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Welcome to the Character Development Threads! These shared story exercises allow you to develop your characters in a setting shared by other authors and their characters. No sign-up is necessary; simply look over the last few pages and hop on in. If you need questions answered or a recap, head over to our discussion thread and ask; we’re happy to help. There's also a trope page (with location descriptions and other info).

Archipelago is semi-casual — no violence on the central island, but the rest are fair game. Other islands are built on-the-fly by the tropers whose visiting them, but you should probably grab a few others before having your characters head off — there's not much point wandering an island alone, since this is supposed to develop characters by bouncing them off one another and putting them in unusual situations. Be sure to communicate with the tropers you go with so you're on the same general page.

With thanks to, among many others, Gault, who came up with the initial idea, Nrjxll, who wrote the first draft I shameless ripped off, and the various people who contributed to the trope page location descriptions.


[[Current Time: Early Morning]

CLICK HERE TO SEE THE FULL INTRO FOR THIS THREAD 

This has made the hub island something of a designated neutral ground for various strange characters and dimensional travelers. A small cluster of buildings has sprung up near the one natural harbor and its dock: a couple of bars, a couple of casinos, several shops, and even the cheap but comfortable Pax Island Hotel. This is not a tourist trap, though, as much as amenities for the visitors that come here for various reasons. The Hotel's entrance leads out to a central square, with a shamelessly cheesy tiki bar calling itself the Big Kahuna and the Pax Island General Store being the most obvious, though not the only, services.

Inland, the island is covered in jungles that rise steeply into a central mountain, covered in ruins that don't seem to exactly match any of the local cultures. Apart from that, though, they're harmless and unrelated to the area's strangeness. The population on the island, humans of mixed origins, are quite used to the strangeness of their island, staffing the amenities and filling newcomers in but otherwise keeping to themselves.

Beyond this hub island, the archipelago grows more mysterious and dangerous. Fogs often cover the ocean, and compasses and other forms of navigation don't always work right. There are at least a half-dozen other islands at any one time, but that's all anyone can say for certain. The docks on the hub island offer numerous boats for visitors to travel to these islands, either under their own control or with the aid of a local sailor. Of course, there's always an element of risk involved with visiting these islands, because you never know quite what you'll find. One rule has proven consistent, though: any truly catastrophic event on an island tends to result in it vanishing into the fog, never to be seen again.

edited 27th Jun '14 6:59:52 PM by KillerClowns

Masterofchaos Since: Dec, 2010
#1351: Feb 24th 2014 at 1:41:55 PM

[Hotel (Lobby)]

Jackson sighed heavily. "Unfortunately, yes. You're the only other person who can open the door."

He really, truly, didn't want ask him for help, especially since this was the man who turned him into a duck just to prove a point. But he had no other choice, since he couldn't reach for the door.


[Outside Big Kahuna]

Nathan let go of Adam, and smiled nervously.

"Yeah...just a bit." he said, "I drank too much and now I have a terrible headache. I was asleep for a long time and I just woke up." He gave a small laugh, "Sorry about that. Didn't mean to make you guys worry."

Adam yawned.


[Big Kahuna]

George rubbed the back of his head. "Ahhh...I don't know. I entered the restaurant as soon as you were done talking to him. I think it started with a 'B' though." Looking around, he finally spotted Thomas, sitting at a table away from them. He sighed. "Ah, we'll figure it out."

He looked down and Hayate and smiled. "Hey; did you catch the name of waiter before we left?"

edited 24th Feb '14 1:42:27 PM by Masterofchaos

Yomegami Since: Jan, 2011
#1352: Feb 24th 2014 at 3:15:01 PM

Town Center (Outside Big Kahuna)

Kaguya shrugged. "At least you didn't go too far or get yourself into too much trouble. George-san was worried about you since he said you were acting a little odd when you left."

She glanced towards the restaurant's entrance briefly before looking back at Nathan. "I was hoping to talk to you myself earlier. I was kind of lonely and didn't want to settle on whoever Hayate-sama saw fit to pair me up with." She sighed. "Almost as soon as I was going to help George-san and Thomas-san look for you, he had gone and done exactly that. Then we all got caught up in searching for you and Iris-san's brother...I'm hoping I don't keep this other person waiting for too long, whoever she might be."

Throughout all this, she tried not to look at Adam too much without making it too noticeable.


Big Kahuna

Hayate didn't take long to find the others, or at least George and Iris. It took him a little while longer to notice Thomas, who was sitting separate from everyone else. He could only conclude that whatever Iris had told the two of them, Thomas wasn't so happy to hear it.

He didn't waste time in asking about it, instead choosing to respond to George's question. "Unfortunately, the waiter is another one of those people I hardly noticed. I only have a vague memory of his appearance and to a lesser extent his mannerisms; I cannot recall the name associated with him."


Cavern (Master Control Room)

Apparently, none of the people who entered had heard her. From what Noriko could hear of their conversation, however, Samuel was working with someone, or had something, named "Steelheart" who was going to interact with a diagnostics panel of some sort in some way. Sounded good enough to her, she figured.

Instead of trying to catch their attention and potentially distracting them, she turned back to Flynn. "Can we go back to the main menu or whatever that was? I'd like to take a look at some other things there."

Icon by Civvi the Civilian!
Blackfire667 Attitude is prohibited from The Virtual World Since: Jan, 2011 Relationship Status: Pining for the fjords
Attitude is prohibited
#1353: Feb 24th 2014 at 7:54:53 PM

[Nulbarak Island]

Tamara scratched her head. "I though bringing him along was the plan?" She sighed. "Listen, you guys decide on whatever, I'm gonna... Do a little scouting, I guess." Alone, she headed down the path indicated on the map. Considering what had almost happened with those bandits, and how dark it was, she wasn't planning on gong very far. I need a walk anyway. This is harder than I thought it would be.


