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
[Quantum Inn - Alliance Suite]
Qrlil restrained any impulse towards an embarrassed response. She definitely still had some such impulses, but at this point it seemed as though it would be extremely odd to express them. Odd in an amusing way, probably, but nevertheless.
Instead, she mimicked Angua's tongue gesture, then adopted a light tone as she spoke. "Yes, but I must say I doubt whether it was enough of a while to leave an entire hour in question!" She hissed, then found herself drawn to correct that with "Though I suppose I am also not entirely certain when you actually fell asleep. Or when I did, actually."
She moved to the edge of the bed and lowered her feet to the floor. Currently she was wearing a light sleeping robe, with no sleeves and thin material. It was not actually necessary, since her normal smartcloth robe could of course be reset to something similar, but she had thought it was an appropriate gesture to make. "On that subject, I am a little surprised you had not woken up already, in fact. You are more of a morning person than I am."
She stood up and turned to notice that, contrary to the statement she had just made, Angua actually seemed to be getting more settled into the bed. "Er," she said, still speaking lightly. "Do you need me to help you up?"
Laugh and grow dank!
[Quantum Inn - Alliance Suite]
Angua's smile grew into a smirk. "You just lost track of time, huh? Yeah, I have that effect on people." She stretched again, sliding on her back so that her head hung upside-down off the side of the bed. "And yes, that would be very nice."
yey
[Quantum Inn - Alliance Suite]
Qrlil gave Angua a distinctly odd glance, not quite understanding what she had meant by that. Obviously she cannot expect I seriously mean to physically drag her out of bed. Like many qrtxians, augmentations meant she was stronger than she looked, but she was not nearly at a point where that would be practical. But she wasn't quite certain what it was Angua was saying - even if it was only an attempt to return the joke, there still had to be a specific meaning, yes?
She tilted her head and moved to find her ordinary robes, which were lying neatly in a folded pile on the floor. "I would not say that you always have that effect on people," she said, voice underlain with a slight hiss. "Though I imagine it would be quite useful in your profession at times..."
That thought led her somewhere she didn't want to consider right now, and she refocused on the immediate universe. She slipped on the robes and set them to a pale red color and an ordinary fabric. For a moment she glanced out the window. While still dimmed, it offered a good view of the sky, where the clouds were gradually breaking up.
"All right, then," she said, turning back towards Angua. "I think you have been lying there long enough." And we should probably get out and meet Zerrimus, as well. Though that was also a slightly uncomfortable thought, though for entirely different reasons, and she would rather not think it.
"So if you really want..." She walked over and grasped Angua by the upper arms, ready to either help her rise or, more playfully, actually attempt her best effort to pull her up.
Laugh and grow dank!
[Quantum Inn - Alliance Suite]
Seeming quite satisfied, Angua held her arms out straight for Qrlil to grasp onto. "Alright, all ready. Pull away." Subtly, Angua dug one of her heels into the surface of the bed and helped push herself along as Qrlil pulled on her, sliding across the top of the bed with ease. A few moments later, she fell with a muted thunk! onto the suite's floor.
Looking up at Qrlil, she smiled mischievously. "See? I knew you could do it!"
yey
[TO INFINITY...AND BEYOND]
Ever since they found Howell's letter that morning, Adam had been silent. It seemed that no matter what his friends said, Adam wouldn't cheer up. After a fun night of karaoke, the morning seemed so...down. Was it possible that a joke gone wrong caused him to leave like this? To leave so abruptly?
Of course, Adam knew the real reason why he left, which only made him feel worse. How he couldn't help his friend. How he couldn't do anything else to convince him to travel with him and his friends. He felt like, in a way, he failed Howell.
"I sent Terra Nova a text." Marie said as they walked down the street, "I hate leaving without saying goodbye, and I didn't want them to worry, so it's the least I could do."
"Of course," Jackson said, "You don't want to break Teri and Kris's hearts."
"...You're never gonna let me let that down, are you?"
Jackson chuckled. "Nope!"
