Welcome, reader, to the latest Character Development Thread! These shared story exercises help budding writers develop their characters alongside the characters of other budding writers.
No formal sign-up is necessary; one can simply jump right in. Just make sure to review the OP and the last few pages first. If you still have questions or need a recap, feel free to join in the discussion thread
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On a point of land where two rivers came together sat the center of a large city. As could be expected, a good number of skyscrapers and other such large buildings dotted the landscape. Bridges spanned the rivers, linking the center with the other parts of the city that sat on the other side.
The city's architecture appeared to be all over the place. The buildings on the outskirts looked modern, but as one approached the heart of the city the structures started looking older and older. Even stranger, the oldest building in the city was also the tallest – a massive skyscraper that truly lived up to the title of “skyscraper,” but looked like it was built in the 19th century.
The people of this city came from all walks of life. Some were natives; others were just visiting. There was no denying that the population was quite a varied one. The question was just how varied....
- Current time: Night (Between sunset and midnight)
- Current weather: Cloudy
edited 23rd Oct '13 8:05:54 AM by Yomegami
Entertainment District (Bus Stop)
A fancy-looking, white and blue bus came to a stop on the border between the massive skyscrapers at the city's center and the numerous, more modern buildings that made up the entertainment district. The doors opened, and out stepped a pair of young women.
The first appeared to be in her early twenties and was of average build. She was casually dressed in a blue, tight-fitting t-shirt, blue jeans, and a pair of what looked like hiking boots. On her right hip, there was a holster containing what appeared to be a police-standard pistol. Blonde hair reached down to her shoulders. She appeared to be of British descent. She also looked somewhat ill – her skin was paler than normal, and some veins could be seen on her wrists and ankles. More notably, her eyes were amber, and instead of fingernails she had half-inch claws. The first thing she did upon stepping off the bus was to take out a map and look it over, alternating between it and the buildings that stood before her.
The other was a rather thin girl that looked to be in her late teens. Her ethnicity appeared to be German, although her straight black hair and overall proportions strongly suggested Asian descent as well. Her outfit consisted of a white t-shirt, jean shorts that stopped about six inches below her hips, and a pair of plain-looking black flip-flops. She also looked ill, but to a greater extent to her companion. Her skin was pale to the point where her veins were very visible, particularly around her wrists and ankles. Her eyes were a rather sickly looking, washed-out shade of green, and underneath each was a purple circle. Her hands were her most noticeable feature: her thumbs were withered, vestigial stubs, but her other fingers were tipped with one and a half inch claws. She took a brief look around, before frowning sharply and staring down at the ground next to her feet.
After the bus had sped away, the former smiled slightly before glancing at the latter. “Well, we're here at last Rachel,” she said, voice sounding rather healthy despite her appearance, “It's nice to finally reach a place where there's no zombies, isn't it?”
The latter glanced up at her companion, not bothering to raise her head. “I guess so Selena, but did we really have to come to a major city?” Compared to her companion, her voice was somewhat raspy and had a slight hint of an Asian accent. “I think other zombies would be preferable to the sort of reactions we'd get from non-Infected people.”
Selena shook her head. “Always thinking of the downsides, aren't you? We used the bus without the other people complaining.”
“Everyone else on the bus spent most of the ride giving us strange looks.” Rachel retorted, “Not to mention that even here we'll stick out like sore thumbs. Zombies are pretty noticeable even if they aren't the kind that rots and moans about brains.”
“We're Infected, Rachel. Not zombies.” Selena said, “We can at least explain ourselves, and I'm certain most people won't have much of a reaction to us after that. And even if worst comes to worst, I have a backup plan.” She patted the holster that held her gun.
Rachel just frowned again, before sighing. “Well, I hope you're right. I'm also hoping that we avoid criminals, traffic, and heavy crowds.” She then went back to staring at the ground. “I've...got a bad feeling about this.”
Selena patted Rachel on the shoulder. “It's going to be fine. Would we even be here if we weren't?” She then glanced back at the map she was holding. “At least try to enjoy yourself – no matter what we'll find here, it will certainly be less stressful than what we've been going through these last couple weeks.”
Rachel sighed again. “Alright....”
edited 24th May '13 5:17:27 PM by Yomegami
Icon by Civvi the Civilian!
Razzin-Frazzin Robot
[Entertainment District] (Near Bus Stop)
An odd vehicle came rolling down the street. It looked kind of like a limo, but it was purple and had odd adornments, such as spiked tires and a striped hood. The inside of the limo was also purple, and sitting at the back was a rather peculiar looking fellow.
He was rather fat but very short, about 3 and a half feet at the most. He had sunken eyes and a bulbous nose covered in light brown spots. He had a bushy white beard with flakes in it, and his ears were somewhat big.
He wore a large, pointy red hat with a brim around it and a plain red shirt. Tied around his waistline was a golden-buckle belt with various doodads and thingy-thing-thongs clipped to it. His pants were a dark black and his shoes were laced and brown.
He looked out the window and told the driver "Hey, this looks like an alright place to stop." As the vehicle came to a stop, he walked to the front of the vehicle and stepped out the door.