[Pax Island - Outside Al's Bar]

As soon as Joseph and company stepped out of Al's Bar, time resumed its normal flow. After a moment, the note that had been attached to the stopwatch flew out and landed on Joseph's lizardy face.

Looking inside the bar would reveal that everything was back to normal. One might even say it was abnormally normal, as there was no trace of Sam ever being there. The Red Door was completely gone, with only blank wall where it had once been. All the patrons that had left when the Door was being discussed were back, and Al certainly didn't have a dunce cap on. Even the glass that Sam had thrown his cane at to demonstrate that time had stopped was completely unharmed, though that was difficult to see from outside.


As soon as time resumed for Al's Bar, those actively on the lookout for spikes in strange energies would detect one. It had originated from Al's Bar, but vanished about as suddenly as it had appeared.

Not entirely dead.
Ryuhza Brother from San Diego County, California Since: Feb, 2012 Relationship Status: Tongue-tied
Brother
#1354: Feb 24th 2014 at 7:55:36 PM

[Pax Island ~ Big Kahuna]

Iris frowned thoughtfully. "Mmm. So I guess that makes three of us. Damn..." Her eyes wandered around the restaurant until she too noticed Thomas. "Maybe Tom remembers." she suggested with a shrug. The person in front of them had yet to finish their business, so she glanced at the other two and said, "Be right back!" before hurrying off to where Thomas was sitting.

"Hey Thomas." Iris's voice sounded about as soothing as she could make it, and it wasn't a bad effort. She moved into a chair sitting across from Thomas, and gave him a sorry smile. "You know, once things settle down a bit, we should just sit down and discuss this whole thing. You know, person-to-person, heart-to-heart; somewhere where we can just lay our feelings out there on the table, and maybe I can explain a little better the reasons why I was lying to you." she leaned forward and gazed into the man's eyes. "I want this to be sorted out as much as anyone. But now isn't the time for that, okay? Right now, my little brother is lost, and if he's not on this island, he could be in serious danger."

She leaned back again. "So, what I need right now is to know if you remember the name of the waiter who served us this afternoon. Hayate, George and I are all drawing blanks, although George said it might've started with a B."

if Thomas does remember and you don't feel like digging up the waiter's name, it's Brett.


[Pax Island ~ Hotel (Lobby)]

"Well," Mud began, glancing back at the approaching Kina, "not the only one."

He turned to face her with a growing smile mixed of politeness and mischievous thoughts. "Good evening to you madam; as a matter of fact I do know of a nearby restaurant, the Big Kahuna bar and grill. It's a local favorite, though there's a lot of meat on the menu, if you mind. It's just down near the center of town, not a long walk at all, and you can't miss the sign or smell."

He turned towards the door and looked outside, feigning shock at the time of day. "Oh myyy." he turned back around, then gestured to Jackson-the-duck. "Would you care for an escort? It's gotten awfully dark— a little too dark to brave the town's streets by yourself I should think. I really do insist."

With that last word, Mud's eyes lowered to the floor and he offered Jackson the most devious yet understated grin he could possibly give.

They'll turn your world around
Sonzai Since: Sep, 2010
#1355: Feb 24th 2014 at 10:04:24 PM

[Cavern Master Control Room]

"We're working on it," the first tribal person said to Noriko, realizing everyone else had forgotten to say anything to her.

Next, Flynn said, "Sure, did you mean the list of network interfaces?"

The display now switched back to the list from before:

Network Connections:
Quantum Optical Link : Not Connected
Quantum Fiber: Not Installed
Harmonic Wireless: No networks available
Emergency Backup Radio (Insecure): Disabled

"Or did you want to see the list of other program control options?" Flynn said.

Another display now showed:

Program Control:
Select a program to view greater details:
[System] -> [Power, User Interface, Metagram System, Communications, Transportation, Security System]


[Royal Hotel (Lobby)]

"That sounds like a nice place," Kina said to Mud, "and actually, I could go for some meat - I'm starving." Who calls people Madam anymore? I can't possibly look that old... she thought.

"And I'm fine by myself out at night, but I wouldn't turn down such a nice offer," she said, "so... um, would it be you, or... the duck?" She looked at bit confused at the apparent implication, but then again, this place was already pretty strange, so this wouldn't be too much of a stretch. On the other hand, just how much good could a duck escort possibly do? Unless it was a ninja-samurai-robot duck or something, but this wasn't anime, was it?


[Nulbarak Island]

"Hey, wait for me, I'll come too," Kevin said, pulling out a tactical-looking flashlight, and illuminating the pathway surprisingly well.

"So, Tamara..." he said, sounding a bit uncertain, "we haven't really had a chance to talk much. Why did you decide to go into adventuring in the first place?"


[Azatha's Fortress, Roof]

Azatha looked inquisitively off in the direction of Pax Island for a moment. What was that? she thought, Eh, probably nothing. Anyways, I should probably patch up this crack before it gets out of hand. Sigh. Why did I have to be so cheap buying this place?

Ryuhza Brother from San Diego County, California Since: Feb, 2012 Relationship Status: Tongue-tied
Brother
#1356: Feb 24th 2014 at 11:07:58 PM

[Pax Island ~ Hotel (Lobby)]

"Well, I have to be here to attend to the hotel and it's guests," Mud clarified, "but I am certain that the kind signore here will suit the occasion well enough on his own. Just be sure to open the door for him."

