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 the length of the thread has become a bit daunting and you need a recap, or if you simply need another question about the threads answered, just post in the discussion thread
and we’ll do our best to help you out.
This particular thread focuses a bit more heavily on character interaction than usual. It is recommended, though not required, that your characters come with specific goals in mind.
Many thanks go to nrjxll, Killer Clowns, SolipSchism, Corvidae, electronic-tragedy, Darkblood Carnagefang, Strix Obscuro, Gault, Night, and gameknight102xx, among others, for helping to prepare the thread.
◊Somewhere in the vastness that is the multiverse, there lies a great city. Born from a mix of modern technologies and ancient magic, it has become a crossroads between many different realities, resulting in a wonderfully varied populace and a mostly near-futuristic cityscape.
This shining Capital prides itself on being a place of opportunity. It’s up to the inhabitants to make something of it.
- Current Time: Night (~10:00 PM)
- Current Weather: Cloudy
edited 12th Oct '15 12:20:03 PM by Yomegami
Crazy Kiwi
Market Street - Pub
Henry leaned over and asked if they should intervene.Wolfe shook his head and murmured "Kris could shoot the pips out of a strawberry at thirty paces but she's no hot-head, violence is not likely."
Teri grinned. "Not physical violence, anyway."
Kris looked at the alien. Due to the different physiology, she had no idea how old they were, but they were unaccompanied on an alien planet, which suggested some independence. "Whatsamatter? Didn't your mummy ever teach you that it's not appropriate to take the Mickey out of people then accuse them of having a problem? Or to say sorry, for that matter?"
edited 8th Sep '15 9:09:00 PM by Wolf1066
Attitude is prohibited
[Museum Park - Northwest]
Miyuki's speed got her across the park in mere moments, and combined with the sophistication of the sensors contained within her visor, she was able to spot Kyana very quickly... And was also able to spot the Buyer. Still high above the trees, she zoomed in on his face and was able to discern what he was saying by reading his lips. She didn't know why he was asking about her, or why he was talking to Kyana at all, but it was clear that the scarf-clad girl was after him for some reason or other, and that was motivation enough for Miyuki.
Her visor changed its shape to its mask form, and the material of her suit once again reached up to cover the rest of her head, completing the "ninja" look the Buyer had encountered earlier. She followed him, noiselessly, from far up above, and then took a moment to think. Was it ironic that she was about to surprise him just as he'd been talking about her? A stray thought distracted her for the briefest of moments: I wonder what Hoshi would do now..? Probably think of a line to say, to try and scare him...
Her attention quickly returned to the task at hand. She dove, straight down, head first, for about 20 feet. Then she shut off her thrusters, flipped around in mid-air, and rapidly free-fell the final 10 feet. Quite dramatically, she fell out of the sky, essentially out of nowhere as far as the Buyer would know, and landed just a couple of feet in front of him, activating her thrusters again at the very last minute to cushion her fall, creating a powerful gust of wind that disturbed a great many leafs and likely pushed the man onto his backside.
"Speak of the devil..." She said, rather menacingly, her voice distorted by the mask, sounding as though it was coming through a radio. "And She shall come."
She was not about to admit it, but for just a moment, she'd really enjoyed making a dramatic entrance.
[Museum Park - East]
Akira sighed deeply and his shoulders dropped. "I know..." He said. "She's tougher than anyone I've ever met. But she's not invincible. Nobody really is, and I think she forgets that sometimes." He was quiet for several moments afterwards, still staring off in the direction he'd last seen Miyuki in, even though she was long gone from there. "Well, anyway..." He said, and then turned and reluctantly walked towards the bench.
Not entirely dead.
[Pub]
Nick quirked an eyebrow. "What? No, no one's cranky. What you said was kind of-"
When he saw Henry's hand on what appeared to be a gun, Adam visibly started to panic. Nothing he was doing seemed to calm the situation; if anything, it seemed to make things worse.
He quickly turned to Howell, his eyes wide with fear, and whispered in a shaky voice, "Please, please, please just apologize. P-please just say you're sorry. Please."
Marie and Jackson tried to calm tensions.
"Look, let's all just calm down." Jackson said, lifting his hands.