Nick, meanwhile, stayed behind with Adam, rubbing his back. Marie tried talking to him, and that didn't work. Jackson tried, and predictably, that didn't work (mostly because comforting people was not up that dude's ally). Now it was Nick turn.
"Hey," he said, "Listen...I don't know what you two talked about while we gave you and Howell space, but whatever happened, stop hitting yourself over the head with it, please."
Adam just shrugged.
Ok..., Nick thought, New tactic.
"If Howell left a letter there," he continued, "Then that means that he's not mad at you. Whatever you did, you made him stay, at least for that night. That alone is great! And besides, you'll see him again. You saw your friend Joseph that city, remember?"
Adam's eyes lit up and he turned to face Nick.
"See? Don't think of that as a permanent goodbye. You'll see him again. Promise."
Adam still felt a little sad, but he knew that he wasn't being fair to his friends. They just wanted him to leave the Capital with good memories, after all. Besides, he had to worry about other things once he left—like The Chaos and where his parents were.
Nick's words, however, soften everything just a little bit. He slowly smiled for the first time all morning.
"...Thank you." he said, his cheeks slightly red, "Thank you all for trying to cheer me up. I'll feel better soon. I swear it. Maybe..." he started his boots and floated in mid air, "...after a race?"
Nick smirked and started his boots as well. "Hell yeah! Now we're talking!"
With that, the two of them flew passed Marie and Jackson.
"Oh for fuck..." Jackson groaned and started his boots as well, chasing after them, "Wait up, you assholes!"
Marie busted out laughing, then followed after them. "Wait for me!"
Now back in semi high spirits, The-Not-Chaos-Hunters flew over the city, to...wherever they would end up next.
The message, which would be on Terra Nova's door, said this:
Hey Terra Nova! If you see this, you probably noticed that we left already. But don't fret! We just got some supplies and we're on our way to whatever city we can find. Thank you so much for hanging out with us! We really did have a good time, and I'm sad we had to leave like this. Hopefully we'll catch each other again, wherever we end up.
See you next time!
—Marie
PS. Teri and Kris, sorry for all the flirting. I hope I didn't make things super awkward.
edited 4th Dec '15 11:14:04 AM by Masterofchaos
[Quantum Inn - Alliance Suite]
Qrlil looked down at Angua without otherwise shifting her posture, which was currently signaling both amusement and a certain sense of misgiving. I have noticed that seems to be becoming quite common for me.
She wondered briefly if that was a problem somehow, if she was being in some way patronizing by reacting that way. Yes, she thought it was a mutual amusement - but she had had that error pointed out to her before, particularly by some of her human friends like Ambassador Kimura and Admiral Williams, even after she had begun making efforts to be less... well, qrtxian when it came to aliens.
But she did not think that was truly likely. It was hardly the first time - or the twenty-fifth time - that she and Angua had engaged in this type of exchange, since well before they had changed the nature of their relationship. Bemusement was harmless enough under these circumstances.
"So I did," she said to Angua, though she could not resist a suspicious "Apparently."
Deciding she was about ready to go out now, she stepped out into the common area, opening her mouth and sniffing in the direction of the food Zerrimus was eating (which she did not recognize either).
"Good morning," she said to him, inclining her head.
It's a bird.
[Quantum Inn - Alliance Suite]
Garkin was absentmindedly shoveling food into his mouth and staring at the collection of holographic squares that hovered above his left arm. Messages from the crew, various technical readouts, and a video feed or two.
Things seemed to be going relatively well. The first batches of meat and vegetables from the food tanks were finished, some work had been done on one of the fusion cores, and the plant that wasn't a plant had been locked up in a significantly sturdier cage than before.
Garkin held back a lazy yawn, and noticed Qrlil leaving one of the bedrooms.
"Oh, good morning," he responded, raising a hand. Glitch spun around in the air to look at Qrlil through the huge camera lens at it's front.
"Yes, good morning miss Qrlil," it added in it's usual polite and cheerful voice.
Still a great "screw depression" song even after seven years.