Mud winked, gave Jackson a parting smirk along with a quick eyebrow flash, and sauntered back over to his desk, gleeful as ever.

They'll turn your world around
Masterofchaos Since: Dec, 2010
#1357: Feb 25th 2014 at 12:27:29 PM

[Hotel (Lobby)]

Jackson growled as soon Mud left. Fucker...

Now he had to escort someone to Big Kahuna, which he didn't mind at all; if he could find Adam, then he could explain everything to him. Even better, they could find any one else who had a run in with Mud.

"Yeah," he said, "I'm your escort, Jackson Ruth. And I suggest we leave quickly."


[Outside Big Kahuna]

Nathan blinked.

"You wanted to talk?" he said, "...Oh geez. If I had known, I would've been back earlier. You guys could've called me!" He shrugged, "Oh well. You're here now."

Adam noticed that Kaguya seemed to be trying to avoid eye contact with him, and immediately wondered if it was something he was doing.

"Do you guys want me to leave?" he asked, "I-I mean...if you want to talk in private, I'll go."


[Big Kahuna]

At first, Thomas remained silent. Then, he gave a heavy sigh. "Let me think..."

She was right; they had to focus on finding Howell first before they could do anything else. So, for the time being, he decided to put his anger to the side until the time was right.

He tapped his fingers on the table, before something finally jolted in his head; he had almost forgotten about it since they've left.

"Brett." he finally said, "I think his name was Brett."

edited 25th Feb '14 12:41:34 PM by Masterofchaos

Yomegami Since: Jan, 2011
#1358: Feb 25th 2014 at 3:47:53 PM

Town Center (Outside Big Kahuna)

To Kaguya's dismay, it appeared that Adam actually did notice her trying to ignore him. She frowned and sighed, now feeling a little guilty on top of the resentment she was still feeling.

It's not his fault, it's yours. she told herself, Not his fault. Not his fault!

"No no, you're fine," she said at last, shaking her head, "I don't think we're going to be here very long anyway. Just waiting for the others to finish asking directions...."


Cavern (Master Control Room)

Noriko took a quick look at the list that appeared and shook her head. "I was talking about the big long list. The one with 'transportation' on it, among other things."

She looked briefly at the other list that had appeared, but didn't say anything about it. Besides the fact that she had an inkling that it applied to the other group, she couldn't think of anything useful to be garnered from it. She supposed that they could check the 'communications' options, but she doubted there'd be much to see there other than the "offline" messages that had been everywhere up until this point. The goal was to figure out how this place was offline, and just being told it was offline was not going to help much.

Icon by Civvi the Civilian!
Ryuhza Brother from San Diego County, California Since: Feb, 2012 Relationship Status: Tongue-tied
Brother
#1359: Feb 25th 2014 at 5:48:28 PM

[Pax Island ~ Outside Al's Bar]

Shortly after he had posed his suggestion to Aseyu, the note they had left inside plastered itself to Josephs face. He met the gesture with a light "Ah?" of confusion, then pulled it off, careful not to tear it or let it slip free of his claws. "That was weird. Or maybe I should say 'as-expected.'"

He shrugged, then studied the note, not having really paid it much attention back inside. He had to read it over quickly twice, due to the cursive. "What's this supposed to mean, 'still interested'? I thought we already set him loose."

Joe glanced at the note again, then held it up in case Aseyu wanted to study it. His eyes drifted to the rest of the island. "Dang, it got dark fast." It was strange that he didn't feel tired. It had been almost a full day, or more, since he had last gotten sleep.

[Pax Island ~ Big Kahuna]

Iris beamed. "Thank you Tom, that's all I needed to hear." She stood up and took a half-step back towards the front counter, then glanced back and added, "shouldn't take long to get an answer, however that goes, so don't get too cozy. And, for my brother's sake, hope for the best?"

She gave him a sideways smile before hurrying back to the front counter, where the other person was finally leaving, looking smug. "Brett." she half mouthed, half whispered to George and Hayate, before turning to the woman at the counter.

"If you're looking to reserve a table for a birthday party, no. We're booked."

Iris blinked, "Uh... n-no. But thanks for letting me know? I actually wanted to speak to an employee."

"And no tables for pet birthdays either." the woman added, eying Hayate warily.

Iris momentarily glanced back at Hayate, her forehead wrinkling slightly. "He's not- agh, listen," she began enunciating very carefully, "we're not here for a birthday or a table. I'd like to speak with an em-ploy-yee."

"Well I'm an employee. What are we doing right now?"

Iris stared hard at the woman. "Not you. Someone specific."

The woman seemed to take offense. "Why? What's wrong with me? Why do you need someone else?"

"Because you didn't serve us lunch this afternoon!" Iris paused, "Damn it, I'm looking for an employee named Brett, I spoke to him here not too long ago, is he still around?"

The woman frowned and murmured, "Brett, Brett, Brett..."

"He's got the enthusiasm of a zombie." Iris added with a bit of a sigh.

Just then, a dead-eyed, zombified shell of a man walked up to them. It opened it's mouth, and mechanically wheezed out, "I'm Brett. Can I help you? Do you need a table? Would you like to order?"

Short on time, so I'll just hold it here for now. If George, Hayate, or Thomas have anything to say, feel free. If not, just say so.

They'll turn your world around
Night The future of warfare in UC. from Jaburo Since: Jan, 2001 Relationship Status: Drift compatible
The future of warfare in UC.
#1360: Feb 25th 2014 at 6:15:24 PM

[Master Control Room]

Samuel grimaced and set Steelheart on the computer. "Be nice," he warned. "I mean it."

