Anyone else a bit dissapointed in the lack of roleplays about sex?

[BlackestKnight]

It's like sex is an after thought in most of these games, I like a good sci fi fantasy game as much as anyone else, but it seems like people aren't really giving too much thought into the actual sex portion of their games. A lot of games are just not sexy, someone needs to bring the sexy back. That's just my .02$

[Beguile's Mistress]

Elliquiy is a literary site that supports adult content.  To most of us adult content includes sex but isn't just sex.  I'm sure if you put your desires out there in a request thread you'll find some partners who are willing. 

We have writers of all sorts.  Just be respectful. ;D

[HockeyGod]

Might be an interesting conversation for the On Topic board. Actually, I'm pretty sure I've seen that thread somewhere in this place ;)

[Thufir Hawat]

It's like sex is an after thought in most of these games

Yes, I strive to achieve this in my own games ;D! So, why would that be a problem?

I'll back Beguile's Misstress (>:)), you just need to find partners that want the same from a game.

[rick957]

Re: Anyone else a bit dissapointed in the lack of roleplays about sex?

Short answer:  hell yes.  ;) 

Sorry, I'm an overly-opinionated and verbose mofo who likes to prattle and act silly, and you've raised what I think is a fascinating topic, so I'm going to share my thoughts about it, but please be aware that I'm going to be blunt, i.e., please stop reading if you take offense frequently or easily.  (I feel the need to insert this caveat because I say things sometimes that bother people when I don't even mean to do so.)

Okay, sex in Elliquiy RPs.  There's too little of it, IMO.  Why is that?  Does anyone know?  Here are my theories, which may be totally wrong, because I have no special knowledge whatsoever.

I ran a modern-day suspense/espionage group game at Elliquiy that lasted for over a year, I think, and I assumed that everyone in it wanted to write sex scenes as often as possible, so I kept creating what I thought were viable opportunities for just that.  Nobody had sex.  All the characters were incredible studmuffins or supervixens, and they all sat around talking to each other and thinking things to themselves, when they could have been fucking.  :)

Eventually I tried to do a sex scene myself using one of my own characters, because it sure seemed like the thing to do.  It went poorly -- actually it went really well, because the other player was a great writer, except -- there was almost no sex in it!  I don't know why, honest; we tried, both of us.

Later on I moved the entire game into a whorehouse setting.  Seriously.  Know why I did that?  You guessed it, because I figured it would make it even easier and more obvious for people to fuck the shit out of each other.  :)  I created opportunities within the whorehouse for all kinds of kinky BDSM and voyeurism and exhibitionism and non-con and gangbanging.  Almost none of that happened, especially if you subtract the scenes I participated in myself.

Our game always had about an even number of male and female players who were either straight or bi in their sexual preferences, so that wasn't the problem.  All incredibly gifted writers; you can check and see.  And again, every single character in the game except for some of mine (as the GM) were hotter than hell (based on their char pics).  The game lasted for over a year, and I only recall two relatively-short sex scenes that reached a mutual completion.

Hehehehe I suppose I'm just pointing all this out to suggest that BlackestKnight really has a good point that might be worth further discussion from anyone else interested in seeing more sexual content on the boards.  It seems rare to me, too, and I don't know why that is, or what can (or ought) to be done about it (maybe nothing, I dunno).

One more little thing and I'll go.  (Oh, and sorry if I've been too blunt here for anyone's tastes; I'm making an honest effort to be lighthearted and friendly and totally non-offensive, except that I use expletives, because I figure that's okay to do at Elliquiy, right?)

It seems many people at Elliquiy like to tell all their potential RP partners exactly which kinky and obscure sexual practices seem most exciting to them personally, and we're talking about giving extensive detail here.  :D  Not everyone at Elliquiy lists as much detail as they do at, say, that Rabbit Hole place (which I find absolutely hilarious), but it's common for many of us to list many sexual activities we would theoretically like to write about in our O/O's.  I did it, a long time ago, because it seemed like the thing to do.

Now, how many people actually do scenes in RPs that involve hardly any of that incredibly kinky stuff that gets listed in everyone's O/O's?  If you look around at enough RPs, you discover that most have no sex at all, and many of the rest have only short sex scenes.  (There are a few people who do nothing but sex-heavy RPs, but they're a small minority of E members, it seems to me, at least.  Before I joined, I would have guessed they would be in the majority.)

That's my impression at least; I'm no authority, nor does it personally matter to me what others like to RP about; to each his own!  But how come everybody lists their kinks in such detail and so publicly, if so few of us ever write about them?

Just sayin'.  :)  I think it's a fun, fascinating topic for discussion.  (Please nobody get mad at me, okay?  I'm just trying to have fun here.)

[ManyMindsManyVoices]

"I have never had any trouble finding sex in a game... Hell, I, almost literally, had a character stumble into a threeway. However, I'm not here because I want to have kinky sex... Kinky, slow-paced word sex, is a fun diversion, it's not a goal, because in the end, maybe the me from a few months from now gets his rocks off to reading a completed story that he reflects on. Otherwise, it's too slow-paced for me to get much more out of it than some fun. In a big group game, if your sex scene lasts too long, that's going to hamper some story for everyone else who isn't having sex with you."

"In the end, I like that my characters can murder and rape and fuck like real people an no one flinches, but there's a reason I wouldn't watch the 'Murder, Rape, Fuck' show, and there's a reason I only want enough story in my porn to create chemistry."

"This is just me, answering the question on my behalf, but I think there's a number of people who agree. Most of the people here for more than a month or two have done the 'let's fuck' thing, or don't have any interest in that whatsoever. Now we just let everyone know, 'hey, we're up for that, sometime, here's the rules if it comes to it...' Then it's time to tell a cool story."

"Nothing wrong with playing, 'Murder, Rape, Fuck' (trust me, those games exist, I know at least one of my E friends is in something like that), and the Solo/non-Forum RP threads are filled to the brim with people who just want sexy time. You just gotta look, wait, or tell people what you want."

"A little disclaimer, though, the all-sex games attract a very diverse crowd. Group games in general do, and you better be ready to tell them what you want, and possibly reject people. I try to keep my standards pretty high, and also make sure the 'scary kinks' (not meant in offense, I mean that entirely subjective to kinks that make me squick or squirm) know I'm not the place to go for certain stuff."

"Anyway, open communication (with maybe a little careful diplomacy) is key, if you want to get down and dirty, say so. Let people know, make the 'Down and Dirty (Interest Check)' thread, and gather thy fellow horny bastards. Taking action will always be the best way to make things go your way."

EDIT: "Oh, by the way, Rick, if you could read everyone's PMs, the story might be very different. You can easily have a 5 person PM orgy, and no one would ever know but the participants. Some people prefer it that way."

[Thufir Hawat]

Short answer:  hell yes.  ;) 

Sorry, I'm an overly-opinionated and verbose mofo who likes to prattle and act silly, and you've raised what I think is a fascinating topic, so I'm going to share my thoughts about it, but please be aware that I'm going to be blunt, i.e., please stop reading if you take offense frequently or easily.  (I feel the need to insert this caveat because I say things sometimes that bother people when I don't even mean to do so.)

I don't get offended easily, or at all. Carry on, you're safe with me. Yes, in that sense as well >:)!

Okay, sex in Elliquiy RPs.  There's too little of it, IMO.

TH checks last 3 games.
TH checks random game, sex every page.
TH leaves it at this.

I'm driven to conclude you haven't included a "sex is a big part of this game" in your request thread ;D?
You totally should do that, it's all about attracting a like-minded crowd. As an example, if I was to join a spy game, I would expect it to be about spying, not sex, unless the interest thread says otherwise 8-)!

[rick957]

"Oh, by the way, Rick, if you could read everyone's PMs, the story might be very different. You can easily have a 5 person PM orgy, and no one would ever know but the participants. Some people prefer it that way."

As a former (and hopefully future) GM, this makes me a wee bit forlorn, to think that my players might wish to keep such entertaining developments away from me.  :'(

More seriously, my impression is that the majority of E members prefer the sex to be brief or absent, not described at length.  Also I suspect (this is highly theoretical; I'd love to hear opinions) that many male E joiners feel otherwise -- they're looking for more explicit smut -- whereas more female Elliquians only enjoy brief smut in the context of a larger, non-sexual story.  And for whatever reason, it's the E ladies whose preferences inform the majority of E RPs. 

(Yes, I assume -- perhaps wrongly -- that most men are hormone-crazed animals like me, and most women are sexually inhibited, relatively speaking -- compared to the average male.  Now, before anyone jumps down my throat, I understand that non-sexual RPs can be as much or more fun than sexual ones, and I understand that many women love the smut and many men find it boring.  I'm making uninformed and highly speculative generalizations about the majority of E members, but I'm only speculating for the sake of fun, certainly not to criticize anyone's personal preferences or look down on anyone. 

All that said, I love talking about this kinda stuff.  hehehehe  ;)  ) 

[rick957]

This fascinated me:

I'm driven to conclude you haven't included a "sex is a big part of this game" in your request thread ;D?

With respect, I would suggest that for the majority of E RPs, sex is not a "big" part, but more importantly, there isn't any at all.  People bring in these sexy characters and then never describe them having sex, even for one scene, even for one or two posts.  That's okay; to each his own; but isn't that a little bit odd and unexpected?

I would propose the following:  many people like myself join E assuming that everyone at the site, or at least the majority, expect that most of the games at a website dedicated to "adult roleplaying" will feature at least a little sex.  The reality is exactly the opposite:  most RPs at E have very brief sex scenes or (more often than not) no sex at all.  Is that the typical case, or not?  If so, why is that, and what's that about?

Again, let me be clear:  rock on, all you people who want to do RPs with little or no sex.  All my RPs that have lasted have turned out that way, and I enjoyed the hell out of them.  But I imagine -- might be totally wrong -- that there's a presumption among most males and at least a few females who join E that there will be far more sex-focused RPs than there actually are.  If I'm wrong, as I may be, that's totally cool; I like E just the way it is and wouldn't even want any big changes.  But I think it's a fun topic for further discussion and input from various people, I hope.  :)

[ManyMindsManyVoices]

"I ca say from observation (and I do a hell of a lot of that), that females tend to want slower-paced, longer term role-plays, and males tend to just want the sex. However, I still am not seeing a lack of sex, just a difference in opinion as to how to go about it. Also, those are complete generalizations, but I'd say not uncommon ones. E has more males than females (by a decent margin), especially if you count biological males (most lieges are males biologically, from my experience)."

"However, there are more Dames than Knights, and I think more Sirens/Goddesses than Satyrs/Gods. A lot of guys come here for fast and dirty sex and find themselves disappointed. E is a mature community, and eventually, I'd say most of the long time players here are long time players because of the community, not the sex."

"Again, these are generalizations and speculations, not hard facts, but I feel pretty confident given how much of these sorts of things I've seen."

"Also, the idea that someone's keeping 'developments' away from you, is kind of insulting. I am running a PM game right now, partially because it was convenient for me and the partner (who is way kinkier than I am, if the time we've been talking is any indicator). I don't care much care if you see what I write, it's not a privacy thing, but you don't have any 'right' or 'entitlement' to it, even if its part of your game. If you have strong feelings about that, tell your players that all scenes must be public, ahead of time."

"I swear, and this isn't directed at you Rick, it's just a general statement, but when I talk to people about communication it often seems like I'm talking to children. Relationships (between any two or more people, for any purpose) are about rules, you establish them early, as reasonably as possible, and you discuss them often. Communicate them, and you build trust, with those two facets, a relationship stays strong."

"Tell people what you want, be clear, be detailed, and if you have to be assertive. I like the game concept I'm working on now enough to have actively sought out players for hours. Not everyone can do that, not every game survives, and life's not fair. Just put the word out, use the O/O search function, talk to people, network, make friends. Most of all, be courteous and polite, because no one is wrong for being busy or disliking your game concept (unless they're rude about it)."

"I, personally, would likely have zero interest in running a game with you, as I tend not to play well with the hornier members of my gender. That doesn't mean I think you're a bad person, go forth and have your dirty sex game, I know there are girls here who want it. You just have to know how to ask, and remember that there's a lot of different strokes out there, and most people don't want what you want. So, more people don't want what you're selling than do, just figure out how to call out to the ones that do."

With respect, I would suggest that for the majority of E RPs, sex is not a "big" part, but more importantly, there isn't any at all.  People bring in these sexy characters and then never describe them having sex, even for one scene, even for one or two posts.  That's okay; to each his own; but isn't that a little bit odd and unexpected?

I would propose the following:  many people like myself join E assuming that everyone at the site, or at least the majority, expect that most of the games at a website dedicated to "adult roleplaying[/b]" will feature at least a little sex[/b].  The reality is exactly the opposite:  most RPs at E have very brief sex scenes or (more often than not) no sex at all.  Is that the typical case, or not?  If so, why is that, and what's that about?

Again, let me be clear:  rock on, all you people who want to do RPs with little or no sex.  All my RPs that have lasted have turned out that way, and I enjoyed the hell out of them.  But I imagine -- might be totally wrong -- that there's a presumption among most males and at least a few females who join E that there will be far more sex-focused RPs than there actually are.  If I'm wrong, as I may be, that's totally cool; I like E just the way it is and wouldn't even want any big changes.  But I think it's a fun topic for further discussion and input from various people, I hope.  :)

"Again, see Thufir's post, and I'll say again. I've gotten plenty of sex scenes going here. I've played at least 10 to 20 games here or because of something from here (a request for an IM RP or something), and I can probably count on one hand the ones that lasted a reasonable amount of time and where I didn't have a sex scene."

"I haven't seen a lot of games without some discussion or implication of sex. Maybe, you and I have differing definitions on what 'too little' is... However, it comes back to this, again and again, go make a game where the goal is sex. Tell everyone you want all kinds of sex, and give it a good hook. Keep trying til a game works out... Be the change you want to see, or whatever."

[Thufir Hawat]

This fascinated me:

With respect, I would suggest that for the majority of E RPs, sex is not a "big" part, but more importantly, there isn't any at all.

What is a "big" part differs wildly between different RPers, so I wouldn't go there. Sometimes, people might value the sexual tension more than the actual sex. Sometimes, they might value the actual sex, but value the logic of the story more. And logically, you don't want to screw other spies, to use your own example ;D!
That's why I was asking. Did you specify that you want it to be a big part in the interest thread?

People bring in these sexy characters and then never describe them having sex, even for one scene, even for one or two posts.  That's okay; to each his own; but isn't that a little bit odd and unexpected?

Not at all odd, no, though I see it's odd for you.
Let me give you an example. If I bring up a character that's the best ever at fighting and assassinations at a court game, do you assume I want combat to be a central part of the game?
If you do, I remind you what they tell about assuming >:)! It's just as likely I want to skip any fights there are, surviving, and cut back to the talking, negotiations and deal-mongering. In character, the character is sick of killing and wants to solve some problems where violence doesn't help. There are many like this one.

I would propose the following:  many people like myself join E assuming that everyone at the site, or at least the majority, expect that most of the games at a website dedicated to "adult roleplaying" will feature at least a little sex.  The reality is exactly the opposite:  most RPs at E have very brief sex scenes or (more often than not) no sex at all.  Is that the typical case, or not?  If so, why is that, and what's that about?

That's not the typical case, IME.
So far, the game I'm running is barely over 300 posts, but already had 3 sexual scenes, another might start soon, and we've got even more unresolved relationships in progress. I find that to be about right for what is, after all, a game about criminals. Yes, I made it explicit the game wasn't about sex, and that anyone gets as much action as they get their characters involved into.
Had I made the opposite statement, I'd have expected triple that number of sexual scenes by now, at least. Except I wouldn't run it, since for me what leads to the sex is as interesting as the sexual content itself.

Again, let me be clear:  rock on, all you people who want to do RPs with little or no sex.

Curiously enough, no RP I've been in that passed the 150-posts mark has been that way. And while the number might seem great, what is a post?
It's a statement of action or decision taken, putting it a bit simplified. How many mundane actions do you make, how many decisions do you take, per a single sexual act? Presumably, you aren't locked in a room masturbating all day long.

All my RPs that have lasted have turned out that way, and I enjoyed the hell out of them.  But I imagine -- might be totally wrong -- that there's a presumption among most males and at least a few females who join E that there will be far more sex-focused RPs than there actually are.  If I'm wrong, as I may be, that's totally cool; I like E just the way it is and wouldn't even want any big changes.  But I think it's a fun topic for further discussion and input from various people, I hope.  :)

Obviously there are people that presume there would be more sex on E. than there actually is. And there are the people that presume there would be less.
These people are called, collectively, outliers. That's because if they tended towards what the majority are comfortable with, they'd be having no trouble finding what they're looking for. Most people on E. would be tending towards the same spot, literally!
That's not to say being an outlier is wrong. I'm saying that we all need to communicate our preferences clearly, unless what the majority wants is exactly what you want. Then, and only then, can you rely on unwritten assumptions! (Also keep in mind that what the majority expects from a game about nurses that give sexual favours to patients is different from what the majority expects of a game of international spies having a meeting, no matter where the meeting place is located).
Personally, I don't even know whether I'm an outlier. I take care to communicate my preferences clearly, so people that respond know what they're in for. Or if I'm considering to join an existing game, I ask about them.
And again, as someone else pointed above, a simple check of the One-on-One and One-shot interest threads, would show there are enough people that want lots of sex in their games. So maybe I'm the outlier, and not you?
Who cares! Just state clearly the amount of sexual content you expect from a game when you post an interest thread :P. People with different preferences would know not to join. The ones that want as much sex as you would know to jump at it. Everybody would be happier as a result, or at least I hope so ;D!

[ExisD]

If you're talking group games I'm also used to them containing very little sex, though in my case for groups I am part of the.... faction?(unsure if this is the correct word to use here)... that tends to have it either be non-existent or very brief in a group.

The reason for this tendency is simple. Sex scenes are a break in any plot continuation happening in the game and usually cause the game to stop or slow for the duration of the scene or longer. When a scene starts I'm used to one of two things happening; either everyone starts one or everyone not involved stops posting. In the first case it's possible that the plot of the game is suddenly on hold for a month or two as the variable posting rates and length preferences of each participant come into play. In the second everyone who stopped paying attention until the scene is done, which may also take over a month depending on posting speed, tends to have forgotten about the game and because of the break takes time to get back up to the previous level of interest.

The most successful group game I've taken part in lasted for a bit more than a year and ended at 626 posts. My character was involved in two scenes and I think everyone else, of four players, was in the same number.

Given the difficulties in getting a group game to run longer than a month, or even to begin in the first place, it makes sense that people would try to avoid something that has the potential to end the game preemptively.

[Thufir Hawat]

If you're talking group games I'm also used to them containing very little sex, though in my case for groups I am part of the.... faction?(unsure if this is the correct word to use here)... that tends to have it either be non-existent or very brief in a group.

The reason for this tendency is simple. Sex scenes are a break in any plot continuation happening in the game and usually cause the game to stop or slow for the duration of the scene or longer. When a scene starts I'm used to one of two things happening; either everyone starts one or everyone not involved stops posting.

You could say the same about dialogue, though, especially if someone posts more slowly. While you hesitate, then whisper "no", me, posting faster, resolved a car race? Oh GM, sing me of those timing problems, that caused the death of many a group game >:)!

More practically, I'm used to three different means of resolving this for sexual scenes.

• Either everyone is in a spot where an action takes a similar amount of time, like combat, or dialogue. A few simple actions at once, then resolving it? Then you can continue it in the main thread, provided everyone posts with roughly the same speed.
• Or you take it to another thread, and continue from the aftermath of a resolved sex scene in the main IC thread.
• And finally, if the people involved in it are relatively fast posters, the other fast posters are involved in another fast-paced activity, and the slow posters need some downtime anyway, you can continue as per the first case. This is rarely the case, but it happens, otherwise you have to use whatever it is that's the common way to resolve slow posting.

But generally, as soon as not everybody is in the same space, a group game becomes a time-managing exercise for the GM. It's always about matching at least roughly the speed of posting to the time passed, and sex is no exception.

[Ellipsis]

Elliquiy is a literary site that supports adult content.  To most of us adult content includes sex but isn't just sex.  I'm sure if you put your desires out there in a request thread you'll find some partners who are willing. 

We have writers of all sorts.  Just be respectful. ;D

+1. THIS.

I think it's too easy to assume that "Adult Roleplaying" means sex, sex, and more sex. We've all joined E looking for different things in our writing. Some wish to experiment or exercise certain kinks or settings. Some wish to find a sense of community with likeminded individuals. Some want to become better writers and storytellers. Our motivations differ. I joined because I wanted a freedom in my characters and stories that I didn't have on previous sites where fading to black was the rule.

I currently have eleven games at the moment and only four have included any sexual content. In one of them, the first "sex scene" didn't occur until nine pages into it. I'm in the mindset that sex will happen, eventually, but I make sure that my partners understand that sex isn't my primary goal when it comes to writing. If that's what you're after, that's perfectly fine by me, but I'm not the collaborator for you in that case. Sex should occur naturally between characters and I want it to make sense in the grand scheme of things like TH mentioned, some characters aren't going to hump like rabbits. At least not so soon. I also don't want to force the situation just because Elliquiy is labeled as an adult roleplaying website.

As for group games, I can't really say much on that since I rarely play them.

Truthfully, it all depends on what you want as a writer. I guarantee you that you'll be able to find a handful of people who want the same things you do, though it certainly may take a bit of patience.

[Thufir Hawat]

Truthfully, it all depends on what you want as a writer. I guarantee you that you'll be able to find a handful of people who want the same things you do, though it certainly may take a bit of patience.

I disagree about the patience part, you need something like 15 minutes IME :P!
I mean, I just opened 6 threads just based on the titles, and 4 of them clearly show a desire for more sexual content, and most specified looking for a male co-writer, which the OP is. These were all on the first page, so I don't think of them as exactly hard to find ;D!

[Ellipsis]

I disagree about the patience part, you need something like 15 minutes IME :P!
I mean, I just opened 6 threads just based on the titles, and 4 of them clearly show a desire for more sexual content, and most specified looking for a male co-writer, which the OP is. These were all on the first page, so I don't think of them as exactly hard to find ;D!

I meant it in a general sense that to get what you want, you may have to wait or spend some time searching for something that meets a majority, if not all, of your criteria. Also, the OP's interests may be a bit more discerning than just "more sexual content."

From my personal experience and probably because I'm picky or very particular in what I'm looking for, I may have to wade through several messages or search threads before I'm able to find something that grabs my interest. It may take days or even weeks. It depends on what you want. Sure, if you want something as simple as more sex without much regard to a certain setting, content, or anything else, then you're going to have an easier time meeting those requirements.

[Thufir Hawat]

I meant it in a general sense that to get what you want, you may have to wait or spend some time searching for something that meets a majority, if not all, of your criteria. Also, the OP's interests may be a bit more discerning than just "more sexual content."

From my personal experience and probably because I'm picky or very particular in what I'm looking for, I may have to wade through several messages or search threads before I'm able to find something that grabs my interest. It may take days or even weeks. It depends on what you want. Sure, if you want something as simple as more sex without much regard to a certain setting, content, or anything else, then you're going to have an easier time meeting those requirements.

If you didn't see it as teasing you, I made a poor joke.
So, it was a poor joke, but the above post was originally an attempt at kidding about it. Either way, both you and the OP have my apologies for the poor presentation!

[BitterSweet]

To answer your original post – not really.

Every solo game (that's survived) I've had has run into sex, or the precursors for it within about three pages.  That's because I specifically ask for what I want – sex, what kind, who with, how it might come up of the game set-up.  It's also much easier for solo players to include sex in their games because … there's only the two of them to satisfy and there's no pressure to avoid slowing down the game for others.

And, to be blunt, several of the group games I've seen (and attempted to play in before it moved too fast) have had plenty of sex – because the games were advertised and designed for sex.  One of them is a Victorian romp in the country (or cuntry), structured specifically to allow sex of all sorts.  There was sex almost as soon as the first player set foot on the stage.

The problem I've seen (and it's not exactly a problem if everyone is having fun) is that if you're starting a group game about spies, or sci-fi – well, it's about spying or sci-fi adventures and to be frank, if you're going to keep even a vague sense of realism, most people when faced with life threatening or difficult situations focus on them, not fucking.  Combine that with the fact that most of us get our ideas on how a spy/sci-fi/whatever story progresses from movies/books etc, which rarely have any explicit sex at all.  So, if we're following the pattern of say … Die Hard, where do we shoehorn the sex in?  There's no model to start from.  Porn movies and books are often the opposite – no story progression or plot, just sex.  Group gamers, even on E, are usually looking for something more complex than a porn flick (hey, otherwise we'd be watching one).

Setting a game up for sex is actually pretty difficult; the right environment, situations that lead (more or less) logically into sex, compatible partners available (frankly, the rigidity of many male players in sexual situations can crimp available partners) and enough non-sexual plot to give the characters a chance to exercise their personalities but not be too distracting.  Most importantly, though, some mechanism that allows sex scenes to be 'off-screen' for other players so they're not hanging around waiting for two (or three/etc) people to get off so they can continue their stories.

In a group game I played elsewhere, the process for handling sex was to 'sideline' the sex thread and have the players involved in the sex write two threads; their sex thread and then continue on with the group game as usual.  That way, the group as a whole isn't held up by two (or so) players.  I don't see that happening much on E, which surprised me, considering I also expected quite a bit of sex focused play.

[Ellipsis]

If you didn't see it as teasing you, I made a poor joke.
So, it was a poor joke, but the above post was originally an attempt at kidding about it. Either way, both you and the OP have my apologies for the poor presentation!

Now I feel silly.  :P

Text and tone don't always translate, so no apologies necessary.

In a group game I played elsewhere, the process for handling sex was to 'sideline' the sex thread and have the players involved in the sex write two threads; their sex thread and then continue on with the group game as usual.  That way, the group as a whole isn't held up by two (or so) players.  I don't see that happening much on E, which surprised me, considering I also expected quite a bit of sex focused play.

That's a really good idea! I usually shy away from group games because I find the posting rate a bit overwhelming or I feel like an intruder when two characters are interacting mainly with one another, whether it's something sexual or not, but a 'sideline' thread of sorts would definitely curb that outsider feeling.

[Cold Heritage]

There was a time when I was, but I got over it. Now, I tend to be disappointed and dismayed when I see too much sex creep into a roleplay. I am particularly dismayed by effusively sexual characters in otherwise non-effusively sexual games.

[ManyMindsManyVoices]

There was a time when I was, but I got over it. Now, I tend to be disappointed and dismayed when I see too much sex creep into a roleplay. I am particularly dismayed by effusively sexual characters in otherwise non-effusively sexual games.

"Yeah, this is annoying. I swear, even communication will never get through to some people. I mean, I haven't run a game yet where sex was off the table (or of no bearing to the game at all), but some people seem to think that adult rp means that their character has to run naked through the world with double D cups or a 12 inch dick... That's an exaggeration, but I always have to be wary when dealing with people who would rather act like a dog in heat than make a plot go smoothly."

[Thufir Hawat]

frankly, the rigidity of many male players in sexual situations can crimp available partners

Could you elaborate on that, please :P?

That's a really good idea! I usually shy away from group games because I find the posting rate a bit overwhelming or I feel like an intruder when two characters are interacting mainly with one another, whether it's something sexual or not, but a 'sideline' thread of sorts would definitely curb that outsider feeling.

That's the SOP for me when running games, unless one of the other two solutions I've got aren't readily available.
I strongly suspect that this is the reason the number of threads allowed per game go up with the number of players ;D!

[LunarSage]

If you're not seeing the sex in games on Elliquiy, I would venture to guess you're not looking very hard.  Sex is everywhere in these games.  I really don't know what else to say about that. 

I didn't come to this site to write constant porn smutfests, if that's what's being suggested.  I like about 80% story and 20% sex.  Sex can be -really- repetitive to write in my experience and if that's all I wrote about, I'd lose interest in writing real quick. 

[Cold Heritage]

I'm somewhat torn. On the one hand, I want to write more sex to get more practice and experience in doing so, but on the other, I don't want to get things off the rails by devoting too much time to sex scenes.

[AndyZ]

My two cents:

I absolutely love that you can have characters who have sex instantly and spontaneously.  By default, in most places, you just can't.  Either you have to take it to a separate room or outside the normal game or whatever.

Now, when you first get to E, it's pretty normal to jump on all kinds of sexual games.  However, I think that after people get good and saturated, things calm down enough that you play normal characters and leave that potential open for when you're in the mood.

I don't need every game to be sexual, but it's awesome that any game can be.

[BitterSweet]

Could you elaborate on that, please :P?

It seems more likely, though not universal, obviously, that male players on E are less sexually flexible.  Many male character profiles go something like this:

Heterosexual, dominant, attracted only to females.

Sometimes they're slightly adventurous and are willing to play females who are only attracted to females.  Sometimes they're not into D/s at all (though my view on the D/s aspect is skewed since I look at D/s type entries much more frequently than others).

Also, somewhat common, and much more common among male players than female or liege players.

Heterosexual, dominant, attracted only to females and will only play with female players.

Comparatively few male players are bi, submissive, switch, willing to play with liege or male players (even when the characters are female), interested in sex based RP with other gendered characters, and other types of flexibility that would increase partner opportunities.

Female and liege players seem much more likely to be willing to play both male or female characters, be attracted to both male and female characters (as well as trans, other, etc), be fine with playing with male or female or liege players and other sorts of sexual flexibility that allows for more opportunities to play with interesting people.

Desire is desire, and it's isn't really adjustable so, I'm not scolding or criticizing anyone - but paraphrasing Woody Allen, sexual flexibility does increase your chances of a date on Saturday night.

[Saerrael]

It's like sex is an after thought in most of these games, I like a good sci fi fantasy game as much as anyone else, but it seems like people aren't really giving too much thought into the actual sex portion of their games. A lot of games are just not sexy, someone needs to bring the sexy back. That's just my .02$

Yes, but.

I think it has to do with keeping a groupgame well structured to have sex either outside a game or inside separate thread(s). If this is not done, a groupgame structure can easily collapse or derail. Unless you have a full blown orgy with all of the group's players, you will not have the full group advance through the game. And that's quite unlikely due to what BitterSweet just pointed out.

[/my2cents]

[ManyMindsManyVoices]

It seems more likely, though not universal, obviously, that male players on E are less sexually flexible.  Many male character profiles go something like this:

Heterosexual, dominant, attracted only to females.

Sometimes they're slightly adventurous and are willing to play females who are only attracted to females.  Sometimes they're not into D/s at all (though my view on the D/s aspect is skewed since I look at D/s type entries much more frequently than others).

Also, somewhat common, and much more common among male players than female or liege players.

Heterosexual, dominant, attracted only to females and will only play with female players.

Comparatively few male players are bi, submissive, switch, willing to play with liege or male players (even when the characters are female), interested in sex based RP with other gendered characters, and other types of flexibility that would increase partner opportunities.

Female and liege players seem much more likely to be willing to play both male or female characters, be attracted to both male and female characters (as well as trans, other, etc), be fine with playing with male or female or liege players and other sorts of sexual flexibility that allows for more opportunities to play with interesting people.

Desire is desire, and it's isn't really adjustable so, I'm not scolding or criticizing anyone - but paraphrasing Woody Allen, sexual flexibility does increase your chances of a date on Saturday night.

"I would note that I prefer female partners not because I'm bothered by men playing women or any such thing, but because men, on the whole, are disappointing. I could say much more about gender and how it commonly shows certain traits, but I would likely offend, and I rub people the wrong way enough as it is."

"Suffice it to say, there are more girls here that write like intelligent, mature individuals than their are males of that same nature. Lieges are a much more complex demographic, as it includes males and females (or males/females or whatever else in between), and while there's nothing wrong with being uncomfortable and experimenting... Well, some just can't find a foothold in confidence, and that just isn't appealing to me."

"Anyway, my point is, I bet a lot of guys are on that side of the fence with it. Finding other guys unappealing, not because they're male or out of some kind of homophobia. It's just that guys are so much more likely to make themselves unappealing, that it even flexible guys aren't willing to try to find the subset of guys who make interesting partners."

[LunarSage]

"I would note that I prefer female partners not because I'm bothered by men playing women or any such thing, but because men, on the whole, are disappointing. I could say much more about gender and how it commonly shows certain traits, but I would likely offend, and I rub people the wrong way enough as it is."

"Suffice it to say, there are more girls here that write like intelligent, mature individuals than their are males of that same nature. Lieges are a much more complex demographic, as it includes males and females (or males/females or whatever else in between), and while there's nothing wrong with being uncomfortable and experimenting... Well, some just can't find a foothold in confidence, and that just isn't appealing to me."

"Anyway, my point is, I bet a lot of guys are on that side of the fence with it. Finding other guys unappealing, not because they're male or out of some kind of homophobia. It's just that guys are so much more likely to make themselves unappealing, that it even flexible guys aren't willing to try to find the subset of guys who make interesting partners."

If that were the case, wouldn't you find a lot more female writers who refuse to write with male players?  That doesn't seem to be the case, though... so I'm not sure I agree with that thought.

That said, thank you Bittersweet for the disclaimer about there not really being anything wrong with preferring partners of a certain gender for sexual RP (note that I said sexual RP.  I don't like the idea of writing a sex scene with a writer that I know to be male, even if he's playing a female.  It's just outside my comfort zone... but I would never limit general RP to women only.  I'll RP with anyone's character in a group game, for example... but I won't have my character get romantically or sexually involved with the female character of a male writer.).  A lot of folks (in general) seem eager to criticize people like myself for that preference, and I don't think that's cool.  I'm here to RP as recreation, not to 'test limits' by stepping outside of my comfort level.  No offense to those who do like to push their limits, but as Austin Powers once said... "that's just not my bag, baby".

[Cold Heritage]

I want to thank Bittersweet too, for the same reason as LunarSage.

[ManyMindsManyVoices]

If that were the case, wouldn't you find a lot more female writers who refuse to write with male players?  That doesn't seem to be the case, though... so I'm not sure I agree with that thought.

"If psychology and behavior were as succinct as to be described in three very short paragraphs, humans would be simple creatures indeed."

[BitterSweet]

"I would note that I prefer female partners not because I'm bothered by men playing women or any such thing, but because men, on the whole, are disappointing. I could say much more about gender and how it commonly shows certain traits, but I would likely offend, and I rub people the wrong way enough as it is."

"Suffice it to say, there are more girls here that write like intelligent, mature individuals than their are males of that same nature. Lieges are a much more complex demographic, as it includes males and females (or males/females or whatever else in between), and while there's nothing wrong with being uncomfortable and experimenting... Well, some just can't find a foothold in confidence, and that just isn't appealing to me."

"Anyway, my point is, I bet a lot of guys are on that side of the fence with it. Finding other guys unappealing, not because they're male or out of some kind of homophobia. It's just that guys are so much more likely to make themselves unappealing, that it even flexible guys aren't willing to try to find the subset of guys who make interesting partners."

There are bad players of all genders and preferences everywhere.  Women who don't know where a clit is, or what it is.  Men who don't seem able to write about male arousal, let alone respond to another writer's depiction of female arousal (or the desired sex they're interested in).  Catastrophic failures of writing comprehensibility and, sometimes, simple incompatibility.  It's never easy to find good players.

I'd agree that, in a very broad sense, you're slightly more likely to find female players more mature when it comes to sexual scenarios which I think is due to the fact that women are stereotypically discouraged from acting on their sexuality, especially if it is at all unusual, so a female player has to put some thought into reaching out at all.  I think that stereotype is fading, however, as sexuality of all sorts (and sexual misinformation) becomes more prevalent thanks to the internet and everyone can be equally confused.

You're welcome, LS and CH - desire is what it is and sexy fun times are for having fun, not working on sexual politics.  We've all got our limits and our fascinations.

[ManyMindsManyVoices]

"I didn't specify, 'sexually mature', mind you. However, it's not an argument I'm interested in bothering to have at this point."

"The fact is, it seems pretty clear the level of sex on E the infinitesimal hyperbole that it's being made out to be. More communication makes the process that much easier, however. If want one wants is sex, then ask for sex, or make it clear, whatever... If one wishes for it to be a bonus rather than a goal, make that clear. Negotiations may need to be made, but in the end, if everyone is clear, things just run much more smoothly."

[Haibane]

I never write in a game that doesn't involve sex. Its why I write on this site ;)

Hm, actually I think I have been in a couple of sex-less games, but I wasn't the GM in either of them. Given that I've done over 130 games on her and I can think of 2 that didn't have sex... hell yeah!

[Chrystal]

*giggles and slaps that pink-clad booty* Go you, H!

Seriously, I have done games that didn't have sex, but they are few and far between and usually don't last long.

I have done games where the main focus wasn't on sex, but they always had some sex in them.

I think the amount of sex in a game is largely dependent on the players, the setting and whether the two are conducive to making whoopie!

[Thufir Hawat]

It seems more likely, though not universal, obviously, that male players on E are less sexually flexible.  Many male character profiles go something like this:

Heterosexual, dominant, attracted only to females.

Sometimes they're slightly adventurous and are willing to play females who are only attracted to females.  Sometimes they're not into D/s at all (though my view on the D/s aspect is skewed since I look at D/s type entries much more frequently than others).

Also, somewhat common, and much more common among male players than female or liege players.

Heterosexual, dominant, attracted only to females and will only play with female players.

Comparatively few male players are bi, submissive, switch, willing to play with liege or male players (even when the characters are female), interested in sex based RP with other gendered characters, and other types of flexibility that would increase partner opportunities.

Female and liege players seem much more likely to be willing to play both male or female characters, be attracted to both male and female characters (as well as trans, other, etc), be fine with playing with male or female or liege players and other sorts of sexual flexibility that allows for more opportunities to play with interesting people.

Desire is desire, and it's isn't really adjustable so, I'm not scolding or criticizing anyone - but paraphrasing Woody Allen, sexual flexibility does increase your chances of a date on Saturday night.

Thanks, that's about what I expected, just wanted to be sure.
And I guess it was just my luck, but most male profiles I've read have been of players who are either submissives or switches. But since I don't claim to having read a whole lot of male profiles, I'd accept your knowledge to be superior ;D!

[Caehlim]

Also, somewhat common, and much more common among male players than female or liege players.

Heterosexual, dominant, attracted only to females and will only play with female players.

If you're finding those ones you're lucky.

In my experience you usually find the ones who will only play with female players, but feel that this is so self-evident it doesn't actually get mentioned anywhere in their On/Offs, character profiles or thread requests. Meaning you either have to embarrass yourself and possibly both of you by asking, or search back through their posts to find their answers to the application questions and hope they answered that one clearly.

[Darrow Huck]

Thanks, that's about what I expected, just wanted to be sure.
And I guess it was just my luck, but most male profiles I've read have been of players who are either submissives or switches. But since I don't claim to having read a whole lot of male profiles, I'd accept your knowledge to be superior ;D!

At any rate, the vast majority of female RP requests and responses to requests are to play submissive roles, so being "Dom only" is hardly a problem for male players.

[Chrystal]

At any rate, the vast majority of female RP requests and responses to requests are to play submissive roles, so being "Dom only" is hardly a problem for male players.

One reason I really enjoy being switch!

I get to take my pick of the lesbian and bi submissives, and every so often I find a really wonderfully vicious Dominatrix to beat some humility back into me!

[BitterSweet]

Yeah, it's a little frustrating if it's an issue for someone and they don't say so.

If you're finding those ones you're lucky.

In my experience you usually find the ones who will only play with female players, but feel that this is so self-evident it doesn't actually get mentioned anywhere in their On/Offs, character profiles or thread requests. Meaning you either have to embarrass yourself and possibly both of you by asking, or search back through their posts to find their answers to the application questions and hope they answered that one clearly.

[LunarSage]

This is why the specifics of my RP tastes are clearly listed on my ons and offs page.  :-)

[Haibane]

Getting back on-topic I'm genuinely surprised to see it being raised as an issue. I suppose the site has its fair share of sci-fi games, fantasy games, zombie games, historical games, military games and there may well be minimal sex content in those but on the other hand those games are like mainstream movies - you go watch them for the action, not for any random sex that might slip in there.

