Writing prompts #1: Hobbies!

[Crystal Dragon]

Everyone has a hobby, some are really common placed, and others are not. What type of hobbies does your characters have?

Crys, she loves reading and finding a new book during her travels is always her goal when she's on an outing, whether it's mission related or not. You should see her library...

[Patti]

I don't have a hobby.

[A Cat]

Roboko: Taking Purikura

Vampire Bro: Admiring self in mirror

Mutsuki: Ikebana

A Cat: Playing with string

Seer 8101: Hunting down Sarah Conner

[Andreah]

My character Xtchtlythrqrlii knits and collects Victorian tea sets as well as Mesoamerican and Greek artwork. She's also quite fond of the container spice garden on her balcony.

[Grey-Ghost]

My Character Grey-Ghost: Reading and Writing Poetry, Dancing, Creating art (spray-paint or chalk are his preferred mediums, though he does others)

My Character Brick-Wall: Enjoys playing the guitar, walking, and getting involved in pick-up games of basketball around King's Row (the precinct where he works as a police officer)

[Greycat]

Cat: Collects (and reads) old pulp detective novels, magazines, etc. May have a few covers at poster size. Will sing at church, when she goes. (Or karaoke.)

Rez: Sketching. Little bit of electronics tinkering, but not exactly an inventor. Baking. Volleyball, when it's warm enough.

Pri: Singing. Portable, doesn't need any equipment, goes with her anywhere.

ishku: Martial arts. Dance. Finding herself getting into writing, with a bit of sketching, thanks to her dream journals.

[Coyotedancer]

Ivory is an amateur mixologist.

 

Tessamun is a footie fan... She'll go on endlessly about the Nerva Novas given the chance. (Which confounds people in the current era, since the Novas won't be formed until a few decades after the end of the Battalion Wars-)

 

Bahir says that he wants to learn to surf... But no one is quite sure if he's serious about that or if he's just using it as an excuse to hang out at the beach.

 

 

 

[Crystal Dragon]

7 minutes ago, Coyotedancer said:

Ivory is an amateur mixologist.

 

Tessamun is a footie fan... She'll go on endlessly about the Nerva Novas given the chance. (Which confounds people in the current era, since the Novas won't be formed until a few decades after the end of the Battalion Wars-)

 

Bahir says that he wants to learn to surf... But no one is quite sure if he's serious about that or if he's just using it as an excuse to hang out at the beach.

 

 

 

Bahir should give it a shot, it's loads of fun! (Former boogie boarder from Hawaii in the mid 2000's.)

[Chrono-Bot]

Quickfrost: It'll ruin her cred if anyone finds out, but she has an addiction to efficiency and management videos. 10 Quick Accounting Tips? She's there. And the next videos after it.

 

Blazed: Her hobby is trying to find a cheap hobby. She's going to relax someday, she swears.

 

Chronic Burn-Out: Used to be origami until she got sick of ending up with ashes.

 

Icestreak: Sudoku. She likes finding patterns.

 

Zippzapp: Maximizing her gains. She discovered in jail how much fun that was and hasn't stopped since she got out.

[Latex]

Aeva probably programs a virtual reality of Praetoria in it's glory prior to Hamidon with a Matrix style realism and haptic feedback. She'd use this to map out areas to scavenge in ruined Praetoria and seems she is fully robotic it'd be precise with no spaghetti code.

[chase]

Tabby loves to read- all sorts of modern genres, that's a given, but she has an absolute fascination with REALLY OLD BOOKS- not just to read, but the wole experience- the binding, the hard leather tomes, the intricate work.  Even if it's in a language that she can't read- (she'll try to learn, dammit) she still appreciates the whole book-feel, book smell, and visual experience.

 

More mundane- she's started playing fantasy MMO's- only free accounts and leeching off her neighbor's wifi (budget constraints) .   Never plays fantasy races- she's just happy to be portrayed as and accepted as a regular human being and get lost in the more mundane aspects of living a normal life.   She gets a bit put off by some of the inevitable portrayls of the felinoid fantasy races on occasion, but tries not to let it ruin her night.

