Elite roleplay: The galactic bar

INGABA (Inara Galactic Bar)

Welcome to the swankiest bar and most popular bar on station. Located in the Pilot's market and due to its close proximity to the docks is heavily frequented by pilots and all manner of crew, tourists, and layover passengers. Dark, smokey and trimmed in neon lights and bits of tinsel, InGaBa plays only the best music straight from Radio Sidewinder and local DJ star, Janten Groove.

There are various tabled and seated cubby holes that patrons can hold private conversations as well the main bar top where all assortments of drinks and bar food can be ordered up. On the back of the bar on various shelves, from all over the galaxy, the fines and rarest ales preside. next to the impressive collection are several screens that can usually be seen playing adverts or the CQC championships.

It is the most prominent choice for meeting up with other pilots to discuss business discreetly, whatever they may be...

Notice booking the InGaBa for private functions require a deposit of 250,000 CR to cover potential damages.

InGaBa drinks menu:
  • Cubeo Gold - Mid Whiskey
  • Achenar Blue - Upscale Whiskey
  • Kamadhenu Red - Red wine
  • Old Sol - Scotch
  • Barnard's Choice - Gin
  • Crown Jewel - Cocktail
  • Pegasi moon - Pirate Surprise!
  • Supernova - Cocktail
  • Barron's Head - Beer
  • Lavian Brandy
  • Alioth Sparkling - Sparkling Wine
  • Jaques' Quinentian Still - Gifted by a mysterious benefactor, two of these rare devices now distill single shots of whiskey from whatever is on hand for the patrons of Ingaba.


General Roleplay Etiquette:

1. Control only the actions of your own character(s). (AKA: God Mode)
This doesn't matter how small the action is, even if it is as simple as scratching their nose or a direct reaction to something else that just happened. This applies to everything from casual conversation to full blown fight scenes. If you'd like someone to do something specific, PM that person, however keep in mind they are completely within their rights to say no. Especially if said action is inappropriate to their character and/or circumstance.

2. Don't brute force your way into another persons RP.
Approaching with a conversation starter is fine, or indeed some other small action. However charging in, guns blazing and disrupting the flow of another person/pair/groups conversation/arc is about as rude as doing so in real life. If something is going on that you'd like to participate in, be subtle about it. Put out a gentle hook for someone to take, but again, be aware that said hook may not be taken. If you fear it was simply unnoticed, PM the person or people it concerns. Or even leave a message in the OOC forums.

3. Good grammar and spelling is preferred.
We're not asking you to be perfect, but please at least demonstrate willingness. no1 iz gna tak u srsly usng txt spk. There's a wide variety of people here, many who speak English as a second, or even third language. There are even some with varying degrees of dyslexia and/or likely other issues that affect spelling/grammar. We accept them all here. However, people who aren't accepted, are those unwilling to accept polite correction. Remember that even a small thing like the placement of a comma, or the wrong use of there/their/they're can completely change the definition of an entire sentence.

4. Accept constructive criticism gracefully and politely.
If someone spots an issue with your writings, they may wish to help you improve that writing. They may do this through PM or even publicly air their thoughts on the OOC forum. If they have taken the time to be polite and explain what is wrong with your writing, the best way to behave is to respond in kind, using the same manner they have approached you with. It means they have taken an active interest in what you have written and wish to see more. Basically, you have a fan!

5. Don't take the actions or opinions of things done IN RP, to be directly relevant to the writers thoughts or opinions.
Basically, if some ones character calls your character a jackass, it doesn't mean the writer thinks you are a jackass. It's a ROLE they are PLAYING. Watch a movie. The argument between the characters isn't an argument between the actors involved. The same applies here.

6. It's not a popularity contest.
Your RP might be bustling with participants. You have 3 people off station in a fire fight, while another 2 are infiltrating the darkest areas of the station, meanwhile a group of 4 others are tracking your movements in an effort to stop you. Good for you, I'm sure it will be a thrilling read! But you know what? Sometimes the absolute BEST work, comes from two RP characters having a simple heart to heart. Both are valid, both are great, but NEITHER is categorically better than the other. Period.


