citycenter: (Default)
The City ([personal profile] citycenter) wrote in [community profile] citylogs2023-08-02 12:00 am

TDM: AUGUST 2023





TEST DRIVE MEME

A TRAIN COMES INTO THE STATION.
You wake up on a train.

Your phone is buzzing. It's in your pocket, in your hand, on the seat next to you. It's a normal phone, and you're on a normal train car. One of the lights flickers, a little further down. The world is very quiet. It feels like you're right where you're meant to be. On the phone's surface is a white screen and the words—


WELCOME TO THE CITY. BEGIN ORIENTATION?

▶ YES
▶ NO


Please take a moment to complete your orientation.

Once you're finished, the subway doors slide open to let you out onto the train platform. To your right, the platform continues on and eventually ends; to the left is a set of stairs that will lead you up into the station itself. The platform is quiet, clean, empty—there's no one else around, and the only sounds you can hear are your own footsteps, your own breaths, and the occasional faraway sound of a creaking pipe or rush of air. The train you disembarked will stay there as long as you do, its doors still open, until you finally decide to venture up into this new locale.


As you make your way up the stairs to your left, you find yourself in the belly of City Hall station. The station is large, a sprawling underground mini-metropolis of corridors and storefronts. Here, you may find others like you, freshly-arrived city residents from other realms (or even your own). There is also a subway map, which will give you an idea of the layout of the neighborhood, and ticketing machines, which can currently only be used to buy tickets to a handful of stations located on lines 1, 2, and 9.

If you're hungry or in need of any kind of supplies, there are plenty of storefronts inside the subway station as well—snack stands, convenience stores, restaurants, clothing stores, a pharmacy, and a variety of empty shops that may or may not have ever been in use. Everything is unlocked, and you can take whatever you need.



Characters may stay on the train platform indefinitely, and may re-board and re-disembark from the subway as many times as they like, but the train will not depart nor will the doors close. Once they go up the stairs into the train station, they may hear the train doors closing and the train departing. Another train will not arrive, no matter how long the character waits. Only once they come up the stairs into the station itself may characters encounter their fellow newly-arrived residents and take advantage of what the city has to offer.

JUMP TO TOP ↑ | ↓ JUMP TO COMMENTS

WELCOME TO THE NEIGHBORHOOD.
The station is located in the city center. It has three major exits that lead to areas of interest in the district, but there are several other smaller exits that lead in other directions around the neighborhood. You are welcome to use any of them, but may find the north, southwest, and east exits to be the most welcoming.
TO THE NORTH
The northern entrance to the station leads up into the sunlight and puts you out in a brickwork plaza. There's a modest building in front of you, three or four stories of stone with a welcoming facade. There's a sign above the entryway—it says City Hall. You may be tempted to explore, if you're interested in learning more about the city and how it functions, but prepare to find yourself disappointed—the folders in the records rooms are full of empty, blank sheets of paper, and the logbooks and balance sheets are similarly devoid of information.


Immediately to the southwest of City Hall, you will find a small building that houses the tourist information kiosk. 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!
TO THE SOUTHWEST
The western exit of the station takes you up into a city park, lush and green with a very light fog still hanging about the trees. There are lampposts on the walkways and benches where you could rest, and plenty of flora, although you can neither see nor hear any signs of animal life. You walk the paths that meander idly through the verdant grass and you feel a sense of peace, some of your unease about this place easing into a pleasant calm. The air smells fresh, like it's recently rained, and you'll find the grass ever so slightly damp should you decide to take a seat.


As you make your way deeper into the park, the trees grow denser and the smell of soil and plant life grows stronger. This is the older part of the park, very nearly a forest, with ivy climbing the trunks of the trees and plants and shrubs growing riotously around their bases. As you turn a corner, you find yourself first in the statue garden, although the statues are harder to see now, choked as they are with ivy. There are many statues, some partially obscured, some fully—very few of them still stand free of the vines and clinging roots. (It doesn't feel quite as peaceful here.) If a statue's face looks a little bit familiar, you may not want to look at it too long.

