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
[Entry Hall]
Fanged toothbuds, fancy-shcmancy clothes, fancy giant cat-chicken... Damn, thought Miszal, rich people. Rich people sure were weird. Probably in some kind of subculture or coven that wasn't much in Northaven. Southaven was where all the weirdoes were from. Possibly Cormorant, too.
"I, uh," said Miszal, still eyeing the giant chicken warily, "it's fine, really."
[Bar]
Mazak snorted. "In case you have not noticed," he said, "rice grains are also quite miniscule. And yet nobody has any difficulty making a meal of them. The same with many other things. But in this case, it is more a light snack to ensure I do not drink on an empty stomach — never a wise idea — than a true meal." He scanned the liquors on offer. "Terran wine, I think, strikes a suitable balance. A pinot noir should pair nicely with the appetizer." If anybody showed up, he'd pour them a glass — and drink slowly from his own.
Choosing to wait on Mazak's meal arriving, though I presume I can have it do so.
edited 19th May '14 7:31:30 PM by KillerClowns
That One Gal
[Entry Hall]
Jim straightened his back as Saburo began talking, sliding his arms off of the desk. His shoulders relaxed as well; seems he was on edge while he was talking. Afterwards he simply nodded and rented out a couple rooms for his group, striding off back outside to fetch them. Meanwhile, Travis made up his mind a quietly slipped through the bar door a short time after Mazak had gone through.
[Bar]
Upon entering the room, Travis took a quick glance at what could be seen from the entrance. His eyes lingered for a few seconds on the other two that were in there, his right hand reaching across himself and tightening the knot of his sleeve. He then quickly moved over to the bar and sat down a few seats away from Mazak. He drummed his fingers on the bar for a moment before speaking. "...Do you have any, uhm, Pinot Gris?" He asked with a small gesture towards a section of wine.
[Garden]
"Yeah, we must be," Izumi said, "it's possible that I was sleeping through Hisami's explanation of this place."
"And no, there's only a few of us in Japan, or even across all of Earth, we're still pretty new," she said, "and why would my tail not be furry? It's cuter and more cuddly that way." She moved her tail in front, and brushed it slightly, indicating the aforementioned qualities.
Still way too busy to reply for anyone else at the moment. I still may not have much (if any) time tomorrow as well. :(
Danger: Intense gravimetric distortions nearby. Please reverse the polarity on your deflectors now.
[dining hall]
As he finished shoveling the last bits of rice and meat into his mouth, Ran reluctantly accepted what she felt was Angelus' apology, looking no happier than before, then walked off in search of a waiter to bring her a snack.
Daisuke set his plate down, and without looking at Angelus, he said, "Most of those are easily solvable as long as you give them a scratching post, brush them, and be nice." He checked to see where Ran had gone. One of the waitresses- he guessed -was giving her scratches that she seemed to be liking very much, then headed off into the kitchen. At first, he wanted to question the notion of his cat ordering her own food until he saw the mouth on the back of the waitress's head.
Urrrgh so creepy...
"Jack, you have debauched my sloth."
NO ONE SUSPECTS THE LAMP!
[[Entry Hall]]
Daniel took what Saburo was calling a “pen” and started writing down his name as instructed. He paused midway to look at the pen in amazement. It wrote so smoothly, the letters thin with no splotches. These people were so ahead of his world it was almost saddening.
After finishing, he handed it back to Saburo, who in turn handed him…something. He was about to ask what it was but he decided against it. He was already taking him up too much of his time, it would be preferable if he got out of the way. He did notice the word “keycard” on it, so that gave him some idea and he assumed he could figure the rest out by himself.
“My thanks,” he said to Saburo as the latter informed him of the manager’s whereabouts, “but I think I’ll wait until things get a bit less hectic here.” He turned as Se’s companion spoke. “Well, if such a situation arises, I just hope we can talk through it like adults,” Daniel replied, with a smirk. “Now, I must excuse myself. I am famished.” With another slight bow, he walked off to the dining room.
I'll edit this to add content for the dining hall later, unless there's more posts after this one
edited 20th May '14 5:36:41 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
[Bar]
Mazak turned to Travis with a vaguely amused expression. "Westerner," he said to him. "And, I think, American? If I recall correctly, you are legally too young to drink in your native land." His wine arrived; he poured himself a glass. "I doubt your nation's quaint laws will be enforced here, however. Drink well while you can." It was then his deep-fried crickets arrived. With a theatrical flair, he held one up and tossed it into his mouth. Disturbing Westerners was one of his great pleasures in life.
