Innistrad has been on my mind quite a lot lately, so I decided to hop on board a completely different topic just for a change of pace. Eh, and just for the hell of it too.
This is definitely going to come off as a bit girly, but I'm genuinely curious as to your opinions (men and women alike!). Within the past several months, I've read the Time Spiral cycle, Agents of Artifice, and The Purifying Fire - all of which have elements of romance in them, some more so than others. And it got me thinking: What do you, personally, feel about the place of romance in MTG canon? All for it? Can't stand it? Think it detracts from other, more involving plot lines? Fine with it in moderation? Spill, guys! And while we're at it, do you have any favorite or least favorite instances of it?
I ask this from a writer's perspective, especially as one who is struggling to figure out where certain themes and plot elements belong or do not belong in individual stories. So, I like to think this question is at least...decently legitimate.
As long as it serves the plot sure but otherwise I wouldn't bother putting it in. There are other ways to thicken a novel and flesh it out other than romance.
Never really thought much about it, but now that you mentioned it:
The Serra and Feroz romance was a tragedy, I hate those Romeo and Juliet scenarios and I don't like how they depicted Serra as being mentally weak, her attitude (when she gave up on her realm and when Feroz died) is totally non-White IMO. I think many people are looking forward to what will happen between Jace and Liliana, they fit well as lovers because they are both ambitious and black and blue are allied colors. And I don't know if it's just me, but there seems to be a romantic tension involved between Gideon and Chandra, the former's protectiveness and the latter's aggressiveness, kinda reminded me that opposites do attract, etc.
As long as the romance -being told- is engaging and is not detrimental to the story, then it's fine. (",
The Cabal Patriarch and Phage "romance" is the weirdest thing in the Magic books lol!
I think it adds an emotional level to the books, if a lover betrays it makes for a better story, if the lover does anything to protect the other one it makes for better reading.
This is definitely going to come off as a bit girly, but I'm genuinely curious as to your opinions (men and women alike!). Within the past several months, I've read the Time Spiral cycle, Agents of Artifice, and The Purifying Fire - all of which have elements of romance in them, some more so than others. And it got me thinking: What do you, personally, feel about the place of romance in MTG canon? All for it? Can't stand it? Think it detracts from other, more involving plot lines? Fine with it in moderation? Spill, guys! And while we're at it, do you have any favorite or least favorite instances of it?
...anyway...like anything else, it all comes down to how it's handled. I can take just about any type of story out there, so long as it's handled well, though I do prefer stories where at least something positive happens in the end, so the whole excursion doesn't feel like nothing was accomplished. As far as romance itself in MtG goes...there have been ones I've bought, and ones I thought were idiotic or mishandled, much like anything else. I will say this though: as the writers hired to pen the stories WotC actually markets, cares about, and doesn't retcon at a moment's notice have no ability to write anything but melodrama (literally, NOTHING but), I have no faith that romance can be handled well these days.
I've personally most liked Xantcha and Ratepe, and Belbe and Ertai; Nemesis was the only time I though Ertai was even remotely tolerable, and I just loved Belbe.
About any "subpar" mechanics or cards: Context is king.
If I make a templating or grammar error, let me know.
The franchise MtG most resembles is Battlestar Galactica. Why? Its players exist in, at most, a dozen different models at any given point in time, with perhaps up to 3% variation, 5% if you're lucky.
People don't like to admit it since they refuse to accept how meaningful they are, but sex and romance are some the prime drives of human action.
Psychologysts would even argue Nicol Bolas' obsession with manipulation and empowerment comes from not being good enough for a significant other during his formative years.
Tl:dr I like it.
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Yes sir, I take fantasy art and character design commissions, PM me for rates.
Personal connection between characters is important in the vast majority of stories, whether that be bonds of brotherhood, camaraderie, romance, or even hate. Romance is just one of the many tools at a writer's disposal and is one that is often used. It's up the skill of the writer if it's effective or not in the development of the plot or bringing depth or sense of realism to the characters.
