A cozy log cabin... [Game #12 Closed!]

[SkyGold]

Tell me about yourself!
Username: SkyGold
Link to sign-up post: Post
Prompt response:

[NaCl]

Tell me about yourself!
Username: NaCl
Link to sign-up post: Icarus
Prompt response:

"Hm?" Icarus pulled out one of his earphones and listened to the question again.
"Oh! Where I'm from? it's not really exciting" he laughed, rubbing the back of his neck with his paw and looking down, and after a lot of insisting he cracked.
"I come from the city of Katolis, surprisingly not a lot of people have heard about it, it still has a monarchy, it's actually considered a small country?" he paused, chuckling and hoping Carter wouldn't think he's insane.
"aaaanyways-" the gesture he made with his paws was exaggerated "-Katolis is completely self-sufficient, we don't usually do any trading with other nations. I run a small workshop with my boyfriend, Koraki, he's super tall and can reach up to the high shelves for me" he laughed and blushed a little, his gaze fixed on his paws.
"Our shop is called The Wax Raven, since uhh the story of Icarus and Koraki means raven, so it makes sense" that was when Icarus paused, as it appeared he was choosing his next words very carefully.
"Recently, Koraki showed me something I never thought was possible. He showed me a portal in the basement of our shop behind one of the shelves. it's like a cave and when you exit to the other side you're in a world of kingdoms and magic! that's where he's from!! his paws glow there! and he's a freaking prince!!" Icarus stopped to take a breath, apologizing for the tangent he suddenly went on.
"His mother is the queen of a kingdom much like Katolis, but she recently broke the walls that isolated them from the rest of the world, the world Koraki was thankful he was able to grow up in until he found the portal... found me... I met his mother, her name is Ashanti, and her paws glow as well, she's not nearly as tall as Koraki, she says he got that from his other mother, who's half water witch..." he trailed off suddenly before turning to face Carter and waving his paws frantically, his eyes wide.
"Don't tell anyone about the portal!! talking about Katolis is fine but Koraki doesn't want his homeland to get discovered, he told me I'm the only one who knows about it and now..." he put his paws over his eyes and dragged them down his face.
"uuggghhh, I've run my mouth, sorry" he mumbled, putting his earphone back in and changed the song to Glitter and Gold, turning the volume up higher than it really should be.
[422/200]

[sobble]

Tell me about yourself!
Username: Gengar.
Link to sign-up post: wink
Prompt response:

Fawkes cocked their head to the side, fiddling idly with the prosthetic poorly fixed to their left leg. While tracing the grooves in the worn surface, they begin to attempt digging up something to say about themselves.
"Well, I would guess you're talkin' ta me..." Fawkes drawled, still avoiding eye contact with the oddly bubbly kalon in front of them. "Problem with that, friend, 's that I don't right know where I came from." With this, Fawkes shrugged. They really weren't one for observations, they didn't quite care where they were anyhow. Even stumbling upon the kruise had been nothing more than a fluke.

"Y'see, boss, I don't stick ta one particular place, y'know? 'S loads more fun ta hitch-hike 'n see where ya end up, yea?" Fakwes grinned, looking mischevious, if not a bit goofy.

"How d'ya s'pose I got here? Ain't no way ol' Fawkes 's payin ta ride some dingy ol' dinghy. 'S more fun to sneak yer way through things, so I'm tryin out life as a stowaway. An' wouldya lookit that! A new beach an' a fresh set a' suckers ta swindle, we're castaways now, yknow!" Fawkes gestured with as much grandeur as they could muster with one working arm, the prosthetic nearly wacking poor Carter in the head.

Fawkes rushed into the next sentence without so much as an apology, though their expression and the nervous laughter in their voice gave it away - they were making a fool of themsleves. "Er.. As fer tha last place I were stayin' in... I had a wee shack set up, tha kind tourists like, y'know? Tha poor suckers didn' know what they were in fer. Alls I did was take what they lost on tha beach an' spice it up! Wouldn't believe how many rusty ol' tins ya could turn into "sculptures" an' "keepsakes" for tha dimwits."

"Though I think whats I miss the most 's the shore at night. 'S something ya don't forget, lad, jus' you and tha beach after all the hub-bub's died down. Tha sand's real cool and it's all quiet-like. If there's anything I could settle down to, that'd be it, friend. S'pose I should be headed back after tha kruise's all said an' done... 'S a shame, though, I reckon this island's kinda like home. Say, have ya ever found somethin' down by the shores, ya think the wreck's washed up somethin' worth takin'?" Fawkes appeared more solemn than their typical choatic nature allowed for, but they enjoyed talking about themselves, remembering where they'd been as opposed to worrying about where they'd go next.
[433 words]

[bakuraas.]