[Garden]
Blossom now looked thoroughly confused — but still fascinated. "New?" she said. "Well, I'll be... the Elasane have compiled quite a bit of information on 'evolution', the process whereby species change in accordance to their environment. Fascinating stuff, even if they mostly used it for crops, livestock, and..." she suddenly turned pale, recalling the Red King's more vile schemes. "Other things I never want to talk about." A deep breath and she was mostly back to normal. Then she started asking questions far too quickly for Izumi to get an answer in edgewise. "Ah, well, anyways, so you're a relatively new form of creature, right? Perhaps from humans? How long did it take before your kind was considered a distinct species, or subspecies, instead of just a mutation? Are you still able to interbreed? Sorry if the last one was sort of personal."
edited 20th May '14 10:18:24 AM by KillerClowns
They/Them
[Entry Hall]
"Well," Darius said, "If it really is alright then," Darius removed his hand from Cadance, who sniffed Miszal and then turned back to stand among the two zombies.
"I truly am sorry," Darius said, a thought coming to his mind, "I forgot to introduce myself, my name is Darius of the Markovi Clan, and your name would be?"
Note to self: Pick less edgy username next time.
[Entry Hall]
At first, Lalo thought that possibly this guy was taking things way too seriously, and then he thought, no, that was mean. Being insulated meant having a different reality, really. And he could probably do whatever he wanted, having a giant, toothy chicken. He wondered if such a creature would make a mess indoors or was litter trained. He really hoped it was litter trained.
At second, he noticed the man's name was very similar to his father's. Well, it wasn't that uncommon a name and not like it was trademarked. Still, it was a little odd.
"Lalo," he said. Wow, two syllables, impressive, but again he was not sure if he wanted to give out more information to this guy. Instead of volunteering more, he held out his gloved hand for a shake.
That One Gal
[Bar]
Travis was more intrigued than disturbed at the sight of the crickets. During his continuing glances around the room his eyes seemed to flit over towards Mazak's direction, idling on the bowl every now and again. "I guess..." He replied with a small shrug. Once his glass was in front of him, he grasped the stem in his fingers and brought it up to his mouth, taking a few sips. "I've uh, gotta friend who's an heiress to a large wine-making industry, so, not very hard to get..." He had realized that the other probably didn't care, so his sentence soon faded into more silence as the boy drank some more.
[Game Room]
"John Richman." John said, offering a friendly smile. "Nice to meet you Takeo." He took another look at the game and shrugged. "Most games aren't meant to be easy. It's all about trial and error; once you get the hang of it, maybe it'll be a little easier for you."
He tapped his chin. "Also...this is a very old version of a game I used to play. Now that I think about it, that little jumperman got his own game later on, and he overshadowed Donkey Kong." He chuckled, "Not to worry; he managed to get to his love again."
Drummer Boy
[[Dining Hall]]
"Well! A dog gives you twice as much love with half the trouble." Angelus considered flagging down a waitress to get some food or drink, but noticed the extra mouths on their heads and thought better of it. "You might change your mind, boy, if you met a cat in human form. Their real personalities shine through when they're not adorable enough to manipulate you. I spoke to one once, and more like him, I believe—but he was the only one silly enough to tell me what he really was. He was only a child—or kitten, I suppose—back then, but now—now—" He clenched his fist. His jaw was set. "Be careful of them. Make sure they stay fluffy and adorable. It's the only thing that makes them tolerable."
The last battle's curtains will open on stage!
They're watching me right back, Theign thought with no small amount of frustration.
No shit—there's barely anyone else around.
He could hardly do this now, with the others gathered around the boy. He'd look like an absolute creep if he walked up and started badgering the kid with questions about the trauma he'd no doubt experienced. Hell, he'd feel like one too. No, there were other ways to dig up the real story here, and he figured the place was small enough to explore in a day, with or without the inflated testimony of some freaked-out child.
His mind made up, Theign turned his attention to the art on the walls, letting his mind wander. He enjoyed maybe five minutes of reverie until there was a sudden clatter on the table.
It was only the waitress, of course, setting down his pork and rice. She was cute. She smiled at him, her serrated bob sweeping her round cheeks as she turned away with a little wave. Her departure, he knew, was for the best. He struck her from his mind, and was almost frightened by how easy that had become. Distractions were the last thing he needed now.
