As someone whose crack is the will-they-won't-they, I couldn't really go for the predetermined romantic RP myself - but having had friends who swear by it I definitely understand the reasons why.
Most of them have been pretty much covered in this thread. There's a lot of people out there who're looking for an IRL romantic partner and using RP as an excuse, there's people who are very possessive when it comes to RP partners that have a romance with their character - there's a laundry list of worries that, while applicable to all RP seem to get amped up when romance is involved.
Not only that, but it ensures you have someone on the same footing as you for personal boundaries in RP. You're more free to explore the unpleasant aspects of relationships in your RP without worrying about your partner taking it personally or panicking - someone in this thread brought up dysfunctional relationships, and I feel like those are things that preplanning is made for. Same with nontraditional/non 'vanilla' relationships.
You don't really lose out on the fun of starting a relationship, either, depending on your partner. Maybe the characters go a way you weren't expecting, maybe things end up really rocky at the start. Who knows!Â
It's not my cup of tea - but I usually have a very small circle of friends I'd be cool shipping characters with as it is. People who are brave enough to do it with acquaintances have my respect and also worry, lol.
Most of them have been pretty much covered in this thread. There's a lot of people out there who're looking for an IRL romantic partner and using RP as an excuse, there's people who are very possessive when it comes to RP partners that have a romance with their character - there's a laundry list of worries that, while applicable to all RP seem to get amped up when romance is involved.
Not only that, but it ensures you have someone on the same footing as you for personal boundaries in RP. You're more free to explore the unpleasant aspects of relationships in your RP without worrying about your partner taking it personally or panicking - someone in this thread brought up dysfunctional relationships, and I feel like those are things that preplanning is made for. Same with nontraditional/non 'vanilla' relationships.
You don't really lose out on the fun of starting a relationship, either, depending on your partner. Maybe the characters go a way you weren't expecting, maybe things end up really rocky at the start. Who knows!Â
It's not my cup of tea - but I usually have a very small circle of friends I'd be cool shipping characters with as it is. People who are brave enough to do it with acquaintances have my respect and also worry, lol.
