Young Writers Society

In the midst of a seemingly endless wilderness, there is a mountain that rises above the farm fields and dirt paths. No one ventures up into the mountain - it's said that the few who do never come back down. And while people did traverse the mountain, once, the paths once clearly laid out throughout it have been overgrown by brush.

The few who do venture up the mountain and come back say this: if you want to survive, travel in daylight and never venture into the shadows. But, as with all things like this, the people who do chose to travel up the mountainside never really have a choice.

You are no exception.

You don't know how you ended up on the outskirts of what could barely be called a village - it's really just a scattering of simple houses in between farm field after farm field. If you're from Earth and have a decent amount of knowledge on the world, you might recognize the traditional Japanese clothes the townspeople wear.

The townspeople are understandably perplexed, and more than a little frightened. But the few that approach you let you in on a little secret: you aren't the first people to be brought here, and those who came before swear that the only way to get back home is by going to the mountain's peak.

1. Please include a description of your character in your first post - you can throw it into a spoiler using the code down below and put it at the top of your post.

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[spoiler]Put your description here![/spoiler]

2. Feel free to pick characters from whatever you want. They can be from another roleplay, a storybook, a novel or even a fanfiction of yours. The world, time and plot they're from ultimately just impacts how they interact with this roleplay, so it's really up to you.

3. You can have as many characters as you want, but there'll come a point where you can no longer add new ones because it would alter the plot too much. I'll make sure to say something when that happens, so don't worry about it for now.

4. Please don't write for anyone else's characters. It's hard to predict what someone else might have their characters do, and it takes away some of the fun for the other writers.

5. You're free to have your character guess what the plot is, but don't make any plot-altering decisions with talking about with me first. You can PM me or chat in the spoilers of our posts if you have an idea - I love scheming! I just want to make sure your schemes can be incorporated into what I'm already scheming.

6. Don't post multiple times in a row, and make sure everyone has a chance to get a response in. There's going to be times where it makes more sense to post back-and-forth between two people, but try avoiding it unless you absolutely have to - it prevents the other writers from getting too behind and feeling like they aren't involved with the story.

7. Have fun!

Even underneath all of her clothing, Haru felt hot. Maybe, in retrospect, it was because of the clothing. Layer upon layer was never a good idea, and it wasn't even winter yet. It was just barely fall, and the somewhat brisk but still far too warm air wasn't keen on making her forget it.

But that was okay! She'd handle the heat, just like she handled everything else these days. It wasn't going to be long before she reached the mountainside. She hadn't heard anything about it, but the trees looked thick even in the distance. She was sure they'd provide relief from the harsh sunlight. If she was lucky, she could probably get by with unraveling her bandages and taking her hood off.

(The mask, obviously, had to stay on unless she wanted to try - and likely fail - at finding some place to refill the gourd dangling at her side. Her Blood Demon Art could only be sustained for so long, after all.)

The vast farmlands that lay at the bottom of the mountain came more and more into view as she walked. Soon, she was standing on the very edge of what could just barely be called a village, staring right down a dirt path at the few people that lingered in front of simple little houses.

The smell of fresh air overwhelmed him.

He was free.

There were no cars. This was another time, another place entirely. It was beautiful. He was wearing a red plaid shirt and jeans, the kind of thing he hadn't worn since his time with Sarah.

It was odd, but he chose not to question it. It was better than prison, he supposed. But he'd made his peace with prison. They could lock his body up, but his mind would always be free. And the constant media attention proved they'd never be able to let him and his girls go. They were obsessed, and particularly so with Alexandra. How she'd be so good and how he'd corrupted her.

Good? He'd shown her what life really was. A loyal girl, that one. Helen may have been prettier, and Claire a better fuck, but neither of them loved him the way Alexandra did. He tried for three years and as many girls as had come and gone, no one had ever really been able to replace her. That was the power of loyalty.

He took a deep breath, taking in his surroundings.

