Ladies from far & wide have answered the call for A Royal Masquerade, seeking the hand of Prince Valarr Dayne! Among the attendees are ladies of various standings, stemming from royal, noble, and common houses throughout the lands.
For the sake of anonymity, each lady has been assigned a name to which they will be referred to throughout the ball.
It is with great pleasure that we present the first set of attendees - the royals.
Empress Myrisandra of Clan Moon - Lady Lunara
Forged in fire, tempered by honor.
by @queensoflumis (see their post for the event here!)
Myrisandra desires nothing more than to leave a great legacy behind. In her 44th year, the Empress is very competitive, conscious of her political appearance, and possessive of what is hers. She enjoys hawking and sculpting in her free time.
The Empress attends the ball with her good friend, royal guard, advisor, and general - Maranyra of Clan Talora. In her attendance to the ball, she hopes to further political alliances for Clan Moon, and potentially find a consort (or two) for her daughter, Dinah, who remains at home.
Princess Daenora Targaryen of King's Landing- The Gentle Dragon
Fire and Blood.
by @bellevalentim
Daenora was the only daughter of Prince Rhaegel and his beloved wife, Lady Aelys Targaryen. Born after a difficult birth that left her mother sterile, she became the only jewel in their eyes.
Daenora grew up in the Red Keep, alongside her many cousins ââand uncles, surrounded by privileges and affection. However, she lived a life of overprotection from her parents, which sometimes became suffocating. While her cousins ââcould fight with swords and ride dragons without asking permission, she couldn't go down the stairs alone without holding the hand of a servant or her mother until she was 13.
The invitation to the ball arrived just a few weeks after she her coming of age. With some persistence she finally convinced her mother to allow her to go, but only with the escort of her cousin and betrothed Aerion Targaryen. He was not very pleased with the idea of ââa masquerade ball, but his father sent him to accompany her, and seeing Daenora so excited about her first and only chance at freedom - even if only for one night, softened the arrogant prince.
Princess Laurelle La Vance - Lady Mirage
by @zelenxa (see their post for the event here!)
The exact situation is very unclear to the public, but a few years ago, news of the murder of Princess Claudiaâthe firstborn, golden daughter, and expected heir to the crownâby the hands of her sister reached the public. Some accounts say Laurelle murdered Claudia in training gone too far or in a hunt gone wrong. Behind her back, she is referred to as a kinslayer, and question of manslaughter is all but naught in her homelandâs Royal court, which shows in how sheâs poorly treated, though legitimate debate is held by citizens outside the court.
In all actuality, there are bits of truth in every rumor. Laurelle and Claudia did go hunting, in the process got into an argument, and, when attacked by a beast, Laurelle did nothing to save her big sister. It was an accident, Laurelle will repeat to herself, though, despite resentment by the court, she holds on tightly to her title as Royal Heir, she wants to be Queen, she likes the power. Silently, she likes not being in second place anymore.
Laurelle is too impatient and resentful enough toward her mother and the court to be willing to wait until the death of her mother to become Queen (as thatâs how their laws work). Behind the scenes, she has been building power of her own working with spymasters and fueling rebellion. She wants to overthrow her mother. She wants to prove to an otherwise hateful court that she can and was meant to be Queen.
Spite is really the only thing running her. She has no life outside that goal and what it represents, she hasnât even allowed herself to think past actually becoming Queen. If she were to become Queen at this point, her reign would be authoritarian.
She wants to control who is royally engaged to, and not have that left in the hands of her mother. House Dayne is far away enough not to be too influenced by the belief that Laurelle intentionally murdered her sister, but powerful enough and out of the clutches of his mother enough that seeking marriage within the family is worth it.
Princess Rhaelora Ysenna dyLiera - Lady Muse
by @starlightpixels
The Princess Rhaelora is an artistic and romantic young woman who loves to dance and play music. She grew up in an opulent but small country of Liera as the spoiled (but kindly and well meaning) only child of the King and his second wife.
Rhaelora attends the ball, chaperoned by her brother and his betrothed, to represent their country and make political and diplomatic alliances - hopefully through Rhaelora's marriage, but friendship and trade agreements are also amenable to the House of dyLiera.
Princess Sonata Fatu of the Forest Glade Kingdom - The Enchantress
Aeternus, infinitus.
by @invisiblequeen (see their post for the event here!)
Princess Sonata Fatu was born of a fae and a wizard and raised in the deep forest kingdom of Fangon, the green side of the Sylvan Glade.
While not sporting wings or a shrinking ability, Sonata's connection to nature led her to alchemy, her greatest passion. A creative, proper and adventurous spellcaster with a penchant for untamed magic, Sonata is attending the ball to forge an alliance with the throne for the sake of her kingdom.
If love should come out of such dealings, she certainly wouldn't be opposed to it. But he'd have to convince her to show him her face first.
Princess Thalassa Seaborn of House Illyria - The Sea Maiden
Wise as serpents.
by @honeysylvan (see their post for the event here!)
Thalassa, now 23, is the bastard daughter of the Aeolian (modern-day Tartosan) king and a commoner woman. She grew up loved but with little money, and witnessed her fellow commoners struggle similarly.
Always enamored with the sea and adventure, she joined a pirate crew at only 15. She quickly rose in the ranks and formed her own crew, becoming a Robin Hood-esque pirate captain who robs corrupt nobles and redistributes wealth to her community (and keeps a hefty sum for herself, of course). Doing so made her quite popular amongst the common folk of Aeolia, and that's when her older half-brother Theron, the crown prince, realized she wasn't just a threat as a pirate - she was a threat to his rule as well. If she rose up against the crown and took control of Aeolia for herself, the people would support her.
Intending to remove her as a threat, he hired a band of mercenaries to kill Thalassa. They threatened her mother, but the woman refused to give up her daughter's location and was killed in her stead. Thalassa immediately suspected foul play, and so Theron, in a strategic move to keep his enemies close, reduce suspicion, and increase his public image, convinced his father to officially welcome Thalassa into the royal line as a princess.
Thalassa has spent the last six months as a princess of Aeolia, and working on her revenge plans: to uncover the truth about her mother's murder, and kill whoever is responsible.
The maiden's day ball invitation was extended to the Aeolian royal family, and Thalassa knows better than anyone that royals and nobles have loose tongues when there's wine and merriment. She jumped at the chance to join the ball under the guise of winning the hand (and heart) of Prince Valarr, though her true intentions are to find her mother's killer.
But while she may be consumed with thoughts of vengeance, beneath all that beats the heart of a romantic - and perhaps she'll find a kindred soul in the prince. Will Thalassa fall in love? And if she does, what will that mean for her plans of revenge?
that's a wrap on part one of the attendee intro posts!
a grand total of 20 sims (not including their escorts) have been submitted for this event, so be sure to stay tuned for each set of intro posts this week.
be sure to check out my lovely collaborators for this event as well, @simstoricalish @lechairschair @sulsulzukohere @thesimsoficeandfire @bellevalentim @kerosims @starlightpixels - CC release has officially begun for the event!
⊠Attending @opalescence-simâs Royal Masquerade Ball.
Name: Laurelle La Vance
Age: 25 years old
Traits: Cold-Blooded, Determined, Bookworm, Jealous, Repressed (+ a little self-centered)
Orientation: Biromantic, Bisexual, Greysexual
House: Vance (Represented by the color blue)
History
Dreary but mundane, what hangs over the heads of the La Vance familyâs homeland is the unexpected death of their beloved Royal Heir, Princess Claudia. It also hangs over Laurelleâs headânot simply because the Royal Lady was her older sister, but because she was the last person to see her alive; she murdered her, and everyone knows.
⊠Or maybe not? A hunting trip, a training session, or a boating incident gone wrong. Perhaps the Princess actually ran away? Her death orchestrated? No one, let alone the general public, is quite sure what happened, if Laurelleâthe spareâactually conspired to murder her sister. Manslaughter or murder is gossip and debate among citizens, but in the Royal Court, in the eyes of the very silent, grief-stricken Queen, itâs held in majority opinion that it was murder. No trial, no body, no consequences held. Just whispers, ostracization, and contempt toward a fractured Laurelle. Not all is for naught, though, because, in return for her sisterâs life, Laurelle is due to be Queen!
Or at least until her mother, Queen Constance, gets out of the wayâŠ
Laurelle La Vance
Perhaps the rumors about being a kinslayer donât come out of nowhere. Everything her older sister, basked in the light and first place, was, Laurella is not, and how she was perceived prior to Claudiaâs death no longer matters. Perceived in court, she is quiet, detachedâor rather is that because of the way sheâs been ostracized?âcunning, quite unsettling these days, and hyper-vigilant. Sheâs spent most of her life with an intense interest in historical literature. Her childhood was particularly filled with emotional neglect. She may be a bit touch-starved, and cold-blooded (lacking empathy), and may have a hard time discerning her real emotions from what she wants others to see from her⊠But that happens when growing up with a mother more interested in politics than her children, let alone her second-born. Nowadays, whatâs left in their relationship is Constance feeling more justified in her absenceâsuspicious, aid-less, too, in the defense of her kinslayer daughter to the Court, but set to tradition enough to see through to Laurellaâs crowning after her death, because thereâs no one else. Theyâre the last Vances of their line. Itâll have to be enough.
Hobbies: Sword-fighting (a little too much and aggressively with her knight), reading, attending Court (despite the fact that everyone dislikes her).
Notable Likes: Malicious interactions, Research & Debate, Gossip, Deep Thoughts, Winning, Spymaster Dante, Outdoors, The Color Red.
Notable Dislikes: Complaints, La Vance Royal Court, Pranks, Mixology/Alcohol, The Color Blue.
The Royal Masquerade
Queen Constance had been dropping hints about an arranged marriage for a while now. Going to House Dayneâs Masquerade Ball was inevitable. 25-years-old and the last of her line, marriage has been long overdue, but the death of Claudia has helped in more than one way in discouraging suitors her way. That help is running out. Whilst kinslayer rumors will forever flow around her head within her region, the lack of action against her from Queen Constance has evaporated most steam in people believing the rumorsâat least in weighing out the benefits of marrying into the Vance familyâdespite what is felt otherwise within the Court. So, what was once nothing in the discussion of marriage has turned into signals and nudges from her mother, steamrolling until an eventual announcement. If absolutely nothing else, Larella is certain in two things: She will get no input on her suitor, and that her suitor or their family will be in the clutches of her mother. A dead weight spouse not on her side wonât do for her plans, so thereâs little choice anymore. She must act first.
Distance is the first benefit of interacting with House Dayne. The kingdom is far away enough not to be too influenced by the belief that Laurella intentionally murdered her sister, let alone be under her motherâs swayâright?âbut still powerful enough that seeking out marriage is worth it. Laurella doesnât expect to find love, nor does she think sheâll experience it, but sheâs willing to pretend to be anything sheâs not if it brings her closer to her goal. The next few weeks are poured into research.
The Knight In Toll
The travel to Starfallâa region where Laurellaâs reputation finally doesnât precede herâshould be a smooth vacation. Laurella will force it so, despite the individual arriving in toll with her being Lucien, her right-hand Knight. Unchosen, because he was chosen as Princess Claudiaâs right-hand Knight first. Now, heâs Laurellaâs. A complicated relationship. Theyâve known each other since teenhood. His disdain and grudge runs equally as deep as everyone elseâworse, maybe, with his closeness to her sisterâonly he will not allow her to die, to fail again as he did with Claudia. His loyalty does not lie with Laurella, but with the House of Vance and Queen Constance, which is very inconvenient for someone who follows her everyday. Hopefully this trip changes that! ⊠because Laurella is starting to get tired of entertaining this grudge.
Things to note about her kingdom:
Aggressively matriarchal. Queens hold all sway, so may be a bit unused to showcases of otherwise.
Line of succession dictates under no exceptions Heir status is transferred to next in line kin in the event of a Queen or Dauphineâs death⊠even if that kin is suspected to have had a hand in murdering said DauphineâŠ
Succession is passed only when the current Queen has passed away.
Tensions have risen with Queen Constance and the noble households latelyâŠ
Preview of some of Laurellaâs outfits:
*Whew, Iâve been obsessively working on these two for the past couple of days! I get far too much decision paralysis to be in CAS for a normal amount of time, đ« (but srsly, thank you again two times over, @opalescence-sim, for the extended time). Upside is itâs been fun writing lore đŠ.
*As you can see, her outfitsâLucien's a bit tooâare Victorian-inspired, but feel free to go rogue if you want to change up her outfits. I tried to show it a little in her Party Outfit 1, but sheâs definitely willing to temporarily change up her clothing style if it appeals to Valaruxx or House Dayneâs aesthetic. Sheâs a bit conservative with her clothing, has a I hope obvious in its intention blue and red color scheme (which like I just realized the correlation between House Dayneâs Purple?), but other than that, tweaks are welcomed!
*Sheâs vaguely intended to be French in all but visual generics, and victorian clothing and⊠Being historically accurate would drive me crazy, take the french inspiration as you will.
Episode 2: First Head of Household! - Comp 2/4
what is big brother? / beginning / previous / next
A/N: Iâm alive! And very fatigued and exhausted⊠But alive! And wanting to get a move on with Big Brother, lol. I appreciate the comments on my last recent post! Iâll be getting to them later today đ«¶. Still going to be a little inactive as I get better, but yeah. I also plan on releasing a pose pack of all the hottub dialogue scenes (which, because of angles, you guys couldnât even see them all in their glory bah), so gotta work on that, too! Sidenoteâ Wow, I cannot believe it is Wednesday again already. Iâve done nothing but consume movies and books T_T
Hey, guys, this is scheduled but I just wamted to inform everyone of no post today. Unfortunately, Iâm sick and itâs hitting me like a tsunami. Iâm doozy qnd exhausted writing this, so Iâm going to go rest. Hopefully, I get over this soon, and get the energy to reply to you guysâ previous replies đ«.
Episode 2: First Head of Household!
what is big brother? / beginning / previous / next
Quick but sloppy notice (âŠbecause I was lazy and forgot to mention before), everything is based on gameplay and is literally just reenacted through posing, minor changes sometimes, and me figuring out a simâs intentions in a scene. Plus, you know the power of hindsightâsomehow everything this week fits into a perfect narrative even with these early posts??
Setting aside the long list of autonomy and relationship tweaks mods, in terms of things influencing gameplay, I use the Strategic Interactions modâunfortunately on CFâfor big brother gameplay decisions (if you play through reality TV show challenges like this I strongly recommend the mod. Itâs seriously the whole reason why this whole week has been so crazy). Some character decisions in the future are also dictated through dice rolls or coin flips, so a coin flip to decide if a simâwhere it already makes sense character-wise to ally with another simâactually goes through with initiating an alliance, or like a D12 to decide which sim a sim will talk to if things are slow.
I plan on smoothing out details on this explaining and all that when I eventually get to making the Big Brother navigation page, but yeah. Rushed, and hopefully everything makes sense, but just wanted to be transparent on that đ§ž.
And because I do like showing off BTS a little, hereâs an example of what I was saying:
Originally, this was gonna be a Sims Reality TV/Dating Show type of Challenge that I was planning to propose to my fellow Simmers in the SCU group - but I panicked and decided to run through the challenge with my own chosen couple first before I disappoint anyone. (âąá·áŽâąá· á”)
So this challenge is basically "Can Sims who don't know each other make it through 12 weeks of marriage and still be together at the end?" If yes, they win - if not, they don't! Kinda simple, right? (á”âáŽâ)
The whole concept is sorta hard for me to explain in words alone so I thought, hey; why not just show it instead? So here's my attempt at my first a new 'series' that I'll post when I get things together! àŽŠà”àŽŠàŽż(Ë” âąÌ Ꭰ- Ë” )
There will be marriage, there will be 'getting to know you' stages, there will be couple's counselling with 'matchmaking experts', there will be tough decisions, there will be conflict, there will be tears...
And hopefully there will be lots of love! âĄ
DISCLAIMER: This is inspired by and based on the Reality TV Show âMarried at First Sightâ which is described as a "bold social experiment" where single people are matched by 'experts' and meet each other for the first time at their own wedding!
BONUS CONTENT:
The Placeholder image that's gonna appear on my navagation pin ooooh~
Sneakpeak woo, woo, of which is entirelyâsave for the obviousâcomprised of pretty unedited pictures of the week that I have on my phone đŹ! As for the importance of any of these pictures or, in them, reoccurring people throughout the week, Iâll leave for you guys to decide đ„ž. Weâll be back for EP2 on Wednesday or Thursday!
below is an extra I wanted to show off the moment I shot it, lol. luck-based, cough, I mean endurance-based hot tub challenge is indeed in for the first head of house competition đ.
âYouâre on Big Brother!!â â Last Six Full Picture Intros đ·
you know the drill: yap session is under the cut!
đ„
This time, I can say everyoneâs intro pictures correlate to each of their introductions posts (well, shoot, this doesnât apply to Harper, so I canât say that exactly). Nonetheless, the queue and editing process for Big Brother is going swimmingly despite the fact that Iâve been too busy to work on it. A good half of episode 2 (estimated to be around 26 posts? also the longest episode for this big brother week I think?) is done and just needs to have done the dreaded task of being edited â ïž. Anyway, filler and giving myself like four more extra days to work on the queue has never hurt anyone, so this is like a mini episode hiatus! Expect a little teaser of the upcoming episode before it âairsâ like in a day or two!
Also, this time I feel everyoneâs pictures are pretty self-explanatory, so (for getting this out when you see this) timeâs sake, no scrap notes for this \o/. Feel free to ask questions regardless!
oh, you know what, clarification can be had for Polly, though. I had meant to make it look like she was miming when she caught sight of the camera but well⊠a little bit of a failure.
Thanks for tagging me, @simmlyellie! I finally had some freetime to catch up on tag games đ”âđ«. It may take forever getting to them but I always really appreciate you guys tagging me with these đ«.
Age you started playing Sims?
Technically 10-14 (maybe?) if you count the avid player I was with the sims freeplay. I would watch YT videos of the sims watching through a glass window. Whole new world finally opened up when my sister gave me a copy of TS4 for free.99 đ€§. Anyway, that love for sims turned out to be on-and-off relationship (quickly found out how boring TS4 base game was after a few weeks) until it finally stuck with me buying TS3.
Favorite Sim right now?
Well, if we look in my admittedly dusty basket of OCs Iâd say it continues to be Vasyl, but if we look at it from a current prject point of view, my favorite sim in big brother would beâ
The first family you ever played?
The first family I ever played was a recreation of my own of course, lol. The first real, real family I played and created though was the Osorio family. RIP my founder then, Xena Osorio. Iâm begging for a 64bit version of TS3 because I can not play that savefile anymore :(.
First expansion pack you ever got?
I actually donât know. For The Sims 4, it has to be maybe Get Together or City Living, and for The Sims 3, I remember my first sorta EP experience being with Ambitions.
Things you would like to be added to the game?
Things I would like to be added to Sims 4 specifically is nothing! Seriously, the day TS4 finally stops being updated will be a good one. I am trying to live a lifestyle where I never have to update mods this frequently.
Favorite world?
It has to be Windenburg! If Windenburg has no diehard fans, the world has fallen into dismay and I am nowhere to be found.
Your 3 traits from sims?
1. Loner â As much as I love the company I have, some time ago my social battery started dying much quicker, snd letâs just say it hasnât gotten replaced đ.
2. Perfectionist â One day this wonât be in my top 3 defining traits⊠One day!
3. Music Lover â Self explanatory đ¶
What wouldâve been your toddler trait?
It definitely wouldâve been independent to a strength but fault at times.
Favorite cc creator?
I donât really cc shop, unless I absolutely need to (and each time I need my cc folder suffers tremendously), but I think itâd be @boschianacc!
Oh, and I tag @townsenddecades, @revivedwhimsy, @emerpsive, and @invisiblequeen \o/. If youâve done this already, then well!
