Character Carnival

TV Tropes Radio Theatre presents…the Character Development Thread.

The Character Development Threads are a series of character development/shared story threads where you may bring your own characters to interact with other characters in a mundane—or a not-so-mundane setting—with a loose Story Arc. Originally a Na No Wri Mo exercise, it had expanded to become a regular staple of the Writer’s Block forums.

In spite of the possibly harrowing length, fear not Continuity Lock-Out nor Archive Panic; one of us would be glad to fill you in with a brief recap of what is going on if asked. Or even better, have a glance at the last two pages.

Here are the guidelines:

Now, it’s time for Character Carnival, a place somewhere in the world, around this time. It is a melancholy amusement park long abandoned, but with mysteries lurking around the corner, waiting to be found.

“Open up!” Mary jiggled the key in the lock, which refused to budge. Her black umbrella laid by the window, closed but wrinkled. The hood of her dark green hoodie was still up, to protect herself from the chill. The poles holding up the roof of the porch smelled of wet, rotting wood. The shillings of the façade were made of white rotting wood.

She looked behind at the direction where which she came. There was a yard of yellow, dying grass, untended for years, which revealed sticky and mushy mud. A cracked stone pathway led outside of the front yard. The chain-link fence ratted, and the fence refused to close. The yard had been untended for years by her.

What was beyond the fog produced by the storm was hardly visible. Structures that were close or large enough were only perceived as gray silhouettes of a time long gone. A few booths were still standing opposite of the front fence to the west, with falling signs. A still-functioning merry-go-round with missing animals was a few yards north. Behind that was a broken ferris wheel, decayed with age. There were passenger cars long missing, and beams snapped in two. It swayed in the forceful wind, but it ultimately withstand the storm.

The house was in an abandoned amusement park. An amusement park casted away once it served its purpose, sentenced for a slow death into the dust.

Mary took to kicking the door open. After three swift kicks, it swung open.

“Phew.” Mary took the key out of the lock and brushed her raven-black hair out of her eyes. The front door opened to a dreary dark room. Finally, she could go to her computer and finish typing her current chapter.

A large sound akin to an explosion came from the entrance.

Mary whipped around, her eyes widened. She pushed the door closed and rushed off the porch, her tennis shoes sinking into the steps. A sound like that was bad news in a place full of unchecked machinery. She exited the yard, and walked on the main pathway. Empty booths were to her left, with sagging fabric overhangs filled with puddles. The road was made of faded concrete.

She looked at the entranceway, wary and cautious. A wielded gate framed in steel swung open in the wind, moving inwards and outwards. A shadowy figure was approaching.

edited 22nd Apr '11 1:03:50 PM by chihuahua0

Reiner had no idea how long he had been in the amusement park, among the rusted and broken rides, but it felt like forever. Though, he could remember things before this. He could remember being told to come here through the distorted voice in his cell phone. He could remember a time before the tendrils had worked their way into his ear, before the cell phone had disappeared all together...

Oh, that was right. He needed food, despite having difficulty feeling hunger anymore. It bit quietly at the back of his head, like mosquitoes. There was no food here. He'd have to find some himself. He started out of the dilapidated game tent and onto the broken concrete path. Maybe he'd find an unlucky squirrel.

OOC:I'm not sure about this guy's name, so I'll tell you if it changes halfway through :/

edited 22nd Apr '11 1:14:39 PM by OhSoIntoCats

"Hm?"

Cyrus heard a door slam shut just a moment ago as he approached the house.

"Oh, so someone actually lives in this dump, or something?"

He waited for a response, wondering what they'd think of his ridiculous exorcist's uniform, what with the cape, tunic, and gloves and whatnot. Maybe they'd laugh. Who the fuck knows.

He heard about ghosts here from recon reports just a week ago. Knowing ghosts, at least some of them had to be demons.

He crossed his arms. Ugh. He hated these gloves. He couldn't text in them at all. Not like he was supposed to do that on the job, but it wasn't like he cared.