Laugh and grow dank!
[Quantum Inn - Alliance Suite]
Angua picked herself up off the floor and, still naked, followed Qrlil out into the common area. "Hey Zerrimus!" she called cheerily, giving the alien a friendly wave. Her bedsheet was balled up in her right hand, which she unfurled and fashioned into a toga around her body- a part at the back permitting her tail.
She continued, moving over to the counter to fix herself some quick breakfast, "I hope you got some rest. Important work today."
yey
Crazy Kiwi
Hotel Fantastique —> Out
After an enjoyable - and late - night at the karaoke bar, Kris, Teri, James, Karl, Sir Archibald and Wolfe rose late, read the lovely note from the "Not Chaos Hunters" and made their way to the hotel's restaurant for a substantial and leisurely breakfast.
After breakfast they returned to their rooms and packed their gear and loaded up the robot with the items they had purchased on their first day.
While Karl, Sir Archibald and James headed towards the portal at the Transport Centre with the robot and their purchases, Kris, Teri and Wolfe mounted the bikes and headed off to Market Street.
They stopped at the rental firm for Kris to return the bike then continued on to the book shop where Wolfe purchased a memory stick and a large number of ebooks to go on it.
They tarried long enough for a coffee and a cigarette at a nearby café then headed back towards the portal, Kris riding pillion on the back of Teri's bike.
In the meantime, Sir Archibald, James, Karl and the robot arrived at the depot just behind a group that consisted of a tall Māori woman, a Chinese woman with startling blue eyes, a Caucasian woman with short brown hair, a Caucasian man with long dark hair and goatee and an older looking man with a battered mechanical arm and a red eye.
Sir Archibald exchanged a meaningful glance with James, who nodded - both had marked them, from the way they moved and kept alert to their surroundings, as some sort of combat-oriented group but not (going by their attire) regular military.
The strange group vanished through the portal, going back to whichever universe they came from, and the four from Terra Nova stepped into the portal after them.
Nearly an hour later, Teri, Kris and Wolfe rode into the depot. They stopped for a brief last look back at the city then rolled forward and the bikes and riders were swallowed up by the portal.
[Quantum Inn - Alliance Suite]
Qrlil bobbed her head at the hovering drone. "Hello, Glitch," she said, smiling a little. While internally she obviously knew (and indeed was a bit reassured by knowing) that the drone merely was expressing a simulated personality, nonetheless she had come to find it rather charming. Not that I would say that out loud - at least not the first part.
She took a moment to look at the holographic display above Zerrimus's left arm. It was a bit unfamiliar to her - she had seen such things on qrtxian combat cruisers as fallback measures, and more commonly since she had come to Skrahsis, but where she grew up it was much more common to project such data directly into the visual receptor.
Moving towards the kitchen area, she considered what to get, thinking that she probably just wanted something light and 'snack-y' for the moment. "Yes, it will be," she replied to Angua. I would rather not think too much about it at this moment - but I suppose it is best not to wait. "I am - "
She paused as she glanced sideways to Angua and saw her state of attire, such as it was, and gave her a Look. Shedding it off, she continued to Zerrimus "I am hopeful that you have thought further about it? It still seems like there is so much to try and plan for..."
Sorry this took longer than I meant it to. I overslept.
It's a bird.
[Quantum Inn - Alliance Suite]
"Um..." Garkin began, blinking a few times before regaining his focus. Nudity in itself wasn't all that shocking, but he hadn't really expected Angua to be this casual about it. "Good morning to you too."
He turned off the projections and looked over at Qrlil.
"I've looked at the scans and thought it over," he said. "But the gist of it remains the same. Access the building via the roof, stay out of sight, silently stun any guards that get in the way, find Wesley and get out."
He scratched the side of his head, sighing a bit. It always sounds so easy at first, doesn't it?
"As far as I can tell, the Commonwealth don't seem to be able to detect or block this thing..." He tapped his holograph with a short claw. "...which will be a huge advantage. We'll avoid the guards and find our way through the building, with you as an extra set of eyes, just like Angua before."
