forum Can’t You See The Ghosts? // a medieval lesbian romance // ONE-ON-ONE // closed

Started November 22, 2018 by @blue_topaz

tune

WARNING: this is going to seem extremely cliche at first, if you’re reading this please stick through to the end

Sticks and stones
May break my bones
And words will always hurt me…

April 16th, 1439

Ghosts. Everywhere. Drifting through the walls, slumbering under the floorboards, lurking in the gas lamps. They’re tangled in the branches of the dying sycamore, clinging to the silken fabric of the curtains, blazing in the fireplace along with the charred kindling.

Sometimes, they’re just ethereal white wisps flashing around a corner, floating away and dissipating before I can get a good look at them. Less often, they’re fully formed flickering apparitions, glowing silver-blue as they drift around. They don’t usually talk to me, just look around and occasionally hold a silent conversation with another one of them. And sometimes they aren’t even visible, just echoes hanging in the air, emotions that will pass right through you, tiny snatches of memories that will fade before you can remember them.
Those are the nice ones, anyways.

-Amelia Swan

~~~

September 27th, 1450

Father is angry at me.

Last week was the sixth suitor.
Leon Percival McGregor from Scotland. Tall, sandy haired, tan complexion, nice smile, I suppose. Sort of shy, sweet enough, a touch naive.
I turned him down a few days ago.

Father came to me today, clearly upset. He says that he’s been giving me a lot of leeway lately and that I need to hurry up and pick a suitor, or else the press will turn against our family and my reputation will be ruined. There won’t be many more, and so far they’ve all been from good families, and all but one have been nice people. But I can’t help it. Every time I think of marrying one of them, or any man I’ve met in general, I get this awful sick feeling. Which is stupid, I know, but.. none of them have been right yet.

I promised Father that I’ll accept the next suitor as long as I like their personality… but I’m not sure if I can keep that promise. He’s coming tomorrow though, with his family, so I should probably steel myself and get it over with. He has a sister my age, so maybe it won’t be so bad.

I’ll ask the ghosts to wish me luck.

-Amelia

---

Seventeen year-old Amelia Arwyn Swan is the daughter of a Lord, known for her sensitive nature and high aptitude for music. What she is not known for is the fact that she’s been able to see the hundreds of ghosts in the old manor since before she can remember.

She has a pretty face, a good reputation, and a popular family, so suitors have been plentiful since she is of marriageable age. However, none of the men so far feel right. In fact, the thought of being with them makes her feel sick, and she can’t figure out why.

Then, her seventh suitor comes to visit. He is admittedly charming and attractive, from a good family, and seems to have feelings for her. But… it’s not the son of Lord Rembrandt that her eye is drawn to.

It’s his sister.

Amelia’s parents are growing impatient, more spirits are stirring, the house is becoming a beacon for every single ghost in England— ghosts that only she can see— and now she has a suitor to appease and feelings for a girl that she would be burned at she stake for if anyone found out.

---

Welcome to my medieval-style lesbian romance roleplay! I’ll be role playing as Amelia Sutcliffe, and whoever joins can rp as the sister of her suitor, who she happens to fall in love with. (Note that society is EXTREMELY homophobic)
This isn’t really historically accurate, I don’t know a whole lot on medieval times other than a few basics, this is just loosely based on a time period reminiscent of it.

Rules are all of andrew (Our Supreme Lord and Overseer)’s standard ones, ask before joining, I don’t necessarily have to agree to let you join if you ask (based on a number of things, like whether or not I’ve seen you say rude things, if I’m in a lot of rps with you already, etcetera), if your character has powers then run them by me first (it’d be cool if they had some sort of power that corresponded to mAmelia’s, like for example they can see when someone is about to die, but they don’t have to). Swearing, sensitive topics (abuse, self harm, etc)and gore allowed, no sexually explicit content, romantic content obviously allowed since this is a romance rp. Also, please be an experienced rper, and avoid one liners. At least three sentences please. And finally, this is my creative property, based on a story I wrote a while ago, so no taking my ideas.

I’ll post a template if anyone decides to join!

stumbles in

Hey! May I?