[Nerva]

Tiltowait likes building things.  He often spends his time goofing around with erector sets, lego bricks, and whatever other building toys he can get his hands on.  He's also a fan of constructing more practical things.  Only problem?  Well... he's a spell of cataclysmic destruction by nature.  Building things is fascinating, but he's a bit impatient and impulsive and thus really bad at it unless he precisely follows exact instructions.  He's gotten over the urge to blow things up when they frustrate him, but if he tries to get creative and it fails, expect to hear him grumble about "lousy laws of physics."

On a similar note, cooking likewise fascinates him.  That said, Tiltowait is not allowed in kitchens without supervision, under any circumstances.

 

He also practices expression with flashcards and a mirror.  Humans don't express themselves in the same way Animus Arcana do, so since he's found himself with a human body, he's striving to master the subtleties of human expression.  If he seems to express himself just a bit too enthusiastically, this is why.  Then again, he does everything enthusiastically.  'Subtle' he isn't.

 

Online videos of humans doing dumb stuff for the sake of awesome are also a favorite.  Especially if explosions are involved and nobody gets hurt.  He's been thinking of starting a similar sort of video for supers, but he has a hard time of thinking of awesome stuff that wouldn't be patently illegal or risk getting someone hurt or killed, so for now he's just content to watch.

 

Edited December 13, 2021 by Nerva
Paragraphing and typos, small addition

[SolSoldier]

"Meditation, gardening, and swimming...relaxing while also still productive."- Ling Seng Long

 
"Meditation, sparring, and flying." - Sun Rongyu

 
 "Aside from drinking, fighting, and horizontal dancing? Working on and restoring old motorbikes. Nothing like hearing the roar of an engine you brought back to life."- Vincent Vaile

 

"Transcribing old literature & translating it to modern english. I may have mistakenly transcribed a tome my brother borrowed from Miss Crystal the other day and spent several hours eradicating a swarm of lesser cthulic abominations from the warehouse."- Lucian Vaile

 

"Restoring old and broken firearms while listening to music. I've got this one particular revolver I'm especially fond of. Long story short, use to belong to a friend of mine, saved my ass more times than I can recount before he passed in his sleep. I play the guitar too." - Jarod Walters

 

"Hiking, though that's become a lot easier since I got wings, but there's something about getting lost surrounded by nature to make you appreciate what you've got."- Gabriel Mitchells

 
"Taking Alako out for a run or flight and playing ball with him. I've yet to send his favorite ball flying so far he can't find it and bring it back to be thrown again. Don't know what I'd do without that dog of mine. Oh and making Alaneo blush, that never gets old."- Calion Lyte

 
"Cooking and landscaping."- Xaviuz

 
"Chasing storms, cars, 'criminals', and...no...Loukas not sharing that one..."- Keravnos Lykos

 
"Performing surgeries, autopsies, and advancing my Cure. Hm, bird-watching as well, I'm particularly fond of ravens, quite intelligent..."- Nostradamus

 
"EATING NEW FRIENDS, WAIT, NO, WE MEAN MAKING NEW FRIENDS, WE EAT NOT FRIENDS...OH AND COLLECTING BOBBLEHEAD!" "Punishing criminals is a given, so I guess you could say a hobby of mine is..." "BEING A LOSER!" "...watching gameshows and bad reality television. So fake but amusing." - Agent Rancor, first answer Symbiote, second Host.