"None of this is necessary, guys." Marie added, "He's a young kid who said something silly. There's no need to escalate this."
New City - Skyscraper Roof
Midori's face fell sadly to Sophie's comment on Samantha. Thinking about it, she wondered why Samantha was so dedicated. She had mentioned the Bleaksteel being dangerous, but there had to be more to it than that. If they were as dangerous as she mentioned, wouldn't others fight against them as well? "If you don't mind me asking, do you perhaps know what happened to Samantha in the past that might be the reason she is so heavily focused? Maybe... maybe something like Bleaksteel killed someone she loved or something?" she asked Sophie, looking back up at her.
Meiko's Cafe
"Well, we did say we weren't going to be working here long. Plus Sasha seems very understanding and flexible so it should work." Kiyumi said with a grin, "And well, I'm missing Midori already." Naoko nodded and added, "The rumors pointed somewhere in Old City, so I agree that we should look there."
Museum Park
Kyana was about to answer with a very general description (even though she was still confused on why he needed to know such things) when she heard another voice near the man. It was distorted but sounded female and her eyes widened. "Miyuki?" she muttered and quickly ran towards the source of the voice as fast as possible.
"Can you imagine an imaginary menagerie manager imagining managing an imaginary menagerie?"
It's a bird.
Museum Park - National Museum (Culture Section)
Moreena smiled, and pointed a long fingernail at a collection of runes right beneath the 'Kilroy' carving.
"Well, this one just says 'Everyone else wrote stuff' in Old Heverian," she said. "Not sure about the others, though."
She took a slow walk throughout the room, glancing up at at some of the larger exhibits, which among other things included a huge statue of an anthropomorphic crocodile, and a large golden pineapple on a pedestal. Eventually she reached a large glass case labeled "Assorted Artifacts".
Inside the case was a seemingly random collection of items, including a few small knives, a golden pocket watch, some kind of knitted orange hat, and a pair or intricately decorated bracelets. Moreena looked up at Lara.
"This reminds me..." she said. "I don't think I asked where you got those bracelets of yours, did I?"
Still a great "screw depression" song even after seven years.
[NATIONAL MUSEUM - CULTURE]
"No, you didn't." Lara replied, matter-of-factly, "I got them from some...Aztec temple or something like that..." At the last moment, a subtle tone of defensiveness could be heard in her voice.
To Moreena, it only would've been a few seconds, but for Lara it was hours of awkward silence. Finally, she sighed, putting her hands on her hips.
"Remember last night when I told you there was an archeologist that I just wanted nothing to do with?" She asked, this time making a conscious effort to keep her voice sounding neutral.
New City - Skyscraper Roof
"I don't know the exact reason. Samantha's never told me and I haven't been able to get it out of her. But the Bleaksteel must have done something, because I can tell she truly hates them," Sophie said, frowning, "In fact, it's so severe I think she hates robots in general. When we first got here, we came across this group of people with a robot. It was a cute little thing that clearly had nothing to do with the Bleaksteel; I don't think it was even capable of fighting. Yet Samantha wanted to smash it anyway, just because it was a robot."
She shook her head and sighed. "I do think part of it is because the Bleaksteel are dangerous. I haven't seen much, if anything, that really contradicts Samantha's claims about them. But that's not the sort of hatred that comes from just fighting them as a day job." She shrugged. "But there's only so much you'll learn from just listening to us. You'll probably make your own judgments about them once you meet them for the first time."
New City - Meiko's Cafe
"Then for now it's settled," Samantha said with a grin of her own, "Once we've all reunited, gotten off this job, and heard what Sophie and Midori have to say, if anything, we'll start searching there."
She glanced between the two ninjas. "It's nice you two seem to be agreeable enough. With that comment you made earlier, I was worried you'd have just as much trouble adjusting as Sophie does." She scowled again. "Now if only Sophie was more adaptable...."
Eliza doesn't have anything to add at the moment; carry on without her.
Icon by Civvi the Civilian!
[Museum Park ~ East (Heading South —> Near Bench)](Buso, Akira, ???)