A teenage boy in a strange outfit walked into view. He looked and sounded cynical, expectant of someone of his age. Mary loosen up slightly, putting her hands into her pockets, but she still kept up her guard. The bridges connecting the valley to the outside world always flooded out during rainstorms, so there was a drop-by every once in awhile. However, he was different from everyone else.

"...It's not exactly a dump," Mary said, "I been living here for a long time." The rain soaked into her hoodie, and strands of her hair was pressed down by the droplets of rain.

She turned around back to the house, and waved the stranger over, "How about you come in?" she offered, "You can stay until the rain lets out." She wondered if he was a cosplayer. He looked like a character out of a comic book or something. Perhaps he was driving to a convention from another state. But the only question is why he was alone...

edited 22nd Apr '11 1:33:59 PM by chihuahua0

Konrad hated those abandoned, run-down places he was so often forced to visit. It wasn't so much that they were creepy; he had seen plenty of worse stuff in his time. It was more that he enjoyed the lights of the inner city, the rushing by of people, the diversity of populated places. Besides, those places mostly offered at least some shelter against the rain! And yet, he always ended up in a dark back alley, in a never used parking lot or like here in an abandoned amusement park.

His job made it necessary. For some of his clients it was just basic prudence not to show up in a too public space. It was annoying, because meeting them was all he could do in those run-down locations. His actual work would usually take him to question or observe people, at more populated places. He shrugged. It was a necessity, and he would do best by getting it over with quickly.

He looked over the broken down rides, devastated attractions and abandoned tents. He narrowed his eyes. This was not the place he had originally gone to. This was a different amusement park, or so it seemed. How did he end up here? He had not heard of any fey paths in the area, but that could after all never be excluded. It would be just his luck if he had stumbled upon one.

Where the hell was he?

He sighed, put on his Augmented Reality shades and turned to explore whereever he had ended up, and maybe find some cover from the rain. His black leather mantel waved in the wind.

edited 22nd Apr '11 1:36:46 PM by Octo

Another anomaly. But this time, she was ready. A brown-haired woman, small enough to be mistaken for a child, observed. Alice Snow was practically one with the fog, relying more on hearing than sight in it. Her pale gray long-sleeved dress seemed to blend into the fog and shadows, and she moved quickly but noiselessly, her feet leaving only the barest track upon the ground. She heard a crow cawing in the distance, beyond her sight. With a slight smirk, she pulled a sling from her sleeve, and a smooth stone from her pocket. She closed her eyes, listened for a few moments, then, eyes still shut, she loosed her sling upon the bird. She heard a sickening thud as the stone hit its mark, then another as the bird met the ground. Satisfied, she suppressed a chuckle, opened her eyes, and returned the sling to its place up her sleeve in silence. Killing something seemed an excellent way to start this operation.

She heard footsteps, a human's footsteps. She closed her eyes again, and a change came over her. Her stance loosened, her walk became less deliberate, and soon, the subtle hints of maturity in her countenance had vanished. To all the world, she was now a precocious but scared girl, barely old enough for middle school.

She approached Mary's house, feigning nervousness, and said, "um... excuse me... can I come in for a bit? At least until the rain dies down? It's really cold out here, and I don't want to get any wetter." Nervously, she added, "my mommy told me not to trust strangers, so... what's your name? Mine's Lucy," Alice lied, "Lucy Summers." She curtsied, careful not to disturb the tools of her trade hidden in various inside pockets of her dress: poisons, darts, a ceramic butterfly knife, and most importantly, a shard of sharpened black crystal attached to a handle. She sized up the other two; the girl seemed like no trouble, but the boy... anyone who dressed like that was either an idiot or very dangerous.

"Heh. Why not."

Cyrus entered the woman's home. An okay place, nothing special. Kinda like his parents' house. He still knew he had to force ghosts out at some point; maybe this chick knew something about them.

In this lighting, Mary could get a better look at him. A pale, thin teenager, clothed in lots of gray and black. His cloak's hood was still up over his black hair, which covered his left eye. His other eye was brown. Black gloves, heavy black pants, black boots, and a heavy gray tunic with a black leather belt over top. A small supply pouch hung at his left, while a large combat knife and a loaded silver handgun sat in their holsters on his right, waiting for the inevitable ghosts. Unsettlingly, both weapons were engraved with odd runes of some sort.

