So! Sorry for taking so long, but college is currently killing me. Life is wonderful.
I’m working on the MC’s personality and the younger years; we are going to have a good handful of them, so by the time they reach 18 in-game, I hope all of you feel like they are your character(s) and not some puppet you named. So the kiddie years will take the prologue, chapter 1, and 2, I think? Maybe.
I’m also creating plenty of NPCs for the story, making relationships and kinship ties (because in this world, everyone has siblings, cousins, second/third-cousinds, betrotheds, former betrotheds, dead siblings/parents/kids/partners, there are bastards…), and I’m coming up with a lot of characters and then some. Below I’ll tell you of some.
Also, I was planning to have this game rated a friendly 12 in the parental guide, but… stuff happened. Looks like I’m unable to make kid friendly stories, so… yeah, that’s it. I don’t know if I should rate it 16+ or 18+, because while I’m not going to make it gore-heavy like my other game, well… there’s some hard stuff too. It’s not historically accurate because it’s not set in our XVII/XVIII/XIX centuries, so some elements mix and match, but I want to deal with lots of things too. Like, outright homophobia is not one of them, but there are huge expectations for a “cisgender” male-female marriage; gender and sex are going to be an important part too, because as the only kid of Datura, the MC has a lot of “do’s and don’ts”, regardless of their social status. What we understand for a family too, since I very much put “the blood of the covenant is thicker than the water of the womb” in the beginning of the game, and many other things.
CLICK HERE if you want to read about some characters
Adonis Crowfoot: the MC’s uncle (on their mother’s side). Also know as the soldier in green, you won’t see much of him, 'cept if you pick the military path, then you’ll see him a lot 'cause he’s a General (don’t quote me, though; I have to check a lot of things before making it 100% official). He used to call his lover Marshmallow and currently calls his ward Cotton; try to guess what kind of man he is.
Mona Orpine: Maynard and Maetthere’s mom. They never talk about her.
Perebea Faerwald, neé Mulberry: the current Lady Faerwald, mother of Coriander and Rhona. Loves to dote on her daughters, specially the youngest. She didn’t have a good reputation before marrying Caelan because of Coriander, but is every bit of what The Society considers a “proper” lady.
Cherry (the redhead in the original demo 
): Rhona and Coriander’s cousin on their mother’s side, has a ton of sisters (Apple, Carica “Figgy”, and Apricot. They get called “The Fruity Sisters”) and has kind of the middle child syndrome, since Apple is the Rose heiress, Figgy the Mulberry heiress, and Apricot is the youngest. Hell-bent on marrying Maetthere.
Some servants, like Savin, Evergreen and Gigi/Dee Dee: depending on your Shade’s designated sex at birth, you’ll get either the valet (Gigi) or the maid (Dee Dee). Savin and the Nanny, whose named I changed to Privet, will work as your MC’s main caretakers in their kiddie years, and they are going to be at each other’s throats. Mostly because Privet is on Aquilegia’s side whereas Savin is on Datura’s.
The much older man who is going to pursue Rhona is named Phorad Sandalwood, son of Emer Sandalwood. Phoras first tried to get Coriander’s hand when she was 16, saying things like “if you were a courtesan I would be your most loyal customer” and stuff like that. So of course, he got shot down very fast, and not only for his lacking manners, but because he’s just gross. Years later, when Rhona was 16, he would try again, with an age gap of 15 years. The current holder of the Sandalwood title is still Emer, and he stubbornly refuses to die and let Phorad inherit, because he’s very much ashamed of his own son. Emer wants to disown him, but his wife won’t let him.
I also did some world building, like rules and whatnot. For example, it’s strictly forbidden to touch Thorns; from burgeons (kids of nobles who didn’t get their Efflorescence yet) to rankless staff. The former because they are kids and it’s wrong on so many levels, and the latter because it would be like coercion, kind of taking advantage of them (after all they wouldn’t dare to say no for a lot of reasons. They can’t consent). Doing such will mean that the perpetrator will be stripped of all their titles and rights, and throw in jail/executed; The Peers of the Realm have no patience or mercy for such things.
Things like scars are shameful because the body is thought to be very (extremely) important, and having scars show that the person does a very poor job of keeping it safe/cared for. Beauty is very important too. Tattoos and piercings are not done, and prostitution is a big no for the same reason; “putting a price” on someone’s body, regardless of rank, age, sex, gender or opinions is a no. The body is priceless, it’s like trying to sell air. It’s not done legally and in very few places, and if caught, people who ask for services/buys them are punished in a harsher fashion than the one offering them.
Homosexuality is not forbidden or punishable, but it’s always better if affairs and dalliances (homosexual or not) are kept out of the spotlight. Also, it’s much more preferable to marry someone of the opposite sex because The Society very much prefers unions that can bring kids into the world and carry on with the family legacy. That’s why bisexual people tend to marry the opposite sex instead of having a same-sex union. Homosexual weddings can happen, except if they are the heir(ess) and their siblings are very much useless and not suitable to become the Head of the Family, or only children.
They don’t ask for the bride/groom to keep their virtue intact, just keep themselves childless and out of scandals; a lot of times, as long as it is not known, they let slid by a lot of things. If a pregnancy were to happen, then they have to marry; abortion, unless it’s for a medical need or a specific case, it’s not to be done. It’s rare for this to happen since a lot of people either marry young, or know how to use anticonceptive herbs (though once married, it’s forbidden to take them).
The reason they are so strict with abortion is because there has been less and less births over the years; they are dramatically decreasing. Also, there are a lot of sterile heirs, stillborns, miscarriages, etc. And well, there’s the occasional murder accident, so… That’s why there’s a huge pressure to marry someone of the opposite sex and have more than one kid. For example, Caelan Faerwald has 4 kids under his wing (Maynard, Coriander, Maetthere and Rhona), but he wasn’t an only child either; he had a brother named Eddrick, a stillborn sister, and another dead sibling.
If the union is between two persons who hold their own title, none of them lose their surname, regardless of their partner’s social standing, and will be called by it (e.g: Marchioness Nightshade and Earl Bane). If the marriage was between someone with a title and a second/third kid, then the one not holding a title will be Lord/Lady and change their surname to their partner’s (e.g: Duke Faerwald and Lady Faerwald, neé Mulberry).
These are a few things, so if you are curious about anything, ask away 
). Mmmm… I kinda need the MC to… flourish later than normal for a lot of reasons. So, even if the MC can start early-ish to work towards taking over the Nightshade family… it will take at least a year. Well, it’s not like a wedding is prepared ipso facto.
I’ll use it as the official curse word 
As for now, I would have totally lost my patience after getting asked the same over and over and snapped at them; in just 200 posts I have the feeling they have asked that about 5 times, that and why the demo ends (and if it’s buggy) 
So for now, the MC will be Shade (from their surname, 'cause I’m original like that), and their cousin, depending on whether they are male (Oleander) or female (Baladre), though the universal name is Nerium. …Let’s go with just Nerium, until I finally write them.
Do I make sense? 
I wonder what could you do 
)
Ugh…yeah…with that my MC rather prefers exile or a military career. You want some children from this poor MC? Take those 10 adopted war orphans, that’s the only thing you will get…and maybe some cats…Cat Lady MC…
Wa-! Don’t those people see how cool battle scars can be? Or tattoos? Or like anything?