I like that. Nicol 'Xanatos Gambit' Bolas' motivation is: 'My daddy never loved me.'
All joking aside, love and hate is a prime motivation for sapient minds. Romance is a confirmed manner of making a character relateable(sp?), and since WOTC wants us to relate to the neowalkers, romance is inevitable. I doubt that it will be any more overt than it has been, since little boys are driven away by that romance more often than not. Don't expect any love scenes, but know that we will get planeswalkers pairing up.
I say this from a screenwriters perspective. "Why do all action movies have a romance theme? They need to do something other than fight sometimes."
In all honesty, you need rising action, and falling. Romance is easy for that in an action/adventure story. You can make a girl, make her fight (giving you feminism points) and when they are not fighting, they can lick each other's wounds. Suggestive, but I literally do mean, get to know one another. Define them as characters, give a lull in the story, and advance a theme.
Wow, definitely didn't expect for this thread to blow up as much as it did! But it's really interesting to read everyone's opinions - insightful, too. I'll try to respond to a few of the things I've seen:
And I don't know if it's just me, but there seems to be a romantic tension involved between Gideon and Chandra, the former's protectiveness and the latter's aggressiveness, kinda reminded me that opposites do attract, etc.
Nope, not just you. I definitely think Wizards is trying to pair the two of them up (which I'm all for - I think they would make a much better couple than some I've seen so far, especially since, in my mind, they're more of a battle couple than a purely romantic pair).
Haha. Well, being the only female Magic fan that I know of (of course I know there are other ladies out there, but I have yet to meet them in person), I often find myself prefacing things I say with this in the hopes that what I want to discuss will be taken seriously, rather than just "Oh, you're a chick, of course all you'd think about is (insert stereotypical feminine subject here)." Call me crazy, but it's helped several times.
I will say this though: as the writers hired to pen the stories WotC actually markets, cares about, and doesn't retcon at a moment's notice have no ability to write anything but melodrama (literally, NOTHING but), I have no faith that romance can be handled well these days.
I agree with you, to some extent. I would definitely like to see deeper themes explored in the upcoming novels, rather than just action-action-action-SOMETHING OVERLY DRAMATIC TO ADD PLOT TENSION-action-action-resolution. Not all the books are like this, but several of the more recent ones definitely are, and that structure can get tiring after awhile.
People don't like to admit it since they refuse to accept how meaningful they are, but sex and romance are some the prime drives of human action.
Psychologysts would even argue Nicol Bolas' obsession with manipulation and empowerment comes from not being good enough for a significant other during his formative years.
Tl:dr I like it.
Yes. Everything about this, yes. Thank you. Now let's see a Nicol Bolas planeswalker novel - I wanna get all Freudian up in that elder dragon's head!
I say this from a screenwriters perspective. "Why do all action movies have a romance theme? They need to do something other than fight sometimes."
In all honesty, you need rising action, and falling. Romance is easy for that in an action/adventure story. You can make a girl, make her fight (giving you feminism points) and when they are not fighting, they can lick each other's wounds. Suggestive, but I literally do mean, get to know one another. Define them as characters, give a lull in the story, and advance a theme.
There you have it.
I think I agree with this most of all. I enjoy the fact that romance (when done right) allows you to delve into aspects of character - both interpersonal and intrapersonal - and plot that would otherwise remain unexplored, but man, does it ever give a much-needed break! I honestly wonder how the people who write action scene after action scene after action scene do it. I sure as hell can't.
I don't mind the romance. Gideon and Chandra i one I actually see having chemistry. Lovely dovey relationships get boring fast, as they end up being static characters, usually lumped into one identity.
If there ever were to have a romance the only ones I can see being interesting is chandra, as she would rebel against it (and tomboy vs. girly confliction is nice)
Liliana for pure manipulation (Already done to Jace.)
