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kajarainbow) wrote2006-10-02 05:33 pm
kajarainbow) wrote2006-10-02 05:33 pm
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Chargen log post
A note to ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
lediva: first off, I'm using the FATE system. FATE 2.0 is available openly on the web, but I'm using FATE 3.0, which so far has only been published in a commercial setting-specific product. However, it's set to be released for free in 2007 after the release of their two commercial products (the creators're focusing on being able to eat first, before they give us another freebie). My two other players, which I got from my still running Planescape game, were already familiar with FATE 2.0, but I've been transitioning over to 3.0.
If you wanted to check it out, the free 2nd edition is available at Faterpg.com. Also relevant is this Aspects page which describes 3.0's Aspect uses through a few different examples. In brief, Aspects are akin to a combination of Advantages and Disadvantages in other game systems, and the game mechanisms treat them as double-edged swords. Use an Aspect in your favor, to spend a Fate Point to get a bonus to a roll or the like. Get an Aspect used against you, and you get the choice to override that or give in to the negative consequence and gain a Fate Point which can be used later for Good Things.
Skills, as you will see in the next log-post, are pretty simple. First we did the "Phases", pieces of the character's life before the beginning of the game, in which they picked Aspects fitting events in that Phase.
Phase 1
[OOC] Wolfie says, "Al Amarja is the weirdest place in the world, as such, it could be used as a giant lever to make the world weird. Or something."
[OOC] Petra laughs! "We had better be on our guard."
[OOC] Petra says, "Okay. What first?"
[OOC] Wolfie says, "Birth circumstances. Early childhood."
[OOC] Yukina says, "Yukina was born to rather high-class parents."
[OOC] Wolfie says, "It's worth noting that this school tends to be for the exceptional, but the criteria for 'exceptional' can be quite obscure, even completely mysterious. Some kids get in that wouldn't get into an academically exclusive, or financially exclusive school."
[OOC] Wolfie says, "Though having money does help some, in generally affording things."
[OOC] Petra says, "Makes sense. I'd actually been thinking that my character's parents were moderately wealthy as well. It makes some of what I have planned more plausible."
[OOC] Yukina says, "Makes enough sense. I think I can get to that later in her life, though. Mostly, she was expected to be a normal rich girl. Obviously didn't work as planned."
[OOC] Petra says, "I was born in Germany. One of two fraternal twin children. After undergoing labor once, my mother swore off childbirth. Thus, the two of us grew up with a fairly good amount of attention and resources."
[OOC] Petra says, "Aspects: Pampered Heir and Twin Sister."
[OOC] Petra says, "Lessee... What are we doing with skills just yet?"
[OOC] Wolfie says, "We aren't doing skills until after the phases."
[OOC] Petra says, "Ah, okay. I thought we were doing the skills gradually, like last time."
[OOC] Wolfie says, "Okay, both of you, I'm going to follow five Phases, two Aspects each."
[OOC] Yukina says, "Eldest child of three, here. Mother was a fair-and-delicate Japanese woman of some means, Father was a large Mongolian man with a long history of generals and military discipline in his family. Aspects: Oldest Child and Hearty."
[OOC] Petra says, "I'd like to know just what led to that union. <.<;"
[OOC] Yukina would tell, but that'd be telling.
[OOC] Petra says, "True!"
[OOC] Petra says, "No need to do something like that, then."
[OOC] Petra says, "Is that everything for Phase I?"
[OOC] Wolfie says, "Unless you want to elaborate on anything."
[OOC] Petra says, "We can do that in play, right? I'm set for this phase."
[OOC] Yukina says, "I'm set."
[OOC] Wolfie says, "Sorry, ended up ducking out for a sudden snack."
[OOC] Yukina says, "I am in no position to complain."
[OOC] Petra says, "Ahh, okay. Sorry to be pushy. ^^;"
[OOC] Wolfie says, "Now, before we go on, I'm still working out what the Phases would be. I was thinking that Phase two would be late childhood/early puberty, with a formulative experience or two and a major figure. Phase three would be a 'fairy tale'. Phases four and five would each somehow involve one of the other characters in something centered upon the own character. I've been thinking dreams in which the others play supporting roles, or maybe they've met and known each other in the real world."
[OOC] Wolfie says, "Phases four and five would probably run up into the present time. Phase three would be, probably, the most major event in the character's life."
[OOC] Wolfie says, "And not necessarily chronologically after phase two. The last two need not be, either, really, come to think of it."
[OOC] Wolfie says, "What do you think?"
[OOC] Petra says, "I think it"
[OOC] Wolfie says, "Would you rather more chronological phases?"
[OOC] Petra says, "Actually, I think 5 is the right number."
[OOC] Petra says, "As I was saying before I hit enter too soon... I think it's an intriguing setup. I'm not entirely sure how yet to approach the "fairytale" stage."
[OOC] Yukina says, "Hm. That could work for me. The "fairytale" thing could end up being really bizarre over here... I have no clue."
[OOC] Petra says, "Would we each postpone stage 5 until we meet the third character in this little drama?"
[OOC] Wolfie says, "That particular one's inspired by the recurring opening sequence. It wouldn't necessarily be in fairy tale style. And, yeah, you'd postpone stage 5."
[OOC] Wolfie says, "The general idea is that it's not necessarily a literal representation of what happened."
[OOC] Petra says, "Ahh, okay."
[OOC] Wolfie says, "Phase 3 can be a hinting at some less public things, too. Indirection."
Phase 2
[OOC] Wolfie says, "Now, on to Phase 2."
[OOC] Yukina says, "Yukina tried very hard to take after her mother, initially. To be a "proper" lady, to be pretty. Sadly, unlike her younger siblings, she took after her father in appearance. Bulky, broad, narrow-eyed and sharp-jawed. Not the kind of girl you want to be sitting across from for four hours while performing a tea ceremony, you know? She kept on with her attempts, though, trying to be what she thought a woman was, through the only role model she really had."