Inara RP Etiquette:

1. Respect the setting and rules of the universe.
Inara is an Elite: Dangerous 3rd Party Tool. The RP Forums are set in the Elite: Dangerous universe. Elite: Dangerous has rules, as any fictional universe does from Lord of the Rings to Star Wars, or Game of Thrones to Star Trek. If you intend to RP within the Elite: Dangerous universe you are bound by the history and rules of that universe. Simply put, this RP forum is bound by the same rules as the game, so if it can't be done in the game, it is not permitted here. This applies to things from a 50Ly Jump Range on a normal, unmodified Sidewinder, to the destruction of entire stations.

2. Respect the characters created by others.
We have a wide variety of characters already here. It's expected that some will be similar, just as it's expected that two characters will be vastly different. Opinions of each persons character will naturally be varied, but all are valid provided they follow the rules of the universe. You are allowed to interact with, or avoid interaction with, any character in the RP forums. But you have no right to belittle others for their creation. You are not an authority figure on writing, nor are you directly affected by another persons imagination. You might not like it, but you MUST respect it.

3. Be caught up on current events before joining in.
You need basic things like character descriptions in order to interact with them. You also need to know what's going on in the surrounding areas. This is simply because the people you are hoping to RP with, might be gearing up to something that you might not want to be part of. Or simply that the most recent post, out of context, could leave a different impression on the goings on than if you gather that context. We don't expect you to read every single post from the beginning of the forums, just enough to get that basic understanding.

4. Either subscribe to, or frequently check, the Roleplay: Q&A and OOC forum.
People may be discussing something relevant to you there, or even discussing you directly. Perhaps someone asked what the general consensus on the existence or non-existence of a certain object. Or we're just chatting about random gibberish. Either way, be aware of it and use it. If you're unsure about something, such as how guns would look and or behave, or even the music selection, use the OOC forum to ask. We don't have all of the answers, but the collective knowledge and logic usually allows us to overcome an issue and come to a decision on what should be allowed. Frontier Developments, and even David Braben himself, don't have the answers to every possible question that can be asked.

5. Large Scale events exploding out of nowhere are a complete no go.
We get it. Everyone wants their character to be noticed and for people to be tripping over themselves to interact with them. In some audiences, an introduction involving you blasting in for landing in a fiery wreckage of a ship, before cart wheeling out and sword fighting 35 Ninjas before whisking off with the local celebrity for a glorious night of passion, is in fact, cool. This is not one of those audiences. It is generally considered better to build your character up slowly over time. Eventually, you might even have a legitimate excuse to fight those Ninjas. Maybe even with other RP participants by your side.

6. Perfect characters are boring.
The point of a character arc, is that it is in fact, an arc shape. One who is morally unquestionable, fully kitted out and an infinite fountain of knowledge, cannot go through an arc. Give your character flaws. Be it a tendency towards befriending the wrong people, or a bad knee that frequently gives out at inopportune moments. It gives readers something to latch onto and empathise with. You can give your character exceptional capabilities at something, but it requires balance. She's a damn good pilot with no equal, but can't drive an SRV for peanuts. It can lead to some very interesting moments between characters, be it heartfelt or comedic.


Other Notes:
It should be noted that there can be exceptions to these points. For example, good grammar when a character is speaking is actually rare. Few people in real life actually speak with perfect eloquence after all. Or previously arranged actions during a fight scene, such as someone stumbling back after a punch. What's key to remember is context.

All in all, remember this is purely for fun. We have some seriously talented writers here, and others whose writing history starts and ends at high school. But many are willing to help out in whatever way they can. All it takes is that you ask nicely.

Also keep in mind that many people who RP here, also have logbook stories related to the character, or characters, they portray. If it looks like there's an "in joke" going on that you're unsure of, it's probably in those.

