Any New to RP, likes fantasy, character, plot, themes, humor, action [Closed]

[Goldsole]

Who are you, how long have you been writing and what kind of things do you like to write?
Hi, I'm Goldsole and I've just started writing. I've spent the last 20 or so years of my life reading voraciously though, so I have a little base to start from. Recently, I got into D&D 5e and tried roleplay for the first time, then got into a group that introduced me to text roleplay which we did on the side outside of sessions. I realized that I had written an insanely psychological (compared to my group members) character that would really shine in text roleplay and that I should probably find people serious about writing to play with.

I prefer running male characters, but I can do female characters. It'll just take a more compelling idea to get me going. I also prefer writing queer relationships if writing romance. If writing a MxF relationship, it needs to be handled maturely with the understanding that gender doesn't define a character's role in the relationship, and that power dynamics are always shifting if there's equality. This goes for queer relationships too, of course. I myself am on the asexual spectrum, so at times I find it difficult to relate to people who constantly talk about how attractive other people are. I don't have a problem with it, but you should be aware of that if writing a romance with me because my writing might be a little understated for your tastes.

The things that interest me the most are abstract topics and profound writing. I find that if there is a question I can't easily answer for my character, then I spend a long time thinking philosophically about their situation. I really like dichotomies, keeping in mind they're not necessarily real. So good versus evil, internal conflict, characters being part of two worlds and not being able to reconcile those two parts of themselves, that sort of thing. These abstract ideas work really well with paladins, knights, people who have duties they have to prioritize over themselves, shapeshifters like werewolves, people who have to hide parts of themselves from society, etc. I also really like trying to express a core human desire. What's the most relatable thing to most of us? I suppose in romance, it'd be the pain of loneliness, fear of rejection, whatever. I'm interested in your thoughts.

Ultimately, I think I'm primarily a light-hearted, introspective, and humorous writer. I like angst sometimes, but I suspect that I can't take anything seriously for too long. I'd probably work well in a comedic story where a lot of funny, symbolic, or absurd stuff happens, and every now and then there's a darker, heartfelt moment of genuine emotion and meaning. Or maybe a serious adventure where people banter a lot. I think most of all, I'd like to write something meaningful and emotional, but disguise it in hijinks. I love it when things aren't as they appear on the surface and there's a dramatic reveal.

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How long do your replies tend to be and what is your writing schedule like?
As of right now, I'm relatively available since I'm working from home and I expect to be able to make one post every day or two. I might range from a couple posts a week to multiple posts a day, depending on my life. Whatever happens, I'll be sure to communicate with you about it so you aren't left hanging. I try to match my partner in terms of length, but my post length might vary depending on what's happening, which I'm sure is normal. I find 150-400 words easy enough to write in casual spaces like on Discord, so on here I might be able to do more. Keep in mind I'm pretty new to this whole thing, so if I have any bad habits (not giving you enough to work with, abusing semicolons, etc.) just let me know and I'll make edits. I'm happy to receive constructive criticism so I can improve as quickly as possible.

I generally have a very practical writing style and use minimal descriptions except where necessary, and I tend to pepper descriptions in between other things rather than writing a huge block of description. I think this cuts down on excessive words and lets us move things along better. I may ask for text descriptions of things from you to use later, though. I might also be interested in trying new writing styles.

Other expectations:

• Strong communicator. If I have any doubt whatsoever, I will err on the side of caution and ask you about it. Let me know if I'm going too crazy with this and it's weirding you out. This means I want to talk OOC a lot to make sure we're on the same page, and to share ideas. I just think it'll go a lot better if we do this. It also means I won't ghost you, and I'm going to be as straightforward as possible if it's not working out for me. If things aren't working for you, I also expect you to tell me and help me help you fix the problem. Communicate your boundaries to me. I am not here to fight you as I'm a collaborative sort.
  
