EpentheticSchwa

*shakes fist at profanity filter*

Kaia Kealoha Kaia isolated herself within the confines of the menu until she felt and then immediately heard someone sort of looming over her shoulder. Before she even really registers anything about the person behind her, she instinctively moves away a smidge, but once the words catch up, she rotates and holds up the menu to give Aike a look as well. "Uh...yeah, looks like. Doesn't say if they're fresh or canned, though." With her attention up away from the menu for a moment, she spares a glance toward Vic, who looks rather out of place to her eyes. But then, so does Aike. Kaia puts on a personable smile at Aike and asks, "Your first time here, too, huh? They doing some kind of deal? Seems real popular just now. Guess you don't get too much good to eat in a place like this." Kaia returns her attention, ostensibly, to the menu, "The f***'s an Italian mushroom? No way they're importing mushrooms for pizza. They've got a LOT of shit, though. Pickles and barbecue pork? Yes, please!" She switches to a grumble, then, which promptly grows into a full-throated complaint, even though she's barely given Aike a chance to speak at this point, "Least this place has something going for it. You know--You know, my friend told me this place was basically like Virginia Beach. Asshole. It's Virginia and there's a beach, technically, but c'mon. Place is bullshit." Thinking a bit belatedly that it's a conversation and not just an opportunity for her to complain to somebody, she throws out: "What brings you around? You don't look like a local, no offense."

Glad to see a bump! I’m just waiting on Maddie before going.

Need to learn some formatting tricks! Even leaning on clone as a crutch, I can't get my character image to show up on the right like you all. Teach me your secretss!

Kaia Kealoha Kaia had been in front of the Pie for a few minutes before entering, making time for one last cigarette before dinner. She'd walked the whole way, nearly two miles, from the one hotel in town (the Deltaville Dockside Inn). The friend who had brought her to town had already moved on their way and the other that was meant to pick her up wouldn't be in for another couple of days. Even these minorly tough circumstances hadn't convinced Kaia to put a great deal of effort into anything, though. She'd walked those two miles in flip-flops, black-and-white checkered pajama bottoms, and a Stanford t-shirt she'd permanently borrowed from someone ages ago. Despite the utter lack of effort in dressing herself, she had at least bothered with makeup, albeit a fairly minimal routine, and her hair was just so, even if the style was intentionally messy. Even her least degree of caring included at least that much. On the way over she'd dealt with an annoying amount of mosquitos, a random dog that somebody hadn't bothered to keep leashed, and a lot of people who weren't used to pedestrians. So by the time she made her way into the Pie, she was visibly annoyed, though the effect had been blunted somewhat by her third cigarette of the walk. Stupid town. Stupid Xavier. Things would be a lot simpler if he'd just stayed a couple more days. Now I've got to walk my ass all this way just for a halfway decent meal. Don't know what these hayseeds eat most of the time, but this place is no dining destination. Couldn't even get a damn Uber Eats driver. Oh hey, that's that guy. Kaia skipped the line to grab a takeout menu, then moved back to stand in line and plan her takeout order while she was waiting. She angled herself and held the menu in ways to avoid eye contact with...well, most anybody. But particularly London, who she had met at least once before. When her ears picked up talk of a police response, her eyes went to the TV for a minute or so, but it was just some silly teenage stunt. Whatever. It's pepperoni time.

Oh, I think I'm good to go. I suppose I don't know how to mark it ready!

Man, I'm apparently on the same page as other folks. When I first went to post my character concept, I had the exact same stat layout as somebody and went "ehh, let me fiddle a bit." I came *this* close to flopping to an acrobat or acrobat-adjacent concept.

Oop, you're right. Didn't even occur to me that Notice would be Smarts for some reason, even though there's absolutely nothing that makes more sense for it!

Good looking out. Updated! Bumped up persuasion, notice, and Common Knowledge.

