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
The clouds kept building up, to the point that they now completely covered the sky. It didn't look like they were going to let loose with another thunderstorm, but given how dark it was it might have been difficult to tell.
Current time: Night (~10:00 PM)
Current weather: Cloudy
Attitude is prohibited
[Museum Park - East] (Buso, Seller, Akira, Kyana, Lara, Miyuki, Moreena)
Getting used to the feeling of one's impending death was a deeply surreal experience, and yet that's exactly what was going on in Akira's head. As things dragged on, he managed to convince himself that maybe a pointless, violent death was what he'd been destined for from the very beginning, and that this was as nice a place to die as any. Certainly, it was nicer than Kagos' slums or the harsh Wastes.
His head swivelled - in as much as it could swivel at the moment - between the Seller and Moreena. He wasn't sure which of them was being more unbelievable. "Are you kidding me?!" He said. "Open to speak?! While you're constantly threatening to kill me?! Okay, ha! Sure! Here's me speaking: FUCK YOU!" He squirmed and struggled as much as he could.
"You wanna know what he's leaving out?!" He said to Moreena. "Me and him," He motioned to Buso. "We're not guilty of anything! We didn't do anything. We just hung out here the whole time. What're we guilty of, huh? Having friends?" He said. "And you know what else? I bet you he's only holding us hostage because we're the only ones he knows he can overpower! I mean, I'm just an ordinary guy! You wanna know how old I am? I'm pretty sure I'm 17, but I'm not even fucking sure! There weren't many calenders around where I was growing up! And Buso here? I don't know if he's magical or whatever, but he sure doesn't seem like he's got some crazy power!"
Akira took a breath before continuing. "And speaking of Buso, we're mainly doing this for him! He's ill or something, I don't even know what's up with him, but I know he's real desperate for medicine! And from what I heard, the only place to get that medicine is from the crazy bitch who put us up to this! So, yeah, here's me and a sick guy being held hostage by crazy scar-face over there! I'm sure that it's so hard to see who victims are here!" He said, with desperate sarcasm.
"And, I mean," He laughed, incredulously. "What did any of us actually do to deserve this? In the end, we never actually stole anything! We fell for his elaborate ploy! Nobody died and nothing was lost! Some random dude - who I never met, by the way - got less hurt than I did that one time I fell down some stairs, and this creep over here is complaining about his reputation. " He turned to the Seller. "Well I'm so sorry, but I really don't think your rep is as valuable AS MY LIFE, YOU ASSHOLE!" He screamed.
"He even admits that this wasn't our idea!" He continued, turning back to Moreena. "We're just the hired help! That woman who put us up to this barely told us anything! We had no idea what we were getting into!" He turned back to the Seller. "If you're such a big shot, where's she , huh?! Why waste your time with us, when you already know that she's behind it all?!"
"And!" He said, turning to Moreena once more. "And... I mean, you don't even know how easy it is for Miyuki to kill people! I've seen her do it! It's brutal! Over in a second! Less! But she didn't kill the guy, and if I know her - and I'm sure that I do - she was never going to, no matter what she told him. I mean, what, he got a bloody nose? He got choked for a second? Boo-fucking-hoo! Miyuki's been a soldier all her life in a war that's been going on longer than either of us have been alive! If she had really wanted to hurt him, she could have done a million times worse than that! Right?!"
He looked to Miyuki but she didn't say anything. Ever since the Seller pushed her sword away, she had been lowering it at an incredibly slow pace. She was still too dazed to give a response to anyone, but instinctively kept watch on the Seller.
"Erm." Akira said, after an awkwardly silent moment. "And, hey," he turned his head a bit more to look at Lara. "Do you know Kyana? You seem like you might know her. Either way, she is so fucking nice! It's ridiculous! All she wants to do is help people! To be a hero! She's totally selfless! She didn't ask for anything in return for this job, just that Buso here got the medicine he needs! I don't know if she's even capable of being mean!" He said.
"So, uh, yeah, there's a version of the story for ya, I guess." He said, looking to Moreena yet again, still frantic but now breathless. "Buso needs medicine. Some crazy woman says the only way he's gonna get it is if we steal a thing for her. A rock, she says! And that's all she said about it! So we get here, spot the guy she told us to go after, and the girls go off and track him down, while we just sit around, pretty much. Then before you know it, this guy and his invisible hands are dragging me around on the grass and pinning Buso to the ground! For a while, Buso wasn't even allowed to talk!" He said.
