MU Peeves Thread
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Romance is a hard one for me.
I enjoy flirtation and romantic tension, and a lot of my characters can be flirty and or quietly pine for someone they have a crush on, because those feelings are just delicious for me.
But I’m generally not all that interested in either a blissfully happy romantic relationship //or// a jealous/cheaty romantic relationship, IC. A relationship that has some very interesting challenges or inherent struggles that are tied to a greater, more adventurous plot? Absolutely! But honestly, even people who like IC ‘drama’ tend to be more on board with “oh no, my/your character has fallen for someone else! What do?” than “Our characters may be into each other, but we also stand on opposite sides of this divide that can’t be handwaved away or overcome with the Power Of Friendship - what happens to our relationship when we have to oppose each other’s ambition?”
I tend to consider romantic RP to be just another avenue for interesting plot and IC excitement, and because I do like conflict and tension, I get very, very wary about people who seem too invested in the “love story” between two characters.
I’ve also discovered that since I instituted a quiet rule that my PC doesn’t get romantically involved with any other PC who spends less than half the time showing interest in my character’s thoughts/goals/feelings than they do either talking about themselves or talking about how much they want to bang, the pool of people who would even be eligible for romantic play has shrunk immensely.
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@Pyrephox Any kind of romantic storyline should be supplemental to the character’s story and development, not all-encompassing. When you’re IC relationship is pretty much how the character’s personality is defined by, that’s the kind of thing you don’t or shouldn’t be involved in.
I don't know what I'm doing. Poke at Seven Nations sevennations.aresmush.com port 2021
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@Testament I think that if someone is only interested in romantic RP, that is perfectly fine. The problem isn’t someone wanting the romance to play a big part in the story. It is about everyone being upfront about what they are looking for. If one person is mostly interested in playing out IC romance and the other is more interested in adventure, then that is just an incompatibility. I don’t think we need to go as far as to say that someone who wants to RP romantic plots is wrong. It’s just not what you want to do.
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I love a good love story.
I don’t even have a particular type that I enjoy more than the others. They all have a draw, and if the other writer is fun and invested and not trying to start something weird OOC, I’m cool.
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@Herja I’m not saying it’s wrong, I should note, my previous post perhaps came off a bit more blunt than I was expecting. I just think these are the kind of things that need a certain level of OOC discussion so that everyone is on the same page. For what people’s expectations are and what they’re looking for. By no means am I going to poo poo on people who’s main drive or focus is that kind of RP. But I do think before you have characters step into that kind of character arc or storyline, that you need to talk about what it is you’re looking for.
I don't know what I'm doing. Poke at Seven Nations sevennations.aresmush.com port 2021
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I’d rather want than get. I like to pine. But it’s hard to make that happen on M*s 'cause people will usually IMMEDIATELY 100% BE INTO YOUR PC TOO!!! if you show so much as the faintest inkling of interest.
I should probably talk more OOC with people about my intentions, but then I feel like that lessens the tension and whatever let’s just bang and get it over with.
On Dragon Wings · https://pern.gaslightswitch.com · pern.gaslightswitch.com port 4201
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@Testament okay but that is not what the post I was responding to said at all. You said that no one should be super invested in romance and that is should only be a side story not the main. If you were just meaning for you, that’s fine, but your post seemed like it was placing romance stories as lower than other types of stories. It sort of smacks of the sort of shit that ‘serious readers’ give romance readers even though romance is the most popular book genre.
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@KarmaBum said in MU Peeves Thread:
I’d rather want than get. I like to pine. But it’s hard to make that happen on M*s 'cause people will usually IMMEDIATELY 100% BE INTO YOUR PC TOO!!! if you show so much as the faintest inkling of interest.
I don’t like to pine but I like a slow burn, especially in terms of Feelings, and people want to be insta-true loves or insta-besties after one bar scene in ways that take me out of the RP. It is all down to OOC communication, which I’m still figuring out how to do particularly well. 90% of my issues with RP partners are down to mismatched expectations that were just never hashed out because a 5 minute conversation is hard, I guess.
