Advice/Help How to determine a "long-term partner"?

[Onmyoji]

I apologise for such an odd question, but I've had this question for a while because this term confuses me a bit.

When people are looking for a 'long-term partner' what exactly do they mean?
A partner for long-running rp? A partner you could do more than one rp with? Something else?
And when you're not requesting a long-term partner, do you mean you just want a partner for one specific rp and don't consider continuing to play with that person? What exactly a person should do to be considered a 'long-term partner'? How do you determine that from the start when you haven't played with the person yet?

I'm mostly asking about 1x1 rp search threads, since it's the only type I play, but feel free to share ideas about group rp as well.

Thanks in advance.

 

[R.Storytale]

For me, it means:

1. A partner who's willing to be partners for a never-ending story in a way. Like if we finish one story, then we can make a new one for the next generation. Now, that is incredibly rare but I've had at least one role play where my partner and I had two generations of characters!

Or

2. A partner that you can have a story spanning over the course of several months. Again, speaking from personal experience. In fact, my current story has been going on for the past three months and we're still learning about each other's characters. Ahhh the beautiful slow burn is just wonderful!

Or

3. Like you had stated, a partner thst you can write multiple stories with.

But its kind of hard to determine who's long-term and who isn't. Time/Ghosting/Muse/Inspiration are all but a few of a number of factors that can affect the longevity of a role play.

I, for one, adore long term roleplays but they are pretty hard to find. I usually will assume whether its a long term tale if my partner starts throwing more ideas during ooc/writer's block. Or even adding new twists to the story.

But all in all. I'm a big ham for anything long term but I do feel that it should be a mutual thing.

 

[Onmyoji]

1. A partner who's willing to be partners for a never-ending story in a way. Like if we finish one story, then we can make a new one for the next generation. Now, that is incredibly rare but I've had at least one role play where my partner and I had two generations of characters

wow I haven't even thought about that! Never had roleplays like that myself. Sounds interesting.

Yeah the thing about determining is the most confusing. But I suppose when people ask for a long-term partner they assume their rp would last, but whether it lasts or not is already secondary...

Thank you for your reply!

 

[rae2nerdy]

My understanding of "long-term" was always that the person meant the opposite of "ghosting."

Basically long-term has nothing to do with the story itself and more to do with the fact that the Searcher is looking for a partner that they can get to know and hang out with pretty much indefinitely. If that happens to include writing stories sweet. But it's more about just having someone who will stick around when their muse leaves or they get bored of a current story.

But I admittedly could be wrong about that.

 

[Onmyoji]

My understanding of "long-term" was always that the person meant the opposite of "ghosting."

I see. Well, as I've said initially, there seems to be more than one definition, and that's why it's a bit confusing, as it seems that different people mean different things.
I don't think your idea is wrong at all.

Thank you for replying!

 

[Idea]

Personally, I don't generally use the term. This is because what read when I read the expression "long-term partner" is what I consider to be a default roleplay partnership, this is a roleplay that lasts for a long period (at least months) trying to tell a rich and complete story. Now, there are nuances, and I know not everyone uses the term this way, but generally when I encounter the term in a search thread (since you will not find it in mine, because I don't feel the need to specify what I think is the standard) that's what I take it to be.

 

[Onmyoji]

Thank you for your reply! It's probably close to what I'm thinking myself. Such reasoning would normally apply to any rp partner, except if you're specifially looking for a short-term rp...

But all the answers have supported the hypothesis that there is no definite answer to that. Everyone understands it slightly differently.

 

[Idea]

I was merely speaking of my own personal opinion. Whenever I defend a point it's either about what I believe to be the truth or what my opinion is on a matter, by no means do I speak for anyone else.

 

[Onmyoji]

I understand that.
From my own experience, even looking for a 'short-term' partner sometimes nets you a long-term one. And that's probably the ideal situation. For me, that is.

 

[kevintheradioguy]

It depends.

For me, it has always been "a game that goes through a story instead of a scene". For instance, playing the entire "Dark Knight" trilogy, instead of one long scene of fighting with Bane.

Some people I've met mean a completely other thing by this. Most popular is, surprisingly, looking for a character to play something that will have long-term consequences on their character. For example, your character plays with my character, they hit romance plot, and my character gets pregnant. The game ends. I play with other people as a pregnant character. In three years we play again, same characters. They remember each other. Mine has a baby now, and it's your character's daughter. Or if one character dies, it dies for good, and is not played as again. That one's... weird. But I can accept it.

 

[Sibelle Grey]

A partner for long-running rp?

Yes, exactly that.

When I say I'm looking for a long-term roleplay partner, I mean I'm ready to hunker down with you for as long as it takes to reach a satisfying conclusion while sufficiently developing the characters, basically. Long, winding storylines. Extra characters and side-plots and new goals that are part of bigger goals, whether these are personal, so character-driven, or overarching, so plot-driven. I've heard the term 'long-term roleplay' more than I've heard the term 'long-term partner', I think, so when I read 'long-term' I just assume the idea is that we're going to be here awhile.

So if I were to say I want a long-term roleplaying partner for a specific roleplay, what I mean is this: the short idea we're going off of is really only going to be part of what the roleplay is about, and it's going to take us a long time to get to the end of the story.

For me, 'long-term' has everything to do with the time it takes for the roleplay to conclude irl. It means this is going to build up slowly, be multi-layered, and that the story is going to take time and effort to be properly told. It means we're going to commit to keeping this roleplay alive for as long as it needs to be, whether that's months or years. My longest-running roleplay at this point is two years in and we're not yet halfway to where in the plot I'd like to end it. Basically, long-term to me means "not about to be rushed" and "no character development or world-building will be sacrificed on the road to point x".

But if you see a search thread that interests you, ask the roleplayer what exactly long-term means to them so you're sure you're going in with the same expectations.

 

[smallnscrappy]

Long term is kind of relative to your intentions...but...for me and my writing partner it means two things. We are very serious about world building, and we are going to spend a lot of time developing story arcs, characters, an the world they live in. There is a lot of commitment and memorization. As we have built our universe, we have introduced new characters, new cultures, new subplots, there is a lot of action and consequence that affects other characters. Something that happens to one character may reach all the way across the story to another and so on with a ripple effect.

A long term partner basically means that you are in it for the long haul and that you are willing to sit down and create something with a lot of depth, thought, and investment. My partner and I might not always have the longest replies, but every little bit adds to the story and helps flesh out characters and plotlines. Sixteen years is a long time! Our characters kids have had kids and we have problems from the original story that have surfaced as generational issues.

Now...long term rps are not easy. You have to be willing and able to chew through a lot of gristle and writers block. Sometimes you and your partner are going to have creative differences. You have to be able to work through that, make up, apologize, whatever. Long haul means long haul.

I have found it to be a very worthwhile and fulfilling experience and I would love to find another long term writer buddy.

 

[Tove]

Someone that is going to help contribute, throw in their own ideas, and create a story that will have a beginning middle and ultimate end.
I always found that one way to see if people are in it for the duration is to see if they pitch ideas or branch off my ideas with their own.