He glanced at the "little girl" behind him. Ugh. Kids. She'll probably get scared and cry when he starts doing his job.

edited 22nd Apr '11 1:56:25 PM by CrystalGlacia

Atop the ferris wheel stood a caped man wearing a top-hat, a magician. Normally, it'd be impossible to reach so far, leave alone maintain oneself balanced with the rainstorm constantly blowing. However, and needless to say, he was not normal. He had been observing the amusement park for quite a while. It amused him, especially the girl living in this abandoned dump and the fact he had no idea about how he ended up there; he simply found himself lying on the cold floor inside the house of mirrors. It's been one hour since he began watching her.

The man noticed something, someone else had appeared. He removed the hat, and - as his appearance suggested he'd do - pulled a pair of binoculars from it and used it to have a closer inspection. What he saw was a man wearing a tunic.

"Hmm...an exorcist?" muttered the magician. "This could be interesting."

Then, he disappeared in thin air.

edited 22nd Apr '11 1:56:36 PM by Fancolors

Mary was at the open gate to the house when she her a voice. She turned around to its source. There was another teenager, but this one was a girl, and her voice and mannerisms were meek, the opposite of the wierdly-dressed boy. Her eyes widened. What was with all of the teenagers appeared.

"Uh...sure." Mary said, "I wouldn't let just freeze in the rain out here." she looked up at the sky. The clouds were bundled together, and were gray as slate. There was almost no light leaking through the cracks. She then looked in her eyes. There was also something strange about her, something that she couldn't pin down. Two people appearing was already strange.

"Is...is he," Mary bend her knees, but one hand on her thigh, with the other pointed at the teenage boy, who was entering the house already. She lowered her voice. "Is he with you?"

She looked at the door. Maybe she should've locked it.

edited 22nd Apr '11 1:58:12 PM by chihuahua0

Alice entered Mary's house, wiping her shoes at the door and removing them before venturing further inside. Then, responding to Mary's question, Alice said, "well, no. I was just sort of following him, keeping out of sight..." she turned to Cyrus, and said, "er, sorry about that, but I was lost, and didn't know what to do. You're... no offense, but you're kind of scary looking, mister. And... well, I decided I really didn't want to be in the rain all day." Alice looked outside and said, "look... the rain's starting to dry up. But I don't think that fog's going away any time soon." This was just as well; she didn't want to spend all day stuck inside a rotting house with no good hiding spots. Alice liked the fog; it let her stalk people far more easily. And it had such... atmosphere. Quietly, Alice added, "and you still haven't introduced yourselves... either of you. I'd... like to know your names. It seems kind of rude to call you 'black-hair' and 'weird-clothes', after all..."

edited 22nd Apr '11 2:20:48 PM by KillerClowns

Looking around, Konrad could see the park in all its details and all its aspects, the AR shades giving him data far beyond what his naked eyes would see. And there, on the Ferris Wheel, was an infrared signature. Konrad pressed his back against some wooden booth to hide himself and took a closer look, just in time to see the infrared signature vanishing into nothing, leaving no trace behind.

This suggested either a highly advanced stealth suit, or some heavy mojo. Konrad did not like either variant, not at all. He went through his belt to regain some security. Automatic pistol, check. Revolver (for all the silver and gold bullets needed in... special situations), check. Ritual dagger, check. He did not know if hostile people would have to be faced here, but he was prepared, at least.

Going further, he heard voices. A woman's voice, and a girl's voice. He kept to the shadows best he could and sneaked forwards, trying to see if he could learn more about this place and his inhabitants.

Mary stood straight up and put her hands back in her pocket, "All right. Let's go into my house."

She walked through the gate and on the pathway. Her tennis shoes went into developing puddles, which caused water to soak into her socks. She opened the door, which she now did with little effort. It creaked with age, as if it was tired after all of the years it served as a door.