 

"Making pancakes!"- Akira Eldirus

 
"Napping..."- Caith

 

"Just spending time with my family, including my soon to be daughter-in-law. Okay, that's not really a hobby...guess inventing new ways to utilize my spellcraft."- Detective Kingsley

 

"Spending time with May and my family...we're all so busy all the time it's nice to just have time to sit and relax. Alright, alright, not actually a hobby...guess playing rpanks with my distant Fae-kin friends and family."- Operator Kingsglaive

 

"Slowly peeling the skin off an organic like they're a soft, meaty, potato. Listening to their whimpering, crying, pathetic pleas for mercy as I ensure they don't die on me before I have my fun."- Blackguard Animus

 

"Scrounging through scrapyards and junkheaps for discarded hidden gems that people don't know the real worth of. I'm a 'junkyard dog' what can I say."- Nikolai Wolve

 

"Oh, oh...Ar'kun knows! Ar'kun has hobby! Ar'kun has plushie collection! Ar'kun has one of each Rikti plushie Mr. Grey started selling with Vanguard. He has a dragon plushie, a fox plushie, a shark plushie, a bear plushie..." *This would go on for awhile as the Rikti pulls said plushies out of the large chest next to his bunk. A bit of light laughter from his fellow Vanguard, but nobody actually making any remarks.*- Ar'kun

 

"Revealing little details about things I know that people don't know I know, to see how they react."- Myridea

 

"Volunteering at various charitable events. I think my favorite is this soup kitchen in King's Row, even troublemakers seem to set their antics aside to just sit down and take a break from their bad behaviors. I've got a few to start volunteering as well, get them off a path of self-destruction."- Scott Rogers

 
"Airsoft and paintball...it's both fun and a way to keep my skills sharp."- Sadei Maverick (Formerly Fox Maverick)

 

"We've been considering trying our hand at investigative journalism as a hobby, can't really answer this right now. Still sort of, adjusting to winding up merged due to PORTAL Corp."- Sol-El (Formerly known as Jon & Kon Elkent)

 

"Designing new augmentations to my cybernetics and playing the may'ron, it's like a small hand accordian, but it's from an alien culture I've spent alot of time working alongside in the past."- Commander Jackson (Formerly Terran Commander)

 

"Volunteering at animal shelters...RIP AND TEAR PEOPLE WHO ABUSE ANIMALS!"- Gear Drokthar

 

"Dancing."- Xavier Tepes Dracul

 

"I've gotten into something called 'LARP', it just seems like a bunch of people doing mock battles with a rule system, but it is rather fun."- Lyndis Branwen

 

"Leaving dents all over the place, oh and designing mechs...even if I'll never get to deploy them."- Darisek

 

"Deep sea diving to search for lost wrecks to salvage. I've recently been visiting the Titanic to find things for a national museum."- Meiyo Watatsumi

 

"Blacksmithing and woodcarving."- Connor Rolands

 

"Exploring volcanoes and swimming in the lava flows...spending time with my children is a given."- Roland Eldirus

 

"Obstacle courses and mazes."- Eventide Knight

 

"I mean, I have a hobby, but, once again, my actual answer wouldn't be acceptable...so I guess...would being a nude model for art classes count?"- Ragen Deviola

 

"Collecting reflective, colorful, and shiny objects. I especially like glass sculptures and stained glass."- Karasu Kaiden

 

"Pottery sculpting...I don't even have to use my hands."- Sortak Deith

 

"Trainsets! Bappers likes trains...Bappers have own model of Paragon and Rogue Isles...have moving trains and everything!" - Bappers

 

"Bellydancing classes." - Calisto Chiaroscuro

"Turning trash into precious metals to trade for cash...cleaning up the city while making myself more money than the scrap would've been worth, so while I know I'm being cheated by the pawn-brokers technically, it doesn't really bother me." - The Ruby Alchemist

Edited December 21, 2021 by SolSoldier

[Ruin Mage]

Shadeknight's hobby is to cut trees. I did say he was once a lumberjack hermit!

Other hobbies include reading by a cozy cabin fire (I really need to learn how to base build) and surprisingly a few tradeskill hobbies here and there. He's a pretty good tailor!

[White Cobra]

((This is a story about one of Emily’s hobbies and passions – her collection of music from around the world.))

