#cillian frost

[forgottenroderick]

OOC | Eoin (& Guin's!) Betrothal Gift

ok, so [ as we know ], godfrey's got "the generous earldom roderick has bestowed upon him here in asteria ahead of his impending marriage." this was done bc hanthom was (one of!) the seat of house calleary, and ciara was half calleary on her mother's side, plus it was a deeply strategic maritime position and godfrey had a big naval bg etc etc etc. so when they marry, ciara will be lady hanthom and that all makes a lot of sense to roderick! an d until that time godfrey gets to build it up to the standard to be the seat of a varmont!

BUT!! if roderick's awarding one of the wealthiest spots in astaira to godfrey so that his cousin can live there upon her marriage, what's he gonna give to the guy who is ~also roderick's own cousin AND is abt to wed roderick's favorite child?????

so i talked abt this a bit on disco on the lfr-general channel, but i wanted to put it here too bc we know already that tryna search ~two places has proven a total disaster in the past and this way it can be easily tagged etc so your girl will ~always want a copy on tumblr <333333

so!! i do think that, while we know our boy don't know the first thing really abt astaira, astairans, or what matters to them, he ~does know that stafford is where most of the rulers he's ever known were and that's his. kil-kennar was the religious stronghold and arthur's got that.

so that leaves as ~very strong contednors:

lorcan was the seat of the ~other astairan king he knew abt (tho he probs ~thinks they ruled from stafford during that time alksjdfjsdf) so lorcan ~also has royal significance

malconaire is the largest county in all astaira, plus guin has ancient familial ties to that place (but honestly????? i kinda doubt he knows that? but he might? how aware is @forgottenguinevere of that?) and is also a pr strategic point (esp if you've got kil-kennar and the fens)

i ~do think he'd want guin's primary seat to be in astaira, since that's the capital now, so i do think that is a big consideration.

some others i think he'd def also consider include:

ormond -- (if lord ormond ticks roderick off too much re cassandra!) which is one of the larger holdings in astaira due to the convergence of two houses creating it -- hence their importance in showing up at the battle of m bc they could field so many fighters (but it still wasn't enough...) which is def smth that roderick would key in on!

the fens -- which is profoundly strategic in its placement and, having both that and kil-kennar you basically have a stranglehold on the country splitting it in half and which roderick could easily hand over wo all the fuss involved w the others since he, himself, holds the fens in his own name atm

unnamed/unknown/new county -- we know there're a TON of these so like!!!!!!!! big possibilities here tooooo plus its always fun to start w fresh world building possibilities! ;D and that might suit you better, lauren, since its not new stuff to learn?

so yeah!! i def think @forgottenamira will be reminding roderick that @forgottenedmund conquerd malconaire and therefore, by right of conquest, that is ~edmund's!!!!! this ~is def an argument that'd sway him big time bc, being a conqueror himself, he's big on the right of conqest alksjdfjksdkjf

lauren, do you think guin has ever actively articulated that she'd throw her hat in arthur's ring, if it came down to varmont civil war, bc in ~that case, i ~do think he'd be v encouraging of either lorcan (a place so impregnable its the only fortress never to have surrendered during the war, and only opened its gates to the varmonts when the queen surrendered on behalf of all astaira) or the fens to their father for her, bc, since he holds kil-kennar in his own right, if guin were his ally and had the fens, they'd basically have the entire north locked down for team arthur, and their next bet for conquest should probs be malconaire. but anyway!! arthur's ~also v aware of that guin-should-be-happy factor, too! so that's def a consideration for him as well (and also after he's emperor she gets whatever she likes ;D)

as a council member, alistair will be using his influence to get guin whatever ~guin wants most!! tho once he learns she doesn't intend to ever inhabit there, he'll be tryna direct whatever will best suit ~eoin