"Affirm." Still resentful. Steelheart spent several seconds poking at various wireless methods of access before finding one and firing off a string of queries at the computer regarding transmission protocol and physics, some which it probably wasn't equipped to answer given they were dimensional topography or mechanical.

"Don't forget to try harmonizing existing signals." Samuel warned Steelheart. He grimaced and glanced at Noriko. "I must have missed what you said before I came in...or simply been consumed in hoping my Device doesn't start a fight. Which it has been known to do. Transportation is interesting, yes."

edited 25th Feb '14 6:15:48 PM by Night

Nous restons ici.
Masterofchaos Since: Dec, 2010
#1361: Feb 25th 2014 at 6:54:16 PM

[Big Kahuna]

Right on cue. George thought, looking over Brett. And he looks worse than he was earlier.

"Uh...no. We don't need a table or an order, sir. Not for a while." George said, "In fact, we want to ask if you've seen someone here. He hasn't returned to a hotel, and this was the place he was in."

He rubbed his chin. "Face of a lizard. Red and white. Not really hard to miss. Have you seen him since we last arrived?"

[Outside Big Kahuna]

Nathan looked at the sky. "Well, I hope they come out soon, cause it's getting dark." He looked back down at his brother, "Did anyone else come with you?"

"Only Jackson." Adam said, rubbing his eyes. "He's still at the hotel with this really weird desk clerk. He's taking a long time though."

"Ah..." Nathan refaced Kaguya, "Are you still joining in the search for Howell?"

KillerClowns Since: Jan, 2001
#1362: Feb 25th 2014 at 7:48:38 PM

[Pax Island ~ Outside Al's Bar —> Al's Bar]

Aseyu frowned, then said, "reminds me of the myth of Elas. An old story of my people's." A slight smile came to her lips. "But best not to tell it quite yet." Then her expression turned dark. "Though... that could mean, if I'm right, those 'staff' we saw could well be his... previous victims." She shuddered at the thought.

She looked back into Al's bar, then breathed a sigh of relief. "Had a weird worry he'd be gone," she said, before walking up to him, motioning for Joseph to follow.

"Okay," she said to Al. "Bad news. I had the problem more-or-less contained. Until some idiot charged through that door. Now Sam's loose, and something tells me I'm going to have to help stuff this genie back in its bottle. Any suggestions?"

[Beyond The Red Door]

The stranger remained in Sam's unreal realm, seeing what had become of it and seeking whatever minds existed there.

[Azatha's Fortress]

Alarmed, the Song withdrew from the time-space continuum, bitterly accepting the setback and watching from outside time to see how the mathemagicians handled this new havoc.

edited 26th Feb '14 3:49:46 PM by KillerClowns

Sonzai Since: Sep, 2010
#1363: Feb 25th 2014 at 8:46:02 PM

[Royal Hotel (Lobby) >> Walking to the Big Kahuna]

Signore? Kina thought, I have no idea what that word even means, I wonder if it's the kind of duck he is...

"Nice to meet you Jackson," Kina said, bowing a bit, not really sure the best way to introduce herself to a duck, "and yes, I'd like to leave quickly too. I'm starving."

She opened the door, and motioned for Jackson to follow as she walked towards the town center, and hopefully the Big Kahuna.

"Do you know the way to the Big Kahuna?" Kina said to Jackson once they were outside, "I'd be happy to follow you if you do." She'll follow him there if he leads.


[Cavern (Master Control Room)]

"Oh, did you mean the other screens?" Flynn said, motioning to two of the screens, that displayed:

System Status:
System OK, Offline, Warnings
Communications: Disconnected
Users: 3 Present, 0 Connected, 0 Active (Max 1024)
Metagrams: 3 Active, 8 Hibernating (Max 2048)
Power: 10 GW Link Established with Julliane Substation 32, Utilization: 7.9 MW (0.0008%)
Transportation: Lobby Transport Ready, Portals Ready (3), All Maintenance Gates Closed
WARNING: Encryption partially disabled!
WARNING: No network connections available.
WARNING: Cannot contact monitor system to ensure information containment.
WARNING: Automatic system deletion scheduled in 79210 seconds!

Transportation:
Last 6 hours (Newest First):
Portal #2, Two Way Stable <-> Unknown[-3288.6,4122.9]
Portal #2, One-Way -> Unknown[-2975.3,4003.2]
South Side Maintenance Gate Opened (Proximity Detection)
Location Coordinate Shift Detected (Reality Error)
Portal #3, One-Way -> Julliane Hallway 53
Lobby Transport, One-Way -> Research Center 6
Portal #1, Two Way Stable <-> Julliane Hallway 42
Lobby Transport, One-Way <- Research Center 6
Portal #3, One-Way <- Metagram Station 4
Lobby Transport, One-Way -> Mining Complex 82B
Lobby Transport, One-Way -> Mining Complex 82C
Lobby Transport, One-Way -> Mining Complex 83A
Lobby Transport, One-Way -> Mining Complex 82B
Show Prior Events...

"There's also the transportation control system if that would help," Flynn said, as he pressed the Transportation box, and the third screen displayed:

Transportation Control:
Lobby Transport: Ready; No active transports in progress
Portals: 1,2,3 OK; Not active
All Maintenance Gates Closed

Meanwhile...

Steelheart might have had a bit more trouble than desired, as almost immediately, the Cavern system replied with:

'Please activate encryption and send qubit keys for system access.'

