Sugar and Spite

Pines Holler [Not Accepting]

_{Location — Pines Holler Fairgrounds}

▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅

Ryan had mixed feelings on the power outage.

She couldn't go to her actual, but that left more time for her to have a small uptick in her side hustle. Of course there was also a slight increase in cop patrols, but Ryan knew where to be and when to be there in order to avoid being caught.

The extra cash was welcome.

The extra headache was not.

Upon returning to work, Ryan had made sure she paid all of the bills and then began saving up for the Fourth of July. While she would never admit it out loud, she loved the festival.

She loved the smell of dirt, sweat, fried food, sugar and hay all mixed together. She loved the kids running around, covered in remnants of funnel cake, popsicles and wrestling matches in the red clay. She loved hearing and seeing the fireworks go off, and how the entirety of the fair lit up against the night sky. She loved the fashion - men in their jeans and boots, women in short shorts and crop-tops. She loved cheering on the bull riders from the stands, and yelling bullshit into the crowd just to start fights. Even more so, Ryan loved all of the extra money she made selling illegal things at the Festival. If all went well tonight, her and Delia’s rent could be paid for the next two months and then some.

Delia had been sent off with a decent wad of cash earlier in the afternoon. Ryan had told her to stay out of any big trouble, but honestly wasn’t sure that she would listen. As long as her younger cousin stayed away from Ryan's own activities tonight that was all she cared about.

Walking around in the hot summer heat with her purse slung over her shoulder, Ryan couldn’t help but sigh in defeat at just how hot it was. Pulling her hair up into a loose ponytail with the hair tie on her wrist, the dark haired woman made her way over to the nearest lemonade stand and took a place in line.

She needed something to cool her off, and only a strawberry-lemonade could do the trick right now.

_{Interacting With — N/A
Mentions — Her cousin Delia}

Pines Holler [Not Accepting]

_{Location — Her home -> Pines Holler Fairgrounds}

▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅

Three days without power could feel like a lifetime. For Callie, it had been a much needed breather.

She spent most days in her office down on main street - regardless if anyone came in looking for her services or not. The power outage had given her time to do the exact opposite of that. Sure, most of the time was spent lazying around the house and going down to Huskers only when she couldn’t stand the heat anymore just like the rest of the town, but it was nice.

The young woman had done her best trying to figure out what had caused the power outage, but she could never get a straight answer no matter who she asked. Some people said it was a blown transformer. Others chalked it up to ‘just a fluke’. Whatever the reason, Callie didn’t like how it all seemed a little too hush-hush. Even more so, she hated the sneaking suspicion that Pines had been all but forgotten.

Fourth of July rolled around almost as fast as small town rumors had the tendency to spread. Callie usually looked forward to the annual town festivities, but this year was different.

She hadn’t told Rowan - let alone anyone else - how their mother had been messaging her on and off for the last month, nearly begging for what she kept referring to as a ‘business meeting’. Something told Callie it was more than that, and after years of no contact she wasn’t about to sit willingly at the enemies table - nor offer an invitation to hers. Pines Holler may have been small, but Callie knew this place like the back of her hand. Avoiding her parents over the years had been easy, especially when it seemed that they were doing the same.

The funniest sort of feeling lingered in the air. Something told Callie that that avoidance wouldn’t be so easy tonight. It wasn’t enough to deter her completely, but it was enough to put her on just enough of an edge. Besides, regardless of any weird feelings she had, Callie was never going to pass up an opportunity to support her brother and/or his band.

The elder of the Shaw duo promptly got dressed and smoked a fair share of weed before stashing a few goodies for later in her purse before beginning the drive over to the fair grounds.

While marijuana wasn’t legal in the state of North Carolina, Callie wasn’t exactly worried about getting pulled over for a DWI when Pines police force was nearly all impaired themselves.

She drove with the windows down, feeling the setting sun and warm wind upon her skin. The radio was tuned in to the local country station. Callie had nearly lost the strange feeling in her stomach by the time she had put the car in park.

Once Callie was inside the gates she decided to make her rounds at the vendor booths and heritage crafters. Ever since she was a little girl, it had been her favorite thing to do on Fourth of July other than watch the fireworks while eating funnel cake with Rowan. She would have to sneak the money from Ettie to do so, and they would always have to avoid their parents so they wouldn’t get caught. In Callie’s mind, each time they pulled it off made the funnel cake taste even better.

Caught up in some of the better memories she had while stopping to look at some local handcrafted pottery, Callie was brought back to the present by someone calling her name.

She turned to follow the sound of the some-what familiar voice, only to be disappointed with what awaited her.

”Robert,” she replied sternly. Callie had refused to call her old principal ‘Mr. Jenkins’ since the day she had graduated, and especially since that one unfortunate night after Huskers. She had made herself a silent agreement to remain cordial with the man, but she wasn’t going to respect him if she was no longer being forced to do so.

Crossing her arms while he spoke, Callie couldn’t help but raise a brow at his commands.

She was mildly bewildered. Anyone who knew Callie or Natalie Shaw knew they did not speak to one another. On top of that, Callie couldn’t think of a reason for Jenkins to be concerned about Mercer when the latter had skipped town.