Continue down the path and you will find yourself in a graveyard, one that seems centuries old. Most of the headstones are worn away by time and covered in moss, rendering them impossible to read. The few that are free of moss are blank, or bear only suggestions of names too faint to be understood. (Was that the name of—no, it couldn't have been. Could it?) Many of the headstones stand at an angle or are toppled over completely, having been subjected to either strong winds or the roots of the trees that grow up from some of the graves, spreading branches toward the sky.
TO THE EAST
The final exit of the station, to the east, puts you out on a quiet surface street. Are you hungry? Or are you paralyzed by choice? There are plenty of restaurants, offering options of almost any food you can imagine. You could try a convenience store—it's well stocked, and the items there seem free for the taking. How about a restaurant? There's no one to take your order, but when you look in the kitchen, there's something on the stove, and it's just what you've been craving. Imagine that.


A few blocks down, you come in through the lobby of a tall building and find yourself in a corporate office. The fluorescent lights are steady and unforgiving, and the cubicles and offices are empty. There are a few pieces of paper on desks, a few folders left in organizers, but everything is perfectly blank. Despite how empty and quiet the office is, it nonetheless gives you the feeling that just a few minutes ago, this place was bustling with workers going about their daily business.


You enter another building and find yourself in the lobby of an apartment complex—finally, a place to rest. The first door you try opens easily into a completely empty living room, freshly vacuumed but without a single piece of furniture. It's a nice apartment, quiet, but with a little too much echo for your taste, maybe. Still, and perhaps oddly, you have no trouble envisioning what life here would be like.

The second door you open leads to an apartment that feels lived-in. Why does it feel lived-in? It's fully furnished with items that seem to go together perfectly, true, but the feeling is more than that—the room feels like someone was just here, maybe standing right in the kitchen only moments before you swung the door open. The air is a perfectly comfortable temperature, and it somehow smells like home despite that you've never once set foot here before. The refrigerator is stocked, and the cabinets are full of spices and flatware and kitchen utensils.


As you look around the living room, you find that there are pictures in frames on the walls and some of the flat surfaces—a seascape, a field, a shot of a city park bench. In each of the photos there's something just slightly wrong with the angle, as though the photographer were aiming for a subject that can no longer be seen.



Characters are welcome to explore the district around the City Hall subway station to their heart's content. The City Hall building itself contains several floors of offices and file rooms, but none of them contain any particularly interesting information. Nonetheless, characters may wish to team up with other newcomers and try to find some hints about the nature of the city. They can also spend a while in the park, the statue garden, or the graveyard. In the blocks surrounding the station there are plenty of options for food and housing, as well as office buildings, storefronts, and alleyways to look around. There are no workers in any of the buildings, and there does not seem to be an honor system for payment, nor any consequences for taking food from the stores or setting up camp in an apartment or office building.

JUMP TO TOP ↑ | ↓ JUMP TO COMMENTS

I SCREAM, YOU SCREAM.
Have you ever visited the ice cream parlor located in District 2? It's a pretty quirky little joint!

When you walk in, what you'll likely notice first is the colors. Everything is bright, almost oversaturated—the pink of the leather seats, the teal of the walls, the red of the menu sign hanging over the counter. By all rights it seems like these colors shouldn't go together, but somehow they do, or maybe that's just because being in an ice cream parlor puts you in a good mood. It smells like waffle cones, and overhead, there's music pumping through the speakers at just the right volume, providing some nice background noise to your decision-making process.


Wait, music?

There's a jukebox at the far end of the shop, which seems to be where the music is being chosen. As you head over, the song comes to an end and the jukebox machinery shuffles through its options before landing on a new one. The song sounds sort of familiar, doesn't it? And the longer you listen, the more the lyrics really seem to speak to you. It costs money to pick your own song, so if you happen to have some coins on you—or if you're really, really determined—you can choose the next round of tunes.

When you're done at the jukebox, you can go check out the serving area of the shop. Behind the counter you can see milkshake mixers and waffle cone makers; there are ice cream cakes in the freezers that line the wall; and when you approach the main counter you can see the tubs of ice cream in almost any flavor you can imagine.


Pick a flavor, whichever one's your favorite! Do you want it in a cone or in a bowl? There are regular cones and waffle cones, and all kinds of toppings—sprinkles, syrups, gummy candy, mini marshmallows. Decorate your ice cream however you want, the sky's the limit when it comes to choices! You can even come back for seconds if you want, or thirds. Who's going to say anything about it, after all?

