TS - Danger zone

[Ganymede]

@Tinuviel said in TS - Danger zone:

To expand on this further, does the TS... libido, for lack of a better term, change or just the approach?

Everything.

When Erin did her thing, it was out of a desperate need to feel like part of a family again. Her family had been killed in the initial Cylon attacks. She had a history of engaging in risky, suicidal behavior that was on her service record, but her surviving it was the reason she got into the PC squad. Also, she was a science student and nerd who grew up in an isolated camp on an arctic world. The sex was fast, frantic, not very satisfying, but it filled a void in her.

Clarice is a self-deluded evolved Mouse Beast Changeling who is probably more deadly than anyone realizes. She buries her sorrow and feelings in her. When she was younger, she had a thing with a partner that meant the world to her. Sadly, in her history, that spouse died, living her bitter and singular-focused. Recently, she killed 20+ people just to do what she thought was right. The sex with her is more languid and drawn-out, but her reaction thereafter is one of cold indifference. Hot and cold, that sort of thing.

Cai was a family man out of time who had the unfortunate fate of being made into a Ventrue that couldn't rule anything (a Fisher King). He tried to make his own "families," but each would turn on him in time. Every time he tried to claim something, something went wrong. One sexy-time session resulted in a sink falling on his head, crushing his face. So, the sex is always somewhat tragic: either beautiful with the knowledge that everything will fail later or tragically comical as a reminder that nothing lasts forever, even for an immortal.

Approaches? Varieties? They change with each character I make. They all have their stories. And, of course, those characters are attached strongly to whatever theme and setting is available.

I'm not sure where Salty is going, but chances are that it'll involve booty, swearing, and a great deal of piracy.

[Tinuviel]

@Ghost said in TS - Danger zone:

I just wanted to make sure that I wasn't writing anything inappropriate with a minor

And how would you do that? Is joining a game that says "no minors allowed" sufficient, or do you require more 'proof'?

@Ganymede said in TS - Danger zone:

Approaches? Varieties? They change with each character I make. They all have their stories. And, of course, those characters are attached strongly to whatever theme and setting is available.

Well sure, but we're not just talking about the characters. Do your attitudes and 'desires' form the foundation for your TS (not just IC sex) or are your attitudes and 'desires' find their form from the game itself?

[Ganymede]

@Tinuviel said in TS - Danger zone:

Well sure, but we're not just talking about the characters. Do your attitudes and 'desires' form the foundation for your TS (not just IC sex) or are your attitudes and 'desires' find their form from the game itself?

The latter. It should always be the latter.

Because my attitudes and personal desires are as follows:

[Tinuviel]

@Ganymede Isn't... isn't that just a selfi... oh lord that explains so much.

[Auspice]

@Ganymede said in TS - Danger zone:

I'm not sure where Salty is going

on my dinner.

@Ghost
re: Kushiel games, the two I've played I played characters that weren't really into the sex for IC reasons. I got just about zero RP as a result. And on one game, Staff outright told me it was my own fault for not being TS-able. So yeah, you made the right call IMO.

[Pandora]

I TS when the character I am playing experiences chemistry with another character that signifies adding a sexual component to their banter & interactions, as well as a concern for the happiness and well-being of another person, would be a positive and enriching layer to my roleplay.

I love TS, I've never played a character I wouldn't TS as.

But I also haven't TSed with anyone in years, because that chemistry is rare & I'm not interested in TSing anyone for clout, or to make someone else jealous, or because I'm bored, or because it'll get me attention or approval, or any of the other negative reasons I can think of that people TS. I'm definitely interested in reading what sorts of positive, roleplay-healthy reasons people have for TSing.

[Ghost]

@Auspice said in TS - Danger zone:

@Ganymede said in TS - Danger zone:

I'm not sure where Salty is going

on my dinner.

@Ghost
re: Kushiel games, the two I've played I played characters that weren't really into the sex for IC reasons. I got just about zero RP as a result. And on one game, Staff outright told me it was my own fault for not being TS-able. So yeah, you made the right call IMO.

