Character Outpost

Vince looked back at them. "In 2010, my sons were in college. As of now, 2038, I'm a grandfather. So... I guess you're both lost."

edited 5th Mar '11 10:20:22 PM by CrystalGlacia

(OOC: Was making a correction. Correction since made.)

edited 5th Mar '11 10:36:39 PM by KillerClowns

(OOC: Oh. Sorry.)

Ianto looked up, fingers folded at his chest, grinning sardonically. His countenance then had more the air of a half-frightened cat bearing over a dead bird than anything human.

"I think it's safe to say, ladies and gentlemen, that we're all lost. As to why, we must ask ourselves: What could lead us to this point, to this time, whatever it is? Or, rather, what would bring us? What do we remember of what we were last doing before any of this nonsense started? Anything of note? Anyone?"

He felt defeated already, but the off-chance seemed too great...

Gant shrugs. "Personally, I could not care less, but since the rest of you want something more, we ought to begin at the basic level. Clearly, this world is a functional and logical one, and there are things to fight, an everlasting bonus. Here is my suggestion: we find the most powerful thing around here, thoroughly tenderize it, and take whatever information we need to obtain passage back to wherever we need to go, if it has any. If not, I can put it down like a rabid dog, and we move on to the second-strongest one. Is that a functional plan?"

He looks at the disgusted expressions of most of the others. "Oh yes. I sometimes am carried away and forget how fettered by "ethics" you common humans are. Well, it is not my inclination to force my plans on others, but we can maintain it as a backup."

edited 5th Mar '11 11:31:36 PM by Morgulion

Ianto mulled over Gant's proposition. Fleetingly, he imagined himself bearing down on some great prostrate brute, one hand clenched tightly about the man's throat while the other held a bloody stone. Startled, he vanquished this image and chose to focus on the topic at hand.

"To be fair," he stated. "There are generally easier ways of obtaining information than violence. And anyway, I think it's best to at least establish a date before we go about slitting throats." He turned to Alice. "Miss Snow, as far as I can tell, you are the only person here of their own volition who has had any recent contact with the outside world. Pray tell... What year is it right now?"

(OOC: So can you just join at anytime?)

(OOC: I've no problem, but wait on it until a few others agree as well. But if you get the nods of approval, drop in near Group B — at the hut with Isaac, Clare, Aulde, Damien, Aleister, and Kibest — as you'll not interrupt anything.)

Alice said, "the year, as last I checked, was 2015. Though out here, I'm not entirely certain the date matters. We could have arrive in the 16th century, and the only differences would have been that this village would have had different architecture, its inhabitants would have spoken Mayan, the handful of generators, cell phones, and modern medicines would not be present, and our enemies would be significantly less well equipped."

Then Alice looked at Gant and said, "I'm not worried about 'ethics', Gant, but my continued existence. Given that I am quite mortal, I've learned to choose my plans wisely, and following plans like yours is an excellent way to end up tangling with something truly nasty. I know there is at least one unspeakable horror from beyond the stars, that snuffed out a galaxies-spanning civilization like a candle when they inadvertently released it from its bonds and allowed it — briefly, thank goodness — to release its full power upon the universe. Given the bizarreness of the past hours, there is also a significant risk of encountering ancient Mayan gods, ancient Aztec gods, ancient gods of a civilization forgotten by time, Fae queens, invulnerable supermen, omnipotent tricksters, and fuck knows what else. Whatever brought us here, it has power, and if we attack it so blatantly, there's a good chance it will simply dismantle us down to our constituent atoms, separate our souls from our bodies, or teleport us into a black hole. If anyone here could survive all three of the above, please, raise their hands! If not, then we should tread carefully, and choose our prey with discretion, only attacking when we truly know what it is we hunt. Fight smarter, not harder."