[OOC] Petra says, "The twins were inseparable throughout childhood. They played together, went to school together -- did everything together. It really came as no surprise to either of them, then, that when one was diagnosed with a rare genetic disease -- recessive in each parent -- the other was diagnose with the same condition shortly after. This condition, which led to muscular paralysis starting in puberty, and eventually death, had no cure. But their parents, wracked with guilt, put all of their resources into finding a cure for their children."
[OOC] Wolfie says, "Interesting, you even have your major life-figures."
[OOC] Yukina says, "I am trying to think of two Aspects that describe that paragraph."
[OOC] Petra says, "A lab on Al-Amarna said it could find a cure, and the parents gave their children into the care of the doctors there. After years of testing, an experimental treatment was devised. One of the children survived. For the other, the treatment came too late. After months, the surviving child -- Petra Lambert -- was provisionally released. She was not permitted to return home before her condition could be verified as stable, but in the judgement of her parents, she'd been absent from school for long enough. So she threw herself into her studies, perhaps fanatically so, when she resumed school on Al-Amarja island."
[OOC] Petra says, "Aspects: Paralytic Disease, and Schoolgirl."
[OOC] Wolfie says, "Yukina, you can go on, too, if you like."
[OOC] Wolfie isn't sure about the Schoolgirl aspect, though.
[OOC] Petra says, "Okay, Devoted Student?"
[OOC] Wolfie says, "That's better."
[OOC] Petra says, "I was unsure how to word it..."
[OOC] Yukina actually has nothing else to add this phase, as this is where the Fairy Tale stuff would occur in her life, as far as events go. Though I can use the aspects Large and Noble Upbringing.
[OOC] Petra says, "As I understand it, the PHases don't follow chronological order."
[OOC] Yukina says, "Yes, but in this portion of her life, that's all there is to be said."
Phase 3
[OOC] Wolfie says, "Allright! Now... Phase 3."
[OOC] Petra says, "Eep."
[OOC] Wolfie says, "If you like, I can give you a cue to help out."
[OOC] Yukina says, "By all means."
[OOC] Petra says, "What sort of a cue?"
[OOC] Wolfie says, "It ranges. Three words, or a complete snippet for you to take or leave or modify."
[OOC] Petra says, "As long as I can take, leave, or change it, why not? Should be helpful."
[OOC] Petra says, "A dark figure stands at the end of a white-lit hallway. 'I can help you,' says the voice. I look forward, take a step, stumble. Blackness comes up all around, then the figure is there, reaching for my hand. A woman. Her white glove outlined in light. Her eyeglasses shadowing her eyes. I reach and take her hand and darkness overtakes me. At the end of the hallway, where the doctor had stood, I see the ghost of my departed twin sister. But I am falling through blackness -- I cannot see her anymore. I hit bottom with a start. I look around. The wheelchair is cold under my legs. I cannot move them. I can barely move my arms. The doctor is in the doorway, a black shadow against light. By my sister is reflected on her dark glasses. Looking her in the eye, I say, 'I do this -- for you.'"
[OOC] Petra says, "Should say, But my sister is reflected..."
[OOC] Yukina says, "On a clear and bright day, a young Lady sat beneath a large and healthy peach tree. Though the branches were full of ripe, pink peaches, and she was very hungry, she quietly refused to eat any of them. Instead, she tried to weave flowers into a chain, breaking many of their stems and leaves as she worked. As she sat and wove, a gallant Queen in golden armor approached on a black stallion. The Queen looked down on the Lady and asked: "What are you doing there, sitting in the shade? You look fit to faint.""
[OOC] Yukina says, "The Lady stood properly, bowed, and observed proper posture despite hunger and sorrow. "I am doing as Ladies do. I am weaving flowers into a chain." The Queen nodded, and gestured to the tree with one hand. The Queen asked the Lady why she looked so weak and hungry when she was sitting beneath a tree filled with fruit. The Lady answered: "It is not proper for a Lady to indulge. I will wait, as Ladies do, until the time is right.""
[OOC] Yukina says, "The Queen smiled and stroked the Lady's hair. "If it causes you suffering, do not be a Lady. Instead, find the strength within yourself, and become a Woman." The Lady knew the Queen was right, even as the Queen rode away. As the Queen faded from sight, the Lady took off her fine jacket and her delicate shoes, and began to climb the tree."
[OOC] Petra says, "I like your imagery. Rich and colorful. Mine is all blacks and whites."
[OOC] Wolfie says, "Oooh! Yes, flavorful contrasts."
[OOC] Wolfie says, "Between the imagery in the two stories."
[OOC] Yukina says, "Very, very true. Already defines a big difference between the characters."
[OOC] Wolfie says, "By the way, during those Phases, I do strongly encourage you to take Aspects related to interperson relationships."
[OOC] Petra says, "During this Phase or the last two?"
[OOC] Yukina says, "One of the Aspects I was considering was Rebel. I don't know if that works or not."
[OOC] Wolfie says, "Both. And Rebel works well. I actually had that in mind as a potential example."
[OOC] Petra says, "I don't think Socially Awkward really works for this phase. I do want to take it eventually, though."
[OOC] Wolfie says, "Yeah, later on is plenty of opportunity to take it."
[OOC] Petra says, "Hmm. Would the phrase 'I do this for you?' work as an Aspect?"
[OOC] Yukina says, "Alright, then. Inner Strength work for the other one? Considering that was the lesson."
[OOC] Wolfie says, "Yeah, Petra."
[OOC] Wolfie says, "And, yes, Yukina."
[OOC] Petra says, "For the other one, I'm not sure how to phrase it, but something that connotes both having been saved/rescued, and survivor's guilt."
[OOC] Wolfie says, "If you like you can meditate on it, and we can continue on in the meantime."
[OOC] Petra says, "Okay. If I think of a good wording for it I'll say so."
[OOC] Petra says, "So, how exactly do we interact now?"
[OOC] Wolfie says, "Maybe you have dreams about each other and forget them, but unconsciously play out the roles to each other in those dreams. Maybe you remember said dreams and have a WTF moment at the dreams coming true. Maybe you met as your parents brought you around the world. Maybe something else."
[OOC] Wolfie says, "Feel free to do it strange, or mundane, or mundane but odd."
[OOC] Wolfie says, "Can even be one remembers the other, and the other doesn't remember the first."
