Best Wishes

For anyone who has met Ukee (Kisi's companion) yet, this is the character I based him off of...

And, just for the record, if you haven't seen 'The Croods', you're missing out on a cute little movie filled with silliness that is just a fun little hour and a half. :)

Poor Timing

Because the best time to hash out your issues with your ex is while you're being rescued and trying to sneak off a ship...

Non-rp related post - What's going on

Update (12/21): Thanks to help from family, we will be able to stay where we're at through December. We're not out of the woods, but we're not homeless! :)

So, to recap what most of you already know, right after Thanksgiving, we moved out of our two bedroom apartment to an extended stay motel to reduce our cost of living expenses and close out our utility bills which were severely overdue, letting our deposits cover the outstanding late payments.

The move was supposed to be helpful. It put us five minutes away from Mike's job, and with the car acting up and money tight, it guaranteed that even if he couldn't drive to work, he could walk there. Our son is leaving for basic training in the Air Force on January 6th, so he moved in with my parents earlier in the month so that they could take care of him until he leaves.

Then, of course, everything went wrong. A week after we moved, Mike got fired, and my parents kicked my son out on the same day. Mike has managed to get a lower paying job that, ironically, is closer to our old apartment than here. It wouldn't be enough to really do more than continue to pay for our stay here (not including food or gas), but it would be something. My son moved in with us into our tiny little room, and we have spent the last couple of weeks adjusting and getting as much help as family could manage to give.

And now, today. Today, Mike's old boss was supposed to give him his last week's pay plus vacation pay. It would have helped us get through to his first paycheck from the new job, which pays bi-weekly but holds back the first check for a delay. Mike's old boss got together with his CPA and managed to whittle what should have been an 800 dollar paycheck down to less than 400. Basically, what this boils down to is that the money that was supposed to get us food and at least one more week's rent here will do one, but not the other, and that doesn't even take into consideration gas money for the car if we can continue to limp it along without the repairs it needs. (If any of you knows a good mechanic, you know that the one car that is always breaking down on him is his own, because God has a sense of humor.)

Mike and I have no idea what we'll do. We're flying by the seat of our pants here, folks, and our pants are unraveling or...ripping...or...whatever works for that metaphor.

I'm fighting anxiety symptoms and panic attacks, and emotionally, I'm all over the place. I haven't been on meds in the two years since my Baker Act emergency hospital thing, and there are moments when it shows, and I apologize for that if it affects you somehow.

RP and writing are a huge coping mechanism for me, so I'll be trying to immerse myself in those things to try to keep the crazy mental health demons at bay.

Now, I'm not going to waste whatever time you and I have for RP or hanging out in game to discuss this. You know I don't like to do that. If I'm directing you here, it's because you've asked what's wrong. This is my IRL these days. Send a positive thought out or a prayer or whatever you do on my behalf, give me a virtual hug, and just get in character with me, please.

OOC - Riding off into the sunset...

Kel'ri has been retired. The player of Varr'o (her husband) and I have discussed an IC happily ever after of sorts, and the two are considered to have taken up permanent residence on their home planet of Chandrila as they await the birth of their first child.

Should you want your character to be able to find this information out ICly and/or keep tabs on them, feel free to friend my alt Rismaa, who is Kel's cousin and will be taking full leadership of her charities.

I had a blast playing the blue-haired little freak, and I want to thank everyone who ever had a character that interacted with her ICly. She was probably one of my most favorite (and most popular) RP characters ever.

My new alt, Kisi, will start to crop up here and there, and I hope you'll like her at least half as much.

OOC Post - Ask Prompt: Player-Character 9

-Asks for the Character-

L) What is something you hate doing?

Sheri'dan: "Thinking about going home. After my dishonorable discharge, it was made clear to me that I never can."

Rismaa: "As much as I love working for HHN and helping the kids involved, I hate that moment when it's time to say goodbye. You know they're going to be alright now - because you're leaving them with people who will help them - and you know they're finally safe, but it's letting of that awesome kid you just got to know and got through to, knowing you probably won't see them again."

Aittera: "Thinking about the past. I avoid it as much as I can."

M) If you could change anything about yourself, what would you change?

Tholata would be bigger and stronger so no one could ever hurt her again, though she'd never voice that.

Somaesthesia: "I'd be taller."

Rismaa: "I wouldn't be Force sensitive. It ruined everything."

OOC Post - Ask Prompt: Player-Character 7

-Asks for the Character- 

F) What do you think one of your worst traits is?

Aliyobi: "I guess I trust the wrong people. Every time I tell myself I won't let it happen again, it does, and I find myself swearing off another person."

