@Lycoris if I follow the path to power and wealth, what can I do to increase it, besides becoming the heir for the Nightshade? New titles? Starting a business? Political office?
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Actually yeah, there’s that question. Since we can’t become the heir without our cousin dying off, how else can we increase power in official capacity?
I know there are lots of ways in terms of soft politics but is there a way that the Peers of the Realm can bestow a title or sign that MC has their own branch of the Nightshade fam (because they were that notable)
(Not sure if this was covered) or how does marriage work in the case of the MC and their title? And what would MC’s official title be?
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You can discredit your cousin and become the heir, you don’t need to kill them.
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Yeah, but it’s better to just have them out of the picture completely, in case they get some ideas of murdering you.
Exactly! 
Having a bad relationship with Avaron won’t get you points with Aquilegia, but having a good one would definitely worsen her opinion on the MC. On the other hand, in Datura’s case it’s better if you are a good sibling; if you are a terrible one, you will put him in a tight spot where he might have to choose between his children, and the MC won’t always come out victorious.
Yes; and the MC (and certain actions) can influence who Avaron ends up married to, even, or state their opinion on Avaron’s future partner.
Avaron’s current existence is already a political one; Datura is aware of it, but didn’t adopt them with any plan in mind. He really wants to ignore that fact about Avaron and give them a good childhood because they are a child, but the adults (and schemers) of The Society don’t think like that. That’s why Datura would make a poor performance in The Society if he were to play the grand game; because he thinks of every member of The Society as people, not tools or pawns.
Once Avaron grows up to be an adult, their position as a (potential) threat for The Society will be much more pronounced; depending on the MC’s actions during their childhood, there are several courses of actions that Avaron can take.
@295Phoenix there are definitely a lot of perks to being a good older sibling 
@Skelas yeah, Adonis is lovely like that
Given that Avaron is 5 years younger than the MC, when they are kids these occurrences will be few and far between, because as a little child, Avaron is quite meek (Aaron) or timid (Ava). But as adults, if they have a good relationship, they will be fiercely protective of the MC, because they are the only family they have 
You will be able to start several business and make deals, and go to fancy parties which are pretty much power plays. No new titles; that’s already a huge mess I don’t want to delve into (any more), so the only way to get another one (which wouldn’t be truly yours, but a Consort title) is by marrying an heir(ess). And yeah, you can try for political office
There are several ways to become someone powerful without a title It’s just a bit harder, but not impossible. And not all the power is found inside The Society, just saying
No, no more titles for the Nightshade family; there is only one, which lies in the main branch of the family (Petunia’s), the same way Clematis’ future children will be the “main” branch instead of Sid, Adonis’ kid.
Titles are a complicated thing, so I don’t want to make it possible to just go an earn more; it would make some of the struggles I planned for the game pointless
The MC can be the heir and then marry, or have a claim to it, arrange a powerful marriage (better than the other family members who also have a claim) and become the heir.
In case both parties have a a title, both of them keep their surnames (like Petunia Nightshade and Stephanos Bane); if only of them has one, then the other party changes their surname for their spouse’s (Perebea Faerwald, née Mulberry, married to Caelan). And if they don’t have any, they still keep their own lasts names (Datura Nightshade and Aquilegia Crowfoot).
The MC’s title, in case they become the heir and later on the Head of the Nightshade family, would be [MC’s name] Viride Nightshade, Marquess/Marchioness of Lothethorn. Nowadays titles are mostly a nominal thing (although they still have some control over their lands, when important decisions have to be made), but in the old days the Nightshade owned Lothethorn, a territory near The Borders. Although it’s not a very rich land, it has a lot of strategic value and some interesting wildlife that is not found anywhere else.
Leander/Baladre have no interest in offing the MC; they are a bit like their father, Stephanos, apathetic and uncaring about a lot of things, and rarely perceive them as obstacles or menaces, just… annoying.
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I am living for this (found families are very important to my well being)
Good sibling relationships are my jam and can’t wait to see them either play shipper or gatekeeper for their sib :))
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@Lycoris I really liked the game! 
And all the stuff on the forums is making me really excited about what’s to come!
Supposed-to-be unsympathetic character or not, I actually really like Adonis (so far). His awkwardness at parties is such that even my self-insert looks good. And when you’re surrounded by fake-nice schemers, it’s a bit of a relief when someone just is what they seem. He doesn’t like kids, but he’s up front about it rather than being fake. And best of all, unlike SOME oblivious candy-makers (
), I don’t have to worry about ADONIS attempting to strangle the life out of…ahem, hug, my self-insert against her will. Plus if Datura’s friends with him, how bad can he…(aside look at Aquilegia) um, never mind. 
Aquilegia is…something else. She reminds me disturbingly of a person or two from my RL (though more one than the other). Though I do tend to believe there’s good in everyone (sometimes buried WAY down), so…would it be a total waste of time to try to win her over?
The ROs all sound really interesting. Though playing as myself, I’m probably going for Maynard. What? He sounds like a fascinating psychological study (which is something I tend to look for in those I’m close to).
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As of now, idk who to pick? I usually opt for guys so the choices are a lot more limited in my case (time will tell though if that changes)
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@Lycoris After reading the posts and seeing how you’re incorporating mental conditions into a world before they had names (which I think is awesome, BTW), and about how Datura has depression and Aquilegia is…a narcissistic sociopath? (that sounds like what you described), I have to ask…would Adonis today be on the autism spectrum? I’m totally jumping the gun on Maynard, since we haven’t even met him yet, but from the description you gave of him he could plausibly be considered a sociopath too…albeit much more high-functioning and intelligent one than Aquilegia.
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@buggygirl11 thank you!
