Recently, Maro answered a series of short questions on his blog regarding what love and romance mean for the various colors. I decided to collect those answers here, and figure out exactly what they mean, and how exactly they compare to our everyday notions of love. These are only my interpretations, please post your own thoughts and comments.
We'll go in the order he answered them
Quote from Maro »
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Which color is the best at being romantic?
All colors have their own form of romance. Red would be the showy way that Hollywood likes to use.
This one is perhaps the most straightforward. It's the classical notion of "true love," finding a soulmate with whom you love with your total existence. This kind of love is based purely on emotion, and puts little rational thought into their feelings, other than the fact that they can't imagine their life without love. As per typical with red, they disregard any sort of authority, and simply give into the emotion. In fact, telling someone with red love that they can't be with someone would just make them want it more.
This kind of attraction can be very dangerous when not controlled. A person will throw themselves into the relationship with everything they have, and if the relationship fails, they will be left in an emotional free-fall. For the person in love, however, this might not matter. Just living out the emotion to its fullest is the main goal.
Quote from Maro »
Quote from varazil »
How would Black go about romancing/wooing someone they genuinely liked?
They would do whatever it takes to win them over. Whatever it takes.
This love has the highest chance to cause more harm than good. From the outright, it sounds like the dreaded "relentless pursuer," the person who keeps chasing after the object of their infatuation, despite the other person repeatedly saying "no." This version of love has been most commonly used as an example of the dominance of rape culture in our society, and the idea that if a man falls in love, he is justified in doing anything to get the girl. They will go above and beyond reason to try to win their muse's affections, because they always see themselves as the number one priority.
It isn't all bad, though. The person who is in love can easily have genuine feelings for the other person. They will be extremely dedicated to proving their feelings. They are willing to do anything to the person to get their attention, but they're also willing to do anything for the person, including helping them get out of a bad situation. They will do whatever they feel is necessary to perpetuate their relationship.
Quote from Maro »
Quote from canonspectacle »
What's Blue's idea of romance?
Blue sees finding the right mate as yet another search for perfection.
Ah yes, Blue. Someone with this kind of infatuation is looking for the perfect soulmate. They will be meticulous in their search for love. It's not just enough them to like a person. They person they want has to exceed in all ways. They need to be exactly as intelligent, beautiful, charming, etc. as they imagine their ideal mate. This sounds like a pretty limiting expectation, as they will often pass up several opportunities in search of something better. Blue love seems to be the kind of live that is more likely to never be fulfilled.
On the other hand, though, if blue does find love, it's inevitable that this love will likely be complete than any other color. They are searching for someone who is perfect for them in every way, including personality, goals, outlook, and life in general. Their soulmate will be exactly what completes them, and everything they ever wanted and dreamed of.
Quote from Maro »
Quote from kingofthecahill »
How does green find love?
Green doesn’t have to find love. Love is all around. How does Green find its soulmate? Instinctually. You just meet the right one who has the proper chemistry and you just know.
This sounds a lot like "love at first sight," another classic Hollywood trope. This sounds at first like a pretty good love. It's the kind of love that happens without you even trying. You meet someone, and a few weeks later, you realize you were in love with him or her all along, only you didn't realize it until now. Once you do realize it though, you can't imagine your life any other way.
It's not all eternal bliss, though. Although you instinctually "know" the person you are in love with is meant for you, what if you instincts are wrong? You might think they are right for you at first, but what if things fall out? You would end up with an unrequited longing for something you can never have, or, worse yet, something you never had in the first place.
Quote from Maro »
Quote from Glamdring804 »
And finally, what about White's version of love?
White is looking for a match that will benefit the greater community.
(Yes, that's me)
This at first sounds like an extremely robotic and artificial love. It's the kind of emotions you would expect to find in an arranged marriage. You might be genuinely fond of the other person, but you never explicitly fell in love with them. You know your relationship is for the greater benefit of your family or country, and that is what makes you satisfied with the emotions. Your choices in life brought about the most good for the most people.
