Is there anyone you actually liked? 
1 Like
Yeah I liked their previous game better. Less traumatizing lol
Totally agree, OP! I absolutely adore very unhealthy ROs in fiction. And just because someone inevitably ends up replying or msging me, just because someone writes or reads stories about stuff doesnât mean theyâre supporting it in real life, and it isnât a writerâs job to worry about whether their readers can tell the difference between fiction and reality. Fiction is like a safe playground where we can explore all kinds of ideas without actually believing in them.
14 Likes
I think a lot of the issue with this comes from genre expectations. People have certain expectations for romance stories and one of those expectations is that youâre gonna get some sexy scenes. This means itâs frustrating that when their RO spends almost the entire game going âNo, your consent isnât good enough for meâ and giving you speeches about power dynamics in relationships.
I donât think this would be a big issue in a âstandardâ CoG game, but for a romance specific game it goes against the genre conventions and isnât what people expect. I mean, when you sell people a romance based on a gladiator/patron dynamic, theyâre gonna expect to bang the wealthy patron and theyâre gonna be upset when that patron spends the entire time going âIâd love to but the power imbalance is too strong and I cannotâ when that kind of thing is exactly what they wanted out of the game.
15 Likes
Sure! That makes sense, although it doesnât match my play experience. I am generally very interested in what can make an NPC not wanting to sleep with a PC more palatable (ie, whether it can be written in a way that was less jarring to people who were annoyed by it, or whether it will mostly or always feel like a rejection/disruption of wish fulfilment and be a general turnoff) but maybe thatâs more suited to the thread I forgot I made about slow burn romances.
2 Likes
I do not think there is a catch all formula . Like everything in fiction in falls down to the execution and there is no execution that fits all stories.
7 Likes
Itâs also possible that the RO self-sacrifices to save the world, although that would take agency away from the player
1 Like
This tho i agree qq
toxic ones are really interesting and imo plays a good role in adding to the characters dynamics and personality. you arent the only one lol
2 Likes
What game is Hawkins from? Heâs been mentioned a few times on his thread but I donât know where heâs from!
Mecha Ace by Paul Wang.
1 Like
I definitely enjoy reading about this - and Iâve often immersed myself in such topics and stories and honestly donât feel like it was âequally unhealthy as experiencing itâ. 100% sure thatâs not the case for me, actually. For someone who finds it triggering due to past trauma etc, of course I imagine that could be the case, but I strongly disagree itâs unhealthy for everyone to immerse into, by default. Same as doormat MCs.
1 Like
thank you!
Do you perhaps have a list of recs in this category? Im out of books to read currently and I am also generally a red flag enjoyer 
6 Likes