Buso let out a light sigh, though it wasn't exactly a sad or tired sigh. There was something of an almost sentimental strength to it. The kind of sigh one might make when returning to a childhood home after a lifetime spent away. Young... and brash, and... ready to fight the world. And who's going to stop her?
He gave the Akira's shoulder as reassuring a pat as he could manage with as sinister-looking a glove as his. Staring at it served only as a reminder of what he was really after here. His medicine was only a short walk and a short wait away... if nothing went wrong with the retrieval of Kyana. He could only hope that nothing would. That nothing had.
Buso let the boy have a bit of a head start. He was lost in the long, stretching corridors of thought, though to any outside observers he was still just staring at his hand. After a few more seconds, he echoed Akira's, "Well, anyway..." and trailed behind.
Someone was sitting on the bench.
A man was sitting on the bench.
A man was sitting on the bench, and staring at Akira.
At least, it looked as though he might have been staring at Akira. His eyes were so narrow and pinched that they could just as well have been closed.
Even from a distance the man's appearance was very distinct. His skin was pale and his face was gaunt, looking just as pinched as his eyes. His eyebrows were arched high, adding to what appeared to be a near-perpetual scowl centered at the bridge of his nose. His nose itself was long and narrow, almost hooked. His small mouth was capped by a sharp black mustache that turned up very slightly at the ends. Below this was a protruding chin and an even further protruding beard, carefully trimmed, running along his jaw and ending in a neat point. The rest of his hair, black just like his beard, was thin but long, pulled cleanly out of his face, behind his ears, running down to his shoulders. One of the most striking things about his face was the long, gash-like scar at the center of the man's forehead, running down to his nose. The scar, or a separate, smaller scar ran further down his nose, veering off just at the tip. Eerily, the scars looked less like roughly-healed tissue, and more like old, unbleeding wounds that would never close.
Put together, it made for a particularly ghastly face. All the more so when the man bared his teeth in a zombie's grin.
Once one could take their eyes off of his face, they would see that he was wearing an old black suit with a simple white button-up shirt underneath and a sad looking bow tie. His lap was occupied by what looked curiously like an old dial phone, constructed of a strange, shiny, black material.
Along with his grin, the man scooted to the side of the bench, then patted the empty spot next to him in an inviting manner.
[Museum Park ~ Northwest (Near Central Canal)](Buyer, Kyana, Miyuki)
The man was in mid step when the rush of air hit him. It sent him stumbling backwards in a roughly straight line, until he was knocked right back against the tree he'd started from.
The impact left him dizzy, though the surprise was even worse. Reaching up to cradle the back of his head, the man struggled to hold his leg still, and to hold himself upright. With the support of the tree behind him, he managed to find sure footing and balanced himself out.
"You again..." he muttered, loud enough to hear. Still clutching his aching head, he squinted out at the dark figure and grimaced. "What?" he demanded in a weary voice. "What the hell do you want with me? You assault me, you steal the one thing; the whole damn reason I came to this city, and now... happy day... look: you're back for more." he groaned and shook his head, "Can't you just... just learn to leave a guy alone?"
[Market Street ~ Pub] (Howell)
Howell's eyes flickered around the room moving quickly from person to person. His head remained pointed towards Nick—at least until Adam began pleading with him—but his thoughts were elsewhere.
Why on Earth is this drawing so much attention? Why is everyone acting like I'm waving a giant bomb above my head?
For a moment, his gaze flashed toward Kris. For another moment, it grew into a dark glower. Accompanying it was a strange sensation bubbling up from deep within. Not unknown, not entirely unfamiliar, but very uncommon and wholly unexpected.
Beneath his sleeves, his hands clenched tightly into fists.
Anger.
"You hardly even know me." he wanted to say, glaring directly at Kris. "You hardly know me and you're calling me a dick. For what? For trying to make a few stupid jokes? For trying to be funny? That makes me a dick"
Then he'd turn to Nick, his expression softening from anger to confusion. "If nobody is cranky, then why is everybody making such a big deal out of this? It was just two words. Two words. Is it really just because I didn't say 'hi I'm Howell!'" he'd punctuate this with an enthusiastically ugly grin; his very best. Then he'd continue, "I mean, who am I really offending? This is bananas!" he'd wave a hand towards Henry, "Is he going to shoot me because I didn't introduce myself properly?"
