One Thousand Blooms — (ON HIATUS)

[Quaintrelle]

@Lycoris

@Quaintrelle kidnapping, taking an ignored child for himself just because, that’s absolutely Adonis’ style I’m surprised by how well you understand his character, even though we have seen so little of him; how do you do it? But now I wonder; why do you think he would do it, if he doesn’t seem to really have fatherly instincts?

It’s quite the testament to how clever you write, (you always seem to capture minute details and things that are true and beautiful, including the utter madness of humanity, and so are very much among my top 5 wip writers on this site), and I have long observed and analyzed people enough to where all motives and self-interest hidden under their masks of social civility are less of a puzzle to me. Of course, add honesty atop of perception and it’s a skillful delicacy not always so palatable to others. I suppose I too have been playing a game with the whole, wide world as unwitting participants…

Now, let’s see. Having an heir is important in Society, and by extension it keeps Adonis important and relevant to his family. He could view Sid as an investment, and just as he and Sid buck convention, a child is still an extra pawn on the board and the most malleable of employees. Many rear children for selfish purposes as per their only brush with immortality, the power to mold another human being from scratch–to influence them–their legacy. For a short while at least, parents are all-powerful gods in the eyes of their child, earning devotion and loyalty for even the smallest effort…and as of now an heir is something that Clematis and Lawren currently do not have. And I envision Adonis would flaunt his spawn at this alone…

@qpinskey

Also, would it change relationship dynamics, especially if the MC is a girl and the sibling is a boy?

A bit cliche, but I do believe my Hyacintha would be far more accepting of a brother–There can only be one, after all. Poor Ava. Heaven forbid that Datura would have to start calling his eldest Bitter-Pea.

[idonotlikeusernames]

@Quaintrelle

A bit cliche, but I do believe my Hyacintha would be far more accepting of a brother–

And it would be exactly reversed for my mc. A sister would be much preferred, particularly in this case as they would not be a constant physical reminder of my mc’s own literal shortcomings.

[Lycoris]

@squarelyblue

Will we encounter such a family in the demo? Maybe an impoverished but blue blooded family to justify mingling within the MC’s circles (or is that too much of a stretch)

The MC will met several people who indeed are in similar circumstances as them, but were brought up with The Society’s values Although not all of them will be destitute, I definitely want the MC to realize how lucky they are to actually be given choices over their life, even if their current means are limited.

@idonotlikeusernames

But then again our dear mother has little common or business-sense now does she?

Not everyone is good at the same things, even if it’s needed of them. There are extremely intelligent people out there with no common sense; people good with numbers but terrible with linguistics, and countless cases more.

@idonotlikeusernames

she also seems to be a poor judge of character

She definitely good at it; if that hadn’t been the case, she wouldn’t have chosen Datura, and believe me, he was a really good choice for what she wanted (even if the result what wasn’t she expected). How many people out there would have put up with her, given her character (when she’s not happy)? In that aspect Datura is a fool (well meaning, but still a fool), and Aquilegia knows it.

Anyways, we will worry about the MC’s family finances when the time comes, no point in arguing how it’s going to happen or what the MC will have to do then when I’m not even near to writing it.

@idonotlikeusernames

Hmmm…if the mc enlists as a common soldier it seems very unlikely that we’ll get into a position to be granted such merits and even if we did would they even do it considering that we were already born into the Society?

The Peers of the Realm want to run the military as a meritocracy, regardless of birth. Although the background is important, because depending on from where you come from, you are rewarded with either merits or titles.

@idonotlikeusernames

Also even if they did would that necessitate accepting an officer rank and commission, even if we start our as ordinary soldiers or could the mc stay on as an nco or something?

I don’t know what’s a nco (I’m terrible with abbreviations and acronyms) is, but usually titles are granted to Thorns and merits and stripes to those who have a chance of inheriting.

@qpinskey

Does the sibling have a different personality depending on their gender?