• Basic level of literacy. I have no issues with people who don't have great grammar, but I'd prefer it if someone could match my level of bad grammar. Which is mostly semicolon abuse. Also, I don't know how to use dashes or commas.
• Our characters are not us. Their views don't represent our views. We probably shouldn't associate ourselves too powerfully with them because they could die or get hurt. Plus, we have to talk candidly about them OOC and I don't want to risk offending you if you think I'm talking poorly about you.
• Respect. I want you to know that I respect you, so I put effort into communicating that to you. I hope you'll do me the same courtesy.
• I'm happy to talk to you about things other than the roleplay. Don't be shy. If I knew in general what kinds of things interested you, that might even help with the roleplay. This is not a requirement, of course.
• Since I'm new, if you'd like to do a short test before committing to something longer, I'd like that.

What is your tolerance level for gore? Violence?
I don't like senseless violence and gore, but if there's a point to it, I'm happy to go crazy with it. It doesn't bother me. What bothers me is senselessly abusing a character. It just becomes a weird power fantasy at that point. There needs to be a point and you have to communicate that to me. This applies to emotional/psychological violence as well. Otherwise, I love fight scenes and cool action and I'm really interested in learning to write action better.


Do you write any fandoms? (Please bear in mind that any characters under 18 and any high school settings must be aged up)
I don't follow any fandoms currently, but I'd be really interested in writing in a D&D-inspired world. I can probably do Pacific Rim because I used to be in the fandom years ago. I used to read a lot of fanfiction, so if you like fanfiction, feel free to talk to me about it. If you've read Designations Congruent with Things, I still remember that one after several years. Also, I really liked Good Omens the book. I read it a long long time ago, way before the TV series came out. I think it's my favorite book, which gives you an idea about how optimistic I am.


Do you have any pairing or setting ideas?
If something isn't on this list, it doesn't mean I don't like it when it's done well. Please feel free to suggest your idea.

Lists

Settings I generally prefer:

• High Fantasy
• Modern/Low Fantasy
• Sci-Fi (love me some absolute technobabble)
• Steampunk/Cyberpunk

Pairing ideas or situations I generally have some interest in, not all have to be romance:

• Enemies to friends or enemies to lovers (not abusive)
• Complete opposites that are poorly matched and have to learn to get along (helps if there's metaphorical stuff going on here, like each character represents a force, and if they contribute to each other's development)
• Slow burn
• Power dynamics due to social standing, and how characters navigate that to develop an equal relationship even if others can't understand
• Ghosts/Undead and the Living
• Monsters/Gods/Supernatural Creatures and either Humans or just other races
• People who are just on the same quest together and support one another
• People who make each other better
• Beauty and the Beast kind of stuff, except the Beast never turns into a handsome prince. I enjoy it when love is not associated with physical attractiveness because it generally means someone saw worth in somebody as a person.
• Developing trust, opening up to someone despite that being unnatural for the characters
• Mutual pining
• Duty versus personal fulfillment
• Very deep relationships where people understand each other well and are listening to each other carefully

Stuff I generally like:

• Romantic comedy
• Comedy in general (I love comedy, but am I funny? You decide.)
• Banter (I really want some practice writing this)
• Deep stuff, philosophical questions
• Action, plot, tension. I prefer plot with a side of romance, not romance with a side of plot. It seems more romantic to me if people are working together to solve an external problem. I dislike contrived miscommunication in romance.
• Struggle and angst, but life has its ups and downs. Stuff isn't grimdark 100% of the time, and if it was, none of it would matter. It's the contrast between light and dark times that makes things interesting in my opinion.
• Contrast
• Equality, mutual trust, respect, and the ways these can be expressed
• "Weak" characters (due to social standing, unattractiveness, stupidity, illness, moral weakness, etc.)
• Character-driven work, complex characters, psychological characters. I don't like stereotypes or flat, one-note characters. I think very carefully about what a character would think and why they'd do something, generally.
• Happy endings. But I might be down to write a tragedy if that's what's required. Let's talk that out because a lot of the time it's not required, haha.
• Third person, past tense, subjective

Any additional notes you want to add?
If you have any ideas that aren't listed here but you think I'd be interested, shoot me a DM. I'm absolutely down to discuss ideas and I'd really like your contributions because my goal is to work collaboratively on something, not control the whole narrative. I'd also like it if you were on Discord so we could message more easily, but that's not a requirement. I'll probably update this post in the future if I generate more ideas. I'm also looking to take on a minimal amount of projects at once because I get very invested and being new, I'm not sure how much bandwidth I have yet. So I might keep some lines of communication open if there's interest, and wait a bit to make sure I can handle taking on more.