He'd spread his arms out in a big shrug; an open question. He'd look at all of them. "Please, someone, please tell me what the big deal is. Help me understand, 'cause I guess my brain isn't working right. Maybe I'm just too stupid to get it." he'd shake his head. With his anger all but spent, his voice would be growing weaker. "I... I don't want to upset anyone. I didn't mean to make anyone mad. I just..."
Howell no longer wanted to be there at all. Surrounded by people who didn't trust him, didn't like him. Even if he apologized then, it wouldn't matter. He'd made the worst kind of imprint. He was a mickey taking piss taking dick. Kris would still hate him. Her friends probably wouldn't think much of him. The guy who didn't know what karaoke was might not shoot him, but that was a meager victory. Even Adam's friends... they'd keep giving him strange looks and talking down to him.
Adam would probably still like him the way he had before. But maybe Adam was a fluke. Wanted to be friends with the world. Howell's eyes fixed on him. Adam was nice. Adam was friendly. But... Adam...
Adam...
...Adam didn't have his back.
"Adam, it's been great seeing you again." he wanted to say. "But," his gaze would work across the rest of the room, "I don't think this is going to work out. I don't think I've seen a single smile since I showed up, and now... all this. I've got other places I should be."
he'd give Adam a pat on the shoulder—maybe a hug if he really wanted to—he'd nod to Adam's friends, he'd give a lighter nod to the others, and then he'd leave the pub. And he'd walk until he found somewhere better to be. It wouldn't take much.
He wanted to say it all. To do it all. He wanted to be about a foot taller. He wanted to have a stronger voice. More than anything, he wanted support. He'd say it all. He'd do it all. If he had just one person to back him up. Someone to defend him to her last breath. Or just to smile and nod at him once. Just once. One reassuring nod, and her face.
Howell's eyes fell. His head fell with them. His eyelids lowered. They closed.
"Sorry." he said.
edited 11th Sep '15 7:18:14 PM by Ryuhza
every little word and every little step
Crazy Kiwi
Market Street - Pub
"None of this is necessary, guys.He's a young kid who said something silly. There's no need to escalate this."Kris noticed the way Howell glowered at her and the way his arms tensed beneath his sleeves. A kid, huh? Unless he's three years old, he should still know better. She met his eyes without blinking. Bring it on, kid.
Wolfe had no idea what had prompted Kris' anger at Howell. There had to be more than just the slight against James - even taking their relationship into account, this was uncharacteristically harsh. What had gone on earlier to cause this level of ire?
Kris watched as the young alien visibly deflated, lowered his head and apologised. Good. Hopefully he's learned his lesson. "Right, then." She lit a cigarette, picked up her drink and went and parked herself on a chair.
Teri gave her a quizzical look as if to say "what was all that about?" but she just shook her head.
James was relieved that whatever had set Kris off seemed to have been resolved.
It's a bird.
National Museum - Culture
Moreena raised an eyebrow. "You mean the 'snot-nosed' one who is still alive today despite your wishes?" she asked. "Hm, I'm sensing an interesting story here."
Still a great "screw depression" song even after seven years.New City - Skyscraper Roof
So it was a possible story of revenge. And Midori knew revenge stories hardly went well. It always ended with the person going insane and losing their humanity over it. She just hoped that wouldn't happen to Samantha. In fact she kind of wished Samantha and Sophie didn't have to be magical girls and fight the Bleaksteel, that they could live a simple fun life like her and her other ninja friends.
"I guess I'll have to wait and see then once we start fighting them. But to be honest, I hope that day never comes. I hope we find the fragments and things can go back to normal for you two." she replied, "Though I feel like that is nothing but a pipe dream."
Meiko's Cafe
Kiyumi and Naoko looked at each other but said nothing. Kiyumi just hoped Midori wouldn't get yelled at too much, the girl was easily frightened by angry people.
Museum Park
After some twists and turns Kyana finally found the Buyer and who she assumed to be Miyuki. She quickly hid behind a tree, watching them again until the right moment to pop out just like before when they were first getting the rock.