"Miyuki comes back and, well, I mean, she's just protective, that's all." He continued. "But don't let scar-face over here make you think that he's afraid of swords! Not for a second! He takes his sweet time dialing that phone-thing and threatens to break me and Buso's necks! Multiple times! He's made that threat multiple times! And, well, then you showed up. So, could you help us now? Please? I'll give a hundred dollars!"
He still wasn't even sure how much that was.
Not entirely dead.
[Quantum Inn - Alliance Suite]
Qrlil bustled back over to the kitchen area, leaving her robes flapping slightly. She wondered if she was trying to distract herself, then decided it didn't really matter.
"Yes, I think they did just let me go," she said, turning her head back over her shoulder to face Zerrimus. "As I said, there was a war going on at the time. The Archons had much bigger problems to concern themselves with then one... defiant tool, and they created even more problems for themselves soon enough."
She moved aside to let Angua past, then resumed speaking. "I suppose it is possible that they still retain an interest in me, but it is very unlikely, considering what they did after the war. There are many more probable things for me to worry about than the Archons. It is simply saddening sometimes, thinking about how they were not what I had hoped for."
She resumed moving towards the kitchenette, joining Angua there. "Still, I suppose things have turned out all right." She hissed. "And yes, I do realize that I might have been somewhat abrupt in shifting the mood just now. Sorry."
You can assume that there is a pretty wide selection of snacks available.
It's a bird.
Quantum Inn - Alliance Suite
Garkin joined the others in the kitchen area, and began searching the cupboards. He looked over at Qrlil.
"Heh, I know you said that the last few years had been strange," he said. "But this is just..."
He shook his head, the spikes swaying behind him. "Kren, that must have been one hell of a thing to go through."
Gonna let the others catch up a bit before posting for Moreena again.
Still a great "screw depression" song even after seven years.
[MUSEUM PARK - EAST]
As much as she was convinced the weasel was lying somewhere, Lara was inclined to believe Moreena—they were new arrivals.
Out of the corner of her eye, she glanced at Kyana. What about her? Knowing her incurable go-getter attitude, it'd be impossible to get her on the wrong side of something. Unless someone is taking advantage of her prolific disposition?
Could she possibly be that stupid? She reflected.
Shaking her head to keep focused, she returned to the conversation, noticing something unusual about the rodent's story.
"Why a decoy?" She asked, "Were you expecting something like this?"
Then she cocked her head to Akira once he finished his tirade. "At least, it doesn't exactly go against this guy's version if you stop to think about it."
After a short silence, she looked again at Akira, nodding her head. "And yes. The fire-spitter and I are...acquaintances."
[Museum Park ~ East (Near Bench)](Seller, Buso, Akira, Kyana, Lara, Miyuki, Moreena)
"It's not a threat, it's an assurance." the seller said, after listening fairly calmly to Akira's take on the story. By the end of it, he did seem a little on-edge, but his voice remained level, "I may have set the gun in place, but it is not my finger on the trigger."
The man ran his fingers down his pointy beard thoughtfully as he continued, "Again, I believe this story requires some clarification on several points. First of all," he gestured at Akira, "you were only restrained when you tried to run. And Buso was only restrained and silenced when he proved several times over that he was not willing to participate in a level discourse, seeking only to disrupt that which was already in place. Mind you, it was only for a few minutes, and he has since been allowed to speak whatever stirs in that mind of his."
The dark dots of his eyes flickered briefly in Buso's direction, but Buso's mask remained still, and he remained wordless. He was too caught up with his own thoughts to pay much attention to the words being said, even when they involved him.
"This assurance I've spoken of," the seller looked at Moreena, "it too came only as a response to violence. First when a blade was pointed at my throat, and more recently a long spire of ice. You'll find, I think, that this action, re-action scenario is prevalent throughout the entire story, all the way to the beginning. I've acted only to defend myself and my interests. But," the man turned his gaze to Miyuki and Lara in turn, "if we can agree to keep our sticks and stones in our pockets, then I would have no further need for my assurance. I will release Buso and the boy. Not to run away, but to discuss levelly what needs to happen next."