Kiabe'deth: "That is an asinine question." *force chokes*

Aittera: "I never know when to stop. I just don't have it in me to quit, so once I am in, I'm in until the end, no matter what that brings or how it comes about. You would think that would be a good quality, but you'd be surprised how often someone should quit while they're ahead."

G) What do you look for in a friend or partner? 

Riukii: "Someone who doesn't try to control me."

Aliyobi: "Loyalty."

Somaesthesia: "Mutual gain. I'm a businesswoman as much as anything else, and in society, friendships are more about mutual benefits. I know it sounds cold, but I like to think of it as a practical application of one's social standing."


H) If you could have anything in the world, what would you want?

Aittera: "Before Kol, I would have answered Davin without hesitation. Now...now, I guess I just want a galaxy where Kol and I could be together without everything that is likely to get in the way of that in this one."

Riukii: "More places to see for my first time. More universe to explore. There should always be more to do and see and experience."

Aliyobi: "Who says I can't have anything I want?"

OOC Post - Ask Prompt: Player-Character 6

-Asks for the Character-

C) What's a pet peeve of yours when it comes to other people?

Aittera: “It irritates the hell out of me when someone seems to think they know or understand my motives better than I do. The moment someone tells me what I’m thinking like they’re some kind of expert, I want to kick them in the face.”

Aliyobi: "I hate it when people tell me what to do. Last I checked, a ship only has one damn captain."

Kel'ri: "People who wear helmets in cantinas."

D) How long have you been working at your current job? What is it?

Aliyobi: “You mean Selus’s perfectly legitimate shipping and transport company I left Krayt to work for? A few months now.”

Riukii: "I just signed a short-term contract with House Arren transporting supplies and personnel."

Rismaa: "I am acting director for Kelri's charity, Hyperspace Haven Network, while she is on maternity leave."

E) What do you think one of your best traits is?

Aliyobi: "Loyalty."

Somaesthesia: "The ability to maintain composure in any circumstance no matter how much pressure is brought to bear."

Aittera: "I can outdrink a rancor and still fly in the morning."

OOC Post: Ask Prompt: Player-Character 5

-Asks for the Player-

13) Is there anything you're not settled on with your character or anything you would change about them?

Not really. I love flawed characters, and I love evolving them through RP and stories, so even when there’s something I’m not so happy with about them, I know the possibility is always there for them to ‘grow out of it’, so to speak.

OOC Post - Ask Prompt: Player-Character 4

-Asks for the Player-

10) What is something you never want to happen to your character?

I don’t want Riukii’s sense of self to ever be shattered. She can live through a lot, and that’s great, but I would like to see her always be able to default to that spring in her step and that big friendly smile she greets people with.

11) What do you love to RP?

I love to develop rich character stories. Action and adventure are wonderful, of course, but without the context of what's going on with the characters involved and how it affects their friendship/rivalry/competition/etc, those things fall flat for me. For instance, it's not enough to just roleplay the fight. I want to roleplay what causes the fight, the fallout of the fight, and how it affects the way the people involved in the fight interact with each other going forward.

Also, I love good comedic elements, so I will try to include them where I can. I think RP'ers can sometimes get far too caught up in how seriously they want their character to be taken, so they pass up golden opportunities to draw in others with a little levity.

12) What do you refuse to RP, if anything?

I refuse to acknowledge auto-hits, and if I get that sense of god-moding that comes from a character being so invulnerable that nothing ever goes wrong for them, I'll walk or I just won't engage in anything further with that character beyond IC greetings and/or acknowledgements of existence. If I'm willing to let my character take a hit, I expect others to be willing to as well. If I'm willing to let my 'cool' character be the butt of a joke every now and then, I expect others to be willing to as well. 

OOC Post - Ask Prompt: Player-Character 3

-Asks for the Player-

7) What do you look for in an RP partner?

First and foremost, someone who can keep IC and OOC separate. It cuts down on the potential for drama significantly. There are other things that I think we all value, of course, like compatibility of styles and fleshed out/thought out characters. However, I've also come to feel like OOC communication is a lot more important to me than it used to be, because I need to feel like I’m on the same page as the other player. I prefer non-scripted, improv-style RP, and sometimes, the caveat to that can be that you just need to be able to follow up a scene with a little back and forth about what worked and what didn't work for both people involved.

8) If you could have any item for your character, regardless of if it's in game or not, what would you want?

I would love to have a proper ball gown for Jocelyn (Somaesthesia) in game. Something red and classy but sexy.