I heard similar about that place. Ive also run into players that don't stick around unless there's TS so I figured that would be likely there.

[Ganymede]

@Ghost said in TS - Danger zone:

I heard similar about that place. Ive also run into players that don't stick around unless there's TS so I figured that would be likely there.

To be honest, I don't think I've engaged in TS any more than a couple of times with my noblewoman, but I have had some great RP with others. If either of you want to dip a toe in, I can probably help out a bit. The staff there are really great, and a lot of the players can be very engaging.

[Ghost]

@Ganymede said in TS - Danger zone:

@Ghost said in TS - Danger zone:

I heard similar about that place. Ive also run into players that don't stick around unless there's TS so I figured that would be likely there.

To be honest, I don't think I've engaged in TS any more than a couple of times with my noblewoman, but I have had some great RP with others. If either of you want to dip a toe in, I can probably help out a bit. The staff there are really great, and a lot of the players can be very engaging.

I'll keep that in mind if I return. I dig the setting.

[DareDaemon]

As someone who has only ever TS'd because other people pressured them into it...

I'm sure there's such a thing as safe TS, it likely involves respecting people's boundaries. Respecting people's boundaries is a good thing.

[Ghost]

@DareDaemon said in TS - Danger zone:

As someone who has only ever TS'd because other people pressured them into it...

Frown.

Sad to say that's probably more common than people talk about.

[surreality]

@Ganymede Damn you, Gany. Now I need to acquire a roomba.

Generally, to the last question:
Defining 'good' is... going to vary. I'm going to go with my definition of 'good', which is also the answer to the question:

• isn't putting off any uncomfortable OOC vibes (pressure, OOC cross, etc.)
• it is appropriate to the story/setting/characters/etc.
• it is advancing the story/character development in some way
• is not getting in the way of other things (RL, other IC obligations, etc.)

Bonus points for:

• sense of humor
• leads to new insight into the character(s)
• good writing

...which is frankly the same criteria I have for everything else, too, so. Take that for what it's worth.

[bored]

@Arkandel said in TS - Danger zone:

Let's go back to discussing forbidden topics.

How much do your TS habits change based on the MU*'s themes? That is, do you find your characters are more promiscuous on say, a Kushiel game than a World of Darkness one? Do you TS considerably more often? Is it easier (or harder) to find partners - and are they actually better at TS on average?

I had to think about this a second, because I think it is a factor but maybe not in precisely the straightforward way suggested. I don't think any theme is going to discourage TS if two players connect and want to do it (often through whatever weird signaling dances if they don't know each other previously). What I think it does encourage is the ability to present characters as openly promiscuous, and I think that may create more organic TS, ie situations where people simply fall into that RP naturally after whatever interactions vs. engaging in their usual quasi-OOC hunt for other people who are into it.

This is also one of those places where we're still pretty sexist, because while I've pointed out that in general I find women on MUs every bit as aggressive/stalkery/etc, we as a group are still fond of slut-shaming a concept, wiki or desc we find too overtly sexual and I think that tends to target female characters more.

This is why (referencing that Fairy Brothel discussion) I think people go so nuts for those kind of games and concepts, because they want to be able to play sexy without being judged. I think back to just how many people were drawn to playing prostitutes on Firan (which actually had rules the players had to be female, not that those didn't get broken occasionally), and that I often heard from those players that they enjoyed them as 'low stress' alts who they could do that stuff on without fear of being swept up in scandal and ruined (which was IC, yet also carried a certain brand of OOC morality and vindictiveness at times). That was clearly a major factor for those players. Or there's the crazy Western game I played for maybe a week and yet had basically 75% of the female population wanting to work for my character as a saloon girl, even people who'd apped entirely other concepts.

This is in contrast to some game themes that encourage people to keep their sexuality to themselves, ie comic games. So I think it's a factor in that sense, in terms of how comfortably and openly people engage in the topic.

[Arkandel]

@Tinuviel said in TS - Danger zone:

@Arkandel I think there's a slight mismatch in your first question. Character promiscuity and TS habits aren't always linked. Promiscuous characters don't need to engage in TS at all, and one person could play several monogamous characters.

