Autumn is here in earnest, winter soon to follow, and the rain to stay throughout. I’ve nothing now but storms & time. Let's spend the days crafting some lovely characters, and spend the nights watching them rip each other apart. Call me Ci’bio by the by.
Here’s a cheat sheet of what I offer.
I like my steak juicy, my wine blood-red, my dinner table lavish, and it's just the same for my roleplays. Deep character development, a world to get lost in, a struggle that lasts past the first page. Give me something to sink my teeth into and I’ll be satisfied.
I don’t have any demands or designs on where my characters or stories end up, but it must be fulfilling. I can enjoy a long and exploratory look into a world of our own making just as much as a deep struggle between two characters in a lonely castle. And likewise for my romance & smut, I enjoy all flavors from toxic to sweet. But it’s got to be a good show.
I’m fine with wish fulfillment, tropes, and all the other things that make up the foundational literature of this hobby. But I want to see the ramifications of those wishes, I want to see what those tropes become, I want to dig deeper than the foundation. I need these things to start the story- not end it.
Now, I've got a host of fodder for brainstorming below, all made of wax, easy to melt or cut into new shapes as muse takes you. Feel free to wander into my PMs at this point, though, bringing whatever inspirations and ideas along with you. I'm starved for it all.
I’ve been writing and roleplaying for near ten years, having spent this last year almost exclusively writing erotic RP & romance here on site, and I don’t see that changing any time soon. I’ve honed my wants, found my muse anew, and am here to dive right back into the depths.
Here’s a cheat sheet of what I offer.
And a list of what I’d like to see from you.
| 500-3k words per response Daily - Bi-Daily OOC / IC replies CST Time Zone 26 years old Male / He, Him Flunked Classics Major 30-70 / 50-50 Smut-to-Story ratios | 21+ For Characters & 23+ for Partners Minimum 500 Words Replies twice a month, preferably more Basic grammar & spelling Brainstorming / OOC story chatter |
With that said and done, here’s a bit more about my RP style, before we get onto the brainstorming fodder.
I like my steak juicy, my wine blood-red, my dinner table lavish, and it's just the same for my roleplays. Deep character development, a world to get lost in, a struggle that lasts past the first page. Give me something to sink my teeth into and I’ll be satisfied.
I don’t have any demands or designs on where my characters or stories end up, but it must be fulfilling. I can enjoy a long and exploratory look into a world of our own making just as much as a deep struggle between two characters in a lonely castle. And likewise for my romance & smut, I enjoy all flavors from toxic to sweet. But it’s got to be a good show.
I’m fine with wish fulfillment, tropes, and all the other things that make up the foundational literature of this hobby. But I want to see the ramifications of those wishes, I want to see what those tropes become, I want to dig deeper than the foundation. I need these things to start the story- not end it.
Enemies to Unlikely Allies
Two Worlds (That we world build the hells out of) Collide
Grumpy Man x Persistent Woman
‘Earned’ Angst
Corrupted Fairytales
Constant pageants/balls/dances
Two Worlds (That we world build the hells out of) Collide
Grumpy Man x Persistent Woman
‘Earned’ Angst
Corrupted Fairytales
Constant pageants/balls/dances
A virtuous man & a martial woman: Soldier & cleric / Holy monarchy & military advisor / etc
Being past the age of ‘wild romance’ and yet being so susceptible to it.
Love that never was, or barely started, in their early life, that’s reshaped and rekindled in their later life.
Two lovers who take two very different sides of the power structure they’re in.
Survival, war, or struggle that ruins & remolds a once ‘idealic’ relationship.
A pairing of a snarky & statue-esque characters. (Knight & noble, senator & scribe, etc)
Being past the age of ‘wild romance’ and yet being so susceptible to it.
Love that never was, or barely started, in their early life, that’s reshaped and rekindled in their later life.
Two lovers who take two very different sides of the power structure they’re in.
Survival, war, or struggle that ruins & remolds a once ‘idealic’ relationship.