The air was fresh. He was alive. He was in the moment. He could use a meal though. And a shower.

Just then, he saw another figure approach. "Excuse me," he said. "Do you know where we are?"

Haru had a sneaking suspicion that something was up with the man, and that the something wasn't good in the slightest. It wasn't just the clothes he wore. Those were weird. And so was his accent - it sounded like something from another area, and she had the strangest feeling that she wasn't supposed to understand him. But something else about him just seemed off. It remember her of someone else, but she couldn't put her finger on who.

She shook the thought away.

The man could have been a demon. That would have explained the feeling and the strange appearance. But a demon wouldn't walk around in broad daylight. Maybe he was part of that demon slayer group. They dressed weird, didn't they? And, sure, she was pretty sure they were supposed to wear uniforms, but she had heard about a kid running around shirtless with a boar's head.

She thought long and hard about it, though long and hard was just a handful of seconds. She looked over his haircut, his outfit, and his general feeling of not belonging out here in the farm fields.

He must have been from the city.

That would explain it!

"I'm not really sure," she said. "I'm just a traveler passing through - all I know is that I'm heading north, and that I'll figure the rest out when I get to the top of that mountain."

Harper opened her eyes to discover two things. Firstly, she wasn't in her nowhere-nothing town of who-gives-a-flip. Secondly, it was a very good thing that she had her parasol on her, a lovely black lace thing with silk ribbon wrapped around the pole and a pentagram of red beadwork along the top. It was very nice to have that suddenly very bright sun off her back.

She looked around, squinting in the bright - was it noon? - sun in search of something familiar.

Apparently, she was in that dumb painting in the closed-up Chinese restaurant. Had someone drugged her again? She'd be putting them on Annie's list if they did. She told them that was the last time.

She shook her head, looking around. If this was like that time she'd ended up in the wrong decade, then she wouldn't have to curse anybody. Anybody she knew right now, anyway.

She found a normal looking guy talking to a not-normal looking...person and trotted up behind him, tapping him on the shoulder. "Excuse me, I'm a little lost, do you know where I am, I-" It was then that she realized that she didn't have her grimoire. She cursed internally. "Sorry," she said apologetically with a matching smile, "I lost my train of thought."

The air felt different. It was warm. The sun was brighter, the trees were different, and the sky was a different hue of blue.

He wasn't home anymore. It seemed there was another adventure awaiting him this time, not that he'd asked for it or wanted it. He looked up into the cloudless sky and sighed. It was beautiful, at least, but he still wanted to be back home in the mountains he knew, in the forests, he was familiar with. These trees didn't have the same smell of birch and pine. They reminded him more of Goulon, which he hadn't visited in quite some time.

Well, there was no use complaining. It wasn't like idle disappointment was going to get him anywhere.

James sighed and looked around. A forest at his side, plots of farmland he could spot in the distance, and a small village up ahead, and one that actually looked populated. That could either be good or bad - he wasn't sure.

He untied his jacket from around his waist so it fell open, giving him a little more air under the hot sun. He'd been brought here from a cold mountain, and he knew the sudden change in temperature was going to make him sweaty very, very soon.

Up ahead, he could see three people gathering just outside the village.

There was a person in a mask, a man in typical earth-looking clothes, and a girl in very vibrant hair and clothing with an umbrella. None of them looked like they belonged, really, but maybe that was presumption and not experience talking.

He decided to approach slowly, not saying anything as he stopped a few feet from them. He'd been able to read the umbrella girl's lips enough from afar to know she'd said she was lost, so she, at least, wasn't native to this place, and was probably in the same boat as him.

Arden grunted and shoved the kid off him, rolling up onto one elbow to get a look at their new surroundings. He blinked, taking in the farmland off to on side, more farmland to the other and the small, narrow dirt path they'd landed on. There was what looked like a bunch of buildings just down the path, and between that and where he and the kid were, there seemed to be some people chatting.

