that suits her far better. The thought is shaken away as he composes himself a second later, frowning and stoic. ]

I hardly consider such a thing to be appropriate for a woman, let alone one of your standing; I'm certain your lord husband would agree.

[ And with a final peer over his shoulder he returns to his practice, considering the matter settled. ]

Riku - Kingdom Hearts

Mary Crawley | Downton Abbey | M/F

Len Kagamine || Vocaloid [AU] || M/F ships, OTA gens, no smuts

Adam || OC || M/F if ships happen, OTA otherwise; no smutstuff

Charlie Hesketh | Kingsman | ota

princess serenity ; sailor moon ; f/m

barry allen | dctv

Lucia Vellek | The Last Ship

olivia ( fire emblem awakening ) ( m/f )

gawain | fate/ | ota

galadriel | tolkien

Eren Jaeger | Shingeki no Kyojin | M/M

Kol Mikaelson | TVD/TO

Lunafreya Nox Fleuret | Final Fantasy XV | ota

lioriley | original | ota

sansa stark ; game of thrones ; ota

Mitama | Fire Emblem Fates

Rey || Star Wars: The Force Awakens || F/M

hajalimala | d&d oc

Re: hajalimala | d&d oc

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Rey | SW: TFA | OTA