lady horatio

Streetlight Dragonflies

Hi, all! I've been out of town the last week, but keeping an eye on things as they developed!

Having Jill walk in still seems like it would just slow things down and add to an already jumbled crowd. While the timing would be a little off at this point, I did have one idea…

@Mokley, what kind of bathroom are we looking at here? A single-use kind of deal, or the kind with a few stalls (which would still have a locking door so management could close up at night), and would it interfere with (or contradict) your post at all if, say…someone had already been inside, washing off the road dust, when the little girl burst in? :P

If you think that would work, I'd be happy to do a collab post with what's happening inside; if it wouldn't, no worries! Jill will find a way to skulk in eventually. She likely hasn't even gotten a place to crash yet, so that's another way she could be introduced to other characters—either out-of-towners who wind up staying in the same place, or locals who might help her find somewhere to stay.

Streetlight Dragonflies

Ooh, I’m intrigued!!

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I just wanted to let you guys know, I'm following along, just figuring out the most opportune way to introduce Jill beyond simply adding her to the crowd coming in the door. I may decide she's already inside (and if anyone wants to do a collab, I'd be happy to talk through options!). I'd also be happy to tie her into your next mod post, @Mokley, if you want someone to kick off, observe, or experience a particular event.

Streetlight Dragonflies

Ahhh, I'm so excited! Running off now to read what everyone's already written and catch up.

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Can't wait for this to start.

@DJAtomika

Same! I’m really excited for this world and to see everybody interacting.

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EVERYONE: please give me a list of npcs you plan on playing (family members, coworkers etc) so I don't make plans for them. Or tell me I have free reign to create them. :D

@Mokley

The only NPCs I really put into place for Jill are Stephen (the ex) and Bobby (the best friend). I would probably like to play them, if they come up, but I would love to collab on any ideas you have, especially for advancing the plot.

Also, I pitched a sort of loose plot in the charter tab where Jill just thinks she's seeing one or both of them around town, due to Supernatural Hijinks, so I'd also be happy to collaborate on creating their apparitions, if you go for it. :)

Oh! If Jill befriends a weird spirit creature (my other minor plot pitch), you have free rein with that as an NPC, if you like!

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@Zoro, I am super interested in your character and can't wait to see him in action.

That said, there is, like, a ninety-nine percent chance that Jill is going to hate him. There's a small margin of possibility for the world's unlikeliest friendship, and the rest is just…seething dislike. xD Either way, I can't wait for shenanigans. (And that goes for everybody! I can't wait to see who meets whom first and what kinds of sparks fly.)

Streetlight Dragonflies

Jill Sanders

WHAT IS YOUR CHARACTER'S NAME? WHAT DO THEY PREFER TO BE CALLED?
Her name is Jillian Christine Sanders, but Jill will do just fine, thank you. She’d also be perfectly happy if you didn’t call her anything at all. She’s trying so hard not to be noticed, and frankly, it’s just rude to ruin her efforts.

HOW ARE THEY BEST RECOGNIZED IN A CROWD?
If you listen very, very carefully, you might hear the sound of muttered swearing… And there, you’ve found our Jill. She doesn’t like crowds, never mind that they’re usually the best ticket to blending into a place.

Beyond that, you might look for a ducked brunette head and somewhat pointy shoulders (as much from bad posture as a lean build).

WHAT IS A STRANGER'S FIRST IMPRESSION UPON MEETING THEM? HOW DOES YOUR CHARACTER SEE THEMSELVES?
A stranger’s impression would depend largely on how they met. Left to her own devices, Jill comes off as quiet and bad at small talk. To waitstaff and retail workers, she’s polite, because she knows too well how much those jobs suck. To a guy who tries to get a little too chatty on the bus? Tired and crabby and, goddamn, would it kill you to smile? (To which Jill will snarl that she has not smiled in one thousand years, and she will not be starting now. Alternative replies include, "Yes, it likely will.")

As for how Jill sees herself? Jill is a goddamn marshmallow, and she knows it. She even likes it—she likes herself best when she’s being helpful, when she sees someone having a hard time and somehow does or says the right thing to make their life a little easier. But her self-esteem isn’t high. She has no illusions about her looks—when your primary method of travel is bus and your wardrobe consists mostly of old t-shirts, jeans, and flannel, you aren’t looking to catch anybody’s eye—nor about her people skills, which are severely rusty.

WHERE DID THEY GROW UP? WHERE DO THEY FEEL AT HOME?
Jill’s family is originally from Virginia, but she grew up in a small town in Pennsylvania. This means there’s very little Southern in her, but it’ll occasionally come out when she’s agitated—you’ll notice a sharp increase in the use of words like “y’all” and “hell.”

Right now, Jill doesn’t really feel at home anywhere. There are moments of peace—looking out a bus window as the countryside passes by; sitting in the corner of a café when she’s stayed in a place long enough to become a regular—but her last memory of home is hiking down Pennsylvania backroads with her best friend, Bobby, taking pictures of old barns and crumbling sheds and pretending neither of them had anywhere to be.

