865
How does your antagonist feel about surprises?

Skip

#PennedPossibilities 865

866
Do any of your characters use medical or assistive devices (including glasses)?

Yes partly. Kira is constantly connected to Ashlei partly out of necessity. At some point in her story she has to rely on a pacemaker and she carries a medical deposit under her skin.

Nanotech exists but is not widely used for to the inability to get rid of them after being used.
You can't filter them out entirely and a little leftover will always remain dormant.

Talithi and Terrans need respiratory filters or highly filtered air if deployed together do to them contaminating each other's breathable air with their exhaled air.
They basically react to each other like Terran life does to alcohol in its food sources.

It's not uncommon to see personal skimmers (hovering wheelchairs or similar) in the Union and in the Rim personal prosthetics exist to personalyze ones look and restoring functionality of missing or damaged bodyparts.

#PennedPossibilities 866 #StarRyde #WorldBuilding #KiraKnox #SciFi #WIP

867
What does your MC smell like?

1/3

That depends on the situation.
First of Terrans, like humans, smell differently throughout the activities they do. Any finer nosed species will tell you that they all smell very distinct (no chance of tricking a Somwhar or a Bethosian with your twin for long, if they know you).
Also space smells very different in different locations. In space Nobody asks you about your visit to Jupiter, people just put something above their nose and wait til you showered, trying not to p**e.

Kira on a stress-free day smells like whatever scent she used, in combat situations she smells like adrenaline sweat which gives her a sour note in dire situations she rapidly gets into the fat burning which comes with a swing of acetone, on an average day she smells a bit more grounded a gentle note of hazelnuts, a bit cheesy at the sweatier areas.

#PennedPossibilities 867 #KiraKnox #StarRyde #SciFi #WIP

867
2/3

Arkham is a curious case since her medicine, she uses to numb her hypersensitivity interacts with her body chemistry.
She barely sweats since she is always dressed incredibly lightly & works half naked so it's rare that her sweat even has time to interact with her bacterial layer & since she uses long time hair removal solutions (unlike Kira with her reddish/copper thin body hair) it's even less.
To get a taste of Arkham's smell you have to rub your nose on her skin which would probably end with you getting your nose..."corrected according to flight command regulations" (=broken) if you do it without consent. As we all now rubbing to fast on human (Terran) skin gives a smokey smell, so you really need to go gentle & ask her for permission. Than you can get a glimpse of something light, close to blue cherry blossoms with a small pinch of salted potatoes. Of course if she gets stressed or sick it's different.

#PennedPossibilities 867 #Arkham #StarRyde #SciFi #WIP

867
3/3

Ashlei herself has no smell if you take her personality, her casing is a metals, plastics, fungals & carbons mix which is incredible hard to detect via olfactory means for Terrans (or Humans).
If we take her body into complete account we have to differ between inside and outside. Different parts of the ship smell differently, her outside always has a burning, smoked metal odor since her biological chameleon skin is a living crystaline metal skin. It smells a bit similar to human blood with an Iron note, as long as she is docked planetside, almost like wielding fumes but way gentlier. Depending on the mission her smell gets altered by space residue (nobody wants a Ship land near them after a dive into a gas giant atmosphere see part 1). Inside Ash tried to keep a odor of lush green fieldsor the sea but that only works if everyone is relaxed & no new components are mounted inside.
Her fungals have an earthy smell.
#PennedPossibilities 867 #Ashlei #GhozTarc #StarRyde #SciFi #WIP

868
Name one of your MC’s happiest memories.

Kira: Being accepted into the A.P.E. program* (Alliance Academy Program for Personal Qualification and Education for future leading Officers but A.A.P.F.P.Q.a.E.f.f.l.O. is just a mouthful and to much to remember correctly) alongside Anika at the age of 13. Anika has a different happiest memory.

Arkham: the moment she had her first off world flight and saw the stars thanks to the Alliance.

Ash: A.I.s like Ashlei are not programmed to feel anything. They are taught about this feelings and what an appropriate reaction is. She would never admit, it but as she shared Kira's perceptions for the first time. Feeling anything. Like the breath of a Terran body, or the pain as Kira stepped sleep drunken and barefoot onto something pointy.

*Enemies of this program say it's named ape because "they groom Union lackey dance monkeys."

