Hello and welcome reader, to the 29th installment of the Character Development Threads! These shared story exercises help budding writers develop their characters alongside the characters of other budding writers. No sign-up is needed; just jump right in with your characters. It is recommended that you read the thread page and the last couple of pages before starting.
Discussion Thread
—Thread Page —
Trope Page —
Town Map — Wilderness Map
This is a "Main Series" thread and, as such, an element of risk is expected. Rules and participation guidelines may be found on this page.
The thread page groups active characters under the areas in which they are active, enabling you to see who is at a given location in which you might be interested or to find out where to go to encounter characters with whom you wish to interact.
Kindly add your own characters to the thread page, with a link to their initial post, under the area in which they are located and update the page if they change location.
Bear in mind that if your characters are arriving at a location, they are likely to know little more than what they see and hear as they arrive - what the location looks like, what other characters are there (both of which can be read on the thread page) and the last few lines uttered and actions taken as they are arriving (which can be found in the last few posts for that location in the story thread itself), so inserting characters need not be a terrifying or arduous process. In most cases, they don't need to know more than what you yourself can glean from reading just a few posts.
If you need help, have any questions, or want a quick recap (if the page count is daunting), head over to the discussion page, and someone is sure to help you out!
To help guide character interaction, having your character come in with at least one short-term and one long-term goal or motivation is strongly recommended. It is not required, but it does make it easier to drive the plot forward. Feel free to come up with rumors about what treasures, adventure, locations, and dangers may be found in the setting - they need not be true or accurate, just some hook on which to hang an adventure.
The setting is specifically designed to be a vast sandbox into which details can be inserted by participants (for example, you are free to decide that there is a particular temple in the midst of the forest in which something may be found or that there is a particular shop/hotel/restaurant in a section of the town), if you come up with a location that you desire/expect other characters to visit, please add it to the thread page as a sub-location of the relevant area.
Things change as the story progresses. If, for example, a massive battle occurs at a location and the area is now strewn with bodies and buildings are damaged, kindly update the thread page to reflect those changes, in order that other participants have an up-to-date description of the location prior to sending their characters there.
Special thanks to all those who helped in getting the original thread launched or provided ideas and feedback. In alphabetic order, they include:
Blackfire 667, Collen, Corvidae, daird, Darkblood Carnagefang, Eterna Memoria, Gault, Kkutwar, Killer Clowns, ladytanuki, Masterofchaos, nrjxll, Pyxo, Slysheen, Tro Partner, Will De Regio and especially Wolf 1066, whose original post I have shamelessly copied with only minor alterations.
Apologies if I missed anyone - just let me know and I'll update the post.
The dawn of another day rises across the land, heralding fresh morning air, clearer heads, opened doors, and new arrivals.
Between dimensions, and linked to the rest of the multiverse, lies a strange post-apocalyptic environment made up of various regions strewn with the remnants of past glory - ruins, lost technologies and magic. Here and there, nature has found its way back amongst the ruined temples and towns.
In the midst of the blighted landscape, a fresh new town has emerged - a synergy of technology, nature and magic; clean and eco-friendly; a beacon of hope for a brighter future - where travelers can rest, recharge their batteries (both literally and metaphorically) and get whatever they may need - technological, magical or otherwise - to aid them on their adventures.
New arrivals can turn up by diverse means in the transportation area in the north-western part of the town or by whatever other means they deem appropriate. Here they may also find for rent, lease or hire, any transport they desire from riding animals to vehicles.
The wilderness areas have not been fully explored since the mysterious apocalyptic events that ravaged the area some time ago and no one is really sure what's out there - but rumors abound.
All that is known for sure is that both magic and technology have existed here for a long time, so anything is possible...
Current Time: 10:00 AM
Current Weather: Sunny
See the thread page for updates.
Edited by Ryuhza on Feb 22nd 2023 at 1:14:28 AM
[Blue Hallway]
"Uhh...." Amandus said wearily, "I don't think light bulbs are grown, let alone like this..." He looked around. "They are beautiful, though."
James wearily clenched the moonstones in his pockets, still ready to take action in case things go sour. "Should we really be following this? This seems dangerous."
"Well, so far, it hasn't hurt Joseph...but I do feel nervous." Amandus looked over at Joseph. "How are you feeling about this?"
[Hotel - Fountain (Lancer; Aseyu)]
"Hmm," Aseyu said. Lancer had missed the most obvious implication. Did Aseyu want to lay it out? Perhaps not.
"Open rebellion was not an option for the Children," Aseyu said. "They were not popular, and would have been demolished in an open battle with the Imperial Army. The Empire has mages and mage-killers alike, more and better than the Children of Light could hope for. The cult would have lost the battle, and lost their lives."
And then, of course... well, perhaps best not to mention the sheer, spectacular brutality that Oriyith's citizens would expect, and the Empire's officers, whether reluctantly or enthusiastically, would deliver. Non-Qorisayane tended to get a bit weird whenever the concept of skull-based monuments entered the conversation. Even when those skulls belonged to fascists. And mentioning that any elected official who failed to give their constituents the expected gruesome monument could expect their polls to plummet never helped. For her part, Aseyu thought it was morbid and atavistic, but it did not shock her the way it shocked outsiders. Adrienne, on the other hand... one thing at a time.
"However," she continued, a little hurriedly after a subtle pause, "the cult had enough power over the government to get away with a campaign of subversion and terror. Robbery, vandalism, and arson against Suelasa-owned stores. Beatings and murders half-disguised as simple muggings, but with a pattern that was obvious to us. The assassination of a few successful Suelasa." Here, she bowed her head, and intoned, "may we meet again in the World To Come." A reflexive prayer. "And insidious psychic assaults on Suelasa men and women, used to make us do... whatever the unsanctioned mage wanted. Sometimes they made us commit crimes or acts of cruelty, to make our people seem like the monsters they wanted us painted as... while other times, they had other, more personal desires."
"It was the last," Aseyu explained, "that led to many of us seeking out the path of the mage-killer. The esoteric techniques with which I protect myself are hard to learn, physically and mentally exhausting, and have their own risks. You have to be able to compartmentalize the sheer, frankly unhealthy will to power needed to tell magic itself to stop, and force it to listen. But when monsters like that are around, the time and risk suddenly become all too worth it."
"As for the cult?" Aseyu said. "Moon Hawks, sanctioned mages, are often sent to investigate cases where unsanctioned ones are suspected. And you've already met Ethani aq'Iqine." Aseyu smiled fondly. "You know, she doesn't think highly of our faith, on a philosophical and theological level... but she was still there, no hesitation, for us as people. She didn't have to spend the time to help us learn anti-magical techniques, but she did. Learning how to defeat mages is easier when you have a mage helping you practice, after all."
"And she pretty much single-handedly tore the Children of Light's whole operation down. I'm rather proud of how Oriyith handled the result: technically, the enthralled's deeds in aiding and abetting the cult had merited death sentences, but for all our flaws, we've come a long way as a society. The judges, with Ethani's urging, ended up handing down light civic service sentences and mandatory mental health counseling. Neither was really meant as punishment: it was more of a way for the enthralled to feel that they'd made themselves right before their Gods."