Theign finished up his meal and, with one final glance at the boy, began to make his way to his room. Preparations were in order.
edited 20th May '14 10:14:19 PM by BrainSewage
How dare you disrupt the sanctity of my soliloquy?
[Dining hall]
One of the Futakuchi-onna waitresses walked over to the raven's table. She asked if she could show them to a bigger table, but the ravens seemed to decline. She asked if they where ready to order, hoping for but not expecting a clearer answer.
The raven checkng the menu showed and pointed to the yakitori part of it.
"hat su,""re bā,""zu ri,""shi ro,""ha tsu,"… they all ordered.
Will start to interact with other characters soon. Getting them fed and waiting for a good moment.
Game Room
"He did? Even without needing any help?" Taeko asked, looking back at the game herself, "That makes me feel a little better, then. I still think I should keep trying, though. I don't think I did much to help him corner the ape."
She frowned thoughtfully. "I wonder how long he can wait. I just started helping him since I needed something to do, since before you everyone else didn't seem too friendly. Okay, there were a few nice-looking people, but only a few." She gave John a confused look. "It's a little odd, really. I thought this was just an inn. What about it would attract such nasty-looking people?"
Bar
"Ah, you got me there," Akihito said, "Though that was another one that always confused me. Rice must be really nutritious if it's as good as everyone says it is despite being so small." He shook his head. "Of course, this is me talking. We oni are pure meat eaters, and an average meal for us consists of a whole deer. Everything down to the bones, and some of us don't even stop there."
After he had served Mazak and Travis, he changed the subject. "It is true that we don't have any age restrictions here. Nevertheless, I'd say that you're probably better off watching yourself. I'm not going to cover you if you take in more than you can handle and wind up making a right fool of yourself."
Icon by Civvi the Civilian!
NO ONE SUSPECTS THE LAMP!
[[Dining Hall]]
He looked around as he entered the dining hall, for the first time a bit underwhelmed. It looked the same as the ones he’d been to with his father, if only a bit cleaner. Well, except for the waitresses, who were all rather attractive compared to most of the ones he had seen. Just the mouth at the back of their heads might turn away a few people.
He turned his attention to the guests there instead. One table was occupied by the boy who’d fainted outside and two of the people who had crowded around him. He’d apparently guessed wrong about the cause of the former’s fainting, if the empty plates in front of him were any indication. There was another table occupied by a murder of crows. Or were those ravens. In any case, there wasn't much meaningful conversation to be had there.
He walked over to the table with the three people and asked, “Would you mind if I seat myself here?” Turning to the boy, he continued, “By the way, how are you feeling now?”
edited 22nd May '14 8:24:05 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
The future of warfare in UC.
[Entry Hall]
"Separate sleeping arrangements," the younger woman said to the innkeeper. "If possible. Rein and Se Ytruck Gjinchar." She offered a small bow to the tengu.
Se was silently watching, openly curious about the tengu, but restrained in how she chose to express it, mostly just carefully cataloging visually more than anything. She did not seem likely to speak, considering that any real connection was unlikely at best.
Nous restons ici.
[dining hall]
What was his name, Angelus? He was saying weird things. And he was creeping Daisuke out in a way that seemed... oddly familiar. Or was he mixing him up with Matt's similarly creepy doctor brother? They have the same eyes. Urrrgh.
He nodded shyly as someone else sat next to him.
"Better," he said as he moved the soup closer to him. Wait, it was for him, too? He glanced at Ryouta, who nodded. Okay! It was cool enough to eat, so he began eating the solid pieces out of the broth. For once, Ran was actually being patient with her food, just sitting calmly a small distance away from the kitchen door. What, was his cat replaced with an evil clone or something? The scary waitress came out with a tiny dish with raw, chopped pink fish and set it down in front of Ran, who began to tear into it.
edited 22nd May '14 8:01:27 AM by CrystalGlacia
"Jack, you have debauched my sloth."
Attitude is prohibited
[Entry Hall]
Claire certainly did notice the unusual feel of Miyuki's hand. It caused to have to readjust some of the many kill/incapacitate scenarios she was constantly simulating, but rather more relevantly, was also added to a totally innocuous database about her social interactions. A simulated brain was fed the information, and its response determined her reaction.