"Can you imagine an imaginary menagerie manager imagining managing an imaginary menagerie?"
Laugh and grow dank!
[Waterfront - Experience]
Angua tapped a spot in her menu, pointing it out to a passing waiter. "I think I'll have one of those, yeah. Cuttlefish tempura sounds good. Aaand- for desert, I think I'll have the assorted gelatin balls please thank you."
The waiter nodded and withdrew.
Angua poked Qrlil in the arm to get her attention. "Hey uh- you mentioned evolution. I read a Raldist pamphlet once and that term came up a lot. It was about how the different sentient species developed different traits, and this means they can't live together without their traits causing all sorts of problems."
yey
[Waterfront - Experience]
Qrlil took another bite out of her platter, then glanced at Zerrimus. "You know... I am not actually certain of the answer to that question," she said thoughtfully, her neck swaying sideways as she spoke. "I mean, I know when the Gates were originally discovered, but I am not precisely certain as to when and how it was learned what they were. It sounds rather strange, really, when you think about it - simply diving into an unknown artifact to find out what it is." Not that she was certain that was what happened, but it probably was, since the Gates only seemed to allow the passage of sentient life. "Not very much like how qrtxians generally see themselves..."
She glanced at her menu again, wondering if she should order something else, but decided not to for the moment at least. Instead, she turned towards Angua as the kasuar poked her arm. "Hey!" she exclaimed, though not seriously, then tipped her head as she considered the actual substance of what had been said. "That seems like a bit of a silly idea," she replied. "I mean, I suppose that makes sense when applied to species with very different physical requirements. But I don't see why it would be a problem when they all come from the same planet."
It's a bird.
Waterfront - Experience
Garkin took the opportunity to order another serving of... whatever it had been called, as well as the same kind of dessert as Angua. He turned back from the waiter with a bit of a frown on his face.
"Yeah, we've had our fair share of that kind of stuff on Anwyn as well," he said. "Though in our case it wasn't so much about species as it was about culture, faith or... continent of origin." He shook his head. "Or the um, 'virtues of dark scales and long head spikes' for that matter. I'm glad all of it ended before First Contact or Kren knows how it might have gone..."
edited 10th Sep '15 11:16:31 AM by Corvidae
Still a great "screw depression" song even after seven years.
[Pub]
Adam felt a tremendous amount of guilt when he saw Howell's face, and immediately pulled him into a tight hug. "I'm so sorry..."
"Un-fucking-believable." Jackson said, "You guys are ridiculous. Bloody hell, I'm going to get something to eat." He walked far away from the group, to a table near the corner.
Nick gave a heavy sigh and sat on the floor, covering his face.
Marie shook her head. First she turned her attention to Kris, "What the hell was that? He just said something silly and you freaked out? He's a kid." Then, she turned her real attention to Henry, glowering at him, "And you! You were willing to shoot a child for a joke! How dare you! None of this was necessary!"
Mr ship
[Market Street-Pub]
Henry moved his hand away from his revolver after Howell apologized and looked at the young lizard. "Kid I hope for your sake you take this as a lesson to be careful of what you say around people. Trust me you say the wrong thing near people and the next thing you know your life'll be completely ruined the next day. If you don't well something like this will happen again and again until you're found dead or on the run." He said lighting another cigarette.
New City - Skyscraper Roof
Sophie knew full well that Midori's hope was an empty one. Even if by some odd stroke of luck this mythical Undercity place had all of the remaining Pleroma fragments and that the Bleaksteel hadn't caught wind of this, Samantha would most likely immediately go after them with the completed Pleroma to wipe them all out.
However, she didn't come right out and say it. She figured Midori also knew it was horribly unrealistic. Besides, the mood was already depressing enough and she didn't want to dampen it even more. In the end, her last words on the subject were a forlorn, "Me too, Midori. Me too."
She was silent for another couple moments after that, before she looked back at the sunset. "I don't think we should really worry ourselves over it now, though. After all...I don't think that sunset's going to be there for too much longer." She smiled weakly. "And I don't think we should just give up the idea of trying to get everyone to do something fun just because of Samantha. For all I know, we might be able to talk her into it. We'll never know if we don't try, right?"