#PennedPossibilities 868 #StarRyde #KiraKnox #Arkham #Ashlei #SciFi #WIP

869
Choose one of your characters. Who has had the most influence or impact on their life?

Well for Kira and Ashlei it's simply each other. Being permanently linked to each other and having a sort of telepathic connection, thanks to the modification to Kiras Nin-snail implant. For Kira this was another chance of survival and being even able to move and breath without relying on machinery outside her body after that Eltaryn Attack, but also enlightening what it means to "be a spaceship."
For Ash it's feeling and breathing, understanding what it is like to have a body that isn't a spaceship even if it is only "second hand."
And as it progresses it becomes even closer.

#PennedPossibilities 869 #StarRyde #WIP #KiraKnox #Ashlei #SciFi #WIp

870
Name something your MC fears losing.

Kira has a lot of 'fears of loosing.'
Her mother the ice queen... It's the last family member left and even if the bonds aren't very strong she gave her a home, pulled the strings to get her the best education and future she could imagine. Kira respects that.
More crew and friends.
The values of the Union.
The soul of the Union.
The war against the Eltaryn.

Arkham the war, the Union, against others, the understanding of her leading officers. So far every single one of them dismissed the claims and complaints of her being inappropriate dressed (well she is but with a reason), bad for the morals or insubordinate to orders.
If you have a half naked pilot smashing the competition and falling under average performance if you force them to wear the correct uniform, why not keep them half naked?

Ashlei, anyone of the crew.

#PennedPossibilities 870 #StarRyde #KiraKnox #Arkham #Ashlei #SciFi #WIP

871
What is the greatest extravagance your MC lets or would let themselves have?
1/2
There is a clear distinction to make between in duty and off duty. Usually n duty means 14 days of space deployment, off duty means 14 days not on duty. Well this mission is slotted for a 6 month on duty space deployment, which is why the Ghoz'Tarc has the cargo bay half full with extra modules/containers.

Kira has some glasses of real honey and some real hand made toast (what a bleak future for me as a German that toast is considered real bread...) and her antique Toaster with her (yes "the toaster" is not forgotten and still exists).
In her home colony she likes to go to local farmer markets, buy locally produced stuff liked to go to restaurants and concerts, etc.

Arkham in duty had only a tiny bit of space so sleeping in the captains quarters is considered a big extravaganza. At home in London she mostly orders food for her meals.➡️

#PennedPossibilities 871 #StarRyde #KiraKnox #Arkham #SciFi #WIP

871 2/2
⬅️ A.S.H.L.E.I. basically, before the refit of the Ghoz'Tarc, wasn't really active, she only went permanently online as the ship was mostly finished and prepared for the new mission.

So it is a bit extra for her to even be online so long. At times she allows herself 'to listen' to music. It's something that only happens after the merge between Kira and her and in such moments she isolates a portion of herself in a virtual environment, in which she assigns herself a body and some devices that are able to produce sounds and than just listens to them.

#PennedPossibilities 871 #StarRyde #Ashlei #SciFi #WIP

872
How would your SC react to being mocked or made fun of?

Talisa & Rose where mocked at times. Terrans despite empathy training are still pretty much like humans in some regards & many people don't understand their early commitment to each other. In fact Talisa was 110% (which is a feat if 100% is the maximum possible) sure she would marry Rose one day & always referred to her as her future wife, even using her future wife's last name. Rose always called her her number one. Sure they had other partners in the same time but they always made it clear that they will marry each other. Both know each other since childhood & grew up next to each other. As the Draken company/family became an international & interplanetary name for progress, Talisa was often seen as wanting to take advantage of it.
Her own family didn't mind, that she married so early & they are married for almost 20 years with ~35.

#PennedPossibilities 872 #StarRyde #RoseDraken #TalisaDraken #SciFi #WIP

873
What is your MC’s favorite meal or drink?

Kira Honey toast with 'real' toast the unrefined EQuil from the food printer (imagine it as food ink)

Arkham no headspace right now to decide or remember...

Ashlei: Energy favorite from a G type star like Sol but every source will do.

