Lord Wraith

Santa Celia: Coast to Coast

_{There once was a woman who lived a life so strange it had to be true...
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^{╚════════════════════════════════════════════ J Ä G E R B O M B ═══════════════════════════════════════════╝}

_{Location Tír na nÓg - Milk Street}

Post #2.04: An Odd Meet Cute

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| _{Interacting with @Junkmail & @SepticGentleman}

The bar was busier than usual, the crime scene down the street had attracted quite the crowd as the city followed the still developing case with morbid curiosity. More than a handful had turned away from the grisly scene, entering the Nog in order to find something to raise their spirits after seeing a man whose own soul was not allowed to go gently into the night.

Ellara had heard the murmurings of the patrons as she poured drink after drink from behind the bar. For every additional detail she heard, a nagging feeling formed in the back of her mind. Something about the murder felt familiar to Ellara, and it wasn’t just due to it being the latest in a spree across Santa Celia. Pushing the feeling to the back of her mind, Ellara approached the next customer along the bar.

Something about the man put Ellara off however as she neared him, her stomach turning as a wave of nausea passed over the young woman causing her to nearly double over in discomfort. Wrapping an arm around her abdomen, Ellara braced herself against the solid oak bar as she moved to speak to the man. Peanuts were spilled across the bar top as the man sat across from her, frantically counting them as he returned them to the bowl. Ellara felt her nose crinkle in disgust as she spotted a red bandanna wrapped around the man’s wrist.

The bandanna was a sure sign the man belonged to none other than the 6^th Street Blood Cult. No one in Santa Celia would dare wear their colours otherwise, the only thing worse than being a part of the Cult, was pretending to be. Leaning over the bar, Ellara’s cleavage nearly spilled out of her cropped black tank top as she forced a smile and addressed the man.

“What can I get you, love?” She asked as the man continued to lift one peanut at a time, placing it in the bowl as he muttered the next subsequent number under his breath before repeating the cycle. Clearing her throat, Ellara repeated the question.

“Eh, fuckface, what’s your poison?” She pressed her tone less than impressed. Rolling her eyes as the man continued to ignore her in favour of counting the spilled nuts, Ellara curled her lip in disgust as she straightened up and adjusted her shirt. Shaking her head as the man continued to ignore her, Ellara angrily slapped the bowl across the counter in annoyance. The previously counted nuts spilled across the counter, flying in all directions and even onto the floor while the bartender watched with smug satisfaction.

“Fuck you, buddy.” Ellara muttered only to jump back in shock as the man looked up at her. His pale complexion emphasizing the frenzied red eyes as long incisors dripped from beneath his upper lip. His brow was furrowed and his nostrils were flared as he exhaled in frustration before Ellara blinked and it was all gone, the haunting visage replaced by a man in shock as he bowed his head and returned to counting the spilled nuts.

Trying to shake what she had just seen from her head, Ellara opted to move on to two new customers who had taken up a seat at the end of the bar. The feeling of nausea continued to attack her stomach as she neared the pair, biting her lip to try and distract her mind from the pain before putting on yet another fake smile.

Opening her mouth to speak, Ellara met the female’s eyes, watching as her pupils turned black before sinking back into her head, her eyes becoming no more than empty sockets that stared right through her. The woman’s face continued to change as her skin turned a pale shade of green, her cheeks becoming taunt and her lips black and thin, barely hiding the decayed teeth that filled her mouth.

Recoiling in a combination of horror and shock, Ellara nearly fell into the shelf behind her as her hand found its way onto a tall bottle of rye. Spinning the cap off the bottle with only her thumb, Ellara quickly lifted it to her lips as she took a long, deep swig before looking back at the pair before her. In the second she had looked away, the woman’s face had seemingly returned to normal and Ellara allowed herself a small sigh of relief before slamming the bottle on the counter, dragging the back of her hand across her mouth before she finally addressed the pair.

“Welcome to the Nog, now what I can I get you two to fuckin’ drink?”

Word association Game!

Libation

The 'Character Sheet' as we know it needs to die.

I've been both roleplaying and GMing for a while now, and I've done the Bloated Character Sheet numerous times, I've tried having players replace a Character History's with a Writing Sample and I've been experimental and done a proof of Concept Sheet. I also could have sworn that I have done a sheet where players provide basic information and then link posts they're proud of in lieu of a bio, but I couldn't find an example of that.

The point of this is, I don't think there's one 'character sheet' that works for every game or GMing style. What one GM sees as superficial, another might see as essential. You mention sexuality in your opening post, and while sexuality might not matter in say a fandom RP, it could be a necessary detail in a slice of life or romance RP. While an arbitrary weight may not be important, a general character description and build are. A character sheet at the very minimum should include enough details that I can interact and accurately describe your character from mine's point of view.