for ~wildly different reasons lakjsdfjsdf neither godfrey nor tristan want malconaire for guin, bc godfrey wants it for edmund, and tristan wants it for eithne -- obv they have less influence than amira or arthur, and tristan has less than godfrey, but they ~def will be doing what they can bc in both cases this is smth they feel strongly abt lkajsdfjksdf godfrey would like her to get a place that's v pretty sure but has v little strategic value bc #teamedmund5eva soooo he'll be manipulating roderick like don't be giving guin that ur majesty -- she's just a girl! ~she shouldn't ever have to fight a war give that one to someone who ~can! alkdsjfksdf

rian defffff wants to stay put if he can't have stafford bc lorcan is both culturally super significant to astaira plus yknow impregnable fortress so win/win! so he'll def be tryna keep that but if he ~must move he def wants to wind up at malconaire, and then he'll probs be tryna disrupt the cassimir/eithne wedding to marry eithne himself alsjdfjsdf so that astairans see him as rightful lord there lajksdfjsdf sorry @forgotteneithne this aint for love but rian ~would be doing everything he can to keep malconaire thriving so that's ~smth ig lakjsdfjsdf

eilia: 'i hate all of this' but would probs try to rec the fens bc it wouldn't be taking that out of astairan hands and lbr eoin and guin're gonna be much better at looking out for those poor beleaguered ppl than roderick is!!!

in terms of my characters who have any influence in this situation, that's what they're looking to do here lakjsdfjsdf but yeah obv quite a few have big opinions on this!!!!!! none of my babes out here hoping to lose their home lakjsdfjkdsf rosie and edmund obv are in a bad/weird place rn but she still might go to him in this situation and be like 'pls ik thingsre complicated between us but help us' if she really thought someone was gonna tryna to take even the one hand they've got on the wheel at malconaire away from them (tho lbr guin and eoin'd probs be better custodians than the vasilievas but stiLL girl wants her home skdjlfjdf) idk if he'd help or whatever but!! its the shot she's got! she's gonna take it! bc, even if she is a lady-in-waiting to amira, i can tell you rn amira will laugh at her if she tries to get her to intercede on her behalf lkasjdfjksd amira: that's a you problem

eabha would probs go to bat on eithne's behalf and ask alaric if he couldn't help see to it that malconaire remains in its current hands. cormac would absolutely do whatever cassimir told him too alkjdfjdsf but he'd also remind cassimir that he's free to come w him to calleary!!!!!! dlksajfjksdf

valentina gonna get her rear in gear tryna get a varmont betrothal!!!! she'll even take sebastian atp!!! if they losing malconaire they gonna need a powerful varmont protector to look out for them all!!!!! laksjdfjsdf

the frosts hate ALL of this but don't really have ~any power here, tho cillian might reach out to cassandra abt keeping malconaire outta varmont hands but frankly i think of all the varmonts cassandra has the ~least sway on him when it comes to making political decisions alksjdafjksdf but yeah frankly if cillian's pissed off roderick enough that he's considering ormond in this, then he probs doesn't have much access to her atp sooo lakjsdfjdsf

ofc, since we know guin's already got a plot to foil roderick's decision to wed her to eoin in the works, this will most likely all ultimately become solely eoin's seat (and will roderick rescind it, giving eoin a reason to have another grudge? let him keep it, putting a half-astairan in a position of power over a strategic point? idek!) so ~that's smth messy to consider too laksdjfkjdsjf

im v curious to hear what everyone else's various characters, esp varmonts and ppl w power at court but anyone/everyone really!! might push for!!!

