Lucrezia Borgia

There are few, or there are many things Lu Borgia wants out of her life.  One of them, the most important to her, is to be happy.  Happiness is something that does not come often to Borgias.  They are a tragic family; full of pain, ambition, and ruin.  The only time she can count herself happy is when her brother, her dearest brother, her knight in various kinds of armor, her Cesare is near.  She is barely in high school, but she excels in things she thinks her father doesn't completely approve of, though he is the first to tell her how proud he is, and as publicly as possible.  They are a family of photo opportunities.  Her summers are filled with the community theatre, volunteering one day a week, taking some of the community college's craft classes and anything else she finds herself distracted with.  There isn't a lot that the fifteen year old Borgia hadn't dabbled in---well, that was appropriate for her to be dabbling in.

Her passion lies in the arts.  She loves to act, to write poetry, and to make things with her hands.  She could be content doing these little things for the rest of her life, even if the idea is quite childish to her father.  Rodrigo has bigger ambitions for her---for all of his children.  He's had his eye on drawing her into politics, which is a world she doesn't belong in.  She is much too free-spirited to be chained to politics, or at least that's what Cesare has always said.

And Cesare has always said a great many things she found to be true.  He is unbelievably wise, and smart, and she values his opinion--and sometimes his judgment above all else.  She knows that he will never lead her the wrong direction; he will help her as best as he can make whatever decision that needs to be made with a weighted deliberation that she doesn't have in her own nature.  Cesare has always been cautious, and always been calculated.  She has been trying to cultivate more of the same traits in herself.

But today, today is a free day.  Try-outs for the play started next week, and she is currently pouring over the script she pilfered from the main office to practice.  She is excited; her first chance to try out Shakespeare.  She has read all of Shakespeare, play by play, sonnet by sonnet with Cesare.  He has always read with her the classics; believing she needs a strong foundation in such things.  She'd read anything he directed her to, to please him.  She walks from the back of the house out towards the little lounge area where lemonade and snacks have already been set out for her.  Her and her brother, if he had the time to stop by.

She pulls her cell phone out of her shorts pocket, and looks at it for a long moment, before sending out a text to her brother, in hopes he'll reply and be there shortly.  Romeo, Romeo, where for art thou, Romeo?

It's hard for her to ignore that she shouldn't be referring to her brother as her lover, but he is the nearest and dearest, and she's always cast him in the most fatal of roles.

Out of Character
NAME: Kristi
AGE (must be 18 or older): 24
E-MAIL: kristi.cagle@gmail.com
AIM: Kristicagle

In Character
Full Name: Lucrezia Borgia
Nicknames: Sis, Holy Daughter (it's a joke), My Love
DOB/Age: April 18th, 1480/17
Birthplace: Rome, Italy
Gender: Female
Sexuality: One on the Kinsey Scale.
Species: Human
Fandom: The Borgias
Journal: poisoned_love
PB: Holliday Grainger
Alignment: Neutral. Lucrezia is first and foremost going to protect her family above everything and everyone else. She loves her family, and will help undermine what's "right" for them.
Canon Point: Lucrezia is from later season 1, canon point a little rough at the moment, but will be more clearly defined in a bit.
History (250 words minimum): Lucrezia was born to Rodrigo Borgia and one of his mistresses, Vannozza. She was his only daughter, and and as such was spoiled and brought up dear to his heart. She had two older brothers, Cesare and Juan, and a younger brother, Jofre. Before her father became Pope, he lived at home with her family, but afterwards, he spent as much time in the Vatican as not.

Her family had always been loving and affectionate to her. They were close-knit, for the most part, even if there had always been rivalry between her two elder brothers. She was most notably close with her eldest brother, Cesare, whom she loved above all else. The two were practically inseparable throughout their childhood, and that did not change into adulthood. To Cesare, Lucrezia had always represented something more pure and innocent than he was. He loved her more dearly than perhaps their father, and would do anything to protect her.

Lucrezia is a political pawn, as is the rest of Rodrigo's family, in his mind. Whereas the brothers can physically defend their family, Lucrezia's usefulness, to her father, lied in her marriageability, to bind their allies or enemies to themselves. Lucrezia, before being married, had a sunny disposition when it came to being married. But when the reality of what's going on around her, and the idea that her mother would not be allowed to be at her wedding (plus the undeniable pain on Cesare's face) had not settled well.

She loved dearly, when someone was open enough to accept her love and make her smile. She took to her bed with illness after her friend Djem was murdered. To spare her, Cesare blamed 'swamp fever', which she knew was a lie, but it was better to pretend, than think about the implications that one of their family had him murdered.

Lucrezia's first husband, Giovannni Sforza, is...for lack of a better word, a complete asshole. From their first true night together as husband and wife, throughout their entire marriage, he routinely raped and beat her. It is impossible to have a good working household when one partner, namely the one supposed to be in charge of the household, is ill-inclined to be around the other.