[OOC] Petra nods and thinks.
[OOC] Yukina is prone to being dragged around while her parents visit all corners of the world.
[OOC] Yukina has no clue if Petra would be dragged to formal functions, though.
[OOC] Petra says, "Considering that she's been in hospital care for years, probably not recently."
[OOC] Petra says, "Hmm."
[OOC] Yukina says, "Dream sequences are always fun."
[OOC] Petra says, "What do you think of using their first meeting in Al-Amarja (sp?) Academy?"
[OOC] Petra says, "Or a dream sequence could be interesting, too."
[OOC] Yukina says, "Their first meeting would probably be horribly mundane, unless Wolfie is willing to allow a lot of freedom with misbehavior."
[OOC] Petra says, "Hmm. Point. Do you have anyhing in mind for the dream?"
[OOC] Petra says, "And for the previous Aspect I couldn't think of a name for... How about Rescued Alone?"
[OOC] Petra says, "It fits the fairytale idea."
[OOC] Wolfie says, "Go with that Aspect, Petra!"
[OOC] Petra says, "Okay!"
[OOC] Wolfie says, "But first off:"
[OOC] Petra says, "Hmm?"
[OOC] Wolfie says, "Typing."
[OOC] Petra says, "Of course. ^^;"
Digression
Entering Al Amarja, for both of you, was a strange experience. The airport terminal: an upside-down concentric-cricle terraced pyramid. The inside, vast and disorienting, seeming to go on forever. And both of you got singled out for one-on-one by customs agents who asked you some rather bizarre questions such as "Would you ever contemplate treachery against Her Exaltedness Monique D'Aubainne, Historic Liberator and Current Shepherdess of Al Amarja if she was not the awe-inspiring figure she is?" and "What is your favorite color?" and "Do you think dragons exist?"
[OOC] Wolfie says, "Incidentally, what would your characters' answers to those questions be?"
Yukina answers all questions honestly. If the circumstances seemed proper, black, and yes, respectively.
Petra answered the question regarding treachery with a quizzical expression, saying, "I don't think treachery is my style." Her favorite color, she identified as "white." And regarding dragons, she simply said, "I like to think they might."
Phase Four
[OOC] Wolfie says, "Now, this diversion is over with (though I'll be recording those answers), let's get on to Phase four!"
[OOC] Petra says, "Okay, hmm, a dream..."
[OOC] Petra says, "Since this presumably takes place after the personal transformation hinted at in Stage 3, how would Yukina view herself after that? Meaning how might she appear in the dream?"
[OOC] Petra says, "For Petra, I'm thinking she would be a figure swathed in white on a hospital gurney."
[OOC] Yukina says, "Yukina, in her dreams, tends to wear black-and-blue Mongolian riding clothes. Crisp and formal, but utilitarian and tough. Also what she tends to wear when she's not in uniform."
[OOC] Petra says, "Okay, how do we want to approach this?"
[OOC] Yukina says, "Hm."
[OOC] Yukina says, "We can start with a scene. And does Petra move in that gurney, or is it stationary unless someone else moves it?"
[OOC] Petra says, "I was thinking that might vary with ones perspective."
[OOC] Petra says, "Perhaps Yukina is riding and comes across a hospital gurney lying in a clearing? From Petra's perspective, she was rolling or being rolled down a white hospital hallway, which then becomes this rich multicolored clearing with Yukina there."
[OOC] Petra says, "Does that work for where you're coming from?"
[OOC] Yukina says, "That was actually much like what I was thinking."
[OOC] Petra says, "The hospital gurney, and the girl on it, clearly don't belong there. They have a completely different ambience."
[OOC] Petra says, "For Petra's part, she gradually comes to awareness and is surrounded by colors, for the first time in a long while."
[OOC] Yukina can set scene, all concrete-like.
[OOC] Petra says, "Not quite following what you're offering to do."
[OOC] Wolfie says, "Description?"
[OOC] Yukina says, "Describe the scenery clearly, and go from there."
[OOC] Petra says, "Ah, okay. Go ahead."
The grass is brilliant green, brilliant red and gold and black and azure flowers dotting the thick carpet like palm-sized jewels. The sky is pale sapphire, the clouds alabaster, and the rider on the black mare moves like a proud shadow through the grass, approaching slowly, violet eyes searching and piercing from under cold-ocean-blue hair. The vibrance is nearly painful, even without the sudden-ness of it.
Petra lies there, paralyzed, if not by physical limitations then by her fear of the unknown. She might as well be dead, a stark figure covered in white sheets, her pale blonde hair mostly concealed under her as she stares upward.
Yukina rides closer, horse's hooves clicking on the occasional stone on the ground. Hand gloved in aged leather draws close to tap a cheek. "Do you live?"
Petra sits up with a start, clutching the sheets to her, now visibly clothed in a white hospital gown. Her blue eyes are those of a frightened deer. Slowly, these eyes focus, taking in Yukina and the surroundings. A sad smile parts her lips. "It seems I do. This cannot be heaven, as my sister is not here." Her lower body is still shrouded in white, and is motionless.
Yukina spreads her arms, shifting her weight on her horse to indicate it should turn to face Petra as well. "Heaven is a place not meant for the living. Or, perhaps that is where you are, and you simply have not traveled far enough."
Petra's eyes glint with a hint of humor, but it is short-lived. "I cannot travel. I'm broken, you see." She gestures to her motionless legs. "The most I can do is remember, and hope she's not forgotten once I join her."
Yukina squints a little at the motionless legs. Decisively, she murmurs, "You need a horse, if your legs are broken. I would offer you mine, but Rolling Night Thunder is capricious, and would throw you."
Petra replies ironically, "How am I to find a horse, when I cannot walk? Those horses that roam free know better than to let a cripple master them. And those that are not free -- they offer only a wider prison."
Yukina tisks, and dismounts with a flourish. "A horse obeys a master that is strong in thought and deed, firm in action, and bold in manner. A horse can run and leap with a rider, and eventually will learn the rider so well as to listen even when the rider does not know they are speaking. They find joy in running, and peace in nothing more grand than a field with grass. There is nothing more free than a rider with a strong horse, and nothing is stronger than a horse with a free rider."