Th entryway was a small twelve by six feet area with a carpet, some racks with black jackets and umbrellas, and a single lightbulb hanging on the ceiling. The two windows on the side were covered by rain flowing down, creating a second layer of glass. The door lead to the front hallway, with stairs to the left and the kitchen to the right.

Mary walked in, her shoes making squishing noises. She made a cursory check, just to make sure the boy didn't tamper with anything. However, she heard voice in the kitchen. Alice must've snuck through.

"He better not mess with any of my stuff." she thought, continuing on.

OOC: The kitchen, dining room, bathrooms, and any rooms on the first floor are up for grabs. There are two bedrooms on the second floor which you can also decide what they look like, but the study is reserved for me. Just keep the style consistent, because I doubt Mary would paint her walls neon colors.

And we ran into a consistency problem in terms where Cyrus and Alice are at. Are they inside or outside?

There. Problem fixed. Unfortunately, I bet QQQQQ would be shaking his/her head at all of this OOC talk.

edited 22nd Apr '11 2:21:57 PM by chihuahua0

Good. Let's carry on.

She wanted his name? Whatever.

"It's Cyrus," he said flatly, looking at her over his shoulder.

Giving his name wouldn't cause any problems here; there was nobody in the world named Cyrus Favonius Kunstler.

What the hell could a kid like her be doing in a hellhole like this? He honestly found it cool, but this is the kind of place where slasher flicks are set. Other people found those scary for some kind of a reason he couldn't really fathom.

This house was boring, admittedly. He wanted to go out and kick ghosts into another dimension.

edited 22nd Apr '11 2:24:15 PM by CrystalGlacia

Alice said, "Cyrus. That's a nice name. Very unique." Alice didn't really find being wet uncomfortable — she very frequently found herself covered in other people's blood, and so a bit of water was hardly a concern — but she made a point of pretending otherwise, wringing out her dress in a manner that seemed absent-minded — without, of course, revealing any of the things she was carrying in it. She continued, "I wish I had a cool name like that. So, Cyrus... sorry if I'm being rude, but why are you dressed like that? And... why are your weapons all decorated like that?" Alice didn't recognize the runes; they weren't any Earthly language, nor were they Uelane, Mauros, or Precursor. Of course, with anomalies, anything was possible. She wondered if they were magic.

edited 22nd Apr '11 2:30:17 PM by KillerClowns

Reiner saw a house as he left the tent and the people outside of it. He nearly had a heart attack. So many people, he didn't like that there were so many people. He instinctively pulled up his collar to hide the ten-key pad that had warped itself into his neck. Self preservation warred with itself in his head — on one hand, such a gathering was likely to be very, very dangerous. On the other, such a gathering was also likely to have food.

He approached the house, attempting stealth, but aside from his raggy clothes mostly matching the park, he wasn't able to do much. The stealth remained only in the young man's head.

Mary leaned on the wall by the entrance to the kitchen. She saw that the two visitors were already having a conversation in the middle of the kitchen. The appliances were a mix of old and new, with a range stove, a new chrome fridge, several worn down green counters, cabinets with cast-iron handles, and a blender, all around a corner. A round table was in the middle of the room, which had five wooden chairs around it.

"So, do you like it?" she asked, smiling?

edited 22nd Apr '11 2:35:14 PM by chihuahua0

Light. Light came out of this one house. A house that did not look like it even fit into here, surrounded by a yard and a fence. Even more people were here, it seemed. He did not know whether that was a good thing. The sort of people who would meet at places like this were usually not the most pleasurable sort. On the other hand, maybe whoever was there could give him some information on just where he was.

His shades zoomed towards one of the windows. The angle did not allow to see much of the interior, but what he saw was... furniture? It seemed somebody lived there, as a permanent home. That was odd, but not too bad. At least he would not interrupt a mafia meeting or something, or so he hoped at least.

He could see no bell to ring at the fence gate. Shrugging, he climbed over the fence, and made his way to the house door. He knocked.