It's not like that. This kind of love is also the kind that makes you better for it. It's the emotion that drives you to be with someone because you know that simply being around them makes you strive to be a better person, both for yourself, and the people you care about. It's the kind of love that makes you work for it, be the best person you strive to be, so that at the end of the day, you know you are doing right by your soulmate. This variety of love is fairly commonly the kind of things anti-heroes look for, someone to help them be a better person.
Color Combinations
These are my thoughts on various combinations of types of love.
GruulRG
Red and green love is what I like to call "Hollywood love." It's the stereotypical meet someone, fall straight in love with them, and do everything you can to try to be with them.
MarduRWB
This in my mind represents unrequited longing. You are deeply in love with someone (red), and you desperately want to be with them (black), but you can't be with them because you feel they deserve someone better than you (white). The object of your affections is better off without you, you feel, and so you tell yourself that the best thing to do is to bury your emotions as deep as you can.
What are your thoughts and interpretations of other color combos?
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"You say 'learn from history,' but that does not mean 'learn the same bull***** the people in history learned alongside phrenology and alchemy.'" - The Blinking Spirit
That, more or less. The points hit all very closely, showing a common understanding of the color pie.
Good.
In the overall discussion, I think traditional romance is more of a GW idea. Forming a standard to be followed. It's the colour of telling women to find a men, of heteronormativity and shunning LGBT people.
GR can be associated with old-fashioned romance, but honestly it can also be the colour more focused on not giving a damn about it, to just feel regardless of social norms. A good example would be Zaheer and P'li from The Legend of Korra - good examples of Red/Green villains, btw -, which seem to be in an unmarried relationship with a noticeable age gap.
I see love in more or less RW terms: a bond of extreme loyalty, but also needing extreme passion for it to work and feel natural.
Of point; MaRo's definition for White love is almost verbatim Christian marriage. For Christians God's grace is supposed to flow from their relationship enhancing the lives of those around then. It's just as much a sacramentvas it is a demonstration of the couples love for each other.
Hmmm, In addition to MaRo's description of white romance, I think something about security should be in there. Security and protection is a very white value, and would be put in with a marriage for financial stability, ect.
Hmmm, In addition to MaRo's description of white romance, I think something about security should be in there. Security and protection is a very white value, and would be put in with a marriage for financial stability, ect.
Indeed. Protecting your love interest would be a very high priority for White.
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"You say 'learn from history,' but that does not mean 'learn the same bull***** the people in history learned alongside phrenology and alchemy.'" - The Blinking Spirit
how about falling in love quite fast and after having the other person of interested feeling in love as well, losing complete interest?
That sounds red. Falling hard and fast, and not really envisioning the long term. As for the other person...not sure. Maybe a combination of black and green?
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"You say 'learn from history,' but that does not mean 'learn the same bull***** the people in history learned alongside phrenology and alchemy.'" - The Blinking Spirit
This love has the highest chance to cause more harm than good. From the outright, it sounds like the dreaded "relentless pursuer," the person who keeps chasing after the object of their infatuation, despite the other person repeatedly saying "no." This version of love has been most commonly used as an example of the dominance of rape culture in our society, and the idea that if a man falls in love, he is justified in doing anything to get the girl. They will go above and beyond reason to try to win their muse's affections, because they always see themselves as the number one priority.
It isn't all bad, though. The person who is in love can easily have genuine feelings for the other person. They will be extremely dedicated to proving their feelings. They are willing to do anything to the person to get their attention, but they're also willing to do anything for the person, including helping them get out of a bad situation. They will do whatever they feel is necessary to perpetuate their relationship.