But the more of your ice cream you eat, the more you start to feel… strange. Maybe you're starting to get angry, or sad, or giddy—maybe you feel romantic, or feel like you want to tell a secret to a stranger, and you're not really sure why. You also can't quite seem to stop eating your ice cream, and the more you eat, the less worried you feel about whatever's happening to your emotions. After all, why be concerned about that when you have something so delicious in front of you?

Flavor Effect
Strawberry You find yourself compelled to seek out strangers and tell them a hidden truth about yourself
Rocky Road You find yourself compelled to seek out strangers and convince them of some egregious lie
Vanilla You are overwhelmed by a sense of total calm, and can only speak in aphorisms and platitudes
Rainbow Sherbert You are overwhelmed by amorous feelings towards whoever is near you and try to cuddle or kiss them
Chocolate You feel suddenly morose about something in your past and cannot stop crying until someone consoles you
Bubblegum You become uncontrollably giggly and giddy, and can only speak in rhyme
Caramel Ribbon You become angry and perhaps even violent, trying to attack anyone who comes near
Mint Chocolate Chip You suddenly have a common but exaggerated phobia (for example, a fear of heights where the step down off the curb is too much)



When characters first enter the ice cream parlor, they may notice that there's music playing overhead! That's from the jukebox, and the lyrics of the song may sound like they're particularly apt for a character's circumstances. Players are welcome to choose their own jukebox songs for their characters—it doesn't need to have appeared in canon, but characters from modern times are welcome to recognize the music being played. (Players can also feel free not to pick a real song at all, and instead just describe the overall sound of the song and content of the lyrics!)

This is an ice cream parlor, so of course there's also ice cream to be had. Characters can serve themselves whatever flavor combination they want, but shortly thereafter will find themselves suffering certain emotional effects depending on what flavors they chose. These emotional effects, shown above, will last for roughly an hour before slowly dissipating, and their intensity depends on how much ice cream the character ate and whether they were able to recognize what was happening and stop eating. Not every flavor has an emotional effect, so players can also choose to have their character eat a normal scoop and go about their day.

JUMP TO TOP ↑ | ↓ JUMP TO COMMENTS

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.

JUMP TO TOP ↑



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matermali: (111)

[personal profile] matermali 2023-08-03 03:03 am (UTC)(link)
[ Well, now Vanessa at least has the decency to feel some shame over the state of the poor girl's skirt. Given that Vanessa's own fashion is nothing like that she has found here, she suspects this girl may have an even more difficult time finding outfits that are right for her.

Any time her gaze casts over the wings peeking from behind the girl, Vanessa can feel a lump in the back of her throat. An angel couldn't truly be here, so then what is she? Whatever it is, she must restrain the desire to weep in the child's presence. One would have trouble understanding that if they saw her from a distance, for the most she offers on the surface is an apologetic, if sheepish smile when the girl nods.

She had been jesting about the poison, but she sees now how suspicious it may have sounded. Vanessa has been told that she can have a certain...presentation toward people, as well as a light step. ]


Your skirt. My apologies. I feel I ought to offer to clean it, now.

[ Though, she understands a girl with an aptitude for wariness (smart) may not wish to follow a stranger home, and Vanessa has yet to discover the dry cleaners. ]

Although there may be some fashion here you would enjoy. It wouldn't be difficult to alter them for—

[ The barest stutter — a lump in her throat, oh she wants to cry. ]

For your wings.
funburger: (1307)

[personal profile] funburger 2023-08-03 03:07 am (UTC)(link)
[Caught being sentimental on main... No, this is just how Tenma lives. He can't have a picnic with the person he'd promised another one to—so now that he's in this strange place, he might as well pay it forward. Or something like that.]

I can't imagine an ice cream parlor looking less cheerful than this. [which he says cheerfully himself, but it's not because he's particularly into the pastel-saccharine vibes, either. He's too old for cheesy ice cream parlors and too emotionally spent to pretend, so. Yeah, the picnic is a better plan.

He takes a popsicle, though; the melon, and he picks at the corner of the wrapping.]


