Romance

Ah yes, as the planet turns, flowers bloom and grubby children grow into sweaty and awkward teenagers. And these sweaty and awkward teenagers are subjects to life's most fearsome rivals, hormones and feelings. Yes, hormones and feelings that drive them to socialize and suffer as their body and mind rebel, foisting upon them unwanted reactions that turn interaction with others into a mine field.

Let's take a closer look.

As a troll enters teenhood, their feelings tend to mature and the way they look at and interact with others begins to evolve. The dimension of romance has been added into the mix, which can be both fulfilling and endlessly needlessly complicated.

Trolls are, by nature, social creatures. For all their reputation as overly violent terrors that fling hate at each other, the species has strong social ties and in most cases needs that social interaction to balance out otherwise volatile natures. Given the societal precedence for violence and the close ties to others, romance among trolls has developed to reflect and counteract these things.

Troll romance involves four kinds of relationships, or four quadrants as they are called. These relationships types can be classified by two sliding scales, the concupiscent to conciliatory scale, and the red romance to black romance scale.


Concupiscent to Conciliatory

This scale describes the purpose of the relationship. A relationship that leans towards concupiscent is more personally satisfying, often characterized by exciting or inciting emotions. These relationships drive trolls to act and react, with a urge and draw that is hard to fight. Concupiscent relationships are the relationships necessary to facilitate reproductions and the continuation of the species. Conciliatory leaning relationships focus more on the partner, concerned more with the support and state of the other. Conciliatory relationships are considered balancing acts, meant to ground, steady, and calm a partner. Because of the nature of the conciliatory relationship, they can often develop one sided, making for a weak bond. Conciliatory relationships are needed for the preservation of the species, helping mitigate death and violence.

Red Romance to Black Romance

This scale deals in the nature of the emotions involved in the relationship. Red romance focuses on positive and loving emotions, while black romance focuses on negative emotions.

The (Traditional) Romances

♥ Matespritship

Red Romance, Concupiscent

Matespritship is described as the flushed quadrant. The chat version of the symbol is <3 and a partner in a relationship is called a matesprit. Matespritship is driven by strong positive emotional ties known to drive trolls to a point of stupidity in their pursuit of each other, likened to a soul mate. Matespritship is one of the two relationships that help facilitate the elaborate reproductive cycle of the troll. Commonly, flushed relationships are held together by a pity for a partner's negative traits and fondness for their positive traits.

♦ Moirallegiance

Red Romance, Conciliatory

Moirallegiance is described as the pale quadrant. The chat version of the symbol is <> and a partner is called a moirail. Moirallegiance is a relationship driven to pacify a partner, intended as a support and balance to a volatile partner. Ideal moirallegiences will have partners that compliment each other's emotional profiles, creating a reciprocal relationship. Sadly, often these relationships can be somewhat one sided, with the more even tempered of the two tasked with keeping the other in check. These relationships are known to be platonic, though may lean into soft romance, but the focus of the relationship remains one of a soothing and steadying nature. Moirails can be likened to platonic soul mates or best friends.

♠ Kismesissitude

Black Romance, Concupiscent

Kismesisstude is described as the caliginous quadrant. The chat version of the symbol is <3< and a partner is called a kismesis. Kismesisstude is rooted in strong negative emotions, driven by irritation, frustration, and fixation upon the partner. The relationship can often be characterized by hate and negative inclinations. A healthy kismesistude can be likened to a rivalry, where the partners are driven to one up and push each other endlessly. A kismesisstude is held together by a healthy respect for their partner's positive traits and annoyance at a partner's weaker aspects.

♣ Auspisticism

Black Romance, Conciliatory

Auspisticism is described as the ashen quadrant. The chat version of the symbol is o8< and the key partner is known as the auspistice. Auspisticism is known to be perhaps the most complex of the four quadrants. An auspisticism deals in at least three parties, typically with two aggressors and a single mediator. The mediator is the auspistice and the one engaging the auspisticism. Auspisticisms are necessary to keep more volatile caligninous leaning relationships in check, prevent unstable relationships from pitching into violence, or even perfect an unsteady caliginous relationship. As said, complex. Auspisticism focuses on balancing out negative emotions or relationships, and can be quite trying. This is generally a platonic relationship, but may be known to dip into a light black romance, so long as the focus remains the balancing act.

And these are simply the traditional combinations of these relationships. Things can get quite complicated an older and more involved a troll gets. Typically, these quadrants are expected to be exclusive relationships, but in the modern age, polyamorous or open relationships are not unheard of. complex triangles or quadrangles can be formed among close parties interlocking in different relationships amongst themselves, and quadrant vacillation is always a risk. Troll relationships are malleable by definition, set on sliding scales, and thus vacillation is not uncommon, where trolls slip between what kind of relationship they're in. Which can make exclusive relationships quite difficult if you have a matespritship vacillating into the caliginous quadrant when one troll already has a kismesis.

For some, pale relationships ride into flushed, or even find a heady balance in the vacillation and allowing one relationship to cover multiple quadrants, at the risk of strain on fulfilling many needs. Ashen relationships, being the only relationship to implicitly involve over two parties, can lead to rather interesting dynamics.

These relationships, the needs, and what will be fulfilling for anyone will be different from troll to troll. These are decisions and social dilemmas that the troll will one day be faced with if they ever choose to pursue romantic interests.