Roleplaying smut. Let's talk about that.

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A place to talk through and discuss our thoughts

How much smut do you like in an average RP?

  • None. I prefer not to roleplay smut.

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • 25%. Limited amount of smut, prefer to focus on plot.

    Votes: 10 15.2%
  • 50%. I like a balanced smut/plot ratio.

    Votes: 14 21.2%
  • 75%. I prefer smut-heavy stories.

    Votes: 8 12.1%
  • 100%. I prefer writing purely erotic roleplays.

    Votes: 3 4.5%
  • Depends on the story! I can do either little-to-no smut or a lot.

    Votes: 31 47.0%

  • Total voters
    66
Jun 12, 2019
840
1,332
113
neither here nor there.
(If you get the reference, you get to be one of the cool kids today.)

Not sure why this has been on my mind lately, but I figured I'd slap together this thread and see if I could gather some opinions from the community. I wanted to have an OOC chat about all things smut-related. Why do you like writing smut? Why don't you like writing smut? Are there certain aspects of writing about scintillating situations you find uncomfortable, or are you down for anything weird and crazy?

How/when did you start writing smut? (If there are any funny stories out there, I would love to hear them.) How much or little do you like incorporating into your roleplays and why?

Feel free to ask me any questions you may have, too. I don't want to be sitting here just poking y'all for information without being willing to offer any myself.

This thread is meant to just be an open discussion, nothing to take too seriously. Thanks to anyone ahead of time who chooses to share!
 
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You've been asking some interesting questions lately. I'll bite on this one too.

I don't remember when I started writing smut especially since in my RP career, I've taken 2 very long hiatuses. I know I definitely was writing it after my first hiatus in 2008ish. What I find interesting as I reflect back on my time as a roleplayer is that I've become very picky about my smut now. I'll include it in the story if it makes sense for the character. I very rarely engage in 100%, mostly because I think to do something like that, you have to have an immense amount of trust in your writing partner and that is something that is very hard to come by.

As far as certain aspects, for some reason, I don't like describing blowjobs and I find bondage stuff to be boring in the way that it doesn't hold my interest at all so I don't like to write it. I have been approached about writing some very interesting things and I've tried them only to realize that I was extremely uncomfortable with both the kink and the person. I have become far better at advocating for myself and saying when I don't think I'd do something well.

The amount of smut I write depends on the character and the story. For example, I have a character who is a genetically created, lab-grown super-soldier. These soldiers were created through splicing human DNA with various animal DNA. One of the side effects of this is that the soldiers bond for life. It is an extremely intense bond to the point that being separated from the other will cause immense physical and psychological pain (Clara is in my character thread, btw). My partner and I spent a lot of time discussing what this bond would be like on almost all levels. This obviously included what sex would mean to these two. Since we had such a deep understanding of their bond and their relationship, we never actually wound up writing any smut since the focus of the RP was the bond between the two; it just wasn't necessary.

Another character I have is what I would refer to as being very sexual but she is a metahuman with the ability to provide a person with ecstasy or agony. In short, she can make a person feel literally orgasmic or in the worst possible pain of their life. She sells her ability for money and eventually for secrets. She's a whore who doesn't sell her body. Lilah actually has 3 rules for her clients - no sex, no full nudity, and no dating. Sometimes she'll add don't fall in love as a fourth.

So yeah, tl;dr boils down to it just depends but I'm moving away from writing straight smut lately.

You know you can't ask questions without answering them so go ahead and answer those questions. :)
 
Smut to me is fun. I enjoy writing it. Although it does have it's limits. I keep myself on the plot heavy side of stories simply cause to much smut gets boring to me. I see it as another mechanic for character development and growth. If you have a story where you focus on a hatred that a character has for the majority of the story and nothing else it also gets boring. Theres a variety that needs to be in my RPs to keep me interested.

Now, that's purely from a writing stand point. I couldn't tell you when I started to write smut but I can tell you why. Sex in general is something I'm completely comfortable with discussing. It's an interesting part of almost everyone's lives and I find it to be an extremely intriguing subject. I dont feel it's something to be ashamed of in the slightest and I wish it wasnt such a shunned aspect of general society.

The only time I start to get uncomfortable with writing smut with someone is when they start to show signs of not being able to differentiate between my characters and myself. I dont live vicariously through my characters and as long as my partners can understand that just because my character might want to bed theirs any chance they get doesnt mean that's I how I feel about them personally.

Other than that smut is great! Lol
 
Smut and I have a complicated relationship. The actual mechanics of sex don't tend to be too terribly interesting for me to write. I will write it, but I don't necessarily seek it out. I prefer everything around the sex. Seduction, teasing, power dynamics, characters building relationships and dancing around each other until they come together in a clash of opposing forces that form something new.

I don't care how many thrusts are taking place, but rather who's taking the dominant position, who's holding who's wrists, who's choking who? What risks does the sex bring into the character's lives? How does this complicate and change thing? Is the relationship forbidden or taboo? Does one character hate themselves for how much they love another?

