A Fool's Quest

[ShonenHero]

Attention to all Robin Hobb Fans: No androgynous fools named Beloved below...



You’ve been Chosen for a Task. What that task is, what is to be done to accomplish it (if you even want accomplish it at all), and why you specifically were Chosen for it is the crux of your Tale. You will be tried, you will be judged, and you will ultimately have to make a choice. The choice you make is in direct correlation with the journey you take, and the beginning of this journey is where our quest begins.


(…So, er, I’ve made a quest thread! Well, I’ve given you the illusion of quest thread at the very least. In reality, I’m treating it as an exercise in creative writing. Of course, your guys’ input is still important, but I may take the wheel occasionally if a particular direction in the story piques my interest.

Anyway, I guess the best place to start this quest is figuring out your fool’s name, and whether this fool is male or female. I’ll work something out from there once you guys come to a consensus on those things.)

[Magnificate]

As much as we have an overrepresentation of female protagonists I still vote female. As for the name, Miranda, Charlotte or Ayumi if the setting happens to be vaguely Japanese.

Due to the title of the Quest I demand that our protagonist had an ahoge.

[serbii]

Attention to all Robin Hobb Fans: No androgynous fools named Beloved below...

*scowl*... Fitz then?

RNG for gender, actually go ahead and be female. So if they ever end up in crossover quest I have the only male protagonist and ewuvi and I turn it into a harem comedy. :

More quest! Awesome.

I don't mind Miranda. Jessica maybe?

Fool as in Jester or Fool as in The Tarot or Fool as in moron?
(all three?)

[Wittgen]

Female quester. How about Knives for the name?

[serbii]

Female quester. How about Knives for the name?

D:

[gman391]

Yeah I guess my quests aren't part of that little shindig. Ehh whatever only one had a male protagonist.

Still I vote Male with Cameron as the name. Because we don't have enough androgyny in our quests.

[ewuvi]

Yeah, I'm sorry about that. It's logistical hell with just the three of us, and I thought it was too silly of an idea to really bother anyone but Dark and eventually Magni with.

Salem isn't androgynous enough for you?

Female. Miranda or Melissa sounds good for a name.

[gman391]

No biggie

And Salem is androgynous but I like more normal names.

[serbii]

Maybe it's a country thing but Cameron is much more a masculine than feminine name here. I wouldn't consider it androgynous.
*checks behindthename*
Huh, it only turns up as a feminine in the US rankings, everywhere else it's masculine only.

[Wittgen]

I was thinkin' more of this one.

[Darkandus]

A male going by the name Douglas Jay Falcon.

[Calinero]

I vote male with the name "Felix." Or possibly "Caleb." Or maybe "Roger"?

[ShonenHero]

Attention to all Robin Hobb Fans: No androgynous fools named Beloved below...

*scowl*... Fitz then?

RNG for gender, actually go ahead and be female. So if they ever end up in crossover quest I have the only male protagonist and ewuvi and I turn it into a harem comedy. :

More quest! Awesome.

I don't mind Miranda. Jessica maybe?

Fool as in Jester or Fool as in The Tarot or Fool as in moron?
(all three?)

I meant Fool as in The Tarot (kudos for the good guess!) From my knowledge of the card, the Fool represents the beginning of a journey, and I believe self-discovery. It's kind of the whole point of the quest, though more on that later.

In any case, I'll be making a decision on the Fool's name and gender in the evening, and then work on the first post. Thank you guys for participating in my dribble!

EDIT: Also, I'm digging the name suggestions. My favorites so far are Cameron and Felix, with the combination of the last name Taylor (if I even use a last name) Keep it up!

[serbii]

More than that I believe The Fool is, well, the protagonist of the journey, and has a kind of mmm, ahh how do I write this?
Ok, The Fool bumbles along, causing no problems. Rather things happen around him and he gets dragged into them through not fault of his own. However because the Fool is a good person (or at the least does not mean harm) bad things often don't happen directly to him.

Actually TVtropes has a good summary I think.

The Fool has no idea what he's doing, he has a dim idea at best who his enemies are or whether he's in danger, and only has his cheerful disposition to protect him.
That and the blessing of Lady Luck herself. The Fool's strength comes from supernatural fortune bordering on Karma. Since The Fool is such a good person, nothing bad happens to them. The Big Bad may send hundreds of assassins, but each time The Fool will bend over at just the right time, or accidentally activate some Rube Goldberg-esque chain of events that leads to the villain's downfall. Occasionally their good luck will be siphoned from someone else around them so that they suffer bad luck.
The Fool was often the Audience Surrogate of medieval plays, representing the Everyman or Trickster Archetype, but typically more clever than smart. In the annual Feast of Fools, he was King For A Day.