#PennedPossibilities 873 #StarRyde #KiraKnox #Arkham #Ashlei #SciFi #WIP

874
What physical feature is your SC the most insecure about?

None.
The average Union citizen
does not expect others to adhere to their personal preferences.
If you have 71 other species around (from which one is a sentient plant & one a sentient fungus) plus their animal companions that also border the line of sentient & sapient, physical differences start to play a very different role, thus most persons have few reasons to feel insecure about anything.
If your body is abled no one bets an eye, if your disabled in any capacity people think that you tell them if you need/want support & if so what they need to do.
If someone has scars it's clear that something happened but no one would ask what, because it's non of their business. If people get to know each other they might get more information but asking or judging a stranger for that?
That would be like, sh*t*ng into the coffin, in front of the relatives at a funeral.

#PennedPossibilities 874 #StarRyde #WorldBuilding #SciFi #WIP

875
Does your SC feel like they fit in with their community or culture? Why or why not?

1/2
It's not a clash with their civilisation but with another that doesn't communicate, doesn't value life as equal still not all is shiny perfect fluff.

Yes some stick out at minor points like Talisa and Rose did, as teens because they knew they would marry.

J. has to deal with some prejudice because her parents eat traditional and if the topic comes up people that ate or still eat meat from other sentient creatures are seen as... Ash holes. Their is a reason they moved away.

Mondira as a Rim worlder has to put up with a lot on Eodin and especially with her Mom because she joined the Alliance. Which for most people of the working class is like treason at least if her mother's reaction is anything to go bye. Unless the Union supports Eodin in any capacity, than it's all great. She has to deal ➡️

#PennedPossibilities 875 #StarRyde #JHarveyGladstone #RoseDraken #TalisaDraken #SciFi #WIP

875 2/2
⬅️ with a bit of culture shock and with her mother and her special friends. Her brother and her Father support her without any limits.

Kiara & Ariaene had struggles too but AJ doesn't remember anymore.
Which is a blessing in all this shit show that's happened in their live.
Technically no one gets upset or cares if non biological related people get together even if they grew up as siblings.
Even with a biological relation, if the distance is big enough, the Union doesn't care.
Medicine has advanced far enough to repair almost every damage that could come out of a 'close relatives physical relationship' but it's still frowned upon.
People growing up like siblings & than date just doesn't sits right with many people, even if they aren't genetically related. This even extends to Alien relationships despite the fact that hybrids aren't possible yet.

#PennedPossibilities 875 #StarRyde #MondiraRamann #AJ #AntagonistJunior #AriaeneJohnsen #KJ #KiaraJohnsen #WorldBuilding #SciFi #WIP

876
Does your MC like being the center of attention? Why or why not?

Kira: nope, she does the work she does in an half official way as an half official agent. More people look into that the more complicated it gets. As an open SHADE she has some power to balance but she rather not uses it. She just wants to make her job good and save people from the alien menace of the Eltaryn. Also using that power would bring another investigation.

Arkham: nope, being one of the best pilots and a bit competitive doesn't mean you automatically want the bright spot on top. For her it's the competition and the challenge to her skills. Also on mission she pretty much cares more about the mission than the prestige, as a good soldier should.

Ashlei: nope, would be a weirdly programmed intelligence if it would like to be the center of attention.

#PennedPossibilities 876 #StarRyde #KiraKnox #Arkham #Ashlei #SciFi #WIP

877
Are any of your characters terrible with time management?

Well if the military education can get one thing really right it's waking up and managing time schedules.

Things on board the Ghoz'Tarc might be 'a bit lush' according to some brass but if your home is your working space too, it's only a matter of minutes to get around in the ship that said there are always people that over exercise punctuality and people with a not so established ability.
It's harder for Mondira, who came from Eodin, the probably most powerful Rim World (despite the lack of natural resources).
Eodin is almost completely unshackled capitalism as such it's common for it's citizens to have anxiety, depression & burn outs (in more than one way), despite its very different sexual education it's pretty much living in a giant today metropolitan area & if you know one thing about such areas punctuality becomes a fluid term for most people.

#PennedPossibilities 877 #StarRyde #MondiraRamann #Eodin #SciFi #WIP

@floofpaldi puts a pause to its writing paws for tonight, so take this Imposter toot, if you want (or dare?) to answer something. 🙂

Imposter 3 (I think)
Tell us something wholesome about any of your stories or characters.

#PennedPossibilities #PennedPossibilitiesImposterToot 3 #PPIT #writing #WritingPrompts #WritingCommunity

PPIT 3

Tell us something wholesome about any of your stories or characters.

