I support an RP having romance involved in a plot, but it probably shouldn't revolve around it too much. An aspect of something of a more grand scale, complimenting but not consuming it.

It can definitely add some tense depth to a story, I like the suspense it can involve, wondering if, when and where a relationship could take a turn, and if for better, or worse. :3

Having romance can and will add some much-needed spice to a rather drab roleplay. That being said, if the general idea of a roleplay is not centered around romance, then adding it can be unnecessary and disrupt the flow and storyline. Similarly, a roleplay only about romance, be it straight up smut or a story about high school lovers, can also grow stale rather quickly. That is, if the romance is mainly superficial. It's much more interesting to add depth to it, because love is not a shallow emotion. If this level of profoundness can be achieved, then the roleplay can be very, very enjoyable. Unfortunately, it's difficult to go too deep in a large, group roleplay, so I think this can only really work out nicely in the 1x1 section.

I'm not self-advertising here, but I had a 1x1 roleplay with a friend here. The characters were actually together in an older, group roleplay on the old site, and we decided to do a 1x1 sequel with our characters in college. Sure, some of the parts were sappy or not too original, but to date is has been my favorite roleplay and was the first I've been a part of to have an ending.

So, romance has the potential to make a roleplay great. Just keep an eye on how you play it out, and if it's really necessary.

Saying roleplays should never have romance is absurd. What would the world be without love stories? (And while a roleplay isn't a story per se, it's... kinda the same.)

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I didn't read every single post here, but I feel like I just repeated what everyone else has already said. If I did, then... Oops?

I'm perfectly alright with RP romance in and of itself, and actually enjoy it from time to time, but with a few caveats;

1.) It shouldn't be the main focus. I feel there is a difference between a "romance RP" and an "RP with romance in it". The former is creating something forced, matching two characters together and making the entire plot revolve around those two characters. The latter can be virtually any RP at all - any genre, any setup, and still open to all the creative possibilities that all other RP's enjoy - and it happens to involve romance. Nothing wrong with that at all. :P It's when an RP limits itself to just being about a romance that feels sort of... bleh. I'd prefer character romance as a side dish, not the main course.

2.) Let it happen naturally. Building off of point #1, romance RP's make a romance feel forced. You have determined from the start of the RP that characters X and Y will be together, and that just doesn't feel like a natural character progression. Instead, I feel it's better to let romances between characters happen based simply on what those characters would do. You know, kind of like how you determine everything else a character does. Does it make sense for your character to be attracted to this other character? Are their actions, the actions of the potential partner, and the general environment of the RP lending itself to romance, allowing these two characters to fall in love the way two real people would? Then go ahead. Otherwise... if your character is doing things it doesn't make sense for them to do, then that's just not good roleplaying.

3.) Your character is not you, and your partner's character is not your partner. This is the biggest problem that I see with romance RP's, and frankly I find it rather unsettling. When you RP, you play a character. What happens in your IC posts is called IC for a reason - it's not a reflection of what you would do. It's a reflection of what your character would do. And when your character's partner does things, that's their character, and not the roleplayer themselves. Too often I see people, especially in 1x1, seem to act like they think their partner's character is actually their partner, and when their characters develop a relationship, the roleplayers develop a relationship. Honestly I find it... a bit disturbing, and probably rather unhealthy - especially if your partner isn't on the same page as you in all this. Just remember, kids: you are not your character, and RPG is not a dating site. You want to play out a romance between two fictional characters which you acknowledge are fictional characters? That's fine. You want to hook up with someone online while the two of you are both acting under the guise of characters? That's creepy, and you should probably ditch the masks and go to a real dating site where you won't confuse and disturb your potential mate when s/he realizes what's going through your mind when you RP with him/her.

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But despite all these criticisms, I have no issue with two characters in a roleplay forming a natural-looking relationship. No problem at all.

Most the above post I agree 100% with. There's just a few specific points I want to touch on though. And some of it is just adding a footnote, not even really disagreeing.

Kaga said Then go ahead. Otherwise... if your character is doing things it doesn't make sense for them to do, then that's just not good roleplaying.

To be fair, relationships do tend to make people do thing that don't normally make sense for them to do. Love or even simply attraction has a way of getting in people's heads and effectively turning off the logical side of their brain. :P

Kaga said 3.) Too often I see people, especially in 1x1, seem to act like they think their partner's character is actually their partner, and when their characters develop a relationship, the roleplayers develop a relationship.