Sorin, because his selfishness side would conflict with his interest in someone else (Plus props to wizards for making a not evil black walker)
The rest sorta fade into the "there wouldnt be much going on if they did" area. Especially koth, elspeth, and ajani. They would basicly be "I fight for my love grossness"
Haha, I was referring to the person up a couple posts who used the term "Xanatos Gambit" - term from tvtropes.org. But props to you! That's got to be a fantastic line of work to be in.
I don't mind the romance. Gideon and Chandra i one I actually see having chemistry. Lovely dovey relationships get boring fast, as they end up being static characters, usually lumped into one identity.
If there ever were to have a romance the only ones I can see being interesting is chandra, as she would rebel against it (and tomboy vs. girly confliction is nice)
Liliana for pure manipulation (Already done to Jace.)
Sorin, because his selfishness side would conflict with his interest in someone else (Plus props to wizards for making a not evil black walker)
The rest sorta fade into the "there wouldnt be much going on if they did" area. Especially koth, elspeth, and ajani. They would basicly be "I fight for my love grossness"
Agreed on all counts.
I'm looking forward to seeing where Wizards takes Chandra and Gideon.
Jace and Liliana? I saw through it straight away, and even though she has moments where she regrets what she's doing, I don't think she would be able to escape her "black" nature - She'd always fall back to her tactics of manipulation in the end, especially now that she has the veil. But if a Jace/Liliana plot is restarted, I would be interested to see where it goes, and how it affects them both.
I can't ever see Sorin falling in "love." I'm under the impression that he's an all-out hedonist when he's not focusing on serious business, so I can totally see him going and sleeping around or what have you - but never "love." He's a vampire, anyway. Not really suited for that emotion.
Ajani, Elspeth, and Koth...(cringes) Somebody would have to do a damn good job to get me invested in any romance of theirs.
Romance is sometimes interesting, but is sometimes bored thing.
When it expresses something of plot or characters or an incident, I can read happily.
Romance for only filler or just pure romance… I skip or stop reading.
However I'm female but usually not fan of only lovey-dovey romance story except for short story or poet.
My personally favorite romance in MTG cannon Liliana and Jace; their relations participate with a plot closely, bitter ending of the love slightly brought up a boy to a man and Black and Blue are ally. And Belbe and Ertai for a similar reason.
PS: From another point of view, it's interesting thing that Jace seems to have a pansexual tendency. Of course I know he loved Liliana and Kallist was just a best friend like brother, but I was surprised that he seemed to have possibilities to have relations with anyone.
Romance is sometimes interesting, but is sometimes bored thing.
When it expresses something of plot or characters or an incident, I can read happily.
Romance for only filler or just pure romance… I skip or stop reading.
However I'm female but usually not fan of only lovey-dovey romance story except for short story or poet.
My personally favorite romance in MTG cannon Liliana and Jace; their relations participate with a plot closely, bitter ending of the love slightly brought up a boy to a man and Black and Blue are ally. And Belbe and Ertai for a similar reason.
PS: From another point of view, it's interesting thing that Jace seems to have a pansexual tendency. Of course I know he loved Liliana and Kallist was just a best friend like brother, but I was surprised that he seemed to have possibilities to have relations with anyone.
I actually would be really interested if they tastefully acted on other sexuality.They have stated that they are getting a lot of female, and gay fan-base recently and wanted to support that side.
ChandraxGideon is my preferred ship as well. It's always fun to see a tomboy get in touch with their feminine side. Chandra strikes me as a tsundere, and having a loving relationship is perfectly in line with red's emotion-driven philosophy. Gideon is an ice king (queen), in line with his proud warrior race guy philosophy. Those two would be Magic's premier battle couple, Gideon attacking full-throttle, Chandra covering his back with fire.