[forgottenronan]

OOC | Coin Clipping & Second Heist?

ok so yet another money-making scheme? it occurred to me this morning (why're my characters all yelling at me as i wake up? lskdjfaldksjf) that a way that the rebels can make their funds go even further is coin clipping!

so you guys may know abt coin clipping but just in case you need a refresher or whatever bc this one's pr escoteric, back in the day coins were hand-forged bc yknow...that was what was possible, so none of them were uniform in shape or size. as a result, crooks would take sharp tools and trim off the edges of coins, w no one the wiser, given that all the coins just kinda looked like that™ get enough of these clippings and, if you've got a forge and have stolen some molds from a mint...you can make urself some new coins!

now, this does debase the currency slowly (not that this one act would be enough to debase an entire empire's economy but still! get enough ppl doing enough of this over time and you've got urself a real problem!) so messing w the currency this way became in a lot of societies an act of treason -- in england, for example, you could be hanged, drawn, and quartered for this -- but you know who don't care abt debasing roderick's currency? these guys! in fact, that might even be an over all plus in their book!

so yeah, now that they have the money from the winnings, the next step might just be clipping all those suckers -- @forgottenbrigit i can see ronan having potentially negotiated w brigit that he'd return all her winnings ~after having clipped them, bc it won't impact her ability to spend what she's got, but it ~will make resistance coin go that much further...and then, yeah! we're on to stealing one of roderick's fancy molds...lsdjflajsdfj

i feel like all our noble rebels will come in ~particularly handy w stealing the molds...but it also has to be v carefully done bc ~not tipping off roderick is key or he'll go and redesign his coinage, soooo what they really need to do is make a mold (probs using resin or smth?) of the og mold from which they can then reverse engineer its mirror image and thus get to minting their v own coins...

but we'll also need to find a resistance-friendly blacksmith willing to risk it all...

[forgottenarthur]

OOC | Fits & Fancies

from [ this ]

i said:

#doing my annual potc rewatch and just saw this one so obligatory#aria stafford#and cillian fall in love au mention alksdjfljkds#idk why this pairing is so funny to me but i ~do know that arthur would HATE this w a burning passion#'first my sister now THIS!' lkjdsflajsdf#lkajdsflj#image

you said:

#SCREAM#it is a v silly AU to me too#tho as lord Ormond not Cillian#this is what#Arthur varmont#basically thought up at the tourney feast!#😅#side note that I envision Aria wearing her hair in some version of this look on a daily basis#like it’s a little messy which I feel like is v off brand#for Staffords#for things like awful Roderick family dinner#and more formal events she actually has her hair done but#daily it’s smth smth it’s the one part of her that is allowed to be ~natural and wild and free or smth like that#this got out of control#about#cillian frost#this is like the third time I’ve tried to tag him as Cillian Stafford#so maybe I ship it secretly?!#😅😅😅

ok so first off!!!!! OBSESSED w that look for her like!!!!! damnnnnn no wonder arthur heart eyes and that's before we even get into her entire personality working so well for him <3333333 but also i love that she ~lets it be messy bc its real -- like, i agreeeee that i see the staffords as being v regulated and ordered and pristine to every detail (ive talked in @forgotteneilionora [ #closet ] tag abt how i think she went v traditional w her wardrobe rather than tryna set styles like many queens irl in the middle ages felt entitled to, and i think its bc she was trying v much to adhere to this strict stafford image and avoid drawing outside the lines. but also, like, being natural is suuuuuch a profoundly astairan cultural value so like...aria's one sartorial rebellion in fact embracing traditional cultural values is sooooooo beautiful to me honestly <333333333333

ANYWAYYYY!!! the main reason i really wanted to chat here was bc!! i wanted to talk abt arthur's insecurities <3 my fav subject as you well know <333333 so, as you've surely clocked by now, i looooooove envy and jealousy and, like, in this case we're talking romantic, but i mean in general, bc it really underscores where a character's insecurities lie, and i was thinking abt like...ok, so first off, i lowkey forgot arthur LITERALLY and not just FIGURATIVELY was like OMG ARIA AND ORMOND ARE LOVERS alsdkfjsldjkf BAHAHAHAHA

