One Thousand Blooms — (ON HIATUS)

Right, so either we must find a guy with a decent social position who has siblings able to inherit and is willing to marry us, or we must displace our cousin to become the Nightshade heir, but that requires making nice with grandparents my mc is likely to dislike and to top it off once we do get to be the heir we need an opposite sex marriage to reproduce.

So marrying a decent guy with a decent social position may be best in terms of love but it will always make my mc feel like he has and owns nothing on his own merits since all we have would then come through our husband.

Which is what I don’t understand, if homosexuality is accepted our dear uncle and his lover could just as easily have adopted their heir or paid for a women to be the surrogate for his lover child(ren), since I understand it was the lover in this case who needed an heir of his own. But there are ways to get heirs that don’t involve marrying a woman, unless the Society only recognizes “true born” heirs born in wedlock.
Again if all they needed to do was reproduce I’m sure our uncle and his lover could have paid some surrogates. Or in an extreme case even poly-married or taken a concubine. Though I guess both concubines and poly marriage are not legal in the Society.

Presumably something like this would only be possible in an all-out war then, cause under such circumstances it might pay to dangle that carrot a little lower, though I understand it won’t be an option for our mc’s.

From what I recall Rhona was literally a Thorn in our side in the old demo and the only ways to get out from under the marriage contract to her our dear mother so foolishly arranged would have been to become the Nightshade heir or to make sure a guy with a higher title then her would make a marriage contract for her with her father before she herself turned 21.
Though it seems in the new setup the mc may get a bit more agency here.

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And I think those reason will not favour my MC, in fact it might hinder the possibility of him inheriting the Nightshade title.
So I will try any of the other 3 female RO. Cherry seems ambitious and more ladylike so she might be a better match to my MC.

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So is this a damned if you do damned if you don’t scenario? On one hand new blood is a good thing and something the society seems to understand but on the other, being the in universe equivalent of the noveau riche is looked down on? Likely due to the idea that blood + background = the nobility?

I mean all the positive traits are associated in being part of the creme de la creme of the society by virtue of blood. So newly minted green circles would have it rough? Hence why it would take generations to prove themselves?

…Though in speaking of which: how common are marriages between wealthy green circles and impoverished purple circles? Because I’m getting dollar princesses vibes if ever this is a thing in the Society

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No, a Thorn doesn’t have lands nor any important property; they are rankless (they don’t have any title), and work as servants for the upper classes. The staff around the Nightshade Manor are Thorns :slight_smile:

I have said it before, but in this game the best you can get is bittersweet, there’s no “winning.”

No, because then said child wouldn’t have Mallow blood, the very same requirement as for why it was demanded of Lawrence to carry on with the family line.

Adoption is more common in Thorns, because in the Green and Purple Circles, specially if inheriting is involved, makes everything much more complicated and messier. Now, there’s always someone who doesn’t care for such things and adopts anyways, but that doesn’t mean the rest of The Society agree with their actions.

Yeah, and who would be the surrogate? Another noble? Do you seriously believe that they would bear a child before marriage (when it’s required of them to not have any before wedlock), making them bastards? That would complicate a lot of things, because the child not only would have claim to the site’s title, but the bearer’s too.

And it’s not even legal to think of paying a Thorn to do it. They have very little things that are completely their own, and their body integrity is one of them, not another tool for the upper classes to play with. The same way they cannot be sexually used/abused/coerced by the Green/Purple Circles (the law itself dictates it), they are not breeding stock.

Bastards and children before marriage can’t inherit, because there’s no guarantee as who’s the other parent. I know the same can be said even if people are married (cheating), but that’s another whole matter.

The issue with such union lie when there is more than one member capable to sire; who says the child is Lawren’s and not fathered by Adonis? They could swear up and down that Adonis didn’t touch the mother and they wouldn’t believe them, because there’s no way of knowing. And poly-marriages make the lineages a mess to track. They don’t even like it when people who have kids from a previous relationship remarry and have more children.

No. Concubines and prostitutes are not legal.

At that age Rhona is already an adult; unlike the MC, she did get her Efflorescence at 18.

Well… Cherry happens to be only interested in women…

Yes, it’s a delicate situation at its best.

The most elitist families do, whereas the less strict ones are… Not keen on marrying them, but more open to wed (good) members from the Green Circles.

More often than not, these Thorns turned nobles marry other people in their same situation (since they are a minority, they stay together for a while) or people from the Green Circles. It’s very rare for them to wed someone from the Purple Circles.

You’re right; they wouldn’t be treated as scum, but people would be condescending towards them, because as past Thorns, they have not been properly raised in The Society’s ways.

That’s why they need several generations, to “polish” their family line (upbringing, manners, education, etc.) for them to be considered “respectable” and have the opportunity to marry into the Purple Circles.

It’s not unheard of for spares or third/fourth children from Purple Circles to wed wealthy members of the Green Circles, but such union wouldn’t be an exchange of title for money, but money for connections.

