EDIT: Moving new planning stuff to a new post because this post is kind of long as is lol.
Notes from LMS III, for Posterity/Reference
Okay, so I'm participating in LMS III as a Bard. It will be an anthology of poems loosely based on a short story I wrote long ago for a Writer's Tournament contest that I toyed with turning into a longer project but never got around to it. So since I'm not a prose writer, let's make them poems instead. Most will be from the MC's point of view, but I may bring in other POVs at my leisure. Also, I don't know if I'll end up writing the poems in chronological order.
(Very Rough and Subject To Change) Synopsis:
Spoiler! :
Isabella is a poor seamstress's daughter selected to start a new life as a servant for Princess Carolina of Morovia. To be a palace servant is prestigious and will send a tidy sum to her mother each month. Upon arriving at the palace, she meets the loud and boisterous prankster Elena and they become friends. One day while the royal family is away, they play dress-up with the Princess's gowns and end up dancing and kissing. The Princess walks in on them and immediately dismisses Elena from the palace but lets Isabella off with a warning. Over time, Isabella realizes her true lesbian inclinations and tries to find Elena. This puts her in conflict with her conservative mother and society, but leads her to new adventures and new loves she could not have even imagined. After that...uh I have a rough idea of what she does and where she ends up but I'm not sure.
Genres: Romance, fantasy
Characters
Spoiler! :
Isabella-The MC. Starts out timid and obedient but finds her voice as she explores the world outside the Palace and eventually Morovia itself. She is 16 at the start of the story. She is skinny and pale-skinned with strawberry-blonde hair.
Elena-The MC's first love interest. A known troublemaker who's managed to keep her job this long through sheer charm. She is about 17-18 at the start of the story. She is tall and olive-skinned with black hair. Has a reputation for "corrupting" younger girls with same-sex experimentation.
The Head Chef Beatriz-A sort of "mother hen" figure to the servants. Her main role plot-wise is warning Isabella about Elena's "bad influence".
Princess Carolina-The main boss of Isabella, Elena and some other (as yet unnamed) servants. She is highly regarded by the servants and the kingdom as fair and coolheaded, especially compared to the rest of her family. This will eventually lead her father to pass the crown on to her instead of her brother. She's almost 20 at the start of the story but hasn't married yet, leading to rumors that she may not be interested in men.
Prince Juan III-A spoiled, hotheaded playboy. Probably won't come in at all until the end when his father chooses to give the crown to his sister, defying Morovia's custom of male succession to the throne.
King Juan II and Queen Ariana-Again, mostly bit players in this story. They oversee a time of great prosperity but also rising social tensions in Morovia. They've given their children authority over their own servants, so even though they're technically Isabella's bosses, she largely answers to the Princess.
Magda-A noblewoman and ambassador's daughter from Helvida, a key Morovian ally. The land is colder but more socially liberal (and importantly, very accepting of LGBT+ people, which will probably be called something different). She is intellectual and adept at water/ice magic.
Ricardo-A fisherman's son and neighbor of Isabella's in her pre-Palace days. They were childhood friends but I don't know if he'll come into the story proper or just in flashbacks.
Isabella's mother (needs a name)-A seamstress who married a fisherman (Isabella's father, who died when she was young). She's quite talented and could live somewhere better, but has always been generous (perhaps too generous?) which her funds. Her talent catches the Princess's eye when she sees Isabella wearing one of her mother's dresses.
Marco-Bartender and co-owner of The Resurrection. Middle-aged portly gay man who lives above the tavern with his partner (name TBD). Kind-hearted, friendly, and welcomes everyone who enters the bar...unless he suspects your motives are less than friendly toward the LGBT community. Then he will sic Fairness and Equality on you. Fairness and Equality are the tavern's guard dogs.
Eva "The Bearded Lady" - A trans woman that Isabella meets at The Resurrection. She's wary at first, but they eventually become friends (and possibly romantically involved, albeit briefly)
Places of Note
Spoiler! :
The Palace-Large complex, including separate quarters for the King, Queen, Prince, and Princess and a Great Hall where important events are held. The servants live in a separate building and work six days a week. They are free to travel on their day off provided they check out/in at the gate.
El Sardinero-Primarily where the fishermen live, but also where Isabella was born and grew up. A poor crime-ridden area, but they do have some delicious fish.
The Market-The great equalizer of the Morovian capital (which also needs a name), people of all classes come here for everything from basic necessities to great finery. This is where the Princess first "discovers" Isabella and recruits her as a servant.
Moon Street-The "gay district" of Morovia. LGBT people are frequently called "moon boys/girls" for their perceived opposition to the ideals of Sil the sun god. These terms started out as insults but are now being reclaimed by LGBT people. Isabella is hesitant to go here due to her conservative upbringing, but she feels like it's her best shot to find Elena.
The Resurrection-A tavern on Moon Street that is the main refuge for LGBT people in Morovia. It's been burned down and rebuilt several times, hence the name. Owned by a middle-aged gay couple (Marco and currently unnamed partner). Has a tense relationship with law enforcement, who sometimes sends in undercover policemen looking for "troublemakers".
Possible plot points
Spoiler! :
Starting point: Isabella is spotted by the Princess and recruited to be her servant.
Isabella arrives at the palace and meets Elena.
Isabella's mother asks about the rumors surrounding the Princess--Isabella knows (or at least suspects) that the princess has female lovers but feels compelled to lie.
Elena and Isabella have their romantic moment while goofing off in the Princess's quarters and are caught. Elena is dismissed while Isabella is let off with a warning.