Oh, it’s not like I meant to make him as hateful as, let’s say, Aquilegia, but I would perfectly understand if he’s generally not very well liked (after I’m done with him) Adonis has been playing nice for now, but he can get quite nasty when feeling bitter/training recruits on The Borders. He only raises his voice when he’s barking orders out, but his glares are enough to put anyone in place!
Truth to be told, I plan to make the players feel torn regarding him. On one hand there’s the socially inept uncle who’s at least honest and somewhat… okay to have around (when he behaves) and bitter to the bone because of several events in his life, and on the other one there’s… well, him, the Crowfoot in him. If you’re really curious about his other side, he has something akin to sociopathic tendencies; he can feel empathy to some degree, but has a remarkable lack of remorse, guilt or shame, shallows emotions and is rather impulsive, besides having a penchant for violence. Adonis doesn’t lie, but I wouldn’t fully trust him either
Exactly Datura means well, but sometimes he trusts people he shouldn’t; back when he met Adonis for the first time, he was still a really poor judge of character 
You can try, but it’s going to be like trying to get blood from a stone. She’s hell bent on hating her own child; there’s no way around that. But if you try really, really hard, she might open up a biiiit and explain why she loathes the MC so much, and why she can’t bring herself to love them as any other mother would. That doesn’t meant the player would like it, nor it would be satisfying for them, mind you.
I hope that some day you feel compelled enough to try more of them; my initial plan is to make each of the ROs unique, interesting enough for the players to try and do a character study of each
I want to add more male ROs, but I’m kinda wary of suddenly making the cast bigger when I’m still quite far from writing them. Lovage will likely come back (although he’s an utter bastard… I jut have to make him somehow likable), along with Roland and Castor.
I’ve just realized that a lot of ROs share the same first letter in their names: Maynard and Maetthere, Cora and Cherry (and maybe Castor), Lantana, Lupin and Lovage (although Lupin and Lovage are surnames; they hate their first names), Rhona and Roland… I suck at naming characters 
Yeah, she is
No, Adonis isn’t; his social skills are poor because he never put much effort in them (plus a bit rusty because of his time exiled, living on The Borders) and has little understanding of “properness,” so he always struggles a bit in these events. He does have some sociopathic tendencies, although I wouldn’t call him a full-blown sociopath.
Although there’s another character who would be on the Autism spectrum
I like how you think
I’m surprised, you are spot on! Yeah, I do consider him one, and you’re absolutely right, Maynard is much more high-functioning than her, he knows how to plan things properly and put things in motion. While I wouldn’t call Aquilegia stupid, her wits can’t keep up with her greed and impatience; Maynard has a much better hold on them, thus usually gets better results (mmm… so I guess it wouldn’t be wrong to say that he’s actually smarter than her?) Really, I’m amazed! 
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Woo! I like being right!! 
Really? Never would’ve seen that coming.
Oh don’t worry, I absolutely will try all. When I say “playing as myself,” I mean as June, my self-insert.
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I feel the cast woes. But if it’s any consolation Matthere – iirc – is the likely RO (seems the kindest one as of the moment).
Who are Roland and Castor though?
Mildly off tangent, buy since you mentioned we can influence Avaron’s choice in marriage, will we see any of the prospective RO’s for them any time soon O:
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Indeed; he’s quite stiff when dealing with (blood) family, because he doesn’t know how to treat them. He has been taught he ought to be nice to them, but after everything that has happened between Clematis and Lawren, and Aquilegia’s actions, he finds it extremely hard to do so.
Oh, I see! I wonder how well will she fare, then
I wonder if that’s actually true He’s quite sweet in his younger years, but in this ruthless world, I wonder how will he end up like when he’s older The MC can influence him a great deal, even more so than Avaron. While the player won’t be able to change his core personality, they can affect how Maetthere perceives the world around him and how he will act in certain situations.
They are planned ROs, but I have never talked about them before Roland is from the Aster family, whereas Castor likes to think of himself as an orphan.
Roland seems to have a problem with everyone (compared to him, Lupin seems the serene one), is highly secretive but craves affection. He’s not honest with his feelings, either.
Castor is calm and relaxed, and somewhat cold and distant, but he’s nicer than the average male RO. He doesn’t like problems and would rather ignore the drama around him.
Yeah, of course I won’t say who, though: that would be quite the spoiler
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Is Adonis a high functioning sociopath? 
Just out of interest, do Avaron’s ROs clash with ours? If so, would it be possible to be in a secret affair with our younger sibing’s spouse? Or do we have to save them from a terrible marriage that would make them unhappy? If I have to fight somebody then I will >:D
Edit: I mean characters, not any of you lovely people… Please don’t pick fights with me ^-^’
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Starts putting on armor happily
Cries and puts armor back
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Everyone’s here protecting there sibling from our mother (I cant spell her name, too many vowels for me 
) and I’m just sitting here planning to use everyone I can use, except Datura as a tool to gain power.
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But those two statements don’t contradict each other. You can be nice to your brother because you want to use him as a tool to gain power.
Helping him might make him the most loyal person the MC will ever meet.
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I’m still here reeling from CotG and Rohie’s take on fam feels :)) and One Thousand Blooms has an equally wonderful set of fam feels and I will definitely protect Avaron and Datura as best as I can
So using them for ultimately selfish ends is very much not in my capacity
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Honestly, I can’t wait to spoil Avaron… power for myself and my sibling will probably be what I’m gonna chase in my first playthrough. Also Aquilegia’s demise, or anything close to that.
Just as a reminder, is Avaron the same sex as the MC or opposite sex to the MC? I think I remember it being stated that Avaron’s sex is set according to what sex the MC is, unless my mind is playing tricks again.
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