I like smut best when it adds to the narrative, rather than being sole the point of the narrative.

That said, I've had fun with profoundly smutty plots, just because the characters had such an engaging energy/the situation was fun to explore.

My first encounter with writing smut online was part of an Elfquest MUSH back in the day, and it was /real/ terrible. I'd like to think I've gotten better with time.
 
in terms of smut my default is 50%. Reason is for a balance of smut and story so it would be fair for me and for a potential partner. But a second option would also dependent on the story and that would be because of the possibility that someone else is on either side of the 50%.

I have nothing against smut as a whole but as long as it helps the story or even a setting where something smut related is hinted for example it helps the story and setting have a flavor.
 
Typically I enjoy writing smut quite a bit, and I've been told that I'm generally good at it, so that's nice. But in terms of necessity? I would argue that unless you're going for explicitly pornographic RPs, it's never necessary to incorporate smut. I began my RPing days to try and tell interesting, unique stories, and that's all I ever really want to do. If that story incorporates sex, I can write that, but I don't feel any particular need to. So yeah, pretty simple I suppose. Can if I need to, don't really have to. If I had to give a "preferred ratio" I'd put it anywhere from 0 to 30%.
 
@Teneo Lupum I believe somewhere up there you asked me to answer my own questions, so here I am! (A little late, I know, but hey, life things took a bit of precedence, ya feel me?)

When it comes to smut, I enjoy it, but not for the physicality of it. I love writing about everything--I am absolutely not a "fade to black" writer and prefer to play out all sexual scenes, but the--ahem--ins and outs of it all don't interest me that much.

What gets me about smut is the build up. I adore amping up the tension between two characters; when your character and another have chemistry, it's palpable. It's as if you're not writing your character anymore, but your character is telling you where they want to go and you're simply along for the ride. I love the flirting, the teasing, the sensuality, the explosive connection between two individuals when finally their bodies are allowed to meet.

For that reason, I don't like purely erotic roleplays. I find them boring. I also do not like it when sexual scenes go on for too long in an RP. The passion and intensity begins to wan and I'm left aching to move onto the next scene so we can begin building that tension all over again.

Funnily enough, I believe my first dives into roleplaying were mostly erotic? Because I was sixteen and those things were taboo and interesting and allowed me to explore my sexuality in a safe way. Though I don't remember much of those early days, I don't think any of the roleplays were purely sexual. There was... some plot in there. Maybe.
 
When it comes to smut, I fall in the Clive Barker camp. If there are visceral descriptions of horror or other things going on, then detailed smut is just maintaining that consistency. I've been RPing smut for a long time. It's incredibly fun for me. Sayings like "what's the point? it's all the same" or "everyone knows what'll happen" drive me up the gd wall - as a pet peeve. Yeah, maybe it's true for some writers... but it completely ignores the potential individuality of characters and their unique interactions.

People have different tastes, different habits and quirks and behaviors, and this should extend to the sexual life of a character. I am very story-heavy for character context, but smut has a special spot to create depth to any story that involves a character's life. Smut is an amazing and unique opportunity to provide insight into one of the most intimate and private moments of character interaction. Then again, just because smut is written out doesn't mean the potential of that opportunity will be realized either... as with any type of scene in RP and dependent on the players involved.

So... I consider smut like anything else when it comes to RP. Maybe a bit more important than something like... grocery shopping... due to the opportunity that such private/intimate moments offer the story. Maybe. *lewdly gags on slice-of-life*

EDIT: Oh, I'll clarify that when I refer to smut... I mean Erotica. Role-fulfillment type smut from like the AIM chat days or "cybering", not my thing. I need those strong story premises, vivid characters, and literary descriptions.
 
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I enjoy writing smut sometimes. But I need to be in a very particular mood. Even more so when romance isn't included. Which is something I've been running into more and more.

I really enjoy the opportunity to have scenes that let characters /show/ their affection. And smut brings with it so many opportunities to do so. I absolutely love finding partners that I absolutely click with. Sadly I've only got one of those really left in terms of romance to smut ratio.

I'll do smut only plays. But my replies to them end up tapering when I don't get fulfillment from them. Which tends to happen a lot.

I'm ace - so the idea of sex intrigues me even if I don't care enough to have an interest in it on a personal level.

I also like to think I'm good at it.

It lets me live out fantasies, too.
 
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I was gonna wait till I got on my computer to answer this bit idk how long it'll be till I get back in my computer lol.

I am not the biggest fan of writing smut with people I haven't established some kind of relationship with. I'm not a very extrovert or sexual person and so going head first into smut with people I barely know or haven't talked to is really awkward. I would much rather get to know the person and the characters first. You know, let the head canon ships blossom first.

That being said, I'm not opposed to it. I've had some great smuts with friends' characters and I do it often in short bursts. But I would much rather it be an enhanced to a situation the characters are in rather than be the core focus.

So I would like to note--do not ask me to do a smutty rp before asking me for a plot and character development. I'll more than likely say no.
 
