Syne's Partner Hunt

[Mnemosyne]

Hey everyone! I'm Mnemosyne, but you can call me, Syne for short. Or you can come up with just about any nickname you'd like. I'm not picky, really. But anyway, I've been doing forum roleplaying for oh, about 13 years now. I was on this site, like, a long time ago, but unfortunately had to leave unexpectedly due to personal medical issues. I have finally gotten to a point where I am able and comfortable with rejoining the world of online roleplaying, and I'm looking to get back to it, so I'm looking for some new partners. That said, the first thing I'd like to do is sincerely apologize to anyone who may have known me or been writing with me before my sudden disappearance. I'm not going to try and hunt anyone down personally, since it's been so long, and I doubt they'll know who I am. But if anyone does recognize me, feel free to reach out- I'd love to hear from you again! I also apologize in advance for the length of this thread- I know it's a lot of information. But please read it. It does have a lot of important information that will help us figure out if we'll be good writing partners or not.

• I don't have a whole ton of time to write at the moment, so I'm going to be picky about who I take on as partners. It's nothing personal, I promise. One thing about this is that I will always want to talk to you about the story and get to know you a bit before I make a decision on whether or not we'd be good partners. So please don't be offended if I do back out after we've started on planning and whatnot. I know it can be frustrating to put in work and have it not go anywhere, but at the same time I don't like to make snap judgements about people based on one or two messages.

• I am a huge world-builder. I'm open to people who want to help me build and guide the world. It's nice to see someone else get elbow-deep in our creation, a true partner who is as invested in this as I am. However, keep in mind that ideas on how it should be can very easily clash. And so, I'm just as open to people who have a more passive style, and are happy to allow me to guide the world, while you follow along. Think of a GM/Player mechanic, in which I am the world, NPCs, etc., and you are only responsible for a few characters. Both styles are very good. For most of my specific ideas posted below, I prefer the second style (since I've already done a lot of the worldbuilding.) The general prompts are better for the first style, since there's more room for us to develop it together.

• I am a multi-paragraph writer, and I need a partner who can match that. My minimum post length is 3 paragraphs, and I'd prefer that to be your usual length as well. Longer is fine too. I understand that posts may be shorter at times (1-2 paragraphs) but I'd prefer that to be the exception, not the rule. And I find I simply cannot write a story with posts shorter than a paragraph. Nothing against y'all who do, but it just won't keep me inspired.

• I write multiple characters. Always. Even if I only have one main character, I'll spread out into a dynamic cast of interesting side characters. But I adore having multiple mains as well. I require my partners to be able to write more than one character. Even if it is one main character and a recurring side character or two. Multiple mains are preferred. Basically, my stories are highly driven by character interaction, so the more characters there are to interact, the better. I just find I don't have enough to respond to if my partner only has one character.

• For all of you romance junkies out there- sure, I do write romance stories. However, please keep a few things in mind. First of all, I will not write mature (ie sexual) content. This is not an 18+ site, and so I do not feel confident in my ability to ensure my partners are adults (plus, you know, site rules and whatnot.) I will not take chances. Sexual content can be implied (ie fade-to-black, jokes about "last night", etc.) but it will not be written out. Period. And if sexual contact is implied, all characters involved must be 18+ (this does not apply to briefly mentioning things that may have happened in the past, just to their current relationship.) And to be involved in romance at all (even a non-sexual one) the characters must be at least 15. A little bit of smooching and whatnot is fine, scene changes once nudity is involved (or the characters stop, if they're underaged.) Mkay? Secondly, I only write mxf romantic relationships. I'm not homophobic by any means, but as a straight person myself, I'm not familiar enough with those relationships to feel comfortable portraying them accurately and respectfully. Thirdly, while some unusual pairings are welcome, I will not write any of the following: familial/incestuous relationships, abuser/abused Stockholm Syndrome romances, or extreme age differences (O-5 years age difference is perfectly fine, no discussion needed. 6-10 years difference is open for discussion, and is dependent on it being relevant to the plot. More than 10 years of difference is a hard no.)