A pairing of a snarky & statue-esque characters. (Knight & noble, senator & scribe, etc)
A diplomat from each side of a civil war, meeting in the snows of winter to prevent a continued war in the coming spring.
Two senators/high-borns from a Greek republic, setting up a government in exile after the Romans take their home city.
A Vestal Virgin & the gladiator that’s hopelessly in love with her.
A queen who’s killed her king to take power, and her newly elected regent who’s onto her.
A high priestess of a foreign religion & an occupying king hell bent on converting her lands. But she converts him instead, and they spark a revolt together.
A pirate with a letter of Marque & a naval captain uneasily allied together to hunt an invasion fleet that’s aimed for the colonies.
Two senators/high-borns from a Greek republic, setting up a government in exile after the Romans take their home city.
A Vestal Virgin & the gladiator that’s hopelessly in love with her.
A queen who’s killed her king to take power, and her newly elected regent who’s onto her.
A high priestess of a foreign religion & an occupying king hell bent on converting her lands. But she converts him instead, and they spark a revolt together.
A pirate with a letter of Marque & a naval captain uneasily allied together to hunt an invasion fleet that’s aimed for the colonies.
I'll add here: These are all historic plots. That's not the only genre I'll play in, just where the solo-writing muse is at currently. Feel free to mesh any of these ideas into other genres or bring your own there in. And expect this list to change regularly.
The Great Game - 200BC-20BC, A Mediterranean Island Chain, Single Pairing/Small Side Cast
She paid for her kingdom with the blood of her sons, forged alliances by giving her daughters away, and let her husband fall in the desert so she might take a general as her new king. But she lost it all just a year after she gained it, backing the wrong horse in a much grander chariot race. Her lands siezed, her new husband put to death, her newborn twins held as hostages, and an occupying army that spread throughout the whole of her homeland, torturing all that remained loyal to the once mighty queen. She yet lived, fleeing to the furthest reaches of the empire and plotting her return to power with every errant wave and uneasy shake of the boat.
While He sat waiting for her. His whole life, he’s been in the shade of greater men. First, his father; then, his fellow senators; then, his fellow governors. Stepped over for every promotion, courted for the wealth of his province, but nothing more. Given scraps from the empire to keep him docile and profitable. And She, this exiled queen of a newly conquered land, would be the last gem in the crown. He had money, connections, a loyal populace, and the knowledge that so few others had.
A civil war is coming.
She paid for her kingdom with the blood of her sons, forged alliances by giving her daughters away, and let her husband fall in the desert so she might take a general as her new king. But she lost it all just a year after she gained it, backing the wrong horse in a much grander chariot race. Her lands siezed, her new husband put to death, her newborn twins held as hostages, and an occupying army that spread throughout the whole of her homeland, torturing all that remained loyal to the once mighty queen. She yet lived, fleeing to the furthest reaches of the empire and plotting her return to power with every errant wave and uneasy shake of the boat.
While He sat waiting for her. His whole life, he’s been in the shade of greater men. First, his father; then, his fellow senators; then, his fellow governors. Stepped over for every promotion, courted for the wealth of his province, but nothing more. Given scraps from the empire to keep him docile and profitable. And She, this exiled queen of a newly conquered land, would be the last gem in the crown. He had money, connections, a loyal populace, and the knowledge that so few others had.
A civil war is coming.
Dance With Me, Please - 1500s-1700s, Eastern Europe, Ensemble Cast
Fanatical ballroom musicians disguise distant cannon fire; Beautiful spire-topped walls keep out a million starving peasants; And each day another once-reputable noble walks himself out a rather high palace window. The empire is long dead; it had languished for a hundred years, but now it was devouring itself. And soon there would be nothing left. No war was planned; there was nothing to gain from this frozen hellhole, well, almost nothing.