Yes; if the only difference was them swapping pronouns, I would have never bothered to make them different people, and just one and the same.
Have you noticed the differences between Baladre and Leander? Ava and Aaron are going to work like that

@qpinskey

Also, would it change relationship dynamics, especially if the MC is a girl and the sibling is a boy?

That would depend mainly on how the MC treats them; neither Ava nor Aaron would really feel different if they had a sister/brother/non binary sibling, but a good/bad one.

But truth to be told, I don’t think I’ll allow the player to pick which sibling they want, in the end; in case there’s Baladre around, Aaron could be Ava, but if we change it to Leander… A lot of things complicate story-wise, and Ava is needed.

@Abe

Oh dear! i mean Veranne will be mistaken as Avaron’s younger sibling since you’ve established that the PC is quite short for their age.

Oh, my bad I thought that maybe was that, but I wasn’t too sure. Mmm… Maybe I’ll do that, since bonding scenes between siblings are important

@Quaintrelle aaaw, you’ll make me blush with your praises, really

People have always interested me the most when it comes to stories, their true nature and what drives them, that’s why I’m making character relationships a vital element of the story. It really appreciate it when people, especially if they are as insightful as you, share what they perceive, because it helps me see if I’m on the right track with each characters. Too bad in real life I’m not so good at reading people, I wish I could be as observant as you

An investment; that’s good way to describe how parents see their offspring, it’s a really fitting word for this world. You’re right on track about Sid and Adonis (again, let me say I’m amazed!) but the details are spoilers I won’t reveal yet I’m going to have to keep a close eye on you, or else you may discover other important points in the plot :smile

---

This is the first draft of story, the chapters with their names Special thanks to @Quaintrelle for giving me so many wonderful suggestions:

Prologue
Chapter I: Tender of age
Chapter II: The Nature of Civility
Chapter III: The Bane of Us
Chapter IV: The Seeds of Society
Chapter V: The Way to the Top
Chapter VI: The Deadliest Blooms
Chapter VII: In Darkness We Descend
Chapter VIII: Bitter Flowers
Chapter IX: The Price of Freedom
Epilogue

[Urban]

Can we become the heir for the Nightshade title instead of our cousin?

[squarelyblue]

@Lycoris

I don’t know what’s a nco (I’m terrible with abbreviations and acronyms)

NCO = non commissioned officer, so they’re usually lower authority officers like corporals and sergeants but as the name suggests it just means they haven’t earned commission

When you get promoted to higher ranks you earn what they call a commission – basically some formal document from the government or whoever to appoint you to that post. Usually CO’s (commissioned officers) have more training and experience and are (ideally) required to have some form of further education (i.e. a college diploma)

@Lycoris

That would depend mainly on how the MC treats them; neither Ava nor Aaron would really feel different if they had a sister/brother/non binary sibling, but a good/bad one.

//prepares self for probable angst of trying to be a kind sibling but gut feel is that society will get in the way of that

[idonotlikeusernames]

@Lycoris

I don’t know what’s a nco (I’m terrible with abbreviations and acronyms)

An NCO is a non-commissioned officer, say a corporal or a sergeant. In modern armies the guys who actually make sure the army functions.
My main question was can we choose to stay on as an enlisted sergeant even after possibly doing something epic and heroic that warrants attention? Again my mc would likely want to stay enlisted both because he doesn’t feel he has that much in common with the other noble officers and it is always a benefit that such a move would likely annoy mother dearest as well. But perhaps that is yet another issue best discussed when you’re close to writing such things.

@squarelyblue

When you get promoted to higher ranks you earn what they call a commission – basically some formal document from the government or whoever to appoint you to that post. Usually CO’s (commissioned officers) have more training and experience and are (ideally) required to have some form of further education (i.e. a college diploma)

Or a noble title. Though of course in earlier times that usually implied a better than average education at least.
Lastly in some armies you could simply buy a commission.