However, it did answer some of the questions regarding transmission protocols, describing how to communicate with this system. For communications status, nothing more that what was already displayed or discussed seemed to be available. For physics, it would provide factual answers describing laws identical to our universe (obviously excepting the FTL communications, etc. that we haven't discovered yet.) But as soon as any questions more advanced than basic FTL were posed, and certainly anything about dimensional mechanics, it would simply reply with:

'That information is classified. Level 10 clearance required for access to research records.'


[Azatha's Fortress]

"E ⋈ m [∀] : Δ∀(→) = 0" Amalie said, trying to return the fracture to normal, to apparently no effect. "Well, you're on your own with this one, good luck." She disappeared, retreating back to her own universe.

"Typical," Azatha said, looking disappointed. Then, turning on the megaphone again, she said, apparently talking to the fracture, "hey you, quit that, don't you know I'm trying to run a respectable fortress of doom here?"

Of course, being simply an environmental effect, it did not reply any more than a thunderstorm did to a person caught in the rain. The fracture continued expanding, now engulfing half the south side of the island, as the portal in the ocean grew, and gained a matching gap in the sky, the entire south side being devoured into space.

"Alright, looks like we're going to have to do this the hard way," Azatha said, rolling up her sleeves. "πࡁӯڊকᔽᗡ → ᒏШಓख़ᒅ : ᘖՙቧጒنಗЌʣҒ֧ɵወ !" she said(?), as clearly the translation magic had practically no clue what the impossible speech could mean.

However, not more than a moment after she said her incantation, her form shifted and twisted upon itself, as she expanded and bent, her appendages contorting and multiplying in an impossible array of shapes. Her form grew, and became many times larger than the fortress, rivaling the disintegrating island itself. She was no longer recognizably human, or even a living creature, merely a monstrous mass of biological, mechanical, and mathematical forms, all twisted into a nine-fold symmetric ball of chaos, twisting and overlapping upon itself like no physical matter ever could, colored in gray, black, and the void, stars visible through parts of this new form.

Two protrusions of matter, metal, and muscle extended forth from the central ball, grabbing onto the very fabric of this universe, and pulling the fracture taught, until it snapped back into place, ceasing to exist as separate from normal space-time.

The chaotic form now coalesced, and re-formed into the comparatively tiny form of Azatha, again standing on the roof. "Whoo, that was fun," Azatha said, "been a while since I could do that." Astute observers might have noticed she expended a massive amount of energy to perform that transformation, but nothing else was apparent as to how it functioned, in fact, it seemed to defy the very laws of logic and reality.

Then, looking around, she noticed that her fortress was now standing on half an island. The north side was a more-or-less normal volcano, with rocky and barren slopes, leading to a normal-looking ocean at night. The south side abruptly cut off a short distance from the fortress, a shear rock face falling into deep space existing where the island originally stood, the remaining half of ocean draining over a long waterfall in both directions, east and west. The sun flickering out was actually a brief time-jump in this island's frame.

"Well, there went the neighborhood," she said.

It's times like these when I wish I could draw. :P

edited 25th Feb '14 10:33:52 PM by Sonzai

Yomegami Since: Jan, 2011
#1364: Feb 25th 2014 at 9:34:40 PM

Town Center (Outside Big Kahuna)

Kaguya frowned again. "I...I don't know. I really should help find him, if only to be nice to Iris-san, but..."

She sighed. The first thing she wanted to say was what she honestly felt: she barely knew Howell, and quite honestly wasn't in the mood to go on a wild goose chase trying to find him. Yet, she didn't want to say it because it was being too disrespectful to Howell and, by extension, everyone who was breaking their back helping to find him. She barely knew him, yes, but at the same time from what little words they exchanged she didn't think he was a bad person. So she thought a little harder and tried to come up with something a little less rude.

"...Well, I'm not so sure I'm actually going to be needed. There's already quite a few people helping to look for him as it is, and I don't know if one more is going to make or break things." She shrugged. "I guess if I'm really needed or if everyone insists on it, I'll help. But beyond that, my main goal was to help find you, and we've done that."


Big Kahuna

Even though Hayate only barely remembered the appearance of their previous waiter, he remembered enough to know that he didn't look that bad the last time they were here. If he didn't know better, he could have mistaken him for a corpse that was just revived by a nekomata and was being controlled like a puppet.

In the meantime, he just remained silent as the others spoke to the employees, although he did roll his eyes upon being called a 'pet.' He did have the ability to take on a human form, like most bake-gitsune; maybe it was time to actually make use of it, if only to reduce confusion and make things easier. He did strongly prefer his usual fox shape, however; the first 100 years of his existence had gotten him used to it, and more often than not it created amusement when speaking to most humans.


Cavern (Master Control Room)

Noriko turned towards Samuel and gave a nod of acknowledgement before redirecting her attention to the screens Flynn motioned to.

"Can you show all prior events on the 'Transportation' screen?" she asked, "What's there right now isn't too informative. I think the earlier ones might be a little more helpful." She frowned. "Although, it does say it lists the last six hours. Do you have any idea of just how long you've been here?"

Icon by Civvi the Civilian!
Sonzai Since: Sep, 2010
#1365: Feb 25th 2014 at 10:13:03 PM

[Cavern (Master Control Room)]

"We've been here for a little over five hours," Flynn said, "and I could show a few more events, but there are far too many in total to show at once."