And the ringleaders had been decapitated by sword in front of a cheering crowd. Their skulls, after being cleaned up by maggots especially bred for the purpose, had been neatly piled in the square in front of the Ulon's manor, and remained there from one violet moon to the next, and had needed routine cleaning for all the rotten produce thrown at them. In Qorisa, progress was often... uneven.
Edited by KillerClowns on Mar 26th 2024 at 10:11:43 AM
Hotel Lobby {Center} (Claire; David)
Claire shrugged, "Adventure, diversion, is there really a difference?" she asked. She quietly watched David's actions with a wistful smile on her face.
Seeing David stare at the fountain, she shook her head. "I've dealt with a lot of fairy shit, and the fountain ain't part of it. I don't sense any fae magic off it like with the sword." She slowly craned her head to look around the fountain, "Speaking of magic, however..." she started, trying to figure out where the glow of light was coming from.
She noticed the (Cadian) Royal Army medic intervening in a confrontation, failing to notice the downed, differently-dressed Joseph. Oh, she must be the source of the light... she thought.
She glanced down at David, chuckling softly as she took the sword back, "A knight with range, huh? Ever considered becoming a dragoon? Or some variety of magical warrior?" She snapped her fingers and pointed at him, “Though, you'd need some training for those."
Claire relaxed, rubbing her chin, “Well, as one of the remaining active elven goddesses, she naturally has a fortified base of operations. I like it quite a bit. Lady Aria is a nice person, while she has fangs, both metaphorically and literally, not so much the bloodlust. That's one of the things she laments about her children; some of them decided to reject their humanity in exchange for becoming powerful monsters— actual monsters deserving of the title, not what some might call the residents of Sanctuary."
she/her friend to the hooved
Lancer, Hub Town, Hotel, Lobby Fountain
The Children's tactics tracked well enough with the Iron Reach—hidden headquarters, decentralized key operations, and the aid of certain bad actors within the Firewalkers, as well as government. They'd be crushed in a straight-up fight with the self-defensive military that the modern Republic of Seven States had, let alone with supers, and they were, but that wasn't the point—the point was to do enough damage to erode public trust in the restructured RSS, so their moles in leadership could more easily enact changes and take nigh-irreversible steps to drag things back to the way they had been. Funnel wealth back to a 'chosen few', and with it meaningful power.
Some might have seen Adrienne as optimistic to a fault, straightforward, guileless, but the stoat wasn't so naïve that she couldn't intuit that Aseyu was being selective in what she was sharing about this. She didn't dare guess at what was being omitted, knowing what she'd already been told.
And she certainly knew what 'personal desires' meant in this context, because while it wasn't where her mind had gone at first, it only took that much of an allusion for things to click. Pointedly not saying anything for a long moment, her only readable physical reaction to this was her ears turning back and her grip on the gem tightening ever-so-slightly, gaze still focused on that balled fist. Maybe she did have too much faith in people at times.
"Ethani would get along pretty well back where I come from, I think." she remarked after that long moment, somewhat of a bittersweet smile crossing her snout in a mirror of Aseyu's fond one as she looked back over. "You would too."
She put the gem away again, making as if she were about to stand back up. "Takes a... certain kind of person to do this, and what supers like me do, especially on-scene work, and fighting if we need to. Compassion, duty to others, and a willingness to do the right thing are paramount, grit too, resilience... more important than any powers we might be born with."
Edited by Chortleous on Mar 25th 2024 at 8:13:43 AM
< Hub Town - Hotel, Lobby (Fountain, across from elevators) >
David tilted his head this way and that. "A difference of scale and intent, as I see it. Yesterday, Joseph and I were on a job to recover a bit of stolen property from a thief, and the thief herself. Just the one," he added with a wink. "I call that a small adventure, which ballooned into a real misadventure, sure, but it's the sort of thing that begs a bit of anticipation. Today, I'm going to report back, return the stolen property, get paid, and then—barring a more appealing diversion—kick my feet up somewhere in the sun." As he described his plans, he leaned against the fountain, lifting his legs as though to demonstrate. With support from his tail, he even managed to suspend himself there, one leg kicked over the other, hands behind his head and an ease in his expression that betrayed none of the awkward strain of maintaining such a relaxed position.
"Nothing particularly adventurous about it. I suppose it'd keep you on your toes if you've lived on a farm your whole life, but it's plain sailing for a city born boy and worldly traveler," he squinted one eye as he said this, jutting out his jaw slightly and sounding for all the world like an old Irish sailor. "Bumping into you again has been a lovely little surprise— a lovely diversion, but not what I'd call an adventure." Settling back down on his feet as easily as he'd risen, he drummed his padded fingers against the fountain edge and added, "...unless, of course, it grows into something more."
As he spoke, his gaze shifted, fixing on Claire. It was a purposeful gesture, yet infused with a certain vulnerability. A curiosity: could it grow into something more? He lingered like that a while, before smiling softly and returning his sights to the crowd of the lobby. "Hmm. Maybe that's the distinction: an adventure is born as a series of diversions."
Before their conversation could continue, a pair of voices engaged in an all-lobby curse off, their loudness escalating some personal spat well beyond its appropriate audience. David's ears twitched slightly as he glanced over the fountain with a look of irritation, beckoned to the sound more out of obligation than real interest. He caught sight of a larger, younger guy and a smaller, older guy, both human by the looks of it, though the way they barked in each other's faces like a pair of mad dogs on opposite sides of a fence suggested otherwise.
It reminded him of actors on a stage, of emotions that ran higher and wilder than the everyday, made into a spectacle before a captive audience. Inevitably, it reminded him of his own brief time on the stage, how he'd felt bold, larger than life, on the cusp of the greatest moment of heroism he might ever know. And then small. So horribly small, and smaller still, leaving room for nothing but abject fear, confusion, and an incomprehensible loss.
His gaze had drifted back to the fountain, before hiding behind closed lids as he ran himself through his mental mantra: If not for you, it would be someone else. If not for you, it would be someone else. It worked, as it usually did, gradually unshackling his mind from the miserable memory, though the sentiment always rang just a little hollow.
Claire, connecting two dots more distant than they must have seemed, saw him eying the fountain and disputed any connection it might have with the fairy magic and gateways they had discussed moments earlier. He chose not to disabuse her of her assumption, the true path of his mind not one he would readily drag anyone down. Putting his back to it, he smiled, "Just a fountain, then."
His smile grew with his amusement as she suggested a few martial occupations he might consider. "Hmmh, dragoon. I've heard the term before, but if you'll forgive my ignorance, that sounds like the thug a dragon hires when it can't be bothered to do its own dirty work. As for magic..." he stuck his tongue between his teeth, making a buzzing sound as he sighed, "we don't mix so well, magic and I. It's nothing to get hung up on; all the training in the world and I still wouldn't pass muster for certain institutions. Most knightly orders I know of have a certain threshold of... let's say 'uniformity' that I slide right under. My own knighthood came more as an honorary gesture than a bona fide retainment of my service, though if you want to call me Sir Davey, I certainly won't stop you." Another wink.