Thank you... [ahem. he's not going to stare glumly at an ice cream bar, he's fine, let's go.] I hope you're in the mood for sandwiches, because that's what I've got in the bag. Where's a good spot for picnics around here?
hasten: (36)

[personal profile] hasten 2023-08-03 03:08 am (UTC)(link)
( xiaohei’s wide eyes blink, startled by the appearance of the other cat. shocked.

but no. not just another cat—not like huangshou. if he had sensed that this cat was anything like xiaohuang, he would probably already be running in the other direction…

but he’s not. he can’t sense it a well as he feel like he should have been able to. ever since he woke up on the train, his head has felt foggy, his spiritual senses dulled. but even with that being the case, he can tell just as readily as kai can that the other cat is no ordinary cat even before he speaks to him. there is a deeply-ingrained instinct in xiaohei that similarly wants to bristle along his spine and fluff out his tail—or to transform, to become larger than this other cat and roar and show him he won’t be intimidated.

but—he greets him, sits, and asks a question. it… it would be rude to act in the way he’d been thinking, so he shakes his head to dislodge the impulses. )


Hi.

( he shifts his paws underneath himself. he looks a little nervous, but also eager. he has maybe three dozen questions, and he isn’t sure which ones to ask first. maybe he should answer the one he’d been asked first…

he nods, his eyes darting towards the stairs to the train platform. )
Mhm. From down there. The train brought me here. But this… This place isn’t Longyou. I can tell.
guujis: (pic#16629756)

b

[personal profile] guujis 2023-08-03 03:10 am (UTC)(link)
[In the end it's simply impossible to ignore the girl, with the racket she's making in the ice cream shop. Yae had meant to keep her observations from a distance — she has no interest eating anything herself, even if one of the flavors did appeal to her — but there is a point where such distant examination becomes useless, and involving herself is the preferable option.

... Well, she'll stand in the doorway, at least. She doesn't want to get a spoon thrown at her.]


Excuse me, is all of this really necessary for a bit of dessert? [The question comes with exasperation. Yae leans in the threshold of the parlor, lit half by the fluorescent light inside, dressed like an indecent shrine maiden with pink, vulpine ears and an ornamental gold headpiece. She does not look like she belongs — but then, neither does this strange little human.] You're going to call in the whole city at this rate, if you keep it up. No need to take out your frustrations on the innocent food.

[Seeing the state the young woman is in, Yae lets out a slow breath, sparing a step inside the shop. Then she halts again, this time because the girl's appearance is... more alarming than first thought, covered in those sharp thorns. Yae has enough self-preservation first to wait and see.]

You ate too fast. You'll be fine in a minute, child.
Edited (embarrassing typo) 2023-08-03 03:12 (UTC)
limbical: (still a cat's the only cat)

[personal profile] limbical 2023-08-03 03:21 am (UTC)(link)
I know, and yet if someone dies they'll come back anyway. With no memory of the incident in question, if I'm not mistaken. If there's something or someone actually buried in the graveyard, I have no idea. I don't plan on making the effort to find out, either.

[There's a huff, then he shakes his head.] Well, who can say, but I meant the general "us", as in everyone else in the city.
indwelt: (053)

a.

[personal profile] indwelt 2023-08-03 03:25 am (UTC)(link)
[ Yeah, it's cursed because if she eats it she'll get diabetes. Do they even know about diabetes in ye olde fairy tale land?

While Rosamund inspects her newfound treasure, there's an older man entering the store behind her, taking a break from his day to day explorations to grab a bite to eat. It's not unusual to see unfamiliar faces around these parts, but it's decidedly more unusual to see someone so unfamiliar with the wares up for grabs inside.

He could laugh at her ignorance. Instead, he speaks up, voice mild. ]


If you're hungry, there's no harm in opening it and taking a bite. [ One day, strangers will do the polite thing and introduce themselves first but today is not that day. ] But if you're looking for something with more substance, I'd suggest looking one aisle over.

[ The tone of his voice - kind, casual - paired with the relaxed set of his shoulders seems to imply his words are truly a suggestion and not any sort of order. ]
limbical: (knows where it's at)

[personal profile] limbical 2023-08-03 03:28 am (UTC)(link)
[Not a peep from this one. Maybe she's just that afraid? But he doesn't have time to really question it.

