Karana Malora
The Unfair Advantage
I don't believe in a no-win scenario.
Posts: 246
Affiliation: The Fel Crew (Unfair Advantage)
Traffic Light: Orange
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Post by Karana Malora on Oct 6, 2013 21:28:16 GMT -8
When someone says 'smuggler', people automatically think 'Han Solo'. Suave, sexy, trouble-makin' rogue with a snarky remark for every situation, a blaster, a ship, a sharp brain (most of the time), and tons of illegal cargo. A smuggler loves their ship, loves their credits, and loves themselves. They are always just a few steps behind pirate, a few ahead of criminal, forever on the move. Smugglers don't settle. They are tough, forward, sometimes selfish. They like their booze, they brag at bars, they fight dirty when needed. No loyalty to the 'sides', they like to think they are uncomplicated. But they really aren't.
Since most smuggler characters fit at least eighty percent of the above blurb, well. It's easy to spot a smuggler/criminal type. Determining which is the best? Now THAT is kriffin' hard. How well do they understand the smuggling life? What kind of story are they writing, does it showcase the smuggler type, what other kinds of characters do they run with? Do they lead a crew? If so, how well do they do it? What's their dynamic like?
In short, they should showcase at least half of the 'A Smuggler Is' personality listed above.
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Karana Malora
The Unfair Advantage
I don't believe in a no-win scenario.
Posts: 246
Affiliation: The Fel Crew (Unfair Advantage)
Traffic Light: Orange
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Post by Karana Malora on Oct 6, 2013 21:02:06 GMT -8
I'm thinking. 'kay. Let's see. Being non-Force is tough in the JvS galaxy. Most of the time on these forums, you're facing down epic characters that can throw you across the room with their minds. So how do you balance against that? Some people use tech and armors. Some use special weapons or Force-negating trinkets. But what it really boils down to are two things: emotional and physical durability, and smarts. When you're up against the Force, you have to be able to take the bad hits, keep going, and think on your feet. Creativity, like Traevis suggested, against the Force and in using tech, using whatever is around them. Non-Force is a huge category spanning many different types of characters, so I'm assuming it's one of the harder ones to judge. The Non-Force could showcase resilient but beat-up characters in rough situations, characters that have odds stacked against them but never give up. Characters with zinging personalities who endure. In the past, that seemed to be a favorite theme with the judges. But focusing a little more on the way the character uses his Non-Forcery when tangled up with Force-filled situations would probably make more sense. Ingenuity, balanced writing (meaning not just conjuring random epic weapons on the spot), blasters and tech/armor/surrounding uses, etc. But most of the time, it's that character who doesn't necessarily use all the non-Force goodies in the Star Wars book, who takes those hits and gets smeared on the floor and loses the game sometimes. It's that character that draws you in and makes you feel, makes you care, captures your attention. It's the good story-telling that really decides who wins each category, in my opinion. So judge the technical. But don't forget to look at the story AND the character, too.
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Karana Malora
The Unfair Advantage
I don't believe in a no-win scenario.
Posts: 246
Affiliation: The Fel Crew (Unfair Advantage)
Traffic Light: Orange
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Post by Karana Malora on Oct 4, 2013 20:04:26 GMT -8
Also. MACK REVETTE. GET YO BATSH*T-CRAZY REAR TO THE POSTING LINE. Unless you have nothing to add. Let me know so I can move us!
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Karana Malora
The Unfair Advantage
I don't believe in a no-win scenario.
Posts: 246
Affiliation: The Fel Crew (Unfair Advantage)
Traffic Light: Orange
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Post by Karana Malora on Oct 4, 2013 20:00:35 GMT -8
And just in case: most of our names are now on the Bounty Thread list thingy. So watch your back out there.
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Karana Malora
The Unfair Advantage
I don't believe in a no-win scenario.
Posts: 246
Affiliation: The Fel Crew (Unfair Advantage)
Traffic Light: Orange
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Post by Karana Malora on Oct 2, 2013 20:17:29 GMT -8
I know I've already told you a million times, but DAN. CONGRATS! You've got to be over the moon right about now. ^_^ SO excited for you!!!
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Karana Malora
The Unfair Advantage
I don't believe in a no-win scenario.
Posts: 246
Affiliation: The Fel Crew (Unfair Advantage)
Traffic Light: Orange
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Post by Karana Malora on Sept 23, 2013 16:16:43 GMT -8
I'm around! Mack and Oz and I started our stuff on Telos, and I'm letting the guys hash some dialog out before I post again. Back to lurking for me! Hope you recover soon, Liya. =/ No rush, take your time.