He leaned back, his arms level with his shoulders as he spread them across the fountain's edge, keeping his attention firmly on Claire as she discussed Lady Aria and vampires broadly. His smile sombered on her last note, the shade of an all too keen recognition clouding his focus for a short while.
"She does sound nice," he said, finally, "and knowing that bloodlust isn't a necessary part of the package comes as a relief. I admit, after yesterday's incident with our space-faring vampire acquaintance, I'd started to worry." He rubbed at the spot on his neck where, at the personal crux of his misadventure, Arnaya had bitten him, responding all too literally to his frustrated exclamation. It would be a while yet before he dared to use 'bite' and 'me' in the same sentence. He still expected his fingers to brush across the two puncture wounds that had long since been closed. The absence, though clear on the physical level, had yet to take in his mind.
"Hard to forget a hickey like that," he joked, trying to overshadow the unease in his voice, "but I suppose I shouldn't be too bothered. I'm clear on three of the four symptoms— no bloodlust, no castle, and I certainly slept like a baby. That said... Rip thinks I should get these checked out:" he flashed his teeth in a bright grin, playfully showcasing the fangs he'd possessed for nearly five years. "Whrr do you hhink? Are these rrgulation?"
< Hub Town - Hotel, B1 (Blue oblong chamber) >
Joseph stared at Amandus when he corrected him about where lightbulbs came from. "Really? Oh..." an uncommon graveness came over his voice, as though he had just learned that his life savings had been entrusted to a crook, "...I've been seriously misled." He turned his eyes back to some of the glowing oblongs dangling overhead, an earlier thought sparking a smirk. "Must be lava lamp gloop, then."
Tipping his head slightly towards James (or rather the sound of James's voice), he chimed in, "They make my skin feel a little weird when I get close, but nothing painful. Dare me to lick one?" He opened his mouth wide, sticking his tongue out toward the nearest oblong, his eyes wide with a wild look.
He waited just long enough to get a reaction, before pulling himself together, his big mouth drawn in an impish smile. "Kidding. Really, I'm at a loss. I guess I'm wondering what this place is, y'know? What's it doing down here, what's it got to do with the hotel?" He patted his foot against the floor, feeling the slightly damp texture of the fine metal grille beneath it. With more of the oblongs having grown to the size and brightness of the first, he could faintly make out the perforated pattern through the dark. "And... what's down below all this?"
He tried to picture the elevator button panel. Had there been another basement floor? Shaking off an eerie feeling, one that came from a mind that wandered beyond the realm of molemen, he looked again to Amandus and James. "You can hear the running water, right? And these things," he pointed at the long, arching arms, "the things the blue blobs are coming out of, they're like-"
His arm fell, and his mouth hung open in a slight gape. He blinked a few times at the domed ceiling, his gaze following the 'arms' past the water flowing down on all the surrounding walls. "Well now I feel like a dummy." He closed his eyes, shaking his head and smiling, pointing above. "We're below the fountain. You know, the one in the lobby, with the big tree. The one I- " he cleared his throat, glancing away, "I... heard someone fell into. Yeah, that's where the water is flowing from. And these," he pointed at the arms again, "I think they're like roots, from the tree. Only, they've been so neatly cultivated. And they're oozing this blue stuff. I mean..." He shrugged, scratching his chin, "I think we're under the fountain."
this place needs me here
[Hotel - Fountain (Lancer; Aseyu)]
Aseyu finally stood and beckoned for Adrienne to follow. "Your turn," Aseyu said, "if you'd like. Tell me a story." She idly stretched her arms, here. "Who knows, it might be useful to tell someone a story as Adrienne. Something tells me most of your world just sees Lancer. The unyielding, the indefatigable, the almighty. Being who the world wants, 'needs' you to be... it's a lot to ask of a mortal." Then she flashed Lancer a soft but cheeky smile. "Maybe the Weaver brought you here because She wanted to give you a chance to show people the woman underneath the uniform." Subtle had never been Aseyu's speed.
Edited by KillerClowns on Mar 28th 2024 at 7:53:05 AM
Hotel - Lobby(?) (Hua Huise/Silver Hood)
Hua Huise hadn't been to a place far away from her home country, Taiwan. In fact, this was her first time doing something like this in a while, and it wasn't common for her. From dealing with mundane life in the real world to going on epic quests as a witch in a fantasy realm called Maiwan, all that mattered was that she deserved a vacation, so she decided to go to a place far away, hidden from Earth's radar. But there was a catch: she entered an unfamiliar world through a portal, unlike Maiwan's. Once there, she took the time to explore the town square for a bit before heading to a hotel where she could possibly stay for the night.
Her short black hair framed the young woman’s face in a sleek, tousled cascade. Her brown eyes sparkled with warmth and intensity. She wore a pink and white-striped shirt that hugged her slender frame, paired with snug blue pants that accentuated her graceful legs. But it was her vibrant red shoes that truly caught the eye, adding a bold pop of color to her ensemble. And finally, her figure was wrapped in a cloak of silver, shimmering like moonlight on water, which was the reason why everyone from her own universe called her Silver Hood.
She entered the hotel, surveying the area around her as she made her way to the lobby. However, she wasn't sure whom to look for; that is, the owner of the hotel.
"Hmm, now that I'm here, I don't know whom to approach first," she thought, unsure of what to do next.
Edited by OyoJan on Mar 30th 2024 at 5:02:24 AM
[Basement]
Amandus looked up in confusion. "This...this is the fountain?"
"Okay," James said, "I have been under fountains before, and not once have I seen anything like this. Must be a quirk of this world." He looked up. "Why they decided to glow now out of all times is a mystery."
Amandus shuttered. "I'm still weary, but Joseph seems to have no problem with them. We should follow his lead."
Edited by Masterofchaos on Mar 31st 2024 at 9:38:22 AM
Hotel Lobby (Bonnie; almost everyone else in the Lobby)
Seeing that Henry was managing to slowly notice the error of his outburst and that she wouldn't necessarily need to drop him like a sack of potatoes, Bonnie took a step back. She still retained her readiness to act quickly should things flare back up between Henry and the stranger, though. Turning to face the downed Joseph, she noticed that he was being tended to, and he didn't seem to need her immediate assistance.
She shook her head, "All I see here, is someone being very aggressive for what I can presume is a simple accident. Where is this vitriol coming from?" She sighed, shaking her head again.
she/her friend to the hooved
Lancer, Hub Town, Hotel, Lobby Fountain >>> Elevators
Standing up to follow, Aseyu's request gave the stoat pause in her response. She never liked the adjectives, the fact that people were in awe of her—afraid, even. She'd seen it in the eyes of Reach followers when she telekinetically disassembled their weapons and combat prosthetics while they could do vanishingly little to stop her, but she'd also seen it in the eyes of other supers, of civilians, when she exerted her powers in any spectacular fashion, and they saw glimpses of what she was truly capable of. She felt it.