Aulde suddenly noticed Aleister's unconscious body, and wondered how the newcomer hadn't. He said, "oh, my, you had a lot to drink, didn't you?" To Kibest, he then said, "he'll have some strange memories when he comes to, best to ignore them." With that, Aulde lifted Aleister's body, showing surprising strength, and carried him into the hut. He laid Aleister, chest down, on a rug. He made a brief show of checking Aleister's condition then said, "he'll keep 'til morning. Poor fellow. Got to be careful with the drinking, y'know?" Aulde wove an illusion around Aleister, ensuring he smelled of the alcohol he had supposedly had too much of, and then said, "now, where was I? Ah, yes. Care to see what the cards have to say about your future?"

edited 6th Mar '11 11:06:53 AM by KillerClowns

(OOC: A new character? I don't care. It's not really an RPG...)

"I can survive in deep space, but that's probably rather insignificant compared to the things that an evil cosmic horror can do." He turned back towards the quiet village. "Guess I'm going in first."

He morphed his pairs of tentacles into the hand-esque structures seen much earlier, then dissolved his three horns into his head in favor of the two smaller ones on the side, more like Deoxys' Normal Forme◊. He descended to the ground and began to try and walk through the village, in an attempt to look a little less alien, though his pointy legs weren't really designed to do that.

If anything, he looked even creepier.

edited 7th Mar '11 1:00:59 PM by CrystalGlacia

"Takin' fer granted that we actually have such a thang as a soul for a moment, which I don' b'lieve, no to all three'a those." John said. "Ant? Maria? Neither'a you? Right." He checked his gun again, frowning as he remembered he just did so. "Jus' tell me who t' shoot when th' time's there and they'll be whistlin' out of a new hole in th'r skull."

"And then, of course, you'll-"

"Take a big, steamin', greasy shit on th'r corpse, right, Ant."

Anthony grinned a bit at their usual exchange, their own personal little meme. Maria, meanwhile, just casually pulled a shotgun from a sling on her back, hidden almost completely by her particularly long hair.

"You two hold off with the shootin' and shittin' until they say the word." she instructed casually, reaching into a belt pouch and popping two shells into the chambers. "Wouldn't want to dishonour the corpse of anyone doesn't deserve it."

"Who does 'n doesn't deserve it's been kindy shady t' me all m' life." John muttered. "R'member th' mayor'a Tuskeppy? Fink he deserved it."

"We're not getting into that discussion again. Eyes forward."

"Right, but- hold on a minute. You're all from different years? Some of you more than a hundred years into the future?" Anthony asked querulously. "Those holes - John, what did Leaping Buck call them?"

"Dark pathways."

"The dark pathways - they never took us across time before. Just space, small stretches of it. Ten miles, at most."

"So? Fuck do we know 'bout those things, Ant? Not a lot."

"Well - it's just - damn it, John, we don't even know what year we're in! You're not worried?!"

"Ant, we've already seen that one constant'a life - death - c'n go pretty damn wonky when magic's involved. Don' worry too much."

"But..." Ant splayed his hands, worry evident in his blue eyes. "My family..."

John stepped forward, wrapping an arm around the other man and pulling him close. "C'mon. We've seen worse'n bein' displaced in time by a few decades. We'll be awright."

Anthony sighed, hugging John in a rather less manly fashion. "Yes...yes, I suppose we have. And we will. Thanks."

Maria broke up the oddly long hug with a cough and a rap of her knuckles on the shotgun's twin barrels.

((OOC: Can you tell there's a bit of Ho Yay in this story? ;D Poor Ant. Loves John so much. Too shy to say it, and John's pretty much straight, anyway.))

edited 6th Mar '11 3:15:31 PM by MisterAlways

Kibest followed Aulde into the hut. He was slightly surprised that he hadn't noticed the sleeping man before; he supposed he must have overlooked him through tiredness, which wasn't difficult in the dark, but he ought to have been able to detect the strong smell of alcohol which hovered around the sleeper.

Kibest looked around the interior of the hut, taking in the table, the cans, the digital timepiece which he eyed with distaste and the paintings on the walls, which depicted strange, mythic scenes which Kibest didn't recognise.

Kibest didn't believe that cards could tell the future, but he saw no harm in accepting Aulde's offer, having already accepted his hospitality. "Sure, why not?" he said. "What do the cards say?"