During this time, Lucrezia took a lover. She needed comfort and solace from her life with Sforza, and found it with a stable boy. This gave her an outlet for her terrible situation with her husband.

Before long (just a few years of marriage) Lucrezia's father decided the Sforza family was no longer the best to combine with, and thus demanded an annulment. All sorts of accusations flew, and this is where a lot of the basis for the incest between the family is believed to have come from. Eventually Alexander VI bullied him into signing for a divorce. About this time, Lucrezia was discovered to be pregnant, at seventeen.
Previous Game History, if applicable (250 words minimum):N/A
Personality (250 words minimum): Lucrezia is a woman that walks fine lines. She is innocent and sweet, and yet, aware of the corruption around her. She is playful, and affectionate and loves her brother more than the world. She has grown up entitled, due to her father's station, and does not understand what life is without the things she wants. She is the only daughter of Rodrigo's and as such, she's even more spoiled than she'd otherwise be. Juan generally ignores her, more often than not, thinking she's frivolous, but Cesare knows differently. Under the veneer of softness, she's actually a very intelligent girl.

That being said, there is a lot that she needs to learn. She's curious and inquisitive to the point of nosiness, and will do her best to charm or spy to get the information she's looking for. She's surprisingly shrewd and intelligent, even as she plays at not being so. She surprises her brother Cesare, occasionally with how much she knows. On the same token, Lucrezia is very sheltered, spending the majority of her time either in the Vatican visiting her father's rooms, or at her home. She does not know much of the world outside of what she's been taught or has overheard. Her family tends to talk in front of her as if she's either too young, or too stupid to understand. Neither of these things are true.

She is not, however, unaware of sex, even when she's very young. She's quite used to her brothers bringing women home for sex, and has made a game out of spying on Cesare and hearing her parents speak about their life. She knows how things are, and by the time she is married (canonically at 14), she has already seen everything. She would prefer that sex come with love, but she is becoming more aware that marriage, sex, love, and happiness don't all belong in the same sentence for her.
Appearance: Lucrezia is described as a beautiful, charming woman. She was very fair skinned, with long golden hair. She was always well dressed (as the daughter of a woman of her class should be), and preferred to be in golds and yellows. She has had numerous paintings of her done, and all depict her with very traditional beauty. Full lips, high breasts---everything that is the Renaissance ideal of beauty.

In The Borgias, she is still very young and beautiful. She's fair enough that her tone is almost translucently white, with rosy cheeks. She's about average height, and thin. She generally wears her hair back in a snood, but will also leave it long, with a little cap on her hair. She is rarely without jewels and fine things. She has hazel eyes. It would be easy to call her 'delicate' when it comes to her features and looks.
Likes: seahorses, family, new dresses, jewelry, knowing what he family is up to, cards, dancing, playing, good conversation, art, music, horses.
Dislikes: unicorns, goats, being ignored, jealousy, feeling unloved, upsetting her family, being used as a pawn, marriage.
Strengths: Her greatest strength is her mind. She's very intelligent and observant. She is a curious person by nature, and is always open to learning new things. She can speak several different languages, is well read and easily taught. A lot of her learning stems from her brother's instruction when they talk. He says something, she asks questions, and he will answer her as best he can. She appreciates his willingness to teach. Their father is truly the source of their intelligence.

Lucrezia's beauty is another one of her biggest strengths. She's lovely and adored for that loveliness. It also can lead to people underestimating what's behind her beauty, which she can, when necessary, use to her advantage. Her innocence hides her independence and determination.

When she discovered her mother would not be allowed to attend her wedding, she marched into the pope's chambers and tried her hardest to change his mind. She is not afraid, when she really wants something, to go after it. She will stand up for herself to a degree, granted there are a lot of situations where she's not strong enough to do anything about them.
Weaknesses: Her reputation, by far, is her biggest weakness. What people thought/think they know about her is what holds her back, more than anything else. She can't change public opinion of her nature, though history has shown her to be the only Borgia to survive the family's fall when her father died.

Another major weakness is the politics of the period. She was under her father's control until he passed away, and he did what he pleased with her, as many fathers did with their daughters in politically charged positions. He used her to garner connections, and when he didn't need them anymore, she was the one left to pay the price.

The third weakness is that no matter what happened, she will never turn away from Cesare. Cesare did terrible things, but she will still never turn her back on him. She can't, for two reasons. One, she was raised on the idea that she should put her family above everything else, and secondly, because she loved him too dearly. This love for him transcended even very suspicious murders.
Any special facts/special abilities/anything else we should know about your character?

Was this character held for you? Yes.
Can this character be canon punctured? As of right now, no. Granted, if someone wanted to talk about the historical Lucrezia with her, that's fine. Just...don't tell her she's a TV show character.