I don't know. With her personality I kinda expect Chandra to be the one attacking all out while Gideon is forced to cover her back because she's too busy blowing stuff up to pay attention to her surroundings. Plus Gideon's card is basically "let me take that hit for you bro" so yeah.
Right, good point, Char. I can definitely see Chandra detonating the current opponent while Gideon frantically prevents the rest of the army attacking her.
For some reason I don't like Jace and Liliana's relationship. Chandra and Gideon is alright, depending on how it goes (knowing wizards they are going to screw it up and make them all lovey-dovey). If you go back to the Brothers War the romance in that novel was perfect, it really flushed out the characters and helped the story. It read like something real, the neglected wife finds solace with someone else. Tawnos and Ashnod having rivalry with the hint or something more that could never come true. Gerrard and Hanna was also great, it really showed Gerrard and what he became after Hanna's death.
As long as it doesn't take away from the walkers character, I'm all for it. Some cases, like Sorin, just wouldn't work.
I want a block devoted to Karn: Tumultuous Love. It would be an epic tale about his journey through the cosmos for an ornithopter worthy of his affection.
I agree with a lot of what's been said here, and I'm also very pleasantly surprised that this topic has gotten so many good responses! I like some romantic tension with some of the characters, but I also fervently hope they don't try to force it onto all the planeswalkers ala Romantic Plot Tumor if I can trope it up some more! Chandra/Gideon is good specifically because they seem like at any given moment they could either start making out or start punching each other. Liliana/Jace is okay, but I want them to emphasize more how unhealthy the relationship is for both of them. They're terrible for each other, and they're both smart enough to know it, but they can't help themselves.
Volatile relationships like these make for good drama. Something blandly sweet would just be boring and would make everyone just start hating the characters, and something that seems too forced or out-of-character would just make everyone roll their eyes.
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Xantcha, Phyrexian Reject
Jodah, Archmage Eternal
Tovolar, Howlpack Alpha
Pivlic, Orzhov Informant
Crixizix, Master Engineer
Feather, Boros Peacekeeper
Marisi Coilbreaker
O-Kagachi
Gix, Phyrexian Praetor
Karn, Father of Machines
Yawgmoth, Father of Machines
Serra, Mother of All Angels
Tevesh Szat, Doom of Fools
Leshrac the Nightwalker
Jeska, the Thrice-Touched
Elspeth Returned
Crucius the Mad
Taysir the Infinite
Urza's Head (Unglued!)
PS: From another point of view, it's interesting thing that Jace seems to have a pansexual tendency. Of course I know he loved Liliana and Kallist was just a best friend like brother, but I was surprised that he seemed to have possibilities to have relations with anyone.
Oh...interesting! You know, I never really thought that on my first read of Agents of Artifice, but now that I look back, I can see what you're talking about.
ChandraxGideon is my preferred ship as well. It's always fun to see a tomboy get in touch with their feminine side. Chandra strikes me as a tsundere, and having a loving relationship is perfectly in line with red's emotion-driven philosophy. Gideon is an ice king (queen), in line with his proud warrior race guy philosophy. Those two would be Magic's premier battle couple, Gideon attacking full-throttle, Chandra covering his back with fire.
I agree wholeheartedly, for the exact same reasons. You summed up my view almost perfectly, actually! Haha. I'm almost expecting this to happen at some point in the near future, since Gideon seems to be nudging Jace aside a little for the top dog slot when it comes to advertising/media/publicity.
For some reason I don't like Jace and Liliana's relationship. Chandra and Gideon is alright, depending on how it goes (knowing wizards they are going to screw it up and make them all lovey-dovey). If you go back to the Brothers War the romance in that novel was perfect, it really flushed out the characters and helped the story. It read like something real, the neglected wife finds solace with someone else. Tawnos and Ashnod having rivalry with the hint or something more that could never come true. Gerrard and Hanna was also great, it really showed Gerrard and what he became after Hanna's death.