He ate some more of the strange food - some kind of colorful mini-biscuit things - before continuing.
"Glitch will relay the signal and help you out."
Glitch hovered over to land on the table, shutting off it's engines. "I hope I can be of use," it said. "Rolph is a very skilled programmer. And also incredibly handsome, in case anyone was wondering."
Garkin clenched his jaw a bit, but did not say anything.
Still a great "screw depression" song even after seven years.
Laugh and grow dank!
[Quantum Inn - Alliance Suite]
"Sounds good," said Angua to Zerrimus through a mouthful of cereal. She sat at the kitchen counter, spoon in hand, with a bowl of something fruity swimming in a lake of orange juice. "So, do we know how to get in yet? We can probably access the roof from a fire escape or an adjacent building, but getting in could be a problem."
yey
It's a bird.
[Quantum Inn - Alliance Suite]
"There's stairs between the roof and the top floor," Garkin answered. "The door shouldn't be too hard to get through unless it's sturdier than it looks."
He took another spoonful of the colorful meal. "And plan B would be the top floor windows."
Still a great "screw depression" song even after seven years.
[Quantum Inn - Alliance Suite]
Qrlil poured herself a glass of water and collected a set of small, soft fruit spheres (different from the type she had had yesterday). She then moved to sit down next to Zerrimus at the table, stopping briefly to give Glitch another Look, though an amused one. It would appear that Rolph may have programmed in other things beyond a mere simulated personality...
"I am hardly an expert on these matters," she said as she sat down. That is an understatement. "But if you are planning to break down a door or window, do you have a way of doing silently? Because otherwise" - she hissed - "you may as well go in wearing that surfer shirt."
The joke was meant partially as a way to distract herself from her concerns. She wasn't going to like this. It made perfect sense - as she had just thought, she had no real expertise with this type of behavior and would be better staying back to provide support - but it wasn't a pleasant prospect to simply stay behind and worry.
It's a bird.
[Quantum Inn - Alliance Suite]
"I do. Don't worry," Garkin said, smirking a bit at the shirt comment. Although very stylish, it was hardly discreet. "This is basically just the Neriad Hotel all over again."
His gaze briefly dropped. "Um... except for all the armed guards."
Still a great "screw depression" song even after seven years.
Laugh and grow dank!
[Quantum Inn - Alliance Suite]
Angua swiveled around to Zerrimus, a wide grin on her face. "Ooh! So, you think we can go in on rappel lines? I always wanted to do that jump-in-through-the-window thing. I uh- not exactly quiet, I know, but depending on how things go, we might not be able to stay concealed for long. Probably not going to be many places to hide in close quarters." She shrugged, returning to her entirely too sugary breakfast.
yey
[Quantum Inn - Alliance Suite]
Qrlil looked at Zerrimus. "Well, if nothing else we can be reassured that they are all normal people this time," she said. "I think."
She still wasn't quite certain what to make of the Office of Special Inquest agents. Her initial wild theories that they might be in some way no longer human (or whatever other species they had originally been) had apparently been proved incorrect by those she had met inside the Commonwealth embassy. But there still were those strange heat signatures they had given off, which she was not certain how to explain.
She begin to nibble on the fruit spheres, but stopped and looked at Angua in bemusement as she spoke. "What?" she said, tilting her head slightly at the mention of 'that jump-in-through-the-window thing'. "Er, are you serious? That does not sound very subtle. Or safe."
Laugh and grow dank!
[Quantum Inn - Alliance Suite]
Angua swallowed a mouthful of damp cereal, then said to Qrlil, "Aight- check it out. When you wanna take a building, you want to go through it as fast as possible. Built-up places got very short sight lines on account of there being walls and doors and stuff in the way, so a shooter can just camp out around a corner and stop you from moving." She took in another spoonful, speaking through slurps and crunches, "Counter-intuitively, this actually is the safest way to do this, opposed to getting bogged down in a protracted gunfight."
yey
It's a bird.
