[OOC] Streetlight Dragonflies

[lady horatio]

@Mokley Ooh, nice sound effects, Moke!

[Zoro]

New developments, how glorious! I'm going to give @Briza a few days to post before I go again, but very excited. :)

[Briza]

Yay!

[Hellis]

Sorry it took a while. Here. Have a unashamedly fabulous and outspoken boy.

WHAT IS YOUR CHARACTER'S NAME? WHAT DO THEY PREFER TO BE CALLED?
"I'm Akira Lao. ITs Thai and Japanese, in case you are confused"

Akira Lao.

HOW ARE THEY BEST RECOGNIZED IN A CROWD?
"Your angry that I wear this skirt better then you girl."
Bright and multicolored hair and a very punk look would draw your attention. Visual-Kei stuff, japanese rock accessories and a overtly feminine everything. In short, they stand out. Akria is Thai and Japanese, so his skin is a little darker and more tanned naturally. He is known to straight up crossdress when the mood strikes him. (Hint, ITs often.)

WHAT IS A STRANGER'S FIRST IMPRESSION UPON MEETING THEM? HOW DOES YOUR CHARACTER SEE THEMSELVES?
"Look. I don't care. You are wrong."

Cold, Standoffish and confrontational. Someone who can be almost a bit aggravating in their refusal to back down from a conflict, verbal or physical. They are very in your face and opinionated. Akira doesn’t see it that way, she just sees it as her duty to stand up for what she believes in.

WHERE DID THEY GROW UP? WHERE DO THEY FEEL AT HOME?
"This place is a fucking dumpsterfire"

They were born right there in town. But it never felt like home. He always felt she stood out as a kid, and her Parents didn’t make it any easier on him. He moved to LA after his brother got into a ugly fight with their dad about how he treated Akira. His mother had allready stopped talking to him by then. He doesn't have a place she feels at home, not LA, not Duskwick. He is a restless soul, forever drifting.

WHO ARE THE MOST IMPORTANT PEOPLE IN THEIR LIVES?
"I have no one. I need, nobody"
It was their older brother, now they don't really have any people they consider close. Their parents refuses to acknowledge his existence.

WHAT IS THEIR PROFESSION, SKILL OR LIFESTYLE? WHAT DO THEY THINK THEIR STRENGTHS ARE? WHAT ARE THEIR ACTUAL STRENGTHS?
"Let me hook you up"

Akira is a social fixer of short. He worked as a bartender at one of Los Angeles most popular alt-rock hangouts and learned a lot about how to read people. After a while, he was moves to be a sort of a club host, hooking people up with all manners of things. From contacts, to less illicit goods.

Akira thinks his main strength lies with the way he can can handle anyone regardless of their attitude towards him.

His strength is really in making people listen to him, and actually steer them towards something more beneficial then what they initially wanted from him.

WHAT ARE THEIR FEARS, FLAWS AND SECRETS?
"I am flawless..."

Akira is terrified of being alone. Especially now that his brother is dead. He goes to lengths to attract people to hang with him, something that has and will no doubt be exploited in the future. He has dreams of being lost in the woods, chasing a setting sun and being enveloped in cold, isolating darkness.

WHAT DO THEY WANT MOST? WHAT DO THEY ACTUALLY NEED?
"I..: I don't need anything."

They want to bury their brother. And get out of this damn ghost town. What they really need is somebody who actually care, and who will anchor them. People who isnt after his contacts, or a favor. Who enjoy him for him, who doesn’t look at him as if he was a leper or a object of fascination.

IF YOUR CHARACTER COULD HAVE ANY SUPERNATURAL ABILITY, WHAT WOULD IT BE?
"I just want to be to others, what my brother was to me"
To shine like the sun, to draw all eyes to him and make them fawn and fall for him.

WHY ARE THEY HERE IN DUSKWICK? WHAT IS THEIR OPINION OF THE STRANGE RUMORS?
"This place was ALWAYS wierd"
They are there to bury their brother, who was the only person who stood up for them and who was there for them as a kid.

HOW WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE THIS CHARACTER CHANGE AND DEVELOP?
"I.. I don't know"

Grow more comfortable in himself and dealing with the loss of his brother, growing more mature and empathic as a result.

PITCH A SMALL SUBPLOT THAT WOULD BE PERSONALLY MEANINGFUL TO YOUR CHARACTER.
"WHAT ARE YOU HIDING!?"
Finding out his parents know something about the entire situation, something they had kept hidden from him and that was directly involved with his brothers accident.

[Mokley]

@Hellis Hi hi hullo again! :D Akira is brilliant -- totally approved! Please do copy them to the characters tab and feel free to make your entrance IC however you like.

If there's anything I should know about the brother's 'accident' ... would love to know more. ;)

[Hellis]

@Mokley

I got some ideas. I'll pm you later!

[Hellis]

Akira is F I E R C E

Also helps he has no idea there was a tiger there just before. lmao.