Good point! From how far into The Brothers' War I've read, I'm really liking what they've done with romance on all fronts. I don't like Jace and Liliana's relationship as much either, though it's mostly because she's just such a predatory, manipulating character that it's easy to see her intentions - She's in it for the personal gains, not for affection/friendship/love. Regardless of whether she started to feel remorse for the things she was doing, the fact still stands that she did some pretty awful stuff to him, and only regretted it because it made Jace unhappy, not because of its inherently bad nature (she had his friends all over the city hunted down and killed! She betrayed him to Tezzeret!). I enjoy reading about the two of them simply because their story is dramatic and it keeps me guessing as to how they will end up, but I'm definitely not a huge fan of the pairing itself.
I want a block devoted to Karn: Tumultuous Love. It would be an epic tale about his journey through the cosmos for an ornithopter worthy of his affection.
Volatile relationships like these make for good drama. Something blandly sweet would just be boring and would make everyone just start hating the characters, and something that seems too forced or out-of-character would just make everyone roll their eyes.
Agreed! I think that Wizards definitely has some good things going right now in this department, especially since what romance there is tends to be opposing-color (Chandra/Gideon) or at least dramatic (Jace/Liliana), which keeps things interesting. I'm dying to see what they do with the Innistrad/Dark Ascension/??? block novel, or any new planeswalker novels they come out with!
"Here only miracles. Here, only the rising of spirit. And yes, love if it was pertinent (which it was so often); and sometimes bloodletting. But never the prosaic, never the trivial. Here the man who brought the strangest tale was the most welcome. Here every excess was celebrated if it brought visions, and every vision analyzed for the hints it held to the nature of the Everlasting." - Clive Barker's Imajica
I hate romance novels, but enjoy romantic subplots, so the romance in the Magic storyline seems good to me.
As for pairings, I love Chandra and Gideon. I thought The Purifying Fire handled it well. It used the romance to develop their characters while advancing the plot. I really hope to see more of them together.
Jace and Liliana are interesting too. I liked them in Agents of Artifice, but I don't know what was going on between them in Test of Metal. Granted, they seemed pretty out of character in general, but Jace suddenly went from wanting to help Liliana to being upset that she hurt Baltrice of all people... I don't know what to make of them in that book. But anyway, in Agents of Artifice, I liked their interactions from a plot standpoint. I can't see their romance actually working out, but I do hope it is addressed again.
I loved Belbe and Ertai's romance. It was just done beautifully. Not much else to say there. It was just great.
I didn't like how the romance was handled in the Ravnica trilogy though. There were definitely hints that Jarad and Fonn might like each other, but then between books, they get married, have a kid, get divorced, and now don't particularly like each other. When almost the entire romance is off screen, I can't help feeling like it would have been better if it wasn't included at all.
I liked the love triangle in The Thran because it contributed so much to the characters and their motivations. You feel more sympathetic toward Glacian when you see him starting to lose his wife to Yawgmoth, who has already taken pretty much everything else from him. You wonder how Rebbec really feels because sometimes she seems to like Yawgmoth, other times she hates him, sometimes she seems to care more about Glacian, other times she completely ignores him for Yawgmoth, and sometimes she just seems torn between the two. And you see wonder whether Yawgmoth actually liked Rebbec or whether he was (most likely) just enjoying the power her affection gave him. It added another dimension to characters who were already really interesting.
Wow, this ended up being a long post. Anyway, tl;dr: As long as the romantic subplots are done well, I like them.
I echo the support for Chandra and Gideon's relationship in The Purifying Fire. I thought it was very well done. It felt natural and well-paced, and wove itself right into the plot rather than being lumped on.
This is definitely going to come off as a bit girly, but I'm genuinely curious as to your opinions (men and women alike!). Within the past several months, I've read the Time Spiral cycle, Agents of Artifice, and The Purifying Fire - all of which have elements of romance in them, some more so than others. And it got me thinking: What do you, personally, feel about the place of romance in MTG canon? All for it? Can't stand it? Think it detracts from other, more involving plot lines? Fine with it in moderation? Spill, guys! And while we're at it, do you have any favorite or least favorite instances of it?
