Hello and thank you for looking at Casper's friendly interest check. I've not been writing here for a year or two but I carry on sticking my head around the door like an old (slightly shy) friend and now in a pique of creative positivity I have decided to put together a little interest check. I only have one hard rule and that is that any roleplaying partners are over 18. I think I am a rather easygoing fellow and quite fluid with my roleplaying expectations so see the obligatory hidden list of asks not as hard and fast rules, but more an indication of the kind of writer I am and to give you an indication of whether we are likely to gel together well. [hider=That list you go through and go, 'oh gosh, you're not for me' (or maybe not)] [list] [*] I would say I write at a Casual level. I very rarely write anything less than a few paragraphs and usually write quite a lot more. I feel one gets out what they put in and I will occasionally feel terribly (yet needlessly) guilty if I feel I have given a writing partner 'nothing'. I won't get upset at poor grammar or spelling but I probably won't mesh well with writers who just write a few sentences in a post. [*] Right now I feel I have LOADS of spare time (which is probably completely different from the reality). When I am engaged in a story and real life is keeping quiet I will post daily. Alas work, real life (and taking on one too many roleplays) does happen and impacts on posting frequency. As a rule one can assume I will post a few times a week. My writing partners slowest pace is always fine with me. Please don't ghost me though - if a roleplay isn't working out or you don't have time then please let me know. It happens. Sometimes stories run out of steam and I won't be annoyed or upset about it. [*] I lurvvve plotting! I love kicking ideas back and forth. I love thinking about plots and characters when I should be working. I am a dreamer.... :dreamy We'll get on great if you like sharing ideas OOC and respond to ideas with [i]'yes...but...and,'[/i] or send [i]'what if...'[/i] messages at strange hours. For me our story is far more important than my character. It's not as much fun if we aren't collaborating. [*] Talking of OOC, it's not essential of course but if you like chatting then that's a plus for me. As an aside, I do enjoy exploring darker, mature themes in my writing but for that to work I have to trust my writing partner and feel we are both safe and open about what we are comfortable with. Good communication is a real plus for building rapport and trust. [*] If it matters I am male but I do enjoy writing characters of any gender. I enjoy doubling up too. I tend to gravitate towards writing male characters but it isn't a 'must have'. [*] I am unlikely to instantly provide a partner with a 1,000 word Character Sheet (unless it is someone I have used previously and know inside out). My characters start off with an idea or a brief outline and I develop them in our story. I often don't have an idea who my characters [i]really[/i] are until I begin to write them. [*] I struggle to visualise characters if their images are anime characters or drawings. I would be really grateful for a photographic image face claim for characters. [*] I am not a massive fan of fandoms, generally preferring to build something of our own. [*] Which leads me to...I prefer characters who are 'real', grounded, with faults and failings. I love putting them through hell. Hyper competent / successful / rich characters tend to bore me. And finally.... [*] In the immortal words of Salt-N-Pepa [url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ydrtF45-y-g]Let's Talk About Sex[/url]. I ADORE romance, especially a long slow burn where it isn't clear whether it will work out or not. When I feel our characters are connecting it makes my heart sing a little. If our characters leap into bed after eight posts I will probably lose interest. I love a bit of smut now and again, and I am more than happy with fade to black but I really don't want to write pages and pages of smut. I think it makes my writing mechanical rather than passionate and erotic. I also recognise most sex isn't like what you see on [i]those[/i] websites and I am just as interested in writing comedic or dreadfully unfulfilling sex as I am writing super fun sexy times. [/list] [/hider] Well if you're still here I have a few pairings you may be interested in. Feel free to pitch something to me or suggest ideas based on the below. I have lots of other ideas and I am sure you do too! [hider=A Life Lived Together] Our characters would be an elderly married couple in the twilight of their years. Perhaps one or both of them is very ill. Our roleplay is them sharing stories between each other where they recall their lives. Where they happy? Did they have children? What happened to them? What made them fall in love? What made them stay together? We can write this as the sweetest love story or a story of healing and redemption. Their lives could have been happy or filled with tragedy. Using time skips, misremembering and other devices we can create a wonderful story of two people looking back. I have a couple of ideas for 'the big twist' but the beauty of this story is in the process of remembering and sharing and us developing their life as we write. [/hider] [hider=The Abyss] This is a gritty, grimy story featuring two heroin addicts. They could be partners, they could be friends, they could be family. Their story is about them both trying to escape the throes of addiction together. In my head one of the characters is further 'gone' than the other and the seesaw of the story is whether one pulls the other deeper into addiction or the other pulls them clean. It's a story about failure, of messing up and deluding oneself life can be different. If anyone wants to set this story on a British council estate any time in the last forty years or so then I'll love you loads! [/hider] [hider=Night Shift] This pairing I have a clearer idea of my character who will be a male immigrant in his mid-40' from a conservative culture. He's in an unhappy arranged marriage with a couple of children. His wife is a good person and they care for each other but they have never loved each other truly and he is desperately lonely. He's a taxi driver and each night he picks up a prostitute to drive her home after she has finished working. I am as much interested in her story. What her life is like and what led her to her circumstances. Whilst romance is a possibility in this story it definitely isn't the purpose and smut is off the table (any sex, by the nature of the characters wouldn't be erotic). This is a story about an unlikely friendship, where two people from different cultures who may not approve or understand each other grow to be the closest of friends. When that friendship cements there are loads of avenues we can take this story. [/hider] [hider=The Cell] The two characters are part of an animal rights activists group engaged in secretive actions. Maybe one is an police infiltrator, maybe one is new and eager to make a difference, maybe one is experienced in clandestine rescue activity and has taken a new member under their wing. Definite action and spy / suspense options, potential romance. Maybe someone gets to involved and doesn't know how to get out. Maybe this becomes a prison love story. *Whilst one does not have to share the opinions / lifestyle of the characters in this story I would expect all characters to be respectful to the perspectives and philosophy of animal rights* [/hider] [hider=Witches, Witches everywhere] I love writing witches! I love covens! Either modern day, medieval and anything in between. We could be a black arts coven or we could play it for laughs. We could be a pair of witches weaving magic in the every day to make the world a better place. Dancing naked in glades by the light of the moon! [/hider] [hider=I'm with the band] This is my 'ridiculous excess writing itch'. Our characters are either in a band, or following / working with a band as they go on tour. This story will have lashings of hard drugs, booze and sex. Our characters will likely be complete assholes and massive egomaniacs. 80's glam and sleaze bands are a great reference point. At some point there will be a dead body in a hotel room.... [/hider] [hider=Once Upon A Time] I am a sucker for fairy tales and I love different interpretations of them. I am really open to all sorts of ideas here and in different settings and time periods. I have an idea of Bluebeard waking up as a woman and coming to terms with what he has done but really any story can be twisted and subverted. I love the idea of Cinderella not being whisked off her feet passively by the Prince and making her own way in the world. We can do horror, romance, comedy....I just love playing with the tropes. [/hider] Thanks a lot for reading and drop me a PM if interested.