All of Europe came to this crumbling kingdom, entertaining and patronizing the wild feasts and balls, but not just because they were addicted to the debauchery. No, they were after the yet living noble men & women. The once illustrious houses, knights, and beauties. And for those unfortunates who came from this snow-covered kingdom, the only way out was marriage. To win the game of courting, to snag a noble from a wealthy dynasty that will take them far from these ice-cold walls and chilling quadrills.
But everyone must be warned before they travel to the Ice Palace for these delightfully tempting prizes: When a waltz can save a life, a failed twirl or a drab dress can take it. And when so much is up for grabs, when your very survival is at stake, a rival suitor is as deadly as the cold and the plague. But far, far easier to be rid of come the morning.
Fanatical ballroom musicians disguise distant cannon fire; Beautiful spire-topped walls keep out a million starving peasants; And each day another once-reputable noble walks himself out a rather high palace window. The empire is long dead; it had languished for a hundred years, but now it was devouring itself. And soon there would be nothing left. No war was planned; there was nothing to gain from this frozen hellhole, well, almost nothing.
All of Europe came to this crumbling kingdom, entertaining and patronizing the wild feasts and balls, but not just because they were addicted to the debauchery. No, they were after the yet living noble men & women. The once illustrious houses, knights, and beauties. And for those unfortunates who came from this snow-covered kingdom, the only way out was marriage. To win the game of courting, to snag a noble from a wealthy dynasty that will take them far from these ice-cold walls and chilling quadrills.
But everyone must be warned before they travel to the Ice Palace for these delightfully tempting prizes: When a waltz can save a life, a failed twirl or a drab dress can take it. And when so much is up for grabs, when your very survival is at stake, a rival suitor is as deadly as the cold and the plague. But far, far easier to be rid of come the morning.
A War Forged Marriage - 1300s-1500s, Iberian Peninsula, Single Pairing/Large Background Cast
War cradles many unfortunates in her arms, and she offers them the world in exchange for the risk of their life. There, in the bloody field of battle, kings are made & killed; dynasties won & lost; names forged & forgotten. Two such ambitious contenders, as they always could, were found there in the aftermath of a horrible battle. Hungry to take all that Mother War offered.
It was in a never-ending religious struggle, deep in the deserts of a once Latinized land, that the pair met. She was found by his men sprawled, half alive, around a pile of corpses & adorned with the sacrosanct blood of her enemies. She was plucked from that crimson flower bed by a young noble of a dead dynasty, and nursed by his own hand back to health. For he knew a legend when he saw one, as he was hell bent on making a new one of his own.
War cradles many unfortunates in her arms, and she offers them the world in exchange for the risk of their life. There, in the bloody field of battle, kings are made & killed; dynasties won & lost; names forged & forgotten. Two such ambitious contenders, as they always could, were found there in the aftermath of a horrible battle. Hungry to take all that Mother War offered.
It was in a never-ending religious struggle, deep in the deserts of a once Latinized land, that the pair met. She was found by his men sprawled, half alive, around a pile of corpses & adorned with the sacrosanct blood of her enemies. She was plucked from that crimson flower bed by a young noble of a dead dynasty, and nursed by his own hand back to health. For he knew a legend when he saw one, as he was hell bent on making a new one of his own.
Wine & Fires along the Rhine River - 200BC-20BC, Central Germany ‘Ghaul’, Single Pairing/Small-Medium Cast
A young senator, ambitious and anxious to prove himself, walked into the simplest trap with a smile on his face. Given a massive, sprawling province so early in his career, he & his supporters agreed without a second consideration. But the land was war-torn, unmapped, and worst of all: unprofitable. His detractors in the Senate expected him to last a month.
So too did Rome’s only ally in the province. She, a tribal leader who had broken all tradition by siding with the Great City, was barely keeping the realm together. Plagued by constant infighting within and constant plots without, she was at her wits' end. She honestly was considering migrating her people further north and leaving this Roman province to it’s fate. Then, another senator comes to take the governorship and likely half the province’s wealth with it. It wasn’t a hopeful fact that this would be his first term as a governor.
