Welcome, reader, to the latest Character Development Thread! These shared story exercises help budding writers develop their characters alongside the characters of other budding writers. No formal sign-up is necessary; one can simply jump right in. Just make sure to review the OP and the last few pages first. If you still have questions or need a recap, feel free to join in the discussion thread
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This particular thread is a casual thread. What does that mean? The focus here is largely on character interaction, and a casual thread is largely meant to serve that purpose without subjecting the participating characters to anything overly threatening. This especially means violence, although there is a designated sparring area for friendly duels.
Many thanks go to Sonzai for helping me prepare this thread.
◊In a remote, mountainous region of Japan, in the middle of a large bamboo forest, there sits an inn. At first glance, it appears oddly traditional, and for the most part it is. However, a closer look around will reveal that it is surprisingly modern as well and offers everything a weary traveler could need. The inn's location is most unusual, but stranger still are its staff. Almost all of them are Youkai, the mythical and incredibly varied spirits of Japan. Some of them look fairly humanlike, others are more bestial, and still others are simply strange.
Appearances aside, this particular group is welcoming to any and all weary travelers that find their inn. Perhaps they'll even meet someone stranger then they are.
- Current Time of Day: Sunset
- Current Weather: Mostly clear
edited 5th Sep '14 7:50:35 PM by Yomegami
Drummer Boy
[Dining Hall]
I FUCKING HATE CATS
The man winced and put his hand down. "You made your point. But I was only trying to help."
If your master passes out, you'll be sorry. It'll take even more energy to revive him, and you will be my extra reserve.
He wasn't sure what was cooking, but it smelled pretty damn good. While he pondered over what he should eat, he examined his hand. Only a scratch, thankfully. Cats had done far worse to him before.
The scratch glowed faintly blue and disappeared. He was getting better at this. He cringed when he remembered what a bad job he did with Seilaan's back. Then again, those were deeper wounds, and he was in a hurry. Perhaps he should offer to take another look at them to reduce the scarring, perhaps eliminate it completely, to make her slightly more inclined to not want to rip his head off. But she'd have to take off some of her clothes, and the silly girl didn't even trust him enough to let him hold her hand.
That'd have to be filed under long-term goals, then. "Soup is always good. Why don't we get some soup for the poor fellow, Mr....?" He held out his hand to Ryouta.
The last battle's curtains will open on stage!
NO ONE SUSPECTS THE LAMP!
[[Outside (Front of inn)]] —> [[Entry Hall]]
Daniel watched as someone in the group lifted the boy inside, with another close behind. He followed them inside and watched them take the boy into a different room. He looked on after them for a few seconds and then closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Calm down. It’s probably just a child who sat up too late with excitement.
The first thing he noticed about the room was the music playing. These weren’t instruments he had heard before nor could he see the people playing them. The hall wasn’t exactly big enough to hide them, even with the crowd that filled the room. The second thing he noticed was the scent of food wafting through the hall, and it was actually starting to make him feel a bit hungry. The last thing he noticed, however, was the person behind the desk. Red skin, long nose, white hair, black wings – he could very easily have been a Grotesque. He swiftly moved over to the desk, drawing as little attention he could from the crowd, while a man with pointy hair was distracting him. Daniel stood to the left of the man when he reached the desk and drew his broadsword a little.
[[Mindscape]]
In the mist that surrounded him, Daniel saw two figures take shape with a desk in between them. “Is he a grotesque?” he asked while looking at the one behind the desk.
“Unlikely.” came the response from the voice, “He lacks the strength to give off any sort of presence, yet still has the capacity of speech. It is most likely a denizen of this world.”
Daniel stepped around the desk and studied the figure from behind. “Oh? You mean this is what the people of this world look like?” he said with a tinge of excitement, “I wonder what the people back home will make of this.” He gave a cursory glance to the other man as well. Pointed hair, held up by a band, a shirt with only half the sleeve length. He looked very much normal, save for that hideous attire.
[[Entry Hall]]
He quickly sheathed his sword and put on a big smile. I’m already here, might as well say something. “Um, I was wondering, where are these musicians playing from?” he asked the one behind the desk, “I can’t seem to see them anywhere.”