He looked around and said "This place doesn't look especially unusual, but we'll just see about that."
He looked over and saw 2 women near the bus stop who seemed to stand out for some reason. He walked up to them and said "Hey there, you 2 seem like... interesting people, who do you happen to be?"
edited 24th May '13 6:38:09 PM by BiggerBen
Drummer Boy
[Memorial Park]
Two young men were sleeping on a bench. Both were rather tall and thin, and the one with curly brown hair was quite alarmingly so despite the thick gray coat he was wearing. The other, whose shoulder he was using as a pillow, had light brown hair and glasses. His unbottoned, long brown coat hung loosely on him, weighed down by numerous supicious-looking lumps in the pockets.
Wilhelm woke up first, muttered "Oh, shit," when he noticed the position of the sun in the sky, and gave Jonathan a little shove. It took a few more to get Jonathan to finally stir.
"Hey, you bastard, it's almost ten o'clock. I bet we're locked out of the lecture hall already."
Jonathan made a low hnnnnnng.
Wilhelm took the open music theory textbook on his lap, shoved it on the bookbag next to him on the bench, and shook Jonathan hard. "Come on, you son of a—"
"Hey! I'm awake! I'm awake! What's going—" Jonathan squinted at the sunlight. "Oh, you fucker."
"I told you we're late." Wilhelm kept throwing books into the two bags on the bench. "What time did we get here yesterday? Four in the afternoon? How the hell did this happen?" He kept muttering darkly to himself, but Jonathan was completely silent. He quickly scanned their surroundings, then took a silver pocketwatch from inside his coat and checked the time. It was mid-morning, all right, and every lecture hall in the conservatory was locked, but if Jonathan was right, that hardly mattered at the moment.
"Wilhelm, this isn't where we fell asleep. This is a completely different park."
"Eh?" He looked up from his frantic packing. "Huh. You're right. Wait, WHAT?"
"Yeah, this just isn't right." Jonathan stood up and stretched. "Do you think we should walk around and find someone to tell us what happened or where we are?"
"Sure, but I don't see anybody. You?"
"Nope."
Wilhelm took off his glasses and rhythmically wiped them on his sleeve. "Well, we're fucked, aren't we?"
"I must beg his majesty the great King of Cats for a few more minutes of patience. All is not yet lost. If no one shows up within the next hour I guess we can walk around."
Both of them settled on the bench again. Jonathan was whistling a march; Wilhelm took out his music theory textbook to read.
The last battle's curtains will open on stage!
They/Them
Entertainment District (Near Bus Stop))
A yellow, New York City style taxi pulled up into the entertainment district, only a few feet from a bus stop in front of the convention center. The taxi's driver and the other two occupants seemed to be having an argument about payment, shaking the vehicle a little before two men angrily got out of the vehicle, slamming the car door behind them.
The first man appeared to be in his late thirties, had a stocky build, and seemed to be of Mid-Atlantic descent. He was dressed in a pair of black dress pants, a somewhat loose, light gray button-down shirt under with the sleeves rolled up. A medallion, which had the image of an octopus with bat wings, dangled around his neck. His long hair that went past his shoulders, which seemed to be slightly pointed in some areas and had a strange green tint, was receding, leaving a bald spot on his head. His aple skin was also tinted green and his ears seemed a bit fin-like. His eyes were also dark green and his hands were claw-like. He made a toothy grin as he looked around the city.
The second man, who was much taller and thinner than the first, appeared much younger and has the features of an Egyptian native. He was dressed in a black tweed suit, with a white shirt underneath a vest, a black bow tie and a pair of black leather gloves. He also wore a medallion, but with the image of a chaos symbol in the center of an ankh instead. He had thick black hair with a white streak that went halfway down his neck. His skin was rather dark, best described as 'swarthy' and his eyes were a dark gold. As he stepped out of the taxi, and looked around him with a wide grin.
As the taxi drove away, the tall man turned toward his shorter friend, "Isn't this place just lovely?" His voice had a hint of great joy in it, "A trip away has been much needed."
The stout one replied with a grunt, "I still fail to see the reason for this trip." His voice was gruff, "But I guess it beats having to deal with the kids."
The tall man grinned, "Of course."
The two individuals looked at a map, eyeing where to head toward. The stout man grumbled as he folded the map and walked toward the bus stop, heading toward to cross the street. The two men walked, before the tall man accidentally bumped into a tall woman near the stop.
"I'm so sorry miss, pardon my rudeness," The man was quick to apologize.
edited 24th May '13 7:14:21 PM by DarkbloodCarnagefang
Note to self: Pick less edgy username next time.
[Memorial Park]
In the corner of the park was an old stand of trees and obscuring shrubbery, which in turn concealed a small wrought iron bench. It sat in a nook hewn with white chalky gravel, and surrounded on all but one side by a tall, neatly trimmed hedge. It was a lovely spot, but the moss and lichen growing on the armrests made it clear the spot was visited very rarely. Perfect.