Writing Sample 1 (Violent beheading with minimal description)

He thought back to the blood, again, and the woman. He was the last thing that woman had seen, wasn't he?

He always tried not to dwell on it, as if he could just glance at it out of the corner of his mind's eye instead of looking at it head on, but now it was as if he was back in that moment. The large man held the woman out to him. He grasped the woman's long hair with his stiff left hand, and with his right hand he hacked at her neck. Her blood splattered all over the both of them and spilled on the ground in time with her beating heart. He looked into her eyes, which were dark like his. His sword glinted under the blood, white as her exposed bones. For some reason, his arm felt weak. The sword wouldn't pass through the bones, so he resorted to sawing clumsily.

She made horrible noises and tore at his left hand, which was numb from the scarring, and he was wearing a glove on top of that. She was completely ineffectual, just like him. The large man grabbed her hand and restrained her again. She stared into Vance's eyes, animal fear the only thing visible in her gaze. He wanted to scream, "We're the same!" She thrashed, one of her hands came free again and scrabbled at her neck, then there was a sudden burst of magic; he braced for impact, too close to dodge, heart in his throat, thinking terrified, "It's over!", but it passed through him harmlessly.

His face felt hot, his entire body felt cold. He panted through his mouth, the smell was terrible. Suddenly, he realized that Lieutenant Errol had pulled him aside and was speaking gently to him. He felt the man's warm hand on his left shoulder, heard Errol's kind laughter. "It's normal to be unnerved. But they aren't like us. There's no point in feeling sympathy for them." The man kept speaking, but the words stopped making sense. He realized something warm was dripping from his face and he lifted his left arm to wipe at it, then saw he was still clutching her bloody hair, and hanging from her hair was her severed head.

Her face was slack, but her dark eyes still seemed to be looking at him. He stared at her in mute horror. Her gaze was gentle, and her eyes slid silently shut. Errol, equally gentle, pried her from his frozen hand and sung his praises.

Looking at him, had she seen a monster? He didn't know. But had he allowed the guild to make him into something he wasn't? Yes. There were others after her, and he had not trembled when he'd dispatched them. Had they seen a monster? Maybe they had just seen one of a group of cowards.

Usually, the team would leave the bodies where they were created, like garbage. Vance wondered if he should bury them but decided not to; if the mages had friends or family, those people might want to be able to find the body. Besides, he didn't want to stand out.

He didn't want to stand out...what a stupid thought. Why had he done as they'd asked? Just because he'd been threatened with the fate he'd been doling out? He suddenly thought he would rather have died. Staying alive just to do this kind of thing over and over...it wasn't a life, in his opinion. He was still as ineffectual as he had been on that day. They had him by his worthless balls and he was letting them castrate him.

Writing Sample 2 (Action)

Something went flying past Vance; he saw Valdym rushing up on his right from his peripheral vision. He heard Morris shouting, then something clattering on the ground near his feet.

The wolf on his left was already leaping at him. He brought his shield up with his left arm as quickly as he could, pivoting with the wolf, but his left side had always been a little stiff and he was just a little bit too slow. The wolf ducked and gave a quick hop, seeming to flow up from under his shield, then leapt up and sank its metal teeth into his upper arm. It was an incredible amount of pressure, like his arm was caught in an unrelenting clamp. For some reason he didn't feel any pain. His heart pounded in his chest.

