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
[Near Harbor]
"Well," Thomas said, "I'll admit. It did sound pretty outrageous. But considering everything that had happened today, I'm willing to believe anything now."
It was then that Hayate trotted over. "Oh! No...I've pretty much decided that we should wait for them to come back before we do anything else."
[Near Headmaster's office]
Jackson groaned internally. Not only were they wasting more time, but now he had to find a way to comfort him. And he sucked at comforting people.
"Look, kid," he said, finally landing, "Your sister might get pissed at you. Hell, she might lecture you. You were suppose to still be at the restaurant so your sis could pick you up and take you to the hotel. But you left without anyone knowing and made her panic. So yeah, I can see her getting mad at you for that. At the moment, though, she's worried sick about you. So is everyone else. That's why I have to bring you to Iris. So she can know that you're alright."
[Town Center]
Adam had zoned out as he, his brother, and father walked in the town. He wasn't sure how close he was to the hotel; all he thought about was getting there and going to sleep.
He rubbed his eyes and yawned. He then blinked, and quickly noticed a familiar face walk by. He rubbed his eyes again, making sure he wasn't seeing things. Is that...?
Nathan looked down at his little brother. "Something wrong?"
Adam shook his head. "Nope. I just saw someone I knew. Didn't think I'd see them here, too!" He smiled and waved "Hey! Ms. Rogers!"
The future of warfare in UC.
[Casino Lobby]
"Then I really doubt I can help you." Forsythe replied, scanning the room. "Unless you want some of my survival gear." The only thing in the pack that wasn't sold at military surplus stores was the survival rifle, and that was because it wouldn't have had much of a market compared to civilian hunting rifles.
Nous restons ici.
Town Center
Well, she thought her decision was made, but that was before a better plan of action presented itself.
The woman hadn't gone too far when someone called out her name. Well, her last name, anyway. She stopped, trying to remember where she'd heard that voice before. She vaguely remembered being referred to as "Ms. Rogers" sometime in the recent past as well; almost nobody called her that around her hometown now, the way things were.
She turned in the direction the voice came from, and saw a young, red-headed boy waving at her. Now it was starting to come back to her; he was one of the boys from that city. She'd almost forgotten that place (with good reason, that place was also quite the hellhole if her memory was working right). She wasn't expecting to ever meet up with anyone from there again, especially considering they all seemed to be from different times. The problem now was that she couldn't quite remember his name. It was A-something. Adam, maybe? Might have been Aaron or something.
She figured she might as well ask him. He was likely going to be more talkative than the operatives of that building, if nothing else. So she waved back, before walking up to him.
"Well. Wasn't expecting to ever see you again," she said, pleasantly. Although they had one hell of a time together, she didn't remember talking to him that much. "But it's certainly nice to see you doing well...uh...Adam, was it?" She nodded, before turning to the other two people. "This is your family, I take it?" She stuck out a hand. "Name's Selena Rogers."
Icon by Civvi the Civilian!
[Pax Island ~ Harbor (Docks Near Harbormasters Office)]
"I know that." Howell grumbled, "But even if I'm lucky, Iris'll be relieved for five seconds tops, and then she'll be very very angry. Out for my blood, even if it comes from my ears." It was slight as usual, but Howell seemed to wince at the thought. Looking at Jackson, he explained, "I'm not dumb. I don't need to be lectured on right and wrong. Things did not end up happening the way that I thought they would. Now what I did seems stupid, but if I had been back at the restaurant hours earlier like I thought I would be, what happened would not be so stupid. My sister wouldn't even know I had been gone."
He rested his head between his hands and sighed. "Claire's fishing trip took longer than it was supposed to. But it was worth it after all. I don't think Iris will listen to that." He paused a moment, then glanced at Jackson and perked up slightly. "We caught a big sea-monkey though. Wanna see him?"
[Pax Island ~ Harbor (Beach Near Giant Robot)]
Iris tipped her head to the side slightly, smiling.
"But earlier today, coming out of the mouth of a complete stranger who had no proof of anything save for her weird looking brother... you wouldn't have bought it, would you?"
Before she could get an answer, Hayate showed back up, done talking to the Lieutenant almost as quickly as Thomas had been. To his question, Iris shook her head.