What's more, she realized with a contemplative frown that she didn't have many stories to tell 'as Adrienne'—so much of her life had been lived in the uniform to the point she oftentimes wasn't entirely sure there was a woman under it (metaphorically speaking, as she'd entirely missed the innuendo).
Her lunar fortress had a garden, sometimes she visited the researchers of a nearby colony, sometimes she aided in space construction by ferrying loads up into orbit or hauling material-rich asteroids over... but these too were 'Lancer' stories. So were her antics while she was starting to develop powers, and learning to use them.
She'd need to dig a bit deeper than that. A deep breath.
"My parents were engineers, or 'Dreamventors' as they were called, for Vern Prescot's World of Potential. A... big theme park, sort of. An 'image of the future'." she began as they neared the elevators, though it was evident from her hesitation that there were a few things she was skirting around in the interests of keeping the subject light. "Mom worked on the rides, but Dad would bring home animatronics—small machinery, robots—to tinker with or work on overnight for assignments, repairs, and I'd watch him work. Even when I probably should have been asleep."
A brief smile. This was something she regarded with clear fondness. "I was too young then to help him, or understand much of it, but you can guess where I picked up the technical aptitude. Plus, skills like that became a lot more practically useful after the... war, and all. Fixing stuff that broke, having to scrounge a time or two, at least until things improved."
Edited by Chortleous on Mar 31st 2024 at 8:07:15 AM
[Hotel - Fountain (Lancer; Aseyu)]
Aseyu smiled at Lancer's talk of watching her father repair animatronics. Aseyu recalled her own youth, spent watching her mother and older sisters working on the family trade: turning stones and metal into beautiful jewelry. These days, much of that work was now done by their employees in workshops, but the family, Aseyu included, made a point of getting personally involved in the business, handcrafting special orders for special clients and personally workshopping new designs to keep up with fashions. Even if, as their business grew, such personal involvement was less and less practical. Would her nieces' granddaughters rule from corner offices? Distance themselves from the labors from which they profited? Aseyu hoped not, but the possibility loomed
"Your parents did noble work," Aseyu said. "Thus do we weave ourselves into the tapestry..." she paused, then looked a bit embarrassed. Right, that probably made no sense to Lancer. Or at least, she wouldn't really understand it; not only was she was not Suelasa, but she hadn't even grown up with them as neighbors. "Sorry, continue."
As to this Vern Prescot... well, Aseyu's initial reaction was that he sounded like her kind of person. Fortunately, she did not say anything, but thought a moment longer on this. Hadn't Lancer mentioned trouble with "oligarchs", allying themselves with fascists? So perhaps not her kind of person. Building a better future was admirable, and there was nothing wrong with making a tidy profit while doing so, but far more people claimed to be doing so than actually did so.
Didn't America's megas also talk about building the future while their actual world had been more-or-less in stasis for decades? Sigmund Gunvaldsen himself had spoken dreamily about the end of capitalism, of a "post-scarcity" world where he would make himself obsolete, but somehow, that future, always so close, never came... and was quietly smothered when it tried to arise.
Well, that was a grim bit of reflection. Aseyu refocused herself on the present, and let Adrienne continue.
Edited by KillerClowns on Mar 31st 2024 at 11:23:42 AM
This is my good side.
Hub Town: Nattlås Dim Diner
"Oh. Well, that makes things easier." Valten said after Lucille clarified the island's situation. "For once, superstition is just baseless superstition." He let go of the golden chain around his neck, as Sigmund asked her if she was a freelancer, and Toni listed off her qualifications. The way she spoke, she sounded like she was a specialist in these kinds of things.
A moment later, a waiter arrived with everyone's meals, handing them off with ease, and leaving as swiftly as they had arrived. The mercenary took a bite of his food, musing what his recruiter had mentioned of the island and the group's job. Frankly, although not willing to back down now, he didn't feel as enthused as Toni seemed about this. He had rounded up criminals and outlaws before, but animals were something else entirely. His closes texperience with hunting had been when he tagged along with that group looking for wild boars. Specifically, their asses. All twenty of them. Not that Valten cared, he had been paid in a gem the size of his fist. That old geezer was absolutely crazy and crazy rich.
"I assume your buyers want these 'samples' alive. We'll probably need cages or something similar. Something for transportation. Assuming we are going after animals." He spoke up after the other two. Probably a stupid question, but better to look like a fool now for asking the obvious, than looking like a fool later when the obvious nded up unaccounted for.
< Hub Town - Hotel, Lobby (Right of fountain) >
Joseph, having said what needed to be said, found himself in awkward repose. Still on the floor, but having at least made it to his knees, breathing heavily, as if he'd just run across town instead of merely raising his voice. His lungs had of course only recently resumed operation as usual, a sensation he now savored, but it went beyond that.
Joseph was loathed to pick fights, to raise his voice, to even draw attention to himself. His spectacular fall had maxed out his comfortable limit for the day as far as attention from strangers was concerned, and Henry's attempted fight-picking had only exacerbated the issue. Now, in defusing it, he'd had to call even more eyes and ears not just upon himself, but to the fine details of his clumsy blunder.
On another day, in a different situation, surrounded by different people, he'd probably have gotten up, hung his head, and hurried off to the most isolated urban space he could find within the mile. But through the powers that be—natural, incidental, and very much otherwise—his turmoil was far less protracted. It could have been worse, he thought. He could have cracked his skull on the tile, Henry could have outright slugged the biker he'd bumped into, or he could have bumped into someone who really was an asshole, and then there'd be no end to slugs thrown and skulls cracked.
Glancing at the splotches of water he'd accidentally trailed from the fountain, blindly setting up his ill-fated and very impromptu reverse flamingo slip n' slide, he couldn't help but shake his head and laugh—a quiet, incredulous scoff—at the idiocy of circumstance. Pushing himself upright, he offered quiet thanks to those who had come to check on him when he'd fallen, though already they seemed content to move along in the face of his intact wellbeing, and he was content to let them go. He was, after all, okay.
The same couldn't be said of Henry, left to face the fallout of his unwitting overreaction. He set his jaw firmly as he bore the heat of the biker's last volley, striding the painful line of holding his tongue and biting it clean through. Alternating closing his eyes and faint nodding in bitter acceptance, Henry let the guy get it all off his chest, taking solace that he seemed content so far to simply hang the possibility of pressing charges over him. When all was said, the biker left him standing there, feeling dead in the water, moving along well before he could jumpstart himself.
Pushing through a wave of apprehension, Henry slowly turned his head to glance at the security guard, finding little assurance in the dark reflection of their glasses. He kept his hands close together, putting them up meekly. "This was a one-time mistake, I swear."
The security guard didn't respond directly, holding the hard look for a few seconds before glancing to another member of the hotel staff a distance away. They were beckoned over, and away they went.
Still on the floor, trying to find the safest spot to plant his wet shoes, Joseph noticed the biker approaching out of the corner of his eye. Anticipating some blowback for his accidental instigation of the mess he now knelt in, he clicked the tips of his claws together and swished his large tail nervously, spreading more water around. His eyes remained busy, shooting fretful glances between Henry and the biker before widening slightly when it became clear that the latter was coming to him. Drawing his head back, he winced preemptively, bracing for more yelling.