The Dark Wave tones of Hayaller? were coming through the door as Emily went down the steps to the bar, eager to find shelter from the icy wind nibbling at her earlobes. She loved that song and the band, but really hoped that the barkeeper’s choice of She Past Away was not some dark omen or prophecy regarding the outcome of her own dangerous mission scheduled for later that night. She was not going to fool herself. It was a very high-risk infiltration, and yes, she had to accept the possibility of the Lady Cobra’s demise as a possible outcome if things went awry.

Emily scanned the room and the few patrons. Her contact was yet to appear. She ordered a lemonade and found a table and stool as the music changed to Sisters of Mercy. Some Kind of Stranger. Another of her favorites. She really was in for a musical treat today.

Emily’s introduction to New Wave and a range of other traditional and alternative music variants had been thanks to her stepfather, Harald. It had been a difficult relation at first. The wounds from her father’s death had barely started to close, and her mother falling in love again and forcing a substitute father on her was something that young Emily had just not been ready for. As was the prospect of relocation to yet another new home country – the fourth in her young life already. So Harald could try all he wanted. Emily was not disposed to letting him in.

And then one evening she had passed by his study as he was listening to music. For some unknown reason, she decided to stop. It was Siouxsie and the Banshees, she remembered, Rhapsody. The tones had been alluring and the lyrics spoke to her in ways she had never experienced before.

It became a habit of hers to sit outside his study listening in, sometimes with a poetry book in her lap. One evening Harald came out, almost stumbling over her, and then he had asked her if she wanted to come in.

That evening had marked the start of their bonding and a beautiful musical friendship. Harald’s collection of LPs and CDs was immense – well over 2.000 – and he had patiently introduced Emily to all corners of his musical empire and then allowed her to roam free within it.

Sitting in the darkness with Harald’s headphones on became her new favorite pastime. She remembered crying softly to Script For A Jester’s Tear, as the sorrowful beauty of the lyrics dawned on her, just as she was feeling the sweet agony of having her first teenage crush and not knowing what to do with it. She remembered listening in awe to the compositions of Saturnus  as new musical corridors were opened to her with I Long and Softly On The Path You Fade. And she remembered exploring the musical traditions of her own cultural places of origin – from her mother’s Thailand, listening to Loso’s red album for the first time, and from her father’s Hong Kong, the wonders of Wang Fei.

Shaking off the teenage memories, Emily checked her watch and bit her lip. The contact was 30 minutes late. 32 to be precise. It made her think of the song by Carpark North. Rummaging through Harald’s collection had introduced her to a range of wonderful Danish music, she had never heard of before. Naïve, Janes Rejoice, Defilm, Love Shop, Hotel Hunger, the Poets, Panamah. The list went on an on.

When her mother and stepfather had found it sufficiently safe in terms of the level of Ngo Damh aggression to relocate to Thailand, Harald had kindly left his LP and CD collection for Emily to keep as she made her way through law school. She had taken well care of it and made sure to supplement and expand it heavily ever since.

Emily checked her watch again. Almost an hour now. No, the contact was not going to show. The Lady Cobra would have to handle the infiltration alone and without the vital inside information she had been counting on. She would have to rely on the hope that the contact had not been exposed somehow or decided to betray her.

Theatre of Tragedy were playing as she got up to leave. The barkeep certainly had good taste in music, but If his selection of the day really was some forecast of how her mission was about to go, it seemed as if someone or something was trying hard to warn her to abort.

[sh1zuchan]

Cryo Cat's hobby is juggling. It started from an exercise he would do to get used to his artificial right arm. He would get coordinated by passing a ball between his hands. He's the type that gets bored easily, so it didn't take long for passing to turn into tossing. After seeing a performer at a street fair, he was motivated to turn that exercise into juggling. Having an artificial limb with no feeling made adding even a second ball a struggle, but he was motivated to add a second, then a third, a fourth, and now he's comfortable with five balls. He's also been experimenting with other objects and patterns besides the basic cascade.