He wearily collapsed into the seat, careless of the moist leaf litter that was scattered across it and sighed, taking a moment to rest his eyes and inhale a few soothing breaths of air before he returned again to the reality of his situation. He was on the run and this time, he was at a disadvantage. When it had been ASIO on his tail, it had been a simple matter of fading into the Australian heartland and living rough for a few years. When Nacho had been on his tail, he’d had The Lady and Kay at his back, and through their cunning and fortuitous connections Nacho had thrown the case into bureaucratic purgatory. Unfortunately for him, there had been something of a restructuring. His dossier, which was dangerously detailed, was bound to be dragged back into the light when the inquiry was through, and he wasn’t willing to wait to find out what they planned to do with it. As much as he’d have liked to ask for it, and as willingly as they’d give it, he couldn’t go to them for help again. He’d run the minute the news broke, bluffed his way aboard a Chinese merchant vessel with false credentials and forged documentation, and weeks later found himself in an American city. The last place he’d pick if he’d had the time to be choosy.
He knew next to nothing of America, or the Americans who inhabited the place. He wouldn’t delude himself by thinking his knowledge of Australian wilderness survival could be applied here, so vanishing into the countryside was right out, and with his arm he doubted he’d go unnoticed in any rural outpost, thus cities and suburbia would have serve as his hiding place.
He touched his left arm at the thought, making sure that his wrist was still secured to the inside of his pocket. The skin of it was pale, and the muscles atrophied until there was little other than skin, bones and blood vessels left. His entire arm felt constantly cold to the touch, no matter how man layers he wrapped it in, no doubt thanks to it’s nerves, which were damaged beyond function. As consiquence, it was little more than a dead weight. His coat hid horrific scars, a slash carving across his calvacle, a deep rippling scar where the skin of his shoulder had been cleaved away in a great sheet, a puckered diamond in his that marked an impaling, and worst of all, a mass of shinning scar tissue stretched across the place where his scapula had broken and then healed in an angled, unnatural position, leaving an obvious hollow and ridge.
The muscles on the left side of his chest, back and neck had also atrophied, not as dramatically but still enough to make his upper body noticeably asymmetrical. He favoured bulky overcoats for that very reason, hiding the deformity behind strategically sewn padding. The one he was wearing, however, was probably fit for the dustbin. It had gone weeks without a proper washing and the seasalt had stiffened it so much that it audibly crackled when he moved. He’d become accustomed to his own smell and even he knew that it wasn’t very nice at the moment.
He ran his good hand through brown hair, equally due for a decent washing, and sighed again. The way he was he could easily blend in with the homeless, hell who was he kidding, he was one of the homeless. With the weeks of accumulated grime and stress lines he must have looked at least fifty years old rather than thirty, and the messy scruff on his cheeks only cemented the vagabond look further. Survival would just be a matter of seeking out the safe houses and charities the city held and exploiting them for a few months, then when the heat of the chase cooled he could move on to someplace less conspicuous and re-evaluate his options. It was nothing he hadn’t done before, but the months of living in The Lady’s household had softened him and the helplessness of the position rankled.
A hopeful pigeon fluttered down from the trees to perch at his feet. It cooed at him, begging for scraps. He chuckled at the birds ironic timing before shooing it away with the toe of his shoe. Watching it flutter off to rejoin it’s flock, he made a resolution. He’d live on the streets, just for a week or two, and keep an ear to the ground. Once he knew the lay of the land he’d see about raising his circumstances. He doubted that anything would present itself a problem though. It was just an ordinary city full of ordinary citizenry, wasn’t it?
[Library]
A silver car made a sudden stop near the library. The first to get out the passenger seat was a brown-skinned teenage boy. He looked around the age of sixteen, and wore a black (zipped) jacket, blue pants, and black and white stripped shoes. Rubbing the back of his black hair, he sighed.
"So, Jacky, tell me why we couldn't just use your flying boots?" he asked.
The second teenager, a blond boy who looked like a year older than the other teen, got out the driver's seat. He wore a white, short-sleeved shirt, a brown vest, dark purple pants, and brown shoes. At the top of his head were gray goggles.
"First off, Nick," he said in a strong English accent, "Stop calling me Jacky. Second of all, I already told you; I do not want to risk getting us killed in mid air if they malfunction again, like what happened back at the dig site." He glanced back at the car, "Adam? Are you coming?"
The third teen, a young red head, quickly got out the back seat. He wore a bright yellow shirt, blue cargo shorts, and white sneakers. He then put his long hair in a ponytail.
"Sorry guys." he said, "I got distracted."
Once all three teens were out the car, they stared at the building in front of them. Nick quirked an eyebrow.
"So this is the place you wanted to check out first?" he asked.
"I'm sure it can't be too bad." Adam said, "Right, Jackson?"
"Quite." Jackson replied. He then turned and face the other two, "So, let's go in then, shall we?"
Nick sighed. "I guess. Still weird as hell that you decided this place." He was the first to go in, Jackson and Adam tailing behind.
edited 24th May '13 8:38:22 PM by Masterofchaos
the cutest lizard
The character you see here is one of my frequently used characters on a sever for a multiplayer sci-fi roleplaying game called Space Station 13. I happen to be planning a forum adventure over on MSPAFA based on the game using the characters from our server, so I figured it would be good to flesh out the personality of one of mine as well as the plot details of said adventure, since SS 13 has no canon.