Slowly, he kneels down to one knee. If she wants to run, she'd be ahead of him easily, and he wants to make sure she knows that.]


Down this hallway, you'll come across a map of the area we're in. Near that, if you go up the stairs, it will lead you out.

I'm going to wait five minutes after you leave. If you want to ask me questions, I'll be waiting by the exit, but I will not strictly follow you.
petsthedog: (pic#12716762)

[personal profile] petsthedog 2023-08-03 03:29 am (UTC)(link)
[...Well, this was dumb. He's not sure what he expected, actually. It's not like she'd tell some strange guy she wasn't alright, and truly, that's the smarter choice. So now what? Does he just walk away like an idiot? Why did he bother coming up to her in the first place if he was gonna waste her time like that? Shit.

After a long, paralyzed moment, he sighs.]


Look, I'll get outta your way. But if you wanna get away from all the people for a bit, there's a bathroom that way. [He points toward a sign up in a nearby corner.] Whole town's empty outside of here, too.

[They can't leave town, either, but that's perhaps a little too jarring to tell someone who already looks like they're desperate to bolt. She'll find out for herself soon enough, he supposes.]

Nearest door out's the one on the east side. [Pointing again, in the opposite direction, this time.]
Edited 2023-08-03 03:36 (UTC)
funburger: (1307)

[personal profile] funburger 2023-08-03 03:30 am (UTC)(link)
Oh...

[Great, that's not a relief in the slightest. In fact, that's even more confusing. After he spent so long trying to tidy up the headstones, too... now he just feels worse about the graveyard, like it's there to mock sentimental attachment to the dead or-

Well, maybe he's been spending too much time around death for far too long. At least doctor-killers aren't a thing! Probably.]


You're right—it does sound insane. [this he says with about a half of a laugh, almost sheepish. wow! nutty.] But I'll believe it. Hopefully I won't have to see it for myself.

[He hefts up his bag of supplies onto his shoulder and comes over to peruse the shelf Daan is perusing. Well, while the present circumstances are unbelievable, maybe they can talk about something ordinary...]

What university did you study at?

[make his day!]
bisection: (Another coughing shaking fit)

[personal profile] bisection 2023-08-03 03:34 am (UTC)(link)
[ She looks so frail and scared. Scared of him? No one's ever been afraid of him, even if he usually comes across a little... menacing in his exhaustion. He can see some of Eliza's frailty in her, and his brother's as well.

He opts to crouch down to be on her level. Maybe that will calm her down. He can't help his curiosity about her. ]


And you aren't of the Order of Malkuth, either. They are all gone. You're too young. Are those wings your distortion, then?
indwelt: (045)

the nakey prompt

[personal profile] indwelt 2023-08-03 03:39 am (UTC)(link)
[ Look. He really doesn't want to look at what's being put out on display right now? But unfortunately his first reaction when being told to look is to do precisely that, his head swinging right around so that he can stare right at—

Well. Safe to say his head swings right back around the opposite direction when it does see, eyes immediately closing as if that'll erase the image that's been seared into his eyeballs. (It doesn't.)

With his eyes still closed, he shrugs off his overcoat and holds it out. Sometimes you are an 80 year old man but you still feel principled to look away when there's a naked person in the vicinity. ]


Yes, good for you. [ More importantly: ] Here, put this on while we find something else for you to wear.

[ He does actually like the coat....pls give it back after.... ]
rosebleed: @bashieashie on tumblr (004)

[personal profile] rosebleed 2023-08-03 03:45 am (UTC)(link)
Huh?

[A voice?

Rosamund sits up at once. There, in the doorway. A woman. Odd but luxuriously dressed, with peach pink hair and a steady confidence that makes her acutely away of the petulant fit she's been throwing.

She clatters off the counter, wiping hurriedly at her cream-smeared lips and smoothing out her ratty gown.]


Sorry! I'm so, so sorry, I thought — nevermind! [She is not alone! And explaining all the accusatory yelling might get her knee deep into something she can't talk her way out of. Rosamund puts on a smile, squares her shoulders, and takes a curtsy.] Please forgive me. I forgot, I haven't had ice cream in uh...a while.

And honestly, I thought this whole place was abandoned. [She rises, smiling brightly at the glamorous woman.] Do you live here?