OOC: Driving Mary crazy with new guests

The magician walked idly, ignoring the storm and the fact he was completely soaked, making his way through the various abandoned booths. He was smiling, he liked the atmosphere the amusement park gave. The abandoned structures, the grey silhouettes that could be seen and gave a certain ominous tone...he didn't mind it, in fact, he loved it, every single bit of it. Normally, he wouldn't mind being left alone in a place like that. The amusement park's location didn't matter for him, the story behind it even less so.

That was when he spotted a boy trying to sneak into the girl's house. She, who was being observed a few minutes ago. More visitors?

The magician approached the visitor from behind, it seemed like he was trying to be stealthy. The man wearing the top-hat grinned.

"Boo," said the magician, and did the same trick as before. He vanished with a smile on his face, expecting to hear one frightened scream.

Before they could respond, there was a knock on the door. Mary swerved to look at the door.

"Another vistor?" she thought, "How could these many people happen to be in this valley?"

She frantically ran to the door. She slip on a snag on the carpet, and stopped herself from falling by putting both hands on the door. She regained her balanced, and opened it, preparing for who could be at the door.

While waiting for Cyrus' response, Alice took a seat at the table and contemplated what she would do if, like Mary was right now, and Aleister and Vince had been previously, at the center of an Anomaly. Probably kill every man, woman, and child who showed up until the Anomaly passed. Only way to be safe.

Alice wasn't sure, but she thought she felt her crystalline dagger quivering. Hard to tell, though; she'd felt the sensation as she sat, so it might just have been shifting in its pocket.

OOC: Wait, character confusion Let me try that again.

The door opened, revealing a woman standing in the frame, apparently waitring for him to speak.

"Guten Abend," Konrad began, "ich habe mich verlaufen. Wirklich, richtig verlaufen. Sie können mir nicht eventuell sagen wo ich mich aufhalte? Zum Beispeil welche Stadt dies ist?"

Oops. sorry for the confusion. Also, Konrad would of course talk German at first. Heh. Forgot that.

edited 22nd Apr '11 3:03:05 PM by Octo

Rainer didn't scream. He didn't turn, he didn't do anything except stab into the air behind him with a switchblade. When he didn't feel it connect, he finally turned. No one was there.

Oh, yes, this was usual, now the voices had decided to be petty instead of crying of the deep abyss of nothingness where the strange Gods lived. No, that didn't seem likely. What seemed more likely was that whatever had said anything was invisible. He ran towards the direction of the sound, slashing with his knife.

Mary looked blankly at the man, who seemed a little off. He was definitely the weirdest by far.

"Uh...I don't speak German," she said.

She stepped back into the entryway and walked to the side, holding the door frame, "Come on in." It was going to be a long day, so she should might as well be friendly to the sudden stream of visitors—and be prepared for more.

OOC: You made me scrap a whole paragraph...

edited 22nd Apr '11 3:09:17 PM by chihuahua0

"Oh, the knives and costume. You probably think I look like a deranged fanboy right now." Cyrus seemed oddly casual as he conjured up an excuse.

"My boss says that the costume 'enhances my natural abilities' or some garbage like that. As for the weapons..." He unsheathed his knife and held it in his hands, spinning it absentmindedly. "Not really sure why they have runes on them, but who am I to complain...?" A smirk came over his face.

He deduced that acting like himself was enough to deter the little girl, right as he felt his halo acting up- the thin, crescent-shaped light above his head was likely starting to show up and glow white. That meant one thing.

Ghosts. And they were getting close.

He resheathed the knife.

edited 22nd Apr '11 3:20:35 PM by CrystalGlacia

Sorry. I assumed fancolor's action were directed at me, and messed that up. Oops

...English? Where the hell had he end up that they spoke English? As far as he knew there was no Major Gate anywhere in an anglophone country. Plenty of Minor Gates, though, of course.

"Ah, sorry, madam," he said, and in his perplexed state let himself be led inside. "And thanks."

When he was inside the quite décor-less entrance room, he tried again: "What I wanted to say is that I am kinda lost. So very lost that I have to ask, uh... what city is this?"