Posting Guidelines

First and foremost, I would like to discuss posting requirements. Yes, we are in the casual section but that does not mean we are allowed to slack or be boring because a boring role play dies quickly and I’m sure we would all like this to continue for a long while. So here, I will list that which I require from all of us – I included.

No. 1, Post Length
Casual requires us to post only two or three paragraphs, though considering this as a high casual – advanced role play I would like everyone to post to the best of their ability, with a minimum of three paragraphs per post. Between three and six paragraphs per character is ideal, though more than that is always welcome as long as it’s not a drag along bore that we all have to read through.

No. 2, Depth, Description and Quality
When posting, keep in mind that a good quality post has a good amount of description and character depth. As mentioned above, a minimum of three posts is required, but having most of it be just dialogue is unacceptable. Describe facial expressions, body language, and tone of voice and NPC audience reactions when the character does a vast amount of speaking. When passive you can easily speak of how the character relates to others, or their background. Does that make sense?

No. 3, Frequency
I have to say that how often people post tends to greatly affect how a role play progresses. Longer posts do take a certain amount of time to produce, and shorter posts take less time. I would prefer that for now we adhere to the ‘two post rule’ so that we have a sufficient turn order to be able to not leave everyone else behind. As well a post should be written at least once every 36 hours. If you know you will not have time I would ask that you move your character aside and notify me as well as the rest of the group that you will be away for an extended period of time. If you are waiting for someone to post after the 36 hours, let me know and I will attempt to contact them and let them know.

No. 4, Interaction
A post with no action is often hard to respond to, so, even if your character does not often interact with others often or well, then have them do something that could possibly attract attention. If you do not try, then you cannot complain. If you need help, ask in the OOC for tips or to see who is free. And when spoken to, never ignore those who attempt to interact with you.

The young woman had woken earlier that night after a short rest between lessons and her fitting for the gown she was to wear later tonight. It was a special night, for it was her first time in view of the public vampires where she would meet with the aristocratic families; and where they would try to gain the future queens favour by pretending to be her greatest ally at the soirée to be favoured by the current king and queen, the young woman’s parents. The young vampire hadn’t expected to attend any for at least three more years, but her parents’ sudden proclamation and presentation of the beautiful deep red gown had come on the wind when the Archantun sent word that they had a woman they wanted the children to meet. Her brother as well was attending as a surprise and there had been a large amount of excitement surrounding the event. She had washed as well, allowing one of their human servant to dry and brush her hair before her mother had come to help her into the dress that she was going to wear to the gathering of powerful vampires. It was a deep red, the colour of her own blood after she’d fed and fitted perfectly to her own body.

An hour later she was brought from the main house toward the section where they held gatherings, the large room already holding a fair amount of vampires when she walked in with both of her brothers, one of either side of her. Her hair was held half up and in its natural curls and waves, with a set of two pins holding back part of her long, ravens feather hair. The pins were adored with bright red roses, fake of course, and her eyes shone a nervous blue though she was perfectly calm as they entered the room via the spiral staircase by the eastern wall. Vampires stopped and stared at them, though she knew that they were really just looking at her who they had not seen before and would be the most coveted woman of the vampire world just as her mother had been. She could smell humans in the room and vampires, the fire burning in the hearth on the other side of the room tended by two of their human servant – under the effects of her father’s compulsion n doubt – so that no vampire would have to get so close as to possibly injure them. Shoulders back chin up, and a smile on her lips she looked out over the ground of vampires, calm and cool as she stepped down the stairs.

She could see the table with food on it against the south wall, directly across from the door that which the vampires would have entered through, the balconies above them accessible by a staircase behind a smaller door on the eastern wall while the western remained blank. The railings of the spiral staircase were white painted wood while the steps themselves were a soft stained maple wood that still gave off the faint fragrance of maple syrup. From the ceiling hung a chandelier stacked with twenty candles, all flickering and casting their light throughout the room in a soft glow that wouldn’t hurt the sensitive eyes of the vampires who had traveled far to come to this party. The floor was hardwood, perfect for dancing on and freshly redone for this specific soiree, to present the girl to the crowd on her ninety-seventh birthday.