It needs to be the heir(ess) for it to be money in exchange of a title (consort), but families hold onto them as long as they can, hoping to marry them well.

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No problem, there are other 2 to choose.

Are there ends that are more bitter than sweet and vice versa :))

So widowers without children would not cause incident but widowers who do will raise eyebrows?

Theoretically, would this mean mother dearest by having the MC damned her into spinsterhood? Assuming Datura does in fact kick the bucket :))

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That’s the spirit! :smile:

Absolutely! There are several factors that contribute to the sweet/bitter elements of the endings, besides the conclusion itself (so maybe you like the “tragic” ending better than the “ambitious” one for how everything ends up like).

Yes! :smile: If someone ends ups widowed (and childless), everything is treated almost as if the marriage never happened, and wed someone else (after the proper mourning period).

If they have kids it’s not like they are going to be repudiated/condemned like pariahs, but it’s not liked. If a lot of people have kids with different partners, it makes the bloodlines a nightmare to track, and everyone ends up being (closely) related to everyone (and would worsen the issue of interbreeding).

Caelan Faerwald, for example, remarried even though he already had two sons (Maynard and Maetthere), to Perebea Mulberry (who already had a daughter, Coriander), and Rhona was born.

This makes the current Faerwald branch (closely) related to the Mulberry, the Rose (Perebea’s sister wed Rowan Rose) and the Orpine (by the boys’ mother), without adding Cora’s biological father to the list. While it’s good for connections, marriage-wise it’s a mess. Now think about if it everyone did it; there would be a great risk of marrying their half-sibling without them even knowing, the horror!

Maybe, unless she finds someone willing to marry her or tricked into it :smiling_imp:

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Lycoris
Is it possible to romance the cousin and get a tittle that way

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You can’t romance the cousin because they are aromantic asexual, and have no interest in having that kind of relationship with anyone. Although, if you have a good relationship with Baladre/Leander, you can marry them; it won’t be a romantic union, but a political one (out of pure convenience), so they won’t want/expect a child from the MC (nor anyone).

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Have I missed this info but until what age are we playing the MC as? So far the story spans their formative years and confirmed until young adulthood?

My initial plan is until the MC is in their 30s-40s, but it may change in the future :slight_smile:

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Ok, so I just started playing this game, and I noticed something a bit odd. So, you meet Uncle Adonis at the Winter Solstice, right? Well afterwards, before the heading to the toy store with the father, you see him again in your father’s study, but you don’t seem to recognize him or anything. Now, normally I would chock that up to bad memory of a young child, except he doesn’t seem to recognize you either… Is it just me, or does this happen to anyone else?

@Lycoris What happened to the masquerade game?

@VioletHikari bug, bug, bug I have to work on; clean your cache and try again :sweat_smile: That scene wasn’t supposed to come out yet, it’s for the next update (as it’s clunky and needs a lot of work; I just put some messy things there).

Zeitnot? I’m still working on it, but I owed this thread a demo first :slight_smile:


By the way, some time ago I mentioned love triangles, marriage arrangements and poly relationships: it’s going to take a while (since they will start when the MC is an adult and they are still a kiddie), but this is what I have planned:

Love triangles: the MC isn’t always the center of it; they may have to compete with someone :wink: Except when they are siblings, of course; then they would fight for the MC’s affections.

  • Maynard - MC (female) - Cora
  • Maetthere - MC - Lupin
  • Rhona - MC (male) - Maetthere
  • Lantana - MC - Lupin

Marriage Arrangements: you marry them, but aren’t romancing them.

  • Maynard - MC (female only)
  • Cherry - MC (male only)
  • Rhona - MC (male only)
  • Leander/Baladre - MC

Polyamorous Relationships: everyone is involved with everyone. In Cora’s case, since she isn’t blood related to Maynard nor sees him as a sibling, it’s fine for them to be with each other.

  • Cherry - MC (female) - Lantana
  • Cora - MC (female) - Maynard
  • Cora - MC (male) - Kalmia
  • Rhona - MC (male) - Lupin
  • Maetthere - MC - Lupin
  • Lantana - MC - ???

This is just a draft, so it’s bound to change; maybe I’ll add more or remove some of them, I don’t know :wink:

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Did I miss this info too but who is Lupin and Lantana O:

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Don’t worry, I didn’t give much info about Lupin, or any about Lantana: Lupin is a minor member form the Green Circles without title (or any chance of inheriting), who is also radical and insolent and a doer, and Lantana will remain a secret for now :wink:

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Radical? In what way? //chin hands

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As in, hating tradition and wanting to change things because he believes most members of The Society are stuck-up idiots, and most of his friends, if not all all of them, are Thorns.

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A secret character that has been revealed by the author, albeit with barebones information?

Lantana will obviously become a super-duper important character later on, I’m sure of it.

Or they’ll become a ghost. Just wishful thinking.

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I cant talk to the uncle at the party