As I implied in my first post, time is slowed in the mindscape. To the people outside, it would have looked like Daniel just drew his sword and sheathed it instantaneously
edited 18th May '14 10:58:56 AM by Elfhunter
If I knew how I know everything I know, I'd only be able to know half as much because my brain would be clogged up with where I know it from
[Dining Hall]
"Maybe we should wait to see if the food helps him out, his cat seems very protective," Ryouta said to the man, "anyways, I'm Ryouta Kawaguchi, sorry for not introducing myself earlier. I did order some soup, so it should be arriving soon."
Speaking of which, one of the waitresses brought out the food Ryouta had ordered, and set it on the table in front of Daisuke.
Eugh, futakuchi-onnas still give me the creeps, even if these seem to be friendly, he thought about the waitress.
Then, looking at Daisuke, he said, "hopefully this food will wake him up..."
Danger: Intense gravimetric distortions nearby. Please reverse the polarity on your deflectors now.
[Entry Hall]
To Darius, Mazak said, "Practice? I should enjoy seeing how those of other worlds fight, perhaps even testing my defenses against the magic of other worlds. Food perhaps later." He frowned as he considered the odds of getting anything from his homeland. "I wonder if they will have anything decent? My knowledge of Eastern food is little, but I have suffered Western cuisine far too often." He looked palpably nauseous at the thought. "No offense to any Westerners, of course, but such does not agree with me at all."
He shook his head, then turned to Daniel. Figuring that Saburo would appreciate fewer people talking to him, Mazak decided to answer the question himself. He pointed to the phonograph and said, "that machine is the music's source. I don't fully understand the mechanisms myself, but the black disc there somehow records music, which is read and played back by that needle."
[Garden]
Blossom sighed and said, "right, of course. I keep forgetting — I'm from the Yoth Imperium. Which everyone where I come from has heard of, since we rule most of the continent. We're the largest and most advanced culture in the world — something even our enemies will begrudgingly admit." Then she frowned. "But personally, since there's no magistrates or administrators around, I'll tell you, the Imperium may not be around much longer. Too old-fashioned, too set in its ways. We will either change, or be conquered by the warriors of the South. And then..."
She stopped short. "Oh, uh, sorry, was I boring you with that impromptu history and geography lesson there? Here I am prattling on about myself, and I haven't even asked a single question about you! So terribly rude of me." In truth, she had a lot of questions she was eager to ask Izumi, and now seemed like a chance to try.
edited 18th May '14 10:59:32 AM by KillerClowns
Game Room
As Taeko wandered through the game room, an odd device caught her eye. It was roughly a foot higher than she was, and consisted of a screen with what looked like a lever and some buttons below it. The best guess she could make was that it was some form of television; she herself had never seen one in person since last she knew it was not widespread. It was something to mess with and it didn't look like it needed someone else; she decided to check it out and see what it could do.
She approached it and stood in front of it. Whatever it was, it didn't appear to be turned on at the moment; the screen looked dark. Maybe if she jostled the lever a little....
She jumped a little when the screen suddenly lit up. A few moments later, the words "DONKEY KONG" appeared on the screen and music started playing. She watched this screen for a moment or two, expecting it to do something on its own. It took her a while to realize that it was expecting her to input something. She tried moving the lever again to no response, before pushing a button.
The next thing that appeared on the screen was a scene of what appeared to be a cartoon monkey carrying something up a ladder (or a pair of ladders, rather) that it destroyed as it passed, over an area of six girders (or what they appeared to be, anyway) while an ominous jingle played. As soon as it made it to the top, it dropped what turned out to be a lady and bounced over to the left, knocking the girders out of line. It then bared its teeth as a rough sound played.
Afterwards the screen changed again, this time displaying the monkey at the bottom with the words "How high can you get?" underneath of it as a different jungle played. As soon as the jingle was done, it shifted to the area seen in the previous scene, this time with ladders in between the girders and a bunch of barrels sitting next to the monkey, and more notably a little man sitting on the lowest end of the lowest girder.
Taeko took her hands off the controls and watched under the assumption that this was another scene, only to have the monkey throw a blue barrel that fell straight down onto the little man. The little man then spun around a little and fell flat onto his back, accompanied by yet another jingle that sounded disappointed. Afterwards, the "how high can you get?" screen displayed again.