J. J is a really cuddly person with her 198 cm body height and her well trained muscles, she loves to swoop friends (including cuddle bodies) from their feet (only with permission). She gives all of them unique nicknames and has a little story why she chose the specific nickname. She has medical field training including psychology and often knows, thanks to her cuddle relationships, to most persons, in her surrounding, what they might need in that moment. She loves game nights with the crew, especially poker & if she sense's that someone is a bit tense she even considers loosing intentionally as long as she thinks the person needs a win and wouldn't be angry about someone loosing intentionally.
On the battlefield she is a loud demon but I'm private she carries you to your bed if you fell asleep elsewhere.

#PennedPossibilities #PennedPossibilitiesImposterToot 3 #PPIT
#StarRyde #JHarveyGladstone #SciFi #WIP

877⅛ — Do any of your characters have troubles with deadlines, like getting a term paper done before the last day, or buying holiday presents?

As soon a @floofpaldi falls asleep people jump into action to save the prompts. I like that. :D

So now you can choose between 877⅛ and the Impostertoot but to the topic.

No neither Christmas nor other end of the year celebrations as we know them today have survived into the 2300 at least in the Union.

Gifts are given at the birthday and at special occasions like bonding into a family. There are people out there that still try to uphold old earth traditions but you will most like see them celebrate Christmas one year and Hanukah the next, while they explain which historucal meaning this had in the past (not everything accurately though).

Otherwise gifts are given when people want to gift someone something.

#PennedPossibilities 877⅛ #StarRyde #WorldBuilding #SciFi #WIP

878
How would your MC react in a crisis or emergency situation?

If a 2 Kilometer big ship approaches it's time to mildly panic but not loose your head, just follow the drill.
Quick thinking & fast reaction is always good to have, the Alliance also makes sure that people with the "stunned" reaction are aware enough to act & get out of their shock reaction quicker than untrained soldiers.
It's not very easy & not equally effective for everyone but it works as well as it gets.

Kira learned this the hard way, which is why she reacts calm & confident.
Freaking your crew out is bad.
Of course if she drifts away from her ship into space seconds before it goes FTL her nerv costume might not be as chill as if she faces an enemy fleet of pirates in a shuttle.

In comparison Arkham is way more passionate & loud about everything including stress.

Ash just evaluates the given situation & stands ready to act in seconds.

#PennedPossibilities 878 #StarRyde #KiraKnox #Arkham #Ashlei #SciFi #WIP

879
How would your antagonist locate someone in a crowd?

Skip

#PennedPossibilities 879 #ketchup

880
MC POV: Did you have a childhood sweetheart? Who were they?

Skip

#PennedPossibilities 880 #Ketchup

881
Reveal a fact about your MC that only a few people know.

[Access Denied] your violation of security protocols has been recorded. Please step away from your workstation and sit down in front of it facing away, our security team arrives in 35 seconds, have a nice day and thank you for your cooperation citizen.

"Well she I..." *BONK* 🏓💥🗣️💤
*Sounds of someone being dragged out of a room*

Note for Videogame writing Persons. If you Bonk the player character in full armor to justify how they got somewhere and being trapped JUST DO SOMETHING ELSE. Especially if the game has powerful enemies which can't do much to the player in their armor.
Only reason people laugh about this is because it's stupid and ridiculous and openly shows a lack of skill or care, from the writing staff or the programming staff, for the intelligence of the playing persons & no it's not even good as a meta joke or caricature.

#PennedPossibilities 881 #StarRyde #STSIRAU #KiraKnox #Arkham #Ashlei #SciFi #WIP

882
How could someone locate your SC(s) in a crowd?

Ping their Holos and triangulate the exact location with a scanner.
Holos also have a close proximity setting where they guid you via haptic feedback or augmented reality towards someone else. As long you have their Identification tags stored on your Holo.
Otherwise it's rummaging through the crowds and look for familiar faces, bodies, hair cuts, outfits, etc.

#PennedPossibilities 882 #StarRyde #Worldbuilding #SciFi #WIP

883
Holiday Edition: What gift would your MC genuinely enjoy and cherish?

Kira: Wellness/downtime, she likes exploring other cultures & species so a travel related gift would make her very happy, as long it's not a time exclusive. She also likes concerts & history. The usual 2 week deployment & 2 weeks of duty allow her to explore a bit but space is still incredibly big & the fastest FTL isn't available for commercial/private use so it depends where she debriefs.