I ask this from a writer's perspective, especially as one who is struggling to figure out where certain themes and plot elements belong or do not belong in individual stories. So, I like to think this question is at least...decently legitimate.
As long as the romance fits into the situation, and as long as it serves some point, i'm fine with it.
The Serra and Feroz romance was a tragedy, I hate those Romeo and Juliet scenarios and I don't like how they depicted Serra as being mentally weak, her attitude (when she gave up on her realm and when Feroz died) is totally non-White IMO. I think many people are looking forward to what will happen between Jace and Liliana, they fit well as lovers because they are both ambitious and black and blue are allied colors. And I don't know if it's just me, but there seems to be a romantic tension involved between Gideon and Chandra, the former's protectiveness and the latter's aggressiveness, kinda reminded me that opposites do attract, etc.
As long as the romance -being told- is engaging and is not detrimental to the story, then it's fine. (",
I think it adds an emotional level to the books, if a lover betrays it makes for a better story, if the lover does anything to protect the other one it makes for better reading.
Nicol Bolas, a balance of Vorthos and PowerUBR
Nath of the Gilt LeafBG
Others
Squee, Goblin of AwesomenessR
Nekusar, the Mindblazer!UBR
Vela the NightcladUB
I used to be a world champion, but then I took a wolf to the knee. And three Galvanic Blasts to the face.
Concerning when returning to Kamigawa would be acceptable
...:confused:...I...don't know why you'd think that...
...anyway...like anything else, it all comes down to how it's handled. I can take just about any type of story out there, so long as it's handled well, though I do prefer stories where at least something positive happens in the end, so the whole excursion doesn't feel like nothing was accomplished. As far as romance itself in MtG goes...there have been ones I've bought, and ones I thought were idiotic or mishandled, much like anything else. I will say this though: as the writers hired to pen the stories WotC actually markets, cares about, and doesn't retcon at a moment's notice have no ability to write anything but melodrama (literally, NOTHING but), I have no faith that romance can be handled well these days.
I've personally most liked Xantcha and Ratepe, and Belbe and Ertai; Nemesis was the only time I though Ertai was even remotely tolerable, and I just loved Belbe.
About any "subpar" mechanics or cards: Context is king.
If I make a templating or grammar error, let me know.
The franchise MtG most resembles is Battlestar Galactica. Why? Its players exist in, at most, a dozen different models at any given point in time, with perhaps up to 3% variation, 5% if you're lucky.
Psychologysts would even argue Nicol Bolas' obsession with manipulation and empowerment comes from not being good enough for a significant other during his formative years.
Tl:dr I like it.
All joking aside, love and hate is a prime motivation for sapient minds. Romance is a confirmed manner of making a character relateable(sp?), and since WOTC wants us to relate to the neowalkers, romance is inevitable. I doubt that it will be any more overt than it has been, since little boys are driven away by that romance more often than not. Don't expect any love scenes, but know that we will get planeswalkers pairing up.
Decks:GU Evolver, W Modern Knights
Apprentice of Spell Manipulation
Archester: Frontier of Steam
In all honesty, you need rising action, and falling. Romance is easy for that in an action/adventure story. You can make a girl, make her fight (giving you feminism points) and when they are not fighting, they can lick each other's wounds. Suggestive, but I literally do mean, get to know one another. Define them as characters, give a lull in the story, and advance a theme.
There you have it.
Nope, not just you. I definitely think Wizards is trying to pair the two of them up (which I'm all for - I think they would make a much better couple than some I've seen so far, especially since, in my mind, they're more of a battle couple than a purely romantic pair).