"What button did you hit this time, Garnet?" he asked and climbed to his feet, dusting off his clothes quickly before turning to haul the kid up onto his feet as well.

"Nothing, I swear!" the kid groused, staring up at him with big, violet-coloured eyes. "I was in my seat behind Adi's and I swear I didn't touch anything--"

Arden sighed and held up a hand. If he didn't stop Garnet now, then the kid would not shut up for hours. "Okay, fine. I believe you, but the fact is... I have no idea where we are."

Garnet frowned at him, then flicked his gaze past Arden. "Why don't we ask them?"

He turned to follow Garnet's gaze and grunted again. Beyond the people and the small village, there was a mountain. It was a sea of bright and dark green against a bright blue sky. A sky that looked a lot bluer than late 23rd-century Earth's. Arden swore, violently.

"Garnet," he said, speaking slowly while not looking away from the group as a fourth person joined them. "I don't think we're in our world anymore."

"What do you mean?"

Arden glanced back at him, then gestured at their surroundings and the people up ahead. "Take a look around us." He tilted his head towards the people. "This place is too green to be our Earth, and that person up ahead? The one with the mask? Pretty sure that's traditional Japanese-style clothing, which hasn't been used in a very long time."

"Oh..."

"Yes, 'oh', but you're right. Let's go ask the strange people if they know anything, then."

With that, Arden turned and led Garnet down the little dirt path towards the group of people. He tilted his head, using his superior hearing to try and catch a snippet of the conversation they were having before he had to introduce himself or Garnet. Arden never claimed to be a saint, and it was always a good idea to be prepared.

If she hadn't been wearing her mask right now, she would have blinked and rubbed her eyes to make sure she wasn't imagining everyone suddenly appearing. She had good senses, and it wasn't like there were many places to hide. She should have picked up on at least one of the newcomers, but she hadn't noticed any of them until they were already too close!

Seeing that there was her mask, she settled for just blinking instead.

The sudden appearances of everyone was definitely making her just a little nervous, but none of them had nichirin swords and all were walking around in broad daylight without proper protection. It was kind of weird and a little worrying, but there was no reason to get paranoid about that.

Focus, she reminded herself. Three out of the four newcomers were just lurking, and the fourth had asked the city guy a question that he would have only just gotten the answer to.

"We were actually just talking about that," she said, giving a smile that no one could see underneath her mask out of habit. "He wasn't sure where we are right now, either. I'm not much better. I'm a traveler - I just know I want to keep going north and get to the top of that mountain."

She raised a bandaged finger up and pointed at the mountain before them.

Jay had never been to Japan. He'd never even been outside of the United States.
He'd always wanted to travel. He, his mother, and Richard had gone to Arizona when he was twelve. But other than that, he'd never been out of Idaho. Until he got out of prison the first time and gone east to Wyoming. And met Sarah.

Of course, because Sarah was the way that she was, she never wanted to go anywhere or do anything. She would have been content to stay in front of the tv forever, watching mindless garbage like I Love Lucy and taking it as gospel.

With his girls, he'd seen almost the whole country. If they were here, they'd love it. A strange group had gathered, and they all stared at the mountain. Jay wasn't so sure he was thrilled at the suggestion they climb the mountain, but if there was no way out, there was no point in resisting now.

But maybe he didn't have to go. He could find someone that would take him in the village. And he could start over again here. He had twice before. What was a third time?

James looked at the others, looked up at the mountain, and thought about it for a second. Climb a mountain? That, he could do. Would there probably be complications on the way? Yes, but if going to the mountain top meant getting back home, then he might as well get to it as soon as possible.

"North to the top of the mountain? Alright. You're all free to join me," he said with a nod, before walking ahead up the path.

Haru opened her mouth to protest. For one thing, the guy hadn't even said something before hopping onto her trek. For another, she didn't even know him. For another, he couldn't just go and invite the whole crowd. Besides him, they all looked like they were from the city - city people couldn't stand exercise like that. They'd make things awkward and difficult, both for her and the whole idea of climbing the mountain as a group.