To his surprise and unspeakable relief, the man simply repeated his earlier concern, even going so far as to apologize for startling him. A few uncertain blinks later and a tremendous sigh escaped him. "For a second I thought you were gonna... feh." He shook his head, a breathy laugh shaking out of him. "I'm fine, and dude, you don't have to apologize to me. I'm sorry for bumping into you." As he spoke, he pushed himself up, finally clambering back to his feet before drying his hands on his pants. "I should've been looking where I was going. And what I was trailing." He glanced back at the remaining water trail and sighed again, less with relief and more with exasperation, "God, this was dumb."
Pausing a moment, he glanced at the biker man and, after wrestling his unease into action, managed a quick plea. "Hey, please try not to hold too much against Henry. He was just trying to look out for me. Y'know, he's going through a lot, and I guess he's gotten really protective. Even when he doesn't need to be."
Henry's steely glare, searching for a reflective surface, scarcely met the stare of the well-meaning stranger who'd been at Joseph's side. He certainly didn't seem taken by the stranger's offer for a 'how to be a man' talk, cemented when he asked him bluntly, "do you have any idea how appealing that sounds?"
Nonetheless, the helpful stranger went on with his speech, relating to Henry's experience, trying to build a bridge to his emotional core. Unfortunately, Henry's mind was too busy to meet him halfway. Not finding a suitable mirror and feeling unresolved, his gaze lingered on the back of the biker's head. "Look, I know I made an ass of myself— I'm not that clueless. I just made a big mistake. I wasn't about to beat him up or anything, I just needed to shut him out. I can- I... I don't know how to explain it— from where I was, it really, really looked like he shoved Joseph. And what if he had? Would you still want to give me this talk? What would you have me do?" Feeling himself heat up again, Henry put his hand up, forming a separating wall between his eyes and the well-meaning stranger. "Hang on. Hang on, just... give me a second."
With a deep breath and a soundless uttering of what might have been 'fuck me', he pushed aside rough-and-tumble Henry to summon forth mediator Henry, wishing he had his hat on hand to really solidify the change. He walked towards the biker slowly, his hands at his sides, the aggression of his earlier approach all but absent. He glanced apologetically to Bonnie as he went, knowing he had more than one apology to issue. He even shot a glance toward the security guard, who was discussing something with the other staff member who'd waved him over. They both seemed to be observing the situation from afar, likely monitoring for any reescalation. Seeing the guard's alarm, Henry lifted his hand in a peaceable gesture, mouthing, 'it's okay.'
Once stood behind the biker, he kept the tightness in his jaw when he finally spoke, far more slowly and forcibly calm than before. "Hey, um," he cleared his throat, searching for a polite way to get the man's attention, "excuse me. Sir?"
He gave the biker a few seconds before beginning.
"Listen, I'm sorry for putting my hands on you. Let me be clear: my beef with you starts and ends with what I thought I saw. See, I was sitting there," he pointed back to his spot on the fountain, "and when I looked up, Joseph was between you and me. I saw your hands moving, and I saw him go flying back. Cause and effect, or so it seemed. The whole, 'Satan's Helpers' thing was just... look, we watch too many movies. It came out in the heat of the moment, and only because I thought you'd shoved my friend, not because you're a biker. I don't hate bikers. I don't think they're awful people. I mean, pshh, it'd suck working as a mechanic if I felt that way. No, it's just," he nodded past the biker man, to Joseph, "he's going through a lot, and seeing him get pushed down like that—or so it looked like—it got to me. We've all got our sensitive spots, right? Kind of like how what I said got to you." He paused, wincing with a queasy grimace. "And shoving you. Again, I'm sorry about that."
this place needs me here
she/her friend to the hooved
Lancer, Hub Town, Hotel, Lobby Fountain >>> Elevators
Adrienne took silent note of what she surmised to be a prayer, the true meaning of which she couldn't begin to try and guess at, though its apparent sentiment was one she admired. She'd never been spiritual, or at least not one to pray or leave things in the hands of a higher power—too often, she was the highest power present, whether she liked to admit it or not.
"Dad would love to hear you say that," she remarked with a subdued chuckle at the 'noble work' comment as the two walked, the stoat absentmindedly looking around the place and at the various people about. "Mom and him both. They were firebrands, proud of their work. If they saw anything they didn't like, anything that rubbed them the wrong way, you'd know it, and you would not hear the end of it. Got them in trouble a few times, a late night knock on the door from Vern's thugs, the Peace Patrol, for 'union talk'."
Moving swiftly on from that last note, "After everything kind of stabilized again, they went on to work at a cybernetics clinic, repairing, maintaining prosthetic limbs, the sort of thing that a lot of people needed in the days after the war. Mom included." she continued with that same fond smile, though there was a definite twinge of something else to it. A melancholy. "Now, I did apprentice for a little while before my powers had developed much, and I'd have probably gone on to work with them, do the same thing, if not for... this."
"But they're problem-solvers, is the important part. They fix things, no matter what it was specifically. I got that from them too, I think, moreso than the technical aptitude, even. Just..." she shrugged, arms crossed. "bigger things."
"And before you ask, no, they don't like me doing this." she felt the need to add, with the exact sort of wry roll of her eyes that only came from someone who'd had to put up with some chiding lectures from family. "Never trusted supers, not really, didn't even like me watching the old serials, reading comics. The Peace Patrol kind of colored their perception of that stuff."
That was, of course, massively understating it. She and they remembered the rush to evacuate her childhood home—the World of Potential's adjoining company town—and how one of the Patrol, in frenzied desperation to keep things under control, had intercepted their evacuee caravan as they tried to escape, slaughtering several of the revolutionary soldiers escorting it and seemingly setting sights on the evacuees themselves before being put down.
Her parents hated supers, and it wasn't something she blamed them for, not even their anger at her.
Kay, Ghost Town, Outside the Inn >>> West side, The Scar
Kay had to step outside to vomit.
She'd known there'd been some kind of fight here recently, but she wasn't at all prepared to see bodies, shot and left to rot where they'd fallen, for... a day? Two? Pecked at by scavenging animals and by this point attracting flies. She ought to have been prepared for that—she'd been trained in first aid, to deal with blood and gore, as part of emergency response training, but intellectual knowledge and seeing things in the here and now were two very different things.
Taking a deep breath of fresh air, she wiped her snout with a hoodie sleeve before looking back into the rotting, empty doorframe and grappling with lingering thoughts of what lay within. Who had they been? Bandits? Scavengers? It didn't matter, as she didn't think anyone deserved that kind of fate, but she was in no position to try and give them any kind of a burial, barely holding back another surge of vomit as it was.
There really was nothing here.
After taking a moment to collect herself, the genet set off again, but to where, she didn't know. Vaguely westward seemed like as good a choice as any, but as she she neared the outskirts of the town again, she saw where that concrete trench turned sharply to the north and wound its way up along coast for as far as she could see. What's more, its path seemed to run up beside a massive hill dotted with the ruins of buildings, ones that to her eyes appeared far older and larger than anything in the town, but it was too far to discern anything with certainty. All she knew for sure was that it looked near-cartoonishly ominous.
