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?
▶ 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.
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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.
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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.
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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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citycenter) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
citylogs2023-08-02 12:00 am
no subject
It's awful. Even with all the crap Daniel went through when he was around Ken's age, it wasn't nearly as bad as this, and to him it already felt like the world was collapsing with just what he dealt with. ]
I know.. I'm just some random guy you just met.
[ Obviously. Daniel will readily admit that, well aware of just how prone he is to trying to take care of kids he has no bond with yet at all - but when Ken's problems are so heavy, and when the kid might not have family here to take care of him? What other choice is there but to say this? ]
But if you're ever having a hard day here, you can always talk to me. You can easily find me on the network, I just use my name as my display name. D.LaRusso, just like that. I'm always willing to listen to you, alright..?
no subject
With another sigh, he gave a chuckle as he didn't feel like crying anymore. It seemed as thought everything was fine as though all he really needed as a way to release all of his negative energy.]
It's okay, sometimes we just need someone to be there to listen right? That's what we are supposed to do.
[Or at least, he hoped so. While he wanted to be optimistic, he still had to be cautious and especially to someone he just met.]
But my name is Ken Amada, it's nice to meet you uh...LaRusso-san? Thank you for listening to me, I really appreciated it.
[He said before giving his hand out to him.]
no subject
It's nice to meet you too. You know.. [ He uses his free hand to gesture at the space around them. ] Despite the circumstances.
[ Said circumstances being this eerie city? The kidnapping that brought them here? Ken's inexplicable crying fit?
Who knows, but Daniel smiles all the same, letting go of the handshake after a moment or so. ]
I just hope you now know you're never alone here. Not even just because I'm here. [ Please, he's not that conceited. ] This place is filled with tons of people who I'm sure will want to listen to you when you need it too. I know some good people here, so the same will count for you soon enough.
no subject
Not only that, there would always be people who would take advantage of the situation no matter what.
For now, all he could do was smile before nodding to himself.]
...I hope so since I want to help out too. It's the least I can do since you helped me out. Although, could you tell me a little bit more about this place?
[After all, being in a city that's filled with empty places and with little to no information? What could he do but to guess half of the time? He had a feeling Daniel might not know wither but he might as well ask anyway.]
no subject
But I can tell you everything I do know. [ Even if it's not much - but he's determined to help anyway, briefly nodding. ] Is there any question that's at the top of your mind right now?
[ Because then he might as well tackle that one. Especially when he isn't entirely sure what other people might or might not have told the boy already. ]
no subject
No, it's fine, I figured as much but I just want to know has anything major happened in this place so far? From what I can tell, there isn't a lot information. Everywhere I go, I can't seem to find much.
[At this point, anything and everything would be helpful.]
no subject
Not to mention that Ken is showing some initiative here - apparently having looked for information by himself already. Even if Daniel feels bad for having so little information to share with the boy, there's also a sense of pride in seeing someone so young, yet already so resourceful. You go, Ken. Scoring points with this old man. ]
A while ago, the bank opened up. [ Daniel hadn't gone there himself, but he's heard enough about it to know what went down there.. ] People found all sorts of personal belongings in there. Like this place had just brought those here out of the blue as well, and stored them there for us to find. It sounds people even got locked up in there until they told each other about their personal items.
[ Daniel frowns a little at that last part.
Because it just feels like more evidence that this city is almost.. manipulating them, somehow. It doesn't feel great. ]
no subject
...But why? What's the point in just trying to store everything there and having people find it? Were they trying to get people in there and see what would happen?
[He had a feeling he knew the answer but he wanted to hear it.]
It seems rather...strange.
no subject
[ Hear that answer? It's so diplomatic, isn't it. That's why there's a tiny pause before Daniel says it, because he had to think about his wording there.
And certainly not for the sake of said people he's speaking of. Please, he's not lending consideration to whoever kidnapped them and brought them here. No way. The consideration is more towards not wanting to make this too heavy and hopeless on a young kid like Ken, who's apparently been through so much already.
It makes him want to make this not too negative, even if Daniel also wants to stick to the facts and not lie. It's a difficult balance, but he's doing his best to strike it all the same. ]
They haven't told us anything yet, or reached out to us. Some people have been theorizing that this is perhaps some sort of big experiment.
no subject
Crossing his arms, he was trying to look on the brighter side of things. And yet, he couldn't really find one as everyone was in the same boat.]
...For what, that is the big question. And it seems that there is nothing we can do but to wait until something happens.
[In the end, they were just sitting ducks with no real clue as to what to do.]
no subject
Honestly, it's not even like he really disagrees with Ken. When it comes to finding a way out of this place, or finding out more about this place, at this point it truly does seem like all they can do is just wait, as much as Daniel hates that idea.
But it's exactly because he hates that idea, and he hates passing it on to kids even more, that he shakes his head. ]
There is something we can do. [ His expression eases up a little bit, the smile creeping back in it - warm and encouraging.