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@KarmaBum said in MU Peeves Thread:
I’d rather want than get. I like to pine. But it’s hard to make that happen on M*s 'cause people will usually IMMEDIATELY 100% BE INTO YOUR PC TOO!!! if you show so much as the faintest inkling of interest.
I should probably talk more OOC with people about my intentions, but then I feel like that lessens the tension and whatever let’s just bang and get it over with.
I can see that, yeah. For me I find that the emotional drama (story? Saga? SOMETHING) doesn’t have to be immediately over after the first intimacy.
But I also prefer playing PCs for awhile, and some of my favorite ships were long term relationships where the characters were friends as much as they were romantically involved.
That said I’ve had some really amazing writing partners the last few years, so I’m probably spoiled in that those people all had very well developed PCs.
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@Herja I guess that sort of plays into what I perceive as super invested. And I think I’m letting my own preconceived notions bleed into my opinion from the fact of the number of bad experiences with this kind of RP that I’d rather forget about. Because I didn’t have those necessary conversations beforehand. And that’s on me.
I don’t want to invalidate romance arcs, and if that’s how it came off, I apologize. I had a kneejerk reaction to it, because I wasn’t trying to suggest that I didn’t think one type of RP should trump or is better than another, regardless of what that is. I could make the same statement about wanting to do anything but combat RP, that it should be supplemental and not all-encompassing. I think it’s good to have variation, that all those parts make up a good experience and integral to the whole. That’s just my opinion, not some statement that my opinion is more valid than anyone else’s. Really, it’s not.
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@tsar said in MU Peeves Thread:
For me I find that the emotional drama (story? Saga? SOMETHING) doesn’t have to be immediately over after the first intimacy.
Oh fo sho. I’m just much better at inventing roadblocks than… uhm… whatever people do when they RP relationships for more than like five scenes.
I can come up with reasons to keep PCs apart all day long. But those same reasons feel gratuitous to me when they become reasons to stay together.
Give me two PCs that just can’t figure it out, and I’ll play that shit forever. My favorite ship of all time is Mulder & Scully.
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I love slow burn. One of my most recent ships was slowish burn and unstoppable force / immovable object. But now I’m just bragging because I’m spoiled rotten.
let it be a challenge to you
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@L-B-Heuschkel This is like an opera.
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I’ve had some pretty epic PINES, including a really close friendship that was unrequited love on one side with @Pyrephox that was just…SO good.
I did go through a period where it felt like my characters’ romantic interest ALWAYS ended up pining, unrequited, etc., and it was a little lulzy and also a little sad when I did sometimes want to have a little bit of ship! But there was also some really great story as part of that, and I don’t regret it for a moment.
she/her | playlist
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@Roz roz/pining otp
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@sao said in MU Peeves Thread:
I love slow burn. One of my most recent ships was slowish burn and unstoppable force / immovable object. But now I’m just bragging because I’m spoiled rotten.
You are so spoiled.
ETA: I love the initial rush and establishment of a good romance but I love it when the relationship tackles problems together too, supporting each other through separate and joint crisis and the character growth that comes from that. All my favorite romance RP has been long term. Like one night stands are great but have you ever moved a relationship from that into a turbulent emotionally charge marriage, into withstanding an invasion together and leading your armies with your newborn strapped to your chest while your spouses lead your people to safety, only for you to have a passionate reunion a week later?
I draw things! http://www.mahaldoodles.com
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@crawfish it’s ok, they’re robots
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@crawfish I admit, I would like more one-night stands and other “romantic” relationships that aren’t straightforward romances. Give me bitter but conflicted exes. Give me “oh shit, I hooked up randomly with this person and discovered the next day they’re my new boss/employee”. Give me “I woke up after a really wild night next to this guy/gal I hate, and what I remember of the sex was mindblowing, but I still fucking hate them”.
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@crawfish That shit is like catnip to me. Unfortunately the vast majority of my IC ships don’t get that far.