A sigh, plopping herself down on the ground near the concrete, setting her backpack down beside her. It seemed to be around 10 AM or so? Barely midday, so she had daylight to spare and moreover could rough it if she needed to, but she frankly didn't know how she felt about doing that here.
It seemed like the creepy hill was her next destination, for whatever that was worth.
Edited by Chortleous on Apr 7th 2024 at 8:39:25 AM
Crazy Kiwi
Hotel - Lobby
[Ultra, Iveya, Imes, Hadia Joseph, Henry, Aseyu, Ethani, Mist, Maelys, Lancer, Bonnie, Hua Huise, Wolf]Imes made it clear that he thought Wolf had made his point firmly enough, causing Wolf to have two conflicting thoughts: Who the fuck are you to tell me to back down? and He's probably better at reading social situations and people's emotions than I am. Wolf nodded. Imes was probably right, and - besides - he had finished saying his piece and was more interested in seeing if the as-yet-unnamed lizard-person was all right.
Imes then turned to have a word with Henry.
The lizard-person said they were fine and apologised for bumping into him, finally managing to get back to their feet. They acknowledged that they should've been looking where they were going. Wolf wasn't particularly concerned about that, given he could think of numerous times when he had been distracted or inattentive.
The lizard-person then entreated him not to hold anything against Henry, explaining that the young man was prone to be overprotective. Wolf wondered why Henry felt and acted that way. Had people typically been so ill-disposed towards the lizard-person that Henry felt the need to protect them from everyone?
To Wolf's surprise, Iveya approached and offered to buy him a drink, then extended the offer to anyone else present and advised Wolf to 'let Imes handle the pup'.
Wolf looked around: Imes was still 'having a word with' the aforementioned 'pup'; Adrienne had broken away from the cluster of people and sat on the edge of the fountain - not in, Wolf hoped, a patch of water dragged across it by the lizard-person's tail - and Aseyu had joined her; Bonnie was still hanging about nearby, clearly exasperated by the drama, the security guard had moved some distance away and was conferring with a colleague and there were a couple of newcomers on the scene...
One looked as though she was passing through on her way somewhere, a young woman dressed in tidy slacks and a t-shirt depicting, from the style of the art, a manga or anime character. From the way she was tottering, she was more than one sheet to the wind, already.
The other seemed to be a new arrival, looking around the lobby - seemingly indecisive or uncertain: a young woman wearing bright red shoes and a shimmering silver cloak.
Wolf turned back to Iveya. "A drink sounds like 'n awesome idea, thank you." It would be impossible to miss the sincerity in his voice.
From behind him, came "Hey, um," the sound of a throat clearing, "excuse me. Sir?" It was quieter, not raised in anger, but clearly Henry's voice.
Wolf turned. "Ah, Christ, mate. I'm not a sir, I actually work for a living." He didn't mean this as an attack on Henry - the guy sounded like a Yank, and they tended to call everyone 'sir' as a sign of respect... probably because they didn't know some of the cunts that got given knighthoods.
Wolf listened quietly while Henry apologised for shoving him and explained his actions. It quickly became clear that Henry had not seen the initial impact when his friend had blundered into Wolf. The explanation for the 'Satan's Helpers' comment seemed to boil down to 'I watch too many movies'. Wolf sighed.
The apology seemed sincere enough and Henry was right enough that everyone has their sensitive spots...
"Yeah, well, it happens, I s'pose," Wolf said. "In the end, no harm was done, no one got injured." He shrugged. "Dunno 'bout you, but I'm heading t'th'bar for a quiet drink t'calm my shattered nerves." He laughed. "Y'mate gave me quite a fright, bumping into me - sadly, my sudden movement gave 'im quite a fright in return - and then I thought I was about t'get my bloody head smacked in. Not how I planned on finishing 'n enjoyable bike ride."
< Hub Town - Nattlås Dim Diner (a dimly-lit corner table) >
Lucille sat back slightly, seeming quietly pleased with the reaction her promise of samples had stirred. Whether she was just happy at the prospect of having an enthusiastic team on her expedition, or satisfied to have an effective carrot with which to draw them in, she appeared a little more at ease.
She glanced at Sigmund, a momentary acknowledgement before sweeping the map off the table, pondering how best to answer his question while she folded it back up. "Freelance is most apt. A... fortunatous marriage of my own curiosity and a small window of opportunity. I also would want for more intel, but it's as I've said: the locals take a very hands-off approach to the island. Feet-off, too, and there's little to be observed from afar."
Turning her gaze to Valten, she answered his question in turn, "that's up to you— if such cages can be procured at a moment's notice. As was printed on the flier, we have a schedule to keep, and my deposit will only hold the coach for so long. My own interests lay in the flora" She lifted her eyes slightly, noting the arrival of their orders. "Oh, perfect."
She set the folded map onto the seat next to her—the opposite side from Toni—amid a small pile of belongings. As the dishes were being set down, she stole a glance at the pocket watch amid the pile, some of her ease dissipating as the hands twisted on, rapidly approaching the deadline of her 'sharp' departure. pushing it aside, she grabbed a small notebook and quickly flipped through the pages, hoping the presence of food would afford her a moment of discretion. She squinted through the dimness at the page she sought, her lips moving in silent enunciation as she read from it.
Sitting back upright, facing her table peers, Lucille took a moment to quietly waft in the aroma of her order. The subtle, unaffected gesture was betrayed by an audible growl from her stomach. So much for not being hungry. As she began to prod at her food, she cast a sidelong glance at Toni, the fortuitousness of the giraffid woman's skillset regarded with a calm interest.
"Indeed, that may prove useful. Unless, of course, the island's interference with outside instruments is just as potent on the inside. But perhaps it's more li...akin to a barrier, or a one-way mirror; something we can get on the other side of." She punctured a meatball and popped it into her mouth. Mid chew, she made a sound that might've been the start of a word, until she'd thought better of it, passing it off as a tickle of the throat. After dabbing her mouth carefully, she tried again.
"Tai hwa no hoa."
It was an earnest attempt. "Know of it?"
this place needs me here
Necropolis -> Forest (Samelin, Rosafa, Devad, Issichar, Amy, Maya, etc.)
The group reluctantly abandoned the merchant and the thrall and headed into the forest on their way to the docks.
The ground was uneven, and something had apparently been through these woods a long time ago; the path towards the docks was marked with trees that appeared to have petrified, their bark like obsidian and the leaves like flakes of congealed ash.
The group tried to run through the forest, but the uneven terrain made this more arduous than expected, and thus they stopped to catch their breath at a curious structure. It resembled a watchtower of some sort, except there was no ladder, and whoever had constructed the thing had apparently tried to build the tower in a hexagonal formation instead of a standard box.
"Samelin, does this not look familiar?" Rosafa remarked as she studied the structure.
"Yeah," Samelin remarked. "It looks like one of the old elven watchtowers from our world. Maybe they tried scouting this world when they fled ours?"
"Did they forget the ladder?" Issichar asked.