Memorial Park
The Gateway Project was experimental, and thus often extremely dangerous. Furthermore, it was started by Nanotrasen, so it was clear they didn't care about any accidents that might - or, more likely, would happen while using the Gateway.
Needless to say, Violet Wheeler wouldn't dare risk it if she didn't know there was the promise of money in her future. One hundred grand... not the tallest figure she'd ever seen, but still a lot more than she usually "earned" in a week. Needless to say, it was surprising they even considered someone like Violet for it.
Maybe it was because they thought her expendable.
Whatever the reason, Violet got the opportunity to become one of the few to ever use the Gateway.
Shortly after jumping into the swirling portal generated by the Gateway machine, Violet materialized in the city, landing softly in the grass.
Wearily, Violet got on her feet, surveying her surroundings for signs of hostile life and taking a tentative breath. Her shoulders relaxed; she didn't appear to be in any immediate danger and the air wasn't filled with deadly toxins... perhaps she'd manage to stay alive longer than ten seconds after all.
Violet reached into her backpack, a high-tech device with a more magical-sounding name: a 'Bag of Holding.' A luxury item, the only kind of backpack Violet found suitable for her. From the bag she procured a small, simple mirror. Not for reasons of vanity (at least, not only for reasons of vanity), but rather to check that nothing horrible happened during the transport.
Violet's good luck seemed to be mounting: she still had all her limbs, two ears, a nose, and a mouth. All eight of her eyes were functional. Her pale white skin and dark violet hair (dyed, obviously, and ridiculously corny, but still the feature that got her noticed the most) were exactly the same shade they were before she went through the Gateway. Her carefully braided her, which reached almost to the ground, fortunately hadn't come undone. She was particularly proud of it; every aspect of her appearance that Violet had control over was styled in such a way that she'd standout in a crowd, placing much needed distance between Violet and the common people. If one bit of her hard work was ruined because of the Gateway...
But she couldn't very well just stand there admiring herself. Violet stowed the hand mirror away and looked around once more.
If Violet had to guess, she'd say she was in some sort of park. Although trees were scattered around her and there were no buildings in the immediate vicinity, a gravel path wove through the trees, unlit lampposts bordering it. Way in the distance, a titanic tower* tore through the sky, the clouds seeming to encircle it.
Having no desire to linger in the park, Violet headed off in the direction of the tower.
Until my next post assume Violet is still making her way through the park.
edited 24th May '13 6:35:21 PM by Collen
Gave them our reactions, our explosions, all that was ours For graphs of passion and charts of stars...
[Library ~ 2nd Floor]
The city's library was nearly vacant that time of morning, only a few people set foot within, and most of them only came to quickly drop off books before hurrying about, off to the more demanding parts of their busy days. Even the work force seemed thin and not fully suited to handle a library of such scale. It was likely for that reason that no one had discovered yet, that anything in the library was amiss.
On the second floor of the library, off in a quiet corner—one unlikely to be very occupied even during a busier time—there were two rows of reading desks, the first row of desks were lined up in the middle of the floor, and the second row pressed up against the wall. There was more than enough space on each desk for the average person, enough in fact, to set up a small study center piled with books, notes, paper, maybe even a lamp. And, short walls on either side of the desk kept nervous readers secure from curious eyes, or any sort of distraction. The area beneath each desk was empty aside from a chair, save for one desk. One desk, firmly placed against the wall, was different. It was accompanied by two chairs, instead of one, and the chairs were turned about, facing outward and forming a sort of barrier to what was beneath the desk.
As for what was beneath the desk... it was lumpy blanket. A lumpy plaid blanket, rather large, and almost fully covering some strange shape. The only part that wasn't covered was a dark slender... tip. Tip was the best word for it, like the end of a large tree's roots, a cone-ish shape that wasn't immediately placeable.
The shape itself wasn't immediately placeable either. One might not have guessed that before residing beneath a desk, the shape had been scrambling for a place to hide after hearing a noise elsewhere in the library, or that before then, the shape had been hastily trying to clean a large mess before somebody heard the resounding noise that was a result of said mess, and came to investigate, or that before then, the shape had been flipping through the pages of a book in frustration, before hastily stuffing it back on the bookshelf and clumsily moving to the next one, or that before then, the shape had waited quietly in the dark of night to sneak into the library after hours and search for a book. There was not a lot you could tell from just looking at the shape under the blanket under the desk near the toppled bookshelf.
The shape had been breathing for a while, the blanket rising and falling every so slightly and evenly. Occasionally, the tip of the shape's tip twitched or gently moved from side to side and later back again. However, as the doors of the library opened and closed once more, the shaped stirred, twisting and folding the plaid blanket as it rose in height, until, with great speed, it reached the bottom of the desk with a rattling thud.