Aulde grinned, and said, "alright, then. Let's see if we can't make a believer out of you." He arranged five cards in a star pattern, face-down, in front of Kibest. "Now, the first, is what you can see..." with a wave of Aulde's hand, the lower-left card flipped itself over, revealing a Six of Swords. "Ah, yes. A journey awaits you... but of course, you already knew that? 'Tis what you can see, is it not? Now, as to what you cannot see..." another card, the lower right, flipped, showing the Wheel of Fortune. "Ah, opportunities await! This must seem like a random happenstance, but I assure you, the cards say, you may just find the opportunities of a lifetime await you. Mark my words, there's a reason you're here, and if you aren't afraid of a wee bit of risk, well, who knows what awaits?"

The top left card revealed itself: Judgment. "What can change. Judgment is awaiting, judgment for your sins. I mean, we all got sins, don't we? But the Judgment, it doesn't care; maybe you've been a good man all your life, it'll still torment you for your most minor failings. Maybe you had to do it, protect your loved ones, defend your nation, but Judgment will still make you feel pain. You could accept the awaiting pain... but you don't have to. Perhaps an act of great goodness... or a wise deal... will get you out of this situation. Now, let's see what cannot change..." the top right card revealed the Hermit. "Ah, yes. No surprises here. You were brought to this place to discover things... but 'tis a journey you cannot take with your kin. You are a stranger in this land, surrounded by strangers, brought here by fate to discover the truths about the universe... and perhaps yourself. You can struggle against it, but to no avail. Or you can accept, your return will occur when it is due, and not a moment before."

Finally, he motioned to the top card. "What you can expect... the future is told in this humble card. Behold..." the card flipped over, "...oh, my, this must look a grin card indeed. Death." The Death card was unusual, as Aulde actually had two versions of the illusion available. The first was the traditional grim reaper lording over the fallen, but he had used the second: a beautiful woman in mourning clothes, looking over a grave from which a single white rose grew, with a phoenix flying above. He found this version was good when he wanted to avoid scaring his marks too much. "But as you can see, death is not the end — well, not necessarily. You will undergo a change... the old you will die, but a new one shall rise from the ashes. You shall be reborn, mark my words. This is your future... death, and rebirth!"

With a wide smile, he motioned to the cards before him and said, "ah, yes, the spread, it is all clear now! You are a stranger in this land, brought here upon a journey of discovery. You cannot return home, at least not yet. Your time will come, though. Opportunity awaits you, but so does danger: judgment for your sins lurks in the shadow, but it is not an inescapable fate. You can accept your judgment and die in this wretched land, or embrace opportunities when they come, be reborn, and rise anew, greater than ever before!" He placed the cards in his hand, smiling, and said, "I'm sure you'll know the opportunity when you see it. You seem a smart lad."

Then to the Sigil, he thought, alright, I've set the road. I'm gonna let you work on him next. I think we might have ourselves another fish to reel in.

edited 7th Mar '11 8:32:03 AM by KillerClowns

Kibest frowned, momentarily taken aback by this ominous statement. Then he grinned broadly.

It didn't take a psychic to figure out that Kibest wasn't from around here; his accent and clothes marked him as a foreigner. The "predictions" were all moralistic platitudes and spooky warnings which could have been said to anyone. The rest was all showmanship. Impressive trick, though. Aulde had a pretty convincing way of talking, and it was easy to allow yourself to become transfixed by the cards.

"Well," he said. "That sure was something."

He stood up, yawning, and turned around to face the couch. "Holy shit!"

Lying on the couch was the body of a girl, covered in blood. Her shoulder looked to have been cut open with a knife, and the wound was black.

Kibest spun around to face Aulde. "What happened here?" he demanded.

Vince strode through the empty Mexican village, noting its oddly organized appearance- it didn't look like it had been ransacked or invaded at all; the huts were clean and tidy with not a container out of place, as though the people just vanished one day for an unknown reason. A more probable explanation for a modern setting would've involved the owners going on vacation, but native peoples don't really go on vacations. Lord, shit like this was only supposed to happen in horror films, not real life.

He was half expecting to get shot in the head with something, maybe a native's blowdart or a bullet from an enemy sniper rifle, but still.