His tone sounds so genuine too, like the sappiness of what he's about to say doesn't make him cringe in the slightest: ] We can look out for the people around us. We can make sure that everyone here stays alright, and that no one is alone.
[ His lips curl up even a little bit more. ]
That doesn't sound like such a bad thing to do in the meantime, right?
[ Daniel figures Ken will get it. Even with everything he told him just now, even with the heavy things it sounds like Ken has endured - he seems like a good kid. ]
no subject
Yes, yes it isn't. I think that is all we could do right now as we hope for the best. It seems that we could use it as we figure out what to do.
[He was given a Persona for a reason. It was a way to help and protect people, after all. Even if it was supposed to from a rich man's failed experiment, at least he was granted a chance to prove himself to others.]
And I just hope that the others are doing the same too.
no subject
[ And Daniel wouldn't be saying that if he didn't mean it - especially not to a kid, since he wouldn't want them to just go around trusting everyone when that might not exactly be a good idea..
But Daniel himself has ran into so many kind and helpful people here that it feels valid enough to say this.
.. even if he's also cautious enough to add: ]
Still.. be a little careful, just in case, alright? Sometimes people here do.. [ Daniel's voice trails off. In that sort of way where it's obvious an adult is trying to think of whether to mention something to a kid or not, or maybe word it differently. ] .. Sometimes they do odd things.
[ See here, the result of Daniel having to think for a moment: the understatement of the year. But it's not like he wants to unsettle a new kid by telling him right away that some people were experimenting with death and murder? He can't do that. ]
no subject
[Not when he's seen a couple of people himself do some terrible things for the sake of their own amusement. Most of them were Gods who wanted to see how far they could do with humanity but he had heard a couple of humans who just wanted to mess with others. With a sigh, he shifted his weight before he gave a small frown.
As he crossed his arms, he was prepared to hear it.]
Trust me, I've seen more than my fair share of people doing questionable things.
[Between experiment on human life, dealing with murders, and fighting against death? He doubts it can get any worst.]
no subject
But does that make it okay to just pile more onto Ken's plate all the same? Or does the boy have a right to know?
These questions were already difficult enough when Daniel had to think about them considering his own kids in his own - way more normal - world, let alone here with all these crazy things going on and kids he's technically not responsible for--
Though he feels like he is, anyway.
After thinking about it for a moment, Daniel lets out a sigh. ]
People were killing each other here before. [ There's a weight to his tone as he says it, for sure. Daniel takes this very seriously, and even more so when he's discussing it with vulnerable kids. ] I don't think it has happened since then, but.. it's good to be careful, just in case. It might be a good idea to get to know people, just so you won't have to walk on the streets by yourself.
no subject
As he continued to cross his arms, he momentarily paused to collect his thoughts. It was a shame really, that a kid like himself had to deal with so much already.
Although, even as he desired to be a regular normal kid, it seems that life would never allow him that chance...]
I don't plan on it. However, if I have to, I'll just have to fight to the death again.
[Between fighting Nyx, Erebus, and the strange entity he fought not too long ago? He'll fight with everything he has if he had to regardless of who it might be.]
no subject
Mostly because it looks like the man's blood pressure just went up to dangerous levels. Not even in an angry sort of way - it's not like Daniel would be angry at the kid in a situation like this - but in a worried sort of way. The last thing he wants is kids going around the streets here thinking there's a need to participate in death matches.
Absolutely not. ]
If you get into trouble, just run away.
[ Please, Ken. He's begging you here. Look at the look in this poor man's eyes. ]
Or call me right away. [ Yes, he only has just gotten to know Ken, but yes, he will absolutely throw himself into a dangerous situation for the other, okay! Especially if the alternative is Ken thinking he has to fight to the death. ] Alright? You shouldn't just fight.
[ And Daniel can know. Because he, too, was a kid who had to fight to the death.
And it changed him in ways he's not sure he always likes. ]
no subject
Alright, I won't.
[Because he still wanted to life his childhood as much as he could here. Even if it was rough, it'll make the best of it. Although...]
I'll try my best not to but I don't think I can make any promises. After fighting for so long, it's second nature for me to defend against myself and others should anything happen.
[Because at the end of the day, he couldn't sit around and do nothing. That wouldn't be what his leader would want nor did he want to let people know he was weak. As childhood as it was, he didn't want others to underestimate him.]
no subject
[ That statement seems to give Daniel pause, but.. he doesn't fight it. It's not like he can force Ken, after all. So maybe this is the best he can get here. Not an outright promise, but.. at least the boy saying he'll do his best.
Still, the man lets out a sigh. ]
Kids like you are going to make me age ten years.
[ There's no annoyance in his tone as he says it though. Instead there's something a little more to it. A little bit of defeat, sure, but it's mingling with something warmer. Even if Daniel worries about Ken, what the boy is saying proves he's a good kid. ]
But I'm already glad enough you know you can find me whenever you're in trouble, so it's alright.