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I'm not usually one to bring a setting to a search thread; I prefer to build things together, but I've got a hunger for this plot, and nothing else is going to cut it. I've got to get it out of my system. I'll put a basic offering list below and a link to a thread that's got all the details you might want about me, here.
Right now, I've just got the setting and basic plot. I might come back and add in some character ideas, but I'd love to summon the brainstorm together and see what shakes out of that vortex instead.
Rapturous parties dot the entire capital city of this once great empire. Every barn converted to a ballroom, every ballroom stuffed with alcohol and debauchery, every drink & act more salacious than the last. Houses that once held carpenters, bakers, and artisans of the highest degree now serve as cobbled-together inns for the nobleborn of every other kingdom. Water wells replaced with wine barrels, every meal now begins and ends with sweets, and every night lasts past daylight. Of course, it’s all a lie, but who wanted to see that?
Fanatical ballroom musicians disguise distant cannon fire; Beautiful spire-topped walls keep out a million starving peasants; And more than once a day, a once-reputable noble would walk himself out a rather high palace window. The empire was long dead; it had languished for a hundred years, but now she was devouring herself. And soon there would be nothing left of her.
For years, the royal family & their ilk have insisted that all is well and have frequently exported their wealth to aid in foreign affairs and wars. But in these last ten, they hadn’t the money for meddling, so they shifted their delusions to something more frugal. Now, the ‘Ice Palace’ and her walled city are all that is truly left of the empire, and it serves as a destination for all the nobility of the world. They arrive by boat, you see, so as not to notice what horrors and sorrows lie on the other side of those walls. But they know full well, they simply don’t care.
These foreigners were no jesters, nor were the nobles of the Ice Palace blind. Under the king’s watchful and now eternally drunk-addled eyes, his nobles conspire to leave these lands via the only road still left open to them. Marriages made this little ballroom economy swell, you see. And if it was only one out of a large family, who could care? Such things were normal for a noble court. Yes, it was uncommon to see firstborn sons & daughters marrying into other families, and, true, it was a bit unfortunate to lose so many beautiful young ladies and lads. Still, they were strengthening their alliances and building a good reputation. All things that would surely pay off in the long run. Surely.
It should come as no surprise that, in this place of mirth and mead, tension lay behind every twirl & sip. A chance meeting could mean the continuation of your family and a new, warm life for you. But a failed courting could leave you frozen in the winter snows.
And for the incumbents who’ve come to tour the ballrooms and dining halls, everyone you see is a prize waiting to be snatched by the cousins and rivals that came with you. Lust, fame, fortune, all could be granted & satiated with one of these caged snow birds, or made into your neighboring kingdom’s excuse for war.
Oh, what those monumentally high stakes can drive a once proper noble to do. Outlandish clothes, delicious backstabs, and quite gruesome acts are all par for the many courses of the Ice Palace. It’s simple to avoid, though, just court a lovely man or lady and make your way back home. The dock is ever open and ever stocked with vessels.
You simply have to finish that last waltz and take your leave.
Here's the brief offering. Here's the link if you need more details. I'm just trying to keep this midnight post as coherent as I'm able.
Right now, I've just got the setting and basic plot. I might come back and add in some character ideas, but I'd love to summon the brainstorm together and see what shakes out of that vortex instead.
Rapturous parties dot the entire capital city of this once great empire. Every barn converted to a ballroom, every ballroom stuffed with alcohol and debauchery, every drink & act more salacious than the last. Houses that once held carpenters, bakers, and artisans of the highest degree now serve as cobbled-together inns for the nobleborn of every other kingdom. Water wells replaced with wine barrels, every meal now begins and ends with sweets, and every night lasts past daylight. Of course, it’s all a lie, but who wanted to see that?
Fanatical ballroom musicians disguise distant cannon fire; Beautiful spire-topped walls keep out a million starving peasants; And more than once a day, a once-reputable noble would walk himself out a rather high palace window. The empire was long dead; it had languished for a hundred years, but now she was devouring herself. And soon there would be nothing left of her.
For years, the royal family & their ilk have insisted that all is well and have frequently exported their wealth to aid in foreign affairs and wars. But in these last ten, they hadn’t the money for meddling, so they shifted their delusions to something more frugal. Now, the ‘Ice Palace’ and her walled city are all that is truly left of the empire, and it serves as a destination for all the nobility of the world. They arrive by boat, you see, so as not to notice what horrors and sorrows lie on the other side of those walls. But they know full well, they simply don’t care.
These foreigners were no jesters, nor were the nobles of the Ice Palace blind. Under the king’s watchful and now eternally drunk-addled eyes, his nobles conspire to leave these lands via the only road still left open to them. Marriages made this little ballroom economy swell, you see. And if it was only one out of a large family, who could care? Such things were normal for a noble court. Yes, it was uncommon to see firstborn sons & daughters marrying into other families, and, true, it was a bit unfortunate to lose so many beautiful young ladies and lads. Still, they were strengthening their alliances and building a good reputation. All things that would surely pay off in the long run. Surely.
It should come as no surprise that, in this place of mirth and mead, tension lay behind every twirl & sip. A chance meeting could mean the continuation of your family and a new, warm life for you. But a failed courting could leave you frozen in the winter snows.
And for the incumbents who’ve come to tour the ballrooms and dining halls, everyone you see is a prize waiting to be snatched by the cousins and rivals that came with you. Lust, fame, fortune, all could be granted & satiated with one of these caged snow birds, or made into your neighboring kingdom’s excuse for war.
Oh, what those monumentally high stakes can drive a once proper noble to do. Outlandish clothes, delicious backstabs, and quite gruesome acts are all par for the many courses of the Ice Palace. It’s simple to avoid, though, just court a lovely man or lady and make your way back home. The dock is ever open and ever stocked with vessels.
You simply have to finish that last waltz and take your leave.
Here's the brief offering. Here's the link if you need more details. I'm just trying to keep this midnight post as coherent as I'm able.
- 3k-500 Word Count Range (3k usually for starters, and 500 generally only for dialogue/smut, with regular responses fluctuating in between 1k-2k)
- ( 50/50 to 30/70 )smut-to-story ratios
- Bi-daily on-site OOC replies, Daily OOC response on messaging apps
- Weekly to Daily RP Responses (Currently Daily RP responses)
- Happy to play one or multiple main characters
- I typically focus on Slice of Life, Abuse/Horror/Psychological, and Political plots. But I am intentionally looking to branch out.