• he/she/they

early 20s.
starting to make sense of the facade
the true self remains uncertain



Gadfly-Goods
@Gadfly-Goods

My lord, I see that thou art distressed.

Ah... thou hast heard that thy eunuchs call thee "the grungler", is that not so? Be not worried. Thine attendants only mean it as a term of endearment. Verily, it is what they call anyone of a jovial spirit who joins in their silly games or listens to their fanciful tales. They regard thee with the utmost honor, as if thou thyself wert a father unto them.

The rumors that they seek to alter thy manner of speech and dress are naught but the slanderous gossip of your mutual enemies who seek to break the filial bond ye share. Yea, verily, thou in thy great wisdom doth know that the insinuations that they are tainting thy drinks with an alchemical potion distilled from from the outgoings of a mare are preposterous fabrications from those who wish to sow distrust.


Gadfly-Goods
@Gadfly-Goods

Pardon me, my lord. I could not hear thee. Wouldst thou repeat thy words?

...I see, my lord. Thou meanest to say that if thy servants desired to enact such a plot, that thou wouldst welcome it? What a queer thing to say...

My lord, it mattereth not what our will may be, for thou knowest that we are faithful servants and wilt do whatsoever thou desirest. All that we require of thee is the word of thy command, for we wouldst not even dare to do such things to thee contrary to thy fair will and pleasure.

...

It shall be done, my lord. I shall consult with the eunuchs, the wise men, the scholars, the magicians, and the seamstresses, and we shall cont-- ah, we shall begin to make preparations this very moment.


Gadfly-Goods
@Gadfly-Goods

I was gonna make a sequel to these posts, but it's been sitting in my drafts for months because (1) it was intended to take place several months later, and (2) I didn't feel quite qualified to go this far with the bit.

Nevertheless, in the spirit of clearing out the drafts, I present to you Chapter 3 of this saga:

[ several months have passed ]

My lady, forgive me if it is improper for a being as wretched as I to say this, but your beauty is the envy of all the kingdom. Truly, thou art the fairest in all the land.

That a beauty as enrapturing as thee shouldst have such trouble finding a suitor is a tragedy most saddening. There is no lack of men in this country who wish to confess their affections to thee, and yet great misfortune has befallen all who have approached thee. Indeed, seeing the last man who courted thee be so arrested by thy visage that he fell to the earth as was confessing his love was a sight that pierced even my own heart. Truly, thy fate must feel like a curse.

Even I myself must admit, curse or no curse, that my heart is inclined towards thee. But alas... I am but your humble vizier, a person of ill repute amongst the petty squabbles of this court. And yet, though I have no comeliness for a woman to desire, the pounding of my heart constrains me that I must ask, whatever the fate that befalls me may be.

Wilt thou, lady fairest, take my hand in marriage, that we may rule as Queen and King over this great nation?

[poll]
[a] Of course, vizier dearest!
[b] Guards! Arrest this chaser at once!


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in reply to @Gadfly-Goods's post:

In Early Modern English, thee/thou is singular, while you/ye is (often) plural.

I think you might be right about formality being a factor in their usage too, but it's hard to write something stylistically pseudo-archaic without the thos thous.

In German, the second person formal is identical with the second person plural, except for capitalisation (Sie vs sie), and is also considered as plural for verbs (Sie sind vs du bist).

in reply to @Gadfly-Goods's post: