- Joined
- Aug 6, 2012
- Messages
- 309
- Reaction score
- 3,149
- Points
- 633
- Location
- San Francisco
- Website
- twitter.com
Oh my most precious geeselings,
The season has yet to even begin and the flutters of belly-trapped butterflies are propelled to great excitement on the WIND of the sighs of debutantes and bachelors oh-so desperate for companionship--I should hazard it more prudent to desperately cry for a mint, what with the exhales...
Indeed, the tepid waters of the previous "social seasons" in the years past proved murky and ambiguous, though comfortable enough for any little geeseling to paddle contededly--WANTONLY alone. I suppose the burden of fault cannot be placed squarely on you all in this regard. What regard? The regard WITH WHICH I REFER TO is the greatest anxieties and paranoias of the impending season! Bury the burden!
I myself am still wading through these most putrid and stangnant waters of yesterseasons, meeting with family heads and obtaining my GRAND head count. If I've yet to meet with you or your DELEGATION... WHY AM I STILL WAITING??? Oh my tantalizing little cinnamon buns, if you've yet to meet with me, DO, AT LEAST, WRITE WITH YOUR LIST OF SINGLE DEBUTANTES AND BACHELORS CURRENTLY RESIDING IN THE CITY, PER MY LAST PAPER!
This is my last note before my first true SOCIETY PAPERS begin, thus opening this social season IN CONFIDENCE. Until then, my lovable lollipops.
Attached you will find a shortnote on the CONCEPTS and VOCABULARY of the social season. Familiarize yourself with this, THIS, THE WRIT OF WHISTLEDOWN!
Warmly, and perhaps with a little kiss,
Mistress of WHISTLEDOWN
Maria Céline of the House Solisti
THE WRIT OF WHISTLEDOWN
The intent of this impending social season is for each noble house of the capital to be galvanized from their OBSERVED lacklusterness in regards to the institutions of marriage and courtship. Thus, I hereby obligate at least one debutante or bachelor from each noble house, hereby referred to as their primary. A noble house's primary debutante or bachelor will represent their family in the eyes of the Imperial Court--and of course, ONE'S OWN MOST ESTEEMED SELF. Indeed, while the social season is a means to appropriately express courtship and the preambles to marriage, this social season shall ALSO serve as a means of the city's noble houses vying for approval from not only me, BUT HIS IMPERIAL HOLINESS THE EMPEROR HIMSELF!The social season will last for some many weeks. Timely to tradition and EARNEST pursuit of marriage, particular events shall be hosted to facilitate appropriate EXPRESSIONS of courtly pursuits and noble yearnings to wed. The many events that will make up the bulk of the social season will be varied and diverse, catering to the APPARENTLY ECLECTIC dispostions of the peerage. But, guaranteed are three such events: The Debutante Ball & Debut, The Bachelor's Joust/Tourney & Bachelor's Debut, and the End of Season Ball.
The Debutante Ball & Debut will be a fabulous affair held in the high evening and night beneath the glittering chandeliers of the Imperial Palace. Here, the primary debutantes will be presented to the Emperor, where they will humbly beseech him for his consent to debut into the social season. Afterwards, a lavish ball for debutantes to endear themselves to earned Imperial favor--or scorn. Likewise, the Bachelor's Jouse/Tourney & Bachelor's Debut will be a contest of brawn and chivalry for primary bachelors, after their own presentation to the Her Imperial Grace, the Queen of Lusits.
The End of Season Ball shall be the concluding event of the season. Even while proposals on bended knee may have be made, or engagements and promises written to the parchment, no match shall be secure nor official till the season's end. At the End of Season Ball, we, the SOCIETY OF THE SEASON, shall return to the Imperial Palace, where proposed matches will meet final approval from the Emperor--and any primary matches not made by the end of season, are thusly made so--with the WHISTLES of advice to the Imperial Ear from ONE'S OWN WHISTLEDOWN!
The rest of the events shall come when they come. Until then, prepare your wardrobes! The Mistress of Whistledown and INDEED the EMPEROR shall be wanting for all debutantes and bachelors to wear WHITE during any and all WHISTLEDOWN events! (accents of family colors are BEGRUDGINGLY permitted)
Vocabulary:
It's all very simple. Though, don't pose me as some cantankerous DICTIONARY--you know what I mean and I do hope to know what you mean with your VOCABULARY.