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Karana Malora
The Unfair Advantage
I don't believe in a no-win scenario.
Posts: 246
Affiliation: The Fel Crew (Unfair Advantage)
Traffic Light: Orange
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Post by Karana Malora on Sept 12, 2013 18:50:36 GMT -8
Standing, he turned to face her and jabbed a finger at her chest. Such a beautiful, rounded, glorious chest... I bet it's really soft and warm and... Snap out of it you moron! Her face is up there! Almost of their own accord, Oz's eyes climbed the distance to meet hers, and he nearly lost himself again when they reached her lips, but managed to stay on task. "But you didn't have to threaten to cut my arm off!" “And you,” she simpered, all saccharine smiles and feathery, fluttering lashes as she leaned towards Oz. The trouble maker paused there, just to make him sweat a little more. “You should invest in a ladder,” she finished, dropping her act and swirling away. “Here.” Malora scrabbled through her pack and came up with two slightly crumpled but shiny protein bars. “The last two good ones, courtesy of Jace,” she said, tossing one up and over her shoulder to Mack and the other to Oz. “Ate mine a while back. Choco-Craze or something. Nuggety sweet and salty, and way kriffin’ better than whatever you just put in your mouth, give me that crap…” She tore the rest of the jerky from Mack’s fingers and tossed it in the trash with a grossed-out expression. “Probably expired twenty years ago… Man, I could go for a good plate of tiingilar right now. Oh. Uh, Mack, Oz, the awkward genius / brilliant tech guy. Please don’t shoot him, we kind of need his mad skills. Oz, Mack, best gunslinger in the ‘verse and the most mentally unstable man you will ever meet. Just don’t make any sudden movements around him and you should come out of this more or less intact,” said the spacer, gesturing between the two men in a half-assed attempt at introductions. “Just in case that hadn’t happened yet. The introductions, I mean. Anyway.”Swiping her pack from the floor with a sigh, Malora shouldered it and tossed her mane of dark hair behind her. “We good? I’ve got the explodey stuff from Liya and enough ammo t’make Swizz cheese out of a Deathstar. Though I doubt there’s anything in there waiting for us. ‘cept killer dust bunnies.” She hopped a little on the balls of her feet, obviously antsy. This whole thing was weird to her, making the plan, assigning the roles, making the choices, double checking the locks. She wasn't a leader, she shouldn't be directing smuggler traffic, that was Fel’s job, and she hadn't paid nearly enough attention to how he’d done it. Oh, she’d learned plenty from her captain over the past few years, but she realized now that a part of her had assumed he would always be there, always leading them, always running the show. She’d taken Fel’s presence for granted without even recognizing it. And now? Now she was that kid in class who’d spent all her free time playing holonet games, counting on her best friend to let her cheat off her test, and then finds herself seated three rows down the day of the exam, next to a blank wall and a Twi’lek who looked just as lost as she did. “Make sure you bring all your fancy tech shit, I have no idea how heavily these ports are encrypted now,” Malora said abruptly to Oz, trying to smooth over her long pause. “I don’t wanna be in there long. Let’s just get the data, blow the place, and get the hell out, yeah?”
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Karana Malora
The Unfair Advantage
I don't believe in a no-win scenario.
Posts: 246
Affiliation: The Fel Crew (Unfair Advantage)
Traffic Light: Orange
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Post by Karana Malora on Sept 11, 2013 19:48:08 GMT -8
“Peril, huh?” Dropping her pack next to a box of tools, Malora jammed her datapad in her pocket and flicked her gaze up at the dangling Oz, head cocked. She pursed her lips in mock concern, making a show of studying his predicament. “Yeah, definitely looks like peril if I’ve ever seen it. But don’t worry, I’ll just cut that pesky arm off and you’ll be down before you can say ‘ouch’…”
She was tempted, so tempted to throw a ‘be right back’ in there and return with the bonesaw from the med bay, just to mess with him. But they were short on time, and the trip to Galen’s base weighed heavy and anxious on her mind. So Malora bent a little, placing Oz’s feet on her shoulders and, like the tough femme smuggler she was, boosted him upwards. Perhaps a bit too enthusiastically, though; she’d overestimated how heavy the anti-social engineer was. But she stabilized him easily. “Dude…” She huffed, pausing to blow a strand of hair out of her face. “I really think my backpack is heavier than you are. Gotta get you some doughnuts or something… Hurry up, you’re shoes are getting mechanic-y oil crap all over my jacket.”