In fact, some users have even gone to the trouble of creating "alts" to RP with. If you read back far enough, it's usually pretty clear who has and hasn't, and which ones are the "alts". It's therefore not unheard of to see the apparent seizing of control of other characters. If you do spot one, point it out in the OOC section. If intervention is needed, it will be sorted quickly and (hopefully) politely.

Most, if not all RP participants here have Logbook stories pertaining to their character(s). These are for the reading pleasure of anyone who wishes to do so. While it can be useful to read them in order to gain a bit of backstory on a character you wish to interact with, it should not be assumed that your character shares that knowledge. Within the E:D Universe, these Logbooks either don't exist, or are private diaries kept by the characters. Either way, without explicit statements to say otherwise from the writer, your interactions should reflect that your character is in the dark about any information you, the writer/reader, have gained from reading the stories.
03 Jun 2023, 4:31pm
'I've got a krait phantom docked. I'd rather not obtain a bounty for kidnapping.'

Chuckling I lead Kira to Momento Mori in the docks.
03 Jun 2023, 8:43pm
Everyone was feeling it, the pressure of the workload, and nothing made Willow special, but knowing the facts didn't change the way she was feeling. Ridge lived for work it seemed, Mark had to work or he'd be placed somewhere else by the people that owned his slave contract, and as for Ephrain, he appeared to be enjoying a social experiment no one else knew they were taking part in.

It would be so easy to get in a transport and just flyaway, but she had already done that after the thing with Descartes, and she didn't want to become the type of person that quit when things got on top. So maybe a little too much to drink would do the trick just this once.

The bar was just about empty, and Willow didn't recognize any of the staff. The white haired woman with the beautiful shining eyes wasn't there; Willow would be honored to do the work for that woman's forever-face. Someone that looked like her deserved the best care after the soul moved on. Thinking of pretty people, Willow thought of the tall blond guy that usually sat at the piano. He wasn't here either unfortunately. Unfortunately, as if she would have the courage to do more than glance at the guy when he wasn't looking any way.

Whatever, thought Willow and she ordered her usual red, a bottle this time.
03 Jun 2023, 11:05pm
I pulled my hood back up as we left the ship, knowing that I’d want to wear it, and followed Silvia to the bar.

“I won’t speak about any of your secrets so long as you keep mine.”, I told her as we walked. “Not a fan of dresses myself, but it does look good on you.”

I made sure not to accidentally stumble over the little fox-like creature as it slipped around between us, finding it to be rather playful. I stopped thinking about it when I noticed Willow sitting at the bar, with an entire bottle of red wine. Something seemed to be on her mind, but I wasn’t sure I wanted to approach her again just yet.

“Excuse me, need to go to the bathroom real quick. I’ll be right back.”, I told Silvia, and quickly headed off, hoping that the black suit and hood would throw off any sense of similarity from Willow, when not observed directly.
03 Jun 2023, 11:20pm
'Oh why thank you. Dresses are fun and freeing.' I made a lock type motion with my hands and mouth. 'My lips are sealed.'

As we enter and Kira leaves rather quickly I give a wave goodbye. Melli runs too close to my feet tripping me. I fall flat on my stomach and let out a small grunt.

'*oof* Melli. Stay away from my feet.'

I pick myself up and brush off the dust as the little fox like creature chitters.

I look around not recognizing anyone in the bar. I notice Willow sitting alone at the bar a bottle of red wine sitting in front of her. There is a flash of a memory. It is hazy but shows me falling off a stool at some point and the woman's face appears. I shake away the memory and approach cautiously.
03 Jun 2023, 11:29pm
I entered the famous strange bar once again, now feeling, finally, totally fine and even with a bit of uplifted mood. Though, it's the same old me, dressed in a fresh light-grey standard AXDF uniform that feels like a second skin now. Maybe just a little, uh, heavier after several months of rest and recovery, which included proper food instead of military MREs and synth chow. And with shiny new Flight Leader patches on my chest and arm.

Being a bit ahead of schedule with my assignment, I decided to detour a little and take a look at what might be happening in that weird place. What might be happening? Oh, I saw a slim small woman with a formidably-looking bottle of wine on the table next to her, and some pieces of memory led me to a thought that maybe I've seen her before briefly. And a usual random bunch of people doing usual random bar things.