@Lycoris

but usually titles are granted to Thorns and merits and stripes to those who have a chance of inheriting.

Well the question then becomes would the mc stand a chance of inheriting anything noteworthy at that point?

@Lycoris

Anyways, we will worry about the MC’s family finances when the time comes, no point in arguing how it’s going to happen or what the MC will have to do then when I’m not even near to writing it.

True, I tend to be less connected to any stuff that happens before our teenage years and I still recall your old demo of course, so I may have some outdated knowledge roaming around in my head.

@Lycoris

Not everyone is good at the same things, even if it’s needed of them. There are extremely intelligent people out there with no common sense; people good with numbers but terrible with linguistics, and countless cases more.

Very true, math has always been the bane of my existence, particularly calculus, despite otherwise adequate levels of intelligence.

@Lycoris

Maybe I’ll do that, since bonding scenes between siblings are important

Keep in mind that for some mc, like mine, being mistaken for the younger brother during our teenage years would have the opposite effect of bonding. Like I said being mistaken for the younger one only tends to become a compliment past the midlife crisis.

@Urban

Can we become the heir for the Nightshade title instead of our cousin?

Possible outdated information here, but I think the answer used to be yes, but the road to get there wouldn’t be very pleasant.
It would require both impressing the grandparents and outmaneuvering our cousin somehow.

[Lycoris]

@Urban that’s part of the plan, but it’s not 100% guaranteed.

@squarelyblue, @idonotlikeusernames thanks for the explanations I still have to work on the worldbuilding, and everything military-related and such, as it is now, is kinda vague in my mind. I don’t think I’ll go into the specifics once I reach that point, either, even if the MC does end up on The Borders.

@squarelyblue

//prepares self for probable angst of trying to be a kind sibling but gut feel is that society will get in the way of that

Not only The Society in general

For example, once Avaron is in the picture, during their first years together the MC will have to compete for Datura’s attention. And not only because Avaron, as a toddler, demands more time

@idonotlikeusernames

Well the question then becomes would the mc stand a chance of inheriting anything noteworthy at that point?

Given that they are second in line of inherithing the Nightshade title, in case Baladre/Leander die before having children… I don’t think so. Plus, the title given to Thorns are of minimal importance, only enough to make them a part of the (lowest) Green Circles, so they aren’t noteworthy.

[idonotlikeusernames]

@Lycoris

Given that they are second in line of inherithing the Nightshade title, in case Baladre/Leander die before having children… I don’t think so. Plus, the title given to Thorns are of minimal importance, only enough to make them a part of the (lowest) Green Circles, so they aren’t noteworthy.

But on the other hand the very minor title would be all our own. All of the others either require some sort of opposite-sex marriage where we’ll be nothing more then a trophy wife/husband or killing our cousin and getting away with it somehow.

[Urban]

@idonotlikeusernames

killing our cousin and getting away with it somehow.

Instead of killing your cousin you can instead discredit them in the eyes of the family, making him ineligible to be the heir.

[idonotlikeusernames]

@Urban

Instead of killing your cousin you can instead discredit them in the eyes of the family, making him ineligible to be the heir.

I don’t think my mc would be good enough at those sorts of games (remember we’ll get a late start to that at 21 and likely an impoverished one as well), besides I don’t know if we can ever discredit the cousin enough that they’ll hand it to the possibly deformed dwarf, runt of the family as long as the cousin is alive at all.
Really I think that all they’ll ever need to beat us out in the eyes of the grandparents is simply having a pulse at all, doesn’t matter if they’re in prison (for something they did or didn’t do, should we investigate/frame them) or even comatose as in that case their own parent/siblings would likely be their steward/regent.

[Urban]

@idonotlikeusernames

possibly deformed dwarf, runt of the family

Where it said the MC is a deformed dwarf? IIRC the MC is just smaller then the average, but not a dwarf, and can be of normal stature if you invest time on regaining HP.
So I don’t think it’s improbable to have the possibility to discredit the cousin.

