gadzooks
[ aggressively drinks water ]
W E L C O M E
Call me gad, or zooks. I'm finally emerging from a much-needed RP hiatus and officially on the hunt for something good, something juicy...something, dare I say, epic. I will be around and available for replies pretty much non-stop from now until the first of January. After that, my frequency will drop off to replies every couple days or so (at least once a week) to accommodate my return to the Real World and Life Things (namely, a job to which I willingly and knowingly cede the vast majority of my waking hours). If that's not a turn off, READ ON:
WRITING STYLE: Advanced / Lit with a penchant for quality over quantity. Grammar matters to me, as does world building and genuine character development. I only write in third person and will ask that you do the same. The length of my replies will vary to suit the needs of our exchange. Scene building and moments of character development will always run long, while bursts of dialogue and physical interactions will be shortened to ensure characters have every opportunity to react organically. That being said, I can't imagine a scenario in which a single line (or even a single paragraph) would ever be sufficient. If you can, this probably isn't the ad for you.
LIMITS: No limits, per se, on my end. I like writing with grit and a world that feels real. If my characters wind up with a happy ending, I want it to feel earned. That means encountering hardships or confronting challenges along the way. A world devoid of conflict feels surreal to the point of disengaging to me. I want flawed characters who make mistakes (wittingly or otherwise) and are giving opportunities to grow from those moments. I'm all for delving into darker themes if they're treated with the weight and respect they deserve. The worlds I choose to write in are rarely bright and shiny places and the characters in them should be reflections of that. My one exception to all of this is excess for the sake of excess. That applies to the good, the bad, and the ugly. I want to create a world and characters that feel real. Doing something simply for shock value isn't my cup of tea.
CHARACTER / ROMANCE PREFERENCES: I have a limited amount of time on my hands and I'm old enough to be unapologetically committed to doing what gives me joy. Right now, that's writing female mains and MxF pairings. I'm not opposed to eventually doubling but I'd prefer to begin with a single storyline and see what evolves naturally from there. I do inevitably wind up creating a whole host of characters to broaden the world and round out plots, and those occasionally surprise me into taking on lives and stories of their own. I'd love if you joined me in filling out whatever little world we create. As far as romance goes, I love it as much as the next gal but it has to be earned. Anything short of a good slow burn feels abrupt to me, and I guarantee I'll lose interest. I want conflict here too. I want to see characters pitted against one another and forced to reconcile their differences (or not!) to find their way to one another. It's the journey that matters to me, not the happily ever after.
PROCESS: I'm all for world building and plotting but I've seen too many good almost-things die in OOC Limbo. If you DM me, I'm going to push for us to get started ASAP. To speed things along, let me know what plot (if any) you're interested in and go ahead and share any initial character ideas you may have. I prefer to swap character sheets before we begin (but I'm all for withholding specific details if they'll make for fun surprises along the way), and I'm happy to share a writing sample if you want one. Faceclaims are entirely up to you. I could take them or leave them.
AGE: Be over 25. I applaud young writers (I used to be you!) but I prefer writing with someone closer to my own age. If you're younger and faking it (I also used to be you), I promise it's obvious and you should be wary of anyone you think you've fooled.
GHOSTING: I've never quite understood why this is something that needs labeling but I'm ghost friendly. This is a hobby. You owe me nothing. Poof if you need to. Poof if you want to. No explanation needed. You do you, boo.
P L O T N U G G E T S
These are by no means comprehensive. I'd prefer to build with you, so these are little thought nuggets to get our gears turning. If you have something else in mind, let me know! I won't do slice of life, and most modern plots are non-starters for me, but I'm all for exploring other possibilities in the fantasy/historical/sci-fi realm!
Arranged Marriage: Listen, tropes are tropes for a reason. Who doesn’t love a good arranged marriage plot? Whether we’re talking an arrangement between a conquering warlord and the conveniently conquered princess, reluctant aristocrats from families intent on climbing the social ladder, or royals in it for their own respective reasons…I’m here for it![/JUSTIFY]
Control Your Magic: I’m a sucker for any world in which magic is taboo. I could world-build in this little sandbox all day. To kick us off, I’ll throw out a few possibilities:
Mages have been all but eradicated, and performing magic is a crime punishable by death. Our characters experience a chance encounter in which one is confronted with the fact that the other is a mage. Perhaps our mage saves the other’s life (or the life of another)? This one could be especially fun if our non-mage chooses to bring our mage in for punishment. Of course, I’d imagine that could be a long and winding road…and, as we well know, anything can happen along the way.
Mages exist to serve the ruling elite. Those who have not been eradicated from the world (or those not living in hiding), have been collared, a process that transfers control of a mage’s power to their handler (think Wheel of Time Seanchan-ish). Here, we could play a mage and their handler, or a recently discovered mage bound for captivity, or a mage recently transferred to the service of a royal/noble/etc. for protection…opportunities abound!
For my one and only fandom option, I’ll also throw out the possibility of exploring the Dragon Age universe if it means having some mage x templar fun.
Unlikely Allies: I will spring for any plot that gives me a chance to twist lifelong enemies into reluctant allies. Perhaps our characters are representatives from competing nations, each appointed to attend peace talks at the conclusion of a long and bloody war (or some sort of annual celebration of the end of a war long past) when all hell breaks loose and they are foisted together against their will (and better judgment) to bring about a resolution to an even greater threat.[/JUSTIFY]
I N T E R E S T E D ?
Shoot me a DM with your plot interests, initial character thoughts, and your favorite childhood cartoon.
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