Hapes: Birthright OOC

[Jagtai]

Sorry, been a little busy. I'll reply asap

[TalRaimi]

No worries, I think we all have.

And now it's Xmas! I'll be out of the country from Friday, going to Poland for Xmas and then Finland for new year! But will take a mini keyboard and my Ipad to at least try and do an occational post.

[Jagtai]

Lucath knows Detoxify Poison and Drain Knowledge. So it's really up to Tal, how much information he can pull from her before she dies

On one hand, it would be more fun if they don't learn everything right away. On the other, it will prolong the thread. So, it's up to you. (Besides, Lucath doesn't like using Dark Side powers).

[TalRaimi]

Well I was thinking you’d still have commander Glass to interrogate and that would then lead to the Ni’Korish. Or perhaps you get a couple of bits of information from Ushani before she dies if you do capture her.

If you have a good scene in mind write it, otherwise lets say she gets away this time.

[Halomek]

Sounds good to me. We don't want to wrap up the Ni’Korish situation too quickly.

Also, lest we forget, domestic terrorism is only half of the threat that Hapes is facing right now. There's still the mysterious pirates and their raids that are presenting an external problem.

[Jagtai]

Got it. I'll be the Jedi then, have her die in his arms.

Edit: Actually, scratch that. I'll have them face off, and she'll make a dramatic escape. I'll let the reader decide if Lucath lets her

[Jagtai]

FInally managed to eke out the post with Lucath and Ushani. Let me know if you need me to change something.

[Halomek]

Looks good to me!

I could post a reaction from Arien, but I think it would be better if Tal posts first. He's got more to respond too.

[TalRaimi]

Right... so... it's been a while. Christmas... then January sort of just... happened. Anyway, tonight I finally felt the urge to sit down and get writing again.

[Halomek]

Welcome back, Tal!

Now I need to figure out how I want Arien to respond...

On a related note, I've made a lot of progress lately filling in the details about the Hapan Civil War on the wiki. I highly encourage you to read it over and see if you think anything should be adjusted.

I even made an entry for Azonia Zyier (still needs work). I was fiddling with some AI images of her based on how you described her in the story. I may try and send you some examples over Discord to get your feedback.

[Halomek]

I don't think Lucath would tell Arien that he deliberately let the terrorist go, but it's up to you, Jag. I can always adjust my post to fit.

Arien's reaction wouldn't be too much different either way.

[Jagtai]

Lucath won't; he'll say that he was too late to catch her. Arien doesn't need to know everything.

Even if Lucath stands by his decision.

[Jagtai]

By the way, I love that you made Ushani react exactly as I hoped she would, Tal. Brilliant

Lucath was hoping to sow the seeds of doubt, make her realize that Jedi are not the monsters she's been told. (Well, most of them). We'll see how this pans out...

[Halomek]

I might be wrong, but I don't think Ushani ever told anyone her name.

[TalRaimi]

No, nobody there would have known her name. But we can could pass it off as text for the reader rather than what Lucath knows.

And Jag, yeah I'd only really meant for Ushani to be generic henchwomen material, but it's kinda interesting how it's playing out. I reckon I can probably weave her back in to the story somewhere along the line.

Anyway, I better get working on a post. But we can move everybody back to the Palace, unless anyone wants to do anything else?

[Halomek]

You never know where a character will take you. In the very first thread I used him in, Arien was just meant to be a henchperson for the main villain. He didn't even have a first name. I just called him Garix.

However, he quickly grew on me and I brought him into the Cult of Shadow to explore his character a little more. Fast-forward to now and he's become a husband and father who genuinely loves his family and wants the best for Hapes. This is despite being a completely amoral person who wouldn't think twice about killing anyone outside of his family if it served his purposes. Next to Sivter, he's probably one of my favorite villains to write for.

---

I'm good to return to the palace. Ely and James are basically already on their way back.

[Jagtai]

When I first came up with Lucath, he was meant to be - and stay - borderline Sithy. He was never intended to become Jedi. Over time, he became more and more mellow, until he was the wise father, husband, and Jedi Master he is now.

It really is amazing how your characters can grow - especially when you write with others. That's my favourite part of cooperative writing: you never know where you end up

I'm good to return as well.

[Halomek]

Well, if anyone wants a refresher on how a Dark Lord from the Cult of Shadow became the royal consort of the Queen Mother, I've finally finished the wiki entry on the Hapan Civil War: https://starwars-exodus.fandom.com/wiki/Hapan_Civil_War

[Halomek]

Boom. It's all set up for Nyalla's big moment.

I'm assuming Lucath is attending as well, but I left it vague in case you had something else in mind, Jag.

[Jagtai]

Don't wait for me, guys. I have nothing to say right now. I'll have Lucath comment, if I see an opening.

[Jagtai]

So, what's the plan? Do we have Lucath find Ushani? And will she even cooperate? I want to assume that her world view has been thrown into question by Lucath, but...