[Wait. She tilts her head ever so slightly. Was that more hair, or a pair of furry ears?]
Edited 2023-08-03 03:47 (UTC)
rosebleed: @polarsirens on tumblr (011)

[personal profile] rosebleed 2023-08-03 04:04 am (UTC)(link)
[You could say it's dia-batable.

She startles, whipping around. Rosamund blinks dumbly at the man, shocked to have been snuck up on and needing extra time to let her brain chug up to speed.]


Hungry?

[It's food? She flips it over again. Ingredients: Milk Chocolate—]

Oh! [She pinches it at both ends and pulls. Nothing. She scrapes along the seam and gets no further. At last she pierces it on the briars, jamming the whole thing into her middle and ripping the perforated cover off.] Aha! It is! I haven't had chocolate in so long, and never so...so...

[Turd-shaped. Rosamund splits the thing in half, just be sure.]

Peanuts, thank god.

[She opens her mouth and brings it oh-so-close. Yet at the last second she holds off.]

Wait. Who are you? [Almost forgot basic survival instincts for a second. She backs up from the curiously dressed man, clutching the chocolate log to her chest.] What is this place? Did you bring me here? Is this poison chocolate?
dissonyance: (71)

wildcard

[personal profile] dissonyance 2023-08-03 04:06 am (UTC)(link)
[ he would be an absolute fool if he were to ignore the only place where public knowledge might be found--- city hall. that he also hoped to be mostly quick and easily unnoticed also was a part of his movements, sticking to shadows and using his dark garbed aesthetic to do some of the heavy work. surely no one would follow him here, right? where most seem to be enticed by unsecured shops and the things inside them, there was no appeal to leaks. no. what he seeks above all things are facts. cold, harsh truths.

so there he is. inside the building. as he walks past desks, he occasionally picks up a book and rifles through it, only to be greeted with the same thing each time. nothing. no words. blank, and most importantly, clean pages. where a normal being might think it as being odd, leaks finds it insulting. who would just leave empty books around? do they think it's funny? is this a joke???

it's by the tenth empty book that he's had enough. with a growl, he slams it on the ground. ]


Useless. Utterly useless.

[ and with that same unhindered temper, he stomps on it with a heel. ]

If anything had lived here before, they probably died to their own stupidity.

[ speaking out loud like there couldn't possibly be anyone (or anything) nearby. he's chiding himself. this is what idiots do.

his tail flicks, his ears flit. an annoyed cat. ]
limbical: (who wants to dig)

[personal profile] limbical 2023-08-03 04:10 am (UTC)(link)
I also hope so for you. No one should have to deal with it.

[Idly, he remembers the death of Don Quixote too well, especially the nightmares that followed, forcing him to know just the pain of it. Ideally, no one should have to witness and endure the punishment that followed.]

Hm, university? [Daan glances up from his gathering. Well, he hasn't told anyone else this, but he also considers himself a generally honest person so:] I studied under a surgeon exclusively. He taught me everything he knew medically.

[sorry dude he is not an ordinary doctor!]
prayererror: (illuminates "i know")

[personal profile] prayererror 2023-08-03 04:12 am (UTC)(link)
[A name...That would be wise. That would be wise! Surely in this unknown place there's no automatic hostility associated with the royalty of a war-mongering kingdom, so it's safe...And if it's not, well. He'll deal with that in time. Thankfully, Dimos lets the notepad get pushed down, staring blankly with the smooth glass eyes of an automaton.

A name...Perhaps a better description to match his art...Anything. Anything will do. He must be with his Prince, after all.
]

Yes, a name...Rion.

He is a little smaller, a little younger than you are. Blunt hair a little longer than yours, pale. Grey eyes. A staff named Everlasting Cardia.

I must find him. It does not matter where we are. I must be with him. Your assistance is welcome.
prayererror: (let's sing a pretty song)

ice cream!

[personal profile] prayererror 2023-08-03 04:16 am (UTC)(link)
[Dimos is busy dipping a sample stick into the rocky road tub when asked about the naming convention, and he turns to tip his head at Isis, the picture of dull confusion. And also dustiness. He's so dusty.]

It is not a literal road. But there appears to be lumps within the base mixture. I have not yet identified if they are edible, but it would be a reasonable assumption.

...Would you prefer to taste test it? I have tasted other blends, and they have not contained poison.


[Mind you, he's not built to detect things like 'magic' in food, at least not in this fashion. If it's not directly harmful, his fake, weird tongue isn't going to pick up on it!

And maybe he'd have more concern for another, for the risk of offering poisoned food on a sample stick, if only his moral compass were here in the first place. Alas.
]
guujis: (pic#16125389)

[personal profile] guujis 2023-08-03 04:16 am (UTC)(link)
[Yae offers the courtesy not to look her over with too much scrutiny, even with that sticky mouth and tattered gown; it's not as though they came into this world, wherever it may be, prepared for an extended stay. Still, this one's worse off than most of the other humans she's seen. No competition.]

You thought what? Some arbiter of fate might be listening? [One of Yae's ears flicks, gently, as if to insinuate this.] Or, with all that hollering, I'm sure you thought you were alone.

[The girl confirms this herself with that question.]

It isn't. There's quite a few residents here. Well, I don't know if you could call them that. I only arrived just a few hours ago myself. So no, I don't live here. [A thought she tucks neatly away before it can spiral into unhelpful speculation.] Are you going to eat your dessert properly, or have you given up that venture? It seems they have bowls and spoons, [manicured fingers point to these, as well as a tower of waffle cones,] and those other things to consume it with. Your choice.
indwelt: (029)

[personal profile] indwelt 2023-08-03 04:17 am (UTC)(link)
[ throws a tomato

The small smile on his face freezes in place as she turns to face him, his eyes dropping automatically down to the thorns that encircle her—and seem to emerge from her. From behind, he'd brushed them off as (admittedly strange) decoration. From the front, they appear to be far more than that.

He frowns, preoccupied. ]


if they were, I would have gotten sick long ago.

[ He may have once had awe-inspiring powers at his beck and call, but they'd never made him immune to poison. He's still human like the rest of them, prone to indigestion and a well-timed virus. ]

But more importantly, are you alright? Do you need to rest?

[ Girl looks like she just crawled out of some dangerous forest... ]
funburger: (382)

[personal profile] funburger 2023-08-03 04:51 am (UTC)(link)
You sound like you've dealt with it already.

[And he's sorry for that, if it's true, but he doesn't say it aloud; they're doctors, they know what they signed up for. It's inevitable that death is part of the job, even if some miracle is bringing people back to life.

So: empathy, but without platitudes. As for Daan's illustrious private tutoring, wow...]


Exclusively, really? [so. an. independent study... approved by a university? he can bend his brain into this pretzel, surely.] Under which surgeon?
bubblegumheart: (pic#15845399)

[personal profile] bubblegumheart 2023-08-03 04:51 am (UTC)(link)
The question had been mostly rhetorical, so she's just a little surprised to receive such a timely response. Chrissy blinks and turns to smile at the helpful gentleman. "I hope so. Do you suppose I could get more than one scoop?" She hasn't even had one yet, and here she is already considering more than one.

"It's nice to meet you too, Doc. My name is Chrissy Cunningham." She's not entirely sure how to feel about referring to this man by what she's assuming is a nickname, but he had been the one to suggest it and she doesn't want to be rude to someone who can help her.

"Are you a doctor?"
gurge: (getou | 217)

ii

[personal profile] gurge 2023-08-03 04:58 am (UTC)(link)
[ that wraith would find itself sadly mistaken; there are no bodies in these graves. wise to take a witch with a grain of salt, but he hasn't had any particular desire to crack open a tomb just to find out the truth behind the rumor. no, what brings him to the cemetery is the dappled morning sunlight and the sweet, pristine peace. adjacent to statues whose eyes follow anything that moves and the curdling fear of death's curling finger are enough to steer away most wanderers. ]

[ ironic that finds himself spending so much time in one now that he's dead — buried or not. when he tires of the cityscape from out the window of his penthouse, the forested break in the city's lifeless grey is a welcome reprieve. maybe it doesn't have a single animal to fill the air with song, but like this, Suguru can hear the beating of his heart, the throb of his breath, the whorl of his curse energy. acclimating to a life with one less limb and a fifth his normal wellspring of energy has been slow-going, to say the least. ]