The display expanded to show:

Transportation:
Last 8 hours (Newest First):
00:24 : Portal #2, Two Way Stable <-> Unknown[-3288.6,4122.9]
00:52 : Portal #2, One-Way -> Unknown[-2975.3,4003.2]
03:08 : South Side Maintenance Gate Opened (Proximity Detection)
05:05 : Location Coordinate Shift Detected (Reality Error)
05:11 : Portal #3, One-Way -> Julliane Hallway 53
05:13 : Lobby Transport, One-Way -> Research Center 6
05:15 : Portal #1, Two Way Stable <-> Julliane Hallway 42
05:37 : Lobby Transport, One-Way <- Research Center 6
05:40 : Portal #3, One-Way <- Metagram Station 4
05:50 : Lobby Transport, One-Way -> Mining Complex 82B
05:50 : Lobby Transport, One-Way -> Mining Complex 82C
05:51 : Lobby Transport, One-Way -> Mining Complex 83A
05:51 : Lobby Transport, One-Way -> Mining Complex 82B
06:20 : Lobby Transport, One-Way <- Mining Complex 82C
06:21 : Lobby Transport, One-Way <- Mining Complex 82B
06:21 : Lobby Transport, One-Way <- Mining Complex 83B
06:21 : Lobby Transport, One-Way <- Mining Complex 82A
06:37 : Lobby Transport, One-Way -> Research Center 8
06:59 : Lobby Transport, One-Way <- Research Center 8
07:13 : Lobby Transport, One-Way -> Research Center 7
07:19 : Portal #2, Two Way Stable <-> Julliane Hallway 53
07:38 : Lobby Transport, One-Way <- Research Center 7
Show next page...

00:00 = Time elapsed since event
<- = To this station
-> = From this station

"I also enabled the time display," he said, "most of these events are other users arriving and departing here on their breaks, from a variety of places on or around the Julliane space station we were assigned to. Practically all the prior events for the last four months are the same kind."

Ryuhza Brother from San Diego County, California Since: Feb, 2012 Relationship Status: Tongue-tied
Brother
#1366: Feb 26th 2014 at 2:26:53 AM

[Pax Island ~ Big Kahuna]

Iris smiled a little uneasily at the sudden appearance of Brett, uncertain if he had taken notice about her comments on his enthusiasm. Of course, given his state, it may have been hard for the man himself to deny such an astute description.

George kicked off the question asking, but before Brett could answer, Iris cut in, explaining, "I already asked him if he'd seen Howell when I was here earlier, George. He said he thought that he had left with us, earlier this afternoon." she turned her attention to Brett and continued, "What I really want to know if you noticed a talking cat that goes by the name of Claire?"

Brett's tired eyes moved slowly between Iris and George. He raised a hand and pointed at the man. "Yes, I recall seeing the person you describe. He was here earlier, sitting with a cat and a man."

Iris's eyebrows bunched together somewhat fitfully. She gave Brett an incredulous stare, then, taking a few tries to get the words going, asked, "...ah... ah... I... what? I asked you earlier and you said that you hadn't seen him since we left! What the hell was that about?"

The man calmly held up a hand and closed his eyes. "No no- you asked me if I had seen someone with a big hat and a face like a snake. The one with the cat and the man clearly had a big hat that he wasn't wearing and the face of a lizard."

Iris stared on in completed disbelief, as though Brett's head had reshaped itself into a large coconut. "What the shit?" she asked, in the same tone one would ask how another person's day was going. "First of all, if his skin is red and white, what the hell are you splitting hairs for? Secondly, he's got a snake face. Not a lizard. A snake. He's my brother; it's not debatable."

"I saw a lizard face, what can I tell you?" Brett shrugged. "You two don't look very much alike."

Iris shot him a look, when the woman at the front counter cut in. "I thought it looked more like a serpent head than a snake head."

Iris shot her a look as well.

"You're Iris, his sister?" The woman asked.

"Yes." she answered, "We're not biologically related, if you're wondering." She glanced at Brett, who in turn was glancing at his watch, and tapping his foot rather slowly. "Wait- how did you know?" she asked, looking back at the woman with a new curiosity.

"He wanted me to tell you that he's 'gone fishing'. Then he left along with that cat that you mentioned, and that man that Brett was mentioned."

Iris stared at the counter-lady for a second or two, then closed her eyes and massaged them with her thumb and forefinger. "That's almost good news."

waiting for KC to adjust his post before continuing with Joseph.

edited 26th Feb '14 2:29:02 AM by Ryuhza

They'll turn your world around
Masterofchaos Since: Dec, 2010
#1367: Feb 26th 2014 at 4:05:57 PM

[Walking To Big Kahuna]

Now away from the hotel, Jackson noticed how everything seemed enormous now. The people, the stores...he had no idea how Mud expected him to just get used to this. Still, he needed to focus on other thing.

Bring Kina to Big Kahuna, find Adam, then try to find a way to turn back into a human.

"I think I took a glance at it when I came here." he said, "Shouldn't be too far."


[Outside Big Kahuna]

"I see." Nathan said, "Well, any help would be appreciated, but if you really do want to head back the hotel..." He shrugged, "No point of trying to stop you. Sorry that I vanished and made you guys look for me. I promise you; if anything came up, I would've called."


[Big Kahuna]

"He left with a bunch of strangers?" George asked, quirking an eyebrow ,"That's why he wanted to stay behind? Don't they still teach kids not to do that in school, or am I in a different timeline?"

"Well," Thomas said, walking over to them, "That leaves us with a lead, but also gives us another problem. We don't know, exactly, where he could've gone fishing. He could be here, or on another island." He crossed his arms, "That, and it's getting dark, so we really don't have that much time to look for him."