Petra studies Yukina's face, her pale blonde hair beginning to blow in the wind. "I would not know where to start."
Yukina smiles. The expression is coarse on her face, but honest and open. "Then we will find a gentle and kind horse, and you will learn. I can teach you."
Petra responds, 'I think I would like that...' but the wind begins to pick up, and soon it is blowing Petra's gurney away, the sheets acting as a sail. She holds on to the sides for dear life, as the gurney begins to leave the clearing toward that which is beyond. Invisibly to Yukina, she sees the same endless hospital corridor looming before her, the same white captivity she only just fell out of.
Yukina mounts her horse and attempts to follow, riding hard, reaching, but there is only so fast a creature can run, even if it is a very fast creature. She shouts, "I will watch for you! Be strong!"
Petra is swallowed by the horizon, and returns to her endless prison of white.
[OOC] Petra says, "Okay, that was quite immersive."
[OOC] Wolfie says, "Surprisingly so."
[OOC] Yukina giggles.
[OOC] Petra says, "Aspects, Stark and Learning to Ride? The latter might be used with her wheelchair later on. I'm not positive that's the best name for it either, but it's the best I can think of at the moment."
[OOC] Petra says, "If either of you have alternative suggestions, I'd love to hear them."
[OOC] Yukina says, "You could call it Prospective Rider, or even Beast Replaces Legs."
[OOC] Wolfie says, "I rather like Stark. It suggests environmental themes."
[OOC] Petra says, "Hmm. Prospective Rider seems better than what I'd had in mind."
[OOC] Yukina says, "Aspects: Vibrant and... I'd have to discuss the one that occurred to me for a moment. Because it's kinda' meant differently than it sounds but it isn't."
[OOC] Petra says, "Prospective Rider's still not quite right.. Maybe Seeker of Freedom? That's a bit more abstract, though. Hmm."
[OOC] Yukina says, "So was the one I'm thinking of, actually."
[OOC] Wolfie says, "Abstract is fine for this game."
[OOC] Petra says, "I wanted some reference to a "mount" that would work for the wheelchair, though imperfectly."
[OOC] Petra says, "Doesn't have to be that word, but the concept is what I want."
[OOC] Petra says, "Quest for a Free Mount? That's kind of awkward, but it's better than what's before."
[OOC] Yukina says, "I'm thinking of Capricious Horse, which describes both her personality and her... Heritage, I suppose? It's hard to describe it. The dream-horse is, of course, reflective of Inner Strength, but she'd know how to ride. Horses are very important in Mongolia. Most of the people there still live the nomadic life."
[OOC] Petra says, "I think that works well, Yukina."
[OOC] Petra says, "Ooh. Waiting to Ride to Freedom?"
[OOC] Yukina says, "Ooo, I like the way that sounds."
[OOC] Wolfie says, "Bingo-jingle!"
[OOC] Petra says, "Maybe better -- Hoping to Ride to Freedom. As she's not postponing it, just wondering how she possibly can."
[OOC] Petra says, "Okay... Skills now, or later?"
[OOC] Wolfie says, "Allright. And I think that's a wrap for now. Skills I'm going to leave open-ended, but I'll note that SOTC introduced such concepts as Resources (the amount of money you have standard access to), Contacting (both how much of a network you have and how good at finding information/things through this network you are)..."
[OOC] Wolfie says, "Skills're later, since an event in an later Phase (the fifth and final one) might dictate a different skill pick."
[OOC] Wolfie says, "You can name your skills whatever you want so think about them."
[OOC] Yukina says, "Alright, then. So, until next time, then?"
[OOC] Wolfie says, "Yes! Hopefully with the third PC."
[OOC] Petra says, "Okay, great!"
[OOC] Yukina says, "Huzzah!"
[OOC] Yukina says, "Gotta' run, then. The spouse-beast is back."
[OOC] Petra says, "Good to meet you."
[OOC] Yukina says, "Good to meet you, too. See you next week!"
Yukina has disconnected.
lediva: first off, I'm using the FATE system. FATE 2.0 is available openly on the web, but I'm using FATE 3.0, which so far has only been published in a commercial setting-specific product. However, it's set to be released for free in 2007 after the release of their two commercial products (the creators're focusing on being able to eat first, before they give us another freebie). My two other players, which I got from my still running Planescape game, were already familiar with FATE 2.0, but I've been transitioning over to 3.0.If you wanted to check it out, the free 2nd edition is available at Faterpg.com. Also relevant is this Aspects page which describes 3.0's Aspect uses through a few different examples. In brief, Aspects are akin to a combination of Advantages and Disadvantages in other game systems, and the game mechanisms treat them as double-edged swords. Use an Aspect in your favor, to spend a Fate Point to get a bonus to a roll or the like. Get an Aspect used against you, and you get the choice to override that or give in to the negative consequence and gain a Fate Point which can be used later for Good Things.
Skills, as you will see in the next log-post, are pretty simple. First we did the "Phases", pieces of the character's life before the beginning of the game, in which they picked Aspects fitting events in that Phase.
Phase 1
[OOC] Wolfie says, "Al Amarja is the weirdest place in the world, as such, it could be used as a giant lever to make the world weird. Or something."
[OOC] Petra laughs! "We had better be on our guard."
[OOC] Petra says, "Okay. What first?"
[OOC] Wolfie says, "Birth circumstances. Early childhood."
[OOC] Yukina says, "Yukina was born to rather high-class parents."
[OOC] Wolfie says, "It's worth noting that this school tends to be for the exceptional, but the criteria for 'exceptional' can be quite obscure, even completely mysterious. Some kids get in that wouldn't get into an academically exclusive, or financially exclusive school."
[OOC] Wolfie says, "Though having money does help some, in generally affording things."
[OOC] Petra says, "Makes sense. I'd actually been thinking that my character's parents were moderately wealthy as well. It makes some of what I have planned more plausible."
[OOC] Yukina says, "Makes enough sense. I think I can get to that later in her life, though. Mostly, she was expected to be a normal rich girl. Obviously didn't work as planned."