"The elves on our world used to be able to levitate. They weren't big on making their structures accessible."
"Should we try to climb up there?" Devad asked. "It might give us a vantage point of the docks."
By now, it should be clear to all except the most dense of us that sheep are secretly conspiring to kill us all and steal our pants.
[Hotel - Elevator —> Aseyu's Suite (Lancer; Aseyu)]
Aseyu could tell things were... at least, complicated, between Adrienne and her parents. True, things had not always been great between Aseyu and her parents. Aseyu had made some questionable choices in her younger years, and there had been tensions from that. They still didn't completely approve of how Aseyu lived her life; while the Qorisayane regarded homosexuality and bisexuality with a matter-of-fact indifference, the quantity of men and women who'd been with Aseyu was another matter. They still kept out hope that Aseyu would find a long-term partner, but had at least learned to keep that to themselves. Aseyu hoped Adrienne could find a similar sort of understanding... but she wasn't quite sure what to say or how to say it without coming across as condescending, so she simply listened.
"They should be proud of you," Aseyu said. "Powers aside, I see a responsible, compassionate woman who is — if you'll pardon the term — living up to the potential the cosmos gave her. The universe is not a fair place, but we can all try to make it a bit fairer."
With that, the elevator reached one of the upper floors. "Ah," she said. "Here we are." It was clear right away that the rooms on this floor were expensive. High-quality, intricately patterned wallpaper. Plush, clean carpets. And a handful of doors, each presumably leading into a suite.
Aseyu found hers immediately, and opened it to reveal a sitting room in a traditional Qorisayane style, with a deep blue carpet and wallpaper in a lighter, complementary shade. It was centered around a low table made from Qorisa's dark, tropical rosewood, laced with thin, silvery veins tracing patterns akin to veins or nerves. Surrounding the table were rich, earthtone cushions for sitting or kneeling. Two dark wooden doors led off to different rooms.
In one corner was an altar with a book, placed below a flat, abstract representation of a bald, dark-skinned woman with onyx-black eyes. Her proportions were exaggeratedly tall and slender, almost alien; she wore only a long green and blue tiered skirt that reached to the ground she stood upon, and reached towards whirling stars under a blood-red moon with her right hand. A saint, prophet, or deity of some kind. (The Prophetess Suela anaKisaris, specifically.) The book, titled What is Woven in Stars, was bound in leather and well-read, with multiple bookmarks.
In another corner, as promised, a cluttered jeweler's work table. Files, pliers, scrap metal, calipers, a loupe, a small hammer, tweezers, a soldering iron, and various other bits and pieces for Aseyu's craft. Nearby, proudly displayed as well as a small sampling of Oceanside Jewelers' products. Translated across cultures, well-to-do Americans often found the Qorisayane style a bit gaudy, a bit nouveau riche: there was a marked preference for colored gold and colorful semiprecious stones rather than gold with diamonds and other precious stones. A few pieces even displayed glass gems — not as false jewels, but rounded, smoothed, and full of proudly-displayed whorls and patterns. Nonetheless, the craftsmanship was undeniable, and each stone had been carefully matched to the proper metal, the proper design. This was no mere flashiness for the sake of it: in each piece, deliberate decisions had been made with care.
Finally, a kitchenette with cupboards and a large refrigerator. A mixture of Qorisayane and Earth food and drink could be found, though one might notice a total lack of alcohol, caffeine, and meat products. Of the Qorisayane choices, most noticeable were a remarkably sweet pink soda, satchels of flowery tisanes, and a variety of candied citrus fruits in orange, pink, and red.
"The bathroom is that way," Aseyu said, indicating one door. "You'll find a shower and whatever else you might need. And my room," she waved towards the other door. "Help yourself to whatever's in my dresser." She then flipped on an electrical kettle. "Any preferences for tea? I'm afraid I don't have black tea, but I can do green and herbal." As she said this, she pulled out a tin of honey candies, opened it, and set it at the center of the table.
she/her friend to the hooved
Lancer, Hub Town, Hotel, Elevators >>> Aseyu's Suite
Another brief, sad smile at that remark. Adrienne didn't think anyone owed her anything, least of all pride. That, she felt, was a dangerous road to go down. She was 'just doing what anyone else would do', as the cliché went... and she wished she was still naïve enough to really believe.
Nevertheless, the stoat's demeanor and body language noticeably softened as she entered the suite, taking a long moment to look around the place and absorb it all.
Of particular note was the altar and its depiction of what she surmised to be some kind of deity or saint, with a well-worn book laid in front—and one whose title referenced weaving, she noted, taking her back to Aseyu's earlier prayer and mention of a 'Weaver'. Was that who this being was? She was half-tempted to inspect the book closer, open it to a bookmarked passage that might shed some light on things, but she didn't dare touch anything, not even with the gentlest application of her powers. Better to ask; none of this was hers.
She was so engrossed in thought that the human speaking up again gave her a mild start.
"Green, thank you." the stoat replied courteously, making her way over toward another noteworthy feature, only this one she fully understood with no more than a glance: the workbench. "Unless..." she amended after a moment's thought, carefully pushing some clutter aside and setting her helmet down, then unclasping her utility belt and setting that someplace it wouldn't get in the way, followed by her folded cape. "...you have anything from your world?"
Kay, Ghost Town, West side >>> The Scar >>> Necropolis, Avenue of Angels
After taking a breather, Kay retrieved her backpack, got up, and departed northward up the concrete trench. Glancing off toward the coast, she zipped up her hoodie and put the hood up, shoving one hand in a pocket—because while firewalkers had a higher resting body temperature as a consequence of their connection to their magic, a cold wind off the icy shoreline was starting to bite all the same, almost like it was leeching off of her in some strange way. With a brief flourish of her other hand, a small but bright flame seemed to erupt from just above the palm, rapidly coalescing into a swirling ball of light and heat that she held close to herself.
It wasn't much longer before she neared that hill and got a good look at it, with its collection of what she knew now to be graves and crypts and massive overgrown mausoleums, appearing almost like a city in and of itself.
It was a big cemetery. Too big, even, to serve the town nearby.
Of course. What else would it be?
Nearing one particular structure, a winged statue, she remembered all the old adventure stories that had places like this, where the reanimated dead zealously guarded untold treasures seldom seen by mortal eyes. She doubted there was any treasure, but she hoped there weren't any reanimated dead.
Making her way further in and away from the biting cold, she let her hood down but kept the flame ready, held out in front of her, while her large sensitive ears twitched and swiveled toward any little sound.
Edited by Chortleous on Apr 17th 2024 at 10:27:46 AM
[Hub Town - Nattlås Dim Diner (a dimly-lit corner seat)]
"My organization would be interested in buying the samples collected on this mission," Sigmund said, paying only a brief glance towards the arthopod waiter. "I think... double the market rate will suffice?" He was prepared to go higher, within reason, but he figured this would be a tempting opening bid. "I'll have my people do market research, of course, to make sure we can come to a fair deal."
