Stories from RhyDin & The Rings

I will be using this thread to cover various Out Of Character matters.

Let me start by pointing out that the three "sticky"/"pinned" threads are not in the order I wish. If it were possible (it's not), I'd put "How it Didn't Begin" first, followed by "Home Is Where The Heart Is" and then "Attacked by ¿¿Landsquid??", with any other "introduction" posts thereafter.

Speaking of introductions, my next post in this thread will do just that.

Here I am putting basic info on my main characters. This will change with time. Right now, though, there's

Robert Infinity (memberlist.php?mode=viewprofile&u=24413). He is a human male looking around 62-64 year old. He's tallish, in decent shape, but not more than that. He has a short, neatly-trimmed beard and mustache, and long silver/grey hair gathered in a "tail" that hangs to hip-length. An ordinary human in most respects, with the definitely not-ordinary ability to "planesjump," to travel to and from any universe. It's not magic, it's something tied deeply into the structure of the multiverse. So, it's not possible to block or turn off. He has the skills a long-time trader would be expected to have.

Philip Vah͠laan (memberlist.php?mode=viewprofile&u=24421). There's aliens, and there's *aliens*. And then there's Philip Vah͠laan. He's purple, and is made up, mostly, of tubes and tendrils and filaments, though there some "nodes," things like livers and stomach and brain. He's usually arranges himself in a humanoid shape, using a jumpsuit to help the effort. Eyes stick out here and there, and other sense organs sometimes show, though usually they're within the clothes. Gathered, he 'stands' 158 cm (5' 2.25") tall. His voice sounds sorta like a clogged drain, and he has an "accent".

H'ector (memberlist.php?mode=viewprofile&u=24467). Formally, H'ector of Clan Ger'oockon. He is an upright bipedal alien, obviously non-human --- indeed, something a bit lizard-like in his appearance. He's 63.5" tall, and somewhat thin. His legs and arms are a bit short, the torso slightly elongated. However, his hands and feet are large, with long digits ending in circular tips. He is covered with small, smooth, colorful scales, that form swirls and splotches of red, green, blue, and brown. He has a short tail. His huge eyes are a bit toward the sides of his head, golden-brown with slitted pupils and no "white". His wide mouth contains many small, sharp, pointed teeth. He wears a kilt-like garment in soft brown leather, and a vest of the same material; anything he needs is carried in a pair of belt pouches of black leather, and in the numerous pockets in the vest. He speaks common fluently, save for oddly-placed glottal stops, which are very noticeable, being almost a gulping sound.

Well, it's been nearly a year, and I think I ought to explain why. Which means going back almost 30 years.

I first played Robert and Philip on AOL, when they had chat rooms. I played in the original Red Dragon Inn, and later in some other, related, chat rooms. I faffed around at first, but the basic idea of a storyline occurred to me. When AOL attached forums to RDI, I sat down and outlined the story, and wrote and posted a couple of things. I kept a copy of them.

About then, though, AOL started dumping on RDI and the others. It soon became clear everything was going to crash. So, I left it all behind. I had already found out about IRC, so I went looking for something like RDI to play in.

But I found that I didn't like the way FFRP was played there. So, I figured my story would never get told. Nevertheless, I did a little work on it. And then I found out someone had recreated the RDI, with their own chat program, and a forum. I was ecstatic.

Note I'm not talking about here. This was another place, another re-creation of good old RDI---and a number of the other related settings. So I started playing Robert and Phil. I started posting the story line, too, rewriting some of what I'd done on AOL, and adding stuff to it. That, though, was slow going. I would take weeks to outline, and write, each post. I kept a copy of everything.

Unfortunately, that website was having problems. Repeated glitches, unexpected freezing, and fewer and fewer people willing to "host". That is, not willing to play the part of the bar-tender or whatever, that this website treated as vital to good, engaging, role-play.

It became clear that this place, just like AOL, was going down the tubes. Eventually, I gave up. Again, the story would never get told. I was frustrated utterly. And there things sat for a decade.

Until I found here. I was delighted. I started roleplaying again, and I took the previous posts, rewriting a bit, to better fit this setting - - - these settings, I should say - - - and to tighten up stuff, make things clearer, etc. It took a few months, but I caught up; all the older stuff was now online.

Then, it was time to go on, to continue the story. I still had the basic outline from the old AOL days, and knew where the story was supposed to go. I got the next post done. And then I stopped. I couldn't write any more of the story.

You see, the original storyline was centered on death and betrayal, on two friends of whom one was false. One was a manipulator who was going to use the other "friend"'s special ability, and kill him. Most of the characters would turn out to be greedy, viscous, or both. It was full of anger and wretchedness. Because I was angry, I felt betrayed by everybody, I wanted to show the world that those you let near will screw you over.

But I'm not that angry young man, I can't tell that story. I will miss a little, the careful writing of the subtle foreshadowing of the surprise reveal of treatchery and the violent demoun, and that violent demoun.But that story is not really my story any more.

So, I walked away from the writing. I intended it to be for a month or two. But the world had other plans. I was hit by both financial and health problems, and everything else took a back seat. Even after things settled, I needed time to recover. And, I tried to figure where to take this story. I tried to outline a story that would go from the beginning already written, through a middle, to a specific end. But I just can't do it. I don't know what end to head for.

So, I'm just going to write and post whatever seems right at the time. It's going to be an unplanned adventure

Let's see what the new adventure brings.

Good luck on your new adventure! Glad to hear you've recovered and things have settled for you, and I hope you're able to find all the inspiration you need to get the creative juices flowing again.