Or maybe, if anyone was out there, they were waiting for Vince to give the all-clear and the rest of the group to come into the open. Smart. He was ready just in case that was it, though, and took the time to scan the surrounding trees for any signs of sentience.

edited 9th Mar '11 5:31:15 AM by CrystalGlacia

Aulde turned his eyes downwards. "Her name was Genovefa, and she died before I arrived. We haven't had a chance to bury her; she was poisoned, by something vile. Something unseen by science. You can see its marks on her shoulder, though I advise you not touch it. One of our group is a scientist, and he dissected her after her death to find a cure for the poison. Once his research is complete, we will give her a proper burial. Until then, I fear all we can do is pray for her soul."

(OOC: If you would like to have somebody ambush the group that has just arrived at the apothecary, then now would be the time to do so. Otherwise, everyone will come on over.)

He could not detect anything odd out in the trees, thankfully. Vince waved the rest of the group over after finding that it was all clear, then waited to see who would go retrieve the antidote from the apothecary.

"I'm sorry," said Kibest, relaxing slightly. What had he been thinking? That this harmless old man was somehow responsible for the girl's death?

He couldn't put his finger on it, but something seemed off about Aulde. He hadn't noticed it before, but in that moment when he'd first noticed Genovefa lying there, he'd believed Aulde capable of anything.

He pushed these thoughts from his mind. They were absurd.

"So... this poison. Did the terrorists do that?"

Aulde simply nodded. "Aye," he said. "They are responsible. And a dear friend of mine, he's very angry that this young girl was taken from this world so early." Technically true. His eyes grew dark, and he said, "so, mark my words, when I find the bastard responsible..." he relaxed again, and said, "never mind, you're not here to hear an old man scheme vengeance, are you?" He sighed, and said, "still. I've got a few tricks I'd like to show those dogs." Black smoke briefly emanated from his palms, and he grinned. "I might as well confess, I'm more than a simple fortuneteller." His smile softened, and he added, "but don't worry. You seem a decent lad, and I look forward to working with you."

edited 10th Mar '11 8:34:25 AM by KillerClowns

((Slowing down a bit, it seems.))

(OOC: Perhaps a reboot is in order. This does tend to happen after a while, and we had a pretty good run. Anyone else in favor of starting a new thread?)

(In my opinion this thread suffered a little from too many characters/too much going on at once. I know I was having trouble figuring out what they were all doing.)

edited 14th Mar '11 5:41:07 AM by LoniJay

(OOC: That'll happen. To keep sane, I just put myself in the position of only receiving as much information as my character would — or, rather, just slightly more — and running with that. I don't think I've done too horribly with that... But in any case, it may be advisable to create a new "outpost," for the sake of reason.)

(OOC: We've put too much weight on our characters fighting mooks/other characters in these threads, treating it like it is roll-playing (i.e. Dragon Age or D&D) instead of real character development in the way of gathering relationships, friendship, complex love-hate feelings, etc. Fighting seems to happen with disturbing regularity and speed — this aspect had been present during the first two 'wonderful' threads (Bar and Nightclub, if you've been around the fora in Jan. and Apr. respectively), but only because in the Character Bar, the fighting was developed over an intense atmosphere of paranoia, suspicion and relationship, while in the Nightclub, a noodle incident seemed to provoke everyone else into uniting themselves and growing out of their limits.

I think, though, that trying to keep this from happening is going to be a futile struggle, unless we set that as a guideline at the beginning; it seems some of the aspiring writers here don't have characters that are designed for anything else. You've hardly considered any other aspect of their character, and you seem to have little, if any idea about how to plot a moment that isn't "Be attacked, retaliate, blow shit away."

I was attempting to avert this in a previous thread 'Snowflake of Characters' — named because I wanted to keep on the spirit of adventure, intrigue and growing relationship while dumping the tendency for combat. But that too also seemed to falter because we've also grown confused as to what's going on, and because we've lost the story's drive.

(OOC: Sure, go ahead. I may even switch characters. A reboot would be nice.

And, yeah. I don't exactly remember what we wanted to do.)

edited 14th Mar '11 8:02:12 AM by CrystalGlacia

(OOC: I suggest we try a new setting. Try something at the beach?

Also — I suppose we can try putting in a Brought Down to Normal rule, so we can place more emphasis on our interacting with each other, instead of our powers.)