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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This particular thread is a casual thread. What does that mean? The focus here is largely on character interaction, and a casual thread is largely meant to serve that purpose without subjecting the participating characters to anything overly threatening. This especially means violence, although there is a designated sparring area for friendly duels.
Many thanks go to Sonzai for helping me prepare this thread.
◊In a remote, mountainous region of Japan, in the middle of a large bamboo forest, there sits an inn. At first glance, it appears oddly traditional, and for the most part it is. However, a closer look around will reveal that it is surprisingly modern as well and offers everything a weary traveler could need. The inn's location is most unusual, but stranger still are its staff. Almost all of them are Youkai, the mythical and incredibly varied spirits of Japan. Some of them look fairly humanlike, others are more bestial, and still others are simply strange.
Appearances aside, this particular group is welcoming to any and all weary travelers that find their inn. Perhaps they'll even meet someone stranger then they are.
- Current Time of Day: Sunset
- Current Weather: Mostly clear
edited 5th Sep '14 7:50:35 PM by Yomegami
[Outside ~ Mountain Path (To Inn)]
Oswald's hood slowly lowered and raised again in a leisurely nod. He took a few more steps, glanced up at the dimming sky, then turned his head as far as he could to look back at Marie expectantly.
When it seemed she had nothing more to say, he added,"Ah...huh, so, you are the boulanger and they the confiseurs?" he butchered both words, but as fortune had it, there were no nearby Frenchmen to have out his tongue. "And, if you don't mind my asking, what kind of sweets do you bake?" he paused for a moment, then, as a paltry reassurance, offered, "I'm only asking because I've got a big sweet tooth myself. ...The thought is almost enough to stave off the hunger."
this place needs me here
Joan shrugged her shoulders, trying to work out an annoying knot. "The Fourth Estate's been a lot kinder in our world, but a Good Samaritan elf managed to stop an assassination attempt on the U.S. President and British Prime Minister. Before that, things were pretty bad. You had witches wanting to pull a Voldemort-style takeover, a bunch of fey extremists threatening to turn Exxon headquarters into a jungle, religious nuts screaming about the minions of Satan- long story short, it was a mess. I'm half amazed there wasn't all-out war in the streets."
Forward, boys! For God's sake, forward!
[Theatre]
"Winston?" Gregory muttered. "This is another one of those cases where I can't tell if you're serious. How could your favorite not be Venkman?"
[Back Door -> Bar]
After the departure of Rein, Steve decided to catch up with Samuel. He sped into the bar to find him chatting with the same woman he was supposed to be sparring with earlier. "Yo, Sammy!" he called out.
"Oh god," Samuel muttered towards Joan, "ignore him. Ignore him with all your might."
Steve approached the two at the bar regardless. "How's it going, buddy? Who's your friend?" He offered the woman and handshake and with a wink introduced himself. "Steve Roveri, at your service."
The future of warfare in UC.
[Theater]
"The one who studies, who plans, the best shot and the most sane. If you believe some other material anyways." Se shrugged. "I'm not going to identify with a crazy scientist for a few more decades at least, not after some of the stuff I've had to deal with, so that leaves the con artist or the professional. Who do you suppose is closer to my heart?"
edited 1st Sep '14 7:52:11 PM by Night
Nous restons ici.
[Path to Inn]
Marie blinked.
"The boulanger and the...what?" she said, "I-I'm sorry sir, I don't think I know what you mean." When he asked about the sweets she sold, she smiled. "We usually sell cookies, brownies, and cupcakes. Sometimes we sell pies, too." She shrugged, "If I knew I ended up here, I would've brought my basket."
[Outside ~ Mountain Path (To Inn)]
Oswald swiveled his hood slightly, shooting Marie a sideways glance before murmuring, "Uh- forget it. I don't know what I mean half the time either." he put a hand to his neck and cleared his throat, continuing more confidently, "So it's baked goods and baked goods alone then? Hm. Well, any goods sound more than good to me right about now. But we must do without for a short while longer..." he didn't so much as entertain the possibility of the inn offering nothing for free, or costing more than he had to give.
He shrugged, "Don't worry yourself about it. If I had known I was to end up here, I would've brought..." he hesitated for a moment, tipping his hood downward and quickly patting his pockets, as though searching for something that might have been missing. "...um- ah, well, a change of clothes at the least. The point is, this—our being summoned here—was something neither of us could foresee, and there's no use in bemoaning the things we lack. Matter of fact, if I had known that I was to wake up here this morning, I would've brought a little more than my fledgeling hair of knowledge regarding Japanese etiquette, but there's nothing much I can do about that now except live and learn." Oswald reached into his hood, rubbing the side of his face and losing his hold of a nervous sigh.
As they continued onward, the roof of the inn broke into sight just over the edge of the visible path. No more a fable, the inn seemed closer than ever, and the switchbacks and steeper declines that separated them from the path's end became no more than a hop, skip, and a jump through a meadow of tulips.
this place needs me here
[Path to Inn]
Marie followed Oswald closely behind, feeling glad that he was leading the way and not her. She knew that if she did, she'd get the both of them completely lost.
She didn't completely understand his question, but still tried to answer it to the best of her ability.
"Well..." she said, "I do the baking, and my mom and sister sells the sweets."