[OOC] Petra says, "I was born in Germany. One of two fraternal twin children. After undergoing labor once, my mother swore off childbirth. Thus, the two of us grew up with a fairly good amount of attention and resources."
[OOC] Petra says, "Aspects: Pampered Heir and Twin Sister."
[OOC] Petra says, "Lessee... What are we doing with skills just yet?"
[OOC] Wolfie says, "We aren't doing skills until after the phases."
[OOC] Petra says, "Ah, okay. I thought we were doing the skills gradually, like last time."
[OOC] Wolfie says, "Okay, both of you, I'm going to follow five Phases, two Aspects each."
[OOC] Yukina says, "Eldest child of three, here. Mother was a fair-and-delicate Japanese woman of some means, Father was a large Mongolian man with a long history of generals and military discipline in his family. Aspects: Oldest Child and Hearty."
[OOC] Petra says, "I'd like to know just what led to that union. <.<;"
[OOC] Yukina would tell, but that'd be telling.
[OOC] Petra says, "True!"
[OOC] Petra says, "No need to do something like that, then."
[OOC] Petra says, "Is that everything for Phase I?"
[OOC] Wolfie says, "Unless you want to elaborate on anything."
[OOC] Petra says, "We can do that in play, right? I'm set for this phase."
[OOC] Yukina says, "I'm set."
[OOC] Wolfie says, "Sorry, ended up ducking out for a sudden snack."
[OOC] Yukina says, "I am in no position to complain."
[OOC] Petra says, "Ahh, okay. Sorry to be pushy. ^^;"
[OOC] Wolfie says, "Now, before we go on, I'm still working out what the Phases would be. I was thinking that Phase two would be late childhood/early puberty, with a formulative experience or two and a major figure. Phase three would be a 'fairy tale'. Phases four and five would each somehow involve one of the other characters in something centered upon the own character. I've been thinking dreams in which the others play supporting roles, or maybe they've met and known each other in the real world."
[OOC] Wolfie says, "Phases four and five would probably run up into the present time. Phase three would be, probably, the most major event in the character's life."
[OOC] Wolfie says, "And not necessarily chronologically after phase two. The last two need not be, either, really, come to think of it."
[OOC] Wolfie says, "What do you think?"
[OOC] Petra says, "I think it"
[OOC] Wolfie says, "Would you rather more chronological phases?"
[OOC] Petra says, "Actually, I think 5 is the right number."
[OOC] Petra says, "As I was saying before I hit enter too soon... I think it's an intriguing setup. I'm not entirely sure how yet to approach the "fairytale" stage."
[OOC] Yukina says, "Hm. That could work for me. The "fairytale" thing could end up being really bizarre over here... I have no clue."
[OOC] Petra says, "Would we each postpone stage 5 until we meet the third character in this little drama?"
[OOC] Wolfie says, "That particular one's inspired by the recurring opening sequence. It wouldn't necessarily be in fairy tale style. And, yeah, you'd postpone stage 5."
[OOC] Wolfie says, "The general idea is that it's not necessarily a literal representation of what happened."
[OOC] Petra says, "Ahh, okay."
[OOC] Wolfie says, "Phase 3 can be a hinting at some less public things, too. Indirection."
Phase 2
[OOC] Wolfie says, "Now, on to Phase 2."
[OOC] Yukina says, "Yukina tried very hard to take after her mother, initially. To be a "proper" lady, to be pretty. Sadly, unlike her younger siblings, she took after her father in appearance. Bulky, broad, narrow-eyed and sharp-jawed. Not the kind of girl you want to be sitting across from for four hours while performing a tea ceremony, you know? She kept on with her attempts, though, trying to be what she thought a woman was, through the only role model she really had."
[OOC] Petra says, "The twins were inseparable throughout childhood. They played together, went to school together -- did everything together. It really came as no surprise to either of them, then, that when one was diagnosed with a rare genetic disease -- recessive in each parent -- the other was diagnose with the same condition shortly after. This condition, which led to muscular paralysis starting in puberty, and eventually death, had no cure. But their parents, wracked with guilt, put all of their resources into finding a cure for their children."
[OOC] Wolfie says, "Interesting, you even have your major life-figures."
[OOC] Yukina says, "I am trying to think of two Aspects that describe that paragraph."
[OOC] Petra says, "A lab on Al-Amarna said it could find a cure, and the parents gave their children into the care of the doctors there. After years of testing, an experimental treatment was devised. One of the children survived. For the other, the treatment came too late. After months, the surviving child -- Petra Lambert -- was provisionally released. She was not permitted to return home before her condition could be verified as stable, but in the judgement of her parents, she'd been absent from school for long enough. So she threw herself into her studies, perhaps fanatically so, when she resumed school on Al-Amarja island."
[OOC] Petra says, "Aspects: Paralytic Disease, and Schoolgirl."
[OOC] Wolfie says, "Yukina, you can go on, too, if you like."
[OOC] Wolfie isn't sure about the Schoolgirl aspect, though.
[OOC] Petra says, "Okay, Devoted Student?"
[OOC] Wolfie says, "That's better."
[OOC] Petra says, "I was unsure how to word it..."
[OOC] Yukina actually has nothing else to add this phase, as this is where the Fairy Tale stuff would occur in her life, as far as events go. Though I can use the aspects Large and Noble Upbringing.
[OOC] Petra says, "As I understand it, the PHases don't follow chronological order."
[OOC] Yukina says, "Yes, but in this portion of her life, that's all there is to be said."
Phase 3
[OOC] Wolfie says, "Allright! Now... Phase 3."
[OOC] Petra says, "Eep."
[OOC] Wolfie says, "If you like, I can give you a cue to help out."
[OOC] Yukina says, "By all means."
[OOC] Petra says, "What sort of a cue?"
[OOC] Wolfie says, "It ranges. Three words, or a complete snippet for you to take or leave or modify."
[OOC] Petra says, "As long as I can take, leave, or change it, why not? Should be helpful."