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Karana Malora
The Unfair Advantage
I don't believe in a no-win scenario.
Posts: 246
Affiliation: The Fel Crew (Unfair Advantage)
Traffic Light: Orange
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Post by Karana Malora on Sept 11, 2013 18:56:05 GMT -8
Ooo, probably a good place to start. I think after I rescue Wade's amnesic rear, Malora might go there. It'd be a fun reuniting place for the rest of the crew, too. Something is always happening at the Red Shi(f)t.
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Karana Malora
The Unfair Advantage
I don't believe in a no-win scenario.
Posts: 246
Affiliation: The Fel Crew (Unfair Advantage)
Traffic Light: Orange
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Post by Karana Malora on Sept 11, 2013 18:24:54 GMT -8
What Liya said.
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Karana Malora
The Unfair Advantage
I don't believe in a no-win scenario.
Posts: 246
Affiliation: The Fel Crew (Unfair Advantage)
Traffic Light: Orange
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Post by Karana Malora on Sept 10, 2013 16:47:18 GMT -8
Dante, your choice of avatar is perfect, by the way. Just finished Star Trek: Into Darkness again, couldn't picture a better man for Dante than Khan. XD
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Karana Malora
The Unfair Advantage
I don't believe in a no-win scenario.
Posts: 246
Affiliation: The Fel Crew (Unfair Advantage)
Traffic Light: Orange
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Post by Karana Malora on Sept 8, 2013 20:28:53 GMT -8
As many of you know from my numerous (like, VERY numerous) avatar changes, I simply cannot find a proper actress for Malora. So far, the only one in mind that I seem to write best with is Megan Fox, which is unfortunate given her utter lack of talent and her bimbo-ditz status. But there it is. She does the 'screw off or pay for it' decently, and her looks (pre plastic surgery, of course) and the tone of her voice are pretty spot on. Haters can shove it. For my main alt, Lishra Elaric , Nina Dobrev is a perfect match. This is odd for me; I've never ever had a character that fit so well with one particular actress or actor. And I have seven other alts that have not made it to the new JvS site yet. This was a fun idea, Dav, thanks for posting it.
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Karana Malora
The Unfair Advantage
I don't believe in a no-win scenario.
Posts: 246
Affiliation: The Fel Crew (Unfair Advantage)
Traffic Light: Orange
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Post by Karana Malora on Aug 29, 2013 20:26:10 GMT -8
Post! Time to catch up on all the other stuff y'all have been writing!
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Karana Malora
The Unfair Advantage
I don't believe in a no-win scenario.
Posts: 246
Affiliation: The Fel Crew (Unfair Advantage)
Traffic Light: Orange
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Post by Karana Malora on Aug 29, 2013 16:27:22 GMT -8
~+~ = ~+~ Dealing. Yeah. That had worked out so wonderfully for her.
The pilot chair creaked feebly as Malora opened her eyes and slouched back into the worn seat cushions, a weary sigh caught in her throat. Dealing in her book meant elbowing the issue in the ribs and ignoring it as you charged past. It was quickly becoming a daily activity, too. No time to face the music when you were running for your life, or someone else’s life. Just had to plow through and hope you caught a break in the mayhem later. The life of the unlucky spacer.
Problem was, Malora never caught a break. Ever. Not since Tir Kaarn. Neither had any of her crew and trusted friends. It had been one thing after another, loss, destruction. The bodies just piled up around them, no room to breathe or think, too many personal loose ends to weave back in. Never a moment to stop and pay respects to their fallen friends, to finish grappling with one enemy before the next came hurdling through the front lines. Not one gorram moment.
Maybe that’s why they all left.
No, she knew that wasn't fair. After Fel had gone missing, they’d all agreed to split up for a while; things needed doing, and they needed doing fast. They would cover more ground apart than they would together, and so everyone took their tasks and headed out with assurances that they would all keep in contact and meet back up later. Malora’s comm had been noticeably quiet for the past week. She knew it was the smart move. But she couldn't ‘deal’ away that empty lingering feeling of loss in her chest as she’d watched them all walk away, Liya clanking purposefully down the ramp in all her armored glory, Jace with a mock salute and the promise of returning with a better selection of non banana-beef protein bars. Myranda had squeezed in a hug despite Malora’s ‘No Love, I’m A Macho Girl’ protests, and Sam had clapped her fondly on the shoulder as he left. Even the geeky Doc Daniel Logan gave her an awkward handshake and a smile.
