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poly_tldr2011-05-19 07:07 pm
unborn-of-this.livejournal.com) wrote in poly_tldr2011-05-19 07:07 pm
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Camera, lights, ACTION -
Okay, maybe not quite like tha -
...oh... kay. So, there's the Versailles curse coming up this weekend, and of course that meaaaaaaaans: drama. Costumes. And exceedingly pink pastries (among other things).
So just comment with whatever plans you have for your characters: will they be part of the grand aristocracy, the working staff, revolutionaries, mere courtiers working their way through ranks, ambassadors? What are their plots and plans, and more importantly, whom else can you drag into it? Put down if your character needs some help (a lady might need a personal attendant, for instance, a palace guard commander might require his subordinates, etc) as well!
Just have fun with it, hur hur.
Oh, and something to keep in mind for this Sunday at 20:00 / 8 p.m. EST:
THE WORLD'S FINEST NOBILITY IN ATTENDANCE
CITIZENS CORDIALLY INVITED
Re: Foreign Entourage, Assemble!
Yeah, I doubt she'd just go run and tattle to the king because it'd still be her word against Cain's, not that he'd just up and give her audience anyway, and she wouldn't tell anyone else because they might seize it themselves and then take all the credit and leave her with nothing. Plus she'd hesitate on backstabbing such a good-looking guy because OH ROSELLA, YOU AND YOUR SUPERFICIALITY. So she'd definitely have reason to keep it under wraps awhile, which would leave him ample chance to get the better of her.
I LOVE IT. Especially since the isle of Monte Cristo is, effectively, a rock in the middle of nowhere. Where pirates and smugglers occasionally camp out. Awwwwwwwwww, yeah.
Re: Foreign Entourage, Assemble!
I know, right? Pfffft.
Re: Foreign Entourage, Assemble!
So the backstory with Rosella is that there's a concern over the legitimacy of her relatively small kingdom here--her father is technically king, but he didn't inherit through blood. He stepped in as named heir upon the previous king's death and took over ruling that way, which is why there's now a concern over making sure the kingdom is stable for the transition of power from him to Rosella's brother, the prince and heir apparent, and that the whole place doesn't just get mowed down by one of the bigger powers during the transition (they're a fairly wealthy kingdom, but tiny and militarily weak).
And as a result, I have absolutely no idea what Rosella's name or titles should be here. Which is where my fervent plea comes in. Do you have any idea what she should be/could be calling herself? She's foreign so it doesn't even have to be precisely French, but I'm just at a loss. :(
Re: Foreign Entourage, Assemble!
Well, if her father is king, she could still be a princess--there were any number of princes and princesses running around in Europe when Germany and Italy were still somewhat in pieces.
IDK, I don't know enough of the history of, like, Andorra to make a call on this aslkjflkasdf I'd have to Google too. HANG ON, LEMME THINK A MINUTE.
Re: Foreign Entourage, Assemble!
But yeah, I figured she'd be using 'Princesse' and I can always come up with a list of the names of some surrounding lands if there's a need to distribute courtesy titles around or anything, but I keep hitting a wall on how to style her. And, like...my research keeps coming up that rank and seniority at that time had somewhat less to do with actual title and how old your family was, so you could actually have viscounts outranking counts, depending on how far back their family name and line went. So if she IS a relatively new princess, it seems like she'd still be somewhat low in rank in the grand scheme of things, since her family only just became royalty within the past 30 years or so? AUGH WHY MUST I MAKE EVERYTHING SO COMPLICATED.
It seems like, since she's not inheriting the big throne, it'd make sense for her to at least hold some lesser titles, right? Granted there's the sticky bit about her being a girl and having a right to inherit anything at all, but Daventry's already fairly progressive as kingdoms go so I don't mind handwaving that if I have to. But any insight would be phenomenal, seriously.
Re: Foreign Entourage, Assemble!