Ordering my favourite giant mug of coffee and a few vanilla cigarettes, I took all that to the table that seemed unoccupied whilst being somewhat reasonably close to the bar stand itself. A little more of that 'observing the humanity in its pure form' thing surely couldn't hurt.
04 Jun 2023, 12:05am
Being intrigued by the arrival of a new guest the little fox like creature runs over to the woman chattering excitedly. I turn to look at the commotion and decide to let Melli do as she pleases just this once.

'Don't get yourself hurt little one.'

I swallow hard before gently tapping Willow on the shoulder. The vague memory of her still burned into my mind.

'Excuse me..... why are you..... have I..... do you..... *sigh* damn it Silv get it together...... Hi I'm Silvia and your in my head.........'

I try to form a normal sentence but what comes out just makes me look like a fool. I turn a bright shade of pink from embarrassment.
04 Jun 2023, 12:07am
Speak of the devil, Willow said to herself as the sound of someone making it to the floor in the half-gravity caught her ears.

"Oh like, hi. Are you, um, like do you have a hard time in low gee or something. Coz yeah, you sure do end up on the deck plenty"

A little fuzz-bomb with a dog-like face distracted Willow the moment she saw it.

"Ooh hey sweetie. Who's a cutie-pie?" squeaked Willow at Silvia's pet

"That's like, soo sweet, I'm getting cavities just looking at him. Is he one of those . .Like, exel-pet, totally not an AI, things"
04 Jun 2023, 12:21am
Pink still flushing my cheeks I take a deep breath as Willow acknowledges my existence.

'Uhm I really don't want to be rude but who exactly are you? Like your face is in my head but....'

My expression turns to confusion as I try to recall the woman's name. If I can remember her face surely her name is not too far off. Melli turns to look at Willow and tilts its head as it chatters away. After a brief burst of noise she goes quiet and bolts up my side and onto my shoulder. Melli tilts her head and stares deep into Willows eye seemingly analyzing her expression and demeanor. She left out a small chip sound and jumps across to Willow and wraps herself around her neck gently.

'No Melli is.... *I pause before saying anything more and think about what Willow said.* Yes she is one of the Excel-pets. Keeps me company and sane. She is needed after my...... accident...'
04 Jun 2023, 12:22am
I returned from the ‘bathroom visit’ after a few minutes, and had waited another few to figure out whether Willow had caught on to Silvia - and her tripping over the little fox creature - to return to the scene.

Rather than joining in, I chose to wait it out in a corner, just within sight, for if I was given a sign to join in - not that I expected Willow to recognize me without looking closely. I made sure that the hood fit solidly, and noted the presence of another woman with a decorated uniform as I sat down to observe.
04 Jun 2023, 12:25am
That strange creature that looked like a fox, but the size of a cat, attracted my attention. Yeah, one day I thought about opening my own cattery and it's still a good retirement option, even if I have to do it to preserve the species after the Thargoids win. And, well, now I'm doing my best not to let them have that victory.

Anyway, I've never seen that species before. Gazing at the creature running around that gothic-looking woman's table, I smile a bit; looks like this fluffy thing is a pet of that totally contrasty woman with a white hair, and those two have a friendly meeting with a wine bottle and a fox. Ah, whatever. I make a sip of coffee and light a cigarette.

Still hoping nobody's going to start another firefight.
04 Jun 2023, 1:25am
The woman on the table by herself was making me curious, as she was clearly also observing Willow and Silvia, but didn’t quite seem like a regular or ordinary visitor either.

I felt like approaching for a chat, but the impression that I received was that she had no real intentions of getting involved in anything for now, so I decided to stay where I was, and keep observing for signs toward me.
04 Jun 2023, 8:50am
What was quickly becoming the usual crowd was in today. It must be shift-change day, because the few maintenance crew that still came to The Galactic were not the faces he saw yesterday. Poor buggers only got one day off a week, so they didn't tend to change habits easy.

