I'm Kai! I'm an experienced roleplayer (40ish, he/any) who likes exploring emotions and relationships in semi-realistic or fantastic settings.I'm flexible about a lot of aspects - I have preferences, but I've also had great RPs that go against one or another of those preferences.Really, my rapport with the other writer is the most important part for me, but I can't squish that down into a checklist. So, this is my attempt to ramble about those preferences in the hopes that they'll be useful guidelines for us to start a conversation and find out if we mesh!This site is, of course, a work in progress. Aren't they always?

How I Write

I'm a light to middling planner. I'm generally happy to discuss ideas and concepts for the story, but I prefer to explore the reactions of our characters as we write them, and sometimes that means getting surprised and having the story go in a direction we didn't expect. I enjoy exploring the twists and turns, though I'm always willing to talk out how we're feeling about the RP and to figure out how to adjust if it isn't quite working.My pose length varies based on who I'm writing with and what's happening in the scene, but tends to average between 200 and 600 words. I'll sometimes do shorter, especially for a rapid-fire type RP, and can go longer if that's where the scene takes us. I'm not picky about exact lengths, but if that seems way too long or short for you, we might not be a good match.My focus tends to be on the vivid and emotive; sometimes that means a lot of details, sometimes that means using sparseness to convey a mood. If your writing can convey character emotions and move the story along, I'm willing to ignore a great many errors of spelling and grammar.I default to third-person present tense. I can also do past tense, and I'm potentially willing to try other things.I have chronic health issues that mean my free time and energy levels can be wildly variable and unpredictable. Sometimes I can write multiple large poses in a day; sometimes it may be weeks in between. I try to be honest about what's going on, but if you're someone who needs a lot of consistency, that ain't me.I do like to chat and make friends with the people I RP with. It doesn't always happen, and that's fine too, but shared hobbies are more fun when you can do them with friends.The RP itself can be on a private Discord server, on a forum as a thread or PMs, or on something like Docs or Ellipsus. Most of my RP history is on places that have now disappeared beneath the sands of internet-time, so I'm pretty open to suggestions.

Themes

I want strong character emotions and complex reactions. I want them to be grounded in who these people are and in response to what's happening around them, and I like doing that in a world that's fantastical but where the characters still feel authentic.I enjoy exploring trauma and difficult themes, but I generally want the overall tone of the story to be positive (or at least hopeful). I'm looking for character-driven drama and maybe some hurt/comfort, not endless angst.I also enjoy fluff, but I do need for there to be some form of dramatic tension, even if it's mostly in the background. The stakes don't have to be high - social drama and emotional tension are fine - but they need to exist.I like humor when it's characters being silly and having fun, or some kinds of meta-textual observations, but I'm not that into referential humor for its own sake.I like romances, but I prefer when they're more organic and happen alongside other story elements. We can absolutely scheme about how to set our characters up to fall for each other, but I want to play out those emotions as they develop!I'm willing to play out smut, if and when the story gets to that point, but I'm also willing to skip it. I enjoy passion, but charged looks and steamy kisses can be just as fun as anything explicit!Other character dynamics can be fun too! I want there to be emotional intensity as two (or more) people get to know each other and build connections, but that can take a lot of forms.

Characters

I can play as or with characters of any gender, but I generally prefer pairings with at least one masc-aligned character.I'm happy to play multiple characters or share NPCs, but I prefer when each of us has a character or two who are our main focus. It's okay if that changes over time as we explore the story-space!

Settings

I'm mostly interested in settings with aspects of science fiction, fantasy, or horror. They can be themed as historical, modern, or futuristic, but I like my worlds to have something beyond the mundane about them, even if it's subtle.I'm willing to play in the world of existing works, but I don't tend to enjoy canon characters. They're fine in the background, or maybe as inspiration for an AU, but I prefer we play our own creations with their own stories.If it's a movie or TV show, I probably haven't seen it; if it's a book, your chances are better. I've read a fair bit of fantasy, science fiction, romantasy, and horror, and I do accept recs.I also enjoy world-building, but I'd rather get a shared concept and discuss or improv as we go rather than trying to plan everything out ahead of time.In general, I prefer to play fast and loose with canon. I'm not going to double-check minor details, and I don't expect it of you, either. We're going to have continuity errors because we forgot what we said five poses ago, and that's fine. What matters to me is consistency of characterization and motivation, not of what someone is wearing or what the weather is.

Fave Concepts

These are some concepts and themes I'm particularly fond of and would generally love to include in a RP.This list is by no means exhaustive, and more will be forthcoming as I think of them.

Nonhuman characters.