I've actually had an experience kind of like this about 4 years ago. We had initially met on the Guild in an interest check for 1x1 romance roleplay (I was in still in the phase of going romance RP heavy cause at the time it completely foreign territory for me it was giving me both insight on how they work and simply allowing me to experience something I couldn't in real life) but unlike most of the other RP's I was in this one slowly grew past that. I can't recall exact dates but it took a few months after that RP took off before we actually ended up in a relationship. And during my time in this I had ran into several other people on the Guild who were in similar situations.

However, just to clarify now I think there's a huge difference between a relationship that happens between two roleplayers over time, and a relationship where people confuse the character with the player. I mean the RP in my case I was playing a guy from a gang who basically kidnapped the other player's character to act as a ransom. Totally unlike me in real life, and no rational person should be attracted to a guy who would actually do something like that in real life. But for those are simply are relationships that develop between players overtime, it's open to all the time benefits and con's of a usual relationship (though normally with the extra challenge of distance) and is just as likely to work well and flourish, or work terribly and destroy people internally depending on how both people go about the relationship.

Kaga said Honestly I find it... a bit disturbing, and probably rather unhealthy - especially if your partner isn't on the same page as you in all this.

I can see why, and assuming this is a case where what you're in love with is the character but not the player then I agree.

But otherwise, it's really just a case that's not for everyone. You need a certain amount of (The best word that comes to mind of focus or discipline) that you can make it work through the emotional bond and partnership mainly rather than physical contact (and I don't just mean say making out, or sex. I mean stuff as simple as hand holding, cuddling, have your arm around one another etc.).

Kaga said You want to hook up with someone online while the two of you are both acting under the guise of characters? That's creepy, and you should probably ditch the masks and go to a real dating site where you won't confuse and disturb your potential mate when s/he realizes what's going through your mind when you RP with him/her.

Assuming that was their main intent/goal though, rather than the relationship simply happened naturally over time.

Romance can be absolutely essential. It displays very strong feeling between two constructs which i know can lead to some of the best roleplaying I've ever seen. But i feel it's also important to keep things tasteful. There are young people present who may not be mature enough to deal with certain information in a responsible manner. Aside from that, romance between two characters is fine as long as it doesn't make the rest of the group feel embarrassed and/or feeling excluded (double entendre not intended ). This is a guild for creative writing and to some extent a way of relieve pent up emotions and frustration, but it is not Pornhub.

Catharyn said There are young people present who may not be mature enough to deal with certain information in a responsible manner.

If you mean smut the Guild already has that covered, any explicit sex scene's or actions need to be taken to PMs.

If you simply mean the fact sex exists or that relationships are complicated? The former is solved by fading to black and honestly hiding it's existence is just very unreasonable and not helping those people at all. Especially if raised in a family that likes to censor their children from anything sex related. The latter, it's valuable info to have. Too many people rush into relationships (and I'll admit to being guilty of this one too) where they go "Oh this will be great! We like each other, we love each other and everything will just go dandy because we just like/love each other so much!". It helps to at least have some understanding in advance that relationships are more complicated than that.

Kaga said
But despite all these criticisms, I have no issue with two characters in a roleplay forming a natural-looking relationship. No problem at all.

I played in a 1x1 RP where the two characters were childhood friends who hadn't seen each other in a long time, and quite literally bumped into each other as teenagers, and things went from there. So, not "love at first sight" in the normal sense, but still a "natural" progression, I would think. And certainly one way for a Romance to bud. Or... heh... explode into flowers and rainbows.

Simply that it's sometimes hard to translate what you're seeing, hearing and learning into the context of your own life. We must be mindful, as fellow roleplayers, of the responsibility we might be undertaking as teachers and sounding boards when there are better qualified people.

We as role players undertake no more responsibility as a teacher as your typical teenager does when talking about experiences they had with their friends. And a fun fact of life is that no one ever truly understands what another person is experiencing, or may experience something the same way someone else might. And in all honesty I think it's better for someone to gain some relationship insight from those who may have been in one before (and if not, still get an idea of how other people perceive it) than for the Guild to decide relationships is a topic to hide in general and cause those people as a result to get no experience or exposure, basically setting them up to fail in a relationship whenever they do end up in one because they have no idea what to do.

I agree, but the Guild is no substitute for real life in this regard. Analysis leads to paralysis. Learning whilst on the job (so to speak ) is in my opinion a much more reliable way of learning about relationships than discussing it with someone over the internet. A medium whereby facial expressions, tone and body language don't come close to being on display.

You assume everyone on this site has the popularity or social acceptance at their school to have the ability to gain first hand experience. A lot of people come to sites like this because they were rejected and this is where they get accepted by others. So if their friends here won't expose them to certain things, then no one will.

Personally I agree that RL experience beats practice in an RP, but not everyone has that opportunity.