#an Improv DND show is not going to be Capable of providing the kind of long term redemptive arc that a novel could

[lexirosewrites]

Slick Sundaaaaaaay!

I see a lot of ABO steddie fics featuring Omega Steve who is self conscious for one reason or another because he doesn't have a typical Omega physic and/or behaviors (which is super tasty yum yum) but I live the idea of Eddie being the more swlf conscious one.

Like, Eddie who is not deceptively strong for his size (he has a little bit of natural muscle tone as an Alpha but he never puts it to good use), and who is a little weasel who like to agrivate people but runs away from any kind of real conflict and doesn't have a strong manly scent or any desire for a high powered job to take care of an Omega unless you count is half fleshed out dreams of being a rock star.

Dealers choice of how it happens but Steve basically asks Eddie if he would be interested in couting the Omega and Eddie isn't blind, stupid, or heartless so he jumps on the chance to be with the Omega of his dreams but very quickly finds himself self agonizing about how to be the "right kind" of Alpha for Steve.

So decides he needs to start working out so he can keep his Omega safe even if he knows Steve is more than capable of taking care of himself in that department but his first workout sends him into an asthma attack for the ages so he decides it's more important for Steve to have a living Alpha than a fit one.

There's nothing much he can do about his wet concrete and grass scent which on paper sounds super manly but mostly just smells like a suburban morning so he goes down the employment seeking rabbit hole. He applies for what feels like every Alpha-y job in the Hawkins area but his reputation proceeds him and he never makes it past the first interview. Eventually he gets a call back from a place he applied for after reading the word "painter" and wrote down the number in his notebook with no notes (he didn't say he had a good system) but it turns out to be someone two towns over looking for someone to freelance the painting of dnd and other such figures to sell in a games shop two towns over. It's an ideal job for Eddie but it's deeply entrenched in his need shit and not the kind of thing he was looking for to impress Steve and show him he can provide for him and their future pups. He still takes it because even if it doesn't pay a tone, whatever he DOES make can go toward pampering his Omega and saving up.

It all comes to a head when they go out and Eddie is feeling pretty down on himself after so many failed attempts to "improve" for his Love. Some guy is hitting in Steve while Eddie is RIGHT THERE even though Steve has said no many times and has told him he's there with his Alpha. The guy just keeps leaving and coming back and on his fourth return to their spot Eddie just launches is fist no warning into the guy's face.

That was NOT what he meant to do, he was just getting so fed up and territorial and he was gonna really tell the guy to piss off but the little goblin inside him made him throw a pretty pathetic punch that results in a busted knuckle for him and a slightly bruised and irate beta in front of them.

Steve drags him out and takes him back to the trailer, grumbling the whole time about "stupid Alphas and their stupid instincts" and finally snaps and asks Eddie what the hell has been up with him lately. Eddie just blinks his big dumb eyes at Steve as he points out the job search and the asthma hospital visit and the more expensive gifts and finally asks why he's been acting like such a knot head.

So they talk it out and Steve makes Eddie hold him in his lap so he can tell him all the ways, the ways that matter to Steve, that Eddie takes care of him. Tells him how he doesn't need an Alpha to fight for him but he's never had an Alpha offer him sanctuary like Eddie does. Eddie who never makes him feel stupid for his questions and reads his assigned books to him even though the Alpha is behind on his own school work and let's him build a nest in his bed.

Tells him that he appreciates Eddie trying to make money for their future family, loves that even, but what use does he have for fancy jewlery or a full bouquet of roses? Like, he doesn't even like jewlery that much and he gets much better use of the brand new wool socks Eddie thrifted for him last month in an Indiana winter and the wild flowers he brought him for their first date are much easier to press than huge roses.

Just a series of misinformed adventures for looser Alpha Eddie that end in comical disaster and his Omega who is utterly charmed his his earnest attempts to be a good Alpha but who really just wants a loving mate and partner.

oh i love this😭😭😭 Eddie just wants to be the perfect mate and alpha for his omega, meanwhile Steve can’t figure out what’s going on with the love of his life who is already perfect to him!!!!

[theofficialrphq-blog]

RPHQ April Spotlight

ART SPOLTIGHT

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CHARACTER SPOTLIGHT

Star Wars the Old Republic

Darth Azhrael

What inspired you to create this character?

"I had done about 3 months of very light roleplay in WoW before leaving that setting and had been playing DnD for several years but really wanted a more immersive roleplay experience. Five guys around a table caring more about number crunching and making jokes just wasn't cutting it anymore. I had played a Death Knight in WoW because it was the closest thing to a Sith Lord in my opinion. And I had just finished playing in an evil DnD campaign as a Tiefling Paladin when I realized I greatly enjoyed playing morally ambiguous or down right villainous characters. And since my character archetype that I had based my Death Knight on had been a Sith Lord I naturally drifted to SWTOR and thought of how cool it would be to grow from a struggling acolyte into a Darth and train others in the same way. So I made an entirely new Sith Pureblood character."  -- Azhrael

What is your favorite part about roleplaying this character?

