@Ziggy-loves-Shiggy
All of the nations of old have been forgotten, and the world is now largely ruled by monarchies. Sure, other forms of government are in place, and these monarchies vary greatly in how much power is given to the king or queen. Nonetheless, kingdoms are back, and more majestic than ever.
And then there are the arranged marriages. Awful things, aren't they? They always tell about how some unfortunate young princess is forced to marry some 30+ something year old snot of a "prince" who couldn't find himself a decent woman outside of an arranged contract agreement. They tell the stories where the princess finds a way out of the predicament, whether by fleeing or finding someone else to marry… or sometimes even by killing her husband-to-be.
But what about the princes? It isn't always all peaches and cream for them, either. They aren't always old and desperate creeps, beer-bellied jerks, or prideful little snots. Sometimes they're the unfortunate ones in this arrangement.
Like you. You're definitely the unfortunate one in this arrangement.
You are the only son of the Queen, and your mother is ill. You're in line to become the next king. Your mother is an excellent ruler and has led this kingdom for many years without fail since your father died many years ago, but now that her strength wavers, so does the entire kingdom. The people grow restless, and the economy is slowly falling now that the Queen cannot oversee all of the decisions, and the bumbling idiots beneath her are running this place into the ground. The stress on your mother is only quickening her death, as she frets for the future this kingdom she has sustained for so long— and for you, who will have to rule it when she's gone.
"I don't want to leave you to run a failing kingdom with no support, my love," your mother says to you one day as you're at her bedside. Though her face is creased with worry, you can still see the gentleness and strength in her dark eyes. She reaches for your hand, takes it carefully in her own. "I have made an arrangement with the neighboring kingdom— as they are much wealthier and larger than we are— for you to take their daughter, Princess Zara, to be your wife."
The news shocks you. You are known for being a rather… soft fellow. Quiet. Timid. Certainly not one who would be able to withstand a marriage against someone like Zara. She is only a couple years older than you at the best, but good grief— the woman is known for being a crazy person. Maybe not clinically insane, but mean and bossy and sadistic. You've seen her a few times at special events and balls. She always terrified you, and was always terribly insistent on talking to you. And now, you are going to have to marry her?
Yep. Your mother wearily informs you that there is no other option, and that the marriage is already arranged. Two weeks from now.
And you're not so sure you can go through with it.
Setting: A slightly futurized, mild-fantasy, dystopian setting with a lot of modern-day elements; it is highlighted by the fact that the current governments in place are mostly monarchies.
Rating: Probably safe for ages 13+, but I will put a 16+ warning on it just in case. I tend to expect myself to go darker than I actually do, but we shall see. If you want me to tone it down I definitely can and will.
May contain… Violence, blood, gore, references to mature themes, high-stake scenarios, torture, and negative references to mature, dark, questionable themes (though they will not be recurrent and will only be viewed in a negative light; please ask for clarification if you need to).
Will not contain… Scenes containing sex or rape, (though references to sex/rape and innuendos may be present; please specify if you would like to avoid these altogether), smut or vulgarity, demonic elements, ritualistic abuse, and etc.
Let me know of any triggers in advance, please. I can get quite dark and I do not want to hurt anybody, so please please tell me what bothers you.
Plot:
As you can gather from the blurb above, your character is a timid, quiet young man who is destined to take the throne when his mother dies… which is unfortunately close. In an attempt to save her failing kingdom (and you, from being killed if the kingdom does fall), she has arranged a marriage between you and the princess of a powerful neighboring kingdom. However, the princess is known for being almost nothing like you. She is intelligent (as you also are), but unlike you she is kind of terrifying; you're 99% sure she will destroy you just because she is borderline a psychopath. Not to mention, she's obsessed with you, even if you aren't aware of it yet. She's been hoping to have your hand in marriage since you were both much younger.
So you kind of have a crisis. You're about to be married to a crazy woman and become the king of a kingdom that seems more or less doomed. In a panic, you flee from your kingdom. Maybe you don't intend to come back at all, or maybe you're just looking for a moment to get away. Either way, you meet a stranger in the forest, a conspiracy theorist and rebel against the surrounding kingdoms, and what happens from there… well, it's up for us to find out I suppose.
It's kind of in the style of a "Choose-Your-Own-Adventure." It will be a romance, but who you want to try to have your character end up with will actually be up to you, because I will have a handful of characters to interact with him throughout it. I literally create characters out the wazoo, so look at this entire thing as an open-world, choose your own adventure type thing. Your character runs around and does whatever, meets whoever, and his actions effect every relationship he has as well as the course of the entire RP. He can befriend just about anyone or make enemies with just about anyone.
If anyone is interested in this, I would really love to do it. I've been craving something like this for days.