Could these details be described in the IC? Absolutely, they could, but not every writer is going to go through the morning montage of getting dressed and describing their character in detail. A novel gets away with vague character descriptions because all the characters are created by the same author, they know what Hank looks like compared to Harriet. But in roleplaying, we're collaboratively writing and I need to know at least an overview of your vision if you want me to reply and react to your character in an accurate manner.

Should character sheets be all telling? No, absolutely not, you need to be able to have things to flesh out in the IC and work towards. The length of the first CS I linked is largely due to build a world and its history within in the context of the RP, which again comes back to my original point, the RP should determine the CS. Using one template over and over, will not work unless you solely GM the same genre and even then shifts in the story telling might require a different template. For example, an RP which features characters on the run might require an inventory whereas another where characters are free to go to and from their homes does not as characters can regularly retrieve and exchange items on their person.

At the end of a day, a character sheet is just as much for you as a player as it is for the GM. You should be using a character sheet whether or not the RP calls for it if only to keep your character consistent. Whether the GM asks you to specify that Arthur is 5'-10" or not, I should be able to ask and you should be able to tell me immediately. Like many others pointed out, it protects against on the fly decisions and power gaming. While some might argue it promotes meta-gaming, I honestly have no problem in players having a public CS and a private one for their own reference so long as the two don't contradict or mislead.

Really, all of this is a long winded way of saying, no I don't want to see character sheets abolished, just adaptable.

Santa Celia: Coast to Coast

Damn, Witry. Back at it again with the superhero RP's.

Anyway, I'd love to do this, and since I have a bit more freedom when it comes to character design, hopefully I'll actually be motivated to post. Now I just gotta think of a character.

@Witryso

Always the hard part haha

I'm sorry, but I think I'm going to have to pull out of this. I can't seem to get anything at all going. I apologise but I don't want to hold up anything anymore.

@Lord Wraith

@CaptainPotato

You're not holding anyone up at all but I understand if you still want to pull out. Thank you for your interest and taking the time to craft a character, best of luck with your future endeavors!

Santa Celia: Coast to Coast

_{There once was a woman who lived a life so strange it had to be true...
╔════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╗}

^{╚════════════════════════════════════════════ J Ä G E R B O M B ═══════════════════════════════════════════╝}

_{Location Unit 814, Ruthven Heights - Milk Street}

Post #2.02: An Unexpected Call

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| _Earlier

The steady hum of traffic eight floors below her bedroom echoed in the ears of Ellara Van Abrams as her tired eyes slowly opened to the dimly lit room. The blinds on the window adjacent to her bed were once again left ajar from the previous night and now allowed what little sunlight there was beneath the heavy cover of clouds to freely pass into the room. Letting out a loud, audible groan, Ellara pulled one of her numerous pillows over her face, groaning again as she rolled about restless, vainly trying to get comfortable enough to return to her slumber.

Unfortunately for Ellara, her bladder had its own demands and there was no way she was going to be able to return to sleep given the amount of bourbon that now required a release. With one final groan, the young woman reluctantly stood, wobbling slightly as she exited her room, making it halfway towards the bathroom before pausing to realize she wasn’t wearing any pants. Leaning against the wall, Ellara pressed a hand to her pounding head as she focused her hearing, listening to the apartment. While she could hear Mrs. Sinclair’s pot boiling three doors down, she couldn’t hear Natalie’s breathing which meant that in this moment, she thankfully had the apartment to herself.

Finishing her trip to the bathroom, Ellara stumbled her way back down the hall and into the kitchen. Rummaging through their admittedly lightly stocked cupboards, Ellara pulled out a package of coffee, looking down into as she noticed there was only enough left for one. With a shrug, she emptied the box, brewing herself a cup. Walking to the fridge, Ellara grabbed a pen before quickly scribbling ‘kahvi’ with a sad face on the roommates’ ‘Out Of’ list.

Sitting down with the freshly brewed mug, Ellara noted an open bottle of Jack’s sitting out on the table. Assuming it could only have been hers as she had never seen Natalie so much as take a shot in the eight months they’d been living together, Ellara absently poured a portion of the bottle into her mug before taking a long, loud sip.

The ring of her cellphone caused Ellara to jump as her hands immediately went to her thighs only to slap against bare skin as she was once again reminded about her current lack of pants. Honing in on the sound, Ellara slowly stood as she walked out of the kitchen into the apartment’s modest living room, a confused look crossing her face as she spotted her discarded jeans atop the back of the old recliner Natalie had somehow managed to bring up eight flights of stairs.