Haha. Well, being the only female Magic fan that I know of (of course I know there are other ladies out there, but I have yet to meet them in person), I often find myself prefacing things I say with this in the hopes that what I want to discuss will be taken seriously, rather than just "Oh, you're a chick, of course all you'd think about is (insert stereotypical feminine subject here)." Call me crazy, but it's helped several times.
I agree with you, to some extent. I would definitely like to see deeper themes explored in the upcoming novels, rather than just action-action-action-SOMETHING OVERLY DRAMATIC TO ADD PLOT TENSION-action-action-resolution. Not all the books are like this, but several of the more recent ones definitely are, and that structure can get tiring after awhile.
Yes. Everything about this, yes. Thank you. Now let's see a Nicol Bolas planeswalker novel - I wanna get all Freudian up in that elder dragon's head!
I think I agree with this most of all. I enjoy the fact that romance (when done right) allows you to delve into aspects of character - both interpersonal and intrapersonal - and plot that would otherwise remain unexplored, but man, does it ever give a much-needed break! I honestly wonder how the people who write action scene after action scene after action scene do it. I sure as hell can't.
P.S.: I see I'm not the only troper in here...
Actually screenwriting is my job...
I don't mind the romance. Gideon and Chandra i one I actually see having chemistry. Lovely dovey relationships get boring fast, as they end up being static characters, usually lumped into one identity.
If there ever were to have a romance the only ones I can see being interesting is chandra, as she would rebel against it (and tomboy vs. girly confliction is nice)
Liliana for pure manipulation (Already done to Jace.)
Sorin, because his selfishness side would conflict with his interest in someone else (Plus props to wizards for making a not evil black walker)
The rest sorta fade into the "there wouldnt be much going on if they did" area. Especially koth, elspeth, and ajani. They would basicly be "I fight for my love grossness"
Haha, I was referring to the person up a couple posts who used the term "Xanatos Gambit" - term from tvtropes.org. But props to you! That's got to be a fantastic line of work to be in.
Agreed on all counts.
I'm looking forward to seeing where Wizards takes Chandra and Gideon.
Jace and Liliana? I saw through it straight away, and even though she has moments where she regrets what she's doing, I don't think she would be able to escape her "black" nature - She'd always fall back to her tactics of manipulation in the end, especially now that she has the veil. But if a Jace/Liliana plot is restarted, I would be interested to see where it goes, and how it affects them both.
I can't ever see Sorin falling in "love." I'm under the impression that he's an all-out hedonist when he's not focusing on serious business, so I can totally see him going and sleeping around or what have you - but never "love." He's a vampire, anyway. Not really suited for that emotion.
Ajani, Elspeth, and Koth...(cringes) Somebody would have to do a damn good job to get me invested in any romance of theirs.
When it expresses something of plot or characters or an incident, I can read happily.
Romance for only filler or just pure romance… I skip or stop reading.
However I'm female but usually not fan of only lovey-dovey romance story except for short story or poet.
My personally favorite romance in MTG cannon Liliana and Jace; their relations participate with a plot closely, bitter ending of the love slightly brought up a boy to a man and Black and Blue are ally. And Belbe and Ertai for a similar reason.
PS: From another point of view, it's interesting thing that Jace seems to have a pansexual tendency. Of course I know he loved Liliana and Kallist was just a best friend like brother, but I was surprised that he seemed to have possibilities to have relations with anyone.
From Japan with love \('-'*)
I actually would be really interested if they tastefully acted on other sexuality.They have stated that they are getting a lot of female, and gay fan-base recently and wanted to support that side.
Decks:GU Evolver, W Modern Knights
Apprentice of Spell Manipulation
Archester: Frontier of Steam
Decks:GU Evolver, W Modern Knights
Apprentice of Spell Manipulation
Archester: Frontier of Steam
I want a block devoted to Karn: Tumultuous Love. It would be an epic tale about his journey through the cosmos for an ornithopter worthy of his affection.