[Market Street ~ Pub](Howell, Adam)
Howell continued to cover his eyes, nodding and shaking. He dragged his hands down slightly, covering a bit of his reptilian snout as well. He nodded again and again, and said, "I- I know Adam. I'm sorry- ...I know, I know." He stopped and tried hard to take a few breaths without choking up.
"It's- she's gheh- ...I- I can't-"
Whatever he was trying to say, he apparently couldn't. His words failed him. His mouth failed him. His mind failed his words, his mouth, and he himself. Finally, Howell slipped away from Adam's grip altogether, landing his arms on the table and his head in his arms. The pub seemed quieter than usual. It made it all that much easier to hear—even through the boy's barricade of sleeves—that he was sobbing.
every little word and every little step
Laugh and grow dank!
[Quantum Inn - Alliance Suite]
Angua found a box of fruity cereal and poured herself a bowl, dousing it liberally in orange juice before propping herself up on a stool and digging in. Through a crunching mouthful, she managed, "Y'know, I probly shudn't be eating something this sweet so late. But whatever. Dunno if I'll be going to bed for a while anyway."
yey
I'm sick as hell but I'm still gonna post because I love you guys.
[Pub]
Adam didn't know what else to say, which made him even more distressed. He never seen or heard Howell this upset before, and for a long time, he just sat there, confused.
What am I going to do? he thought, looking around. The pub was quieter now, and his friends were at a farther table, not knowing what was going on. How can I help him if I don't know what's wrong? I...I don't know-
Then he remembered something Nathan used to do when he was upset. He wasn't sure if it was going to work, but it was the only idea he had in his head now. He hoped that it could, at least, calm him down, until he was ready to say what was on his mind.
He gently pulled Howell into a hug, lightly rubbed his back, and hummed softly.
[Quantum Inn - Alliance Suite]
Qrlil looked at Angua and hissed. "Going to bed or going to sleep?" she said lightly.
Though as she finished speaking, the thought did give her a moment's pause. It was relatively minor compared to all of the other strange things about this situation, but nevertheless it was slightly puzzling to contemplate actually spending the night in a 'bed', instead of the way she normally slept. (At least, she was fairly certain Angua slept in a bed).
Blinking a few times, she dismissed the thought and refocused on the present. She rummaged through several storage containers until she had found a sealed bowl full of small, light blue dried fruits. Pouring herself another glass of water, she sprinkled some of it over the fruits, softening them up, then began carrying it back into the main portion of the suite.
"I don't know, really," she said to Zerrimus, tilting her head. "It is hard to imagine what you would compare an experience such as that to. In general, I have thought it best to just not think too much about it and move on. There are always many things that need doing, after all."
It's a bird.
Museum Park - East (Near Bench)(Seller, Buso, Akira, Kyana, Lara, Miyuki, Moreena)
Moreena listened to the boy's somewhat... tempestuous explanation. His feelings were perfectly understandable given the situation, of course, but the way he was throwing insults at a man who threatened to kill him did not seem very wise. The story itself seemed believable enough though. The boy and the masked person - Buso, was it? - were most likely relatively innocent, and Kyana had probably been drawn into the whole thing out of some misguided desire to do good. The girl with the sword did most definitely have an affinity for violence ,though.
She turned back to the man on the bench.
"Yes, agreeing not to kill each other seems like a good starting point," she said, her voice perfectly calm - almost a bit bored - as she glanced between the man and the sword-girl.
"Believe me," she continued, focusing on the latter. "If things were to get ugly here, they would get very ugly."
Quantum Inn - Alliance Suite
Garkin grabbed a small bowl filled with a collection of salted nuts, throwing a handful into his mouth.
"Eh, you'll need the energy," he commented matter-of-factly, before turning back to Qrlil.
"Yeah, I guess that makes sense," he answered. "It's still one hell of a story though."
Still a great "screw depression" song even after seven years.
Laugh and grow dank!
[Quantum Inn - Alliance Suite]
Angua abruptly stopped chewing halfway through a mouthful of wet cereal. Her brow bunched together in a look of consternation, and she carefully swallowed. Then, Angua giggled. "Alright, you got me. I will admit, I pretty much walked right into that one."
