Character Ships that Went Down

[Indy 23]

Oooh, sunk ships, my old friend.

 

I've had these happen in a variety of ways. The first one that sunk was kind of abrupt to me and the optics didn't look good mostly because of what happened straight after. My character (W) had been hospitalized after a mission gone awry with the person he was in a budding romance with (let's call her E). E had gotten such a shock that she visited and came with a quick "we can't see each other anymore" speech and then entirely disappeared. Then she took up with another person on W's team and they had a whirlwind romance. It mostly felt bad at the time because the switch to another character to romance was so fast, but in relation to cultural background and character personality it did make sense for E (this was sci-fi and she came from a planet that highly valued pleasure seeking). It was made worse because when I was discussing with the player as a sort of post thread casual discussion, the player started justifying it with the accusation that I "never posted." It's too long ago for me to remember specifically if that was true or not, but I know I was good with keeping up with my plots as a general rule at that time. It was mostly hurtful because I wasn't angry or anything at the player about it, but they felt the need to make up excuses anyway.

 

Another sunk ship happened pre-ship, but it closed off avenues pretty solidly. My character (K) had a quick one-off with a character (D) and we were planning on going deeper into it, but then a player with character L swooped in and monopolized their time. So that ship sunk because I was "beat to the punch" so to speak. I was cool with it, if a little peeved at the third player at the time. In the end I got some really good writing opportunities out of it later on. D's player does regret it when we talk about it, because it forced her in a direction she didn't necessarily want to go in.

 

But it turns out L was a creep who secretly cloned D in a basement and D's player pretty much lost all desire to play that character. Sheesh.

 

Another was a slow-burn ship that was really delightful. My character, J, was a stoic no-nonsense guy who couldn't take a joke or understand metaphors unless they had to do with battle tactics. Their character, A, was an energetic flirt who was trying their utmost to make J act like a normal person. It only stopped up because the player ghosted.

 

One ship that really makes me sad for losing was this ship that we developed over something like three/four years. It was perfect and great and I loved it. My character was a grumpy a**hole who only cared about himself and his bottom line because he'd only ever lost everything he loved and been betrayed by the people he'd believed in. The player's character was a galactic peacekeeper who still bothered to deal with my characters issues and trauma and put the time in to get to know him and interact and basically force him to accept that life moves on. The player ended up ghosting, for entirely understandable reasons, but it pretty much tanked my character and I haven't been successful in writing them since.

 

I'm pretty chill with ships now, come what may. I make sure to not get too attached now because if I tie characters together too closely, I might risk losing the muse entirely. Multiple avenues so they can like, heal after a breakup or explain away a ghosted player.

Edited March 15, 2020 by Indy

[Randalin 2]

The ships of mine that fizzled out were because the other person did one or more of the following:

1. Poofed entirely

2. Decided not to use the character anymore and sold the design for it (without giving me a heads up which I find rude as heck)

3. Backed out of it because someone else was looking for a ship and they wanted to use their character with the other person.

 

I only do IC ships now, meaning the relationship develops naturally through posting chemistry, not a plot board idea. If those fail, I don't find it nearly as frustrating because it's easier to build into my character's life.

[sightedwolf 10]

Years ago I went out of town, or wasn't able to access the site for a few days (I honestly can't remember exactly why) and when I came back, I got a message saying that the character mine had been developing a 'more than just friends' sort of plot with was actually gay and in a relationship with someone else's character now. 

 

Like... thanks for the head's up I guess?

[Guardsman93 2]

I like to joke that I'm cursed with ships. That every time I start one, and plan it out, that real life causes the other person to have to drop it.

 

It actually just happened again this week! Regardless, I don't let it get me down, real life comes first after all. But if the person leaves permanently, do I leave my character partnered with them? Do I have my character leave the relationship? In eother case how long do I wait in real world time?

 

This one got pretty far along this time, and it was a blast working with them though, so I always look at it as a great experience.

[Shouten 4]

I'd hate to add another romantic one in there, but thats the biggest one that stands out for me. 

 

So, I had this one shifter boy and he was this huge mess of a person. Like, homeless, been stealing all his life to survive, that kind of guy. He was pretty young still, too. Had a horrible childhood and desperately wanted someone to care about him but couldn't hold a relationship to save his life. He managed to find someone fairly quickly, and while the sexuality surprised me (It turns out hes very  into guys) I rolled with it. It seemed like they were great for each other! They looked phenomenal in the ship graphics I was making, and the writer and I got along pretty damn well. 

 

I wouldn't be writing here if it turned out well, now would I? haha so it turns out the both of them were nowhere near ready for a steady relationship and got dysfunctional pretty quick. Needless to say, my boy couldn't handle it, and when they got into their first fight, instead of sticking around to make up, he just packed all his shit and left. Shortly after I left the board, so that really ended that ship. 

[landofkarchan 6]

One of my ships that went down was because the player said she was too obsessed with the game, to the point that it was compromising all of her free time and making her emotions erratic.

 

Her character was a (male) serial killer in a fantasy world, and my character was an elemental with a troubled past. Her character was an asshole, obviously, but my character fell for him completely despite the fact that they weren't really compatible. He fell in love with her despite finding out later she was technically a he (long story/background magical drama), and he moved in with her.

 

My character is currently polyamorous, married to a doctor, with another male lover that lives next door to her. Both the doctor and the other male lover are played by my wife, but I feel like the serial killer was my character's real OTP.

 

I'm still in touch with the player behind him though, so she told me he occasionally pops in ICly and I can just assume he visits while he's on the run from law enforcement, lol.

[akakios 14]

Most of my ships sink due to ghosting, but I remember when I was very young (underage and likely not where I belonged), I would ghost myself because I was uncomfortable writing smut. And I guess uncomfortable saying I was uncomfortable.