I think he misses the mark a bit on "black love" and stereotypes black as only being able to act evil. Someone in the black part of the pie could very easily go into crazy obsessive. On the other hand, Black is also very good at task identification and I could see them going the exact opposite side of the spectrum and going "Anything to make my beloved happy"
I think he misses the mark a bit on "black love" and stereotypes black as only being able to act evil. Someone in the black part of the pie could very easily go into crazy obsessive. On the other hand, Black is also very good at task identification and I could see them going the exact opposite side of the spectrum and going "Anything to make my beloved happy"
If you read the second paragraph, then you saw that I don't characterize black as all bad. I know fully well that black isn't evil, it's just selfish. However, selfishness is generally a very bad thing in a relationship, and if left unchecked, can very easily drive a couple apart. Taking it further, you could in reason that black's desire to maintain the relationship could lead to the person learning to grow and deal with obstacles, but that's blurring the pie a little bit, and going a little further than I wanted wit the analysis.
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"You say 'learn from history,' but that does not mean 'learn the same bull***** the people in history learned alongside phrenology and alchemy.'" - The Blinking Spirit
Recently, Maro answered a series of short questions on his blog regarding what love and romance mean for the various colors. I decided to collect those answers here, and figure out exactly what they mean, and how exactly they compare to our everyday notions of love. These are only my interpretations, please post your own thoughts and comments.
We'll go in the order he answered them
This one is perhaps the most straightforward. It's the classical notion of "true love," finding a soulmate with whom you love with your total existence. This kind of love is based purely on emotion, and puts little rational thought into their feelings, other than the fact that they can't imagine their life without love. As per typical with red, they disregard any sort of authority, and simply give into the emotion. In fact, telling someone with red love that they can't be with someone would just make them want it more.
This kind of attraction can be very dangerous when not controlled. A person will throw themselves into the relationship with everything they have, and if the relationship fails, they will be left in an emotional free-fall. For the person in love, however, this might not matter. Just living out the emotion to its fullest is the main goal.
This love has the highest chance to cause more harm than good. From the outright, it sounds like the dreaded "relentless pursuer," the person who keeps chasing after the object of their infatuation, despite the other person repeatedly saying "no." This version of love has been most commonly used as an example of the dominance of rape culture in our society, and the idea that if a man falls in love, he is justified in doing anything to get the girl. They will go above and beyond reason to try to win their muse's affections, because they always see themselves as the number one priority.
It isn't all bad, though. The person who is in love can easily have genuine feelings for the other person. They will be extremely dedicated to proving their feelings. They are willing to do anything to the person to get their attention, but they're also willing to do anything for the person, including helping them get out of a bad situation. They will do whatever they feel is necessary to perpetuate their relationship.
Ah yes, Blue. Someone with this kind of infatuation is looking for the perfect soulmate. They will be meticulous in their search for love. It's not just enough them to like a person. They person they want has to exceed in all ways. They need to be exactly as intelligent, beautiful, charming, etc. as they imagine their ideal mate. This sounds like a pretty limiting expectation, as they will often pass up several opportunities in search of something better. Blue love seems to be the kind of live that is more likely to never be fulfilled.
On the other hand, though, if blue does find love, it's inevitable that this love will likely be complete than any other color. They are searching for someone who is perfect for them in every way, including personality, goals, outlook, and life in general. Their soulmate will be exactly what completes them, and everything they ever wanted and dreamed of.
This sounds a lot like "love at first sight," another classic Hollywood trope. This sounds at first like a pretty good love. It's the kind of love that happens without you even trying. You meet someone, and a few weeks later, you realize you were in love with him or her all along, only you didn't realize it until now. Once you do realize it though, you can't imagine your life any other way.
It's not all eternal bliss, though. Although you instinctually "know" the person you are in love with is meant for you, what if you instincts are wrong? You might think they are right for you at first, but what if things fall out? You would end up with an unrequited longing for something you can never have, or, worse yet, something you never had in the first place.
(Yes, that's me)
This at first sounds like an extremely robotic and artificial love. It's the kind of emotions you would expect to find in an arranged marriage. You might be genuinely fond of the other person, but you never explicitly fell in love with them. You know your relationship is for the greater benefit of your family or country, and that is what makes you satisfied with the emotions. Your choices in life brought about the most good for the most people.