WHO ARE THE MOST IMPORTANT PEOPLE IN THEIR LIVES?
There’s really only one person Jill misses: Bobby. He would probably have hit the road with her, had she asked, which is why she didn’t tell him what she was doing until the day she showed up at his house and said she needed a ride to the train station. He hasn't forgiven her for it, though that doesn't stop him from calling to check in—and swearing at her voicemail when she doesn't pick up.

WHAT IS THEIR PROFESSION, SKILL OR LIFESTYLE? WHAT DO THEY THINK THEIR STRENGTHS ARE? WHAT ARE THEIR ACTUAL STRENGTHS?
Jill’s profession is currently whatever job someone will give her, though she prefers things that don’t require her to interact with people all that much—if she’s in a grocery store, she’d like to be the stocker; if she’s in a restaurant, she’d like to be on dish duty. She supplements whatever (likely part-time) job she can get with online freelance work.

As far as practical skills go, she’s good at reading and retaining information, and she’s handier with a pocket sewing kit than you might expect. She views thoroughness as one of her strengths, and it is, though it can also be a weakness. (See below.) She’s also better with people than she sometimes gives herself credit for.

WHAT ARE THEIR FEARS, FLAWS AND SECRETS?
It’s not a fear, really, but Jill does not like to be touched. She’d rather be the one initiating contact, and most of the time, that’s only for one of two things: to someone in trouble, it’s a hand to help them up; to someone causing trouble, a good shove that she hopes will be enough.

She is afraid that she will never find her place, that the urge to move on and on and on will continue until she either gives up or runs out of money.

She absolutely hates it, but she’s nervous around large dogs, thanks to an ex-boyfriend’s German Shepherd. Equally hard to admit is that she’s also nervous around strange men, thanks to aforementioned ex-boyfriend.

Some of her flaws are obvious: she’s prickly, and sometimes she puts her foot in her mouth when she’s too overwhelmed to think before she speaks. She can be quick to judge whether she does or does not like someone, sometimes based on things that are not their fault. She is very thorough when caught up in a project and will sometimes throw herself into something to avoid dealing with other issues.

She’s a private person, so many of her secrets are inconsequential—it may take a while to figure out what books she likes, what her favorite color is, etc., but that’s mostly because you’ve got to get her to talk first.

Her main secret, however, is this: even though it’s irrational, she’s afraid she’s going to roll into a town one of these days and find Stephen and that damn dog waiting for her.

WHAT DO THEY WANT MOST? WHAT DO THEY ACTUALLY NEED?
What Jill wants is to be at peace. What she needs is to learn that home is what you make it, and the first part of feeling at home is learning to live with yourself. (She also desperately needs some more friends.)

IF YOUR CHARACTER COULD HAVE ANY SUPERNATURAL ABILITY, WHAT WOULD IT BE?
Unsurprisingly, Jill would very much enjoy the ability to become invisible. Or rather, she’d be relieved by the ability to become invisible. If we’re talking just for funsies? The ability to teleport, or maybe step through time.

WHY ARE THEY HERE IN DUSKWICK? WHAT IS THEIR OPINION OF THE STRANGE RUMORS?
Honestly? She needed to move on, the ticket was relatively cheap, and a small town with an interesting history will sometimes keep her occupied for a while. She likes delving into local lore and feeling a part of a place, even if only for a little while.

The rumors prickle at the curious part of her that devours thrift-store paperbacks with old-school fantasy covers, but discomfit the part of her that feels like she already spends too much time in liminal spaces. Her life doesn’t need those kinds of complications… Probably.

HOW WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE THIS CHARACTER CHANGE AND DEVELOP?
I’d love to see Jill develop some steady and affirming relationships with the people around her—and to learn that she can have friends while remaining her prickly, awkward self, rather than having to twist into someone she’s afraid she can’t be.

PITCH A SMALL SUBPLOT THAT WOULD BE PERSONALLY MEANINGFUL TO YOUR CHARACTER.
Watch this space for further developments! Though either Bobby or Stephen making their way to Duskwick would be an interesting catalyst, in very different ways. And depending on how the magic here works, some weirdness could go down if she only thinks she's seeing them…

Also, look, if someone's going to form an unlikely friendship with some weird spirit creature…it's Jill.

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Gary isn't a disaster.

Just a bit unsatisfied with his life.

@Not Fishing

Sorry, no offense meant! I was just really amused by how many of our chosen characters had questionable people skills. Watching them all fall together will be mighty entertaining.

@lady horatio Aw Jill is great! It'll be fun to see her decisions, seems she'll be full of surprises. Take your time with the plot thingy! (but I may remind you later!) Totally approved, please copy her to the characters tab!

@Mokley

Aww, thank you so much! I'm really excited to take her for a spin, and Duskwick is such a nifty setting to play around in. I'll get her all settled in the char tab and fiddle with her CS (plot part included) as-needed. I should probably put her age in there somewhere… Given her circumstances and the age range of the rest of the cast, I'm thinking early- to mid-twenties.

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I just have to say that, after having now read all of the character sheets, I am delighted by the fact that so far, we are all likely playing actual human disasters in some form or another. So far, Darcy's the most well-adjusted, and thank gods for that, or I don't think any of them would, you know… Talk.