”She’s a very busy woman, but I’m sure she’s around here somewhere,” she began in response, looking up at him. Her curiosity peaked, Callie knew she had to play this just right to get any information that she could from Jenkins. Her tone and facial expression gently shifted to convey concern. ”Is this really important enough to stress you out? From what I’ve heard, Mercer’s skipped town and none of us really have anythin’ to worry about in regards t’ him anymore. I’m not sure if I would be able to help catch her attention on somethin' that seems to be a non-issue.”

For now, Callie was fishing for information and relying on the fact that Jenkins knew nothing about her and her mothers relationship. Rather this would work or potentially backfire she had next to no way of knowing but she was damn sure willing to give it a shot.

_{Interacting With — Robert Jenkins
Mentions — Rowan & Natalie Shaw}

The Floof peeks out of her hidey-hole

Your sign off made me chuckle.

Welcome to the Guild ~ ☆

RP Rules & Preferences - What do we look for nowadays?

@Sugar and Spite I just don't feel comfortable using a real person's face for one of my characters. I'm not sure why. Maybe because I like the art I have for them? Or maybe because I'm not particularly familiar with most actors. *shrug* All I know it is makes me twitchy, and I don't like doing it.

@shylarah

I can respect that, and I appreciate you taking the time to respond. Do you think that the GM giving resources to help find faceclaims when requiring RL FCs would be beneficial to you, or people who have the same train of thought? Not asking that to try and persuade, but just genuine curiosity.

@IAmTheIsland I agree that deadlines can be a double edged sword kinda thing. If one were to just let life direct the pace of an RP, what are your thoughts on going in that direction? I imagine it can be difficult to trust people will return or to keep plots going (especially in sandbox style) if people are disappearing for months unless you are writing with people you know well - which makes us end up in the `clique hole`. I also agree that I myself would like more feedback on why sheets are being denied. I try to give feedback k as a GM when I deny a sheet, but I feel most others refrain because it can - more often than not - be seen as offensive.

@Qia Case by case for character caps is something that I can and do vibe with. That being said, it can sometimes look like you aren't holding peopke to the same standards and rub others the wrong way because you're 'letting someone break the rules.' Have you seen something similar and/or do you have any thoughts on navigating that? As someone who's been on the site for 10+ years, there are certain writers that I know and am more willing to be a bit more lenient with, but I never want someone to feel like they are being treated different, simply because I do not know them. I can also attest to your thoughts on a praise system; I've seen them do both good and bad. Kinda feel like a well rounded praise system starts with the GM team - you cannot raise this writer, and not the next. Even if it's something like `great post!`, I feel like it is important to acknowledge everyone, and if the GM doesn't set that standard than others will be way less likely to follow.

@Ruby Haven't heard anyone compare RP hunting to relationships, but I can say that I wholeheartedly agree with that analogy. One of my biggest pet peeves lately has been feeling like I'm putting in a shit ton of effort, and getting.... way less than what I put in. Which I know you can't expect everyone to be you and all that jazz, but it does bum me when I'm excited as hell and that isn't being reciprocated. Not sure if I've articulated that point like I want, but don't want to ramble.

I've always heard that SoL can be intimidating, though as someone who's mostly done SoL for nearly half my life, I've been fortunate enough to not have that experience. Is there anything particular that is keeping you from joining SoL specifically, and if so, how would you like to see GMs approach those things?

@Deadline When you say formatting flair, are you more referring to cells, scroll bars and intense coding like that - or just any and all BBcode a turn off for you? As someone who likes to make things pretty, I can agree that it can be a lot of unwanted, added pressure to make an aesthetic post every time, but I've always been curious where people draw the line on aesthetics.

@Azure Bubbles I myself have fallen into the slump where I don't feel like posting for a bit. What is a good deadline length that allows for downtime, but also keeps the RP moving somewhat consistently in your opinion? On the topic of OOC discussion, do you think OOC works better on site, or through a discord? I know people mostly use Discord now, but I've found that it can backfire sometimes.

RP Rules & Preferences - What do we look for nowadays?

@Sugar and Spite any rp that insists on real-person faceclaims is a hard no for me. I don't mind others using real people, but it makes me twitchy.

@shylarah

An interesting (at least imo) view point. I've noticed that real life FCs are more of an SoL thing, which is a big part of what I do and perhaps why I mentioned in in the first place.

That's beside the point though.

May I ask why this is something you don't prefer, for the sake of conversation?

RP Rules & Preferences - What do we look for nowadays?

It's no big surprise that the role-playing scene has shifted drastically in the last few years. People have more real life responsibilities, AI can make finding a face-claim difficult, etc.

The purpose of this thread is honestly just to gather feedback from the RPG community on what rules and guidelines people like to see when they consider joining a roleplay now.

For example - do we prefer posting deadlines? Do we still prefer real life faceclaims? How many characters do we enjoy handling per RP? What genres are more popular now? As GMs, how are we going about making sure writers stay interested and engaged without coming across as overbearing or annoying?

I just want to hear what makes you interested in a Roleplay (outside of engaging plots) and what makes you go "oh, nuh-uh"?

post deletion request

Done.

Post a random fact about yourself.

Speaking of cats, I'm currently babysitting my S.O's brothers cat.

My furry nephew, if you will.

account deletion request

We cannot delete post history, but I can make the account anonymous.

Pines Holler [Not Accepting]

I apologize for the delay my friends, and full understand if we've moved past the point of joining 🥹

@EtherealThorn

Sorry for the delay on getting back to ya! We're unfortunately already full on writers at this time.