If you want to watch sex movies you watch porn, ergo, if you want sexual content in a forum RP you avoid the 'action movie' style games and join one of the others... and they are not hard to find! A brief browse of the players wanted thread will give you dozens. I'm thinking elliquiy's ratio of sexual games to action games must be around 90% to 10%

[Caehlim]

Plus if you've got any doubts you can always ask in the groups thread, "Hey, what role is sex going to play in this game?".

To be perfectly honest, and this might partly just be a Quiltbag thing, but often I find a reason you may have less sex in a game is if the players have incompatible on/offs or the wrong gender ratio. You might get a lot of people who are interested in sex, but not specifically with the other characters in the game. If you're looking for an M/M or F/F sexual encounter in a mainstream group-game this can get exaggerated with relatively few people interested or willing and you may not find the character/writing style/ons and offs to be compatible with the one or two people who are a match.

[Thufir Hawat]

At any rate, the vast majority of female RP requests and responses to requests are to play submissive roles, so being "Dom only" is hardly a problem for male players.

It has seldom been a problem for me, indeed. As I said, that was probably just my luck for finding mostly sub or switch guys, and likely due to the fact that I don't read a whole lot of male profiles 8-).

And agreed with Caehlim and Haibane, IME it's both easy to ask in the recruitment, and I find the action games actually to be a minority on E. compared to sexual ones ;D!

[Darrow Huck]

It's also worth saying that there's a big difference between what I see on profiles and what people are asking for/responding too. I'd say that at least the majority of women here show being willing to play dominant females in their preferences, but their roleplay requests are mostly for sub roles.

[Chrystal]

It's also worth saying that there's a big difference between what I see on profiles and what people are asking for/responding too. I'd say that at least the majority of women here show being willing to play dominant females in their preferences, but their roleplay requests are mostly for sub roles.

This is very true. Speaking as a switch female, I find it easy to get a new story going where I'm the D, but quite hard where I'm the S.

This, however is part of why most of us switches are most often after people to D us, because we have plenty of stories/games going where we are playing D. If I want a D roll, I can usually browse the wanted thread and find one I like. If I want a S role I have to wait for someone to do that to me, or PM someone I know is D from another game.

I think, also, that a lot of the "pure smut" games are in the one-shots forum. The ones where there is nothing but sex from the first post to the last, I mean. Reason being that a one-shot is the ideal place for that sort of story.

On the other hand, most players wanting to write a full-length RP will want some sort of back story to their character. Who are they, what are they doing, why are they doing it, where are they, when is it, how did they get there... All these questions need an answer, and so the sex gets pushed down the priority list, while the characters build their relationship.

And now I'm going to put a new request in the one-shots thread...

[Vandren]

The problem I've seen (and it's not exactly a problem if everyone is having fun) is that if you're starting a group game about spies, or sci-fi – well, it's about spying or sci-fi adventures and to be frank, if you're going to keep even a vague sense of realism, most people when faced with life threatening or difficult situations focus on them, not fucking.  Combine that with the fact that most of us get our ideas on how a spy/sci-fi/whatever story progresses from movies/books etc, which rarely have any explicit sex at all.  So, if we're following the pattern of say … Die Hard, where do we shoehorn the sex in?  There's no model to start from.

I just want to say three words here:

Bond.  James Bond.

(True, no explicit sex, but a significant amount of foreplay and heavily implied sex.)

[Madriv]

It seems to me (this being the GM section and all) that the solution to a perceived "lack of roleplays about sex" would be to create more "roleplays about sex."

[Chrystal]

The biggest problem, in my opinion, is that there are only so many ways you can describe the act of sexual intercourse.

"He pushed his cock into her cunt, slid it in and out for a few minutes and then filled her full of sticky white goo..."

That about sums it up, really, doesn't it?

Gay and lesbian sex aren't really that much different. Once you've describe a woman licking another woman out ten times, it gets very samey, and you start to look for different things to do. Hence the more extreme RPs... And the RPs that have an emphasis on the story.

A great story is always worth reading and if it contains a well written sex scene, that's a bonus. But I'd rather read a great story with no sex than a badly written sex scene.

[LunarSage]

The biggest problem, in my opinion, is that there are only so many ways you can describe the act of sexual intercourse.

"He pushed his cock into her cunt, slid it in and out for a few minutes and then filled her full of sticky white goo..."

That about sums it up, really, doesn't it?

Gay and lesbian sex aren't really that much different. Once you've describe a woman licking another woman out ten times, it gets very samey, and you start to look for different things to do. Hence the more extreme RPs... And the RPs that have an emphasis on the story.

A great story is always worth reading and if it contains a well written sex scene, that's a bonus. But I'd rather read a great story with no sex than a badly written sex scene.

+1

Yeah, the act itself can get very repetitive.

[Shjade]

If I may, I think the title/OP of this thread may be slightly misleading, or perhaps misguided. As the various responses here should make clear there is indeed a great deal of sexual content on E, both in small and large games (though perhaps more prevalent in small games due to the aforementioned timing effects of sexual scenes being woven into larger group plots). This, then, suggests that what the OP is disappointed about isn't really the lack of roleplays about sex given that there is no such lack.

I think, instead, what may be at the heart of this discussion could be more accurately stated as, "Anyone else a bit disappointed in the lack of roleplays about sex involving players with whom I'd like to roleplay sex?"

It's a very important addition. Yes, there are sexual RPs all over this site, but does that mean they're all equally appealing to everyone? Hardly, that's part of why there are so many! For instance, as some here have noted, there are group RPs designed specifically to drown the participants in sex from the very beginning. To me, while the notion of sexytimes RP is appealing, the idea of RP being wholly anchored to that activity quickly leads to boredom and repetitious writing, so that's not really something I'd look for jumping into myself.

On the other hand, a more plot-heavy story about political intrigue, back room diplomacy, spying etc. that's spiced up by sexual interludes? That would be awesome! ...except that, as others have pointed out, usually when a story like that is suggested the participants and host tend to be more interested in the diplomacy and spying and the sexual encounters are, at most, an afterthought.

Thus, while there's no dearth of sex in E on the whole, finding it in the places one wishes to look can indeed be very difficult. In that much I can sympathize with the OP, but it isn't really anything unexpected. You just have to find that right mix of story, players and interests that matches up with what you yourself desire. For some this is more challenging than others - some combinations are simply more popular and others, less.

Would I say I'm disappointed with E's sexual quantity? No. Am I disappointed in the missed opportunities I've seen/been involved with in RPs I've participated in or ideas I've seen not go in that direction? Sometimes, yes. One incident in particular bothers me whenever I think about it in which the first opportunity for a sex scene in a group RP was directly interrupted by another of the RP's participants, an event which subsequently led (in indirect fashion, perhaps) to breaking up a good portion of the active group. That kind of thing disappoints me here, but that kind of thing disappoints me wherever it happens; it's hardly unique to Elliquiy.

Maybe I'm completely off base, but that seems like the root of the "problem" that sparked this thread.

[Madriv]

The biggest problem, in my opinion, is that there are only so many ways you can describe the act of sexual intercourse.

While I could be the poster child for RP-without-intercourse (that's where I spend 97.4% of my word count), I'm kinda gobsmacked by that statement. With all the different characters, attitudes, relationships, locations, positions, equipment, kinks, sights, sounds, smells, and sensations to describe in any given sex scene... I have trouble picturing it as boring.

[LunarSage]

While I could be the poster child for RP-without-intercourse (that's where I spend 97.4% of my word count), I'm kinda gobsmacked by that statement. With all the different characters, attitudes, relationships, locations, positions, equipment, kinks, sights, sounds, smells, and sensations to describe in any given sex scene... I have trouble picturing it as boring.

I'm not capable of describing it in more than about a half dozen ways.  To me, it gets old.

[Chrystal]

While I could be the poster child for RP-without-intercourse (that's where I spend 97.4% of my word count), I'm kinda gobsmacked by that statement. With all the different characters, attitudes, relationships, locations, positions, equipment, kinks, sights, sounds, smells, and sensations to describe in any given sex scene... I have trouble picturing it as boring.

Ah, but I wasn't referring to characters, attitudes, relationships, locations, positions, equipment, kinks, sights, sounds, smells or sensations... In fact, you have rather made my point for me.