She raised an eyebrow. This is strange. Shouldn't the little man have...ooooh.
As soon as the girders were back on screen again, she experimentally moved the lever from side to side. The little man on the screen responded by moving left and right. She got it now; she had to use the lever and buttons to get the little man to do...something. Maybe reach the monkey and the lady it had with him. That made more sense.
So began her first encounter with a video game. Unfortunately for her, she didn't get that far with it before she got the words "GAME OVER" to display on the screen. She pretty quickly figured out that was not supposed to happen. So she tried again, this time knowing a little bit more about what she was doing.
Entry Hall
After Saburo checked in the raven and Ulrich (and raised an eyebrow over the raven's odd signature), he turned his attention to Daniel.
"Indeed," he said, confirming what Mazak had explained, "If actual musicians are your preference, then maybe you can convince some other members of the staff to put on a show down in the theater. You will have to ask the manager just who can do that, however; I myself was not told." He shook his head. "In the meantime, perhaps you would like for me to check you in for a room? If not, then there are others who have been waiting for longer than you have, and there is quite a rush right now as you can see."
He glanced at John as he said this.
edited 18th May '14 9:05:59 PM by Yomegami
Icon by Civvi the Civilian!
The future of warfare in UC.
[Entry Hall]
"The ravens," Se noted.
"Hard to say. I'm not an ornithologist. Could be very much mundane, at least communicating-"
They were both instantly silent, and both oriented on the man with his sword fractionally out of its scabbard, reacting with a speed that put the lie to their human appearance; or perhaps the time slowing hadn't applied to them. It was almost like a bird dog or a search animal pointing. The primary change was that the smaller and apparently younger of the two manifested a pair of small wings visible only from behind, made of what could best be described as black light. This did not fully convey the impossibility of them; they hurt to look at as though staring into a bright light and were obviously a light source themselves, though not nearly as bright as the pain of looking at them suggested. The light they cast was white, and very faint, while they remained obviously black to the naked eye and obviously energetic. Small arcs of energy around them of the same color occasionally appeared, crawling across the surface of the wings, but they did so in absolute silence.
He released the blade, and the black wings disappeared. Se's hand moved away from her blade's hilt again, having never actually touched it, but come very close. "This is perhaps not the best place to put a hand to a weapon, for the record." Se suggested quietly to Daniel. "There are many here of considerable power, and some might take offense."
edited 18th May '14 8:20:18 PM by Night
Nous restons ici.
That One Gal
[Entry Hall]
Leaving the other half of their group behind, the blonde/wavy-brown haired boys (named Jim and Travis, respectively) stepped into the Inn. It was quite the eye-catcher, after all. Jim, who was wearing a simple white shirt and khaki-shorts, simply waltzed up to the front desk and waited patiently until it was his turn, oddly ignoring most everything else. Once it appeared that the tengu was free, he leaned his arms on the edge of the desk and looked up at him. "So, mister tall, bright, and hairy," He said in a casual tone. "Weird building accessed through a weird gate that seems to draw in a crowd. What's the pull?"
While that was happening, the other kid, Travis, lingered around the entrance to the bar, idly scratching at the wall with his hand every now and again. He wore a dark red hoodie with a gray shirt underneath, along with a faded pair of jeans. If one were to look at him for more than a few seconds, they would notices that the end of his left sleeve was tied into a knot.
[Entry Hall]
John was so deep into his own thoughts, he didn't realize Saburo was addressing him until they made eye contact.
"O-oh!" he said, "Yes. Yes, I would like to get a room here. Any room will do."
Before he wrote his name down, he gave Saburo a nervous look, "Also, um...do you know a place where I can get some fresh new clothing?" He didn't feel the need to tell the reason why; his appearance alone would give that answer.
[Entry Hall]
Mazak's eyes immediately rushed towards Se's companion's black wings, looking upon them with no particular difficulty — a boon of his training. Once he determined they were casting light, and not the unlight of his ancient foe, he relaxed and breathed a sigh of relief. He could tell from their speed he would not fare well in a battle with her or Se. Further, as he listened to Se warning Daniel, a slight smile came to his face. They were clearly of Cleanerfish, not Shark — professional, disciplined soldiers, not bloodthirsty warriors out for glory. Theatrics aside, but perhaps it was a necessity of whatever powers they were readying. Or perhaps it was simply because some people wouldn't listen without a display of power first.