"No, not exactly. I though you two were going to be a little longer with Forsythe over there, and I was going to head out onto this dock back here to see if it would somehow grant me better boat or duck-spotting abilities. Seems kind of pointless now though, and aside from that, I'm about just as dry for ideas as Thomas."
She turned to face the water, frowning out at the dark horizon for a few seconds, before saying. "It's strange. It feels like they should be here by now, shouldn't they? At least Jackson should have flown back around so we know that at least he's still all right, duck or not. But he hasn't." She paused for a few more seconds before adding, "Stranger still: why aren't I worried?"
this place needs me here
[Casino Lobby]
"We are not interested in the stuff you have on you. We are interested in that thing you left behind in the sea."
The future of warfare in UC.
[Casino Lobby]
"Then I really can't help you, and I also strongly advise you not to touch it." Forsythe replied. "The security system can be...messy." Actually it still had most of the mobile doll software installed, so in the event of being "secured" it was really just standing there waiting for an excuse to shoot someone/pull a 15-gee maneuver for thirty seconds when they weren't secured. "There are of course rules about giant armed robots, you understand."
Nous restons ici.
[Casino Lobby]
"Thanks for the advice, but this isn't our first time messing with machines like this," Ms Voyance confirmed that she got the message, but just ignored it as irrelevant.
"If you can't help us we have to help ourself," she informed Forsythe.
She neglected to say anything about the islands special "magic", if that thing tried to shoot anyone or anything on or near the island it would fail, possibly catastrophically. Pulling any lethal g, or any g causing more than minor bruises would fail too, unless it got far enough from the island. But at that point anything could happen.
Attitude is prohibited
[Lava Corridor/West Hallway Intersection —> Wormhole —> Pax Island Motel (Morning)]
Sam chuckled. "A journey through spacetime, then? Excellent! For a moment there, I was almost worried that you'd pick something boring like money or eternal life." The dice reappeared in Sam's hand and then transmuted from plastic into perfect diamonds. He handed the dice to Kunstler. "If you're smart, you'll keep these with you. And if you're anything other than totally stupid, you'll stay close to me... If you've actually got the guts to go through with this, that is." Sam turned on his heel. "You might want to hang on to something." He said, rather nonchalantly.
Sam lifted his cane and made a slashing motion through the air. Almost immediately, the entire corridor shook, bent and then warped in strange and impossible ways as blinding white light filled the room. Sam stood before a terrible sight; a rip in spacetime, a hole to nowhere and everywhere at once. He did not seem phased, however. After a short time, he lowered his cane to ground and the distortions stopped. The corridor looked completely untouched, as though nothing had ever been amiss at all. The light was gone too, and the portal no longer led to Infinity. Instead, it showed a still image of the inside of a motel room, lit up by the sun shining in through through a window.
"Ta-da!" Said Sam, turning back to Kunstler. "I hope those little distortions didn't make you sick. Sometimes that happens to squishy things like you." He shrugged. "Unless you fancy a trip to yet another point in spacetime, we won't have to deal with that again." He glanced over his shoulder at the portal. "So... Still want to know what happened to your daughter?" He took a step through the portal and motioned for Kunstler to follow him.
All of this, of course, had been accompanied by an enormous and sustained spike in strange, eldritch energies. Unfortunately for Azatha, Sam had also taken the liberty of warping the space around the corridor, and then leaving it that way. All normal paths to the West Hallway Intersection would ultimately lead back to the fort's rooftop, and even trying to teleport to the source of the disturbance would cause one to reappear at the fort's front entrance. With enough persistence and understanding/control over physics, reaching the portal was possible, though it would be a frustrating task.
[Nulbarak Island]
"I know how to do this." Insisted Tamara, mildly insulted by Layi's reluctance and everyone else's implicit endorsement of that reluctance. She was doubly irritated by Askeda's willingness to accept her help, considering how snippy and generally mean-spirited she'd been.
Tamara sighed and put two fingers to both of her temples. "Think I don't know how to cast some stupid spell..." She grumbled, in a voice that was barely audible. She paused for a moment, remembering the words, then whispered "visione noctis." For a moment, her eyes shone with bright blue light, and then returned to normal. She blinked, looked around, and smiled. "There. Easy!" She said, sounding vaguely triumphant.