but i wanted to talk more ~abt arthur's continuous jealousies/why he seems to think aria's looking at EVERYONE but him. the short vers, as ive said before, is simply that it's a reflection of the fact that he's sooooo used to ppl only valuing him for what he can give them so like, he's well aware there's a power dynamic between him, as potential heir to the imperial throne, and her, as glorified prisoner, at play, and while he hasn't acknowledged it to himself -- there ~is a part of him wondering just how much of things on ~her end are genuine feelings...and how much the og plan that (unbeknownst to him) went out the window long ago. he's not altogether sure that, if it is the latter, its her ~consciously manipulating him or anything, i don't think he really believes ~that (tho, ironically, that ~was where things started) but that she's conscious that keeping on arthur's good side is smth that benefits her is smth he's aware of. tbf, tho, part of what first shocked, and then drew him, abt her was that she ~wasn't just fawning all over him or giving him a pass on things bc...except for like edmund and amira in one way, roderick in another, and marian and aurelian in yet another, no one dares, and obv ~all of those other ppl are extremely powerful in their own right w most of them equal to or in some way or another outranking him. those very call outs are, generally, motivated by power, too, as well as enabled by them. power dynamics have, in short, been his entire life. he doesn't necessarily always think abt them ~directly just like most ppl don't always think abt oxygen filling their lungs when they're breathing , just bc its so natural and so much a part of everyday life, but part of him assumes they're ~always there.

i do think that this is actually another reason arthur found aria's story abt calling out sebastian for potentially visiting brothels so delightful -- like, on one hand, its hilarious, just objectively speaking, but it also showcases, at least in his mind, that aria is one being who is kind of...separated from thinking -- or at least acting -- like that, and that treating arthur that way wasn't just a ploy ~bc she says she regrets treating sebastian that way, now. so, in both cases, she wasn't just behaving that way to stand out. it came straight from the heart bc of what she was witnessing. that also, in his mind, tends to indicate that...since she told him her behavior towards sebastian changing came as a direct result of coming to think better of him, that the same may be true of the fact that she treats arthur differently than she did at first, as well, if that makes sense? their accord is ~real, based on mutual respect, and not just a surrender by one party to another w more power.

HOWEVER, what arthur is feeling isn't ~just friendship (tho its def that, too!!!1!) but he doesn't believe aria can or will make that leap, bc again he's well aware of the power dynamics situation, and his insecurities still whisper that, ok, maybe on ~some level she thinks better of me than she ~did, but i see this all-consuming weariness in her, weariness down to her bones, how much is surrender ~is blended into all of this? plus, and this is the key, deep down he wonders if anyone ever can truly love him ~just for himself, like that is a key part of his entire psyche and part of why he's always pushing so hard to prove himself to everyone and part of why -- i mean obv there're a tonnnnn of factors going into it etc but -- the kil-kennar thing was like perfectly engineered to stab him right where it hurts, yknow?

so, coming back to aria and ormond, but also aria and edmund and aria and that random guy she danced with at that random ball or whatever lasdkjfkljdf like -- he's been trained his life is a competition precisely bc he's not ~really worth that much otherwise roderick would've chosen him, right? bc he's the eldest son! the other choices are literally a ~woman, and arthur knows well how roderick respects women (whomp whomp) or else its a younger son which -- from ~arthur's perspective, amira would deffff say the opposite etc -- is just absurb bc the crown always passes to the eldest son -- his whole faction has always told him so! -- so CLEARLY this whole pending varmont civil war situation is just a huge slap in the face aimed directly at arthur and his inherent inadequacies. otherwise his whole family would be happy and safe. this is all, on some level, ~his fault for not being good enough. so ~surely anything but esp smth that means a lot to him will always choose smth else when given another opportunity!!!!! that's his life's pattern!!! even roderick proves and re-proves that by showing him favor when he does well and then ~immediately reviling him when he finds a way to fuck it all up, which he ~always does in the end! and, as leader of his faction, he takes on responsibility for the actions of anyone else within it, so he takes that on himself, too, bc he's a protector. so like...his whole psyche is built around this concept, basically.