Thief She's been around the block and come up short enough times that she's been known to resort to helping out with some unsavory activities to make ends meet. Turns out, she's pretty decent at it. Whether she'll be eager to admit that is another question entirely. Work the Room Part of constantly being attached to someone else and depending on them for a great deal is learning to back them up. Coming in with the right few words to solidify what somebody's trying to say or to nip a negative response in the bud is second nature to her. Just a little manipulation around the edges to keep things cool. Nicotine Habit For now, it's cigarettes and vapes. She's not unfamiliar with the broader array of options, this is just the one that's stuck with her from a young age. As things get worse, there's every possibility this does as well. Impulsive She's been trained on a diet of uncertainty and desperate self-interest. When she sees an opportunity, everything in her says "go." If her second guess catches up a few seconds too late, that's just something she has to deal with. It's not that she's eager to grab at half-baked ideas, just that the chance might not be there by the time she thinks it out, so whatever, let's go. Outsider She's not from here, she doesn't particularly like it here, and she's much prefer to be at home for all this. It doesn't take a discerning ear to hear her accent's not from around here, nevermind the vocal fry laid on painfully thick. In the right stressful moment, a disparaging comment about the locals might even slip out.

BACKGROUND Kaia Kealoha is the sunnier and allegedly more showbiz-friendly name chosen most recently by the former possessor of a string of aliases, each aimed in part at stardom and in part at making embarrassing public records harder to google. She was born Frederica Lofton and largely called Ricki growing up, her relatively bog-standard and pleasant upbringing has little to do with where she's ended up. The only thing that's important these days is that she left Washington for SoCal and never went back, no matter how rough things got. Her life up to this point has been that of the would-be star who never quite makes it and keeps grasping at straws and, more importantly, people who she think can help her make it. She's been perpetually attached to someone, usually a boyfriend, sometimes a friend who has been abruptly elevated to BFF status because of some perceived potential avenue to a happy life. Each time she's jumped from one life raft to another, she's arrived with a new vice, a more desperate financial situation, less friends, and, if she's lucky, maybe a lesson learned. At this point, she's burnt more bridges in the name of self-preservation than most people have made at 21. It's impossible to mail her anything because the chances of her spending more than a couple of months in one place are close to nil. If you ask her what she's been up to since setting out, she'd say some version of "oh this and that" or "various unannounced projects, you'll see," but she's never so much as made a dent in showbiz. She's tried singing, she's tried acting, and neither of them worked immediately and paid bills. As such, she's also tried last-ditch effort at turning her last week of groceries into a last month's rent at the blackjack table, she's shoplifted more than she's actually purchased, and she's found herself wrapped up in a number of small crimes with promises that it would be fine and it would all work out. And it has...insofar as she's still alive and kicking, but if things continue the way they have, the brakes are going to wear off quick. It's a small miracle that the worst thing she's addicted to so far is cigarettes. Description Kaia's still living in the era of cocaine chic--she's "fit" in the "you're gonna see some ribs and maybe get a gig doing a commercial" sort of way, not in any practically useful way. She's a smidge over average height, thin as a rail, and deeply tanned from some combination of biology and a great deal of time in the sun. Her dark brown hair's cut short and left designedly messy, her eyes are also dark brown and generally rather puffy from too little sleep and too many substances. She's usually got her makeup done so as to draw attention to the eyes, which just makes the puffiness more noticeable. As she's in town on vacation on someone else's dime, she's dressed with zero cares. Baggy maroon sweat pants affixed by sheer merit of the drawstring, a white t-shirt she's grabbed more or less at random, and blue flip-flops. Below-zero effort.

Kaia Kealoha Aspirational Dirtbag Agility d8 Smarts d6 Spirit d8 Strength d4 Vigor d6 SKILLS Athletics Boating Common Knowledge Driving Gambling Notice Performance Persuasion Shooting Stealth Thievery d6 d4 d6 d4 d4 d6 d4 d8 d6 d8 d6 Pace Parry Toughness 6 2 5 LANGUAGES English (Native) d8 HINDRANCES Habit (Minor) - Nicotine Impulsive (Major) Outsider (Minor) - Some west-coast tourist riff-raff. EDGES Thief Work the Room GEAR Casual clothing, cellular phone, flask (ceramic), lighter (x2), pack of cigarettes, stun gun. Armor: Well-moisturized flesh. Weapons: Stun gun? Cash: $340 Advances: None