Then she stopped, frowned, and crossed her arms. "Of course, you only said that you might be willing to trust me if I could do this. If you still don't, well, maybe it's better that I keep this to myself." She said, feeling belligerent and a bit hurt. "I mean, when have I ever been useful for anything, right?" She shrugged. "Especially in regards to my magic. Surely you don't want my help?" She pointedly glanced at where Layi had been shot just a few hours earlier. The soreness from the healed wound would be gone by now.
Not entirely dead.
The future of warfare in UC.
[Casino Lobby]
"Have fun then. You will not be missed." Someone really didn't grasp the unthinking wrath of a machine. Forsythe hit the end-call button and dialed another number. "New Edwards? Forsythe. You tracked? Good. ETA? Good."
"Thanks for the time." Forsythe said, tossing a couple of bills on her way out. She made her way back towards the beach.
Nous restons ici.
[Pax Island ~ Harbor (Beach Near Giant Robot)]
Those near the machine would, if they were paying attention, feel a music in their souls. The mind of humans, and most similar sentiences, would register it as a simple tune, a rhythm with a few melodies intertwining around it.
In the water, what appeared to be a bioluminescent jellyfish, flashing and pulsing to the music, was dancing around the mech's legs. Despite its appearance, though, it was filled with a vast array of scanners and detectors, which it proceeded to use on the mech to study it, its technologies, and its capabilities.
If it matters, the "music" technically isn't magical, understanding that definitions of "magic" can get messy.
[Pax Island ~ Town Center (Outside of Casino)]
"For what it's worth," Aseyu said, "I doubt you're alone. But... well, I can't really offer much." Then she laughed slightly. "I guess you have the internet. They say nobody cares if you're a dog, so if you're a lizard person... I mean, it's not the same as meeting real people, but Roshi has friends across the world that way." She shrugged. "Sorry, I don't know if any of this is any use to you." She continued heading towards the jungle.
[Nulbarak Island]
Layi stood before Tamara and gave a sharp bow. "Alright," she said. "I'm ready whenever you are." Then, her confidence wavering briefly, she added, "do warn me if this is supposed to hurt or sting or something. I understand magic isn't always the nicest thing to have coursing through your body, and while I consider myself pretty tough... y'know, magic, eyes..." she gulped. "I trust you to know what you're doing, don't worry, but I won't lie. Kinda weird. So, like I said, ready when you are."
edited 5th Apr '14 4:14:45 PM by KillerClowns
[Pax Island ~ Town Center (Following Aseyu)]
"Eh... it's okay." Joseph said, walking close to Aseyu and shaking his large head slowly. "No need for you to worry about it. I don't mean to dump all of my little troubles onto you or anything. It just... y'know, it just came up."
Despite his words, Joe felt a little under 'okay' just then. An ache escaped through him, the kind of ache that felt physical, even though it was only his emotions— his mind, that was in anguish. Well... perhaps not anguish, but a bit of pain. It was simply the fact that Aseyu's knowledge on his situation extended no further than his own. She had as much to say about it as he did, and he hated that. It was depressing. Joe wished that once in these strange trips of his, he could meet somebody who understood exactly what was happening to him— someone who could say, 'hey, don't sweat it. I know exactly what's wrong, and I know exactly how you can fix it. Ten easy steps to getting your life back on track: even you.' Alas, it was just another unrealistic hope to add to his collection. Investing too much into such things was a bad idea. He'd be better off just getting used to it.
Just get used to it.
I should just get used to it.
"I should just get used to it..." he murmured, only vaguely aware that he'd said it aloud. He raised his eyes away from the ground ahead, and, as he became less vaguely aware and more completely aware of his words, quickly changed the subject.
"I- uh, I don't actually know a whole lot about the internet. I mean, I've sort of read- well, more skimmed, some stuff on it, but I haven't really tried using it myself. I knew this guy at school who was really into it, y'know, always going on about how it was the most amazing thing since computers, but he showed me how it worked this one time, and um... I dunno, it just seemed like a pain in the ass to set up." He shrugged. "He'd pull up these news stories from the internet, but I don't really see the point. I mean, you've got like a bunch of news channels already, plus countless magazines and newspapers that you can read wherever, y'know? Plus, most of the internet news didn't even come with pictures, so it seems like just kind of a more complicated way to do things that you can already do better in other ways."