[idonotlikeusernames]

@Urban

Where it said the MC is a deformed dwarf? IIRC the MC is just smaller then the average, but not a dwarf

Okay that may have been a bit of an exaggeration, but presumably the health points can also go down and that might give us all sorts of nastiness in addition to the reduced stature. Particularly since we do not yet know which decisions/choices will influence health points up or down and to what extent it will depend on the mercy of the random-number generator gods.

I could think of one example and that might be not eating anything form our own house/kitchens or anything to which mother dearest has access but doing that while possibly good for health points would likely give the mc a public reputation for paranoia which may not play well with the grandparents, etc.
Also like most of my mc I assume the grandparents would know he’s gay and that would likely be an additional stroke against. Plus he likely hates them.

@Urban

and can be of normal stature if you invest time on regaining HP.

True, but we’ll still come from tall lines on both sides, so it is likely to still remain a minor point against the mc.

[Urban]

@idonotlikeusernames

Also like most of my mc I assume the grandparents would know he’s gay and that would likely be an additional stroke against.

I don’t think being gay is a strike against, isn’t one of the MC’s uncle gay? IIRC he wasn’t shunned by being gay, he was shunned for other motives.

@idonotlikeusernames

True, but we’ll still come from tall lines on both sides, so it is likely to still remain a minor point against the mc.

I don’t think the MC being smaller than the relatives will make the grandparents look down on them, I think it is more you not liking being small .

[idonotlikeusernames]

@Urban

I think it is more you not liking being small .

True, there is that.

@Urban

I don’t think the MC being smaller than the relatives will make the grandparents look down on them

Ha, I see your pun there.
There’s also the fact that in the old times when you absolutely needed a tailor smaller guys got fleeced by said tailors having to pay literally more for less.

@Urban

IIRC he wasn’t shunned by being gay, he was shunned for other motives.

Well you can pretty much only be gay in this society if you do not need to inherit anything, our mc’s are in the disadvantageous position where they do. Whereas our dear uncle apparently isn’t.
Too bad he has an heir of his own already, otherwise it might have been an intriguing possibility and our uncle might have had some sympathy for mc struggling with the same plight.

[Urban]

@idonotlikeusernames

Well you can pretty much only be gay in this society if you do not need to inherit anything, our mc’s are in the disadvantageous position where they do.

But the MC isn’t inheriting anything, the Nightshade title will be inherited by the cousin if you do nothing, so your MC can be as openly gay as he want.
I even think that spoiled brat who wants to marry the male MC will understand and let you go.

Speaking of her, I will need to find a suitable excuse for my MC to not marry her, hopefully she will not grow a grudge against my MC for not wanting to marry her.

[idonotlikeusernames]

@Urban

But the MC isn’t inheriting anything, the Nightshade title will be inherited by the cousin if you do nothing, so your MC can be as openly gay as he want.

Hmmm…I thought the main tension was that due to complex socio-political wrangling surrounding the mc’s birth and their father’s exile they must find a way to marry/inherit something or fall out of the society to Thorn levels altogether, which is implied to also not be very fun and a possible death sentence. Now the main obstacle for my mc, apart from possibly being a not very desirable runt, is that gay marriage doesn’t seem to cut it for inheriting. Which is why my mc can’t just spend the game convincing a totally wonderful guy that he might be a worthy spouse and lover.

[Urban]

I think the problem with gay marriage inheriting is only if there isn’t a heir. So if you guy marry anther guy and he has siblings, nephews and nieces then there is no problem.
The only problem is when he is the last of his line, then he needs to marry a woman to produce a heir.

[Abe]

i feel like i missed a lot but someone give me a rundown of the hierarchy of the titles?

[Lycoris]

@idonotlikeusernames

But on the other hand the very minor title would be all our own.