He'd have to talk to them, perhaps later, to be certain, but for now he couldn't help but feel they'd make excellent Kykzavi. For now, he decided to leave them be, aside from a subtle nod of acknowledgment. With so many of Shark here, their presence was appreciated, almost as much as another of Anglerfish would be.
edited 18th May '14 7:38:51 PM by KillerClowns
[Garden]
"Oh," Izumi said, with a glazed look indicating lack of comprehension, "actually, I don't think I've ever heard of any of those places before. So, uh, where is that in relation to here, or from Japan?"
"And, sure you can ask me some questions if you want to," she said, still looking confused.
Danger: Intense gravimetric distortions nearby. Please reverse the polarity on your deflectors now.
[Entry Hall]
Miszal entered the inn, rolling his bike along with him, not that anyone would be able to notice. He was of indeterminate ethnicity with torn up jeans and gloves and goggles but most of him was covered in an aversion print poncho, something that living things were so averse to looking at that they preferred to block it out of their minds.
He had no idea where he was but he thought he had ridden far enough that probably, possibly, nobody would recognize him there... so he shrugged off the poncho and turned it inside-out before draping it on his bike, leaving it a plain black, and pulled down the goggles.
[dining area]
Ran pawed at Daisuke's face again. He awoke a bit more readily this time with the smell of food upon him.
Was that... curry?
Daisuke pulled the plate closer to him, picking up the paper-wrapped chopsticks with his free hand. He fumbled a bit with the wrapper and stuck-together chopsticks for, to him, what seemed like an eternity as the precious food taunted him on the table until one of the chopsticks finally snapped off into a splintery top. At long last, it was just him and real food...
He dove into the plate with focused determination, recalling that he shouldn't try to go too fast, but not caring anyways. His rescuers faded away as he slowly came to, and his world melted into a primal blur of the first real meat he had tasted in a month. No more chicken powder, no more noodle bricks... no more microwaves or styrofoam cups, no more setting the cup ramen on fire because he forgot water!
As far as he was concerned, he had escaped the world of nasty, undercooked ringlet-noodles forever. As much as he loved Dad, he... really... hated the cheap, 15-yen ramen. It made them both feel like crap, but he knew it couldn't be helped.
"Jack, you have debauched my sloth."
"Unkindness"? Was that what the raven had written? What was that supposed to mean? Theign watched as the bird flew out to rejoin the rest of its flock, and hoped to God they'd reserved a room far, far away from his. He hated birds—especially birds with the apparent ability to aggravate him deliberately. Sure, this was a working vacation, but that hardly meant he should have to spend it enduring the incessant squawking of a sentient bird.
His suspicions doubled upon being told his room was free. No one ever did anything without the promise of reciprocation—especially not a pissy old innkeeper who was stuck doing menial desk work. The portal, the hunting of children, the conveniently free hots and cots...was it possible they were being lured here? His hand glided unconsciously over the hilt of his sword.
Whatever it was, he decided, the current clientele seemed competent enough to deal with it for the time being, should the need arise (and that was unlikely for the moment, considering that more were still arriving) . This was the best chance grew would get to learn all he could about whatever it was out there. Forgoing the usual unpacking routine for now, he shouldered his pack and headed for the dining room.
There was the kid, shoveling a plateful of curry into his mouth, oblivious to the world. Theign felt a pang of sympathy for him, remembering his own bouts with starvation in the past, but he vowed to extract from him whatever knowledge he could. They'd thank him eventually.
Taking a seat across the room from the boy, Theign sipped some tea, waiting for his meal, and watching from the corner of his eye for an opportunity to approach.
edited 19th May '14 6:04:04 PM by BrainSewage
How dare you disrupt the sanctity of my soliloquy?
NO ONE SUSPECTS THE LAMP!
