Just so it's out there, this was the GM thinking that went into the (controversial) pairings:
Prince/Gedra: 1) The Prince is used to playing off of Ladies' weaknesses and expectations. It's what he's been doing his whole life. For all that Jade is strong-willed and likeable and awesome, she has simple character hooks, and that means that she's vulnerable to his standard manipulations. ("Oh, sure, I'm not like those *other* horrible men--I respect you and your desire to go play with swords. Aren't I just wonderful?") This means that she's as much a toy for him as the others are, and as easily crushed. The thing about Gedra is that he can't actually do anything to her that hasn't already been done. He can't play with her expectations, because she doesn't have any. The idea is that she can actually force him to be genuine through sheer passivity. 2) Gedra is really far more the anti-Queen than Jade is. Jade is loud and willful and has an agenda, while Gedra is weak and shy in all the ways that the Queen is loud and manipulative.
Kassarin/Mirabilis: In both games, Mirabilis has been played as a Parsifal figure whose naivete just underlines his moral perfection. If you read his character sheet, that's really not what he's supposed to be. He's a romantic, but part of the baggage there is that he has Expectations: he needs a Lady who wants all the tremendous attention and affection that he has to give. On some level, he really is a stalker. Gedra, with her horrible history, would be traumatized by it. Kassarin, on the other hand, wants exactly that. For all that she's outre and sexual and scary, she has one of the most traditional desires: she needs someone to love her tremendously and unconditionally. Mirabilis is really the only one who can do that for her, given what she is.
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Date: 2006-05-16 05:43 am (UTC)Prince/Gedra:
1) The Prince is used to playing off of Ladies' weaknesses and expectations. It's what he's been doing his whole life. For all that Jade is strong-willed and likeable and awesome, she has simple character hooks, and that means that she's vulnerable to his standard manipulations.
("Oh, sure, I'm not like those *other* horrible men--I respect you and your desire to go play with swords. Aren't I just wonderful?")
This means that she's as much a toy for him as the others are, and as easily crushed.
The thing about Gedra is that he can't actually do anything to her that hasn't already been done. He can't play with her expectations, because she doesn't have any. The idea is that she can actually force him to be genuine through sheer passivity.
2) Gedra is really far more the anti-Queen than Jade is. Jade is loud and willful and has an agenda, while Gedra is weak and shy in all the ways that the Queen is loud and manipulative.
Kassarin/Mirabilis:
In both games, Mirabilis has been played as a Parsifal figure whose naivete just underlines his moral perfection. If you read his character sheet, that's really not what he's supposed to be. He's a romantic, but part of the baggage there is that he has Expectations: he needs a Lady who wants all the tremendous attention and affection that he has to give. On some level, he really is a stalker. Gedra, with her horrible history, would be traumatized by it.
Kassarin, on the other hand, wants exactly that. For all that she's outre and sexual and scary, she has one of the most traditional desires: she needs someone to love her tremendously and unconditionally. Mirabilis is really the only one who can do that for her, given what she is.