Yomegami Since: Jan, 2011
#1368: Feb 26th 2014 at 4:55:42 PM

Town Center (Outside Big Kahuna)

"Well...at this point, I guess we'll see what happens," Kaguya replied, before turning back towards the restaurant. A few moments later, she looked back towards him. "I still want to talk to you later. Not right now; we're busy, I imagine you'd want to spend some time with your brother," she motioned towards Adam as she said this, "and even if I'm not needed, I imagine Hayate-sama still wants to me to at least meet this other person."

After that, she looked away again and fell silent.


Big Kahuna

Hayate put a paw over his face and shook his head upon seeing the display between Iris and the restaurant staff. The way they squabbled over such inane specifics strongly reminded him of the fights that occurred over politics among some members of the Youkai Court, and that wasn't necessarily something one wanted to be compared to. At least they got some sort of lead out of it, and that his earlier suspicions were now confirmed. The trick was actually making good use of it.

"My suggested plan of action is to ask around and see if anyone else saw any sign of Howell, Claire, or the people the latter was with," he said after he was done facepawing, "We could look around the shoreline to see if he's on this island, but I have a feeling we'd just wind up wasting our time just searching randomly."


Cavern (Master Control Room)

As Noriko looked over the new information, she realized that it'd probably be more useful if she knew what time it was now. She had an inkling that the "Reality Error" occurred right about the time Flynn and the other metagrams found themselves on Pax. If that was all this had to say on the matter, then it was no more useful then the "no network detected" errors that had been popping up earlier. Why can't these things be more informative?

"Does this system keep records of all things that happened involving it?" she asked, "If so, I think I'd like to see everything that happened around the time of that 'reality error.' Might not help fix this, but it might at least shed some light on what happened."

Icon by Civvi the Civilian!
Blackfire667 Attitude is prohibited from The Virtual World Since: Jan, 2011 Relationship Status: Pining for the fjords
Attitude is prohibited
#1369: Feb 26th 2014 at 7:31:10 PM

[Al's Bar]

Al gave Aseyu a peculiar look. "Uh." He began. "Listen, lady, I don't know what you're talking about, but I'm pretty sure you've got the wrong place. I sure as hell don't know any genies, and I don't know anything about genies, so..."


[Pseudo-Turn District/Beyond the Red Door]

The strange stained-glass clouds that floated through the bizarre, yellow-brown, sunless sky began to gather overhead. They distorted the omnipresent pseudo-sunlight into a colourful display that painted the ground, the sky, and the vast mountains of odd objects, changing them all into new and different colours. Frightening and outlandish silhouettes danced in the distance, uttering mystifying noises that seemed to echo into infinity.

The red door that Sam had previously been behind still stood where it had been originally, though it was now bland and uninteresting. It was no longer a portal between the unfamiliar land that Sam had conjured up and Al's modest bar on Pax Island... Though perhaps it still held the potential to be...

The half-casino that Sam had unceremoniously placed in the midst of the curious landscape also remained, and was still populated by a smattering of scantily-clad staff members; individuals from a multitude of species and sexes, though they seemed to have no problems communicating or relating to each other. Some stood completely still, a vacant expression on their faces, scarcely breathing. Others paced and discussed, anxious and afraid. Most were active, however, and quite calm. They stood around and waited, expectant, as they watched the stranger from a distance.


[Azatha's Fortress]

Sam appeared very abruptly, and without any particular noise or flash and only a very small spike in eldritch energies. He was right behind Kunstler. "Evening!" He said, quite enthusiastically.


[Nulbarak Island]

"Oh, um," Began Tamara, as she walked down the path with Kevin. "Well... It's... Sort of a rite of passage." She said, struggling slightly to clearly explain herself. "I have to do some adventuring of some kind, to prove that I'm capable of... Taking care of myself, I guess. Plus, it runs in the family." She smiled, faintly. "My mom was always looking for adventure when she was young. And my older sister, she's still out there, adventuring and..." Her smile fades. "And fighting..." She sighed. "There's a lot of pressure on me, too. Pressure to get out there and join her, what with the war and stuff. And it's not that I don't don't want to help, but I just..." She trails off and shakes her head. "Never mind... So, how about you, Kevin?" She said, perking up a bit. "Why are you adventuring?"

edited 26th Feb '14 7:47:41 PM by Blackfire667

Not entirely dead.
Ryuhza Brother from San Diego County, California Since: Feb, 2012 Relationship Status: Tongue-tied
Brother
#1370: Feb 26th 2014 at 7:36:17 PM

[Pax Island ~ Outside Al's Bar —> Al's Bar]

Joseph's eyes rose from the note to Aseyu, shadowed with unease. "Victims like... whoever he gets a hold of once he's actually loose, or the people who help let him out?" Either way, it wasn't a pretty thought. "Some of them looked kind of- uh... exotic." he was going to continue, but then he considered how those words would sound coming out of his mouth. "...never mind."

Aseyu seemed to have her sights set back on the bar anyway. He followed her inside, and back up to Al, giving the man a weak half-smile. Sorry probably wouldn't cut it.

There was something strange about the rest of the bar. Ignoring the fact that time had started moving again, it seemed different than it had been when time had first stopped. Less eerie, somehow. Then it hit him.

"Hey..." he said, squinting at the wall that was lacking one colorful door. "I think we'd need... a new bottle. The door is gone."


[Pax Island ~ Big Kahuna]

Iris's eyes flitted open and focused on George. She looked increasingly miserable.

"I don't know why he went with them, George. I really don't. Howell is usually smart about these things, but he's been a little restless." She frowned, then looked down at Hayate and asked, "Okay... what people? Where?"

"Is that all I can help you with?" asked the lady at the counter. Brett had already left to go tend to his duties elsewhere in the restaurant.

"Yes. No! Wait-" Iris held up a hand, "when did my brother leave here?"