And then it was just her, and Mack, and Oz, and a big ship with no solid crew and no captain. Despite her two traveling companions, Malora had never felt so alone. Without all of them, without Fel… her insides just didn't feel right. The ‘verse was a little darker, ‘dealing’ was a little harder, and man was it quiet. Malora didn't like quiet. It was prime hunting grounds for the suppressed grief that stalked her day and night, and these days, it wasn’t just trailing in her shadow. It was actively catching up. It’s why she hated showers, too. For some reason, her mind wandered every time she stepped under the waterflow, and all the internal problems she’d been flouting would, inevitably, creep right up on her.
Like that pair of underwear that won’t stay put when you bend over, and you know it’s gonna happen, but you gotta bend anyway, and so the sides creep up, and then you’re stuck wiggling awkwardly until you can retreat to the ‘fresher and readjust them.
…What? C’mon, everyone has a pair like that.
The pylon in front of her abruptly spat out a robotic set of alarm tones as the vessel gave a shudder. Malora huffed and leaned forward, flicking some switches, the green and yellow lights that dotted the board flashing a warning. “Yeah, yeah,” she mumbled, rolling her eyes at the Unfair Advantage. “I’m goin’. No need to flip your computerized shit, I got this, okay?” The smuggler bundled her long hair into a black nest at the back of her neck and shrugged off her leather jacket, trying to shake her musings from her mind. She had a job to do. A big job. She, and Oz, and her insane ex-boyfriend Mack Revette.
They were gonna go get Wade Connors back.
Because as wholly painful as it was for her to temporarily shelf Fel’s rescue mission and turn down the numerous job offers the crew had been offered, Malora knew there was no question about priorities here. They had zero intel on Fel right now. Zero. It would take time to gather that before they could even think about storming the field for their captain. But she knew exactly where Wade was. Well…sort of exactly. At least she knew where to start looking.
Galen. Galen had all the answers. He was, after all, the son of a bitch that had abducted Wade, and if Malora knew anything about the twisted Sith scientist, she knew he never did anything without calculated reason. Wade was alive. She knew this with absolute certainty, because he wasn't your typical run-of-the-spaceport guy. Galen never bothered with anyone who wasn't somehow a little extraordinary. He wouldn't waste someone like Wade on death.
She’d already considered the fact that Galen might be using Wade as a lure to reel her and her friends in. But she knew the signs, what to look out for, knew how he worked. And they really had no other choice. She would not leave Wade in his grasp any longer. And she had a plan.
Her first lead had bombed. Literally. Galen’s hidden base on Nar Shaddaa was gone long before they arrived, leaving nothing but a smoking crater in the middle of the city. The tabs she’d kept on his base on Coruscant had also come up blank. Apparently there had been a chemical spill in the area and the they’d had to wreck all buildings within a mile radius. She didn't have to guess at it; Galen was cleaning house, eliminating the obvious loose threads. So Malora dug deeper and found a thread he might not even remember existed.
Telos IV.
Malora wrestled with the controls for a moment, frowning in concentration. She never could quite fly the UA as smoothly or as expertly as Fel could. Although, she had doubts that anyone could fly anything as good as Fel. He had a way with ships. He had a way with people, too, although she knew he’d argue against that. Yeah, so he was a little rough-around-the-edges, and he had all the tact of a sucker punch sometimes. But Galdaart Fel was a leader. And he belonged here, on this bridge, in this chair, flying this ship with a loyal crew watching his back.
The landing gears squealed harshly as they rolled into position, the first notes in the grand finale of mechanical noise as the craft hovered above the unremarkable and mostly barren soil of Telos IV. Well outside any populated areas in the middle of abso-frickin’-lutely nowhere stretched a wide plain of dirt and scratchy half-dead grass, framed by weather beaten gorges of black-brown rock. Nothing to see but dust and scattered boulders for miles. This was their destination.
Touchdown. Malora inhaled slowly. The sharp scent of firing circuits, warm metals and worn leather met her nose as she powered down the engines and pulled off her finger-less black piloting gloves, tossing them onto the pylon and rising. “Yep,” she mumbled to herself as she peered out the front viewport. “Place hasn’t changed…” With a quick stretch, the smuggler wiped her hands on her tank top, gathered her thoughts, and opened the shipwide comm. ‘kay, we’re here. Mack, Oz? Grab your gear and haul ass, I don’t wanna be here any longer than we need to be. Bring lights. It’ll probably be dark where we’re going. And if that box of explosives Liya left in the bay for me is still there, don’t move it, we’re gonna need that too. Meet me at the ramp in ten, savvy?