"Ow!" the shape cried, "Ow ow ow." After a moment of pain, the shape ripped off the blanket, revealing an even more curious shape. The shape looked a little like a lizard or a salamander that looked like a human, though wasn't quite any of these things. With jet black skin on a large head with a long face (save for the shape's lower jaw, where the skin, reaching down past it's neck was stark white) that looked more like an extension of it's neck, the thing looked alien and animal. It's hands—clutching the top of it's sore head—were clawed, though the claws were positioned more like fingers than the claws of a lizard. The shape's tip was actually the tip of it's long and rather large tail, though it's tail was extruded from a big hole torn in the seat of the shape's pants, which themselves were a pair of tattered and ill-fitting jeans, with a small flashlight and some folded paper stuffed into one of the pockets. In addition to the jeans, the shape wore a blue and white baseball t-shirt, and though it reached to his waist and then some, seemed like it was the wrong fit everywhere else. The sleeves were too long, reaching far past the shape's elbows, the neck looked stretched a little to fit his own, and the waist was too wide, leaving the shirt loose and wrinkled.
After looking around for a bit and determining where it was, the shape's eyes—a rather icy shade of blue—lit up, and it cursed quietly to itself, "Jeeesus, no! No no no no no! I can't believe I- oh you dumbass! He gripped the legs of the two chairs barricading his little hovel and peered outside, silently cursing again when he saw that it was daytime, and very much so. Still, he thought, perhaps nobody is around. It seems quiet— it's a library, but it's really quiet. He pushed the chairs forward and apart, and—grabbing the blanket—crawled out from beneath the desk.
He was extraordinarily large for a lizard, though on the shorter side for a human. His legs were a little shorter than your average human's, whereas his torso and neck were somewhat longer. After stretching his arms, legs, neck and tail for a moment, the shape moved into more of a hunched position, ready to duck behind a table or a bookshelf at any moment. Cautiously, the shape moved to the closest bookshelf and edged around the side, peeking out to see if anyone was there. But as fortune would have it, the shape's earlier guess was right, and the library was almost entirely empty— if not entirely empty. There was no one in sight on the second floor, and the first floor was probably only covered by a couple of chumps stocking the shelves or handling checkout or reception; easy enough to avoid in a library of such size.
With a toothy grin, the shape edged his way towards the balcony, peering down at the floor below to better assess the situation. Just as he did, the library's front doors opened again, and in came not one, or two, but three guys. "Dang it! Just my luck!" he said, clenching his teeth.
He began to quickly back away away, but as he did so, the edge of the plaid blanket he dragged with him snagged on the corner of one bookshelf. Before he knew what he was doing, the shape yanked the blanket quite forcefully, pulling the bookshelf with it. He quickly realized his mistake as the bookshelf began to teeter, dropping the blanket and dashing forward, propping the shelf up as it began to topple over. He managed to stop it from falling, but at leas two shelves rained their contents down on his back and feet.
"Ah crap." he muttered, looking at the mess at his feet. He'd managed to prop the shelf back up, but the damage was done. Someone was sure to have heard the noise, weren't they? He groaned, having just about blown his chance at a quiet escape, then freed his blanket, dashed back to the reading desks, and hid behind the first row. The shape flattened himself to his belly and covered himself with the plaid blanket; tense, watching and waiting.
Here's
a drawing of "The Shape" for those who are interested.
edited 25th May '13 12:55:54 AM by Ryuhza
this place needs me here
One additional detail about my characters: neither of them are particularly tall. Rachel's actually on the short side.
Entertainment District
Selena looked back at her map. "Well, there's a library. I'd rather see something a little more exciting, but that sounds like something you'd like."
Rachel nodded. "If nothing else, it'd be quiet there. It would help me adjust to the city before we go off to elsewhere."
The two were about to walk off when just as suddenly they became the center of attention on that particular block. Upon hearing the voice of someone nearby, Rachel reflexively shoved her hands behind her back before checking to see just who it was. After some seconds of fruitless searching, she finally looked down to behold...a gnome?
Rachel said nothing at first, but raised an eyebrow. Right at that moment, someone behind her bumped into her. With a startled squeak, she attempted to not get knocked over, which had the side effect of completely blowing her attempt to hide her hands. Thankfully, she managed to regain her balance, returned her hands to their spot behind her back, and promptly turned her attention to the tall-ish man who bumped into her.
"Erm...it's alright...." she hastily responded to the man. Something about him and his odd companion rang a bell in her head, but given the situation she didn't spend too much time thinking about it.
Selena looked up upon hearing her companion's squeak. She smirked slightly. "We haven't been here for a minute, and you're already making friends? You're more open than I thought." She then alternated glances between the two men and the gnome. "Interesting-looking friends, too. And you were so worried about being taken for a...."
Rachel glared at her. "Shut up, Selena."
Selena shrugged before turning her attention to the gnome. "Never mind her. She's just having trouble adjusting to the city," she said. "Anyway, I'm Selena Rogers, and my friend there is Rachel Pahlke. You are...?"
Icon by Civvi the Civilian!
Razzin-Frazzin Robot
[Entertainment District]
The gnome said "My name's Vinny Palinko. I'm the lead guy of a certain 'organization', if you will. I'm here mostly just to check things out, but I've heard a few things of some odd goings-on recently. Probably nothing, though. Anyway, do you know what shows are performing in the theatre today?"