OKAY, SO, HERE'S HOW IT WORKED IN THE VICTORIAN ERA: the person who had a title generally had several titles stacked up on top of one another. He (or she) would go by the top-ranking one (let's go with the traditional stack-up of rank here). The heir took the next highest title as a courtesy title until he inherited the highest title from his father and the titles could work their way on down through the children. Here's an example:
John Drudge becomes a knight. Sir John, who is a resident of Chiswick near the river Avon one day became an earl and then a marquis. He would probably be known as the marquis of Chiswick and earl of Avon, and he would be addressed as Lord Chiswick. His wife would be Lady Chiswick. Their eldest son would have the courtesy title "Lord Avon" (next title down) and his wife would be "Lady Avon." Their next son would be Lord Albert Drudge (no title, but demarcation of nobility) and his wife would be Lady Albert Drudge. Their youngest daughter would be Lady Hypatia Drudge (as above). (You can also think of Jadis, the White Witch, and the way she stacks up her titles.)
I would absolutely think it would make sense for her to hold at least some lesser titles (Rosella de l'Orange, Crown Princesse of Daventry, Duchess of Daglennd, Countess of Squamuglia, Baroness of Littlingsea, &c). It was uncommon, but not impossible, for a lady to inherit. And, as far back as we're looking, I think things were less sticky than they got in the 19th century.
I AM NO EXPERT. I JUST RESEARCHED A LOT REAL QUICK.
Re: Foreign Entourage, Assemble!
Okay, so setting aside the fact that I'm tempted to make all of those examples her ACTUAL TITLES, I need two quick clarifications, please?
1) Is "de l'Orange" in your example her family name, a location...what?
2) Is she a Crown Princesse if she's out of the line of succession to be king, by virtue of her brother's existence? Or does the "crown" part just signify that she's the actual direct daughter of a king?
YOU ARE MORE EXPERT THAN I AND I LOVE YOU FOR IT.
Re: Foreign Entourage, Assemble!
o1. I was kind of thinking of "de l'Orange" (which I think is actually grammatically wrong-o) as her family name, though I was thinking of it being territorially or locationally created (Dupuis = of the well or pit; Dubois = of the woods). But, really, Princesse Rosella, Princess of Daventry, &c &c works too.
o2. I'm going to have to check this (once this cat gets off my lap), but I was under the impression (potentially wrong) that there could be both princes and princesses as well as crown princes and princesses. Normal princes and princesses are ones by title, probably in areas long held by someone with the title of "prince," or potentially someone like the king's brother, say. But a crown prince or princess is a child of the king and queen, specifically.
Re: Foreign Entourage, Assemble!
Re: Foreign Entourage, Assemble!
1) Actually, a little bit of thinking reminded me of another ridiculous in-joke in King's Quest canon--there are some characters named as being from a land called Bruce, which is notable for many things but most know for one incident involving the Banner of Bruce, during which a rather unpleasant green monster arrived out of nowhere to destroy the Bruce Banner and left again without a trace.
...Yeah. The Incredible Hulk is King's Quest Canon. I CAN'T EVEN.
Soooo, thanks to this in-joke (and the fact that "De Brus apparently is an old
FrenchSCOTTISH-NORMAN, I CAN READ, WHATEVER IT'S A PUN name), She will now be Rosella de Brus, Princesse of Daventry, Duchess of Cumberford, Marchioness of Serenia, Countess of the Green Isle, &c. And thank YOU again, a million times, for all the help.2) That's what I thought, that it signaled the heir apparent or whatever. But righto! o/
Re: Foreign Entourage, Assemble!
AWESOME. WORTHY NAMES, ALL OF THEM.
Yeah, there are times when I'm just tripping.
Re: Foreign Entourage, Assemble!
There is probably something seriously wrong with us when we just spent several hours trying to figure out a correct name for a fictional character for a make-believe hobby on the internet.
There's probably something seriously wronger with me, because I AM SO GEEKED OUT WITH NEW KNOWLEDGE RIGHT NOW.