Swiveling, Malora shrugged on her jacket, worry gnawing at her insides. What if this didn't work? What if they couldn't find anything here? She knew all Galen’s bases were connected and kept up to date with information on his latest projects, but this particular base was never finished. Construction had stopped after she had broken Dazac out of the labs on his flagship and fled. Malora had no idea what waited for them here. “Well, can’t say my life is ever boring,” she sighed, patting her empty blaster holsters. Time to load up, find the others, and do this shit. And speaking of the others, she hadn't seen Mack around since hyperspace. Probably sleeping in the weapons closet again.
Reaching back to unpin her hair, Malora hit the keypad with her elbow and charged out of the open bridge door.
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Karana Malora
The Unfair Advantage
I don't believe in a no-win scenario.
Posts: 246
Affiliation: The Fel Crew (Unfair Advantage)
Traffic Light: Orange
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Post by Karana Malora on Aug 27, 2013 19:58:03 GMT -8
Draykon, you're still kickin'? Huh. I'll have to do somethin' about that. *twirls blaster*
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Karana Malora
The Unfair Advantage
I don't believe in a no-win scenario.
Posts: 246
Affiliation: The Fel Crew (Unfair Advantage)
Traffic Light: Orange
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Post by Karana Malora on Aug 27, 2013 19:54:48 GMT -8
Cool legumes. I'll just fudge details for now and we can come back to it if we want.
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Karana Malora
The Unfair Advantage
I don't believe in a no-win scenario.
Posts: 246
Affiliation: The Fel Crew (Unfair Advantage)
Traffic Light: Orange
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Post by Karana Malora on Aug 27, 2013 19:35:42 GMT -8
Just so I don't kriff up posted locations (gonna be vague anyway, but I still wanna check)... Liya is on her own, the Doc is with Jace and Dante, and Oz and Revette are with me? I'm posting after the whole commando thingy with Oz went down. And Fel is missing and no one knows where he is? What happened to Sam and Myranda? And Seros is also on his own?
Malora is going to go fetch Wade. And then she'll be contacting peeps. And figuring out what to do next.
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Karana Malora
The Unfair Advantage
I don't believe in a no-win scenario.
Posts: 246
Affiliation: The Fel Crew (Unfair Advantage)
Traffic Light: Orange
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Post by Karana Malora on Aug 10, 2013 18:12:46 GMT -8
I'm looking to organize, well.....Organized crime and am looking for some fearless smugglers who could possibly help. Know any? You're lookin' at them. Whatcha want, Vizsla, and make it snappy, we've got ass to kick and names to take.
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Karana Malora
The Unfair Advantage
I don't believe in a no-win scenario.
Posts: 246
Affiliation: The Fel Crew (Unfair Advantage)
Traffic Light: Orange
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Post by Karana Malora on Aug 3, 2013 21:11:06 GMT -8
Quick update, I'm improving.
Let's hope I didn't just jinx myself.
I'm still on fairly intense pain meds and both hands are still in bracers, but it looks like I won't need surgery anytime soon, and I can finally feel my left hand! I also got a speech-to-computer program in case I couldn't type at all, and it's not working out very well. But typing seems to be getting easier. Been working really slowly on my post for the past two days after I got feeling back, here's hoping I can churn out a decent one! Cross your fingers, toes, and eyes.
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Karana Malora
The Unfair Advantage
I don't believe in a no-win scenario.
Posts: 246
Affiliation: The Fel Crew (Unfair Advantage)
Traffic Light: Orange
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Post by Karana Malora on May 31, 2013 10:07:03 GMT -8
Yeah, I'll still be RPing. When things calm down here. My own absence is due completely to life commitments, not loss of interest. Today and yesterday were probably the first time I've been able to touch a computer in months. I have my phone (which is where I make the occasional 3am conversation post in our FB thread because hey, you guys are my friends, not just my writing partners, and a little fun conversation outside RP at god awful hours of the morning is nice every once in a while), but there is no way I am making a decent post on that.
Jerry I have not heard from in a very long time. He quit FB and is doing his own thing, so I have no idea what he's doing about RP.
Wade is basically waiting on everyone else, so. And Liya has been wickedly busy, as has Jace.
We do our own thing, and get back together later on. I'll go get Wade's tortured ass and gather everyone afterwards (once their own stories are done and once I can actually post on a consistent basis), and then we can all go get Fel, unless Fel has other plans or wants to be 'gotten' earlier. Was gonna spring him first, but after reading this thread, I changed my mind. Oz, I'm taking you with halfway and then you're on your own, and Mack, if you are still reading this, same deal.
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