[Kalmar]

"Don't just stand there, help her up," he says to the man who was already trying to help her up.

[Hellis]

Akira is an acting person. Not a thinking person? xD. My bad, lemme fix that.



I did a quick sketch of Akira

[Kalmar]

@Hellis
Okay, I don't like criticizing other people's posts, but I feel like some questions need to be asked.

1. How did he realize what she needed was in the bathroom?
2. How did he know what he found in the bathroom was actually her stuff, and not somebody else's?
3. Even if he does have experience as a drug dealer, how would he know that she needed medicine? Based on what was written about her, it sounds more likely that an observer would decide she must be having a panic attack.
4. He walks into his diner, and while some strange things are definitely happening, there's no immediate danger... yet his first action to pull out a knife?
5. Based on what you described, he went into the restaurant, started yelling at people, then ran into the bathroom, found the items that he somehow knew were hers, got out, and then told the girl he found her stuff. You're not really taking into consideration the fact that someone might try to stop him, talk him down, or interact with him in any way between when he enters the bathroom and when he begins to interact with Jill.
6. Since there are other people who are much closer to the bathroom, any one of them could easily grab her stuff before your character does.

[Hellis]

@Not Fishing'

For someone who doesn't like criticizing, you sure like to critizise. Otherewise you would not have decided to make a 6 point list to attack every part of my post.

I could easily tear into yours or others posts if I wanted to. None of us are professional writers, its easy to find stuff thats janky or not fitting. Feeling you should call me out publically in this thread tells me you have no problem to criticize peoples posts. This could easily have been handled trough a PM. But since you want to cast doubt on my post, let me directly respond in the open as well.

1) I read it as if she was facing the bathroom with all that had happened, so you know. Its the only other area then th diner itself there would be something of a guest. Its basic logic.

2) He doesn't. He just assume. He is human, he does what he can. And even if its a panic attack, gathering a persons stuff from a collapsing room could be a good idea. Panicking people tend to want something familiar to anchor to. Please do not try to lecture me in how to react to a panicking person in a rp, lol. As a person with severe anxiety, i got a lot of experience of my own to draw upon.

3) He doesnt know what she need exactly. He just recognice a behavior he has seen a lot among junkies and people who take prescription. He extrapolate. its what adults tend to do. Draw upon experience and hope they are right. I don't know if you have been in any highstress situations around people who panic or are on something. But I have. Generally people tend to act in two ways, stay with the person having an episode, or look for something to calm them down with, IE, their meds.

4) He has a rough past, he had a shit day, he hates the town, he doesn't want to be there. ANd people are running nad yelling and what not. Yes, he armed himself. ITs part of how he deals with things. Hell, I tried to build up to his mood going to shit and his fears starting to play up. Its called contextual writing. Nothing happens in a vacum. Not to mention he is essentially a lgbt kid who ran away from abusive parents and have been having to handle his own shit and been forced lived on his own since a teenager.

5) He went into the Diner, saw a girl who to him appeared to have some sort of reaction. Decided to act. Its the best way to introduce him in my eyes and other people can easily write about how this outragous person just steps right into the situation and play off it. ITs not hard to work with. I rather try to put my charachter int o the situation and give him some personality and agency then to just write basic reactive stuff.

6) But nobody had, and I felt like diving right in. And I dont see why we should wait unless there is a turn order. Thats how rp's stagnate.

Have i answered your questions now. Or do you wanna attack my writing further? Perhaps let the GM tell me if my post is unfitting for the situation.

[Kalmar]

Otherewise you would not have decided to make a 6 point list to attack every part of my post.

@Hellis

This is an exaggeration. I just pointed out things I either took some issue with (particularly things that looked suspiciously close to meta-gaming, which I dislike), or didn't quite understand. It's not an attack.

I could easily tear into yours or others posts if I wanted to.

@Hellis

Go ahead. I don't mind criticism. If my posts are so easy to criticize, then I really would like to know what's wrong.

1) I read it as if she was facing the bathroom with all that had happened, so you know. Its the only other area then th diner itself there would be something of a guest. Its basic logic.

@Hellis

I personally saw no indication of that. It just said she went into a corner and huddled up. We will need the person who actually wrote the post to clarify, but even if she was looking it, that doesn't mean something she needed was inside - remember that the bathroom is the source of all the chaos in the room, which has everyone's attention.

2) He doesn't. He just assume.

@Hellis

But I'm not sure why he made that assumption.

He doesnt know what she need exactly. He just recognice a behavior he has seen a lot among junkies and people who take prescription.

@Hellis

What behavior did he recognize?

4) He has a rough past, he had a shit day, he hates the town, he doesn't want to be there. ANd people are running nad yelling and what not. Yes, he armed himself.

@Hellis

Okay, but it's still illegal, and something that almost everyone would regard as a hostile action. If he pulls out a knife the first time he sees something unusual, how has he not already been arrested?