Yet, shocking both those at home and in Rome and those in the province, he actually sets out to help the province. Bringing his own wealth and actually making some, minuscule, but earnest improvements to the province as he made his way to the capital. Rumors floated around that he was even dead set on marrying a local to prove his allegiance.
But how much could this pair do for such an unruly land? Could anything truly save it from itself? Or was this just a jug of sweet wine against a raging fire?
A young senator, ambitious and anxious to prove himself, walked into the simplest trap with a smile on his face. Given a massive, sprawling province so early in his career, he & his supporters agreed without a second consideration. But the land was war-torn, unmapped, and worst of all: unprofitable. His detractors in the Senate expected him to last a month.
So too did Rome’s only ally in the province. She, a tribal leader who had broken all tradition by siding with the Great City, was barely keeping the realm together. Plagued by constant infighting within and constant plots without, she was at her wits' end. She honestly was considering migrating her people further north and leaving this Roman province to it’s fate. Then, another senator comes to take the governorship and likely half the province’s wealth with it. It wasn’t a hopeful fact that this would be his first term as a governor.
Yet, shocking both those at home and in Rome and those in the province, he actually sets out to help the province. Bringing his own wealth and actually making some, minuscule, but earnest improvements to the province as he made his way to the capital. Rumors floated around that he was even dead set on marrying a local to prove his allegiance.
But how much could this pair do for such an unruly land? Could anything truly save it from itself? Or was this just a jug of sweet wine against a raging fire?
Empty Armor in the Bird Cage - 1300s - 1700s, in an Old Grove Forest in Ireland, Single Pairing / Ensamble
Lost inside a forest-bound castle, in the heart of the kingdom, a soulless knight and sullen royal lay. Both set to their tasks, both joylessly carrying them out.
For the noblewoman, the task was simple: keep to her duties and studies, shine as the bright star her whole family forced her to become. She had intelligence in abundance, dreams of a place in the wider world, but long ago, that was beaten out of her by her mother and aunts. She would be the prize for some hapless nobleman, with more money than sense, and more retinue than grace.
And for the knight, it was just as straightforward: ward off the woman’s suitors and keep her out of harm's way for his lord and master. The flesh and blood under his armor had long since rotted away in the wake of war. Losing his two brothers, the prince he had failed to protect in the heat of battle, and all his self-respect after carrying out one too many horrors under the banner of supposedly great kings. He did as he was told now, flawlessly, because there was utterly nothing else to do.
The war was thousands of miles away, and they were in a barony of abundance and peace.
But when some dark spell is put on the townsfolk nearby; when men go missing into the night; women begin to huddle in forbidden covens; And a romance blooms amidst this fresh hell between the two of them, their simple tasks grow much, much harder to complete.
Lost inside a forest-bound castle, in the heart of the kingdom, a soulless knight and sullen royal lay. Both set to their tasks, both joylessly carrying them out.
For the noblewoman, the task was simple: keep to her duties and studies, shine as the bright star her whole family forced her to become. She had intelligence in abundance, dreams of a place in the wider world, but long ago, that was beaten out of her by her mother and aunts. She would be the prize for some hapless nobleman, with more money than sense, and more retinue than grace.
And for the knight, it was just as straightforward: ward off the woman’s suitors and keep her out of harm's way for his lord and master. The flesh and blood under his armor had long since rotted away in the wake of war. Losing his two brothers, the prince he had failed to protect in the heat of battle, and all his self-respect after carrying out one too many horrors under the banner of supposedly great kings. He did as he was told now, flawlessly, because there was utterly nothing else to do.
The war was thousands of miles away, and they were in a barony of abundance and peace.
But when some dark spell is put on the townsfolk nearby; when men go missing into the night; women begin to huddle in forbidden covens; And a romance blooms amidst this fresh hell between the two of them, their simple tasks grow much, much harder to complete.