 

Coming to Primal Earth was a liberating experience in many ways for Wayward Torch, and one of his favorite experiences was discovering the outdoors. On Praetoria, he never would have given any thought to going out into the wilderness, since entering the Hamidon's territory without being heavily armed would mean certain death for most people. What got him started was accepting an invitation to go camping in the Adirondacks on a whim. Something about leaving the city and going into the mountains touched him deeply and he felt like the trip ended too soon. He usually goes on camping, hiking, and rock climbing trips when he has multiple days off in a row.

 

Spark of Inspiration pursued art first as a hobby, then as a profession, then as a hobby again after he fell into heroism. His favorite medium is welded metal, but he's usually content with drawing in his sketchbook. His main sources of inspiration are the avant-garde art of the early 20th Century (he especially likes Picasso) and the Bronze Age art of the Eastern Mediterranean (many of his sculptures resemble Cycladic figures). He's much happier and more passionate pursuing art as a hobby because he doesn't feel any pressure to succeed and can express himself however he likes. No, he doesn't do commissions.

[DoctorNorth]

Malik - Part 1 - Hobbies

 

Doctor North leaned back in his easy chair with his bright white bald head gleaming under the florescent lights, "Yes that's right Malik, your hobbies talk to me about them."

 

"I fail to see why my hobbies are important Doc, I mean I've been transformed by the Circle of Thorns against my will, I'm no longer even human...really my hobbies? That's where you want to start?" Malik lets a snort of contempt flare through his nostrils, his big black bullish head jostling its horns to illustrate his disdain. 

 

"Malik, each tiny step gets us closer, please...just answer the question," the Doctor's voice is calm, soothing. 

"Just impossible to dislike this guy," Malik thinks. "What have I got to lose?"

 

Malik clears his throat and begins...

 

"Well I'm a bass player first and foremost," he laughs. "A cursed minotaur who plays bass, wow, what a concept," but Malik's laugh ends abruptly and is replaced with a sad resignation. 

 

"Your transformation is likely permanent Malik, we talked about this. Your curse is very powerful and irreversible according to MAGI," North adds gently. The Doc clearly wants Malik to accept his fate, however abominable Malik's appearance has become, he has to learn self-acceptance and self-love. 

 

"I like punk rock, The Coathangers, METZ...Sonic Youth," Malik continues.

 

"I didn't know they considered Sonic Youth punk," Doctor North muses, clearly pleased Malik is taking the question seriously. 

 

"If you consider punk an adjective rather than a genre Doc, then most certainly it fits," the minotaur corrects the doctor. 

 

"Good...music...important. Excellent." The doctor nods again in approval.

 

"I guess I could put up an ad, see if anyone wants a bass player in Paragon," Malik offers this out loud just as he comes to this realization. 

 

"Yes...excellent. I recommend you do exactly that Malik. A fan of Dead Kennedys no doubt?"

 

Malik blasts another flare through his nostrils and allows his bullish eyes to pierce through the Doc's. "DK? Please! Jello Biafra is an ass. Toxic Douche. I like real punk, no poseur crap."

 

The Doctor laughs loudly, "This has been our best session yet Malik. I'll see you next week..."

 

 

 

[WhiteNightingale]

Haley and Aphellion will try anything once, and are always trying out new experiences. In Haley's case, the more demented-looking the better.

 

Gold Meteor charts new universes and stays up to date on TV in addition to always having time for family time because linear time is for squares.

 

Sparkz watches bad movies weekly with friends, and at least once a month she sunbathes on foreign beaches because airports and passports are for squares.

 

Becky loves reading history books, and has a monthly dnd game with her friends at DAMAC.

 

Yoctosecond, Undine Princess, and Wallflower are all-round geeks.

 

Stormcrow is a foodie.

 

Blazing Dragon is big into free-running and and beauty routines.

 

Prowling Ocelot watches TV, and windows, because cat.

 

Jaguar Moth loves customizing her bike and hanging out at biker bars.

 

Virtua Fighter is terminally online and monetizes it.

 

And Mink actually doesn't have time for hobbies per se, but part of her work as my Bat-expy is being at least proficient/reasonably documented in sort of everything for infiltration purposes (also, polymath).