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I don't know how to tag people in here so I'll just add people's names in my posts.

I agree with Dao Ma about not trusting a person right away to write smut in a RP. I have had a certain smut filled RP that I'm not proud of but the storyline (and the other person basically asked me to incorporate) and the smut that was in it. (I no longer associate myself with that form of smut).

And I write dominant character a lot of the time even though in real life I'm not very dominant. And I'm a certain way in real life that I won't put out in the open because I don't know all of you that well. Even though I already know you are all trustworthy and wouldn't make fun of me for my way, I don't want to worry about my plots being turned away because of it.

For me my characters and my plots don't circle around smut all of the time. I prefer to see how our characters get along first, and if my partner(s) and I can plot out a story that features some smut in them.
 
I'm just learning this aspect of roleplaying as I've never gotten really detailed with sex in my rp writing. Being my initial RP fandom was a biker TV series, there was at times some heavy sex, but I was never privy to the writing as it was usually done on a closed board. Still, I say 50% as I like a natural flow of a story, and if/when sex comes along I like it to be writtten with no inhibitions. It's just part of the story. I am still learning about more adult type os roleplaying, lol.
 
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For me, sex especially within the BDSM realm is not only important but a continuation of who I am as a person. I'm an owned submissive and my writing tends to reflect that. I know I'm in a very small minority here and I can accept that
 
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i interact with smut pretty casually (as i interact with most things). if the chemistry's there and it fits, let's go. if the rp partner prefers fade to black i'm good with that too (in theory, tbh, but i tend to enjoy rps where smut is explicit better as i feel less constrained, and typically ppl who prefer fade to black also have harder limits on other things),

overfilling rps with smut can get boring so in established rps where its happened several times i will often cut to summary just for boredom's sake, there's only so many ways you can put your dick in stuff before you're like alright i get it, yk?

so i'm in and out. i enjoy it, and my characters usually have complicated and intrinsic sexualities relative to their personality and experiences. that being said i avoid people whose requests are more or less "hey let's do a smut rp" because i assume that they are more interested in the pornish "plastic parts mashed together" than plot, whereas i thrive on worldbuilding.
 
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i interact with smut pretty casually (as i interact with most things). if the chemistry's there and it fits, let's go. if the rp partner prefers fade to black i'm good with that too (in theory, tbh, but i tend to enjoy rps where smut is explicit better as i feel less constrained, and typically ppl who prefer fade to black also have harder limits on other things),

overfilling rps with smut can get boring so in established rps where its happened several times i will often cut to summary just for boredom's sake, there's only so many ways you can put your dick in stuff before you're like alright i get it, yk?

so i'm in and out. i enjoy it, and my characters usually have complicated and intrinsic sexualities relative to their personality and experiences. that being said i avoid people whose requests are more or less "hey let's do a smut rp" because i assume that they are more interested in the pornish "plastic parts mashed together" than plot, whereas i thrive on worldbuilding.
Exactly! You said it just the way I feel about it! I was exposed to a lot of 'fade-to-black on the public site as when characters started to get into it, they would mark a post with an • and continue after the act publicly while writing the details out either in PM or on the adult forum of the site.
 
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Exactly! You said it just the way I feel about it! I was exposed to a lot of 'fade-to-black on the public site as when characters started to get into it, they would mark a post with an • and continue after the act publicly while writing the details out either in PM or on the adult forum of the site.
i used to do this back in 2010 when i got into star trek simming, the fleets were all 17+ which meant no explicit sex, so we'd all go to google docs lol, after a while it got kind of bizarre though, because it was just sheets and sheets of smut, so it really kind of felt like doing 2 different rps, one with the plastic mashed parts together and another that was all plot; it was this weirdddd disconnect
 
i used to do this back in 2010 when i got into star trek simming, the fleets were all 17+ which meant no explicit sex, so we'd all go to google docs lol, after a while it got kind of bizarre though, because it was just sheets and sheets of smut, so it really kind of felt like doing 2 different rps, one with the plastic mashed parts together and another that was all plot; it was this weirdddd disconnect

Yes, things did kind of get disjointed. Having written one RP story with erotica/smut in the last year, I have to say it is much better to include it in the posts as a natural flow within the story. I also don't have a problem with a certain amout of vagueness in describing the acts as long as the vaugeness and.or the explicitness matches the detail of writing in the story overall.
 
I'll just be honest. I love smut. I love writing smut. I love the sensational feeling it evokes and the imagery it inspires. I love sharing that with someone. Whether it's plot-driven or simply smutty fun. I love it. Don't judge me, I'm honest! <3 Winks Love you all.
 
It depends. The right kinks and I'll take a sultry 90/10 one-shot. I too prefer to lean 'Erotica', ie, detail, and the dynamics of it instead of just the physical sex-thing. The nice thing is, a good one-shot can turn into a story exploring the consequences of that fateful scene. So you get an alluring plot hook that can double as story fuel.

And on the other side, building up to and participating in the act is excellent.

But neither are essential since I mainly showed up to write in general.