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The Prompts
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Who are you? (Some AU ideas)
❧ The Socialite: Your family is wealthy, well-heeled, and generally known in high society. Your life is a constant stream of eligible bachelor(ette)s, glamorous balls, holidays in the fashionable cities of Brighton and Bath, and social occasions with the elite. But, with all the eyes of the world on you... are you truly happy?
❧The Social Climber: You might be from the lower nobility, from a disgraced family, or, worst of all... *whispers* from trade. With hard work and a little ruthlessness, perhaps you can make a good match and connect with the right people to climb up through the ranks - or maybe you could just pull them down with you.
❧The Walking Scandal: A rake who sleeps with well-to-do ladies, ruining their virtue. A young lady who's no better than she should be, and may even be seen unchaperoned with a gentleman not of her acquaintance. Maybe it's nothing so dire - maybe you just like to spend time with the lower classes, or are a little too educated for a nice young lady. The social mores of the time are strict and unyielding, and stepping too far out of line can ruin not only your own life, but your whole family along with you.
❧An Officer and a Gentleman: Behind the bright colours and dazzling social life of the Regency is the harsh reality of the Napoleonic Wars, and there are a lot of military men around. Perhaps you joined up in the hopes of gaining a commission, winning a place in high society, making your parents proud. Perhaps you just wanted a steady paycheque. In any case, after all the horrors of the fighting, being back home can be an opportunity to cut loose - maybe a little too loose.
❧ The Chaperone: Mothers, fathers, widowers and maiden aunts. Your own days of full dance cards and courting are long past, and now it's time for you to look out for the younger generation, making sure that they don't get into too much trouble. But, of course, just because you've aged out of the more glamourous parts of society doesn't mean that nothing ever happens to you. Who knows what scandals might wait around the corner?
❧ The Staff: Every household has them: the silent masses who wait at table, keep the stables and garden neat, dress the ladies and bring the gentlemen their morning paper. They are often invisible to the upper class, but who knows more than the butler or the maid? And the politics of the kitchen and the scullery are often far more intricate and delicate than even the highest society balls.
❧ Someone else. These are all just intended as ideas and starting points. Maybe your character doesn't fit into any of these categories at all!
What's going on? (The actual prompts)
1) I See Netherfield Is Let Again:
You have new neighbours! Naturally, the gossip is already swirling: who are they? Where are they from? Most importantly, is there an eligible bachelor who has two hundred a year? It would only be polite to drop by and say hello...
2) The Season Begins:The most important networking occasion of all: a society ball! A young lady's "coming-out" - her first ball and presentation to society - is of course the most important time of her life, but those who aren't so fresh to the scene can have an exciting time, too. Dance, talk, have a glass of wine and a canapé or two. Who knows - you just might meet the next most important person in your life.
3) A Proper Courtship:
Courtship in Regency society is not at all a whirlwind affair. Marriage is a business arrangement, and has to be entered into carefully. Chaperoned dates, talks among the family, and perhaps a few stolen moments in the gardens, if you're lucky. Do you even like one another?
4) An Improper Courtship:
For whatever reason, you - or someone else in your life - has fallen for someone entirely inappropriate. Perhaps the problem is their behaviour, the scandals that attend them, or the sort of company they keep. Perhaps they just aren't of the right social class - or, for that matter, of the right sex. Whatever the case, you had better be careful, because if this comes to light, the whole house of cards could come crashing down.
5) Scandal and Calumny:
Oh, no. What have you done? You've broken one of the many, many, many rules of society, and now you're ruined! Perhaps the other person is your partner in this scandal, or someone trying to help you through it. Perhaps they're just here to laugh at your fall from grace - or profit from it. Blackmail is, after all, a very lucrative occupation.
6) Homecoming:
Whether you have been away at war, at school, or in your new husband's home, it's time to come back and see your old friends and family. But how have you changed, in the time you've been away - and is home still the way that you left it?
7) Taking The Air:This is the era of the holiday. Perhaps you are going to the fashionable city spots - London, Bath, Brighton - to visit the high-class shops, take tea with people you may not see often, bathe in the local spas, and attend the theatre. Perhaps it's a visit to someone's country home, a hunting trip to the Highlands, or a seaside excursion to enjoy the new pavilions and pleasure beaches. So much to do, so much to see - and so many people to run into.
8) An Illicit Meeting:
Whether for the purposes of crime, spycraft, or just because it's socially inappropriate to be seen together, you two have arranged to meet in some secret spot, in disguise and hopefully unseen. There are all kinds of dark corners of Regency Britain where you can sneak away to - just don't get caught!
9) The Obligatory Marriage:
'Nuff said. It wouldn't be a Regency meme without the arranged marriage option, would it?
10) Wildcard:
They had to make their own prompts, in those days.
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