I enjoy exploring monsters and aliens in a way that has depth and coherency. They're not just weird or villains, even if it seems that way from the human perspective. (Or, maybe they are, but it's because of who they are as individuals, not something at an inherent species level.) This includes both new creations and the classics like werewolves, vampires, and fae, whether in traditional mythological forms or otherwise.We can both play nonhumans, or a nonhuman against a human, or even some of both with some sort of magical companion creatures in all their many forms, like dragons and their riders, or magical familiars, or demon summoning, or possession, or whatever else.I like playing with the interrelations and connections between something human and something not, especially when they share emotions and thoughts in some form and the boundaries of selfhood blur. (Psychic connections between otherwise-normal humans are fun too!)I've also got a soft spot for furries and various talking animals, whether magical or quasi-realistic. Look, this is where I got my start as a roleplayer, so if you want to play with some wolf pack or cat clan or whatever, just lmk.

Romantic tension.

I love slow-burn romance, especially the sort where the characters are either oblivious and don't realize the attraction between them, or they're very aware and trying to ignore it because they think those feelings aren't reciprocated, or they have existing relationship complications, or they don't want to risk their friendship for the chance of something more, or whatever other reason might have them trying to keep distance even as they're drawn toward each other.There could also be some fun dynamics around something with some kind of arranged marriage, or fated mates, or having to pretend to be in a relationship for some reason. I enjoy playing characters that have a spark of desire between them, but there's a lot of fun in exploring what they do about it!I like playfulness and affection between characters, and partners that adore each other but also challenge each other, whether it's light-hearted teasing or earnestly helping them to be their best selves.I can sometimes also be into unhealthy relationships and dark romance, where that desire turns into something toxic and the question is less about how they'll get together and more about just how many mistakes they'll make along the way.

Demon and Hunter (Starter)

The dreams of a hunter can be a perilous thing... for others, but also for herself.Tonight:A rocky promontory juts above a churning sea. The waves are dark crimson, their foam the pink of flesh against an ocean of blood. Above, the sky is a brooding shade of purple, streaked with clouds lit toward orange and blue by the two suns currently passing overhead.The demon realm.On the promontory stands a demon, brooding as it stares out across the water. This beast walks on two legs, shaggy-furred and ending in cloven hooves. The auburn fur continues up along his back, past a tail that's naked like a rat's or snake's, and meets the leonine mane that tousles around his head.A chimera, then. Clever. Tricksy. Hard to predict, with their mingled natures. Dangerous, but then, aren't all demons?He turns to face her.The fur of his back reaches over his shoulders like a cape, but his chest and stomach are tawny skin, as bare as any human's. His face is apelike, with a pronounced jaw and the hint of those oversized canines with their serpent's-venom, with heavy ridges over charcoal-ember eyes, with the splay of furred ears emerging from the sides of that dusk-dark mane.He looks at her, the hunter, in her dream......and the question is, is this a dream, or is this a seeing? And - if so - does this demon also see?

Archivist and Healer (Mid-Scene)

Firdelain not only gasps as Cereste scorns his poetry, he staggers. Literally, he staggers back from her as if he's been shot with a crossbow at point-blank range, aghast in face and with a hand clutched dramatically to his chest. "You wound me, Lady Cereste. I am undone." He slumps, head sagging to show just how slain he is by her reception of this, his finest attempt at conveying the poetry of his craft....and then, of course, he straightens right back up, and grins, and they're on to deeper in the stacks and - because the tragedy isn't over, or something like that - further recitations of licentious, terrible, awful, wonderful nature.He knows exactly what he's doing, building the tension with each of those unsubtle evasions, letting it rise until that anticipation culminates in absolutely wrecking her.Firdelain grins, and as Cereste tries to shake out the dirt from his sleeve, he nods sagely. He did. He said it. It was said, by him, and she was there.And she's here, in the Archives, and - appearances aside - she didn't actually come here to hear dirty limericks. Well. Not just to hear dirty limericks, anyhow! There was another purpose for her visit, another... pretext... for being in these halls of learning."Ah, yes." Firdelain says, and then he leans closer, giving her a confidential look as he murmurs, "I don't think he was much of a poet, though. Just so you're aware, and all!" Since, as we have established, poetic-ness is very important around here. "So. Most of the medical references are around here," he says, gesturing along a row of shelves. "Some of the herbals are with botany, and historical accounts are generally filed by year, but if it's focused on the medicine, it's probably around here." A moment, and then, a wry smile. "Unless, of course, it got misfiled, misplaced, or otherwise isn't where it ought to be. Which, well." He grins. "It's so hard to get good help these days, you know?"

Contact

However you found this, there was probably a way to contact me there.