BoM/TWS Message Forum

"Male camaraderie" partnerships could evolve into rivalries and even hatreds.

Take the victimization angle, for example. Have someone that Will already loathes (say, Lester or Geoff) be the "partner", and they receive calls where deliberately victimizing the other will give them benefits - maybe returning to their old life, or understanding more about how they work, or ultimately becoming partners with that person. The whole story will focus on that rivalry - especially if the assumed forms are already friends and important people (such as Gordon and Steve) - but can easily evolve elsewhere. In fact, you don't have to make it that obvious - the partnerships could easily start by having none of the people collaborate with each other, following the breadcrumbs separately, with the reader's decision subtly influencing who gets closer and who eventually gets played at.

Even long-standing relationships can turn negative. In fact, in the same branch where Will and Sydney start playing with Caleb, the romantic relationship destroys the friendship dynamic between the two, and the story slowly starts to focus into how Will tries to ruin Caleb's life through his mother.

I do believe I understand where you're getting at, though. Though I can see the distancing between Will and Caleb as a negative relationship, you could see it as the end of a relationship (a friendship one, that is). In that regard, it's not a partnership but a conflict - and that, I feel, is where the distinction lies. Perhaps you don't see conflict as a form of relationship while I see it, because the actions of one or both sides will be intrinsically related to the other - maybe they openly challenge or discreetly sabotage each other, but ultimately all of their efforts will be focused on the other side, to the exclusion of everyone else.

Guess it's a matter of semantics?