The wolf dragged him down to the ground. He went with it easily and purposefully, falling onto his side in the dirt, slightly winded despite being prepared for the impact. The wolf shook its head as if trying to tear a chunk out of his flesh, snarling noisily, scraping its metal claws on the ground. He relaxed and went with it as much as he could, pushing with his legs against the floor of the canyon, trying to make sure it did as little damage as possible. Next to him in the dirt was one of Valdym's light spears; he didn't think, he grabbed it and jabbed it in the general direction of the wolf's shoulder as his teeth rattled in his skull.

The spearhead bounced off the metal plating once, then twice. He panted, hot blood was soaking the sleeve of his left arm. The wolf was backing up and dragging him across the dirt away from the others; he saw Valdym keeping the other wolf busy, and he heard Holiq shouting. He saw some kind of brassy tube with a plunger on one end on the floor near where he'd been. What the hell was that?

He didn't have time to think about it. He jabbed again, the spearhead caught on something. He tensed his arm, shoving as hard as he could into the wolf's shoulder, and pushed into it with his whole body against the ground. The handle of Valdym's spear bent alarmingly and he wondered distantly how flexible the wood was. The metal spearhead made a scraping noise against the inside of the wolf's plating, and he drove the head harder against the back of the plate, grunting. The wolf twisted, growling, trying to prevent him from getting a good angle, and he wondered if it could feel pain. He heard something whirring inside of its throat and felt an encroaching heat in his arm.

He braced his left arm, using the edge of his shield against the wolf as leverage, and pressed the spear shaft against the other edge, adding pressure with a fulcrum. The plate finally popped off with a crack! and went spinning across the ground, clattering and ringing. The wolf seemed to flinch. Valdym's spear was luckily still intact, and he shoved it hard into the wolf's exposed shoulder, trying to shatter the fragile core he knew was inside. There was a cracking noise as the spearhead made contact with something, and a burst of red light radiated from the beast, along with a gust of hot air that tossed Vance's hair and blew the spearhead back out of the wolf's shoulder.

The wolf yelped, letting his arm go, and he rolled to his feet. He pressed the advantage, wrapping his left arm immediately over its neck and bearing it down to the ground. It struggled under him, snarling, metal limbs clattering against the floor, his blood dripping over its head and into its eye sockets, which housed a burning red light. It snapped furiously at the air with its bloody teeth. He pressed it down with his body weight as well as he could, both arms around it, and threw his left knee down on its head for good measure. He wanted desperately to pry at its hind legs with the spear, but couldn't afford to let go of the beast to do it. His body jerked with the force of its struggling and he panted, mind completely blank.

Writing Sample 3 (Part of a silly dialogue)

Kindle clenched his teeth, irritated all over again. He growled, "You have some nerve acting the way you are after you practically grovelled in apology last time." He figured now was a good time to see if he could get through to Gideon. He eyed the man in the dark and said, "Though your eyes are bright, your mind seems to be a little dim. If I speak to you in your bardic language, maybe that will illuminate things for you."

He stuck his hand into the left front panel of his coat, where there was an interior pocket, and withdrew a creased piece of paper. It was the origami flower that Gideon had passed him casually in the temple, and it had since been unfolded. He cleared his throat and read haughtily from the paper:

"Gideon, tieflings are red,
And sometimes they're blue,
You call me a dog,
But foulblood, I'd never call you."

There, he thought. Clearly Gideon would see how idiotic he was being. The man was so offended when people called him a foulblood, yet he hypocritically committed the same act against other people?

Edit: Closed for now. Currently busy with some projects!

 

[Alex Chris]

That's really detailed... but I'd love to play anyway.

 

[Goldsole]

That's really detailed... but I'd love to play anyway.

To you and to anyone reading this, don't be intimidated. It's true that this is probably a reflection of me and how intense I get about things if I like them, but even if we don't end up writing together, feel free to shoot me a DM and chat about ideas. At the very least, we might both come away from the conversation with new plots. For you, I'll send a DM and maybe we can see if we've got anything.

And at my age, I've learned the more you understand clearly what you want and the more you communicate that honestly, the better things are going to go for you