New City - Meiko's Cafe
Samantha raised an eyebrow at the ninjas' shared glances and lack of response.
"What? Do you think something's wrong with my plan?" she asked.
Icon by Civvi the Civilian!
Crazy Kiwi
Market Street - Pub
James shut his eyes and shook his head slowly. Just when he thought the situation had been resolved, Marie decided to go on the offensive.Kris sucked in a mouthful of smoke then exhaled it audibly. "You're making a few assumptions there, Marie. First off, you're assuming I knew how old he is. How was I supposed to know that? Cut him in half and count the fucking rings? Secondly, you're assuming that 'tall 'n' gangly', here, was preparing to shoot him rather than getting ready to stop me from killing him. And as for 'freaking out', I've been in his company for less than ten minutes and in that time I've seen him take the piss out of people three times then turn around and say that we're the ones with the problem."
Wolfe nodded slightly. That explains the outburst.
"The fact that he's a kid is immaterial," Kris continued, "unless he's an infant, he should know by now that you don't go up and be a smart-arse to people you've never met before. He's not our friend, he doesn't know us, and he sure as fuck hasn't earned the right to crack wise with us. Tall 'n' gangly's quite right: if the kid pulled that shit with the wrong people, he'd be eating his meals through a straw - if he was lucky enough to still be able to eat."
Teri leaned closer to Wolfe to speak softly in his ear. "Be a darlin' an' get me some popcorn."
Wolfe grinned.
edited 10th Sep '15 1:18:36 PM by Wolf1066
[NATIONAL MUSEUM - CULTURE]
"Yeah... That one." Lara chuckled. She put out her hand, placing her index finger and thumb not even a centimeter apart.
"He was this close to being my stepdad. He and his team were researching some texts about an old civilization that used these bracelets only in festivals by only one person. Something about celebrating the god that brought them summer and winter.
Shrugging, she continued. "Anyway, they were ready to go into the place, when they got news that a rival team already had plans to go to the same temple. He's completely hated this other team so much and for so long, that the plan is dropped. What does he do instead? Stuff the walls with dynamite so he can take 'em all out.
"When I heard the news that..."
Lara stopped herself. No, Moreena didn't need to know that. It was still the truth, wasn't it?
She shook her head, moving on.
"When I heard the news that the temple had been rigged, I booked it as fast as I could inside to warn them. I was inside, but he had the temple blown up anyway. The amount he ordered was just enough to break the foundation and cause a cave-in. I just barely avoided getting trapped. After everything calmed down, I saw that a secret wall had fallen down, and inside was a statue that wore these bracelets on its wrists."
When she finished her story, she looked away at the bracelets displayed in the case.
"And now you know."
Museum Park - National Museum (Culture Section)
Eliza spent most of her time up on the second level looking over the exhibits and seeing if she could spot anything interesting. She shoved her own personal interest to the side pretty quickly, as to her nearly everything looked interesting. She was more focused on things that the rest of the Bleaksteel should know, as well as anything worth discussing with Moreena and Lara.
Once a scout, always a scout I guess, she thought with a small smirk.
Eventually, her eyes settled on a tall statue of some kind that reminded her of the architecture from the Undercity. If they were ever going to head back down there, which was a distinct possibility, then it might have been worth checking out to see if it really was from the Undercity and if its description had anything more about the place worth noting.
She made her way back down and headed towards the statue, but not before noticing that Moreena and Lara seemed to be talking about something rather heavy. She frowned slightly, but ultimately chose to remain out of it for now. If either one of them felt like telling it to her later, then that was fine, but she wasn't going to force it out of them.
Icon by Civvi the Civilian!
[Market Street ~ Pub](Howell, Adam, Henry, Jackson, James, Kris, Marie, Nick, Teri, Wolfe)
Howell didn't do a whole lot after all was said and done. He stood still—hands in his pockets and head still hung—as Adam hugged him. His eyes had opened back up, staring out at nothing in particular, and blinking slowly but often.
Eventually his gaze wandered over to Marie. It should have been nice to hear his own silent thoughts find a voice, but it wasn't. It was hard to feel anything but weary watching the situation prolong itself, even without any input from himself. He hadn't said a peep or moved an inch since his apology, yet the put-downs kept coming. And there he was, stuck watching from the sidelines, for fear of making things worse.