[Halomek]

I feel safe in saying that there is no plan. Let's just see where it goes with Lucath and Ushani. I'm sure Tal will back me up on that.

That said, I'm good with wrapping up the briefing pretty soon. Arien is going to want to speak with Jen about her pirate contacts, but that'll be a private conversation.

I also have an idea in mind for a character scene or two that isn't strictly plot related. If you've got anything you'd like to do with Lucath or Telan to explore their characters a little, we're reaching a point where we could do that.

[Jagtai]

Would you mind if I brought in another character, just for a bit? I kind of want to flesh out his eldest daughter (supposedly), and this could be a good opportunity.

It's not a requirement, of course, just a thought.

Lucath will rest for a bit, meet up with Laila (if you don't mind), and go hunting for Ushani.

[Halomek]

I guess Laila's been on the NR ship this whole time? Fair enough, I suppose, with how volatile the situation is on Hapes. I think Lucath still loses a few dad points for not trying to get his daughter invited to the dinner reception.

Anyway, I don't mind. In fact, I feel like we should do something about how similar in appearance Laila is to the crown princess. They're a bit too different to do a "Princess and the Pauper" bit, but that white hair and those brown eyes (close to amber) could be enough for people to mistake Laila for Elysia at a distance.

[TalRaimi]

Hey both,

So yeah... not firm plan. I'm starting to think about how to draw it all together in the long term and will let you know my ideas so we can collaberate, but I'm happy with thngs just going with the narritive threads we have so far.

And Jag, letting Ushani go was too big a thread not to pull on!

[Jagtai]

Actually, I was thinking she'd arrive a day after the briefing, coming to support Lucath after a vision by Nietdaeth. She'd alert the Hapans, of course.

And yes, at a distance, she might work as a double.

That's fine, Tal I'd expected as much.

[Halomek]

Jag, I think it might make more sense from a narrative perspective for Laila to have been on the Defiant all this time. For one thing, it makes it easier to bring her into the story proper. It could also be said that she stayed on the ship until now because of how volatile things currently are on Hapes and/or to monitor the situation from orbit.

Then she gets the transmission from Nietdaeth about his vision and decides that she needs to speak to Lucath in person.

I realize you'd have to edit your initial posts so Laila isn't left behind on Chalacta, but I think it would make more sense. Otherwise the question becomes is Nietdaeth's vision important enough to risk disrupting the already delicate diplomatic mission with Hapes to send someone new that the royal family didn't invite?

Sure, we can say Lucath would take care of all the paperwork and notices to get permission for Laila to travel to Hapes, but it seems like a lot of trouble that we could just avoid by saying she's been part of the delegation the entire time.

Up to you how you want to go about it. I'm fine with Laila being brought in regardless, but I think a little retcon of her being on the ship just makes things easier.

[Jagtai]

I suppose she could have joined the mission after my initial post. The message from Nietdaeth would bring her to interfere, despite her initial intentions to stay onboard the Defiant.

[TalRaimi]

Do we want to do the audience on screen? We can skip to the next morning and do it.

[Halomek]

I would say probably best to wait until the next morning to do the formal introductions.

No doubt Lucath already put through the proper clearances to have Laila come down, but I think we could probably assume that Jen and Arien would have left orders not to be disturbed for the night unless it was an emergency.

[Jagtai]

Just assume that it's either a formality that doesn't require Jen or Arien, or just assume it happens when they have time. It's not an important event - really just a heads-up, that there's another Jedi on the planet.

[Jagtai]

Uhhh... I just thought of something: Nyalla, James, and Laila working together. Laila would definitely be the most chaotic and occasionally darkest of them

But if you'd rather not, that's fine too. Laila can be plenty chaotic with Lucath

[Halomek]

Could be fun! They're all the same age, which is an interesting coincidence. It might also be an experience for Nyalla to work with someone who is Elysia, but also not Elysia...

I would say probably the most logical way to get her on the pirate mission would be either for Lucath to volunteer her or for Laila to volunteer herself. Maybe Telan can bring it up as a way to make sure the NR has representation on the task.

[Jagtai]

I like it. I think Telan will be the one to suggest it.

Just bear in mind that Laila is a lot more chaotic than James and Nyalla; she might not get along with them at first

[Halomek]

Telan better stress to Laila that she's representing the entire New Republic on this mission then.

[Jagtai]

Yeah... might work better if Lucath tells her. I updated her article - I have a much better idea of who she is now. This is going to be fun

[Jagtai]

If anyone wants to watch them, or mention having watched them, go ahead. Otherwise, Lucath, Telan, and Laila will arrive at the briefing together.

[Halomek]

Arien would be a morning person, lol.

I'm away on a trip currently, but I think I'll have some time later today to work up a post.

[Halomek]

Well, probably going to be a bit from me before I can write up a proper post.

Feel free to continue with the briefing and I'll chime in when I can.

[TalRaimi]

I have a busy weekend of having to be social. But I'll try and start something tomorrow if I can.