Some way to visually represent the knife that Ali almost always has hidden in her boot and all of her piercings.

I want a proper chaise lounge for Kiabe's rooms!

9) What is something you'd like to see happen to your character?

I’d love to see Jocelyn’s personalities go to war with each other over something so that there’s a schism to play with. Not forever, of course. I just think it’d be a fun and scary week or month to be around her.

Aittera needs that one friend who is standing there after everything's said and done, not judging, not criticizing, not lecturing. Just...curling up on the couch with her, force-feeding her ice cream, quietly letting her know that there's still someone in her corner.

I'd really love to do another Beatrice/Benedick style friendship/romance on any character. The last one was over far too soon. :P

OOC Post - Ask Prompt: Player-Character 2

-Asks for the Player-

4) How long have you been RPing?

Twenty years?

5) What do you think is one of your character's better traits?

I think Riukii's best trait is buoyancy. She was in one of those relationships that bordered on abuse to begin with, and then, her husband pretty much went psycho on her. She could have walked out of that situation completely broken - and I tend to favor the kind of character who would, if I'm honest - but instead, she uses her past to catapult her forward. Riukii can beat any odds just because she believes she can. I love that about her.

Aittera is incredibly self-possessed and confident, even when she doesn't know what the hell she is doing. 

Jocelyn can feel a little chameleon-like, adjusting for each situation she is in by accessing a vast store of experiences. It makes her a great representative for her house and allows her to get along with just about anyone. Yet, in all of that, there is so much she has yet to experience, she'll never bore me. 

6) What do you think is one of your character's worst traits?

For as much of the tough girl act as she puts out there, Ali is really a coward when it comes down to it. She needs so badly to be wanted that she readily compromises herself and the people she claims to care most about.

Riukii lacks impulse control. Seriously. It gets her into all sorts of trouble.

Come to think of it, lack of impulse control gets more than a few of my alts into trouble...

OOC Post - Ask Prompt: Player-Character 1

-Asks for the Player-


1) What inspired your character?

Aittera was inspired by a combination of my first ever pen & paper RP character who was named Angel and Malcolm Reynolds from Firefly/Serenity. Angel was an ex-cop who'd become a private detective in the game Beyond the Supernatural (which probably really dates me). She was this super sexy maladjust type whose husband had been a beat cop killed in the line of duty. I really like that dark hero who doesn't like to play by the rules, and there's been some incarnation of Angel in every RP game I've ever played. I always thought Mal had a little Angel in him, because like him, she was unlucky enough to survive something life-shattering and walked away from what she thought she believed.

2) What is a concern or worry you have involving your character?

I worry about any character being too two-dimensional. I don't believe that any character should be purely evil or purely good. People aren't built that way. A person who does very evil things can still have a side to them that is compassionate or can still be completely capable of loving someone else. Alternatively, a person who does very good things can harbor a dark side within them that prompts a less than kind act toward another person or persons. People are complicated, so I work very hard to give my characters depth and understand why they do the things they do.

3) What's a pet peeve of yours when it comes to RP?

Inconsistency in format, especially in regards to distinguishing between IC and OOC actions/statements/etc. Also, the use of “you” or in place of “your character” or the character’s name (and “I” instead of “my character”, etc.). It makes me think the player involved can’t tell the difference, and that’s worrisome.

OOC Post - Ask Prompt: Player-Character

Per a friend's post here:

(My answers to follow over the next few days or so) 

-Asks for the Player-

1) What inspired your character?

2) What is a concern or worry you have involving your character?

3) What's a pet peeve of yours when it comes to RP?

4) How long have you been RPing?

5) What do you think is one of your character's better traits?

6) What do you think is one of your character's worst traits?

7) What do you look for in an RP partner?

8) If you could have any item for your character, regardless of if it's in game or not, what would you want?

9) What is something you'd like to see happen to your character?

10) What is something you never want to happen to your character?

11) What do you love to RP?

12) What do you refuse to RP, if anything?

13) Is there anything you're not settled on with your character or anything you would change about them?

-Asks for the Character-

A) What inspires you to be who you are?

B) What is a major concern or worry in your life?

C) What's a pet peeve of yours when it comes to other people?

D) How long have you been working at your current job? What is it?

E) What do you think one of your best traits is?

F) What do you think one of your worst traits is?

G) What do you look for in a friend or partner?

H) If you could have anything in the world, what would you want?

I) What is something you want out of life?

J) What is something you never want to happen in your life?

K) What is a hobby of yours?

L) What is something you hate doing?

M) If you could change anything about yourself, what would you change?