His eyes quickly found their way to Kris, watching in silent wonder as she continued listing all the sacred statutes that he'd broken with his jokes. Even as he listened in, Howell still didn't quite understand what she was on about. She was talking as though he had been making jokes at the expense of others, but that wasn't the case, was it? In his eyes, he was just goofing around and if anyone was being made fun of, it was himself. All this talk about being beaten up, about getting killed, about 'earning the right'... it just made Kris seem like one of the most unfriendly people he'd ever had the pleasure of meeting. The sheer bizarreness of it all almost made it hurt less to think that he was still the yolk at the center of the rotten egg.
Support or no support, the idea of getting out of that place as quickly as possibly was growing almost irresistibly appealing. If he didn't figure something else out quickly, he'd be gone. So, he patted a hand against one of Adam's arms, and craned his neck slightly to look more directly at the other boy. He offered him a slight smile, then, speaking in a very hushed tone, said, "Hey Adam. Wanna go grab a seat somewhere?"
every little word and every little step
Mr ship
[Market Street-Pub]
Henry looked over to Marie with angered annoyance. "How dare I? I wasn't going to shoot the damn kid! I was just having it on hand just incase this did go south! Do you have any fucking idea how many times there have been giant fights starting like this? I'm so close to getting home after ten fucking years and I'm not going to let some little kid fuck it all up because he can't grasp the concept that he started this whole thing!"
[Pub]
Adam nodded.
"Yeah. Let's do that." he said, slinging an arm over his shoulder and walking away. "Now would be good." He led Howell to Jackson, who was only sitting quietly at the far back table, isolated from everyone else.
Marie put a hand on her chest as she looked between Henry and Kris, clearly offended, "Well, I never-"
"Everybody, shut up!" Nick snapped, standing up. He stepped between Terra Nova (with Henry) and Marie and glared at them. "Look, obviously, this shit is going nowhere. So let's all just drop the subject and try to have a good time, or if we can't do that, let's get away from each other. Ok? Let's not drag this out any further."
Marie wanted to call him out for telling her to shut up, but she knew, deep down, he was right; there was no need to continue this. But at this rate, having a good time looked to be impossible. The night out was ruined.
Instead, she groaned, flipped her hair, and walked outside for some air. Nick gave a heavy sigh again, walked outside, and flew to the roof to sit. The Not-Chaos-Hunters were now separated for the night.
edited 10th Sep '15 8:48:52 PM by Masterofchaos
Attitude is prohibited
[Museum Park - Northwest}
"Stop whining." Miyuki replied, flatly. She grabbed the Buyer by his shirt collar and held him against the tree. Then she turned her head. "Kyana." She called out. "Come here. Now." She paused, then quickly added "Please."
The only reason she'd come back out this way was for Kyana, and the only reason she'd intercepted the man was because Kyana seemed to be pursuing him. She had a lot of questions, and her scarf-clad, fire-wielding companion was the only one who could answer most of them.
[Museum Park - East]
It took Akira a moment to fully comprehend how suspicious their new situation was. The strange man on the bench looked quite menacing... But then again, so did Buso, and he was alright. For a moment, Akira considered that this might all be some innocent misunderstanding, and that the strange fellow on the bench might actually be a nice guy.
Then his nerves gave out and he ducked behind Buso. "Let's not get any closer!" He hissed, somewhat frantically. "I don't suppose you know that guy, do you?"
Not entirely dead.
Museum Park - National Museum (Culture Section)
"Pretty much what Lara said," Eliza said before looking over the tablet herself. "Though I'm wondering what the rest of these carvings say. One part of me imagines they're mostly respectful...." She made an odd sort of half smile. "Though my guess is at least some of them are pretty immature. Like 'Bob + Katy XOXOXO' or 'President Bob has vapor for brains' or other stuff like that."
At that, she noticed the staircase and decided to head up it to get a better look at the exhibit as a whole. She got about halfway across the walkway before leaning slightly against the banister, looking out over everything below.
Icon by Civvi the Civilian!