"Oh!" Said Claire, seeming a bit startled as she grasped Miyuki's hand. "My goodness, you're cold! And... You feel like... Snow?" She continued, releasing Miyuki's hand without any fuss. A friendly smile returned to her face. "I take it you're not an ordinary girl, huh?" She chuckled, softly. "I'm not exactly baseline human myself..." She paused, briefly, and found that she was unsure of exactly how much information to divulge at this stage. Simulations were inconclusive, due to insufficient experience. Instead of proceeding herself, she decided to let Miyuki respond. New data would determine the proper response.
Not entirely dead.
NO ONE SUSPECTS THE LAMP!
[[Dining Hall]]
“That is good to know,” he said with a smile, as he pulled a chair for himself. He maneuvered himself a little as he sat so his swords wouldn’t slam into the table. He knew first hand that children healed fast, and it was relief that it was the case here as well.
He looked from one to the other from those seated around him. The boy and one of the others looked mostly like the humans from his world, but subtle differences stood out. The color of their skin, the set of their features, he had never seen any like them. Even the women outside had hair he could only describe as…unconventional. There really was no telling what you could see in a lifetime. The third man looked normal though so at least his world wasn’t alone in that regard.
“My name is Daniel Harper,” he said, “What might I call you people by?”
edited 22nd May '14 6:42:13 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
[Garden]
"Oh no, we didn't evolve from humans, we were engineered from them," Izumi said, "it's some kind of complicated bioengineering using inter-dimensional technology from an alternate future, but I don't really know all the details. You'd have to ask my dad or mom, they know all about it."
"For interbreeding?" Izumi looked at Blossom suspiciously, "that's kinda personal - but I think we're genetically compatible, although I don't think anyone's tried it yet."
[Dining Hall]
"Nice to meet you too, Angelus," Ryouta said, "and all the cat-people I've known have been quite nice." If maybe a bit hyperactive, he thought, real cats are much more unpredictable, though.
"Glad to hear you're feeling better," he said to Daisuke.
"I'm Ryouta Kawaguchi, nice to meet you Daniel," he said to Daniel, giving him a slight bow.
[Entry Hall]
"Yeah, I'm a snow spirit, or yuki-onna, for the mythological name," Miyuki said. She's obviously not from around here, that's for sure, she thought.
"So, what exactly do you mean by 'not exactly baseline human'?" she said, "are you a cyborg or a synthetic life form?" Sounds like she might be another one of those technobabble types, she thought, jeez, I hope not - I already get too much of that crap from Takuya and Yuuta.
edited 22nd May '14 11:17:47 AM by Sonzai
Danger: Intense gravimetric distortions nearby. Please reverse the polarity on your deflectors now.
[Garden]
Blossom's eyes widened. "Direct control over the variable that shape genetic destiny? Fascinating! I... I mean, how does one even begin to engineer such things?" Then the previous dark worry came to her face. "Though I fear my people may not be ready for such power. And yet... the potential..." she began to tap her head thoughtfully. "Biology, such a fascinatingly double-edged blade, wouldn't you say? Has there ever been a tool for greater good or greater evil than those given by the quest for knowledge of life? Worth it, of course, I would not seeks such answers if I thought they were tools for ill more than good, yet I have seen such perversions of the secrets..."
She stopped. "Sorry, rambling about my life again. Don't want to bore you, since you're... wait, I think you're not an apothecary? Sorry if I'm wrong there. Or maybe... hmm, no you tell me, won't try to guess," she finished, as guesses swarmed in her head.
[Bar]
"Ah," Mazak said. "I cannot imagine such access to such a luxury. Terran wine is a fairly recent introduction to our own land. We have some grape vines imported from your world, and with a little coaxing the volcanic ash of our beloved islands grows them. Would that I could..." he paused. "Ah, you can do no harm with our secrets. It was our present First Advocate who brought a taste for wine to our land. One of the few ways his time at Oxford rubbed off on him." He scoffed over his glass. "And thank Whale for that. We were all worried he would lose his heritage upon the strange, alien world your people call 'home'." He took a small fistful of the deep fried crickets and scarfed them down, then added, "apologies for my introspective chatter. And these?" He waved to the crickets. "If you wish to try them, they are quite nice. Spiced in Asiatic, not Kykzavi style, but I have no complaints. Variety is good."
edited 22nd May '14 6:54:13 PM by KillerClowns
[Inn]
John shrugged. "Different timeline, worlds...depends. I wouldn't worry to much about it though. I'm sure you'll meet more pleasant people here. You just gotta find them and talk to them."