[Quantum Inn - Alliance Suite]
Garkin was just about to finish his breakfast, but looked up from the bowl and turned to Angua with a wide eyed expression.
"Um, you get that is an actual hostage rescue and... not some action sim, right?" he said, sounding slightly worried. "If we go in guns blazing, people will die. Probably including us or Wesley. Speed will help, sure, but not getting noticed at all will help more."
Still a great "screw depression" song even after seven years.
[Quantum Inn - Alliance Suite]
Qrlil did not know anything about action sims, at least of the type Zerrimus was describing. Her preferences in trashy entertainment had generally been more towards sophonts running away from some kind of monster, often large to a scientifically-implausible degree. (Kyle Williams had tried to introduce her to something called 'cop shows' once during the war, but while it had been very popular with the LRG members they saw it with, she had just been baffled).
Still, though, what Angua was proposing did sound much riskier than what she had thought they were intending. "I... I would not want that to happen, no," she concurred. "I do not even want anyone from the Commonwealth to be permanently harmed if we can avoid it, though I suppose that at least is an acceptable risk."
Her head tilted, and she let out a frustrated sigh. "But I don't know. You have probably both done this more than I have. I mean, obviously you would have, but I mean much more." She took a sip. "I wish I had - I knew more. Not just about how to plan this type of thing in general, but specifically, here, now. I do not feel comfortable not having an exact plan."
Of course, she had been willing to improvise more yesterday. But then she had been more involved, too.
Laugh and grow dank!
[Quantum Inn - Alliance Suite]
Angua looked askance at Zerrimus, finishing the last of her meal and laying her utensil down before saying, "Aright, if you've got a better idea of how to play this, let's hear it. Keep in mind, getting caught and pinned in a close-quarters battle is probably gonna result in both us and Wesley biting it."
yey
It's a bird.
[Quantum Inn - Alliance Suite]
"Like I said," Garkin began. "We go in silently, keeping track of the guards so we can avoid or knock them out as necessary."
"You... um, do have a point," he admitted before finishing the last of his food. "And I think that my ship's security chief would like your attitude. But Wesley will be in danger as soon as they notice us, which is why I want to avoid that if at all possible."
He scratched the side of his head again, as he usually did while deep in thought.
"I'm not saying that it will be easy or anything, but with our limited resources it's the best I could come up with."
Still a great "screw depression" song even after seven years.
Laugh and grow dank!
[Quantum Inn - Alliance Suite]
Angua folded her arms. "Uh-huh. And how long do you think we'll manage to stay silent? It's an apartment building, the hallways are only about as wide as two people. What's gonna happen is we run into someone or you knock something over and make some noise. Either way, we're not staying concealed for long."
Turning back to the counter, she picked up her bowl and shuffled over to the sink, dumping it inside and giving it a quick rinse. Angua continued, "Stealth gets us into the building, but once we're inside, it's not gonna work as well. Might as well exploit the element of surprise while we have it."
yey
It's a bird.
[Quantum Inn - Alliance Suite]
"Sweet mother Anwyn and her three demented uncles..." Garkin whispered to himself while shaking his head. We're really not prepared for this at all, are we?
"Alright," he continued, making his voice more audible. "We enter silently, do some stealth takedowns if we get the chance, and once we get within earshot of more than one guard we go for the surprise attack. How does that sound?"
He carried his empty bowl over to the sink as well.
"I think I brought at least one blind-bomb with me. That should help at least a bit."
Still a great "screw depression" song even after seven years.
[Quantum Inn - Alliance Suite]
Angua rubbed her eyes, groggily mumbling, "Uh, nah. I'm getting up, just gimme a couple minutes. I got in a good- what? Six hours? Seven? Iunno. We were uh-" She drew in a long yawn, stretching her back and limbs out, almost catlike. Several of her joints popped in sequence, and she let out a satisfied sigh before continuing, "We were... Well, you know. For a while. Yeah."
Angua's expression was a supremely mellow smile, brow drooping to give the impression of lidded eyes. She stuck her tongue out at Qrlil.
yey