"I love the Sith Code, so using that and Sith culture as a whole to firmly root the character was a ton of fun and significantly shaped the way he behaved. It wasn't about twirling a mustache and being "Evil", it was about not having any limits and overcoming whatever obstacles stood in his way. Something that I partially disliked was not having him be very outwardly emotional. When he was a younger Sith he was much more prone to savage bursts of violence, but as he matured in his beliefs he came to understand that if he wasn't in control of his emotions they were in control of him and thus limiting him. So for the vast majority of his interactions he was calm, cool, and collected, which was very satisfying to play. The problem came in that he never really showed affection, so it forced me to be very clever in how he complimented others, which he rarely did, or displayed an attachment of any kind to another character. This was a good exercise for writing, but a part of me wished he had become a bit more charismatic and manipulative in a very personal way."  -- Azhrael

What was a defining moment in the rp history of this character?

"I was still a student and my master was an incredibly cruel woman without a greater purpose, which was hard for my character; but as a roleplayer I loved it! One of the things she enjoyed was attempting to take control of my character's mind to force him to do her bidding. During an event our Order was given the option of aiding a particular Darth, but most of us chose not to intervene, including myself and my master. But another Lord for which she had plans engaged. My master took control of my mind briefly when I refused her command to enter combat and protect this Darth. When I regained control I threatened to kill her if she ever did so again, even though I knew I was hopelessly outmatched. She just laughed and attacked me. In the end, the second in command, who had come through the academy with my master and in whom I had previously planted the seed of such an intervention, spoke of how she had witnessed the senseless malevolence of my master and would no longer abide it. They dueled, and ultimately the second in command crushed my master's heart with the force. It was found that my master had been a traitor to the Order for some time as was revealed soon after her death. But being responsible for the death of one's master is the dream of every Sith, and it was no different for my character. It was an incredible night of rp and was integral in forming him into the Sith he ultimately became."  -- Azhrael

What have been your best rp experiences with this character?

"My best roleplay experiences have been with my apprentice. I knew from the very first time we interacted and then from watching her interact with others that she was the perfect clay to mold into a true Sith. She was already more a Sith than the vast majority of my fellow Lords and Darths and I nurtured that potential. We had a ton of fun together and working alongside one another we managed to manipulate events to achieve a long term goal, claim leadership of our order and ridding it of heretics. It was glorious."  -- Azhrael

Azhrael's theme song is about freedom, which is one of the central concepts to understanding what it means to be Sith.

 ARTICLE SPOLTIGHT

The People Who Roleplay As Cops In Grand Theft Auto

"They use mods to don police uniforms and drive law enforcement vehicles, some of which are made by fellow fans. They create scenarios such as routine traffic stops and patrols, sometimes even engaging in high-speed car chases. ... Because GTA wasn’t built for people who want to play as the police, players have to set it all up for themselves. The form groups and assemble in small shared instances of the game where they act out a script or improv."  -- Zack Zwiezen "Some do it for the fun of pretending to arrest other players who roleplay as criminals. Others do it to satisfy the fantasy of driving in to save the day. ... Depending on the session and the platform, players will use mods or chat to roleplay actions that GTA V doesn’t support, like ticketing or arresting players. ... LSPDFR adds new animations, custom uniforms, improves the the AI of the computer-controlled police in the game, allows players to pull over and arrest suspects and more."  -- Zack Zwiezen

Game Players Are Failing In Our Duty To Be Evil

"Most game players find evil paths in narrative games a big turn-off. Overwhelmingly, they follow "good" paths as the default option. Statistics presented by Microsoft technical evangelist Amanda Lange at GDC today showed that, in narrative games where "good" and "evil" were clearly defined as story paths, only 5 percent of players opted for "evil" on a first play-through. The number jumped to around 50 percent on a second run."  -- Colin Campbell "So what is the lesson for game designers who create "evil" narrative paths, and want players to experience those stories as viable first-play options? She said that presenting pure evil without context is a bad idea, because most people find the concept off-putting. Adding friction to evil is counter-productive. Evil should come with its own risks and rewards, as it (mostly) does in real life. "People love to have their emotional boundaries tested," she concluded, adding that evil paths can create the most interesting moral problems."  -- Colin Campbell

Actors play patients to train medical students for real-life work

"Medical schools are turning to part-time actors to help students polish their bedside manners, long before they reach a real patient's bedside. The actors take part in elaborate role plays, simulating patients to help mimic the challenges of hospital work. This could mean playing a distraught family member, a patient who cannot speak English or a senior doctor."  -- Linette Lai "As an actor, you just go by the script," he said. "As a simulated patient, you may be able to pre- empt responses, but it's not a fixed script on the other end."  -- Daphne Ong

Press Start: Crafting the ultimate role-playing game

"There's something special about spending dozens of hours in the same world, wrapped up in its lore, playing a pivotal role in how the story shapes out. It's addicting committing to a character you create and shape and see his or her personal growth throughout the game. There's no such thing as a perfect game, role-playing or otherwise. But what if there was? What would it be like?"  -- Jake Magee

MUSIC SPOTLIGHT

RP ADVICE SPOTLIGHT

On Writing & Roleplaying Older Characters

Many writers and roleplayers, especially those in relatively young age groups, find themselves faced with the challenge of portraying many characters who are quite a bit older than themselves - and with no personal experience to go on, this can sometimes present a challenge. And as it's hardly realistic to just try and wait until you're as old as all of your characters are supposed, here's some advice and tips for those of you having a hard time with this.

