POTW: Romantic Formula

[Diana]

In most romance movies, espeeeecially romantic comedies there is a predictable formula. There are a lot of different combinations, but they always play out in the same ways. You could probably look it up on Tropes to see a huge list of them. (But I'm not going there to get the link because I get stuck there for hours. c___c )

In our roleplays, we tend to do this too! We'll have a series of predictable or "must have" events we throw at a pair of characters before the inevitable get-together ending.


Do you have a formula for your romance setups? What is your favorite roadblocks and tests to throw at potential romance couples?

 

[Laggy Lagiacrus]

 

[Tritsteel]

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[Ochalla]

I have never given this much thought. I am not a "brilliant" story teller by any means so I would not be surprised if someone pointed out a pattern in my typical romantic plots. This doesn't bother me though because as long as my partner and me are enjoying the set up it's all good, and if others read it and are enjoying it, bonus!

 

[CrimsonMaiden]

What formula I use usually depend on what I'm going for as far as the relationship goes. Some of my personal favorites are listed below and I'm actually not sure if these go under road blocks or tests, but I like writing them. :)

1. Inner conflict: One is impossibly in love but the other is not confident in their feelings and often push the other away.
2. Harmful secrets: A character denies himself the company of another whom he/she has strong feelings for because he has a dangerous secret.
3. Friends: The ones who keep them apart because "they're no good for each other."
4. Deception: He/She lies to protect him/herself, sadly, from the other.

 

[October Knight]

I like cheesy romance, sometimes it's fun.

I guess my most typical is where the characters are traveling/working together for a long time into the game, and then one day it's like OMG I LOVE YOU AND I ALWAYS HAVE. Best friends/friends turned lovers type deal.

 

[Dawn]

Sometimes I do, sometimes I don't. It really does depend on the story and the characters. I would say I do more than I don't though. Example: If my character is the grumpy growly sort who is difficult to love, sometimes I throw him in a scene where he's interacting with a child and showing his soft, fluffy side normally hidden behind his shell of steel. "You're good with kids? My ovaries just exploded." Romance is only cheesy when we're looking at it from the outside. "Put the grumpy guy with a kid and show his soft side? That's so cheeeeesyyyyy!" But when you're roleplaying it or reading along or just really into the story, it's a bit different, right?

 

[Quiet One]

I'm not sure if I use a formula or not. I'm writing one story where the two main characters love each other, but one sees love as a distraction so ignores her feelings, while the other has taken to searching for the qualities of the woman in other women, never finding them.

Not sure if cliche or not.

 

[Fluffy]

I like to attempt some cliches, but only once. I've done only ONE Notebook-esque roleplay, for example. Don't care to do another. Although... I do seem to like doing beauty and the beast typed formulas more than once. Half of it is because I've never been able to finish such a story. The other half is because I love playing flawed ugly characters who gain the love and approval of someone who, to them, is perfection. I also enjoy tragic types, where someone is going to die in the end. c__c

Mostly, I like to play out weird relationships that develop into something romantic. Like a circus freak and a costumed superhero, or a vampire mailman and a cyborg, or a zoologist and an evil sorcerer disguised as a cupcake artist. Mhm... *gets lost in her odd fantasies*

 

[Villamvihar]

I usually do not play out or write romance plots, but I tend to try and be original with my romance plots. That said, I do have the fondness for the Rescue Romance type romantic relationship and the hurt-comfort relationship. Those are the two plots that I re-use either subconsciously or consciously, though when I notice this dynamic, I try and switch the story around or move the focus somewhere else. Not that I always succeed with it.