:3 I like the tarot. Don't know how to use the cards but I find the whole thing interesting.
Also I've got these, which were my "Useless but screw it you've got money now!" purchase.

[ShonenHero]

You stand before the precipice, a serene smile upon your face. Your leg hovers precariously over the edge, and the only thing keeping you from tumbling over is the weight in your pack. The sun is set in the middle of the sky, but your adventure has only begun. With one last glance behind you, you jump into the abyss with a twirl…

…straight into the wood-paneled floor.

*KERWHOOF*

“--oooofff.... owwww.” As you lay splayed about on your floor, wrapped in comforting like some deranged mummy, you begin to groan. Rubbing your back, you attempt to cocoon yourself further in your blankets as if ward to yourself from the sudden pain. Alas, no such luck.

You are in your bedroom, now awake after your unexpected meeting with the floorboards. What will you do?

(Decision has been made on gender and name. Will reveal decision when appropriate.)

[Wittgen]

Wake up and assess the situation so that we might mete out righteous judgment on that which has harmed us. How dare these floorboards strike us so? Rage!

(Out of boredom, I've decided to post in quest threads as a distilled single aspect of the protagonist. Ryoko's burgeoning psychosis, necromancer's selfish slothfulness, etc. Feel free to ignore me. If it's annoying, tell me and I'll stop, but I hope it's amusing.)

[ewuvi]

Good god, Witt, that's a genius plan. I love you for it.

Detangle from bedding, assess damage.

[Calinero]

Rise from the floor. Blink. Fix hair, for it is assuredly messy. But don't fix it to be neat--fix it to be particularly Foolworthy, whatever that means.

[serbii]

I don't mind making Leto really ridiculously lazy and apathetic
He only has a couple of default character traits. Most of his personality will come from you guys.

Strike the floorboards back.

[ShonenHero]

Your mind floods with a dozen turbulent thoughts, all in response to this unexpected lesson in gravity. You cast off your blankets in a bucking motion, and then roughly push yourself up from the floor. There is a moment where you glare at the floor itself, as if it were completely complicit in this betrayal, but you soon shake off this thought. Out of concern for your body, you turn yourself toward the vanity mirror in your room, and find that the middle of your back has turned into an ugly shade of red. It throbs with a dull pain, but it doesn’t appear to be too severe. As you watch the red on your back fade to a pale hue, your eyes gravitate towards the reversed-pentagram scar on the small of your back. It is a puckered, ugly thing, but you’ve had it since birth.

Shaking your head, you decide to check your hair too.



Yup, still as messy as ever. You’ve given up any attempt at grooming or taming it at this point, and nothing short of boiling oil could keep it still. Needless to say, you’ve passed on that option. Out of habit though you begin to comb a few stray hairs down, but are interrupted by a knock at your door.

“Miss Felicia, are you alright in there? It sounds like something fell."

Your response?

(That's it for tonight, folks! Hope you guys like what I've put up so far. Come back tommorow, and I should have an update posted.

[Wittgen]

(We're playing Felicia Day? Awesome)

That's because I fell! Thanks for bringing up the memory. *Stomp on floor*

[Magnificate]

We are so adorable. ;)

Is it morning or afternoon? Do we recognize the voice? If so, "I'm awake now, [person]!"

[serbii]

I'm with Witt

[ShonenHero]

“That's because I fell! Thanks for bringing up the memory.” *Stomp on floor*

“Oh, m-my sincerest apologies miss. I just wanted to make sure everything was alright and that no harm was done.” With a sigh of relief, the man wipes his brow with a kerchief. Then, with a nervous scratch to the chin and a breathy chuckle, he decides to continue conversing further.

“Well, that fall must’ve worked up quite the appetite, eh? Breakfast is being served in the Commons if you’re hungry. It’s a nice honeyed porridge, served with a cup of spiced tea. Brewed it me’self, I did.”
With that, the man trudged off, possibly to bother another patron with obvious statements and banal questions. You, on the other hand, have much more important things to do. If only you could recall…

Well, no matter, your heart must know the way! Its lead you true so far. Not quite as reliable as a compass (which you do own), but still good in a pinch. You decide you’ll let it guide you when reach Téssera Crossing.

Your up, awake, and now aware of low grumbling of your belly. What will you do? Should you fetch something in your pack to eat and then make haste for Téssera Crossing or will you stay for breakfast at the Lovely Maiden?

(Done! If you guys have any questions about what’s happened so far, let me know in post. I’ll be sure to answer to the best of my ability.)

[Darkandus]

Not stay for breakfast? Have food out of our pack instead of a proper meal?! Madness! Pure and utter certifiably insane crazy talk! VILE HERESY! Of course we're going to stay for breakfast.