Grabbing the jeans, Ellara lazily flopped over the arm of the chair as she pulled the scratched phone out of the backpocket, quickly sliding her thumb across the screen pressing the device to her shoulder with her cheek.

“Hello.” She answered flatly having not bothered to look at the number before doing so.

“Hello,” The familiar male voice replied as Ellara felt her cheeks flush, her hands curling into fists as the person on the other end continued to speak. “I’m looking to speak to Ellara Van Abrams, is this her?” He asked as Ellara quickly snapped back.

“What the hell do you want?” Even after seven years, the pain of being kicked out by her Uncle was still a raw nerve.

“I’ll take that as a yes,” Her Uncle replied dryly, Ellara could practically hear his eyes rolling through the phone as she sat up in her chair. “Glad to see you’re as charming as ever.”

“You aren’t just calling out of the blue to banter with me, Uncle Thomas.” Ellara retorted. “If you could get to the damn point and quite wasting both of our fuckin’ time that’d be peachy.”

“Being rid of you was the best decision of my life, if I had done it sooner your Aunt, God rest her soul,” He paused as Ellara seethed, “Might still be alive today.”

“What do you fuckin’ want!” Ellara screamed into the phone, at this point she was now standing in the middle of the room, practically holding the phone in front of her. The man on the other end went quiet, several silent moments passing before he spoke again.

“Your father sent me something.” He stated, Ellara freezing as she heard the words. “Well, a whole lot of something and I don’t really want it. It rightfully belongs to you and the fewer things I have to do with you Van Abrams the better.”

“W-what...” Ellara paused, her voice cracking as she swallowed hard before speaking again. “What is it?”

“It’s a crate, large but still of a size I can fit it in the back of my truck.” Thomas replied, “I know you’re living in Santa Celia now, I can have it there by the end of the week.” He continued, “Do you have a place I can send it?” He asked.

“Yes.” Ellara replied flatly, her answer hanging in the air as Thomas waited on the other end of the line.

“I need the address, Ellara.”

“One twenty-” She started before suddenly pausing. “No, wait, actually can you send it to my work?” Ellara asked.

“If you give me the address.” He repeated once again as Ellara quickly punched the ‘Tír na nÓg’ into Google, selecting the address before dropping it into a text.

“I just sent it to you.” Ellara replied.

“I’ll make sure it goes out today,” Thomas said, pausing as he went to say something else before suddenly Ellara ended the call. Throwing the phone to the ground, Ellara screamed towards the ceiling before storming back into the kitchen. Throwing back her sour mash laced coffee, Ellara slammed the empty mug back onto the table before heading towards the shower.

_{Location The Tír na nÓg - Milk Street}

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| _Now

Pulling in the clutch as she guided her motorcycle around the corner, Ellara gently downshifted the bike before bringing it to a stop. Sitting at the lights a block away from the Tír na nÓg, she couldn’t help but notice the police type lining the alley as a gathered crowd tried to get a peak at the body. Adjusting her sunglasses, Ellara revved the engine as the light turned green, tapping her toe upwards as she shifted the bike back into gear and guided it further down the street before turning beside the bar.

Driving the motorcycle into her usual parking spot, Ellara disengaged the engine and dropped the kickstand before walking through the backdoor of the Nog. Nodding as she passed the kitchen staff, Ellara made her way directly for the bar as she avoided eye contact with O’Sullivan.

“Yer late again, lass.” Paddy called as Ellara hung up her jacket and grabbed a glass. Polishing it as she ignored Patrick, Ellara forced a smile on to her face as she turned to the bar, slamming the glass down before speaking.

“So what can I get you?”

Santa Celia: Coast to Coast

@Lord Wraith Post is in works, but it's been a slow process during a busy week. Ideally, I'll have something up by this weekend.

@Dusksong

No worries! Just wanted to touch base.

Santa Celia: Coast to Coast

<Snipped quote by Lord Wraith>

I was actually waiting to see DC The Dragon was going to come up with, since I am having trouble trying to find a suitable entry point. I'll try and see if I can figure something out.

@CaptainPotato

If there a particular style of plot that you're hoping for?

Santa Celia: Coast to Coast

@Skai, @Dusksong, @CaptainPotato, hey folks just doing a weekly check-in and just wanted to know if any of you were struggling coming up with a post and if I could help out in any capacity?

Let me know if I can help at all!

Word association Game!

Siege

Santa Celia: Coast to Coast

Phew, finally done my CS.