[Commercial District]
Generally when Sebastian attempted to blend in with the locals it involved a bucket of mud and some tatty clothing. Today however in comparison, had been absolutely harrowing.
Following another request he'd gone to the train station and gone down the line, intent on grasping the political situation in the neighboring republic as well as perhaps... disposing of some people. As usual he caught a nap on the way, but in lieu of the usual awakening by the whistle of the train, he'd gotten the boot by an angry bus driver demanding his ticket, oddly earlier in the morning than when he'd set out. Here he was thrust into another world, and after a brief phase of delirium and confusion he got moving.
Though his people watching certainly attracted attention a few things became instantly clear, his long hair even tied back wasn't normal, his clothing was downright weird, and the katars he held on his hip were completely unacceptable. It was clear if he was going to make it here, as he so often did, he was going to need a makeover, and if the make up of the crowd and the odd paper currency they passed between themselves was any indication, he was going to need some money.
About four hours, half a dozen shops, a convenience store, several dozen confused people in a public toilet, a hair salon, and one extremely flustered gold dealer later, Sebastian had completely redone his appearance. If anything he looked like he'd walked off the pages of a fashion catalogue, which at the time had seemed the best option. What he wore, a pair of very light khaki cotton pants complete with slight wrinkling, a pair of brown shoes that had a slight resemblance to moccasins, and a green madras shirt with the sleeves pushed back over his elbow, looked bizarre to him, but the approving looks he'd gotten from sale's clerks showed at least someone appreciated it. His brown hair, which had started the morning tied back behind his head, had been shampooed, conditioned, cut, and finally gelled to keep his bangs up. An addition of a messenger bag allowed him to stow his old clothing, as well as his katars, out of the way. He blended in fairly well, though a good bit more muscular than the average male he was otherwise ordinary, caucasian, five foot nine, and he smiled a fair bit.
He wandered around without purpose, considering which of the bizarre things people were eating would be nice to try. His new wallet after all, was flush with cash, and he could get far more for the coins his old pouch held.
I'm going to be at an anime convention this weekend. If you want to talk to Sebastian, I won't be able to post until after four (PST) on monday, but you can post earlier than that if you want. I can post for say, another two and a half hours today.
edited 24th May '13 8:38:25 PM by Aqueos
Bet you didn't see that coming
They/Them
Entertainment District
The tall man chuckled at Selena's comments, "Friends is a stretch. Getting acquainted would be more accurate."
The stout man grumbled as he looked around while the tall man looked the two woman over. They certainly had an interesting complexion, not that it bothered him, it mostly fascinated him. It finally occurred to him something was missing.
"Oh my dearest apologies, I haven't introduced myself or my friend." He stepped back to bow, "I am Nyarlathotep and this," he gestured toward the stout man, "Is my friend Cthulhu."
The stout man grunted, "Hey."
Expecting a collective groan and facepalm soon
Note to self: Pick less edgy username next time.
[Memorial Park]
Near the center of the park, Amu stood balanced on one leg, eyes closed, contemplating the world around him with his senses of smell, hearing, and touch. He appeared to be in his mid-twenties, and he was not quite six feet tall, with bronzed skin, grey eyes, sharply handsome features, and long, flowing midnight blue hair down to his waist. Atop his head was the only symbol of his office he saw fit to wear: a simple diadem of silver, decorated with only a few large sapphires for color. His clothes were just as understated: sandals, a dark blue tunic, and loose white pants. Though made of silks of the highest quality, they were undecorated save for the silver thread tracing a flowing, spiralling pattern at the tunic's hems.
And then there were his bracelets. To the untrained eye, they were merely two simple, loose bracelets of carved ivory. But those with the power to sense magic would immediately notice two things. First, that the bracelets were enchanted to suppress the wearer's magical ability and provide a mild shock should the wearer attempt to cast a spell. Second, that there was absolutely nothing to keep Amu from simply removing them and regaining his magical power at will.
Those who have met Amu's young form previously in Dream or Dig Site will recognize him, although he's visibly somewhat older now, and far better dressed. As for his other appeaerances in Resort and Castle? Since Amu was very different back then, I'd prefer it if people didn't recognize him from those.
edited 24th May '13 9:43:23 PM by KillerClowns
[Library]
The moment they stepped in, they heard a loud thud. Heading to the source of the noise, they noticed the pile of fallen books.
"Well, will you look at that." Nick said. "We step in and that's the first thing we see. Incredible."
Adam decided to go over to the books and started to pick them up. "You can at least help out, Nick." Holding at least three books in his hand, he stood up put them back on the shelves. "We shouldn't leave them lying around here. It's messy."
"Although, that's a huge sign that we're not alone." Jackson said.
"Noooo, really? Who would've guess?" Nick asked, before getting punched in the arm, "Ow!"
"Look, jackass, I was making an observation." Jackson walked around the corner, suspicious. "Hello? Anyone else here?"
Last post for tonight.
Entertainment District
Selena shook her head. "We just got here. We haven't even seen the theatre yet, let alone actually seen what's playing." She opened up her map and looked it over again. "We were going off to the library. Rachel's a bit of a bookworm, and as I said she's not really fond of this whole city thing yet, so I'm hoping it will help her relax a bit." She put the map away. "I think it's probably best for us if we head there now. We're blocking traffic here."