Tell me about yourself!
Username:gurocora.
Link to sign-up post: [ click ]
Prompt response:

"First, I want to apologize if I blabber too much. There's a lot to talk about even though where I come from isn't too interesting. I live in a pretty large city, but on the outskirts, so I don't experience most of the city myself. Most of the time, I just stayed on my dads' land. The three of them own a lot of it on the outskirts, and that's where I and most of my friends live.

We're on the edge of a peninsula, so there's a large area of beach that we go to sometimes when we need to relax. One of my dads, Darrius, always told me that it was like an over-sized private pool for me and my friends. I always thought that was really cool, but sometimes it'd be kind of scary to be out there in the open water without anyone else around. One of my friends didn't know how to swim, and he'd always be afraid that something in the water would try to eat him. I always thought it was silly, but I never doubted him entirely.

There's also a forest that me and my friends used to visit a lot, we don't too much anymore, mostly because we're all older now, and it seems kind of silly to go wandering in the forest with no real reasoning to. I do remember that I discovered a lot of different creatures there with my friends and our parents when we went out there. For some reason, people typically tell me the animals I found were 'weird' or 'probably sick', but I never understood that. The forest is full of raccoons and snakes, all of which seem to be really friendly to us and are so pretty with their white fur and rainbow-colored scales. They seem to make themselves really known in the otherwise darker forest, and I think that's pretty neat."

[SpartanAmethyst]

Tell me about yourself!
Username: SpartanAmethyst
Link to sign-up post: [x]
Prompt response: "Where I'm from, huh? Well, it's a beautiful place in the States, a cozy cabin much like your settled back in the woods of rural Iowa. We're surrounded by trees and wildlife as far as the eye can see, no big city noise or nosy neighbors always butting in to our business. Plenty of room for little Bora here," Dipper hugged his young daughter closer to his hip, "to grow up as wild and energetic as she wants to be. I work at a small college observatory about an hour north, and we travel just about every other month so some exotic country because of my work. This, thankfully, was just a pleasure cruise," he chuckled. There came a wistfulness in his eyes, and he smiled. "We're so far away from the city that when you go out at night, you can see every single thing in the night sky. Stars, planets, satellites, meteorites... It's all in high definition, and it's just absolutely stunning. The property has been in our family for nearly 200 years, and I was so excited when I was able to finally build a proper house on it."

There was a small pause. "At first it was just going to be a Christmas cabin, where myself, Bora, and her mother could go enjoy the snow for a few weeks then come back to cooler weather, but..." He sighed. "When Bora's mother ran off on us, I couldn't keep the house we'd both been paying on. So, my little queen and I talked about it, and we decided to just move there, and she'd be homeschooled. So we went from tropic city-slickers, to the backwoodsy wild Kalons we are today. Or, at least, she's the wild one, the monstrous beast," he suddenly teased, reaching down to tickle Bora.

"Dad, no dad please-!!"

[Karmel]

Tell me about yourself!
Username: Karmel
Link to sign-up post: Here
Prompt response:

It’s quiet in a comfortable sort of way. There’s a faint sound of birds flying off into the distance, and the nearby rolling of the ocean waves as they crash gently against the shoreline. The only disturbance of the peace is the smashing of rocks, one right after the other, but even that somehow sounds natural. Like it belongs. Elishan, for once, is adhering to the silence. The normally talkative man is mesmerized by the oddness before him, stunning the loud soul into a soft thoughtfulness. He almost misses it when one sound pauses abruptly.

“Hmm?” he mumbles, suddenly realizing Carter had addressed him. “Oh! Where I’m from?”

Now that’s something he hasn’t thought about for a while.

“I would almost say I’m from everywhere and anywhere! Where the wind blows, I follow. See friend, my home is the world. Adventure is my doorstep, and new places are my backyard,” Eli flourishes the speech with a wink.

He leans back on the stump and turns away, staring off into the distance. Hands flutter through his hair. It’s a nervous tick, but he’d never admit to that. He’s stronger than nerves, at least he tells himself so. On a glance back it seems the fellow isn’t too happy with his answer as if he expected more.

“Well, I suspect you hail from somewhere, no?” Carter says, a gentle persuasion to his tone.

Flashes of fire cross his vision, ears ringing with memories. “Nowhere in particular…”

Perhaps he’s being rude. He’d hate to come across as rude, honestly. Eli makes friends not enemies. Unless those enemies mark him as one first of course, sometimes there’s no avoiding it. He should speak more. He should really give more details.

He’s definitely being rude.

His small hands playing through long locks of hair quicken in pace.

“Well, I mean. You see. Uh,” his words stumble to catch up to his racing mind. Shoot. Get it together. It’s just a question. “It always smelled of bread. My mother, she used to bake it every morning you see. All kinds. My favorites were the baguettes. I would play in the open fields beside our home. It was quaint, small. Very minimal, you know? I could smell that aroma for miles and come running to get the first taste.” He chuckles to himself. “Very beautiful place in the springtime. Lots of flowers.”

“That sounds mighty nice. You ever go back to visit?” Carter asks, returning to his rock breaking.

The scent of bread turns to smoke. Ashes are in his nose.

“Not much to return to,” Eli replies distantly. One could almost see the sun catching a tear as it falls. But maybe it’s just a trick of the light. He’s a happy person. Happy people don’t cry.

At least he tells himself so.

The two don’t speak again for some time, simply listening to the sounds around them. Eli briefly wonders what the rocks are for.

[SaltyBirb]

Tell me about yourself!
Username: SaltyBirb
Link to sign-up post: uwu
Prompt response:

[chanhee.]

Tell me about yourself!
Username: retrosolstice
Link to sign-up post: here
Prompt response: (204)
"well, i don't really have a home, but i travel around the states mostly. i camp out in my car in the winter, and during summer i like going out into the countryside and setting up a tent and watching the stars! honestly... i wouldn't say i was from anywhere in particular. i grew up moving around a lot, and i left home at seventeen due to money problems- didn't want to be a cause of my parents' stress about it. i've been looking at settling down somewhere soon- i miss having pets- but... for the forseeable future, i'm just gonna keep camping, you know?" vero rambles along, not giving space for carter to talk. carter doesn't seem to mind, though, seemingly focused on his rock breaking. it makes vero a bit calmer, knowing he's probably just rambling to the void, but not being alone while he does so. "i guess if i had to pinpoint home, it would be my car, honestly. it's nothing special- an old jeep my dad helped refurbish, but... it has space for me to sleep when it gets too cold outside, and i can keep all my stuff relatively organized, so.. it's home enough for me, you know?"

[VoidRinkusu]

Tell me about yourself!
Username: VoidRinkusu
Link to sign-up post: Right here
Prompt response: (I didn't mean for it to get this long, sorry bout that!)

Well.
I didn’t think I’d be able to explain that I come from an alternate universe that is considerably less technologically advanced, I was sent here by a god who thought Hawk and I should have a break or something, and that I’m a navigator who has a magical compass and works for a group of justice-pirates. Carter was looking at me expectantly though, so I tried to break the silence.
“It’s tough to explain. Hawking is much better at this sort of thing than me, but he’s off somewhere trying to help the crew of the S.S. Krab.” I admitted.
“Sounds like they’d need all the help they can get.” He replied. He seemed to be talking a bit more gently which I very much appreciated. Socializing was hard enough with kalons I knew.
“We’ve both got a good deal of experience with boats but…” I searched for a gentle way to dodge the fact that we’d never so much as heard of a boat motor before this trip. “We typically work with sailboats.” I clarified.
“Good ol’ sailboats, classic and old-timey!” He said with a grin, his eyes clouding with a distant memory. I briefly wondered what he was thinking of.
“Yes.” I nodded, “in fact, I’m a navigator aboard a ship. The crew was recently assembled and it’s a bit of a mess, but we’re all very much like a family. We-” A knot formed in my gut and I paused. All sorts of red flags were going off in my head, I shouldn’t be telling personal information to a stranger. I closed my eyes and exhaled deeply, chiding myself for thinking that he would be a threat to Hawking or myself. When I looked back at him, Carter seemed concerned.
“Y’alright?” He asked.
“Yes.” I said, “Sorry. I froze a bit.”
“Hawking and I… Used to live in a small town. Hawk was the leader of a revolution to overthrow the k- government, but we were caught because of a spy and had to go on the run.” I chuckled. “We still have a price on our heads, but we’re a lot safer now.”
Carter nodded and gazed at the forest. After a minute of silence, he asked:
“What’s it like? The town you come from?”
I took a minute to think.
“I first found it back when I had no family. Just a crafty kid who stole to get by, I was good at it, too. I could never stay in a place too long or I’d be caught. I will say, I knew that stealing was supposed to be a "bad" thing. There was one time I remember clearly when I had taken some bread from a beggar and I glanced back at him as I ran off. The look he gave me stopped me in my tracks. He wasn’t mad, he just looked so hopeless and tired. It felt wrong that I caused that. I even walked back to him, returned his bread, and apologized. After that, I tried just to steal from those who could afford to lose some food or coin, but hunger didn’t always let me. In fact, I tried robbing one of the guar- er, police officers and that was when I met Hawk. He covered for me and let me stay the night with him, provided food and new clothes. I decided I’d pay him back, so I swore I’d find some way to be useful to him. I stopped stealing and began helping the townsfolk, getting a lot of valuable connections along the way. Months later, I got an officer who owed me to tell me some helpful information. When I brought the news back to Hawk he looked as proud as if I was his own son. I was struggling to find a way to thank him and leave when he said I didn’t have to go. Ever since, he’s been like a dad to me.” I paused and rubbed the back of my neck.

“Well, that was a bit off-topic wasn’t it?” I laughed. “The town was beautiful, surrounded by lush forests. We lived near a river, there was an old dock that Hawk and I would fish at. The people were very nice and forgave me for everything I took. I paid them all back and more. In the end, it was my connections that got us the safety and job we have now.” I finished.
“Wow.” Muttered Carter.
“Your old man must be really proud of you.” He said. His comment threw me off and I looked at him with a mix of confusion and shock. He smiled in response.
“A home’s just as good as the folk you’ve got there.” He shrugged. I didn’t know how to respond.
“Take the kalons here, for example.” He continued, “It’s a small island and ya get t’ know everyone pretty well.”
“It’s nice that you all crashed here, I mean, it’s nice to see new faces. Not, y’know, that you’re boat crashed...” He corrected himself. “But there’s nothing like growing real close to those around you.”
“Yes, our crew is very much like that.” I agreed.
“What’s your boat called?” Asked Carter.
“The Scion.” I replied.
“The Scion!” He repeated, “A pretty fancy name for a boat!”
“Well, the boat itself is one of the finest I've seen.” I admitted, not without pride.
“Really now? What’s it for?” He asked.
“Well...” I began, “It’s part of a special ops group of sorts, but that’s about all I can tell you.” I said nervously.
“Wow! So you guys are the real deal, huh? Bet you’re a real expert at navigation!” He seemed pretty impressed.
“Oh, I’m just… You know…” I struggled to deny the compliment. Carter laughed.
“No need to be modest! Hey, you’ll have to teach me a few tricks! It’s been ages since I’ve done anything like that and it looks like we’ve both got plenty o’ time on our hands!” He grinned.
“Sure.” I said, “But knowledge isn’t free.” I said. Carter looked a bit deflated.
“You’ll have to teach me some of your woodworking methods in return.” I suggested. His smile returned and we shook on it.
“It’s a deal!” He agreed.

[NightFlame22]

NightFlame22 | Iska | Team Squid | Tell Me About Yourself! | 560 Words

Iska twitched her ears as she looked at Carter, who was covered in dirt and grime from breaking rocks. “Well, it’s certainly no gleaming metropolis, but I come from a fairly large city. There’s plenty of places to go, people to see… that is, if you care to see them.” She shrugged and glanced off into the woods. “I’ve been there most of my life, so it’s not like there’s much that truly interests me anymore. Sure, new things come and go, but only a handful of them are ever really worth looking into. I’ve eaten at all the fancy restaurants, shopped at every mall, and seen each show that comes to play. Most things aren’t as original as one might hope.”

Seeing Carter look disappointed, she tried to change her tune a bit. “It’s not all bad, though. There are a few places that I genuinely enjoy. There’s a lovely gelato shop not far from where I live. Every day there’s a new assortment of flavors. I try to get something different every time, but some days I like to stick to a nice mango gelato.” His ears pricked up a bit as he worked, showing Iska he was interested. “I also know of a quite nice theatre district. You can find all sorts of music concerts down there. As for me, I’m rather partial to the traditional orchestras.” She tapped her paw to her chin as she thought for a moment. “It’s not really my scene, but one of my fellow social media influencers has told me of a very popular club near the outskirts of the city. Apparently it’s all original music down there.”

“Social media influencer?” Carter tilted his head a bit.

“Yeah, that’s my job. I check out anything new that comes around and decide whether it’s worth talking about or not.” She pulled out her phone, then grumbled a little as she saw a little “x” over the cell signal icon. “Well. I guess I can’t show you, but you get the idea. It’s about curating the city culture. If something has potential, I make sure people know about it. If not, well, it fades away like most anything else.”

“Huh.” The blond kalon wiped his brow after having broken a particularly large rock. “Sounds like you’d be the one t’ ask if someone was lookin’ for somethin’ t’ do. You’re probably pretty popular, eh?”

Iska nodded, smiling just a bit. “You could say that, I suppose.” She swatted away a bug that flew into her face. “Of course, some kalons get pretty bitter if they don’t get the kind of exposure they want.” She sniffed a little. “I’ve had plenty of angry messages sent to me. Nothing I can’t handle, though. If they want to be talked about, they ought to do something worth noticing.”

“Eh… yeah.”

“Anyways.” Iska shifted a little on the stump. “If you ever make it out sometime, I’d be more than happy to show you around. I’m fairly busy, but I could take some time off for you.”

Carter beamed. “I dunno if I’d ever get out that far, but I ‘preciate the offer.” He smashed the last rock and tossed the smaller pieces into the other pile. “Well, that’s that I think. Whaddya say we grab a cold drink?”

“I’d say that sounds like a splendid idea.”