Feasts & Fodder - 500BC-100BC - Athens / A Grand Greek City, Single Pairing / Ensemble
Finally, the detestable wars abroad had come to an uneasy standstill, and Athens again could revel in peace. For one ex-soldier, that meant a new job and a brighter future. He traded blood for wine, gold for a variety of vilas, and comrades for business partners. He was quickly becoming one of the lead organizers of all things joyous and mirthful. From grand plays to sumptuous feasts, he was making a fortune, and he had his eyes on yet bigger prizes. Taking over the government festivals or the city's religious ceremonies.
But his ambitions were twisted by a gruesome murder and a less-than-scrupulous assassin. A woman, dressed as a prostitute, violently dispatches some highborn in the dead of night. The fates must have had their fun with the ex-soldier, because he recognized her. She was the baker he had seen near daily in the marketplace for a year.
He, the next day, had meant to accuse her, to condemn her, maybe even to kill her for such a violent and naked murder. But he was cooled by her beauty, and coaxed by her offer of gold. And when she told him just how much she earned for the killing, his righteous ire melted into dubious curiosity; Maybe his feasts and plays could offer just the backdrop she needed for more tasteful killings; Maybe they’d make more money together; Or maybe they’d end up killing each other in just the same way she had killed that first mark.
Finally, the detestable wars abroad had come to an uneasy standstill, and Athens again could revel in peace. For one ex-soldier, that meant a new job and a brighter future. He traded blood for wine, gold for a variety of vilas, and comrades for business partners. He was quickly becoming one of the lead organizers of all things joyous and mirthful. From grand plays to sumptuous feasts, he was making a fortune, and he had his eyes on yet bigger prizes. Taking over the government festivals or the city's religious ceremonies.
But his ambitions were twisted by a gruesome murder and a less-than-scrupulous assassin. A woman, dressed as a prostitute, violently dispatches some highborn in the dead of night. The fates must have had their fun with the ex-soldier, because he recognized her. She was the baker he had seen near daily in the marketplace for a year.
He, the next day, had meant to accuse her, to condemn her, maybe even to kill her for such a violent and naked murder. But he was cooled by her beauty, and coaxed by her offer of gold. And when she told him just how much she earned for the killing, his righteous ire melted into dubious curiosity; Maybe his feasts and plays could offer just the backdrop she needed for more tasteful killings; Maybe they’d make more money together; Or maybe they’d end up killing each other in just the same way she had killed that first mark.
Owls & Hares - 1500s-1700s, Floridia / Lousia, Single Pairing / Small Cast
It wasn’t an easy life for a witch hunter in the New World. All the regular hardships of the job in the Old World melded with a lack of supplies, reliable clergy, and crosses. But she was given a charter to protect a budding American colony, and she went where he matron told her to go without question.
It wasn’t made any easier when she was caught and near-killed by a sadistic witch. But when her ‘savior’ turned out to be a warlock, things finally took a turn. He freed her in exchange for one thing, a partnership, and offered a sweetener in the form of a list of all his known fellow witches & warlocks in the colony. With little support from her local chapter master and nothing but zeal to root out all the evil in the colony, she accepted.
Entering into an unholy pact to kill all the other unholy bastards in the new world. After all, she could kill this warlock once it was all said and done, right?
It wasn’t an easy life for a witch hunter in the New World. All the regular hardships of the job in the Old World melded with a lack of supplies, reliable clergy, and crosses. But she was given a charter to protect a budding American colony, and she went where he matron told her to go without question.
It wasn’t made any easier when she was caught and near-killed by a sadistic witch. But when her ‘savior’ turned out to be a warlock, things finally took a turn. He freed her in exchange for one thing, a partnership, and offered a sweetener in the form of a list of all his known fellow witches & warlocks in the colony. With little support from her local chapter master and nothing but zeal to root out all the evil in the colony, she accepted.
Entering into an unholy pact to kill all the other unholy bastards in the new world. After all, she could kill this warlock once it was all said and done, right?