so yeah arthur will always be searching for that someone else whom aria prefers ~bc he cares abt her and ~bc he's so inherently insecure and just assumes that, even if she ~does choose him, he'll fuck it all up soon enough and she'll come to regret it all which'll be the NEXT stumbling block to face lakdsjfkldsf

but yeah!! this is a jumbled mess!! but it occurred to me that, like, idk if ive ever fully articulated all of this before? anyway deffffff feel like i started this out meaning to say smth else as well that this was leading up to...but i can't think what that was, now, but i feel like this is probs enough info ~anyway aksjdfljdsfj

also toooooooooootal sidebar, COMPLETELY unrelated but do you guys think the ovn is mountainous, what w all these -mont surnames? feels like it may well be...like maybe not bc obv french doesn't exist in lfr so 'mont' may have some completely different meaning to them buuuuuut just smth ive been mulling over lately lkajsdlfkjdskljf

[forgottencormac]

OOC | Matchmaking

ok so @phabblebabbles @laurenplayspeople @lizzysrps so, i kinda wanted to like...ask opinions bc *drum roll* i feel like our guy cormac is feeling suuuuuper cool abt how he just like had an idea (aoife and finn should be engaged) and then boom! it magically happened!!!!! sadjfkjsdfjksdf *facepalm* and he defffff thinks he should try it again! obv, i would loooooooove to create as much chaos as humanly possible w this, which also tracks bc we know cormac don't know the first thing abt either politics or heterosexual attraction dlskjfaklsjdf so he's gonna try his hand at what he thinks are true love matches and/or just super beneficial to everyone matches ;DDDDD but yeah my goal is to make plots/chaos for us all so if there's someone ur like 'omg throw my character into situations™ w this rando!' pls feel free to lmk MUAHAHAHAHA

so! canonically re cormac's imaginary pairings we've already got:

finn x aoife

alistair x aria

cormac x cassandra

annnnd since cormac don't notices peasants (ew) here's our list of eligible peeps to marry off (ppl who're uhhh not eligible are listed but struck out, ppl for whom he's already got plans are italicized, no peasants are [knowingly] included)! note: roderick is listed as eligible bc that guy can take as many brides as he likes ayyyy lsakdjfljskdfkjsdf

MALE

alistair grey

godfrey calainon

tristan calainon

cormac calleary

finn calleary

cassimir malconaire

cillian ormond

aleksander royce

rian stafford

bartholomew varmont

eoin varmont

roderick varmont

arthur varmont

sebastian varmont

edmund varmont

alaric varmont

FEMALE

eabha calleary

aine calleary lorcan

fiona calleary

eilionora ó réaltaí

aria ó réaltaí

eithne malconaire

brigit malconaire

aoife malconaire

roisin malconaire

valentina malconaire

sonya malconaire

ciara varmont

guinevere varmont

cassandra varmont

ill also make some suggestions lksdajfkjsdkfjsdf

AINE

so, first of all, he is in NO hurry to marry her off again, but eventually a woman ~must be wed!! so, when that comes to pass, cormac is deffffff looking to ensure aine 1) gets a good man and 2) will be near himself when she remarries, so i think he'd loooove for her to marry roderick, arthur, edmund, or sebastian alksdjflkjdsfjdsf since obv both as cousins and as cassandra is his future bride, they'll all be around together a lot obv! lakjsdfjlsdf honestly too he thinks she'd make a FABULOUS empress!!!!!! i think he had ~initially hoped she'd land THE greatest husband there ever was (cassimir!!!!!!) but since he's engaged now, yeah, i he'd love her to bag roderick or one of his heirs probs ideally lkajsdfkljdsjf

EABHA

ew gross terrible overbearing sister alert! cormac does ~not want eabha close, but he ~does want a cool dude on his side via a marriage connection but also doesn't want to saddle a friend w her bc YUCK so laksdjfkjldsfjsdf sooooo i feel like we're looking at aleksander royce or rian stafford (sorry man cormac loves rian but...he'd like the alliance so)