- The social season/societal season: The some-odd-months-long period of courtship and debut, ultimately culminating in the finale weeks of marriage proposals. Indeed, the social season refers to the period of time IN WHICH WE SHALL ENDEAVOR a most LEGENDARY expression of nobility, sophistication and Unionist ZEAL.
- Primary: The debutante or bachelor that represents their noble family to the Imperial Court and ME, WHISTLEDOWN. They are the main actors in society papers, with an EXPRESSLY keen eye kept on them for their participation and performance in events. A primary is also a season participant.
- Season participant: Any eligble single of the nobility or particular individuals invited into the season by Whistledown--ME. Season participants are not expressly scrutinized for the purposes of MATCHMAKING family representation, however.All such eligible singles are invited to participate and perform in the social season--and consequently lay themselves open to the mercy of ONE'S OWN QUILL. Oh, what a great upset it would be should a family's primary debutante be upstaged by their own non-primary, season participant cousin bachelor...
- Debutante: Our female singles in dire need of a husband.
- Bachelor: Our male singles in dire need of a wife.
- Sponsor: The familial guide and confidante allowed to debutantes and bachelors, expected to be their sort of extended personal representation--a result of their seasonal nurturing. Sponsors will be allowed with their debutante or bachelor during more exclusive singles events. Sponsors are by default the family head of the primary or season participant, but can be delegated to another with consent from Whistledown. Otherwise, Whistledown appoints particular sponsors where necessary.
- Courtship: The public expression of POTENTIAL intention. Courtship, my delicate doves, is a CEREMONY expressed a MULTITUDE of times in a single's life, no less in one season! To be courting another in the AUSPICES of the social season is to merely declare a PARTICULAR affection, with the WHISPER of proposal apparently just a short time away. Courtship is still, however, quite a superficial status to hold--like a poorly-made rumor, it is fickle to the winds of whim. Courtship can end as quickly as it can begin, and in some cases, a good performance in a social season is founded on a multitude of courtships. Courtships ought to be public as soon as it is agreed upon by both season participants, and likewise all should be informed whenever one ends.
- Society papers: My weekly publications of my RATINGS of the nobility's primary debutantes and bachelors. Such papers will be written with the intention of simply providing EARNEST insight into the machinations of the Imperial Court and mine-own favor as WHISTLEDOWN on the performance of these primaries representing their family.
TL;DR & OOC:
- All family heads must send a list of single debutantes or bachelors to the Mistress of Whistledown, along with their choice of their primary debutante or bachelor.
- All nobile families are required to offer at least one 'primary' debutante or bachelor unless all family members in the capital are already married, eunuchs, or barred from marriage due to knighlty or religious obligation.
- 'Primaries' will be the main characters that will represent their family to Whistledown and the Imperial Court. The weekly Whistledown posts will be largely centered on these characters. Primaries will be obligated to courtships or to find a match and secure an engagement, lest the End of Season Ball arrive and matches are duly made.
- If your character isn't particularly built as the conventional debutante or bachelor, you can also participate as a sponsor of a debutante or bachelor, earning presence in any of the more exclusive events for the seasons participants and primaries. Engage with Whistledown via letter or find me in RP in any way most conventional to be a sponsor, or if the family head wishes to delegate the status of sponsor to someone else.
- While the papers and ratings will be focused on the primaries, all eligible singles of the nobility are invited to participate in the season and are able to earn commentary/rating in posts from their pursuits and narratives in the season. Again, the only real difference is primaries are to be guaranteed a marriage by the season's end--non-primaries participating in the season are not.
- Papers will be published weekly and ratings of primaries will be made from: interactions with Whistledown, rumors of the primary Whistledown has heard, partipation and presence at Whistledown events, quality of DRAMA, adherence to Whistledown's arbitrary expectations, and so on.
- While bigger and more thematic events are being planned and in the works, there will be spontaneous openings of Mother Goose's Pond, where Whistledown invites debutantes and bachelors to a particular gathering. These will be regular sorts of events even between larger ones, at different times to accomodate time zones/IRL schedules at various days of the week. Keep an eye on the high society events text channel, where I'll ping for some juicy roleplay!
- Whistledown's first arbitrary expectation is that any and all debutante or bachelor to wear all white, except any accents of family colors, to all Whistledown events, including the spontaneous ones.
- If you have any questions feel free to ping me on Discord (baba#6759) or PM me here on the forums. In all honesty this is a WIP amateur sort of system but I'm excited to get it up and pumping and live my Bridgerton fantasy. Anyways. Have a good day lovebirds <3
Last edited:
