TOURIST INFORMATION.
Directly to the southwest of City Hall, you notice a building. It looks welcoming, with an inviting glass facade and a sign above the entryway announcing it as the "TOURIST CENTER." It's a humble building with a receptionist's desk on the back wall opposite the entrance, empty magazine shelves lining the side walls, and a few spinning brochure racks full of blank pamphlets. Anyone is welcome to peruse the tourist literature, though they won't offer much information, being primarily filled with pictures of the surrounding area—City Hall, the park, a statue garden, and the surprisingly heavily-featured cemetery. There are a few sentences sprinkled throughout about basic offerings of the city, such as apartment complexes and office buildings, as well as a few maps with the same limited scope as the larger version on the wall behind the receptionist's desk.
The main feature of the tourist center is the interactive kiosk installed dead in the center, right in the middle of a few rows of uncomfortable chairs that fill the small room. It's noticeably in the way of any would-be foot traffic through the tourist center, and something about the technology seems a little more modern than the computer behind the desk or the landline phone on the wall. The kiosk is a tall silver rectangle, about average adult height, and the upper half is a screen welcoming visitors to touch it to activate the kiosk. If you were to touch it, the screen would come to life with simple dialogue inviting visitors to ask it their questions.
However, residents should note that the kiosk is only programmed to assist with exploration within the available areas of the city. It may not be able to answer every question, and tampering with the kiosk may result in unreliable or inaccurate answers!
The kiosks are styled after this kind of interactive directory and will display text in whatever language the player character speaks, with optional text-to-voice for characters who are not able to type. (For vocals, think of the flattest, least affected robot voiceover you've ever heard.) The kiosk is programmed to answer questions related to tourism in the city, and can be asked for food or lodging recommendations, directions to various shops and locations in the district, and basic information about the city itself. Characters are able to ask as many questions as they please, but should note that not all questions can be answered in full by the kiosk system and overloading it with questions may yield interesting results.
Attempts to hack the kiosk will result in a twenty-four hour shutdown to reboot the system. During the reboot, the kiosk will not be available for further questioning or hacking attempts. Should characters pry the kiosk casing open, they will find the insides completely empty of any mechanical, electrical, or computing components.
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NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK.
It's a brand new day, a mostly-sunny June morning. The sky is blue except for a few straggling white clouds, the sun is warm, and there's a welcome party being held at City Hall. Come on down!
There are quite a few activities set up in the plaza just in front of city hall, immediately to the northwest of the subway station. Although there is no one there to man it, there is a barbecue and accompanying table of foods–burgers and hot dogs that stay warm, ice pops in a bucket of ice that never melts, sides and drinks that never go stale. Towards the southwestern side of the plaza is a bouncy house shaped like a carousel ride, and no matter how many people enter at once it never seems to get full–isn't that fun? There are balloons and pinwheels decorating the picnic tables and chairs and a "WELCOME TO THE CITY!" banner hanging from the entryway of the City Hall building.
No music plays in the air, but is an old boom box tucked under one of the picnic tables, and to the right of the building's entrance is a raised dais containing the instruments belonging to a string quartet–although where the quartet is themselves, one couldn't say for sure. Still, they probably won't mind if someone takes over their instruments for a little while. There is also an electric keyboard for those inclined, and although it doesn't appear to be plugged in anywhere, it will still turn on.
Other knick-knacks and odds and ends offered by the organizers of the party include sidewalk chalk–partygoers may find it especially difficult to remove–bubble wands, and maybe even a few pairs of rollerskates hidden around for those who are especially interested in finding them.
The welcome party will be set up by sunrise and will stay through the entire weekend. Characters are welcome to eat the food, drink whatever they want, play music (if they brought a CD or cassette tape, or know how to play a stringed instrument) or play in the bouncy house. Any food or beverage consumed or decorations removed or destroyed will reappear when no one is looking.
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LET'S GET THIS PARTY STARTED.
The party continues inside City Hall, with a large room just off the main hallway being dedicated to the occasion.
Just like the tables and chairs outside, the tables inside City Hall are decorated with champagne glasses and balloons, and there's sparkly confetti dusted along the tablecloths and on the floor. This is where the alcoholic beverages are, bottles and glasses stored on a table toward the back wall. There is, of course, no bartender, but as long as you're of age you're probably welcome to pour yourself a drink, right? (And if you're not of age, well–who's going to know?)
There's also a large open space at one end of the room, clearly meant for dancing, although just like outside there's no music playing. But just because there's no music doesn't mean you can't dance, right? And the more you drink, the more you start to feel like dancing might be pretty fun. The party will go all night, so grab a partner and put your best foot forward!
Just like the party taking place outdoors, the indoor portions of the party will be set up by sunrise and will continue through the weekend. Inside is the more "adult" party, with tables for conversation and alcoholic beverages readily available. Characters are welcome to take glasses or bottles with them, but should they put them down anywhere outside, they'll be able to find their bottle or glass inside on one of the decorated tables. Characters do not need to get drunk in order to dance, but optionally may feel that drinking more makes them want to dance.
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WILDCARD.
The city is by no means small, and there are plenty of things for you to see. There's no rush in exploring, so feel free to take your time looking around and peering into various nooks and crannies and alleyways—and don't worry, you're not very likely to find anything peering back.
If none of the above prompts appeal, feel free to check out the Locations and Maps pages and write your own freestyle prompt using one or many of the available locations.
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citylogs2023-06-19 09:02 pm
kiosks... dude
Seriously? I thought I was the one who's gonna teach you how to make 'em.
[ until now, apparently! hey man it's ya boy keter ]
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Shit— uh, wait, what?
[Give him a second to Process... to Recall... and then he looks frankly embarrassed, because he's been caught committing to the pancakes thing that he already committed to--]
Oh, hey. You were offering to teach me...? In that case, should I stop reading this?
[he just thought he was being heckled oops]
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Depends if it actually tells you stuff you don't already know.
[ he shrugs, tries to peek at whatever junpei's typed into the kiosk again. ]
Did it say anything else that isn't like "I'm sorry, I don't actually know this and that?"
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[They established that he knows nothing about pancakes, so he simply scrolls up on this bigass screen to better show his previous, uh, inquiries. These, he is not really all that ashamed about, because he's right!!
They all have the bog-standard "I'm sorry, blah blah inquiry" reply, naturally. Junpei shrugs.]
You know I'm going to say we're just being lied to, right? I mean, come on. The only thing this hunk of crap is good for is pancake recipes.
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[ but what IS a right question? there's plenty of them here that maybe one or two of them might've gotten something substantial, but too bad roland's not one of them. this is exactly why he'd rather ask people face-to-face... ]
Come on, we got better things to do now. You have no idea how mind-numbingly boring these past few days have been.
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Great work, team.]
Yeah? If you wanted pancakes that bad, you could have given me a call. You know what I've been doing? Laundry.
[It's bleak... he can only wash his Hanes tees so many times. He's ready for brunch, ah, but-]
You sure you don't want to ask it anything first?
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[ nts buy more suits. or maybe more casuals? roland's suit is made out of special material that don't seem to exist in this city, so he'll have to settle with actual sweatpants this time around. damn, normies really have it so much better than him --
ah, right. roland blinks at junpei's question, gaze darting at the machine as if he's considering it. ]
Nah, I got what I need. Which is nada. I'd rather have the mastermind of all this come out and say their intentions already...
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This shirt is new. It's just the same as the one I had when I got here.
[Truly, the convenience store 6-pack life. He's been bored enough to do laundry just to have something to watch, really, in between arguing with people online about their collective inevitable demise. Loads of fun. Literally.]
Well if you're all set, let's... fry?
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ah well. he shoves his hands into his pockets and cants his head towards the door. ]
Mm, let's.
[ he'll lead the way out the building and into the sidewalk, grabbing his phone out of his pocket. ]
Wanna do this at your place, or do we just hit up at any random pancake house nearby?
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But alright, here they go. Junpei does a quick mental run-through of the pancake ingredients he has in "his" apartment, which is like, um. Eggs? Are... are there eggs in pancakes? He didn't read the recipe after all.]
Depends on how many times you want me to say I could just ghost-order some pancakes instead. Or how much grocery shopping you want to do first.
[lose/lose situation]
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Groceries?
[ oh, right. that's a thing. ]
You know what, yeah. I could go for some groceries. Better now than later. [ with that, he pulls up a picture of a map in his phone. ] I'm just not used to how... calm everything here is. Are you?
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What were you planning on making pancakes out of? I've got, like, some eggs and cup noodles.
[Not even the packet kind, he is full styrofoam-cup-shitty at feeding himself. He shrugs, though, idly watching Roland google maps them a store, then casting a look around at the non-party-decorated areas in sight. Hm.]
You're calm? I don't think I sleep anymore. [true but okay he gets it,] It's... ominous.
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I mean, you could always get some pancake mix and call it a day. But we're making the legit stuff. This is for your own good in case shit does hit the fan, and we got nothing else left on us but eggs and flour.
[ okay, there's one convenience store just around a corner. he puts his phone back in his pocket. ]
Ominous is one word for it. Been waiting for the other shoe to drop right about now, and that suspicious-looking block party isn't helping the mood at all. [ if anything it adds to the eerie mood, haha... ] I guess I'm just used to being on tenterhooks all the time that I can sleep easy despite all that.
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You're prepared for every situation, huh. [Dry, but he's not going to demand the lazy dude simplicity of a simple pancake mix. Not while Roland is looking, anyway. Maybe for future pancakes...
But okay: flour, maybe more eggs. He sticks his hands in his pockets; off they go.]
Guess I'll get used to it. Maybe it's the crap couch in my new place. How did they set up that party without any of us noticing, anyway? Was nobody looking out their window last night?
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[ junpei's laziness is so dire though, please. he wins the Just Some Guy competition by a long mile at this rate. ]
I don't really make it a habit to peek outside past midnight. But I guess instead of Sweepers, we got party coordinators who don't even know how to throw one.
[ and with that, he throws open the door to the relatively empty convenience store. it's still eerie to see nobody manning the counters, but at least there's free food and airconditioning...? ]
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Don't tell me what a Sweeper is, I've heard enough about your fucked up hometown from that Don girl.
[hungy bus......
He heads for the refrigerated section, for Eggs. And maybe a bunch of energy drinks, for the road. Sadly he doesn't pick up a basket or anything, so his hubris will catch up with him shortly. Catch him crouched in front of a fridge making a collection of drink cans and one egg carton.]
I've got a question. ...About pancakes. [junpei someguy moment in 3, 2...] Can they be chocolate chip?
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Your world doesn't have Sweepers, then? Wild. We could really do without those guys, but I can't imagine going out at 3am without fearing for your life.
[ that's just how it is in the city! their city. tfw you're too used to the horrors. even a simple task like grocery-shopping has its own risks back home. anyway, these two normie guys split up for a moment, and already put his goods in a cart - some instant noodles and coffee, self-heating meals that caught his eye more than anything - and he wheels by junpei just in time to hear the guy out. ]
Huh? Yeah, why not. [ he sticks out his cart in case junpei needs to have his hands free. ] You act like you never had pancakes beyond syrup and butter before.
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Anyway-] That's still telling me about Sweepers, technically...
[He makes so few requests? Is this divine punishment, Roland? But let him begin stacking all these energy drinks into the cart, a little haphazardly. The eggs at least he puts up in the little kiddie seat, so they don't get smushed by off-brand Monster.]
I know chocolate chip pancakes exist, c'mon. I meant can you make them without making a burnt chocolate mess.
[Ye of little faith... Well,] I put a bunch of chocolate chips on a frozen pancake once, in the toaster. It sucked.
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but yeah, junpei's woeful cooking skills are more dire than roland thought. he can only shake his head, tsk tsk. ]
You're lucky we've got all this instant food to last us for months. You don't expect anyone to cook for you all the time while we're here, do you? Unless you're on the prowl for a partner here.
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Now then, don't judge him, he's a real adult. He shrugs and turns to skim the fridge shelves for more snacks, like a Choco Taco or something. Maybe he can live on Choco Tacos...]
Why, are you offering? You can complain about how lazy I am as much as you want.
[Anyway, he's found ice cream sandwiches, which will do in a pinch. Here they go, into the cart.]
I thought this was an educational pancake breakfast. I can learn.
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[ pot, kettle. but at least roland knows how make the most out of the situation due to his experience as a mercenary in an unforgiving world. junpei... is normal. too normal. which means there's probably something wrong with him that he keeps under wraps.
roland would know. ]
Yeah, yeah. Maybe when you find that special someone you can finally surprise them with a homemade breakfast. [ he may as well grab some bread and jam... he'd rather make something more hearty for dinner later like soup, so nts: check if there's a supermarket nearby. ] Ready to ring these up? Oh, wait, we don't need to do that anymore.
[ still freaky! ]
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I'm chill? [wow, huge w for his ability to bottle it all up in public, neat] My special someone's gonna have to settle for cold cereal the rest of the time.
[Should he go get cereal... No, focus on the pancakes. They should at least put this stuff in bags, though, because stealing the whole cart to take all the way back to the apartments sounds like a chore, so - Junpei will handle this herculean task, making his way to the empty checkout to hoard bags. It really is weird...
Well, he's standing behind the register, so:] Did you bring your shopper's rewards card?
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Nah, I'll pay with cash.
[ he doubts that the meager amount of ahn on him would matter here, lol. instead he'll skip that part and help junpei in checking out their groceries, stashing them into plastic bags. ]
Forgot that we had to walk our way back... You checked the cars around here lately?
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[Thanks for joining him in this bit, he feels much better about lugging a shitload of energy drinks back to the apartments now.]
I'm not much a driver, so I wasn't really thinking about the cars... Why, are the keys around? Think we could drive out of here, or will we just hit the sky wall, like in that movie about the guy living in a dome?
[tbh if they were being truman show'd he'd probably feel less antsy, at least the whole "now kill each other" thing wouldn't be looming!!]
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What the hell kind of movies did you watch...
[ though ngl, that's kind of intriguing? please, do tell him more. ]
There should be keys around if the people who used to live here just vanished in thin air, right? Although, no one said we can just take these carts outside and joyride our way down the street.
[ ... hold on, he's cooking now. ]
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