Because, the way I see it, to have any of those things meaningfully in a sex scene, unless you are just going for deus-ex-machina type of thing, you need to have a back-story.

Example: One of my favourite kinks is watersports. But to have my character suddenly pee on her girlfriend during sex for no reason whatever just isn't going to work. There has to be a reason. Equally, one of the most frustrating (IMO) plots is the sudden change from normal sex to BDSM sex. Because unless you are a magician you cannot suddenly have a bondage dungeon in your house where there wasn't one before. The "Lets try out some BDSM stuff" scenario really doesn't work very well because it requires the characters to improvise what they use and it's far too tempting for the writers to magically produce a pair of hand-cuffs or whatever.

I know this from being tempted to do so myself!

To have a decent BDSM sex scene the D MUST already have her "play room" set up, which means there is a history, even if it is implicit.

Now, to address the things you listed that best make my point for me : Characters, relationships, locations.

In order to establish a character and make her credible, it is necessary to tell the reader something about her. And not just that she makes a lot of noise while having her orgasms. That doesn't say anything about her character.

Relationships are something that develop over time. So unless the relationship is "Rapist and victim" there has to be some history between the two characters - in fact, even with a rapist and her victim, there is an implicit history: Why did the rapist chose that boy? how long has she been following him, etc...

Locations: Bed.

Yes? No.... of course not. Come on, describe the room. At the very least describe the damn bed, yeah? The more exotic the location the more detailed the description needs to be so that the reader can picture it.

So, what have we got now?

We have several posts establishing the characters, several more defining their relationship to each other, a couple describing the location, a couple describing how the characters got to that location, some posts detailing why certain kinks are in place, and no one has even taken a garment off yet...

And guess what? ALL of the above stuff is a great big fat turn-on to myself and a lot of other players on E.

But what is a massive turn-OFF is when we go to all the trouble of creating the character, the scene, the relationship, the environment, and all our writing partner does is post:

"Ellie moaned and thrust her hips forward".

And yes, I have had that happen a number of times! Yes I'm exaggerating a little, but I'm sure we've all had the one-liner reply?

Then there is the player who extends the first sex scene beyond what is logical by refusing to have an orgasm. And of course, the one who is ONLY interested in that sex scene, shows very little enthusiasm for descriptive writing until you get there, and then the moment that first sex scene has happened, just drops the RP.

I like a well written sex scene as much as the next pervert, but I like a nice big side order of story with it.

I think I can summarise my point best by saying this:

All those things Madmartigan mentions, that he says provide variety to a sex scene and make it interesting, are unavailable to you unless you have a story in place! Or, perhaps more accurately, unless you have a story, your characters are one dimensional, their attitudes are fixed, their relationship is stagnant, they are confined to one location, have no reason to explore different positions, have a limited amount of equipment available, have a fixed number of kinks, see the same old sights, hear the same old sounds, smell the same old smells and feel the same old sensations, for the duration of the roleplay.

So unless your RP is limited to one sex scene - in which case, as I already pointed out, it is a one-shot, writing repeated sex scenes is very quickly going to become monotonous.

[Michael Corvus]

If I may, I think the title/OP of this thread may be slightly misleading, or perhaps misguided. As the various responses here should make clear there is indeed a great deal of sexual content on E, both in small and large games (though perhaps more prevalent in small games due to the aforementioned timing effects of sexual scenes being woven into larger group plots). This, then, suggests that what the OP is disappointed about isn't really the lack of roleplays about sex given that there is no such lack.

I think, instead, what may be at the heart of this discussion could be more accurately stated as, "Anyone else a bit disappointed in the lack of roleplays about sex involving players with whom I'd like to roleplay sex?"

It's a very important addition. Yes, there are sexual RPs all over this site, but does that mean they're all equally appealing to everyone? Hardly, that's part of why there are so many! For instance, as some here have noted, there are group RPs designed specifically to drown the participants in sex from the very beginning. To me, while the notion of sexytimes RP is appealing, the idea of RP being wholly anchored to that activity quickly leads to boredom and repetitious writing, so that's not really something I'd look for jumping into myself.

On the other hand, a more plot-heavy story about political intrigue, back room diplomacy, spying etc. that's spiced up by sexual interludes? That would be awesome! ...except that, as others have pointed out, usually when a story like that is suggested the participants and host tend to be more interested in the diplomacy and spying and the sexual encounters are, at most, an afterthought.

Thus, while there's no dearth of sex in E on the whole, finding it in the places one wishes to look can indeed be very difficult. In that much I can sympathize with the OP, but it isn't really anything unexpected. You just have to find that right mix of story, players and interests that matches up with what you yourself desire. For some this is more challenging than others - some combinations are simply more popular and others, less

I agree, though I would say that it might be more accurately stated as, "Anyone else a bit disappointed in the lack of roleplays about sex involving players with whom I'd like to roleplay sex and the kinds of sex that I'd like to roleplay?".

I agree that there is certainly no shortage of RPs abount sex as there is a shit ton of sex RPs about sex on Elliquiy. One has only to look for a moment to find many to choose from. However, not all of them appeal to me. In fact, MOST of them do not. For one thing, RPs based entirely on sex lacks ambition and creativity and quickly grows stagnant and dies, in my humble opinion. A good story/game should have many ingredients to add to its flavor. It should be balanced between being plot and character driven and include some good action/sex/suspense/drama... flavor to taste. Writing sex just for the sake of writing sex, to me at least, is boring after a short time.

Would I say I'm disappointed with E's sexual quantity? No. Am I disappointed in the missed opportunities I've seen/been involved with in RPs I've participated in or ideas I've seen not go in that direction? Sometimes, yes. One incident in particular bothers me whenever I think about it in which the first opportunity for a sex scene in a group RP was directly interrupted by another of the RP's participants, an event which subsequently led (in indirect fashion, perhaps) to breaking up a good portion of the active group. That kind of thing disappoints me here, but that kind of thing disappoints me wherever it happens; it's hardly unique to Elliquiy.

As far as another RP participant directly interrupting a sex scene, I think that all depends on the context. If there was no reason for the character to have interrupted, or if it was out of character for that particular character... then that's just shitty RPing. If, however, it flows with earlier posts and makes sense for the character involved to have interrupted... say, for example the character accidentally walks in on the developing sex scene, being under the impression that something that concerned him/her was taking place on the other side of the door, then that would be good RPing that would cause some good RP drama and fuel further RP between the parties involved.

If the character just popped out of nowhere and had no viable reason to interrupt the scene, accidentally or otherwise... well then that would be in bad form and shitty RPing. But mistakes and assumptions will be made when it comes to RP, regardless of where the RP takes place or with whom. When things like this occur, assuming ones intentions and motivations or pointing fingers at other RPers is never the answer. The best thing to do is to communicate with the parties involved and try to make sense of what happened and why. It could be as simple as someone misread another's post, or someone mistyped a single simple word that changes the whole context of the scene.

While I could be the poster child for RP-without-intercourse (that's where I spend 97.4% of my word count), I'm kinda gobsmacked by that statement. With all the different characters, attitudes, relationships, locations, positions, equipment, kinks, sights, sounds, smells, and sensations to describe in any given sex scene... I have trouble picturing it as boring.

That's all very true, and not everyone will find it boring, but for a good many of us, RPs that are focused entirely, or even mostly on sex, can become tiresome. There's a whole lot more going on in a story than just the sex lives of the characters, and for many of us, that's where the real story is. That's not to say that I don't enjoy writing a good sex scene, because I do, but I enjoy knowing the rest of the story. That's where character development takes place.

I'm not capable of describing it in more than about a half dozen ways.  To me, it gets old.

Yeah, I hear ya. I can think of many different ways to describe it, but I mean... changing a position or mixing up verbiage to say the same thing you said in the last sex scene, only in a different way can still feel sort of ... repetitive. At least to me. Oh... I said "pounded" instead of "hammered" or "her sex" instead of "pussy." lol.

The bottom line is that I think it's pretty clear that RPs about sex are very much alive and well on Elliquiy.

EDIT:
I started writing my reply before Chrystal posted hers and got distracted with a phone call, but I agree with her points wholeheartedly.