I'm really sorry, but I'm already in a one on one with you, so I'm going to have to say no even though I love your writing style
sorry

aww

feck i liked this idea too ;u;

May I?

@WritingGale sure! lemme put up a template

@WhichForegroundRavenclaw? sorry
you can still stalk if you want

Name:
Age (sixteen at the very youngest, eighteen at the oldest):
Sexuality:
Appearance:
General Clothing:
Personality:
Flaws:
Other (family information, a bit of background, etc):

Name: Amelia Arwyn Swan
Age: 17
Sexuality: lesbian but has no idea, just thinks she 'hasn't fallen in love yet'
Appearance: Light blonde hair in many small waves, falling halfway down her back in a middle part, usually either put back in an elaborate braid or a half up, half down hairstyle with a braid wrapping around the back of her head. The sort of hair that's silky when brushed but can get a bit mussy easily and doesn't stay up for long. Creamy skin tone with a blushy undertone around the cheeks, freckles across her shoulders and back but none of her face. Grey-brown eyes, dark blonde eyelashes that aren't hugely visible. A long nose (as in vertically long, not horizontally), broad, slim shoulders, not very curvy, of average weight. Fairly tall, typically shaky hands.
General Clothing: Loves wearing grey gowns, as well as shades of green that are tinted blue, flowy skirts that don't puff out, long sleeves cuffed at the wrist. Isn't particularly shy about the height of her neckline, usually wears simple flats underneath her dress.
Personality: The shyer side of an ambivert, very musical, sensitive, well disciplined. Loves to laugh, thinks more deeply about things than people expect from her, usually knows how to play it smart. Typically follows rules but isn't afraid to break them when there's a point, quirkier than she appears, not super grounded.
Flaws: Can put her faith in people too easily but at the same time retract it very quickly, thinks about things too hard and tends to over-complicate them, a bit forgetful, indecisive, keeps her anger bottled up, is so used to fear that she doesn't really go with her gut instinct anymore.
Other: Isn't hugely bothered by the whole marry-people-of-your-status thing when it applies to her, she gets that she needs to help her family. A few servants think she's insane because they've caught her talking to the ghosts (but obviously they can't see them). Plays five musical instruments and sings beautifully, but not in the expected soprano, rather, she's an alto.

Name: Valentina Rembrandt
Age (sixteen at the very youngest, eighteen at the oldest): 17
Sexuality: Bisexual
Appearance: Mid-length dark brown hair that falls in loose curls, with slightly sunburnt skin and a spray of freckles across her nose. Large dark brown eyes, short, with nimble fingers that are constantly in motion. Petite, button nose.
General Clothing: Prefers loose gowns in warm colors (butter yellow, light brown). Loves dressing up fancy and using makeup and hair to accentuate her looks, but regrets that her hobby of inventing gets in the way of that and sees the practicality of wearing bland, old clothes so that the new ones wouldn't get messed up. Plus, wearing loose clothing is also very comfortable. Hates corsets.
Personality: Valentina is slightly mischievous and loves trying new things, as well as being fun-loving and confident. She can be very charismatic and talks up a storm. She is also flirtatious (to both guys and girls), but when someone brings it up, she makes excuses and says "we're just really good friends" etc, etc. Is a bit volatile. Sarcastic at times, makes a lot of nihilistic jokes. Ambitious, but rarely shows her serious side.
Flaws: Headstrong, can be a bit mean unintentionally (or intentionally), snaps at people who don't deserve it when she's angry, reckless. Pulls people into her wild schemes without thinking of the consequences. Not very loyal. A bit spoiled. Definitely not selfless.
Other (family information, a bit of background, etc): She was born when a mysterious traveling stranger came to her house while the father was out on a business trip. The mother fell in love and had an affair, and the stranger left a couple of weeks before the father came back. Nine months later, Valentina was born. It became clear right away that she was not Lord Rembrandt's daughter (the rest of the family was fair, with blue eyes and blond hair, while she had dark hair and dark brown eyes). However, the father loved the mother to much to say anything, and so everyone ignored it. When one servant dared to speak up, he was executed and replaced with another. Later, when the mother died, Lord Rembrandt was so filled with guilt, he spoiled his children rotten, giving them all the gifts they could want. Since Valentina takes after her headstrong mother, she always changes the subject of her bisexuality whenever it's brought up, and when the father is asked about it, he just replies, "kids will be kids." However, since Valentina is getting older, it's much harder to make that excuse now…