And, sure, Haru wasn't exactly a solitary person, but solitude was kind of something she needed.

But right before she spoke, Haru came to the startling realization that she didn't know how to come up with a good response. She could deter most of them by saying how long the trek would be, but unnamed not-city guy was definitely going to be a thorn in her side and not object to that.

"I don't know," Haru said. "It's probably not a good idea. The sun is already pretty high up in the sky, which means night is going to fall while you're on the mountain. That's when demons come out, you know? It'd probably be better to stay here for the night."

She gave a strained smile underneath her mask that they thankfully couldn't see.

That was when a girl from the very, very small village - if it could even be called that - suddenly spoke up from behind Haru. Haru jumped in the surprise at the noise; she had been so caught up in lying that she hadn't even heard her.

"I...I heard you talking about going into the mountain," she shyly said. She gave them a look for a moment before ducking her head down. "It's not a good idea...bad things happen on the mountain..."

"I'm okay with bad things," Haru promised. "But, er, what kind of bad things? Like mudslides? Avalanches? Dangerous, man-eating wolves?"

The girl fiddled with her the fabric of her shirt. "...The people who go up the mountain never come back," she said. She sounded nervous and afraid. Which, considering the topic, Haru wasn't that surprised. "You're never supposed to go there when it's dark, and you're never supposed to go into the shadows. It's...It's..."

She bit her lip.

"It doesn't matter how brave you are," she said. "The mountain gets you-"

She suddenly looked up, staring at the sword that hung at Haru's side. Recognition and understanding seemed to dawn on her - which was a little disconcerting, seeing that Haru and her had never met before.

"Are you part of the Demon Slayer Corps?" she asked. There was a hopeful look to her eyes before her gaze fell back down to the ground. "I've...I've heard stories about them from my grandma. You all seem...weird-"

Haru winced at the insult.

"-but that would explain it..."

Haru thought long and hard on it.

"You could say I'm something like that," she finally lied. It wasn't entirely wrong, was it? She took care of the bad demons when she saw them, so that had to make her an honorary member at this point.

Harper perked up at the new conversation and walked over, a peppy skip in her step. "Demons?" she said with a grin, "I'm in."

There had been talk of 'don't go in the shadows' and 'don't travel at night'. Harper was already soundly ignoring all of the above. There was no way in whatever hell Annie had crawled out of that Harper was missing out on her chance to meet some new demons. Sure, Annie was great, but she wasn't a natural demon. Could demons even be natural? Harper was thrilled to find out.

If only she had her grimoire to record anything she found. She'd just have to memorize it all, unless she wanted to waste the battery in her phone using the notes app or the camera to keep track of it all.

This, all in all, would be incredibly thrilling.

The hopeful look returned to the girl's eyes, and Haru wished this day would already end - for multiple reasons. It wasn't fair. She was supposed to slip through this town without getting asked that many questions, climb up the mountain, and relax when day to night. There wasn't supposed to be anyone coming with her, and there wasn't supposed to be a girl who was definitely making her a personal idol.

"We don't know if there's demons on the mountain," the girl whispered. "I-I don't know. But Grandma thinks there is, and she thinks that's what..."

The girl shook her head, seemingly trying to shake away her train of thought.

"But if you have even one demon slayer with you, you should be safe," she said, giving them a shy smile. "I-I should probably get going before someone asks why I'm talking to strangers, but, um..."

Her gaze lingered on Haru.

"Good luck," she whispered before rushing off.

Haru resisted the very strong urge to groan.

James had stopped a few steps ahead of the group when the young girl approached and gave more information about the mountain. Demons, darkness, shadows. Of course. Of course it wasn’t just a regular mountain.

Without another word, he started to walk through the village, heading towards the mountain alone, unless people decided to follow.