Silvia was in, but not behind the bar. Instead, she was talking to the nervous little woman that put Creamy in mind of a friends' niece visiting on her school holidays. An adorable little fox thing was absorbing their attention completely, so Creamy didn't bother waving to Silvia, or complimenting her choice of dress today.

It took a moment for Creamy to be sure, but he could identify an attractive woman by her elbow if he'd seen it before. Kiras' silhouette was a shape Creamy enjoyed, so a hood had no chance of disguising her from his eye for the ladies. Besides, she was in her preferred observing spot. He wondered if she'd smoothed things over with Willow; it could get interesting in here if she hadn't.

There was the reason Creamy came up to the bar today, in Military fatigues naturally, smoking and drinking coffee. He was glad he wasn't on kissing terms with Mrs Muir. For his sensitive pallet, he may as well drop the dregs of her cup into an ashtray and lick it.

"Mrs Muir" said Creamy leaning on her table is his best 'check it out baby' pose. "Don't tell me, you can't resist any longer, and you've come to see if it isn't too late for us"

He sat down opposite Meowers the same way a cat slinks into the best chair in the house.

"It's alright, I understand, and we'll take it easy" he said in a soothing tone. "So, would you like to eat first, or shall I get into my superman costume right now? he asked with a broad playful grin, and a waggle of his carefully sculpted eyebrows.


Last edit: 04 Jun 2023, 8:58am
04 Jun 2023, 9:21am
"Ow", surprised a bit, I put my almost empty mug aside and finished what was left of the cig. It was nice to see a familiar face anyway, even if all three, of three, latest encounters ended up with things getting messy, and his unexpected appearance today blocked the view of that funny little cat-fox-whatever-thing.

"Steak. More meat, less liquid. And another gargantuan cappuccino", I said, trying to sound like a parody on a picky guest that will no doubt start a scandal for delaying her order by a minute, or a chunk of meat being three grammes less than it was stated in the menu. With all those rolling eyes and intricate movements of my fingers in the air. Perhaps, too much grotesque. "Then you may put whatever kinky suit you want, since it will certainly be too late when you finish changing."

Waiting for a second, like a dramatical pause, I switched to my more usual and friendly tone. "Well, hello there! You are here... Again. Do you still work, like, drinks'n'piano man? Or, kind of, searching for your place under the stars?"
04 Jun 2023, 9:58am
"Oh, so you're just going to use me for the menu, then break my heart again. I'll survive somehow. Yes good to see you too Mrs Muir, or is that rear Admiral Muir now?" Asked Creamy ripping off a perfect Imperial salute, with the wrong hand after checking out the patches on her fatigues.

"I'm still on the books here, but I sort of got myself into produce supply, so I'm busy hopping between here and agricultural systems. You see, the management were trying to pull a fast one on the independent contractors, causing resentment against the slave workforce because they are protected by their own management company. .. Any way, it was a whole thing, and I lumbered my self with a ton of work for tying to help out"

He shrugged with a lost look on his big friendly face.

"You know me, can't do right for doing wrong. Anyway, look at you! If you're here, I take it the galaxy is safe and we can get back to fighting amongst our selves again"

"How have you been Mrs Muir? I can't imagine what you the Marshmallow must have been through" asked Creamy all joking aside.


Last edit: 04 Jun 2023, 10:23am
04 Jun 2023, 10:45am
I rolled my eyes subtly after watching Creamy stroll in, primarily at the act between him and the woman in the military uniform.

As he was evidently observant enough to figure I was the figure in the black suit hiding in the background, I provided a simple gesture to indicate that a catfight between me and Willow would be the least of his worries if he spilled my identity - though not without a hint of slight amusement to it all.

Then I resumed my observation of general on-goings, primarily keeping a closer eye on Silvia and Willow’s interactions.

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ROLEPLAY ONLY! Respect the universe settings!
If you are new here, please try to at least partially involve in the ongoing stories and conversations instead of establishing a completely different "arc". You can always turn it to a different story later.