Its the best way to introduce him in my eyes and other people can easily write about how this outragous person just steps right into the situation and play off it. ITs not hard to work with.

@Hellis

I personally disagree. Your character does not need to be the center of attention, especially when there's already so much else to react to. Between the tiger, the horned kid, the decay, the vanishing kid, and the terrified girl, there's already a lot on everyone's plate.

6) But nobody had, and I felt like diving right in. And I dont see why we should wait unless there is a turn order. Thats how rp's stagnate.

@Hellis

You didn't really give them a chance. I am of the opinion that the people closest to the action should be allowed to react to that action first.

Or do you wanna attack my writing further?

@Hellis

This is not an attack. There is no need to get so hostile.

[Hellis]

@Not Fishing

You ignore 90 percent of what I write to qoute just part of my responses. Coolio. I'm going to move past this now because your not interested in clarification, you just think I meta gamed. I can honestly say that was not my intention to do so. It is possibly i misread part of the diner situation. But all my charachters reactions, actions and decisions were made on the basis of his personality, from what he could see and what he could act upon.

I am just gonna continue writing what I write unless the GM thinks its bad for the rp.

[Kalmar]

You ignore 90 percent of what I write to qoute just part of my responses. Coolio.

@Hellis

I quoted the parts that seemed to convey your main arguments, in order to reduce the length. I didn't ignore "90 percent" of what you wrote, I responded to what I thought were the most important details. First you complain about me "attacking every part of your post", and then you complain about me not writing enough?

I'm going to move past this now because your not interested in clarification, you just think I meta gamed.

@Hellis

Meta-gaming was only one of my concerns. I am interested in clarification, because I didn't understand how he came to some of his conclusions, or why he took those actions.

[Mokley]

I'm taking this to PM you guys -- we'll figure out a solution together. :)

[Hellis]

.. Ignore this post...

[lady horatio]

Hey, all! Just wanted to let you know that I've read the posts and am up to speed, just going to wait to do a reply until our illustrious GM gives the OK/in case anybody does any edits. I'm also happy to provide any clarification about Jill's behavior or location as-needed. (The ambiguity of her position is at least partly my fault; I'm not always great at picturing 3D spaces without a complete visual, so that's my bad.)

Also, I know We Are Not Our Characters, but Jill's a bit pricklier than most I usually play, so please consider this a blanket apology/disclaimer: if she's rude to any of the other characters, especially anyone trying to help her in the near future, it is not (necessarily) because she doesn't like them, or because I don't. It's because Jill is essentially a handful of anxiety disorders in a trench coat, and things like crowds, strangers, and spirit tigers make her cranky. :P (But she may still yet surprise us.)

It's embarrassingly late, and I'm probably just tired-rambling now, so I'm going to crash, but I'll check in with you guys tomorrow!

[Briza]

Also, I know We Are Not Our Characters, but...

@lady horatio

I second this notion. ^

On a side note, D's post will be held until GM Mockley states the collaborative solution.

[Mokley]

Ok guys, thanks for your patience! :)

Hellis' post stands the way it is. However, I'd like to confirm here that all of you also have the power to interrupt each other's posts. What happens in final cut will be clarified in the GM post.

For example, Akira's post is the character's intention for what he's planning do. If anyone in his way would stop or interrupt him in the middle of his post, you can definitely do so. This goes for everyone else as well: anyone can interrupt any other character's actions as long as it makes sense for the situation.

If, because of this, there's ever a question about what really happened, I'll drop in to clarify a true timeline.

Is this cool with you guys?

[lady horatio]

@Mokley, I'm always glad for a GM ruling or clarification—and I meant to say that I thought you did a really great job on keeping the timeline coherent in the last mod post! You pulled everything together and made it clear without anyone really having to change anything.

I have to admit, though, to being a little uncomfy with the idea of players being able to contradict each other or make too many assumptions/jumps in the timeline—this is not specifically about what just happened, but just what it could mean for us as a general rule. Posts have a snowball effect, which means if two posts contradict each other, it makes it hard for the people that follow, and could mean a lot of wasted words or rewriting.

Maybe we could keep a balance between the two? Like, nobody be afraid to post, and everyone be willing to occasionally say, "Oh, my bad; I'll edit to reflect that/let's do a collab," but err on the side of considering the timeline ("Would this logically happen in the context of what's already happening?") and checking in with other players like we already have been (like Zoro saying he'd seen what was happening, but wanted to give Briza's character a chance to react, or the way we generally ask questions in OOC like, "My character's probably gonna do X; would anybody else do Y?"). I don't think we need anything as strict as a posting order, but I really appreciate when we're considerate to make sure everyone gets the chance to act mostly in "real-time" without having to play catch-up or explain why their character hasn't been doing something.

Does that make sense? Anyway, this is just a (rambly) suggestion, in response to your request for feedback. It's absolutely your game, your rules, and I'll respect your choices as GM! Now I gotta run to work, because oh my God, am I ever in danger of being late (again).