"A few hours ago. Is that all?" She smiled, thinly masking her boredom with the whole situation.

"Yeah, thanks I guess." Iris murmured. She raised her hands up to her face and drew in a long breath, then parted them and looked at the others. "I just want some good news right about now, don't you?"

edited 26th Feb '14 7:36:30 PM by Ryuhza

They'll turn your world around
Sonzai Since: Sep, 2010
#1371: Feb 26th 2014 at 8:33:45 PM

[Walking to the Big Kahuna]

"Sounds good," Kina said, following Jackson slowly down the way as they walked towards the Big Kahuna.

"So... are you visiting here as well, or do you live here?" she said.


[Cavern (Master Control Room)]

"Sure, I could show the event log, that might be helpful," Flynn said.

Event Log:
Showing events from 5:13 to 4:58 prior (most recent first)

04:58 : [Power] Input voltage returned to ideal
05:02 : [Information Containment] WARNING: No verification available in the last 300 seconds, system deletion will be scheduled if communications are not recconnected!
05:07 : Reality Error Recalibration Complete: Transdimensional Coordinate Shift, No Alternative Physics, No Alternative Mathematics, No Internal Errors Detected, All Diagnostics OK
05:07 : No networks detected on Harmonic Wireless, system is now offline
05:07 : Pattern transporters now recalibrated with dual-coordinate system - OK
05:07 : Portal system now recalibrated with dual-coordinate system - OK
05:07 : Dual-Coordinate System Engaged. A transdimensional dislocation was detected in the coordinate shift, the new dimension is now coordinate system 0, original dimension saved in coordinate system 1. Warning: Transdimensional pattern transmission is in beta - recommended only between active transporters or portal repeaters.
05:07 : Lost Quantum Optical Link connection, switching to Harmonic Wireless backup
05:07 : Location Coordinate Shift Detected (Reality Error)
05:07 : Reality Error Detected: Previous physical parameters are no longer valid, recalibrating...
05:09 : [Power] 2.3% Input voltage drop detected, within normal tolerances
05:13 : [Transport] Portal #3, One-Way -> Julliane Hallway 53

00:00 = Time elapsed since now Note that this is showing events in the reverse order from when they happened, and that the clock (hh:mm) shows how long ago the event occurred.

"Anything look helpful?" Flynn said.

You're getting very close to a couple different solutions. :)


[Nulbarak Island]

"That sounds serious," Kevin said, "who (or what) are you at war with, if you don't mind me asking?"

"And as for me, I'm pretty boring," he said, "I'm trying to qualify for main character status in a good game back where I'm from, so I have to train well. That's about it - I don't even have a backstory yet, much less a suitably dark and dramatic one - those are the best."

edited 26th Feb '14 8:38:41 PM by Sonzai

Night The future of warfare in UC. from Jaburo Since: Jan, 2001 Relationship Status: Drift compatible
The future of warfare in UC.
#1372: Feb 26th 2014 at 10:09:08 PM

[Control - Cavern]

"Maintain security protocols while on fire." Steelheart sounded disapproving. Not even a proper AI, just an expert system. That the A.I.s apparently couldn't override. Somebody wanted the A.I.s to die if anything went wrong, in Steelheart's opinion, and primarily out of a malicious desire for them to do so. "Searching for wireless signals."

Samuel was glancing over Noriko's shoulder. "Three hundred second wait time." He grimaced. It didn't even look to be connected to anything else, just the comms lapse. Well, it wasn't a military system, but that was short enough even accidents in a civilian setting could probably trigger issues. "Shift in voltage is interesting...so's the fact there's a beta for cross-dimensional travel as part of the system."

Nous restons ici.
CrystalGlacia from at least we're not detroit (Living Relic)
#1373: Feb 26th 2014 at 11:01:56 PM

[azatha's fortress]

He felt himself slide his hands out of his pockets and straighten his stance, but Kunstler didn't turn around. Instead, he glanced over his shoulder at the man.

"Yes?"

What the hell was he? Did he have some sort of... problem? Either way, he didn't seem particularly remarkable- there were many who managed to annoy Kunstler even faster than this one had, usually nonverbally. Maybe he might at least prove to be slightly interesting company.

edited 26th Feb '14 11:02:26 PM by CrystalGlacia

"Jack, you have debauched my sloth."
m8e from Sweden Since: Jul, 2012 Relationship Status: Wanna dance with somebody
#1374: Feb 27th 2014 at 11:01:12 AM

"I have had nicer ones," Duckie answered before he collapsed on the ship.

"Don't worry about him, he is just exhausted and intoxicated."

The ship raised up from the sea and headed back to Pax island. The ship didn't yerk and splash around like it used to. It just accelerated slowly and tilted slightly forward so nothing would fall off the ship, or even move an inch.

Claire moved over to the coat wrapped primate, "This one should also be exhausted and intoxicated, and possibly postprandial somnolent."

TeraChimera Since: Oct, 2010
#1375: Feb 27th 2014 at 2:51:23 PM

[Nulbarak Island]

Askeda glanced after Tamara and Kevin, but didn't say anything. Closing one hand into a fist, she breathed into it. When she opened her hand, a small ball of bluish light drifted out and floated to about head height, bobbing gently in place.

Askeda leaned against a tree, flexing her wings a little. "Kind of abrupt," she said to Layi, although she kept her eyes on the man. "Just, 'HeyI'mgoingtogoscoutokaybye'. Hope she's a quarter capable at this." She barely suppressed a snort.

"So," she continued, changing the subject, "what d'you make of this guy here?" She gestured at the man.


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