[OOC] Petra says, "A dark figure stands at the end of a white-lit hallway. 'I can help you,' says the voice. I look forward, take a step, stumble. Blackness comes up all around, then the figure is there, reaching for my hand. A woman. Her white glove outlined in light. Her eyeglasses shadowing her eyes. I reach and take her hand and darkness overtakes me. At the end of the hallway, where the doctor had stood, I see the ghost of my departed twin sister. But I am falling through blackness -- I cannot see her anymore. I hit bottom with a start. I look around. The wheelchair is cold under my legs. I cannot move them. I can barely move my arms. The doctor is in the doorway, a black shadow against light. By my sister is reflected on her dark glasses. Looking her in the eye, I say, 'I do this -- for you.'"
[OOC] Petra says, "Should say, But my sister is reflected..."
[OOC] Yukina says, "On a clear and bright day, a young Lady sat beneath a large and healthy peach tree. Though the branches were full of ripe, pink peaches, and she was very hungry, she quietly refused to eat any of them. Instead, she tried to weave flowers into a chain, breaking many of their stems and leaves as she worked. As she sat and wove, a gallant Queen in golden armor approached on a black stallion. The Queen looked down on the Lady and asked: "What are you doing there, sitting in the shade? You look fit to faint.""
[OOC] Yukina says, "The Lady stood properly, bowed, and observed proper posture despite hunger and sorrow. "I am doing as Ladies do. I am weaving flowers into a chain." The Queen nodded, and gestured to the tree with one hand. The Queen asked the Lady why she looked so weak and hungry when she was sitting beneath a tree filled with fruit. The Lady answered: "It is not proper for a Lady to indulge. I will wait, as Ladies do, until the time is right.""
[OOC] Yukina says, "The Queen smiled and stroked the Lady's hair. "If it causes you suffering, do not be a Lady. Instead, find the strength within yourself, and become a Woman." The Lady knew the Queen was right, even as the Queen rode away. As the Queen faded from sight, the Lady took off her fine jacket and her delicate shoes, and began to climb the tree."
[OOC] Petra says, "I like your imagery. Rich and colorful. Mine is all blacks and whites."
[OOC] Wolfie says, "Oooh! Yes, flavorful contrasts."
[OOC] Wolfie says, "Between the imagery in the two stories."
[OOC] Yukina says, "Very, very true. Already defines a big difference between the characters."
[OOC] Wolfie says, "By the way, during those Phases, I do strongly encourage you to take Aspects related to interperson relationships."
[OOC] Petra says, "During this Phase or the last two?"
[OOC] Yukina says, "One of the Aspects I was considering was Rebel. I don't know if that works or not."
[OOC] Wolfie says, "Both. And Rebel works well. I actually had that in mind as a potential example."
[OOC] Petra says, "I don't think Socially Awkward really works for this phase. I do want to take it eventually, though."
[OOC] Wolfie says, "Yeah, later on is plenty of opportunity to take it."
[OOC] Petra says, "Hmm. Would the phrase 'I do this for you?' work as an Aspect?"
[OOC] Yukina says, "Alright, then. Inner Strength work for the other one? Considering that was the lesson."
[OOC] Wolfie says, "Yeah, Petra."
[OOC] Wolfie says, "And, yes, Yukina."
[OOC] Petra says, "For the other one, I'm not sure how to phrase it, but something that connotes both having been saved/rescued, and survivor's guilt."
[OOC] Wolfie says, "If you like you can meditate on it, and we can continue on in the meantime."
[OOC] Petra says, "Okay. If I think of a good wording for it I'll say so."
[OOC] Petra says, "So, how exactly do we interact now?"
[OOC] Wolfie says, "Maybe you have dreams about each other and forget them, but unconsciously play out the roles to each other in those dreams. Maybe you remember said dreams and have a WTF moment at the dreams coming true. Maybe you met as your parents brought you around the world. Maybe something else."
[OOC] Wolfie says, "Feel free to do it strange, or mundane, or mundane but odd."
[OOC] Wolfie says, "Can even be one remembers the other, and the other doesn't remember the first."
[OOC] Petra nods and thinks.
[OOC] Yukina is prone to being dragged around while her parents visit all corners of the world.
[OOC] Yukina has no clue if Petra would be dragged to formal functions, though.
[OOC] Petra says, "Considering that she's been in hospital care for years, probably not recently."
[OOC] Petra says, "Hmm."
[OOC] Yukina says, "Dream sequences are always fun."
[OOC] Petra says, "What do you think of using their first meeting in Al-Amarja (sp?) Academy?"
[OOC] Petra says, "Or a dream sequence could be interesting, too."
[OOC] Yukina says, "Their first meeting would probably be horribly mundane, unless Wolfie is willing to allow a lot of freedom with misbehavior."
[OOC] Petra says, "Hmm. Point. Do you have anyhing in mind for the dream?"
[OOC] Petra says, "And for the previous Aspect I couldn't think of a name for... How about Rescued Alone?"
[OOC] Petra says, "It fits the fairytale idea."
[OOC] Wolfie says, "Go with that Aspect, Petra!"
[OOC] Petra says, "Okay!"
[OOC] Wolfie says, "But first off:"
[OOC] Petra says, "Hmm?"
[OOC] Wolfie says, "Typing."
[OOC] Petra says, "Of course. ^^;"
Digression
Entering Al Amarja, for both of you, was a strange experience. The airport terminal: an upside-down concentric-cricle terraced pyramid. The inside, vast and disorienting, seeming to go on forever. And both of you got singled out for one-on-one by customs agents who asked you some rather bizarre questions such as "Would you ever contemplate treachery against Her Exaltedness Monique D'Aubainne, Historic Liberator and Current Shepherdess of Al Amarja if she was not the awe-inspiring figure she is?" and "What is your favorite color?" and "Do you think dragons exist?"
[OOC] Wolfie says, "Incidentally, what would your characters' answers to those questions be?"
Yukina answers all questions honestly. If the circumstances seemed proper, black, and yes, respectively.
Petra answered the question regarding treachery with a quizzical expression, saying, "I don't think treachery is my style." Her favorite color, she identified as "white." And regarding dragons, she simply said, "I like to think they might."
Phase Four
[OOC] Wolfie says, "Now, this diversion is over with (though I'll be recording those answers), let's get on to Phase four!"
