#bd.plot

[bloodydayshq]

congratulations, members! you've survived our two-part plot drop saga, and we couldn't be more thrilled at the schemes, threads, and relationships you were all able to forge in the midst of our overarching plot! once again, thank you from the bottom of our hearts for the enthusiasm you continuously show our work as admins; we so appreciate it and cannot wait to unveil the next plot drop (which will be, in my opinion, even more exciting than the last ... but watch your back). for now, here is a brief recap of our most recent event:

the king's dover entourage is now safely returned to hampton court; all courtiers are once again together. queen mary and her entourage are lodged in apartments previously belonging to jane seymour, in close proximity to the king's. (having fallen into disuse and disrepair, the king's carpenters made stealthy improvements to the suite in the weeks prior to mary's arrival, ensuring that they are befitting of royalty, with engravings in the ceiling commemorating the anglo-spanish summit carved by court artist hans holbein. one particularly trained eye, however, might notice that jane's emblem – a phoenix – has gone unnoticed by the king's henchmen, and remains above one of the hearths...)

*sprinkling just a touch of roleplay magic* our florentine retinue has also returned from their travels abroad. as per what was agreed upon in the very super secret and highly classified espionage discord chat, our spies determined that the boy being hosted by the de medici family is, in fact, edward seymour. however, in order to placate his majesty the king, the group decided to lie to william and ensure him that the boy is merely another pretender to the throne, and of middling threat to the english realm. this, of course, is not public knowledge. the court, however, readily celebrates the news that another dynastic crisis has been averted.

to mark the end of our plot drop, the court has put on a spanish-themed banquet to toast not only mary's safe arrival, but the news from florence, complete with iberian foods, delicacies, dancing, music, and pageantry. que comience la fiesta!

without further ado, you may return to your regularly scheduled tudor programming. we hope these recent developments have been as exciting for you all as they have been for us!

[bloodydayshq]

Bloody Days ‘A Rose With Thorns’

𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫 𝟏𝟓𝟓𝟗: The English court must wage a war for the soul of their nation on two fronts.

The King, Queen Dowager, and Princess Elizabeth have not been seen by their subjects for over a week, driven from the heady epicenter of Hampton Court by highly secreted and contentious negotiations between England and Spain that leave the English court in frightful limbo. As rumours rage across the palace, attempting to rationalize the King’s absence – some suggesting that William and his sister had fallen ill of plague – the King and his council make swift preparations for travel. With only a small delegation of courtiers William and his Lady Mother ride fiercely out to Dover, bound by restraints of privacy and, all the while, facing a tide of betrayal, opposition, and distrust from within and without their inner sanctum …

On the sixth day of the King’s exile, however, the rains that have been driving relentlessly over England come to a sudden halt and, like a bolt from the blue, a merry messenger arrives from Calais. The King, so the courier reports, has received his sister, Queen Mary of Spain, in a great show of pomp, ceremony, and national accord. Mary and her husband, Philip of Spain, have agreed to spend the autumn with the King and his court, ostensibly holding an olive branch out to her half-brother, though tongues wag the Queen has her eyes on much more than merely diffusing tensions – perhaps intending to bestow favour upon England’s Catholic subjects, promoting the case of the Greys, and pressing the suit of her sister-in-law, Joanna of Spain – a task for which she has been intimately primed by the Emperor.

Amid nearly a week of feasting, tourneys, and private political summits held at Dover, the royal family must contend with bitter familial feuds whilst staving off the enmity of Mary’s Spanish retinue, many of which cast overt doubts upon the King’s legitimacy…

Whilst only a small group of courtiers were employed by the Boleyns to travel to Dover, those who remain in London have themselves a game of cat-and-mouse – or, for some, life-and-death – to play. Soon after the merry messenger departs for Calais, another cloudburst arrives at the court’s doorstep, and this time, the news is far from auspicious. The de’ Medici family in Florence announces that a certain Edward Seymour – presumed, for over two decades, dead – has turned up, seeking favour and aid. If England’s troops will not assist in warding off Papal encroachment into Florence, Edward Seymour – the illegitimate son of Henry VIII’s Catholic mistress – will be given the funds and mercenary necessary to muster a coup upon William’s yet fragile kingdom, returning England to the holy Catholic fold.

Immediately dispatched to Florence are James Cecil, Thomas Walsingham, and Julian de Vere to determine incognito if this imposter is truly the ‘lost’ Edward Seymour, or a mere pretender to the throne. At home, however, courtiers must face the mission of a lifetime in snuffing out juicy intel from those who knew the Seymours. And for recusant Catholics in particular, hiding their delight at news that Catholic hope may thrive again in sodden England will be no easy task…

Will the feuds between brothers threaten to cleave England at its core?

NOTE TO MEMBERS: This plot drop will be accompanied by over a dozen unique new Bloody Days muses that will be released in the coming days/hours/weeks/years (we prefer to spring it on you, so beware!). Mary Tudor will also be making an appearance here at Bloody Days, played by our own Bonnie (more details to be announced). Lastly, this event marks the end of the month of September.

OOC Details:

Welcome to our second plot drop / third event! This event will last from Saturday (noon EST) until Sunday the 23rd; however, if you so choose, by Thursday you may begin posting non-event related threads. 'ARWT’ will take place, in character, at two separate locations: Hampton Court and Dover Castle, Kent, the 'Key to England'. Four characters (Walsingham, de Vere, Cecil, and Sibella Percy) will be absent while undertaking espionage in Florence. All characters have been asked to participate – so please be sure to join us! Tag all threads and starters with #bd.event003.

Characters dispatched to Dover:

William Tudor

Thomas Wyatt

Anne Boleyn

Edmund Percy

Isobel Percy

Nicholas Sutton

Elinor Fitzroy

Robert Dudley

Amy Dudley

Bridget Parr

Richard Boleyn

Francisco de Guzman

Catherine of Spain

Annemarie Devereux

George Boleyn

Characters remaining at Hampton Court:

Amelia Grey

Aysun Dudley

Jane Boleyn

Elizabeth Tudor

Kismet Dudley

Maria de Mendoza

Meg Welles

Margery Holland

Elisabeth of Valois

Eleanor Grey

Katharine Grey

Philippa Grey

John Seymour

Alice Seymour

Penelope Walsingham

Gabriel Montgomery

Characters dispatched to Florence:

Julian de Vere

James Cecil

Thomas Walsingham

Sibella Percy (translator)

[bloodydayshq]

Bloody Days Plot Update

it is announced on 14 september 1559 that lady elizabeth talbot, judged before a panel composed of the king's chiefest and most worthy magistrates (including the lady's own estimable brother and brother-in-law, the dukes of norfolk and northumberland), has been sentenced to death. the overwhelming majority resounds across the court, resulting in an heightened atmosphere of division, distrust, and disorder between seasoned courtiers.

but ... by late afternoon word circulates across hampton court that the lady's niece, lady isobel percy, has successfully interceded with the king on elizabeth's behalf to grant her noble aunt a private execution. in three days hence, lady talbot will be beheaded before an intimate gathering of the king's choosing –– including her nephew, edmund percy, the king's principal advisor james cecil, and the lords of suffolk, wiltshire, norfolk, allington, walsingham, and rochford. the king's clemency is widely praised, but perhaps even more pressingly, isobel percy's star is now considered to be in the ascendant at court.

and with that, our first plot drop is concluded – thanks for playing along! rest in peace to elizabeth talbot (1525–1559).