[Shjade]

As far as another RP participant directly interrupting a sex scene, I think that all depends on the context. If there was no reason for the character to have interrupted, or if it was out of character for that particular character... then that's just shitty RPing. If, however, it flows with earlier posts and makes sense for the character involved to have interrupted...

Disappointing != bad RP. Good RP, or at least plausible/reasonable actions, can be very disappointing. I'm not trying to judge skills here.

[Thufir Hawat]

But what is a massive turn-OFF is when we go to all the trouble of creating the character, the scene, the relationship, the environment, and all our writing partner does is post:

"Ellie moaned and thrust her hips forward".

And yes, I have had that happen a number of times! Yes I'm exaggerating a little, but I'm sure we've all had the one-liner reply?

I'm too lazy to explore my posting history, but I don't remember it ever happening on E., actually. If it had happened, I wasn't bothered enough to care.
That really has nothing to do with your arguments, I just thought to mention it's not nearly as universal an experience.

[Caehlim]

Equally, one of the most frustrating (IMO) plots is the sudden change from normal sex to BDSM sex. Because unless you are a magician you cannot suddenly have a bondage dungeon in your house where there wasn't one before. The "Lets try out some BDSM stuff" scenario really doesn't work very well because it requires the characters to improvise what they use and it's far too tempting for the writers to magically produce a pair of hand-cuffs or whatever.

Wow, that actually sounds like a really fun roleplay and a good writing challenge. Two characters desperately keen to try some bondage, working on improvising bondage equipment out of everyday objects found around the house. Nerf ball ballgags, knotted bedsheet ropes and a belt turned into a collar.

I would totally base a game around that idea, just for the macgyver style inventiveness you could try. Plus you could throw in some comedy with some of the ideas they try just not working well, knots coming undone, etc.

But what is a massive turn-OFF is when we go to all the trouble of creating the character, the scene, the relationship, the environment, and all our writing partner does is post:

"Ellie moaned and thrust her hips forward".

And yes, I have had that happen a number of times! Yes I'm exaggerating a little, but I'm sure we've all had the one-liner reply?

Yeah, I've had that before and it's frustrating.

Of course it's not always down to the length of the post. I've had equally frustrating long replies, where the carefully established scenery is ignored or after describing what my character is wearing they're suddenly dressed completely differently in the response.

[Chrystal]

Wow, that actually sounds like a really fun roleplay and a good writing challenge. Two characters desperately keen to try some bondage, working on improvising bondage equipment out of everyday objects found around the house. Nerf ball ballgags, knotted bedsheet ropes and a belt turned into a collar.

I would totally base a game around that idea, just for the macgyver style inventiveness you could try. Plus you could throw in some comedy with some of the ideas they try just not working well, knots coming undone, etc.

Actually... Yeah, you are right, thinking about it. In the right context I bet it could be great fun. And you have, incidentally, just backed up the point I was making, so thanks for that. :D My point being that in order for the story to work it has to be in the context of two people deciding to try it out, and the players have to agree on what improvisations they are going to use...

What I think I was trying to say was that it is wrong for a couple just deciding to try bondage to suddenly have a basement full of BDSM gear. They could acquire such, but it would take time, and require the story to be told of how they converted the basement.

Yeah, I've had that before and it's frustrating.

Of course it's not always down to the length of the post. I've had equally frustrating long replies, where the carefully established scenery is ignored or after describing what my character is wearing they're suddenly dressed completely differently in the response.

God-moding is universally frowned upon, but you can get away with it if it's in context and moves the story forward, but what you just said, that sounds to me like the worst kind of god-moding.

Not reading the other person's post, or deliberately ignoring it are possibly the most heinous of crimes in my opinion.

I agree, though I would say that it might be more accurately stated as, "Anyone else a bit disappointed in the lack of roleplays about sex involving players with whom I'd like to roleplay sex and the kinds of sex that I'd like to roleplay?".

I have my own opinion about what the title of the thread ought to be, but I'm keeping it to myself...

EDIT:
I started writing my reply before Chrystal posted hers and got distracted with a phone call, but I agree with her points wholeheartedly.

Thanks. :)

[Caehlim]

Actually... Yeah, you are right, thinking about it. In the right context I bet it could be great fun. And you have, incidentally, just backed up the point I was making, so thanks for that. :D My point being that in order for the story to work it has to be in the context of two people deciding to try it out, and the players have to agree on what improvisations they are going to use...

What I think I was trying to say was that it is wrong for a couple just deciding to try bondage to suddenly have a basement full of BDSM gear. They could acquire such, but it would take time, and require the story to be told of how they converted the basement.

Oh, I agree entirely with this and your original post. I just got distracted by the idea of a fun game about improvised bondage. I sometimes have trouble staying on-topic without wandering off into other lines of thought.

Not reading the other person's post, or deliberately ignoring it are possibly the most heinous of crimes in my opinion.

Agreed.

Although sometimes it can happen by accident. I know I've read back through page after page of a story to try and figure out what length the characters skirt was, or where we'd attached the chains or whatever and missed it completely. Then usually after I've written a massive reply based on a faulty assumption, I'll finally notice the post I missed where it was all established. [sigh].

[kckolbe]

What's funny is that I am often frustrated with the opposite.  I think the issue might be more along the lines of games either being all sex with no story/character/etc, or all plot with no sex.  For example, I've been in some wonderful system games hoping for just a touch of sexual stimulation, and I've browsed numerous group incest games and been turned off at the lack of character development.  Maybe it's just an issue of moderation?

[Chrystal]

What's funny is that I am often frustrated with the opposite.  I think the issue might be more along the lines of games either being all sex with no story/character/etc, or all plot with no sex.  For example, I've been in some wonderful system games hoping for just a touch of sexual stimulation, and I've browsed numerous group incest games and been turned off at the lack of character development.  Maybe it's just an issue of moderation?

Okay, here's a great example for you...

And now I'm going to put a new request in the one-shots thread...

I did, I put a request up for a one-shot that basically catered to all my kinks. I got a response and started discussing it and the more we discussed it the more the characters and back story developed, so when I started the story it was in the regular Extreme Solos forum. (By the way that one-shot request is not marked as taken...)

Now, this is an entirely smut-based story. But so far we are on six posts (including the opener and no sex! OMG! SHOCK HORROR!

Somehow I suspect that our friend who opened this thread lacked the patience to read through the build-up and the character development, to get to the actual sex bit!

Oh, I agree entirely with this and your original post. I just got distracted by the idea of a fun game about improvised bondage. I sometimes have trouble staying on-topic without wandering off into other lines of thought.

Heh, I hear ya!

Agreed.

Although sometimes it can happen by accident. I know I've read back through page after page of a story to try and figure out what length the characters skirt was, or where we'd attached the chains or whatever and missed it completely. Then usually after I've written a massive reply based on a faulty assumption, I'll finally notice the post I missed where it was all established. [sigh].

Oh yeah! I've done that too... With a monster group game it can be really hard to keep track of such things, but that is what the OOC thread is for. In a one-on-one it's easier, but can still be tricky when the story gets up to 500 posts or more... Sometimes it's helpful to create a spreadsheet or a wiki page or something that which records relevant information.

[Noelle]

Writing sex over and over is boring. Writing sex with characters that come from a healthy variety of backgrounds, upbringings, and histories in a variety of situations and backgrounds is not boring. Finding a way to bring them together and not turn sex into something that happens like a thunderclap with no other reason except they both have genitals that want the other person's genitals is exciting. I have been writing Usury for several years now, and it took us 60-odd pages to get to the sexytimes just because setting up the story wound up being half the fun. When the sex finally happened, it was far more interesting and gratifying because it was a moment not only of self-indulgence, but of actual further character development. Using sex as a way to explore a character is a lot more fun, in my opinion, than doing the verbal equivalent of bashing a Barbie and Ken doll together over and over and hoping for something more titillating to happen.

It's not for everyone - some people want one-shotters with plot being used more as a path to more bumpin' uglies, but if you're disappointed in the quality and satisfaction you're getting, it might be time to write for story substance and let sex come as a natural consequence instead of a prime motivator. Just my two cents, anyway.

[Anteros Vox]

I like dangerous sexual themes, tension if you would, treading the lines of wrong and right. I can't roll into sex scenes with out setting up the history between characters. But I like smut, to make that clear. :]