[OOC] Petra says, "Okay, hmm, a dream..."
[OOC] Petra says, "Since this presumably takes place after the personal transformation hinted at in Stage 3, how would Yukina view herself after that? Meaning how might she appear in the dream?"
[OOC] Petra says, "For Petra, I'm thinking she would be a figure swathed in white on a hospital gurney."
[OOC] Yukina says, "Yukina, in her dreams, tends to wear black-and-blue Mongolian riding clothes. Crisp and formal, but utilitarian and tough. Also what she tends to wear when she's not in uniform."
[OOC] Petra says, "Okay, how do we want to approach this?"
[OOC] Yukina says, "Hm."
[OOC] Yukina says, "We can start with a scene. And does Petra move in that gurney, or is it stationary unless someone else moves it?"
[OOC] Petra says, "I was thinking that might vary with ones perspective."
[OOC] Petra says, "Perhaps Yukina is riding and comes across a hospital gurney lying in a clearing? From Petra's perspective, she was rolling or being rolled down a white hospital hallway, which then becomes this rich multicolored clearing with Yukina there."
[OOC] Petra says, "Does that work for where you're coming from?"
[OOC] Yukina says, "That was actually much like what I was thinking."
[OOC] Petra says, "The hospital gurney, and the girl on it, clearly don't belong there. They have a completely different ambience."
[OOC] Petra says, "For Petra's part, she gradually comes to awareness and is surrounded by colors, for the first time in a long while."
[OOC] Yukina can set scene, all concrete-like.
[OOC] Petra says, "Not quite following what you're offering to do."
[OOC] Wolfie says, "Description?"
[OOC] Yukina says, "Describe the scenery clearly, and go from there."
[OOC] Petra says, "Ah, okay. Go ahead."
The grass is brilliant green, brilliant red and gold and black and azure flowers dotting the thick carpet like palm-sized jewels. The sky is pale sapphire, the clouds alabaster, and the rider on the black mare moves like a proud shadow through the grass, approaching slowly, violet eyes searching and piercing from under cold-ocean-blue hair. The vibrance is nearly painful, even without the sudden-ness of it.
Petra lies there, paralyzed, if not by physical limitations then by her fear of the unknown. She might as well be dead, a stark figure covered in white sheets, her pale blonde hair mostly concealed under her as she stares upward.
Yukina rides closer, horse's hooves clicking on the occasional stone on the ground. Hand gloved in aged leather draws close to tap a cheek. "Do you live?"
Petra sits up with a start, clutching the sheets to her, now visibly clothed in a white hospital gown. Her blue eyes are those of a frightened deer. Slowly, these eyes focus, taking in Yukina and the surroundings. A sad smile parts her lips. "It seems I do. This cannot be heaven, as my sister is not here." Her lower body is still shrouded in white, and is motionless.
Yukina spreads her arms, shifting her weight on her horse to indicate it should turn to face Petra as well. "Heaven is a place not meant for the living. Or, perhaps that is where you are, and you simply have not traveled far enough."
Petra's eyes glint with a hint of humor, but it is short-lived. "I cannot travel. I'm broken, you see." She gestures to her motionless legs. "The most I can do is remember, and hope she's not forgotten once I join her."
Yukina squints a little at the motionless legs. Decisively, she murmurs, "You need a horse, if your legs are broken. I would offer you mine, but Rolling Night Thunder is capricious, and would throw you."
Petra replies ironically, "How am I to find a horse, when I cannot walk? Those horses that roam free know better than to let a cripple master them. And those that are not free -- they offer only a wider prison."
Yukina tisks, and dismounts with a flourish. "A horse obeys a master that is strong in thought and deed, firm in action, and bold in manner. A horse can run and leap with a rider, and eventually will learn the rider so well as to listen even when the rider does not know they are speaking. They find joy in running, and peace in nothing more grand than a field with grass. There is nothing more free than a rider with a strong horse, and nothing is stronger than a horse with a free rider."
Petra studies Yukina's face, her pale blonde hair beginning to blow in the wind. "I would not know where to start."
Yukina smiles. The expression is coarse on her face, but honest and open. "Then we will find a gentle and kind horse, and you will learn. I can teach you."
Petra responds, 'I think I would like that...' but the wind begins to pick up, and soon it is blowing Petra's gurney away, the sheets acting as a sail. She holds on to the sides for dear life, as the gurney begins to leave the clearing toward that which is beyond. Invisibly to Yukina, she sees the same endless hospital corridor looming before her, the same white captivity she only just fell out of.
Yukina mounts her horse and attempts to follow, riding hard, reaching, but there is only so fast a creature can run, even if it is a very fast creature. She shouts, "I will watch for you! Be strong!"
Petra is swallowed by the horizon, and returns to her endless prison of white.
[OOC] Petra says, "Okay, that was quite immersive."
[OOC] Wolfie says, "Surprisingly so."
[OOC] Yukina giggles.
[OOC] Petra says, "Aspects, Stark and Learning to Ride? The latter might be used with her wheelchair later on. I'm not positive that's the best name for it either, but it's the best I can think of at the moment."
[OOC] Petra says, "If either of you have alternative suggestions, I'd love to hear them."
[OOC] Yukina says, "You could call it Prospective Rider, or even Beast Replaces Legs."
[OOC] Wolfie says, "I rather like Stark. It suggests environmental themes."
[OOC] Petra says, "Hmm. Prospective Rider seems better than what I'd had in mind."
[OOC] Yukina says, "Aspects: Vibrant and... I'd have to discuss the one that occurred to me for a moment. Because it's kinda' meant differently than it sounds but it isn't."
[OOC] Petra says, "Prospective Rider's still not quite right.. Maybe Seeker of Freedom? That's a bit more abstract, though. Hmm."
[OOC] Yukina says, "So was the one I'm thinking of, actually."
[OOC] Wolfie says, "Abstract is fine for this game."
[OOC] Petra says, "I wanted some reference to a "mount" that would work for the wheelchair, though imperfectly."
[OOC] Petra says, "Doesn't have to be that word, but the concept is what I want."