It was a big night and everyone had been hard at work since the moment the sun went down, making sure that everything was perfect for the Princess's exciting debut. With his black hair slicked back and looking excellent in his black tuxedo and blood-red shirt, Lucius had been in the atrium for hours, welcoming guests and making polite small talk with the aristocratic families as they passed on their way towards the ballroom. Many of the more realistic nobles, who realised that they wouldn't have a chance of marrying off a daughter to the future King, instead took the chance to introduce Lucius to their daughters, no doubt hoping he would take to one of them. None of the girls aroused Lucius' interest, but he made sure to remain polite and cordial with each and every one of them.

Finally a servant appeared at Lucius' side and quietly informed him that it was nearly time for the three siblings to make their entrance into the ballroom. He excused himself from the conversation he was having and headed towards the entrance hall where he was to meet his brother and sister. Matthieu was already waiting when he arrived and Lucius gave his Older Brother a nod of greeting. Not long after Viridiana arrived, with a small entourage of servants. As the Princess came into Lucius' view he couldn't help but stop and stare. He had always thought his Sister was beautiful, but he had never seen her like this before. He became aware of the fact that he was staring like a fool and managed to recover himself before anyone noticed. He turned towards the large double doors as the three of them were announced to the guests and, as Viridiana took her place between Matthieu and himself he unconsciously reached out to take her hand, stopping himself just in time.

Lucius stood up straight as the doors opened and, with his shoulders back and a polite smile on his face. It took every ounce of self control that he had to keep his attention on the guests and not turn to watch his sister. With their entrance complete, Lucius decided to grab a quick drink before subjecting himself to a few more hours of meaningless small talk. He slipped through the crowd of guests, offering polite refusals to each attempted interaction, until he reached the refreshments table and picked up a glass of wine. There was fresh blood on offer as well, but Lucius didn't really feel that kind of thirst at the moment. He took a sip from the wineglass and turned to look out over the ballroom, finding that his eyes inevitably came to rest on his beautiful Sister.

He stared at the wine inside of the glass, then took a sniff before a sip as he realized that it was indeed expensive red wine, perfectly aged and crafted by whoever created it. The Prince was honestly never that much of a drinker, but alcohol helped keep his mind off of the events of the night still to come. The room had all kinds of vampires like him inside of it, well groomed and manicured to their fullest extents. He however had grown bored of conversing with them as many had already approached him, many speaking in pompous tongues.

His eyes scanned the room, as the vampire glanced over the many faces inside of it. He could feels the eyes of many of the faces on him as well, some in blank stares, other curious glances. It didn't surprise him at all, he was used to those kinds of looks by now considering his own family, royalty within the blood-drinking kind. He almost leaned against the wall he was standing near, then remembered the proper etiquette that had been hammered into his head like a nail through wood.

"Excuse me, your highness, your presence has been requested upstairs." A human servant girl said to him, starting off the words with a bow, he was a prince after all.

"Yes, I do hope that I wasn't keeping them waiting. I was just doing my duty addressing some of our honored guests." Matthieu said, his eyes upon the ground as he spoke before he gazed back towards the busy floor, his attention on a group of pretty noble girls, one of whom giggled when he looked at them.

"I understand sir, but her highness did tell me to inform you with some urgency." The servant girl replied.

"Of course, the last thing I'd ever want to do is to anger mother on a night such as this." Then he moved away, in the process downing his glass of wine and placing the now empty item in the hands of one of the servants running the floor. The Prince nodded and smiled at the nobles he passed on the way to his destination, all of them acknowledging him back. He arrived to find himself the first one there, his younger brother and sister not yet there, eventually Lucius appeared and tossed a nod at Matthieu who returned the gesture.

Then finally Viridiana appeared, surrounded by a group of servants, her dress long, red and extravagant. God would only know how much that costed to make, but it didn't concern him, money never did, it never had to. The getup made Matthieu feel under dressed for a second, and adjusted his clothing, a fine black tuxedo, dark red undershirt and a red rose right above the breast pocket. He had to admit that she did look stunning as she approached his brother and him, locking a limb with each of them. Then he took a deep breath and waited for the night to really begin.