segues

There are times when you are at a loss for direction, when the repetition of simple things is all you have. I decided to clean my old Colt, since it was due for it. The cleaning kit was in the same old box in my desk, the same kit that I had taken from one of father's subalterns in Madras when I was much younger. in the lid were the two letters, both faded with time and rereading.

"To my dear little Dragoon,

I am sure your father would be appalled at this gift to you, but I feel that you are ready for a pistol of your own. This is my own Navy belt pistol that I carried while I was exploring. It is not new, but it should have many more good years of service left in it. Take care of it and it shall take care of you. I was quite compelled watching you ride last week, and I am sure that the local lads will not soon forget being outridden by a lass. You do so favor your late mother. Please write as often as you can, for Addie and I do miss you greatly.

Your uncle,
Richard"

"Dearest Daughter,

The secretary at the ministry tells me that you are excelling in your new position. Please take care of yourself, as Sona and I expect that you should come to visit once your posting to the Cape colony is over. I have sent you a package that should be with this letter. It is a new belt pistol manufactured by the Americans Smith & Wesson. This should be a much better choice than the old Colt that your uncle gave you when you turned 18. I wanted you to know that he told me he had done it back then, and that I remained silent so as to not ruin the feeling of forbidden fruit. I will not be able to write for a bit, since the regiment is being posted to the frontier again, and I expect the post to be slow.

I remain,
Your father"

That pistol was at the bottom of a river in the veldt, and the duties had fallen back to the old Colt. That seems so long ago...

I am perplexed, and full of questions. Something has happened to a friend, and I am at a loss as to what I should do. No one has seen Beq, and she has not been back to the house in some time. I have tried to resist the urge to search her room, but I fear that I may need to resort to more invasive actions in order to determine what has happened.

OOC thoughts on RP

SL has a lot of potential for good RP, but it also has the potential for frustration. The problem is that everyone has different expectations of why they are in-world and on-grid. I have tried to approach everything that happens as a potential to get into some sort of RP. All of us come to the table with different expectations, motives and reasons to be in-world. I decided a long time ago that I was going to enjoy my time and make the best out of whatever situation that was presented on a particular day.

Lots of space and time has been launched here about staying in character. Here is my take on it...

The ideal of staying in character means that the typist moves in the background like a scenery handler in a Kabuki theater. You know that they are there, but the typist is largely silent and moving in the shadows. This can be the toughest for a lot of folks, and can be really hard to achieve. It can also be frustrating for people who are not 'down with the program'. The next level is more like a marionette show. The typist is a bit more obvious, and tends to be more known than in the previous example. This is usually where most folks feel most comfortable, since you can throw out non-relevant things, and still stay on task. The lowest level is basically a person with a hand puppet. The character is there, but it's basically just an online face for someone else. This is the realm of new players, or most folks who hang out for the social aspects of SL.

Granted, I do like to babble with my friends about things that are not specifically character knowledge, or even time period or genre appropriate. I like attending social events. I am beginning to enjoy building things. With all this in mind, if I'm in-world, I'm in character. If there is something going on I am going to act on it in character.

The biggest issue has always been this...if you are waiting for an ideal situation to happen, then you may be waiting a long time. I'd rather roll with a less than perfect setup than sit around hoping a better deal will come along.

I'll gripe about god-mode, overuse of supernatural powers, and deus ex machina later...

STANDARD DISCLAIMER:
This is my personal feelings on this potentially volatile topic. This does not necessarily represent the opinions of anyone other than the writer. Your mileage may vary. Results not typical. The writer is not an expert on this topic, but has been playing RP games for a long time (1980 or so) and has a plethora of been there done thats....