He shrugged and paused for a few moments, before returning with, "He did show me this whole chat thing though. I guess... yeah, I guess that was kind of cool. In nothing but words, I'm pretty much just the same as anybody else."
Joe sighed. He didn't have a proper computer to himself, but maybe that was where his life was headed.
this place needs me here
[Harbor]
Reed and the ship had been scanning and analysing the humanoid machine since it arrived to Pax. It was just yet another Minovsky Physics Square-Cube Law breaking machine what would break down thier world. They knew that from the start just by look at it, but they wheren't really interested in the whole sum, just the parts.
Reed stopped when the jellyfishy thing suddenly appeared. Their scanners and detectors interfered each other, or at least the jellyfish interfered with the some of the ship optical and acoustic instruments like the Lidar and the Sonar. The jelly fish where frankly more interesting anyway.
[Town Center (Outside of Casino), Moving to harbor]
Claire had planned to walk into the casino and introduce herself to Forsythe. This phone call was more than enough so instead she turned back for the harbor.
edited 5th Apr '14 11:03:54 AM by m8e
[Harbor]
The creature was approximately the size of a large dog, and pulsed in a rainbow of colors that, though synchronized to the song nearby sentient creatures would sense, served no obvious purpose. (The fact that its electromagnetic emanations were limited to the spectrum visible to humans might suggest a hypothesis, however.) A marine biologist examining the creature might notice that it was not, technically, a "jellyfish", but a siphonophore: a complex colonial organism made of a variety of specialized and interdependent microscopic animals. This included the technologies it used, which could not, at a glance, be identified as anything but organs.
Equally curious was what seemed to be missing. The different parts communicated only minimally, with no evidence of any central nervous system, or even a polyp serving an equivalent purpose. It simply should not have been capable of the intelligence it seemed to be displaying. And more disconcertingly, the significant energy it was using appeared to be forming ex nihlo, seemingly defying conservation of energy.
Noting the interference, the creature adjusted its own devices. One of its melodies shifted, becoming strong and relatively slow. It started activating its scanners in pulses, every other beat. The non-scanning beats, meanwhile, were marked with a flare of green light — if Reed adjusted his devices of synchronize with the green flashes, he could operate without interference.
[Pax Island ~ Town Center —> Jungle]
"Huh," Aseyu said. "Your world must be behind ours, tech-wise. Every Terran I know is on the Internet is some way. I swear, my friend Roshni used to go through withdrawal ever time we went somewhere her smartphone couldn't connect."
Aseyu then sighed again. "I'm probably boring you, aren't I? So, uh... read any good books lately?"
edited 5th Apr '14 9:56:40 AM by KillerClowns
[Big Kahuna]
"It looks good to me," Kina said, smiling, "getting them to jump is hard, and I'm pretty sure this isn't the right kind or size of paper for that anyways."
"So..." she said, having finished her dinner, and not entirely sure what else to do, "did you want to do anything else, or are you still waiting for the lost people to return?"
Sorry about not posting much, have been swamped with work. :(
[Aurora Motel Room (Morning)]
"Or I could just unify with my past self and visit you in this time period," Azatha said, appearing in the motel room as well, "you know I exist at all points in space-time simultaneously, right?" This isn't entirely accurate, but she does have some special powers that are enabled when time travel occurs. (Although she cannot initiate time-travel herself.) The easiest way to describe it is that she can do Meanwhile, in the Future… with energy and information, so that in effect that her past and future selves become identical (temporarily). Paradoxes resulting in the destruction of the universe due to this ability are depressingly common. (But they'll only affect her fortress even if one does happen. :P)
Strangely enough, the Azatha at this point in space-time was only visible to Sam and Kunstler, and appeared entirely immaterial, much like a hologram. "So, what are you two doing here anyways? Spying? Touring? Ghost of motel rooms past?"
[Nulbarak Island]
"Well, I'd still be up for trying it," Kevin said, not participating in the drama.
[Ocean, heading towards the Harbor]
In the distance, a medium-sized purple yacht could be seen approaching, running lights on, and travelling relatively fast towards the shore.