[[Entry Hall]]
Daniel turned his gaze to Mazak as he answered for Saburo, and then to the direction where his finger was pointing. True enough, there was the machine, a wooden structure with a spinning black disk on top being pressed down on by a needle. Is that what he meant by the needle “reading” the disk? “What a wonderful invention,” he said to Mazak, “Are these common around here? I'd like to acquire one before I return.”
He turned back to Saburo as the latter spoke. “Could I, really? I would very much enjoy that, if it’s not at all inconvenient. Just point me to your manager if it’s not much trouble.” Daniel continued on the matter of checking-in, “Oh, I am sorry. I should have realized I was holding people up. Well, if you don’t mind me cutting in, I suppose I could-”
He stopped. He could feel it behind him, a sudden release of energy behind him, and it was a substantial amount. Was it hostile? It didn’t seem so, given how close it was. If it wanted to attack him without him sensing it, it could have done so from a good distance away, he figured. His hand was already on his sword, and he was ready to enter the Mindscape again, but he stopped himself when Se spoke.
He’d hoped no one would have noticed him draw his sword, given how little of it was even out. But this extreme a reaction was unexpected. This was something he’d have reserved for when swords were fully drawn. Or maybe this wasn’t extreme for them, merely a fraction of what they could do. It was best to come up with something convincing and put this matter to rest quickly.
“My apologies,” Daniel said, turning to the two women, maintaining his smile, “It is a bad habit of mine, I confess. Please don’t mind me should you see me clutching my sword. I’m afraid my training is to blame for this.”
“Though I should say,” he added after a pause, “you shouldn’t be so tense. This is a place of rest after all, and that is what I have come here to do. It would serve me little to break the peace here. Rest assured you shall have no trouble from my end.”
With a slight bow, he turned back to Saburo and said, “I have to write my name in this book, correct?” He looked around on the desk before adding, “My, I can’t seem to find the quill or the inkpot.”
edited 18th May '14 11:09:11 PM by Elfhunter
If I knew how I know everything I know, I'd only be able to know half as much because my brain would be clogged up with where I know it from
[Dining Hall]
Ryouta merely watched Daisuke for the moment, waiting for him to finish before asking any questions. At least he's looking better so far, he thought. Then, noticing Theign watching them, thought, still attracting attention, though.
[Entry Hall]
Man, this place is a powder keg just waiting to go off with all these warriors. I hope Ryouta doesn't find himself in any trouble, Miyuki thought, not really worried about Izumi, though. She didn't say anything for the moment, waiting for Claire's response.
edited 18th May '14 11:23:09 PM by Sonzai
Danger: Intense gravimetric distortions nearby. Please reverse the polarity on your deflectors now.
Entry Hall
Although he glanced in Se and her companion's direction warily after the odd light, Saburo said nothing about it. Tensions seemed to be far from reaching a fever pitch, and while he was wary it was not overly concerning for now. If either of them, or anyone else for that matter, proved to be a problem then the inn's security would be certain to handle them.
"This is what you'll need," Saburo said as he handed Daniel what was identifiable as a modern ball-point pen, "Merely put this pen to the paper and it shall write for you; no external source needed." He could sympathize with the boy despite himself; until he took up this job, he'd never seen such a pen either. Once he was signed in and given his keycard, he added, "As for the manager, last I saw her she was on her way to the garden out back." He motioned up the stairs. "She's a twenty-something human woman dressed in yellow. You'll know her when you'll see her."
Then he turned his attention to John. "Our rooms come with complimentary yukata," he explained as he checked him in, "And our cleaning staff will be happy enough to wash your original clothing in the meantime."
Icon by Civvi the Civilian!
Drummer Boy
[Dining Hall]
"Ah! Don't eat too quickly. You might vomit." The man sat next to the boy and eyed the cat warily. "Well, for the convenience of everyone present, my name is Angelus. A pleasure to meet you all."
He slowly reached for the cat's head, hoping he could make peace by scratching its ears. "You can't deny that cats can be intelligent creatures, but you need to be careful," he said to no one in particular. "They don't always use that intelligence for good. Ruining the furniture. Bringing home dead animals. Shedding everywhere. Stealing your wives. Wait—wait. The last one's a special case. Never mind."
The last battle's curtains will open on stage!