Rachel, being the Lovecraft fan she was, recognized both the men's names right off the bat. She wasn't sure whether or not she should be scared, especially of Nyarlathotep (or "Nyarly," as she usually called him) who the Mythos always identified as a right bastard. On one hand, neither of the two seemed malicious, and there was always the possibility they weren't lying. On the other hand, Cthulhu's appearance looked way too convincing to be fake (despite the fact that he for whatever reason was a Deep One instead of the monstrous, cephalopod-like creature Rachel was more familiar with).
"Well, this is...um...odd...." she said, "Five minutes here, and I meet an Outer God and a Great Old One."
Selena then walked over to Rachel. "I think we should head to the Library now. What do you think?"
Rachel glanced between Selena and the two men. If the two proved just as nasty as the ones Lovecraft wrote about, then this opportunity would be a good one to take if she didn't want to end up being their first victim. At the same time, however, if they were feeling friendly today, then they could prove really interesting to talk to....
In the end, she settled on heading for the library. "Well, it was nice meeting you all," she said, bowing her head, "But we should probably get going now."
"Maybe we'll catch up later on down the line," Selena added.
With that, the two turned away and started heading for the library, with Selena constantly comparing their current location with the map.
edited 24th May '13 10:08:28 PM by Yomegami
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Razzin-Frazzin Robot
[Entertainment District]
Vinny turned to the men and said "Cthulhu, huh? Are you actually related in some way to the Cthulhu, or did that name just seem fitting?"
They/Them
Entertainment District
Nyarlathotep waved toward the two girls as they left, "They seemed nice enough, hope we can catch up later."
Cthulhu looked away from the map toward the short being that talked to him, "It would be the Cthulhu, yes. I have much doubt that any being but myself would be worthy of my name. What would you happen to be?"
Note to self: Pick less edgy username next time.
Razzin-Frazzin Robot
[Entertainment District]
The stout man being Cthulhu wasn't actually that much of a surprise to Vinny, though he remembered Cthulhu as being considerably bigger and sleeping in an underwater city. Vinny said "Name's Vinny. I'm just gonna be honest with you here and say that what I run is kind of half-monarchy and half-mafia. It's a long story to explain."
They/Them
Entertainment District
Cthulhu looked at the short being, "A rather odd thing to run, but whatever." He went back to looking at the map.
Nyarlathotep turned toward the small being, "Please do pardon my friend, he's a bit displeased with the idea of a trip. Pleasure to meet you Vinny, I am Nyarlathotep."
Note to self: Pick less edgy username next time.
Razzin-Frazzin Robot
[Entertainment District]
Vinny said "I suppose you're the Nyarlathotep, then. Anyway, what I meant about the half-monarchy half-mafia thing is, I'm in charge of a certain city, but I also kind of act like a mafia don to surrounding areas."
They/Them
Entertainment District
Nyarlathotep nodded, "Yes, I am the one and only Crawling Chaos."
Nyarlathotep observed the short being when he explained himself, "That's a rather interesting way to run things, haven't seen anything done as such for a while actually."
Cthulhu continued to look at the map. He would have looked like a typical New York City tourist if not for his attire. He continued to look through over the points of interest of the city.
Note to self: Pick less edgy username next time.
Entertainment District (Outside) -> Library
After some walking and map-checking, Selena and Rachel found themselves standing outside the library. Rachel looked it over, and nodded appreciatively at the architecture.
"Well, shall we?" she said to Selena, before pushing open the front door and entering the building. Once inside, both of them took yet another look around.
"Empty in here." Selena commented, before staring down at the carpet. "Though this mud looks recent. Someone else is in here."
"You say that like it's a problem," Rachel commented, before casting her eyes on a row of computers on the other side of the first floor. "Anyway, I'm going to look up where this library keeps the Lovecraft. Need to do some...research."
Selena just shrugged before following her. "Might as well keep an eye on you. There's not much else in here to see." The thought of the other people potentially in the building (well, besides the employees, but even those seemed somewhat absent) kept nagging at her, but at the same time she felt obligated to keep the two of them together. This was a big building, after all.
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[Library ~ 2nd Floor]
The shape waited, growing more and more tense as he heard footsteps approach, coming nearer and nearer. He had announced his presence to someone, that was certain. When the footsteps became what seemed to be as loud as they could get, the shape became very still, not daring to breathe. He could hear as those who'd approached the mess of his began to speak to one another. They sounded young, possibly around the shape's own age, and he guessed it was the three guys who'd caused him to topple the books in the first place. figures.
Young or not, the shape was not going to risk taking a chance with the three boys. They might make a fuss and attract even more attention, or they could be dicks. The shape knew well enough that people his age could be absolute dicks. They were already suspicious that someone else was in the area with them, and the shape feared that one of them might eventually look behind the row of desks and find it a little too strange to pass that a lumpy blanket was lying on the floor. He would've hidden under the desk he was lying by, only, there was a chair in the way, and trying to move one of those would be a surefire way to let them know where he was. He considered making a diversion, but he was no ventriloquist, and he had nothing to throw except his flashlight, and from his current position, he'd probably make more noise just trying to reach it than he would by tossing it.