Isabella finds herself unable to stop thinking about Elena and starts searching for her.
Isabella ends up on the Avenue del Sol and enters The Resurrection, meeting Marco and The Bearded Lady.
Magda and Isabella get to know each other at the Resurrection, which is strange because she's one of the women who hangs around the Princess's quarters just a little too long...
Someone (maybe Isabella's old friend Ricardo?) sees Isabella on the Avenue del Sol and tells her mother, leading to a confrontation.
The Princess discovers Isabella and Magda's relationship, which pisses her off since she's sleeping with one (or both) of them. She fires Isabella and forces Magda to choose between the two. Magda chooses Isabella.
Magda and Isabella leave Morovia and head toward Helvida, possibly travelling through an undetermined third country.
Isabella enters Helvida and sees snow and ice for the first time.
Isabella learns about the magic system in Helvida (poorly defined, but a lot more widespread than in Morovia where it's restricted to the elites) and maybe even learns to wield magic.
The part I'm not really sure about yet, but it involves Isabella and Magda settling into Helvida and developing their relationship.
Isabella and Magda get married.
Magda's father dies, making Magda the official Ambassador to Morovia. Isabella feels torn between going back to a homeland she hasn't been to for years now and being away from her wife for months at a time. Ultimately, she decides to return.
Shortly after the death of Magda's father, King Juan II dies. Before his death, he chose to pass the crown on to his daughter instead of his son, which almost no one objected to but the Prince and his friends. As the ambassador, Magda must attend the coronation and brings Isabella with her.
Upon re-entering Morovia, Isabella goes to visit her aging mother and bury the hatchet.
At the pre-coronation celebration, Isabella sees a familiar face...Elena. Turns out, after she left the Palace, she worked her way into a duke's household and eventually married him. She looks back on her same-sex affairs, the very experience that transformed Isabella's life, as "just a bit of mischief". She is stunned to learn that Isabella is married to a woman and thinks it's improper.
Other Worldbuilding Notes and Random Thoughts
Spoiler! :
One thing I'm struggling with is the age of the characters. I originally had Princess Carolina as significantly older than the servant girls (like mid-twenties), but now that I'm thinking she might be a love interest that makes me feel icky since Isabella is so much younger. So I think I need to iron out some of the love/marriage rules and customs for heterosexual relationships in Morovia to get a better sense of what is expected/acceptable in that context.
Current thoughts: The "age of majority" is 16. At 16, a person is considered an adult and can get married without parental permission. Marriages where one or both parties is younger than 16 are not legal without parental consent. These used to be more common, but now most people get married in the 16-20 range. Divorce is legal but highly frowned upon, especially in more religious circles (also need to get a better handle on the religious structure of Morovia since that will definitely impact the characters). Generally, a girl will marry a guy a few years older than her, though marrying much older men isn't uncommon. It's very rare to see older women marrying younger men. Nobility sometimes enter into arranged marriages, but there's really no benefit to poorer people who don't have much, so they can choose their partners freely. Similar to our world, men are expected to do the pursuing and women are expected to play "hard to get" and be chaste until marriage. Traditionally, people didn't date around/sleep around a whole lot, though that's starting to change (one of several social issues that divide Morovians). Also, adult children usually live with their parents until they get married, although they aren't legally obligated to do so. In cases like Isabella's, her mother will get half of her salary as long as she stays with the palace.
History Lesson (not sure if this will have any impact on anything but I thought I'd jot down anyway).
The continent (currently unnamed) is divided into five nations. About 800 years before the start of the story, the armies of Belling conquered the continent, creating the Bellingian Empire. After a couple centuries, tensions rose into civil war and finally, on the spring equinox of what is now referred to as Year 0, a peace treaty was signed dividing the continent into the Five Nations: Morovia, Belingard (where Belling is), Helvida, and two others that need names. Morovia and Helvida have been allies for at least the past century, and Helvida's more liberal culture is rubbing off on Morovia. Belingard is a temperate country in between Morovia (a warmer Mediterranean climate) and Helvida (mountainous and cold) that frequently gets into territorial disputes with both countries. At the start of the story, they're all in peace but that could change...
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Magic and Religion in Morovia: Magic in Morovia is illegal except when practiced by the Silanos, or priests, all of whom descend from a few bloodlines and are considered nobility. The vast majority of Morovia worships a monotheistic god Sil. This god is thought to have anointed the royal bloodline, the Silanos, and other nobility with their authority and power. Sil is also thought to control the movements of the sun and other heavenly bodies. All Morovians are educated in religious schools where they learn basic reading and math and study The Core Legends, the mythology of Sil that is accepted as canon. At times, the Silanos gather and write proclamations that are said to be the word of Sil concerning current issues/events. At weekly worship meetings, the people gather to worship Sil and put in their petitions for aid to their nearby Silano (sort of like prayer requests, except that these priests have magic so they can often do something). Whether the Silano will fill this request for aid depends on urgency, class politics, perceived devoutness of the petitioner, and other factors.
In practice, there's a range of attitudes towards Sil. Although people will nearly all say they're devout and pray and attend meetings weekly, many only go on holidays or when they have a petition. Some take the Core Legends literally, others don't. Some believe in the Silano's Proclamations, others don't. Generally older people are more conservative while young people are more liberal and less devout.
Title Ideas (I'll probably get a better working title once I've gotten into the writing)
[spoiler] Confessions of a Moon Girl
The Transformation of Isabella -I've decided this is the best working title for now, though it's not that great.
An Unconventional Heart
Isabella's Diary
Palaces, Taverns, and Icy Towers
Gender:
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