[Entry Hall -> Dining Hall]
The ravens conspired silently with some hushed squawks, clicking beaks and various other sounds. Some of Unkindness was hungry, some where not. Some of the hungry ones liked the smells coming from the kitchen, others the sickly sweet rotting smell in the entry hall. None of it liked the blue feathered creature or the dark man.
The ravens jumped down from the chairs and walked in an orderly row into into the dining area. Finding the closest free table they jumped up on it. One of them started to check the menu.
They/Them
[Entry Hall]
While Darius and the two zombies examined the map, Cadance noticed Miszal once the mysterious cloak had been removed, and began to calmly approach him. The raptor made sure to be as unthreatening as possible, bringing her feathers closer to her body. She sniffed him as she approached in curiosity.
Note to self: Pick less edgy username next time.
The future of warfare in UC.
[Entry Hall]
"Under the rules of local etiquette, between those who carry swords?" The younger woman said. "Simply touching the hilt can be considered a challenge." Actually true, by the rules that governed the conduct of samurai. And given the setting, and the staff, those rules might well apply.
They were calm. They simply walked among legends. A vampire. A vampire, the Belkan Empire had exterminated those over a millenia before the Fall! A tengu, far older than that. Wiped out in the age of Belkan myth, casualties of the war against the Lying Dark. Even Se's ten millenia were not enough to have ever seen a living tengu.
Nous restons ici.
[Entry Hall-Game Room]
John signed his name, "Thank you."
He then decided to give himself a little tour of the inn. As he walked on ahead, he stumbled across the game room. It wasn't the shower (which what he was originally looking for), but he was pleasantly surprised that there was a place where he could kill time.
One thing in there that caught his eye was what was on the screen; Donkey Kong. The original Donkey Kong.
"Donkey Kong?" he said aloud, "Funny; I didn't think people still played that game."
[Garden]
Blossom frowned, shook her head and said, "never heard of Japan. I get the feeling we're from very distant lands — if not worlds. That's how it goes, I've heard." Then she shrugged. "So, uh... does everyone in 'Japan' — that's where you're from, right? — look like you? I mean, the tail, the ears, uh," she waved her hand, "all that you've got that I don't. Because you look like somebody combined a human with, erm, some sorta other thing, and why would your tail be furry anyways?"
[Entry Hall —> Bar]
"Jellyfish take this," Mazak muttered as the Entry Hall continued to grow in both crowd and clamor. "If anybody cares to see me," he said to nobody in particular, "I shall be at the bar."
He headed there, brushing aside those in the way, and took a seat. His eyebrows raised ever so slightly at Akihito; as odd-looking as Saburo, and far more massive. But he seemed unperturbed after a moment of consideration, and took a seat. Sake sounded good, but it was important to keep his mind clear. "Hmm," he muttered. "Give me some time to contemplate the possible libations. But is it possible you could arrange for an appetizer? A bowl of deep-fried crickets would be vastly appreciated."
[Entry Hall]
Miszal tensed, his mouth set in a thin line, but otherwise he did not move. There weren't many animals in Northaven, and the one he'd had the most experience handling was Yasu's pet cat, Bonnie. This thing, with its bright, garish colors and feathers and sharp claws, well, obviously it was like some kind of horrible pidgeon-cat hybrid, only much, much bigger, and much, much pointier. Either way, it would be best to let it sniff and have its way unless it decided to attack him.
They/Them
[Entry Hall]
Cadance sniffed Miszal for a bit more, looking him over. Darius turned to head to observe the situation, handing the map to the grey shirted zombie.
"Oh my, I am so dearly sorry," Darius rushed to Cadance's side to make sure nothing would happen, keeping a hand on her back, "She's usually not as curious around strangers," Darius said, a fanged smile across his face.
Note to self: Pick less edgy username next time.
[Entry Hall]
The raven jumped back to the counter right in front of Ulrich with a big "KAAAAW!". It grabbed the pen, extended the wings to cover the list and to look bigger and scarier. Finaly he scratched down something on the line for room 116 and a little on the line above that said "Sano":
The other eleven ravens flew in and all twelve gathered on the large padded chairs.
edited 21st Jun '14 1:21:24 PM by m8e