It's intentional though. I wanted to ask two different questions - do you find yourself more inclined to TS than normal (whether it ends up happening IC, faded to black or anything else of that nature) but also if TS just plain happens more often because of any number of factors, from general adherence to theme, partners being easier to find, etc.

Another thing that occurred to me while while reading is that we went over the thematic effect on TS only from one direction - meaning how 'sensual' MU* in general correlate with people's TS habits changing.

However how (or if) does it affect you to play on games without mature themes? I'm not nearly naive to classify superhero settings as that but let's say ones inspired by YA books, more tactical or action-based MU*, or hell even stuff like D&D... do you ever feel like TS doesn't fit the game and try to avoid it?

[Tinuviel]

@Arkandel said in TS - Danger zone:

do you ever feel like TS doesn't fit the game

I don't work with children or animals. So if I'm playing (or playing with) either of those things, then TS is a big big big no. If I'm playing an adult person in any setting designed around its own internal logic (as in a form of 'realism') then TS isn't off the table, so long as I'm reasonably justified in believing all other participants are adults also playing adult persons.

[DareDaemon]

@Tinuviel

@Tinuviel said in TS - Danger zone:

@Arkandel said in TS - Danger zone:

do you ever feel like TS doesn't fit the game

I don't work with children or animals. So if I'm playing (or playing with) either of those things, then TS is a big big big no. If I'm playing an adult person in any setting designed around its own internal logic (as in a form of 'realism') then TS isn't off the table, so long as I'm reasonably justified in believing all other participants are adults also playing adult persons.

And, presumably, the game doesn't explicitly prohibit TS. (I've encountered people who wouldn't let such a rule stop them.)

[Tinuviel]

@DareDaemon said in TS - Danger zone:

@Tinuviel

@Tinuviel said in TS - Danger zone:

@Arkandel said in TS - Danger zone:

do you ever feel like TS doesn't fit the game

I don't work with children or animals. So if I'm playing (or playing with) either of those things, then TS is a big big big no. If I'm playing an adult person in any setting designed around its own internal logic (as in a form of 'realism') then TS isn't off the table, so long as I'm reasonably justified in believing all other participants are adults also playing adult persons.

And, presumably, the game doesn't explicitly prohibit TS. (I've encountered people who wouldn't let such a rule stop them.)

I absolutely don't let such a rule stop me.

ETA: Though to be fair, if a game has such a rule and isn't populated by children or child-like PCs, I'm probably not going to play there anyway.

[surreality]

@Arkandel said in TS - Danger zone:

do you ever feel like TS doesn't fit the game and try to avoid it?

I can envision settings in which this would be the case.

Otherwise? So long as we're playing humans or most permutations thereof, people gonna bang, because many people like to bang.

I think bored pretty much nailed it -- the setting may impact how open it is or how comfortable people are playing it due to the constant slut-shaming bullshit people get in the hobby -- but it's something that will likely exist in any setting involving people or people-like beings outside of corner cases.

I am at about the same level regardless of setting, which is a whole lot of 'skip the gory details' and a whole lot of totally off-screen 'referenced casually in passing' sorts of things for a couple of years now, with very few exceptions. This vs. gory details doesn't make a difference to me, either.

[DareDaemon]

@Tinuviel said in TS - Danger zone:

@DareDaemon said in TS - Danger zone:

And, presumably, the game doesn't explicitly prohibit TS. (I've encountered people who wouldn't let such a rule stop them.)

I absolutely don't let such a rule stop me.

If you don't like that a game prohibits TS, don't fucking play there. It's fucking gross to violate such a clear boundary.

[Tinuviel]

@DareDaemon said in TS - Danger zone:

@Tinuviel said in TS - Danger zone:

@DareDaemon said in TS - Danger zone:

And, presumably, the game doesn't explicitly prohibit TS. (I've encountered people who wouldn't let such a rule stop them.)

I absolutely don't let such a rule stop me.

If you don't like that a game prohibits TS, don't fucking play there. It's fucking gross to violate such a clear boundary.

Well, yeah. Did you not read the whole post?