I'll probably have some more time soon, though. :) Also, adding someone new is the only way I can think of to get Kina unstuck at the moment.
Danger: Intense gravimetric distortions nearby. Please reverse the polarity on your deflectors now.
[Pax Island ~ Jungle (Following Aseyu)]
"Funny. Seems like everyone I meet is ahead of me, or 'my world' I guess. Nicer TVs, the internet, smart phones. What's a smart phone anyway? What, does it have like an artificial intelligence or something? Does it make your calls for you when you don't feel like talking to anyone? 'Cause that actually sounds kinda nice." He smiled at the thought, then shrugged. "Ah whatever, it doesn't exactly matter. From what I understand, even if someone is from earth, even if they're from the United States, even if they've got an apartment in the very same state as I do, not more than... I dunno, thirty miles away, lets say, and that person is from the future: doesn't mean it's my future. Like... there are a bunch of different futures and a bunch of different pasts and universes and dimensions, and, egh, the last time I tried to make sense of this, I think I shrunk my brain a little bit." he laughed, then sighed, and shook his head.
"As for books... nah, not so much." Joe answered, watching the ground carefully for any sharp sticks or rocks to avoid stepping on with his bare feet. "Haven't had time to go to the library myself for obvious reasons— 'least, not my local library—and I haven't had anyone go in my place." He hopped onto and over a medium-sized rock, "Plus, books can be a bit of a hassle anyways. Turning pages, at least. I did read The Outsiders a few weeks back though. Started it, anyway, but that was before I spent the night rethinking my species, so it hasn't really been on my mind since then."
He stuffed his hands into his pockets and looked around at the scenery. It felt like taking one of his walks back home, something he hadn't been allowed to do in what seemed like ages.
"And don't worry about boring me." Joe said, fixing an eye on Aseyu. "The walk alone is nice enough. Anything you add ain't gonna make it worse, so I'm not complaining."
Waiting on Masterofchaos or Yomegami before continuing on harbor stuff.
Edited by Ryuhza on Feb 11th 2024 at 4:21:10 AM
this place needs me here
So sorry. Personal matters came up, but I'm calm now.
[Near Headmaster's office]
"Howell." Jackson said, "This is not the time for that. You have to get back to Iris. Do you realize this serious this is? Are you seriously trying that hard to avoid seeing your sister?"
He sighed. God, this is the most infuriating person I've ever met. How does he not get it? Unless...
"...Have you done this before?" he finally asked.
[Near Harbor]
Thomas blinked.
"You're not worried?" he asked, "I kind of am; what's taking him so long?" He then glanced away for a moment, noticing a strange creature that just arrived on the beach, though he wasn't completely fazed. ''Huh..so Forsythe's robot isn't the only new arrival here."
[Town Center]
Adam nodded. "Yup! I'm Adam! You remember me from the city, right?" He pointed to his father and brother. "This is my dad and big brother."
George shook her hand. "Name's George Maroon, Adam's father." He then noticed her claws, taken slightly aback.
"I'm Nathan." Nathan said, "Adam's bro-" he also noticed the claws, blinking. "Wait a second...I've seen those before..."
The future of warfare in UC.
[Harbor - Shoreline]
"People think they're so smart." Forsythe muttered. The outer plating of the Taurus would have rendered pretty much any electromagnetic scan relatively pointless, being far too reflective under the grey and flash-white paint. Stealth had not been a design concern for what was ultimately a spacecraft. In addition to that, the ECM system had been left in standby and was more than willing to play hardball with anyone who got funny ideas, retaliating with active cancellation, false targets, and white noise. Laser sources would be identified and subjected to return pulses sufficient to blind them at their detected power settings. Power output was not much of an issue, and it could easily escalate to a level the standing in the direction of the radiated beams would be unhealthy.
More esoteric scanners would probably discover that it was surprisingly light, weighing in at under twenty metric tons; the entire structure would suggest materials science advancing the direction of stronger and lighter for at least a hundred years from anything else on the island. Significant portions of the interior design were made up of synthetic polymer rather than metallic materials. Passive sonar would have noted the sound of running pumps, suggesting it was taking on a small quantity of seawater, but not giving much clue as to why. Passive infrared would note it was outgassing something very hot from the thrusters at the base of its "spine".