No. The only title the MC is getting for themselves is the Nightshade one.

If that was possible, all of the kids that are not heirs, or even the spares themselves, would go to The Borders and try to earn one. It would be chaos. The Thorns getting one ar very, very few, and only a handful managed to (about 3 or 4) managed to in the last 30 years. These titles are a cheap excuse to get new blood into the Green/Purple Circles to avoid (too much) interbreeding happening.

Also, please refrain using “deformed dwarf” to describe the MC’s situation; I find it incredibly rude to use such words for people (even though this is a game) who aren’t tall or very tall, and may have health problems, to describe them.

@idonotlikeusernames

Also like most of my mc I assume the grandparents would know he’s gay and that would likely be an additional stroke against.

Just like @Urban says, being gay is not a problem; the grandparents’ opinions of the MC, once they meet them, is not going to change regardless of their sexuality. The determinant is their behaviour.

@Urban

IIRC he wasn’t shunned by being gay, he was shunned for other motives.

Exactly; Adonis did not end up living on The Borders because he was with Lawren, but because he was almost bloodthirsty after his time in the military. Before joining, Adonis already had violent tendencies, but after returning he was deemed too dangerous to have around, thus was left with two options: to exile himself “voluntarily” or obliged. The difference was that if he did it of his own accord, was that he had the option to return to The Society from time to time (like when he visited for Winter Solstice), but if banned, that would be forever.

@idonotlikeusernames

Well you can pretty much only be gay in this society if you do not need to inherit anything, our mc’s are in the disadvantageous position where they do. Whereas our dear uncle apparently isn’t.

Too bad he has an heir of his own already, otherwise it might have been an intriguing possibility and our uncle might have had some sympathy for mc struggling with the same plight.

You can be gay, it’s just that you need to reproduce. Plenty of gay people married and made arrangements to have heirs. And you can still empathise with the MC’s uncle, after all he had to get his marriage annulled.

@Urban

Speaking of her, I will need to find a suitable excuse for my MC to not marry her, hopefully she will not grow a grudge against my MC for not wanting to marry her.

Rhona? She has her owns reasons for wanting to marry the MC, even if they don’t love her or are not into women (plot-reasons).

@idonotlikeusernames

Hmmm…I thought the main tension was that due to complex socio-political wrangling surrounding the mc’s birth and their father’s exile they must find a way to marry/inherit something or fall out of the society to Thorn levels altogether, which is implied to also not be very fun and a possible death sentence.

Kiiiiiiiiind of. It’s complicated, but the MC needs to be in a decent position in the social ladder (either by their own merits or by marriage), because being powerless in a society full of sharks and schemers may be detrimental for their well-being.

@Urban

I think the problem with gay marriage inheriting is only if there isn’t a heir. So if you guy marry anther guy and he has siblings, nephews and nieces then there is no problem.

Yes! You’ve understood it quite well!

@Abe

i feel like i missed a lot but someone give me a rundown of the hierarchy of the titles?

At the top of The Society there are The Peers of the Realm, the maximum authority (like the Emperor, but instead of it being just one person, a group), below them the Purple Circles (the ranks forming them being Duke/Duchess, Electors, Marquis/Marchioness), then the Green Circles (Count/Countess, Viscount/Vidame, Baron/Baroness and Baronet/Baronette). And at the bottom, the Thorns, the rankless. The children of members of the Green/Purple Circles are generally grouped with the Thorns (because they are not functioning adults yet), but people don’t like it and call them burgeons instead.

So… something like this:

1. Peers of the Realm (a group of people whose position is similar to the Emperor/Empress’)
2. Purple Circles (Duke/Duchess, Electors, Marquis/Marchioness)
3. Green Circles (Count/Countess, Viscount/Vidame, Baron/Baroness and Baronet/Baronette)
4. Thorns (burgeons and the rankless)

[295Phoenix]

So…what exactly is a Thorn? A landowner that isn’t a noble?