RP COMMUNITIES SPOTLIGHT

- TABLETOP

Turn Your Table Top Into an Interactive Display with the Touchjet Pond

"The Touchjet Pond interactive Android based projector can totally transform your gaming table bringing your dungeons, and dragons, into the future. Using the Touchjet Pond projector for my roleplaying games, I was able to present the professionally drawn maps provided by Paizo’s Adventure Paths and interact with them right on the table."  -- Ryan Hiller

‘Dungeons & Dragons’ in AR Teased by Wizards of the Coast Digital Games Studio

"Playing Dungeons & Dragons 5th edition using AltspaceVR was one of my first multi-hour VR experiences. It combined something that I was familiar with and brought it to new life with new capabilities using the power of virtual reality. Whereas Dungeons & Dragons in VR brings anyone from around the world to the same location as you to relish in the joy of tabletop roleplaying in a digital setting, AR would bring digital augmentations into the physical world to enhance a physical game. "  -- David Jagneaux

- MMORPG

Ark: Survival Evolved Roleplay

"Dinosaurs aren't the only thing that's big about Ark: Survival Evolved, there's a massive community of roleplayers trying to survive on The Island too."  -- Steven Messner

I was drugged, forced to sing, and accused of murder in one night on an Ark roleplaying server

By Steven Messner February 16, 2017

"And that still wasn't the most uncomfortable thing that happened to me."

"The Roleplayers of ARK: Survival Evolved This will be a public group to those who wish to RP in the game ARK: Survival Evolved. All RPers are welcome, including clan/tribe/guild leaders and their members. If you know someone who has an RP server, wants to promote it, etc, please recommend this group to them! If you have a Roleplay-oriented site for ARK, we can promote that here as well! PLEASE NOTE: This steam group does NOT have 'one' server that we will all be playing on. It is primarily for RPers who play ARK, to 'search' for other RPers, or RP servers. "  -- https://steamcommunity.com/groups/ARKPublicRoleplay

Getting to know the wonderfully mad community of EVE Online at their 2017 fanfest

"EVE Online has the nicest, craziest fanbase you could hope for. We explore their 2017 fanfest."  -- Alex Donaldson

Life of Rome MMO Brings You Back to the Ancient Rome - Release date 2017

"Life of Rome is a third and first-person MMORPG set in the persistent world of 320 AD Rome. Players can choose to be Roman allegiance or Rebels, the game is designed to emphasize roleplay and community using family systems and player-driven politics. The in-game world is a 50km2 representation of Rome and its surrounding areas, including small villages, Rebel camps and Roman forts. Now the game is in Steam early access alpha. "  -- Serena, mmosite.com "Players interact with each other in a series of locations spread across the area. Major roleplaying-based storylines, purely optional, will be started and run by developers as well as players. Players in a position of power may also affect gameplay by setting a faction’s agenda, creating long-term political, economic, or military goals, which are broken up into missions handed down through a faction’s hierarchy in the form of player generated and driven missions."  -- Serena, mmosite.com "Players can form or join families with other players, and earn prestige for the whole group. The leaders of the most prestigious families in Rome who meet the Prestige requirement can elect to join the Senate, with the two highest ranking leaders as Consuls. During Senate meetings, these players can vote to enact a single benefit which will apply to all players loyal to Rome until the next meeting."  -- Serena, mmosite.com "Rome and the surrounding territory will contain many Temples and Shrines to a variety of Deities, each with a selection of different Benefits. Players can select a Religious Benefit every 24 hours by visiting and praying at a temple or shire dedicated to a specific deity."  -- Serena, mmosite.com

Pantheon: Rise of the Fallen - Release date 2017

"Pantheon: Rise of the Fallen is a group-focused MMORPG based on challenging gameplay and open world high fantasy. It takes place on a world populated by deities and heroes, called Terminus. Mortal and planar shards which have collided create the dramatic and epic environment of Terminus. With some of those shards came deities and demigods that, over time, raised empires which forged the turbulent political landscape. Centuries later, new planar collisions have occurred that will pull the players into the world and its politics. The player is a legendary hero, stripped of his or her powerful relics and left to explore the dramatically diverse and epic regions of Terminus with hopes of reclaiming their relics and those of lost heroes."  -- mmorpg.com

Rift Wardrobe

 - LARP

Disney is mooting an overnight Star Wars LARP resort

"Disney is contemplating opening a luxury Star Wars themed resort next to the Hollywood Studios park at Disney World, which could feature multi-day live-action role-playing games that run overnight, with guests staying all night in the park to interact with costumed characters and automated elements (droids, etc) to game out scenarios."  -- boingboing.net

ARCHITECT SPOTLIGHT

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