Volatile relationships like these make for good drama. Something blandly sweet would just be boring and would make everyone just start hating the characters, and something that seems too forced or out-of-character would just make everyone roll their eyes.
Xantcha, Phyrexian Reject
Jodah, Archmage Eternal
Tovolar, Howlpack Alpha
Pivlic, Orzhov Informant
Crixizix, Master Engineer
Feather, Boros Peacekeeper
Marisi Coilbreaker
O-Kagachi
Gix, Phyrexian Praetor
Karn, Father of Machines
Yawgmoth, Father of Machines
Serra, Mother of All Angels
Tevesh Szat, Doom of Fools
Leshrac the Nightwalker
Jeska, the Thrice-Touched
Elspeth Returned
Crucius the Mad
Taysir the Infinite
Urza's Head (Unglued!)
Oh...interesting! You know, I never really thought that on my first read of Agents of Artifice, but now that I look back, I can see what you're talking about.
I agree wholeheartedly, for the exact same reasons. You summed up my view almost perfectly, actually! Haha. I'm almost expecting this to happen at some point in the near future, since Gideon seems to be nudging Jace aside a little for the top dog slot when it comes to advertising/media/publicity.
Good point! From how far into The Brothers' War I've read, I'm really liking what they've done with romance on all fronts. I don't like Jace and Liliana's relationship as much either, though it's mostly because she's just such a predatory, manipulating character that it's easy to see her intentions - She's in it for the personal gains, not for affection/friendship/love. Regardless of whether she started to feel remorse for the things she was doing, the fact still stands that she did some pretty awful stuff to him, and only regretted it because it made Jace unhappy, not because of its inherently bad nature (she had his friends all over the city hunted down and killed! She betrayed him to Tezzeret!). I enjoy reading about the two of them simply because their story is dramatic and it keeps me guessing as to how they will end up, but I'm definitely not a huge fan of the pairing itself.
Please yes.
Agreed! I think that Wizards definitely has some good things going right now in this department, especially since what romance there is tends to be opposing-color (Chandra/Gideon) or at least dramatic (Jace/Liliana), which keeps things interesting. I'm dying to see what they do with the Innistrad/Dark Ascension/??? block novel, or any new planeswalker novels they come out with!
As for pairings, I love Chandra and Gideon. I thought The Purifying Fire handled it well. It used the romance to develop their characters while advancing the plot. I really hope to see more of them together.
Jace and Liliana are interesting too. I liked them in Agents of Artifice, but I don't know what was going on between them in Test of Metal. Granted, they seemed pretty out of character in general, but Jace suddenly went from wanting to help Liliana to being upset that she hurt Baltrice of all people... I don't know what to make of them in that book. But anyway, in Agents of Artifice, I liked their interactions from a plot standpoint. I can't see their romance actually working out, but I do hope it is addressed again.
I loved Belbe and Ertai's romance. It was just done beautifully. Not much else to say there. It was just great.
I didn't like how the romance was handled in the Ravnica trilogy though. There were definitely hints that Jarad and Fonn might like each other, but then between books, they get married, have a kid, get divorced, and now don't particularly like each other. When almost the entire romance is off screen, I can't help feeling like it would have been better if it wasn't included at all.
I liked the love triangle in The Thran because it contributed so much to the characters and their motivations. You feel more sympathetic toward Glacian when you see him starting to lose his wife to Yawgmoth, who has already taken pretty much everything else from him. You wonder how Rebbec really feels because sometimes she seems to like Yawgmoth, other times she hates him, sometimes she seems to care more about Glacian, other times she completely ignores him for Yawgmoth, and sometimes she just seems torn between the two. And you see wonder whether Yawgmoth actually liked Rebbec or whether he was (most likely) just enjoying the power her affection gave him. It added another dimension to characters who were already really interesting.
Wow, this ended up being a long post. Anyway, tl;dr: As long as the romantic subplots are done well, I like them.
R Citizen Cane (Feldon of the Third Path)