Her head then whipped around to Garkin, and she slapped him lightly on the arm. "Oh my- Are you encouraging her?!"
yey
[Quantum Inn - Alliance Suite]
Qrlil sat down on the couch, still holding her bowl of wet fruit. "I suppose," she said to Zerrimus. "I am just glad to hear that I apparently managed to tell it well - "
She broke off, and joined Angua in staring at Zerrimus. "Really?" she said, amused.
It's a bird.
Quantum Inn - Alliance Suite
Garkin looked back at the others, his face carrying an expression of faux indignation with a hint of genuine innocence beneath it.
"What?" he asked, before smirking back.
Still a great "screw depression" song even after seven years.
Laugh and grow dank!
[Quantum Inn - Alliance Suite]
Angua began to smirk as well, glancing over from Garkin to Qrlil. "Okay, I get it. So, we just gonna sit around and flirt with varying levels of subtlety all night, or-" She paused, her eyes rolling up in her head to think for a moment. She brought up a lazily hand to drop another spoonful of sugary cereal into her mouth, chewed, then swallowed before saying, "Well, I'm open to suggestions."
yey
[Quantum Inn - Alliance Suite]
Qrlil tilted her head and let out a "Hrrrm," considering the question. There was one obvious possibility, but she wasn't certain it would be a good idea right now. And furthermore, she'd recently had a slightly silly, but still hard-to-ignore, concern that she wanted to mention with Angua first.
She began eating the fruit as she considered, mashing it in her mouth until it was soft enough. Swallowing, she took a sip of water and blinked a few times in thought.
"Well," she said, "if you would like to stay up for now, I suppose we could always watch something, or something similar to that. This suite was provided with a fairly sizable list of entertainment options."
It's a bird.
Quantum Inn - Alliance Suite
Garkin headed over to the couch, digging a second handful of nuts out of the bowl on the way.
"Sure," he said, sitting down. "Let's see what the place has to offer."
Still a great "screw depression" song even after seven years.
Laugh and grow dank!
[Quantum Inn - Alliance Suite]
Angua shrugged. "Sure. I'm game. Don't really have a preference though- I guess I'll just watch whatever you will. Not something I get to do in general, so." She finished off the rest of her cereal, then tossed the bowl in the sink and slid back onto the couch.
yey
[Quantum Inn - Alliance Suite]
"No, I suppose not," Qrlil said. She smiled, feeling pleased by the idea of offering Angua another chance to experience something outside of what was possible in her world alone.
She didn't particularly feel like getting off the couch, particularly with the others sitting there, so instead she linked her backup to the suite's terminal and checked internally to see what was available. "Hmm. Well, it appears we have a fairly eclectic list of choices here. No full simulations, though that is probably a good thing since we do not have any simulation pods, but there are both flat and full projections from several species and of several genres. Actually, there are almost too many options - you are certain you both have no preferences?"
edited 15th Oct '15 12:38:22 PM by nrjxll
It's a bird.
Quantum Inn - Alliance Suite
Garkin wasn't entirely sure what to expect. 'Both flat and full projections' implied some kind of holographics, but he wondered how similar it would be to what he was used to.
"Find any classics in there?" he asked, assuming that Qrlil was using her brain implant again. "Or maybe an old favorite of yours?"
Still a great "screw depression" song even after seven years.
Laugh and grow dank!
[Quantum Inn - Alliance Suite]
Angua shrugged again. "Like I said, all this is pretty new to me. Not really sure what to ask for. Though uh- I suppose that depends on what we want to get out of the night, right?" She gave Qrlil a soft nudge in the ribs.
yey
[Quantum Inn - Alliance Suite]
Qrlil gave Angua an amused look and reached down to touch her hand, feeling the sensation of slightly larger kasuar scales. "I don't think we want to see those sort of entertainments right now," she said with a straight face. Her head tilted. "Though I suppose it might indeed be a good idea to not choose something too long, so as... well, not take up too much of our time."
Her head tipped in the other direction, and she turned it slightly to look at Zerrimus. "I don't know about classics, precisely, but actually the selection I can find stored here does seem to skew slightly towards older works. Not all of them good, but then, as I might have said before, there's some entertainment value even if they are not."