Arkham: loves space racing & her private shuttle (the Armitage) is overly motorized and has a special license for FTL racing but it is forbidden to use it outside of races or emergencies, she gets away with it thanks to her Alliance service & the fact that her shuttle is listed & registered as an Alliance emergency vessel, which allows the Alliance to use it as they seems fit in emergency situations (it might even be armed).

Ash: appreciates new data.

#PennedPossibilities 883 #StarRyde #KiraKnox #Arkham #Ashlei #SciFi #WIP

884
Do your characters have any pets?

No.

#PennedPossibilities 884 #StarRyde #SciFi #WIP

885 Ketchup
How would your MC react to an unwanted romantic or sexual advance?

Such things are clearly communicated in Terran and Union society because no ones wants this Drama, thanks to the Talithi, Trellwa'ni and Somewhat being incredibly open about it. Talithi as an example have mostly poly culture regardless of buying food or getting kids. They have a very clear cut way of communication that even I as a Northern German might find extremely upfront.
Somwhar always state their intentions as soon they realize them even if their traditional approach is to first, ask in their family than "get a good trophy" to present it towards the person they are interested in.
Trellwa'ni change their behaviors to a parental approach if they find someone interesting as a partner.
Basically no one puts extra caterpillars up their waste chute so no one has to poop bulldozers.
Feelings are communicated. So if they don't match just say so.*

#PennedPossibilities 885 #StarRyde #SciFi #WorldBuilding #WIP

I case you are into *puts a old wild west yehaa face and voice on* like romance in the good old days... Unnecessary drama and pooping bulldozer sized butterflies just add yourself to such a dating pool...
Mist people find them annoying but hey whatever floats someone's boat and some just don't float with a strict:
"I find myself more and more interested in your personality, are you up for Inter-/Samespecies Relationships, including but not limited to romantic and/or sexual contact and if so, would you consider me for the same?" Or "I find you highly interesting from a personal point of view, do you consider me the same?"

But it makes a lot easier especially while dating between over hundreds of species and don't stress yourself about unwanted pregnancies... Most species are not able to produce offspring outside their own but for fuxx sake inform your self about inter species transmission of disease.

#PennedPossibilities 885 addendum

886
What part of the writing process itself is your favorite?

At the moment absolutely none if I look at my word output after November...
clearly the none writing part. Coming up with backstories, worldbuilding, reasoning, ideas bouncing them around my head, rolling them on my tongue and creating possibilities.
Limiting them by "putting them down to paper" is a battle for me.
I have a insane resistance against writing stuff down, it is a problem now, was a problem back in the day and often something outside force has to motivate me to...
And after doing so and especially in Winter I feel "a burnout of writing" especially hard. As if it eats up all my creativity.
Not sure if this is dependent on my depression or just its own thing.

#PennedPossibilities 886

887
As a writer, what is your favorite sort of character to write?

Flawed ones, limited ones, flaws are an important Character trait for everyone and if we are being honest we all have them (I am chaos incarnate let me sit in a room for 20 minutes with nothing to do and you will see how "my zone" spreads), flaws make us us (no not the U.S. that is... Skip). Characters that borderline into Marry Sue territory but get heavily grounded with the almost equivalent number of flaws or other problems. Characters that have a friction in their behavior. That can be an Idol but only if you move the camera in a certain position, ducttaping certain areas with cut up trash bags in their background.
Characters with their own motivation and often quite opposite of parts of me or in a slightly idealistic way.
Alanis have an uncanny preference for female to nonbinary people excluding stereotypical males...
My chars often have Bud Spencer/Terence Hill/Jacky Chan like language.

#PennedPossibilities 887

Ketchup...
888
What is the worst injury or illness your MC has ever experienced?

Kira: Only surviving thanks to an AI that is now permanently merged with her definitely ranks in the top 5...

For Arkham it's not really an injury instead her skins reaction to certain yet undetermined things.

Ashlei is a spaceship AI nothing a human could easily understand.