Then he looked over at Toni and said, "you've certainly got quite the chrome. Not sure we need my kit... but it might still have something handy, and it never hurts to double-check. Everything's in motion anyways." To the others, he added, "it'll be at the docks when we are. My people are prompt."
As for the matter Valten had brought up: "that said, my people couldn't hold live creatures even if we wanted to. Particular risks of contamination with fauna, you see. Samples from fallen animals will have some value, but," a brief glance at Toni, "no need to go hunting. The kit's got a tranq gun and some darts — if there's anything interesting we want samples from, and it isn't trying to kill us, we can just do a blood draw while it takes a quick nap."
[Forest]
As the teens and Nathan followed their new companions, Adam looked back the way they came wearily.
"Is it really a good idea to leave her with that guy?" he asked, "Shouldn't we have brought her with us?"
Nathan shrugged. "I have no clue what's going on, but I guess they know what they're doing. Let's have some faith in these people."
"I mean, I do, but...all my interactions with them happened when Mael mind controlled me, so I don't really know what they're like."
Nick patted his back. "We'll catch you up later."
They finally stopped at a watchtower, which looked like something straight out of a fantasy novel. Amy's eyes sparkled in amazement.
"Whoooa!" She said, practically jumping up and down, "I wish Mr. and Mr. Richman was here to see this! This is so cool!"
"Looks like something Pancake would climb for fun," Maya signed, "Speaking of which, hope she's not causing too much trouble without us back at the hotel."
When the topic of climbing up it came up, Adam's ears perked.
"Oh! I can help with that!" Adam wrapped a rope around his arrow and pointed upwards. "I can try to gauge on how far I can shoot this so we can all climb..."
Edited by Masterofchaos on Apr 19th 2024 at 6:50:55 AM
< Hub Town - Hotel, B1 (Blue oblong chamber) >
Joseph looked at James in surprise. "You have?" He tilted his head, eyes roving the ceiling while he pondered the man's claim. "Were you a fountain repairman or something?" He scratched his chin. "I mean, I could be wrong, but given where we are," he lifted one hand to the ceiling, "and where the elevator is..." then, he extended his other arm out to the distant light above the elevator archway, now almost swallowed whole behind the dazzling blue glow that had built up throughout the chamber. His gaze traveled the space between these two markers a few times in stern concentration, as though he actually had anything better than a guess to go on.
"Well, it wouldn't be the first time things worked a little differently around here. I mean, look who you're talking to." He glanced back at James with a little half-smile. It faded almost immediately.
There was something about it all. James' just barely readable expression in the muggy blue light, the sound of water trickling all around, the chill in the air. Even the faintest hint of mist rising through the grate beneath his feet.
Joseph shivered, a violent, full-body twisting from his head to his tail, hands clutching his shoulder-borne towel, the short claws of his toes gripping at the grille floor as they curled.
He turned away from the sight.
For a while the chamber was filled with nothing but the echoing waterfall emanating from a place far below their feet. Air escaped his mouth first, hissing through the gaps in his teeth like a whistle of steam. One grasping set of claws slipped free of his towel and lifted to the back of his long head, knocking near the seamless blend of skull and neck.
"Something's still hangin' on in there. One of those things I don't think I can put right." His head dipped low. "I don't know what to do about it."
this place needs me here
[Hotel - Lobby (Wolf; Ultra; Iveya, Imes; Joseph, Henry)]
Imes laughed humorlessly. "If the old guy had shoved your friend," he said, "and he was in a gang... you'd be in deep pigshit right now." He crossed his arms, looking Henry over. "First, you stride up over to him and escalate. You had to let him know you meant business, I get that, but there's ways to do that without turning up the heat... too much. That ain't what you did: instead, you gave every witness here a hell of a story to tell the gendarmes. Then, for some reason, you go off and start trash-talking his colors, so if he was in a gang, well, now they'd have to come and stomp you into the curb. If you'd have kept it between him and you, any gang he was in might have told him to handle his own shit, but that little speech about 'Satan's Helpers'..." he shook his head. "You understand you lucky there ain't some pigsons in purple and gray," he glanced briefly at the mysterious colored pin on Wolf's pocket, "planning to teach you how pavement tastes 'cause you couldn't resist running your mouth. You know that, right?"
Iveya watched the whole speech with a slight raised eyebrow. It always was about violence with him, wasn't it? Of course, that was the two sides of Imes' coin: dealing violence, and dealing with the aftermath.
Her offer still stood, of course. If anyone wanted a drink, she'd be heading to the bar...
Or perhaps, not quite yet. Iveya looked over at the newcomer in the pink and white shirt and gave her a warm smile. "Sorry you had to see all this," she said, putting a softly curled hand to her chest in her peoples' traditional greeting. "I promise it's not usually quite so... wild here." Then, by way of introduction, "Iveya ul'Oriyith."
Edited by KillerClowns on Apr 23rd 2024 at 9:46:52 AM
[Aseyu's Suite (Lancer; Aseyu)]
"I do have something," Aseyu said. Indeed, there were a few options, but since Aseyu was already at the kettle, she pulled out a couple satchels of a floral tea... the scent was almost, but not quite, lavender. As she waited for the kettle to boil, Aseyu put the satchels in a stoneware teapot and set it out on the table, beside the candies, alongside matching cups. She also set out a small jar of honey, ready to be added to sweeten the tea.
Now what? Aseyu thought to herself. Firstly, of course, she wanted to make sure Adrienne felt comfortable. This would have been the case even if Aseyu wasn't attracted to her; it was simply what a host did. Actually, it was worth asking... "I hope this isn't a strange question," Aseyu said, "but what are your culture's nudity taboos?" As she asked this, she retrieved the now-boiling water. "I'm quite eager to put on something more colorful than, well," she indicated her practical but not especially fashionable hunting outfit, "all this, but I'd hate to make you uncomfortable in doing so." As she awaited Adrienne's answer, she poured the water into the teapot, filling the air with a pleasant bouquet of scents. The almost-lavender was dominant, but there were other, subtler notes underneath, hints of other flowers and perhaps a touch of... bubblegum?
Edited by KillerClowns on Apr 24th 2024 at 9:54:10 AM
Lancer, Hub Town, Hotel, Lobby Fountain (also fair warning for what is kind of a slur in the context she uses it)
"They don't sound much like Firewalkers, no." Adrienne agreed, very swiftly reconsidering her initial kneejerk thoughts about Aseyu. This was ringing a few bells, and the woman would be able to deduce easily enough from a shift in tone that this was touching even more personal ground than that earlier account. She didn't make eye contact again either, eyes staying on the gem. "But they do sound a lot like the Iron Reach. Fascist remnant faction of the oligarchs who fell in a revolution around thirty years ago, when I was a kid. They've only grown more bitter about it, recruiting the angry and insecure, blaming the 'degenerates', queers and rebels and foreigners, for taking the wealth and property they felt they were owed by right of birth."
She closed her hand over the gem, clenching her fist around it. "I don't think I have to guess what they'd do. Don't need powers like mine to do damage—guns and augments and explosives worked just fine, and that was before they... called for help of their own, let's call it."
Edited by Chortleous on Mar 23rd 2024 at 12:46:25 PM