She thought for a moment, then sent a signal to the terminal to project a short list of names and previously-assembled background notes into the air. She settled on five, for obvious reasons:
- "The Drenak Incident": espionage/mystery, produced by the Etis-Tra Federation, considered laughable by most other cultures due to its extremely blatant Federation cultural prejudices
- "I Am In A Suit": cult classic skrah comedy about a con artist impersonating a picilnk. Humor translates extremely poorly to non-skrah - which is why it is so popular. Picilnk opinions are unknown. Full projection conversion slightly flawed.
- "Gray Night": recent remake of a well-regarded kaorrl horror entertainment. Low budget, relies on mood for most scares. Considered on a par with original. Flat projection only.
- "Imperial 5": Corinarchi Empire action-comedy set in the early Second Eboas Dynasty era. Satire/spoof of patriotic special-ops films, but highly regarded by Corinarch nobility.
- "Grqr": comedy about the adventures of a naive qrtxian lost in G'vek League space. Extremely popular among expatriate qrtxians. Banned in the Qrtxian Sphere by legislation of the Public Morale Sub-Order.
As she did so, a thought occurred to her, and she looked back and forth between the others. "Actually: Angua, have you actually seen something like this before at all? I mean, when you were at the Sonjomi Resort?" She turned towards Zerrimus. "And if I might ask, what is public entertainment like in your reality - technologically speaking, at least?"
It's a bird.
Quantum Inn - Alliance Suite
Garkin looked over the options, slowly scratching his chin. He had no idea what half the words meant, but the parts that he did understand looked very familiar. Certain entertainment tropes were apparently pretty universal.
"I could go for a comedy right now," he said, turning back from the projection to look at Qrlil.
"Hm, tech-wise I'd guess it's pretty similar," he answered, gesturing towards the hovering text. "At least if this works how I think it does. Augmented or virtual reality stuff is fairly common too, but needs a bit more hardware. I guess that's what those 'pods' you mentioned are for?"
He grabbed some more salted nuts. "And old fashioned live performances are still popular as well, of course. The clanks have been having doing their thing for over a century, and warchant concerts are becoming popular again, at least back on Anwyn."
Still a great "screw depression" song even after seven years.
Laugh and grow dank!
[Quantum Inn - Alliance Suite]
Angua thought for a moment, then nodded. "Hm. Yeah, I think I could go for that. Comedy sounds good."
yey
[Market Street ~ Pub](Howell, Adam)
Not too long afterwards—though not too soon, either—Howell's breathing began to slow, his shaking began to subside, and he finally stopped crying. He didn't say anything immediately afterward. He just sat there, in his friend's arms, trying to get his thoughts sorted.
It was as if a storm had just passed through his head, wild and uncontrollable. A painful wheel of chaos, drowning out all the good that he tried to keep mixed in with the bad. All he could think about was everything he'd done wrong in the past few days, weeks, years, even. All the things that felt like they were his fault. All the things that had to be his fault. The things he was chasing after, the things he missed, the voices he wanted to hear, the faces he wanted to see... the reasons they left... it was probably his fault too. He was too needy, too overbearing, too weird. He never learned, he never stopped to think, and he never made sense. He always managed to make himself the center of attention, and never in a good way. He was hopeless.
All he could do was wait for it to pass. The sound... the humming... it helped.
Now, almost two minutes after it had started, Howell was quiet as a mouse. Very slowly, he began to pull away from Adam's embrace, sitting himself back upright. His eyes were closed. The colorful skin surrounding glistened with wetness. Finally, his eyelids moved, opening just a sliver and adding more wetness to his strange, reptilian cheeks. Beneath them, his normally quite thin pupils looked rather large and round. They met Adam's eyes for a moment, then closed again, blinking slowly. When they opened next, his mouth joined them. It didn't quiver or tremble. It wasn't smiling or frowning. It had a duty to perform, and perform it would.
"So I guess I should tell you." it said. "My sister. She... she's gone. She left."
every little word and every little step
[Quantum Inn - Alliance Suite]
Angua bobbed her head up and down, giving an enthusiastic nod. "Snacks," was all she said, sliding off the couch and moving over to the kitchenette to help prepare.
yey