• And on an important addendum to the above point, if romance is to be expected, I prefer my partner to be at least 18. Otherwise I feel a bit weird. I know some people don't have an age displayed, but I would hope you'd be honest about this and respect my rule on this if you are younger and have your age hidden. Now, if I'm writing with a younger partner and the characters just so happen to click, well, we'll let the story go where it wants to (with the above caveats), but romance will not be planned out from the beginning.

• I am female, and I prefer writing as female characters. This does not mean that I cannot or do not write as male characters (I do!) However, I will not write exclusively as male characters. In any given story, I will have either an equal balance of genders (as many leading ladies as I have main men), or will have a higher volume of female main characters than males (side characters are an entirely different matter, and I honestly don't care how many I have or what their genders are!) I sometimes even have only female main characters. It's entirely up to what my partner is looking for.

• I fully expect a relationship in which we are both able to compromise and work together, so that we both get what we're looking for. For example, if you're looking for specific traits in a love interest I'll usually be happy to accommodate you- as long as you're willing to do the same if I ask you to. Ladies, if you come to me asking me to write a male love interest for your girlie, don't be surprised if I ask you to do the same for me. Gentlemen, if I have a main male character I might ask you to write a female love interest for him (a pretty big might, but it could happen.) Please do not come to me with the "I don't double/I only play one gender" stuff. If I'm going to bend on things and step out of my comfort zone for you, you should be willing to do the same. Try something new! You might be surprised. And no, this doesn't apply only to character number or gender, those are just the most common sticking points that people have, in my experience.

• No one is perfect. That's just a fact of life. Characters shouldn't be perfect either. Mine won't be. Yours shouldn't be. Flaws are what make characters interesting. I don't want to read about your Mary Sue who is good at everything, always does everything right, and never fails. I'd rather have a Jane Doe who sucks at everything, trips over her own two feet, and tries to do what is right but often makes a mess of it. I mean, something in the middle of those two extremes is best, but if you're going to go for one or the other, the second option is infinitely more entertaining. But again, it doesn't have to be anything dramatic- even a couple small flaws will make a character much more dynamic and believable.

• I... I'm not a fluff-writing happy-go-lucky person. My stories will always have some angst. Things will go wrong, there will be drama, and there may even be a tragic ending. Or a tragic middle. Or a tragic beginning. Or a tragic backstory. Actually, almost certainly a tragic backstory. Just keep in mind that when writing with me, disasters may happen. As authors, we all know that mighty kings and kingdoms can rise or fall at the stroke of our pens. In my stories, they are more likely to fall.

• And finally, it is time for me to get on my soapbox and talk about a personal pet peeve of mine. In my opinion, the first message you send to a potential partner should be treated like an interview. You're trying to sell yourself as a partner, and convince the person to write with you. That's how I treat my messages when I reach out to other people, and I'd prefer the same courtesy. Remember up at the top when I said I don't like to judge people on just one or two messages? Well, there's one exception to that rule. If your first message is just, "I wanna write," or, "You still looking for partners?" or, "Hey, you should look at my request thread and pick one of my ideas," the answer will be NO. Give me more to work with than that. Tell me about your writing. Tell me what idea you're interested in. Share a character idea you'd be interested in trying out. Heck, you could even just throw in what genre you're interested in writing. But give me something to work with. If you can't be bothered to spend the time putting together a decent first message, why should I bother spending the time to put together a decent response to it? I mean, I already took the first step by taking the time to put together a detailed request thread that prompted you to reach out to me. If it didn't inspire you to want to write something specific or share some information about yourself then clearly you aren't all that interested in writing with me after all...