[ balance steadies when he hears the presence he's been feeling finally speak. the adjusted kata he was working his way through falls, muscles drifting out of suspension; his remaining left hand brushes back a fringe that had just begun to stick to his brow. for a moment, there's a breath of impatience, a fleeting tic of interruption. it would not be so had he not been caught in such a telling position. ]


One of which? [ instead: a smile, slatting narrow eyes closed. a bead of sweat clears the hollow of his throat and spreads out in the seam of his collar. the greeting isn't returned by anything other than that inscrutable smile and a rake of his eyes over the daemon's form, a quick assessing. he smells like blood and his energy feels like a sick miasma, rolling off of him like industrial smog, dark and dense. this, they have in common. ]

[ Rokurou — he's found something all right: inside of this one-armed man, a thousand individual mutinies for release. ]
hasten: (47)

[personal profile] hasten 2023-08-03 05:01 am (UTC)(link)
( he retrieves his paw and watches almost expectantly; as soon as she sets the jerky down, his paw once again reaches out lightning-fast and pulls it closer to himself. from there, he pins the stick of jerky between his two front paws, gnawing on it happily. if don listens very closely, she can hear a soft, low purring…

sure, it’s just dried meat, but it’s also delicious. it reminds him of when he had first sat around fengxi’s fire, listening to them talk and laugh—tianhu had offered him a piece of roasted meat, and he’d thought he’d never tasted anything more delicious. that, or when he and wuxian had eaten that feast at the restaurant near the coast. yes, it’s just a piece of jerky, but it brings him warm memories.

he doesn’t look back up to don until she mentions that there aren’t any animals around. now… xiaohei isn’t technically an animal, but that’s certainly peculiar. he looks up from his snack, round eyes curious.

they flicker to the stairs leading down to the train platform as she mentions it. )


Mrow…

( by his faintly reproachful tone, it sounds like he hadn’t really enjoyed his time on the train. mostly because he’d been trapped on it until he actually payed attention to the phone that had been next to him on the seat. in his defense, he usually can’t read very well—how was he supposed to know he’d be able to understand what it said!

he continues nibbling on the jerky, seemingly mollified. he looks less likely to bolt at any moment. his eyes return to stare at her. )


Maow? ( he wonders how she knew he’d arrived on a train… )
bubblegumheart: (pic#15928362)

[personal profile] bubblegumheart 2023-08-03 05:01 am (UTC)(link)
Of all the things she might be anticipating happening in the graveyard, someone bringing up home isn't really one of them. In fact, that wouldn't have even made the list. So he'll have to forgive her for whirling around, just a little faster than she'd intended, to gawk at him for a moment. Though, she does eventually snap out of it for the moment.

"I am, yes. Sorry! I just... I wasn't expecting to find anyone else here that's from there," she admits. She's also just a little confused about how she'd ended up here in the first place, considering the last thing she remembers doing back home.
hasten: (77)

[personal profile] hasten 2023-08-03 05:12 am (UTC)(link)
( xiaohei pauses in licking his ice cream. he tilts his head to the side, curious at the stranger’s answers. he’d met many spirits who didn’t really like humans. he had even hated humans for a while, thinking that he wanted to get revenge on them for destroying his forest. but he can’t really recall any humans ever talking to him about how they didn’t like spirits. or animals. or cats in general.

but he had learned in the last few years that the world is an amazingly huge place, and there were innumerable people in it. they all had their own stories, their own reasons for doing what they do. good people can even do bad things when they feel they must. he might have done the same, trying to get revenge for his lost home. he’s still trying to understand a lot of it, but he thinks he wants to be a good spirit. at the very least, he doesn’t want to antagonize this stranger. )


And I’ve had bad experiences with humans.

( he says it frankly, taking a few more licks of the ice cream with a curiously blue tongue. he continues with the same level of sincerity. )

But I’ve had good ones too.

( he thinks of his master, wuxian, and xiaobei and her family… but it’s hard to think of them for too long. he misses them so much already. he doesn’t know where they are; he can’t find their scents anywhere.

one of his ears flicks. )
I can turn into a human, if you want?

( apparently. that is a thing he can do. )