#PennedPossibilities 888 ketchup #StarRyde #KiraKnox #Arkham #Ashlei #SciFi #WIP

889
New Year’s Eve Edition: If your MC had a resolution for the new year, what would it be?

A gogolplex pixels.

Seriously I don't do such dirty people shaming stuff and I don't say all of my characters would do like I do, but I'm saying I don't have the mental capacity for such ... Stuff...

#PennedPossibilities 889

First navigational devider toot 2026

Last Month toot is here:
https://nerdculture.de/@AnnaSaultron/115644595976949606

As always the prompts can be found on: @floofpaldi's profile. Thank you for all this work. 🙏🏽 💚

To the January als prompts I answer overview toot is here:
https://nerdculture.de/@AnnaSaultron/115819410973494660

The start of this mega thread is here:
https://nerdculture.de/@AnnaSaultron/110763385183712440

And the first prompts answer is here:
https://nerdculture.de/@AnnaSaultron/110723765145059262

and all what followed is here:
https://nerdculture.de/@AnnaSaultron/110763385183712440

#PennedPossibilities #January2026

890
New Year’s Day Edition: What would your SC have to say about the previous year? Was it good for them, or did they just survive it?

I think this goes to the whole crew and would be something like this.

"Ehm 2025... Ash what exactly happened in 2025? It's a weird question right? I mean it's almost 325 years ago... Was their something important on Terra, wait I mean back in the day Earth right?"

To be fair to them what do you think about the year 1.700? Without looking it up.

#PennedPossibilities 890 #StarRyde #GhozTarcCrew #SciFi #WIP

@AnnaSaultron
891
Who are the members of your MC’s immediate family?

Kira: Anika, J, Rose and Talisa later Arkham after Anika went M.I.A.(K.I.A.?) involuntarily Ashlei since being merged with an A.I. is complicated.

Arkham: Anika very loosely, Ashlei and later Kira and maybe the others too.

Ash: Arkham, Kira but basically the whole crew.

#PennedPossibilities 891 #StarRyde #KiraKnox #Arkham #Ashlei #GhozTarcCrew #SciFi #WIP

@AnnaSaultron
892
Your SC gets three wishes granted. What do they wish for?

Good question and I am unable to think of one right now, blame it to the inconvenience of Fedilab/Tusky not working as they do usually with my links and the setup of an instance with half the character limit.😅

#PennedPossibilities 892 #StarRyde

893
What is your MC’s full name? Do other characters know it?

1/2
Kira Joan Knox it's spoken Jo-Ann most assume it's something like Jown for some weird reason. Most people know about her second name but it's rarely used. Legends say it's added by the parents to have a verbal handle if Kira did something that they did not approve off. It's mostly used by others if they try to get through to her and they know it's not her favorite part of her name especially since J created Team Joanika after team Akira wasn't approved by Anika but she also didn't liked Joanika.

Abbisheek Paktii she hates it it's also written wrong in almost all documents she has as Abbishek Pakthi, Pahkti. Most people call her by her favorite name Arkham, very few people are allowed to call her Abbisheek or Abby/Aby Abbs/Abs.
The weirdest part for us today is that on double characters are often simply not spoken as such so one b, one e and ➡️

#PennedPossibilities 893 #StarRyde #KiraKnox #Arkham #Names #SciFi #WIP

893 2/2

⬅️ one I are basically silent. Which makes her most accurate spoken name A-bishek Pa-k-ti.

Ash or more Accurate Ashlei. If we want to be correct it's A.S.H.L.E.I.
It's a bit confusing because in her core Ash is an AI developed to support Humans/Terrans and as such created by an almost entirely Terran team & her names changed plenty of times,
Including ASSHHLEIGH, ASHHLEIGH, ASSHLEIH, ASSLI, ASSLEE and so on before the settled for ASHLAI and finally ASHLEI

Adaptive
Semantic
Heuristic
Logic
Assimilation
Intelligence

Which is the more 'accurate' description of what she actually does but the official became

Adaptive
Semantics
Heuristics
Logic
Emulating
Intelligence

People did NOT like the assimilation part, that said the name was decided by a group of people from which some where PR folks so it's not as accurate as one might hope it would & luckily the ASS got dropped.

Also see
https://nerdculture.de/@AnnaSaultron/113688923609665254

#PennedPossibilities 893 #StarRyde #Arkham #Ashlei #Names #SciFi #WIP