Whew. Now that we got all that boring background information out of the way, let's get down to the interesting part- what I'm looking to write. Now, this may well be a very unpopular opinion on this site (or any roleplaying site, for that matter), but due to my current time constraints, I'm not looking for a ton of stories, and I'm not looking for people to bring their own plots and prompts. I'm mostly looking for people who are willing to write the ones that I have here in this thread. I may open up to more suggestions later if I don't get these filled, but for now I'd prefer to save my time for the ideas that are currently eating me up. Cool? Awesome! That said, I'm going to compile as much info here as I can to give you a better idea of my writing preferences (as if the wall of text above hasn't tipped you off), so I'm going to break this down into a couple different sections. First of all is my genre list, which tells you what genres I like, and how much I like them. Next is a brief fandom list. Keep in mind that these will be used more as a general inspiration- I rarely, if ever, write anything canon. Next is a list of some basic prompts. They aren't very well fleshed out, but they give us an interesting starting point to build a dynamic plot from. And finally are my detailed plots. These will all have some combination of detailed backstories, inspirations, maps, worldbuilding, etc. for them. Too much to share in this thread. As such, more detail is available on request. I may be willing to tweak some details on any ideas, but most are hard and fast (these plot ideas are my babies!) And so, without further ado, let's get into it, shall we?


Genres:

• Action/Adventure- Pretty much a given. Most (not all, but definitely most) of my threads will include some action/adventure elements. Not that it has to be some huge, dramatic quest, but there will likely be some action going on.
• Fantasy- This genre isn't quite as prevalent as action/adventure (I'm perfectly capable of writing a good story without any fantasy elements at all!), but it is one of my favorites, and I do have a definite fondness for it.
• Historical-ish- Why -ish? Because I love to use historical inspirations for my story- be it a specific era, or culture, etc.,- but I'm not super strict on the rules. Why not throw in a little fantasy to spice things up, or switch up the gender norms of the era to make it suit us better? So think of it as edited history rather than straight historical fiction. And I'm also talking about pre-Industrial Revolution. Anything post-Industrial Revolution gets lumped in with modern.
• Romance- Romance in stories is nice, sure. However, for me it always has to be more of a side plot combined with another genre and plot. In other words, it can be a factor in a story (and I do like it to be), but it won't be the main factor.
• Sci-fi- I've written sci-fi from time to time. Is it my favorite? No, not really. It takes a very interesting plot to get me into a sci-fi story.
• Modern- Modern is a lot like sci-fi. Have I written stories set in the modern era? Sure. Am I a huge fan? Yeah, not really. Again, it will take an interesting plot pitch to get me involved, and will almost always have to have fantasy involved as well. Again, this category encompasses anything post-Industrial Revolution, not just the current day and age.
• Slice-of-Life- No. Just no. I already have an ordinary life. Why would I want to write about someone else's ordinary life? Short answer- I don't.

Fandoms:

• Ranger's Apprentice- Good books. Kids book, technically, but a fun, historical-ish concept. Loose inspiration only.
• Brotherband Chronicles- Companion series to the one above mentioned. Vikings, which is always fun. Looking for story inspired by it, but improved. Nothing canon.
• Game of Thrones/A Song of Ice and Fire- I know this is a love-it-or-hate-it sort of thing. I don't write canon. Mainly just looking for something in the same vein. Gritty, not afraid to shy away from dark topics, includes both action and political intrigue, complex political structure and character dynamics. Very character driven. The series would just be a very loose inspiration.

Short Prompts:

• Magic used to be commonplace, but was outlawed after some huge cataclysm. Any child who shows any signs of having magic is seized by the government to be "retrained." In reality, they are being killed. A group has formed an underground (figuratively and literally) school to rescue gifted kids before the government can find them and teach them how to use/control their magic. Characters could be teachers and/or students. I figure the school will have students of all ages, from elementary school age up through college age. Not a whole ton of students. A lot of them stay on as teachers once they master their magic. More of a loose organization than a strict, structured school, if you know what I mean. All details to be determined jointly (only hard rule is that this will be a historical-ish setting- nothing modern or futuristic.) This will require a good amount of world building before we jump in.
  