Forsythe eyed the jellyfish for a few moments and checked her suit seals on the gloves. Solid. As long as it didn't rear out of the water and hit her in the face, she ought to be safe.
Nous restons ici.
[Harbor - Shoreline]
The jellyfish's scans were indeed quite esoteric. Abandoning its previous conventional scans, it started observing the machine from n+1 dimensions, where n was the number of dimensions its designers had accounted for; presumably a mere four, three spatial and one temporal, though it could expand this number infinitely as necessary if the mech proved more complex than anticipated. It also focused specifically on attempting to determine what weapons it wielded. Having already detected Pax Island's shielding, it had absolutely no fear of any countermeasures the suit or its owner might take, but it was curious to see if there was anything worth assimilating.
[Pax Island ~ Jungle]
Aseyu smiled and said, "good to hear. I'm worried I haven't been the best companion, our bit of fun aside, but I'm glad I can help make your day a bit better." She then bit her lip before continuing, "just don't ask me about parallel universes. I'm... not really an expert. Lots of subtly different Earths — only one of which seems to have an Uel. Kind of troubling, don't you ag... eep!" After her yelp, she grimaced as she realized she'd stepped on something sharp. She picked up her foot, easily balancing on the other, and found it was a small but painful gash, the result of a small, sharp stone. "Dead gods," she muttered.
edited 5th Apr '14 8:25:13 PM by KillerClowns
Big Kahuna
Kaguya shook her head. "I'm still waiting on Howell-san, or failing that everyone who was helping look for him, to return. Until then, I'm more or less stuck here. Not that I don't want to do anything else, but I said I'd help them somehow."
She sighed again. "If you want to leave, then you're welcome to. I'm not going to keep you here if you're done."
Harbor
"Unfortunately, I cannot think of anything else we can do, other than wait for Jackson's return," Hayate said once Iris and Thomas had spoken, "Unless, of course, you think asking around would help matters." He turned to Iris. "However, I will say that I find it amusing how your mood now greatly contrasts your mood from earlier."
He glanced back in the direction of the restaurant. "I suppose I could go check up on Kaguya. Perhaps Howell has already returned to the restaurant."
He briefly turned his head towards the robot when Thomas said there was a new arrival. The only thing he saw was some splashing going on around the robot's legs, which could have been anything. Either way, it didn't hold his attention for long and he was soon facing the others again.
Town Center
"I do now," Selena said to Adam, "It's been a while since then, and I don't believe we ever spoke much, so my memory's probably a little fuzzy." Under her breath, she added, "Intentionally."
She turned her attention to George and Nathan, both of whom seemed to have noticed her claws. "If you're wondering about the claws, that's because I'm a P-virus infected, or simply infected as they're usually known. Before you ask, the P-virus is contagious, but the good news is that I'd have to actually try to to infect you with it. Don't give me a reason to bite you and you're safe."
She then focused on Nathan exclusively. "Seen them before? To my knowledge, this is the first time we've met, so unless I'm not the first infected you've met...." She paused. "...Now that I think of it, you might have. Does the name 'Rachel' ring any bells?"
Icon by Civvi the Civilian!
[Pax Island ~ Jungle]
"Hey, even a bad companion can be better than no companions." Joe answered, smiling for a whole moment before rethinking what he'd just said. "Wait- no no, I mean, I'm not saying you're a bad companion or anything like that. No, you're fine, really, I just..." he smacked a hand against his forehead and sighed, "ech, never mind."
From there, he resigned himself to walking quietly, nodding here and there, his tail dragging just a little bit. His eyes widened in some concern at Aseyu's yelp, which came rather unexpectedly.
"Ow! Ouch! Careful there." he said, glancing from her foot to the ground beneath it to her foot again. "You all right? Is it bleeding? I mean- we can turn back if you need- or want to, it's totally fine."
[Pax Island ~ Harbor (Docks Near Harbormaster's Office)]
Howell glanced back at the beach curiously, then again at Jackson.
"Have I been on my own without my sister watchdogging me the whole time before? Yes. Many times." he answered, then after giving the beach one last narrow-eyed glance, he moved from a sitting position to lying on his belly, right on the docks, his hands the only thing keeping his upper torso propped up. He stared directly at Jackson. "Listen Jackson, you can tell my sister that I'm here— you can relieve her of that worry, and I promise I will see her soon, but I need you to do me a favor. Can you be on my side for a tiny itsy-bity moment here Jackson?"