FIONA

another horrible sister!!!!! similar situation to the above, but i do think cormac thinks a 'strong' older man could 'fix' her (yikes) so she can be tempting to either of eabha's dudes, plus bartholomew varmont and alaric varmont as options...plus there's always lord boyle and the old man ball he could throw if she isn't agreeable to any of ~those options ;D @forgottenalaric that cormac actually pegged that there's a reality where alaric might consider one of his least favorite siblings!!!!!...and then picked the wrong one aljdsflkjdsfjdsf but also @forgottenfiona and i did discuss fiona potentially landing an engagement to lord boyle's eldest son whose heir to two lordships etc bc lord boyle assumed that's the lord boyle cormac meant so...that's possible too! BAHAHAHA she could ~also claim to be engaged to lord ormond if things got really bad, so there's ~that's option too hahaha

BRIGIT

brigit is legit the most terrifying woman cormac knows that he still wants good things for, so i think he thinks tristan calainon or cillian ormond (he's never seen him, but he hears he's hot) would be some sweet candidates! cillian: cormac, STOP trying to arrange my marriage! *hears its brigit* oh...ok...ill uhhh hear you out...

ROISIN

likes her!!!! he knows she likes intelligent brunettes (edmund) so obv she'd be down for aleksander royce! bc obv an astairan and the ovn pope are a match made in...somewhere! not to mention interchangable w edmund clearly aklsjdfkljsdf and rian stafford is another option who must just be shy and that's probs why he keeps aggressively saying NO whenever cormac suggests it lakjdsfkljdsf

SONYA

ok so this is the malconaire (besides the godlike cassimir, obv, ofc!!!!!!) that cormac frankly cares the ~most abt lakjsdfkljsdjf sorry everyone else lakjfkljdsfkjsdf anddddddd he thinks she and aine would make great sister-wives to roderick or one of his heirs!!!!! lajsdfkljsdf not that they ~have to marry the same dude, but just that...if one of them ~does marry a varmont it won't deter cormac from this thinking the other one can still marry that same dude, also, if the fancy strikes! alskdjfkldfjd so yeah any and all varmonts are strongly encouraged here bc obv roderick's suuuuuper pumped abt collecting cassimir malconaire himself as a family mmember!!!!!! i mean, who ~wouldn't be???? lkjsdaflkjsdkfj ;DDDDD that's probs the whole reason roderick came to astaira in the first place! aksjfklsjdfjksdf and why edmund did the battle of m -- he just couldn't contain his excitement to meet him, clearly, so he had to do ~whatever it would take to make that happen quick as possible!!! ;DDDD but yeah i ~do think he believes roderick x sonya esp is otp laksjdflksdjf it could be great! roderick could have a double wedding...except its just him...marrying two women at once SCREAM jskldfsdklfajsdljkf

[forgottenaoife]

ooc || tournament

unsurprisingly, this would not be aoife's cup of tea BUT... i think she ends up going. since she knows about the lord ormond escapades, i think she IMMEDIATELY assumes Cillian is going to be there! and she doens't know what she could actually do if he was discovered at this public event but she knows she needs to be there to help if she can! @forgottenbrigit do you think brigit came to the event w/ the fam and then sneaked off or rode off and entered w/o them just assuming they'd think she was out somewhere hiding or made some excuse why she was away? jw bc i think if brigit came w/ them to the tournament and then mysteriously vanished, it would make aoife even MORE suspicious something was afoot! idk how awkward things are w/ @forgottensebastian rn but i have this idea that aoife is down amongst the competitors trying to make sure @forgottencillian isn't going to do something stupid (and maybe at the same time being like... omg its ronan. omg its kale. wtf is HAPPENING?! this got ten times worse!) but i do imagine she runs across sebastian asp! if he DID end up asking for her favor... she doesn't have one! (which is the PERFECT excuse to turn down @forgottencormac !) that's not a thing she'd ever think to make/bring! and again.... depending on how awkward things are w/ them (though im guessing at this point she might know it WASN'T sebastian at the battle of malconaire?) but she might try to give him ~something as a favor? even if its just like a hair ribbon or an extra button she happened to have in her pocket OR if she was feeling extra bold that day she might give him kiss on the cheek if she REALLY had nothing ot give! (and also if literalyl NO ONE else was around bc that would be the ONLY way she'd do that!) but despite hating everything about being in the huge crowd, aoife makes it through the entire tournament! i could see her maybe realizing its brigit when "bran" shows up and is an excellent archer. ALSO she'd probably recognize brigit's horse! so between brigit, cillian, kale, AND ronan competing... girl is going to be an anxious MESS.