It's not like that. This kind of love is also the kind that makes you better for it. It's the emotion that drives you to be with someone because you know that simply being around them makes you strive to be a better person, both for yourself, and the people you care about. It's the kind of love that makes you work for it, be the best person you strive to be, so that at the end of the day, you know you are doing right by your soulmate. This variety of love is fairly commonly the kind of things anti-heroes look for, someone to help them be a better person.
Color Combinations
These are my thoughts on various combinations of types of love.
Gruul RG
Red and green love is what I like to call "Hollywood love." It's the stereotypical meet someone, fall straight in love with them, and do everything you can to try to be with them.
Mardu RWB
This in my mind represents unrequited longing. You are deeply in love with someone (red), and you desperately want to be with them (black), but you can't be with them because you feel they deserve someone better than you (white). The object of your affections is better off without you, you feel, and so you tell yourself that the best thing to do is to bury your emotions as deep as you can.
What are your thoughts and interpretations of other color combos?
"You say 'learn from history,' but that does not mean 'learn the same bull***** the people in history learned alongside phrenology and alchemy.'" - The Blinking Spirit
Cōnservātum album delenda est.
That, more or less. The points hit all very closely, showing a common understanding of the color pie.
Good.
In the overall discussion, I think traditional romance is more of a GW idea. Forming a standard to be followed. It's the colour of telling women to find a men, of heteronormativity and shunning LGBT people.
GR can be associated with old-fashioned romance, but honestly it can also be the colour more focused on not giving a damn about it, to just feel regardless of social norms. A good example would be Zaheer and P'li from The Legend of Korra - good examples of Red/Green villains, btw -, which seem to be in an unmarried relationship with a noticeable age gap.
I see love in more or less RW terms: a bond of extreme loyalty, but also needing extreme passion for it to work and feel natural.
|| UW Jace, Vyn's Prodigy UW || UG Kenessos, Priest of Thassa (feat. Arixmethes) UG ||
Cards I still want to see created:
|| Olantin, Lost City || Pavios and Thanasis || Choryu ||
CHECK OUT MY TRIBAL CUSTOM SET KREVAN
http://www.mtgsalvation.com/forums/creativity/custom-card-creation/custom-set-creation-and/530273-krevan-the-first-set-in-a-tribal-block
This is exactly what my viersion of "Ideal Love" is. A passionate, real relationship that benefits both people involved.
Indeed. Protecting your love interest would be a very high priority for White.
"You say 'learn from history,' but that does not mean 'learn the same bull***** the people in history learned alongside phrenology and alchemy.'" - The Blinking Spirit
That sounds red. Falling hard and fast, and not really envisioning the long term. As for the other person...not sure. Maybe a combination of black and green?
"You say 'learn from history,' but that does not mean 'learn the same bull***** the people in history learned alongside phrenology and alchemy.'" - The Blinking Spirit
I think he misses the mark a bit on "black love" and stereotypes black as only being able to act evil. Someone in the black part of the pie could very easily go into crazy obsessive. On the other hand, Black is also very good at task identification and I could see them going the exact opposite side of the spectrum and going "Anything to make my beloved happy"
Dragons of Legend, Lead by Scion of the UR-Dragon
The Gitrog Monster
Gonti, Lord of Luxury
Shogun Saskia
Hive World
Atraxa hates fun
Abzan
If you read the second paragraph, then you saw that I don't characterize black as all bad. I know fully well that black isn't evil, it's just selfish. However, selfishness is generally a very bad thing in a relationship, and if left unchecked, can very easily drive a couple apart. Taking it further, you could in reason that black's desire to maintain the relationship could lead to the person learning to grow and deal with obstacles, but that's blurring the pie a little bit, and going a little further than I wanted wit the analysis.
"You say 'learn from history,' but that does not mean 'learn the same bull***** the people in history learned alongside phrenology and alchemy.'" - The Blinking Spirit