[OOC] Petra says, "Quest for a Free Mount? That's kind of awkward, but it's better than what's before."
[OOC] Yukina says, "I'm thinking of Capricious Horse, which describes both her personality and her... Heritage, I suppose? It's hard to describe it. The dream-horse is, of course, reflective of Inner Strength, but she'd know how to ride. Horses are very important in Mongolia. Most of the people there still live the nomadic life."
[OOC] Petra says, "I think that works well, Yukina."
[OOC] Petra says, "Ooh. Waiting to Ride to Freedom?"
[OOC] Yukina says, "Ooo, I like the way that sounds."
[OOC] Wolfie says, "Bingo-jingle!"
[OOC] Petra says, "Maybe better -- Hoping to Ride to Freedom. As she's not postponing it, just wondering how she possibly can."
[OOC] Petra says, "Okay... Skills now, or later?"
[OOC] Wolfie says, "Allright. And I think that's a wrap for now. Skills I'm going to leave open-ended, but I'll note that SOTC introduced such concepts as Resources (the amount of money you have standard access to), Contacting (both how much of a network you have and how good at finding information/things through this network you are)..."
[OOC] Wolfie says, "Skills're later, since an event in an later Phase (the fifth and final one) might dictate a different skill pick."
[OOC] Wolfie says, "You can name your skills whatever you want so think about them."
[OOC] Yukina says, "Alright, then. So, until next time, then?"
[OOC] Wolfie says, "Yes! Hopefully with the third PC."
[OOC] Petra says, "Okay, great!"
[OOC] Yukina says, "Huzzah!"
[OOC] Yukina says, "Gotta' run, then. The spouse-beast is back."
[OOC] Petra says, "Good to meet you."
[OOC] Yukina says, "Good to meet you, too. See you next week!"
Yukina has disconnected.
OK, here goes.
Karenina ("Karen, dammit!") is the only child of two Russian businessfolk who were often away for weeks at a time on business trips. She was never taken along, and as such, spent large portions of her formative years keeping house in her parents' absence and entertaining herself. Her parents were always cagey when it came to questions of finance, but when costs came up, they were always taken care of quickly.
When not tending the house, Karen tended to occupy herself by games of make-believe. She would make up stories using her toys and dolls, and would hold long, involved conversations with them.
Aspects: Imaginative[*] and Self-Reliant
[*] I'm thinking of this as some sort of proto-psi/magic power, but perhaps that's more in the skills area.
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When Karen was about 12, her parents decided to involve her in their work. For the first time ever, she accompanied them on a business trip. It turned out to be less exciting than she'd hoped. Her parents were mostly grumpy and didn't say much. When they finally arrived, Karen's parents met with a large man in one room while she sat in another. The only thing to do was try to hear what was being said through the closed door. She thought she heard her name mentioned a few times, and every so often, the voices sounded angry.
When Karen's parents finally came out of the room, they looked less angry and more sad. Karen was called in to meet with the large man. He sat her down across from him and talked in a friendly manner, although he didn't look very friendly.
"Now, Karenina, you know your parents work in business, right?"
"Yes..."
"Well, as it happens, you can consider me their boss. They work for me. Recently, they were involved in some... negotiations for me that didn't go so well. So, I've decided that from now on, you can help them in their work. You're a smart girl, right?"
"I guess. I do OK in school and--"
"Excellent. I could use a smart girl like you working for me. Smart girls know how and when to keep secrets, right?"
"But my parents said I should never keep secrets from them."
The man chuckled. "That's right. And they're right. You should never keep secrets from your parents. Or me, for that matter. You can, and should, always tell us everything. But I mean keeping secrets from other people."
"Oh. Yeah, I can do that, if you want me to."
The man smirked at her response and called Karen's parents back in. He said to them, "Yeah, she'll do nicely. But remember, she's your responsibility. If she screws up, you screwed up. Got it?"
Karen's parents nodded and shuffled her out of the room and back home. They didn't say much on the ride home, either.
Aspects: Educated and Secretive
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Looks like you're good to go for working out the fourth Phase. If you like, I can make a new post so the others will see your fourth Phase. Generally, the fourth and fifth Phases will each concern one other PC (though feel free to bend/break this rule if something cool occurs to you).
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Are there particular rules/guidelines/suggestions for incorporating one/both other characters into the dream?
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[I imagine this happening a few years after Phase 2, once Karen truly realizes what she's involved in.]
A dense and foreboding forest. Panic. Must keep going. Running to or running from? Just running. Must keep running. Pushing through trees, tripping over underbrush, thorns and branches scraping and tugging at skin and clothing.
Finally breaking through to a clearing. At one end, shadows of people. My parents? Beckoning me forward. At another end... parents. Backs turned. They don't hear me. Shadows still calling. I step into the clearing. And fall.
I find myself in a large circular room with tile walls. It's cold. Empty. Clinical.
A tap on my shoulder. I whirl around... into blackness. It merges with me, taking me over, controlling me. I find a sword in my hand. A door opens and people stream in. They want to destroy the blackness. They want to destroy me. I want to tell them that I am not at fault, the blackness controls me. Instead, I spit curses and foul language at them.
They attack. I cut them down one after another. I abhor and admire my actions simultaneously. I do not know which is more me.
The people lay around me, dead or soon to be. I can feel the blackness loosen its grip momentarily to gloat at its/my/our accomplishments. I scream, fighting with every fiber of my being. The darkness is repulsed from within me. It turns to face me and I can see in it faces. Faces of those I have hurt or worse, people I have intimidated, my parents, the large man... it looks surprised by my rejection.
The sword flashes and cuts the blackness down.
Aspects: Duplicity and [something representing development of the psi/magic mentioned earlier]
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1. If she deserved it.
2. Red.
3. No. Such things are the realm of children's tales, not reality.
Phase 4
Hmm. I think I'm going to let this one sit until I get your comments on Phases 1-3. However, for reference, I think Karen appears in her own dreams in dirty white slacks and a flowy tunic of the same color.
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Later on, we'll get into Skills, and then "special tricks" (Stunts). There's a second log I'll post with discussion of that and the other characters' picks, as well as the first "real" (mini)session.