(07-19-2014, 09:26 AM)ArmachiA Wrote: I wouldn't call it the driving force of narration, but it's so ingrained in media that I can see where people get it twisted.
Love stories are really good -side- plots, but if they become the main plot everything tends to get boring quickly. Really good, epic storylines have really good epic romance behind them as well. Behind them, is the key. Love stories help emphasis an already strong plot, making it more emotionally impacting.
Even some of the better romance novels out there have a driving plot, putting the romance secondary to it (See: Dark Hunters)
BUT, there are those people in the world who like their Twilights (Plot doesn't start till like page 300), their Harlequin romances, and their silly rom-coms*. These things don't tend to work in RP though, since it's an ongoing storyline and never ending, just doing romance is boring to MOST rpers because we aren't in a 2 hour movie or a 200 page book.
My character is involved in a romance, she tends to write about it in her journal a lot (Because who wouldn't) but she's also embroiled in some very dangerous plotlines that, when they are active, take the forefront of the story. She also has friends that she talks to regularly, trains to be good with a sword, writes music, all kinds of things. She wants to be better for herself and not for anyone else.
I think that's the best way to do it. It's a bit discouraging when some people believe having a romance is the only thing that matters. It's like "My character is your friend... how does that not matter?" but alas...
*For the record I love a good rom-com.
Ah, I understand what you mean.
I don't think it's influence from the media but from human nature, as many people seem to seek and force romance irl as well, from what I've observed. But yes, depending on how it's played, it can be interesting to some people or another. I just think it's a crashing of opinions, as some people might enjoy epic plots and others might find them boring.
I myself favour the kind of romance that's either integrated in a plot or that serves as a driving force for things to actually happen to a character. I'm not playing romance in FFXIV so far, but I do have romantic elements in my current Blade&Soul RP, and they're key factors to my characters' plots (my main character for falling in love with her enemy in the middle of a war that's only going to scalate, and my secondary for being unhealthily obsessed with her brother, which will likely end with her being severely punished or execued). I don't tend to play romance for the sake of it, and (so far) my characters can fall in love but they never really got to be involved in real and steady relationships. Who knows when that might change!
In any case, I don't mind what other people do with their romance plots, so long as there's diversity (it can be frustrating otherwise). So long as everyone's playing their favourite kind of story, I think it's all good ^^
![[Image: banner2_zpsba85b875.jpg]](http://i251.photobucket.com/albums/gg292/kurosaki_akane/banner2_zpsba85b875.jpg)
Clover Blake (Hyur) /Â K'mih Yohko (Miqo'te)