The shape was stuck, and panic built up inside of him as one of the boys who had some sort of English accent tried to call him out. In a last ditch gambit, the shape lifted his head a little to peek out at any possible feet that might be headed his way, or might be even thinking about heading his way. Spying none, he imagined in his head the position of his tiny little alcove, then slowly turned his body to where he thought it was and crawled as fast as he possibly could while being as silent as he possibly could towards it.
He almost made it too. He almost crawled perfectly to and under his sleeping desk. Almost. Instead, he crawled right under the legs of one of the chairs he had used to wall himself in, and even for his slim body, the legs of the chair were spaced far too closely to possibly slip through. More likely what would happen is that his head would make it under the chair, but his shoulders—small though they were—would strike each leg of the chair, so suddenly that it would stun the shape for a moment, and perhaps so forcefully that it would knock the chair right onto his back. And that's exactly what happened.
edited 25th May '13 1:37:21 AM by Ryuhza
this place needs me here
NO ONE SUSPECTS THE LAMP!
[Commercial Zone] -> [Entertainment zone]
Michael brushed his forehead with the back of his hand, as a drop of sweat nearly managed to get in his eye. He took a slurp a big sip of juice through his straw, his only defense against the hot summer sun slowly draining his vitality. Frankly, he was surprised to see these many people out and about today. Sure, most were going to take refuge in air-conditioned malls, arcades and offices, but some were even heading for the park. His heart especially went out to the repairman trying to fix a traffic light that wasn’t working properly. You gotta do what you gotta do, he thought.
Michael was a boy, eighteen years of age though nearing nineteen. He was wearing a plain red T-shirt with dark blue jeans and white sneakers. His black hair had been combed very neatly away from the forehead of his pale face. He was squinting his black eyes as he looked up at the repairman, the sunlight a tad bit too strong even at this time of day. He wasn't exactly tall, only 5'10", and it added a slight element of inconspicuousness to him. He looked back and started making his way to the bus stop that was now in sight.
The sudden sound of drums and an electric guitar made him look down at his pocket. He pulled his cell phone out. Speaking of which, he thought. He picked up the call before the lyrics of Low could start playing. “What?”
“You’re supposed to report to me before you leave the building,” Jacob answered, his annoyance apparent in his voice, “Can you at least try to follow the rules we agreed on?”
“Sorry, didn’t have time,” Michael answered, reaching the bus stop, “You gives didn’t have any Kiwi and I was starting to get withdrawal symptoms.” He took another sip from his straw.
Trying to contemplate the previous sentence in any meaningful way left Jacob at a loss and he only managed to say, “…What?”
Michael looked to his left as he noticed his bus arriving. “Look, you know about my sleep cycle. It kind of messes with my body and I sometimes get these cravings. Today it was grapes, pineapples and kiwi.” Michael thought he heard Jacob gag at the other end as he took another sip.
“Someone actually makes that shit?” Jacob asked.
“Well, it’s not on the menu or anything, but I know this guy who whips up whatever kind of juice you want,” Michael answered. The bus stopped a little ahead of where he was standing. He got in line as people started boarding.
“Okay,” Jacob answered, extending the last syllable of the word, “Anyway, there’ve been reports of some weird-looking people in the entertainment district. “Go check it out.”
“The entertainment district?” Michael repeated. He stopped short of climbing into the bus and stepped out of the line. “Sure, okay, I’ll catch the next bus there.”
“The bus?” Jacob asked, “That’s some restraint on your part. I expected you to teleport there first thing.”
Michael smiled. “Normally I would, but there’re too many people around.” He watched as the bus drove away. He took another sip from his juice, which turned to be his last, going by the gurgling sound coming from his cup. Through the cup in the trash, he continued, “Anyway, I’ll call you when I get there.” With that, he hung up and stood looking to the left, waiting for the next bus to arrive.
edited 25th May '13 2:35:10 AM by Elfhunter
If I knew how I know everything I know, I'd only be able to know half as much because my brain would be clogged up with where I know it from
Welcome, reader, to the latest Character Development Thread! These shared story exercises help budding writers develop their characters alongside the characters of other budding writers.
No formal sign-up is necessary; one can simply jump right in. Just make sure to review the OP and the last few pages first. If you still have questions or need a recap, feel free to join in the discussion thread
.
On a point of land where two rivers came together sat the center of a large city. As could be expected, a good number of skyscrapers and other such large buildings dotted the landscape. Bridges spanned the rivers, linking the center with the other parts of the city that sat on the other side.
The city's architecture appeared to be all over the place. The buildings on the outskirts looked modern, but as one approached the heart of the city the structures started looking older and older. Even stranger, the oldest building in the city was also the tallest – a massive skyscraper that truly lived up to the title of “skyscraper,” but looked like it was built in the 19th century.
The people of this city came from all walks of life. Some were natives; others were just visiting. There was no denying that the population was quite a varied one. The question was just how varied....
edited 23rd Oct '13 8:05:54 AM by Yomegami
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