  
• Typical arranged marriage idea. Prince/King of Kingdom A is to marry Princess/Queen of Kingdom B. Simple, right? Well, less so. I'd like there to be a healthy dose of political intrigue (perhaps a faction that is against the marriage, and internal uprising, a plot to overthrow the king, etc.), and perhaps outside drama too (war with a third kingdom, or the treaty breaks down and kingdoms A and B go to war with each other, throwing the princess into the middle.) I'd love to hear your thoughts on dramatic elements to throw into the story. Again, this idea will require a lot of world building before we get into it.
  
  
• Stereotypical adventure story. We play a band of mercenary-like adventurers who travel from place to place, going on quests for money (kill those goblins, get rid of the ghost, slay the dragon, depose the evil king, etc.) Fun, fast-paced, no long-term plot- just hoping from adventure to adventure. Also very character driven- focusing on their interactions with each other. There will be some initial world-building, but I'd like the bulk of it to take place along the way, developing each area as they get to it.

Full Plots:

Spoiler: The Nine Jewels

Alright, so the idea starts with seven main characters. Yes, I said seven. Each of these main characters is in the possession of a magical jewel that gives them some unique magical powers, as well as the ability to change into a specific kind of animal. They are from all across the known world. Ten years ago, these seven heroes worked together to defeat an evil, tyrannical cult that was intent on world domination. Once the threat was ended they scattered back to their homelands, each becoming a leader of their local people. Now, ten years since they became heroes, each of them has a dream of coming danger that leads them to meet up again. A new threat is coming, and they have to stop it.


This one is a long-term project of mine that has changed a few times. A few details might be open to change, but most of it is pretty set. There's a lot more detail than this, which will be available on request only, because, well, it's too much to put here. As far as the setting, it started out elsewhere but was eventually moved to a D&D-esque world, so bear that in mind. Not that there will be any rolls or mechanics or anything like that, but there will be magic, fantasy races, etc. Set jewels, set abilities that come with said jewels. Set races for each character, although their genders are more open to discussion. Should be a close to even split, though. I have details on cultures, governments, etc. A map. A good idea as to where the plot is headed, but I'd prefer to leave that as a surprise to you. Still, if you're going to ask about this idea be prepared to have a huge mountain of background information dumped on you...

Spoiler: A Band of Misfits

For young Skandian Vikings, it's the most important time of their lives- Brotherband Training. For all the young men (and the women who so choose to follow the path of a shieldmaiden), it's their entry into adulthood. All those who have come of age that year are subjected to three months of intense training, meant to teach them the skills they'll need for a life of raiding on the high seas, and prove their ability to thrive in such a career. More than just a grueling training camp, though, it's also a competition. The trainees are separated into teams meant to emulate a ship's crew, and the teams compete against each other. Team leaders are chosen via nomination at the beginning of the training camp and choose their teams. It's supposed to be more about picking the best combination to assure yourself a victory, but more often than not it turns into a simple popularity contest. That was certainly the case this year. There were enough trainees to form three groups, but only two leaders were nominated. So those two picked their teams, and those who remained, the leftovers, became the third group by default. They are so obviously the underdogs, expected to fail miserably. But will they be able to pull together as a team? Could they even win the competition this year?

So, spoiler alert, this is sort of based on a fandom I have. Some details are the same, many are different. No knowledge of said fandom is required. All characters will be the same age, 15-18 depending on your comfort level (18 is best if you want the potential for romance. If that's not an issue for you then they can be younger, hence the range.) There will be at least eight main characters, more side characters. Don't fret, I have no problem taking on all side characters, as long as you're willing to write 2-4 of the main characters. It's basically about a bunch of people who weren't wanted by the other groups for whatever reason (maybe they're small/lightly built, or have an attitude problem, etc.) who have to put differences aside and work together in order to prove everyone who doubted them wrong. I have a few good character ideas I'd love to try out, and I'd like to hear yours as well. Again, more information is available upon request.

Well, that's all for now, folks. I may well add more later, as the inspiration strikes me. Until then, I look forward to hearing from some of you. If I didn't manage to scare you off and you're interested in one of my ideas, shoot me a message and I'd love to talk about starting a story with you!