(Is there anything that you want me to change?)

(she's awesome, very developed! the only thing I'd say is be careful around the subject of her sexuality around other people, in the society in this rp it's very taboo
Still tho, she's great!)

(also np, take your time, and let me know when you can start!)

(yeah sure, give me a mo to write up a starter
happy thanksgiving by the way!)

Amelia ran her fingers through her blonde hair again, pulling it over one shoulder as she teased the tangles out of a strand. She chewed on her lip, shoulders tense. It's just another suitor, you're lucky to have had so many.. this one might be better. And besides… Father needs you to do this. So chin up.

She lifted her head to face the mirror, forcing her shoulders to relax. Smile, relax, look pretty. That's your goal for the day. Standing back, Amelia swished her seafoam green skirt around a little, tugging her sleeves down and her neckline up experimentally. He's going to be amazing.

She didn't notice the glowing white wisp until it was floating right above her shoulder. "Really?" she said aloud, tone clearly exasperated. "Now?" The wisp drifted backwards and slowly expanding until it loosely resembled a woman. "Leave me alone," Amelia told it bluntly, not turning from the mirror.

"You look lovely, sweetheart," the woman said, smiling. She looked to be about middle-aged, with crow's feet around her eyes and streaks running through her hair. "Have a special someone you want to look nice for?"

Amelia’s shoulders sagged slightly when she realized who it was. “Another suitor..” she murmured, turning to face the ghost. “He’ll be here with his sister in a few minutes, I’m afraid of disappointing..” Tugging on a lock of hair that had come loose from the braid wrapping around her head, she clasped her hands and sighed. “Wish me luck..”

"I understand that you may not be happy with him, but you have to make the best of it with what you have," the ghost murmured, sliding her cold hands through Amelia's blond hair as if she was trying to comb it. "That's what my Grayson and I did with our marriage, and I grew to love him over time. Right now, he's- he's-" The lady's hands stopped abruptly, the air around the two growing even colder. "That's funny. I can't remember. And… and I know everything about him, he's supposed to be right here- Grayson! Grayson!" She grew more panicked with every sentence, darting around the room like a fish trapped inside of a tank. "Grayson, where are you?"

Amelia felt her heart thump painfully, wishing she could help. She’d seen this all too often with ghosts, and it had wreaked a havoc in her conscience, but there wasn’t much she could do. “Come here,” she called to the woman soothingly, moving to the side of her bed where a large sodden harp stood. Fingers dancing over the strings, she played a gentle melody, the same one she always used to calm agitated spirits.

The woman stopped moving and hovered in the air, eyes fixated onto the harp like she was in a trance. Once the song finished, she suddenly shook her head violently. "I'm sorry, I must have forgotten where I was for a minute there. I'll… head downstairs. God's beard, if the servants forgot to make the calf's head pie again…" She dissipated into thin air soon after walking straight through the door.

Amelia sighed, arms dropping from their position on the harp. She stood, clenching and unclenching her hands before taking a deep breath and slipping out the door. She turned down a few hallways lined with plush carpets until she arrived in the main salon of the floor, positioning elegantly herself on one of the sofas. He’ll be here soon… just keep it together…

Jonathan stood outside of the carriage, bowing mockingly. "After you, dear sister-"
Valentina smiled sweetly, her long fingers clamped tightly onto his hand, hard enough to leave fingernail marks. "That," she whispered, "was for stepping on my dress back home." She stepped outside of the carriage, long skirts swishing around her legs. A smile curled her lips as she looked up at the large manor. "Nice find, though I pity the poor girl who may be straddled with you."

Amelia shut her eyes for a moment, trying to force her breaths to even out. It’s going to be fine… he’s going to be fine… act natural.. Mother and Father need this.. you need this..

Her fingers began tapping a rhythm onto the armrest of the low-slung sofa to help ease her nerves, legs crossed neatly. Relax…