Howell gave the duck a large-eyed stare that might've been pitiful or... well, terrifying.
[Pax Island ~ Harbor (Beach Near Giant Robot)]
"Well no, I am worried," Iris responded, sounding a little distracted and looking back up the beach the way they came, "just... not as much as I... I uh, I think I should be. Which..." her words trailed off, and she turned to face the giant robot. "What the hell is that, anyway?"
She stared hard at the same splashing that Hayate had seen, arching her head this way and that. She held up her fingers and snapped them next to her right ear, then her left ear, once, twice.
"That's fucking weird..." she murmured, before taking mind of something Hayate had suggested. "What's that?" she asked dazedly. "Kaguya? Oh- yeah, sure go ahead if you think it's a good idea. Just—if you're going to—don't somehow get friggin' lost along the way, alright? And you can tell her sorry for me, for making her wait for my stupid brother."
this place needs me here
[Ship -> Pax Island ~ Harbor]
Duckie felt better and had now changed out of the wet salty clothes and into an identical set. He grabbed a 'nutrient shake' from the fridge, this time a grain and yeast based one that mostly tasted like marmite mixed in beer.
He though he would get some more "free" time with Claire being away on the island and Reed being content by the content in him. But no, he was ordered to go to the beach with the screen, it was a lighter less advanced version of the ships first layer cloak.
With the screen under his left arm and the shake in the right hand he headed for the beach. The hatch caused trouble as always but at least now with most of the ship under water it was easy to step of the ship to the harbor.
[Pax Island ~ Harbor (Docks Near Harbormaster's Office)]
Seeing Howell proned on the ground Duckie stopped by to ask what's going on and to thank for the help. Comming closer he saw what was going on was Howell talking with a duck. Nothing strange about that, a duck talking back might be, or might not.
"Hey Howell, is this an old friend of yours?"
edited 6th Apr '14 4:55:39 AM by m8e
[aurora motel- Marla's room] Note that this morning, Marla was stuck in the TV. Friedrich hadn't found her yet.
Kunstler accepted the dice without a word, slipping them into his pocket, and followed Sam through. Shoulders hunched slightly thanks to the low ceiling, Kunstler walked about the cramped room with small, deliberate steps. He glanced out the front window, noticing Al's Bar across the street and the motel's sign- the Aurora. To his right, an ink bottle with quill on the nightstand. Behind him laid a contraption, akin to a camera with a large metal dish where the lens would be. Azatha faded away into noise as he cradled it gently in his enormous hands, the wires still connected to the opened motel television. Did she build this? Was she happy?
"Don't cry for your old father..." It had been decades since he was in that wretched little chamber, and unknowingly presented his starved, beaten husk to her. "Please... go on and be happy," his feeble voice managed, "I'm proud of you..." Her sobs, her reluctant nods, he was seeing it clear as day in his mind. He grimaced and shook his head.
He looked back as he was about to sit on the bed, and stopped at the sight of the tools strewn about the floral, vaguely plasticky bedspread. A screwdriver, wire stripper, pliers, all off to the side... with an opened notebook. Kunstler set the contraption down on a shelf below the television and studied the pages.
This is her handwriting.
The ink looked fresh. '9 July 2021 - Television trial 1'. By God, she's 94 years old, what had medicine done since he left? How did she end up here, and why the hell was she using a quill and liquid ink? ...Not only that, it was shit-quality ink. Watery as hell, he could see light streaming through the bottle. He flipped back to the front cover, careful to keep the damp ink from touching the next page. 'Property of Marla Kunstler', in her bubbly cursive.
Yes, it was her.
There was a pause. He set the pages down the way he found them.
"How far... and in what direction in time have you taken me?"
edited 13th Apr '14 10:32:11 PM by CrystalGlacia
"Jack, you have debauched my sloth."
[Pax Island ~ Jungle]
Aseyu shook her head and said, "just a bit of a nick." She frowned. "Bleeding, but not much. I don't suppose you can spare something as like, a bandage? The less dirt I get in it, the better. But I didn't come all this way to head back." She looked around for something to use. "Besides," she added, "I'm kinda portal lagged. It'll be a while before I want sleep — my brain's telling me it's mid-afternoon."