He sighed. "Sorry about my raggedy look; I just left another world myself and I'm trying to find a shower and some clean clothes."
Drummer Boy
[[Dining Hall]]
"A trick. All a trick, my friend." Angelus leaned toward Ryouta, his eyes wide. "Little fiends, the whole lot of them, once you put them in human bodies. Once they've attained opposable thumbs, there's nothing that can stop them. My wife has been under his spell for years."
... oh, new faces.
"My—my apologies for that outburst." He inclined his head slightly. "Angelus Pallone. A pleasure to make your acquaintances."
The last battle's curtains will open on stage!
Game Room
After some time and more game overs than she cared to count, Taeko finally managed to get the little man to navigate the obstacle course of barrels and fireballs and got him up to the top level. She smiled in satisfaction as the little man and presumably his love were reunited, with a happy jingle playing and a heart over their heads...only for the monkey (or rather ape, to put it more accurately) to grab the lady and climb further on up, complete with broken heart and the rough sounds from earlier playing again. Then the "How high can you get?" screen displayed again, this time with an additional ape standing on top of the previous one.
She frowned and sighed. So much for that; she went through all that trouble to get through one course and now the game expected her to do it all over again? That didn't sound like much fun. As she looked at the next course that was displayed, however, she saw that it looked different from the previous one. That was when it occurred to her that maybe the game wasn't over yet; she would have to keep helping the little man chase the ape further and further up until he cornered it and could get his love back.
Now that sounded more appealing to her. If she kept at it, she'd eventually get the little man and his love together again and they'd live happily ever after without the ape messing things up. The possibility of it furthered her resolve and made her decide to keep playing. Sadly, she didn't get very far into the new course before the little man got knocked out by a plate of...something and she received yet another game over screen.
She sighed and shook her head again, more out of frustration than anything. She really wanted to help that little man, but why did it have to be so difficult?
She didn't manage to come up with a satisfactory answer on her own, for that was when someone standing nearby commented on the game himself. She turned to look at the man. She had been waiting for someone to talk to before she got caught up in this, and while he looked a little roughed-up he looked fairly friendly, or at least friendlier than most of the other people she had seen so far. He was better than no one, she supposed.
"Really?" she asked him, "This is the first time I've seen it, or anything like it for that matter." She frowned again. "I guess it's fun, but it's a little difficult...I wonder if that's why people apparently stopped playing it?" She was quiet for a few moments, glancing at the odd machine again. "But that'd be sad for the little man, because then he'd never meet his love again."
Then she realized she had been talking for a little too long without even introducing herself to the other person. "Oh, sorry. Guess I started rambling a little there." She bowed. "I'm Taeko Fukui."
Entry Hall
It was only after Saburo had dealt with everyone else did he finally turn his attention to Jim. He couldn't say he liked the looks of this one; the nerve to walk up to and address him like that, in that tone, indicated someone with not much respect for their elders, and that irritated him, maybe even more than that ghost did. Nevertheless, a guest was a guest.
"This here is our humble inn," he explained, "Guests, whether they come from the torii or another place in Japan, are welcome here to rest and relax." He glanced down at the list. "Now, would you like a room? If not, it may be best to move as to not inhibit the other guests."
Bar
Before Mazak walked in, Akihito had been busying himself with polishing wine glasses; a task he accomplished with surprising ease considering the size of his fingers. As soon as he heard the door open up, he turned and flashed his first guest a big toothy grin. "Welcome!" he said with a jovial tone of voice, "About time someone paid this place a visit. I'm surprised it took this long."
At Mazak's request for an appetizer, he replied, "Well, this place is basically just drinks only. Mizuchi figured most would go to the dining room when he got this place built. But if you want to eat in here, that's easily arranged." He turned and opened up a well-concealed door positioned next to the shelves of wines. From Mazak's position, it was reasonably obvious that the room on the other side was the dining room.
"Hey!" Akihito called out to the nearest waitress, "I've got a customer in here who wants a bowl of crickets, deep-fried." As soon as he was certain the waitress had acknowledged his request, he closed the door and turned his attention back to Mazak. "That should be coming out soon. Never saw the appeal of insects myself, really. Always seemed too small to get a decent-sized meal out of them." He shrugged. "But who am I to tell you what you can and can't eat? If that's your style, it's fine by me."
Icon by Civvi the Civilian!