Hello from the Other Siiiiiiiide

[Antimar H'lana]

Greetings to the wide world of Idalos,

Allow me to reintroduce myself, my name is Jay. Recently, I joined Standing Trials and have made acquaintances with some of you fine folks over on the discord. I figured I should post here now that my character is ready to get started. I’m something like a veteran in the forum RPG space, though I have been making attempts at storytelling since I was old enough to express ideas through writing.

This would be my fourth site— I don’t take joining communities lightly, as I’ve had a lot of meaningful life events transpire through meeting good friends and the times I’ve had on forums like these. My past sites consist of Ninpocho, a naruto RPG in which I played a few characters, and Bleach Gotei, a site where I first saw my love for writing truly blossom. My first site was also a Naruto one, NCCRPG. All three still exist in some way, but as husks that betray their legacies. Each has long since lost the attributes that made them the spaces I once loved.

I enjoy the collaborative writing aspect of the forum rpg more than the game itself. To me, this is a space to craft stories for a personal audience rather than the one-sided contribution one makes writing novels for the world to consume. To me, there’s a greater sense of urgency that demands my commitment, to show you a good time when you read my work. Sometimes this takes the form of pressure, and I know well that pressure can turn coal to diamond, but it can also cause burnout. So, I don’t like to take many threads at once, and prefer just one or two to keep whatever part of my brain that tells stories sharp and strong.

Thematically, I can’t get enough of exploring what it means to be human, or even better, not human, in a fantasy world where preconceived ideas about reality can be challenged or just do not apply. I love walking in impossible shoes in my writing.

Here, I have created Antimar H’lana as my first character, unlikely to be my only. A little background on me: I joined the navy out of highschool, and have a personal connection to stories of adventure at sea. I served on board an aircraft carrier, so my experience has very little in common with the adventures of Antimar, yet there are moments where I get to use personal experience to inform my storytelling. Antimar’s story also focuses on themes of one’s purpose, honor, faith, the bonds that make (or break) us, and fate: things I love to ponder about.

I’d like to wrap up by expressing how much I appreciate the mere existence of this community in an era such as this. Thanks for being yourselves, everyone. Thanks for keeping this hobby alive in a time where people crave the artificial gratification at their finger tips. This is my favorite pastime, and it makes me so happy to have a new space to enjoy it in.

Truly yours,
Jay, aka Antimar the Lurker

P.S. Also my other nerdy hobbies include playing TTRPGs, I love D&D 5e, and PF2e. My favorite authors include R.A. Salvatore, Naomi Novik, Lisa Smedman, and you can thank Jack London for my love of using em dashes in my writing. It's all his fault. The Sea Wolf is one of my favorite books, man. I also really like Basketball, go Knicks. Lastly, I love anime, if you couldn't tell from my Forum choices. I wound up on Standing Trials because two friends of mine that I've RPd with for years found y'all first.

[Pig Boy]

Hello Jay! That's quite an introduction!

Yes, I suspect many of us who aren't new to forum-based rping have been nomads of sorts over the years. I appreciate the vote of confidence it takes to join a new site, and glad you took this step with us here! I'm sure you'll have fun writing here, and let us know if there's any questions or requests.

I hope you find your time spent here fun and full of writing! Looking forward to seeing your character in action on the forums!

[Jinyel]

Welcome, Jay!

Glad to see you 'out and about' as it were, and what a great intro! I'm former military myself, a few years in the Army as a tank operator. Your writing style and the goals you pursue in collab writing look right up our alley -- looking forward to seeing the Lurker in action. If you have any questions, we're all happy to help!

[Darius Baer]

Hello, Jay, and welcome!

I'm a fellow em dash fan, (— for life!), and my PC is also something of a mariner! However, unlike you, I don't have real world expertise in this area. Most of what I know about sailing has been learnt through writing.

I look forward to seeing you on the boards, and hopefully our characters can cross paths sooner or later.

[Perdita Westcott]

Hello hello!!

Nice to see you - we've chatted on discord but always good to see people on boards!

Best,

Peg / Vega / Perdie.

[Fate]

. . . . . The Threads of Fate . . . . .

Hello and Welcome

It is good to see new people about. Take your time seeing all the hidden gems to be found here. If any questions please ask.

Fate