[Pax Island ~ Jungle]
"Alright..." Joe said, still eying her foot with some concern, "if it really ain't too much. Sure sounded painful. Uh, lemme see here."
He glanced down at what he had on, and patted his pockets. Unfortunately, no medical supplies had magically appeared in them since he'd last checked.
"I haven't got anything on me except a cash card," he murmured, "but... uh, if you want, I could tear off a bit from my shirt and you could use that. I know it looks new, and it sort of is, but don't worry, it's pretty cheap, and these things never seem to last for very long anyways. I lost my last shirt between a coffee spill and several tons of rubble, so at least this one would be going to good use."
[Pax Island ~ Harbor (Docks Near Harbormaster's Office)]
At the sound of Duckie's approaching footsteps and, subsequently, his voice, Howell took a brief moment to roll from his frontside to his backside to look up at the man. He waved from the ground.
"Hey Duckie! No, this is a new friend of mine." He gestured between the two, "Duckie, meet Jackson. Jackson, meet Duckie. Jackson says he isn't a duck most of the time, but some guy at the hotel made him into one. Sounds kinda funky. So, you feeling better, Duckie? You didn't look so well after your swim."
this place needs me here
[Pax Island ~ Town Center (Outside of Casino)]
"Oh yeah. Much better." he said before his tail had even left the building. He breathed out a large sigh of relief, stretching his arms out a bit. He hadn't realized just how tightly folded or pressed to his sides he'd been keeping them until he had gotten outside. It had been a mental response more than a physical one; the casino was active and noisy, but there had been plenty of space to move around.
Glancing back inside, he said, "I don't think I'm normally claustrophobic, but some places just make me feel out... what's the word? Like, out of... just- just, you know, really uneasy. Maybe it's the crowds. Is there a phobia for crowds? If I've got that... well crap, I guess there go my dreams of being in a marching band."
He held up an invisible piece of paper and crossed off an item off of his invisible list of dreams, with an accompanying shhhhht sound. After a sigh of disappointment and a second or two of mourning, Joe glanced around at the surrounding area.
Even with the noise of the casino so close by, the sounds of the night were a pleasant exchange, and a great relief from all the annoying hubbub inside. The air was still warm, as Aseyu had told him it would be. In the distance, the alluring sound of the ocean could be heard, and Joseph was once again reminded of why he'd chosen to leave the hotel hours earlier. Things had not gone as he'd expected, but... hell, that was to be expected. They had still gone well, hadn't they? For the most part, he could say yes. In that moment, he could say yes. In that moment, everything in his head could be reasoned out. Everything made sense. In that moment, Joseph wasn't so confused. He didn't even feel strange. He felt like he could fade away into the night then and there, look back, and feel content. It must've been the air.
At Aseyu's remark, his eyes brightened up a bit. "Well, no, actually I do get a lot of outdoors enjoyment— though maybe a bit less than when I was a kid. It's kind of why I'm glad I don't live in Seattle— there's not as much... wilderness, I guess. I mean, I can pretty much bike to the lake, although it's hard to find a time when it's not crowded so that's not always such a hot idea. We haven't got too many killer jungles or anything like that, but there are these woods near my house with a lot of great spots, and I just like to go there some times to... y'know, just... hang out." He held off from saying the 'by myself' that was waiting to hop off the tip of his tongue, and glanced at Aseyu. Suddenly he understood what she meant.
"Oh. Right. Yeah- because..." he raised his hands slightly, as though to gesture at something, though he didn't go the full distance. "Yeah. You're right, actually. It's been like a month and a half now." He lowered his eyes a bit, then raised them back up to Aseyu, "Don't worry, I'm not offended or anything. I mean, it's true: whenever I'm home I've just... you know, I've got to keep myself kind of shut in. I wish it were different, but..." he sighed, offering a quick frowning smile, "it is how it is..."
Joseph let his eyes drop again for a moment. "Dunno if I'd trade being shut in for a jungle where everything wants to kill me though. Kinda getting bad vibes from that one."
Waiting on Masterofchaos before I get back to Iris. Don't want to step on her heels. :)
this place needs me here