[forgottenfiona]

OOC || The Resistance Card

Keywords: endings, sudden change, unhealthy attachments Quoted from the guide: "[You] chose this card because sometimes life is cruel and doesn't give you time to prepare for the end of something meaningful... this card appearing in your spread represents the beginning of a much better life."

[forgotteneithne]

ooc || tournament

so my initial thought was eithne DIDN'T go to the tournament but the more i think abt it... i think she'd force herself to go bc SHE wants to remind everyone that SHE will be (or, for the true astairans, IS) the lady of malconaire-- NOT @forgottenvalentina !

so eithne def swept in w/ that favor before valentina had a chance! and she probably put effort into it and maybe embroidered and M and then her & cassimir's initals or smthing like that bc she wasn't going to give her favor to anyone else! but i DO think she made a point of wishing @forgottentristan good luck-- maybe @forgottencassimir saw? or maybe she was good at hidding it?

def the whole event was super awkward and i think she paid attention when cassimir was competing (and probably tristan too but like... casually. def not hoping he would win every time!) but kind of kept mostly to herself and probably wasn't super talkative or cheering or anything of the sort (which is how im justifying she maybe didn't notice all the frosts running around under assumed names! or that someone with her father's name bested her fiancee in archery!) also figuring if she was there w/ valentina she was probably distracted by her step mother saying all sorts of wonderful things to here hahaha!

BUT ALSO thinking that maybe she stayed for one event and left early? i def think if @forgottenroisin decided not to come (esp if she didn't give eithne a good excuse!), she would have wanted to be home with her to figure out what's wrong/take care of her/etc!

[forgotteneilionora]

OOC | Astairan Wedding Traditions

ok so this is inspired by [ this ] post and these tags:

#ooo.... is handfasting a tradition in astairan weddings?#bc i could see#valentina malconaire objecting to this!#and then astairans not considering the eithne/cassimir union#as valid since it didn't happen#also its just a pretty tradition i love!

i loooove this!!!! both for the tradition and for the ~general vibes for astaira andddd for the plot point it could play!!!!! and i thought we might take this opportunity to talk about weddings in general -- i was literally reading up on traditional irish wedding vows just last night bc we were talking about domhnall's wedding etc!

i can also 100% see @forgottenvalentina specifically objecting to a tradition the astairans hold dear on ~roderick grounds or vice versa specificially w the hope itd invalidate the wedding too smdh so this verrrrrry much fits!

also the wedding vows:

[ “Ye are Blood of my Blood, and Bone of my Bone. I give ye my Body, that we Two might be One. I give ye my Spirit, `til our Life shall be Done. You cannot possess me for I belong to myself. But while we both wish it, I give you that which is mine to give You cannot command me, for I am a free person. But I shall serve you in those ways you require and the honeycomb will taste sweeter coming from my hand." ] “I vow you the first cut of my meat, the first sip of my wine, from this day it shall only your name I cry out in the night and into your eyes that I smile each morning; I shall be a shield for your back as you are for mine, never shall a grievous word be spoken about us, for our marriage is sacred between us and no stranger shall hear my grievance. Above and beyond this, I will cherish and honor you through this life and into the next." “I, (name), in the name of the spirit of God that resides within us all, by the life that courses within my blood and the love that resides within my heart, take thee (name) to my hand, my heart, and my spirit, to be my chosen one. To desire thee and be desired by thee, to possess thee, and be possessed by thee, without sin or shame, for naught can exist in the purity of my love for thee. I promise to love thee wholly and completely without restraint, in sickness and in health, in plenty and in poverty, in life and beyond, where we shall meet, remember, and love again. I shall not seek to change thee in any way. I shall respect thee, thy beliefs, thy people, and thy ways as I respect myself. By the power that Christ brought from heaven, mayst thou love me. As the sun follows its course, mayst thou follow me. As light to the eye, as bread to the hungry, as joy to the heart, May thy presence be with me, Oh one that I love, `til death comes to part us asunder. “We swear by peace and love to stand, Heart to heart and hand to hand. Mark, O Spirit, and hear us now, Confirming this our Sacred Vow.” “You are the star of each night, You are the brightness of every morning, You are the story of each guest, You are the report of every land. No evil shall befall you, on hill nor bank, In field or valley, on mountain or in glen. Neither above, nor below, neither in sea, Nor on shore, in skies above, Nor in the depths. You are the kernel of my heart, You are the face of my sun, You are the harp of my music, You are the crown of my company.” “Don't walk in front of me, I may not follow. Don't walk behind me, I may not lead. Walk beside me and just be my friend.” “May the gentle breeze bear witness to this ritual, and carry its message to all lands. May the sun warm their hearts, and its ever burning fire fuel their desire for each other. May the water provide for them from its bounty, and comfort their souls with their sounds. May the land lend its strength and reveal its mysteries."

and like literally swearing by the breeze and the sun and water and land like????? if that aint so astairan!!!!!! there's def tons of other stuff but yeah

also apparently irish brides traditionally wore blue, back in the day, that were long and flowy w intricate embroidery, celtic knots, and a big sash or belt! often including a hooded cloak in weather!

she also traditionally has a handkerchief embroidered w like a motto or the couple's initials or an emblem or smth of significance to them, and then that's used as the bonnet for the firstborn child at their christening, and handed down to them to potentially use at their own wedding etc generation after generation

also the handfasting probs means that 'tying the knot' is an expression in astaira (that would baffle the varmonts too btw!) which is fun <3

[ Ever heard the phrase “your goose is cooked”? ] Traditionally, the night before the wedding, a goose would be cooked in the bride’s house for the groom’s wedding meal. When the meal was fully prepared, it would be seen as bad luck for life to back out of the wedding. So, the phrase, “your goose is cooked” pretty much means there’s no backing out now!

there's this thing w the child of progue that might be done w statues of the guardians?

[ This is a funny Irish wedding tradition. The child of Prague is a statue popularly known to ward off bad weather, which can rue the day. The figure is placed in different ways but performs the same function. ] Some parents leave their children in their hallway the night before a wedding. Others abandon their children outside, while some put the child out under a bush. In addition, people tend to behead the statue before placing it at the selected spot. The rationale is that the figures are not of the best quality. Their head usually fell off by themselves when left out overnight; hence, it was better off already beheaded. Some people even reattach it afterward.

guests have bells to ring ward off evil spirits and discord! they set to ringing them as the couple walks down the aisle and bells are sometimes included in the bride's bouquet

Weddings were civil, not religious, affairs. While some involved a vow of lifelong fidelity, that wasn’t universal. The ancient Celts recognized several types of marriage. And they also had very liberal divorce laws. They knew not all marriages would last, and they planned for it. In ancient Celtic traditions, one could opt for a one-year trial marriage. If all went well, they could take more permanent vows. If it didn’t work out, they each went their way, free to try again. Men and women enjoyed equal rights in the 1100s. Irish brides owned their property; if the marriage ended, they took it with them. They would also take a portion of any wealth the couple acquired together.

so yeah obv there's lots more these were just some things that jumped out at me after a cursory review that felt astairan for one reason or another <3